【Low-Tier Undead Control】
【Abbreviated as: Corpse Manipulation】
【Category: Necromancy】
【Effect: Allows you to control undead creatures below level 30. Maximum number: 25. Duration depends on your energy-point limit. Current maximum duration: 30 days】
【Cost: 30 energy points per use; 5 energy points per hour during strenuous activity; 1 energy point per day while idle】
【Note: With this skill, you can try forming a necromantic supergroup—or put together an idol group of pretty skeleton girls】
“What the hell is that note…..”
I studied the skill description for [Corpse Manipulation] in my field of vision and rubbed my jaw.
“Classic necromancy… It really does suit me.”
What we lacked most right now were teammates—people we could trust. This skill went a long way toward solving that problem.
After all, the dead couldn’t betray you.
And they made pretty good minions, too.
【Don’t you like the note?】
Paper-chan asked in her perfectly serious mechanical voice, posing a spectacularly stupid question.
“Of course I don’t!! What the hell are skeleton girls supposed to be?! They don’t exist!!”
【According to the database, zombies can be idols on Earth, so why can’t skeletons? That’s racism】
“He—ptooey!!!”
I spat at the ground for no reason and yelled in a desperate voice.
“Who would watch something like that?! And where would you even find zombies on Earth?! They’re just in movies, okay?!”
【How about ‘Skeleton Idols Are a Legend’? The CDs would sell like crazy】
“……”
【Or ‘UNDEAD LAND SELEDA’ (a riff on the original title of Zombie Land Saga, ‘ZOMBIE】
LAND SAGA’). That name would be really popular in another world】
“Shut up, you artificial idiot……”
There was no saving this system…
When Heaven is about to entrust a skeleton with a great mission, it first gives them an idiot, squeezes out their sanity, lowers their IQ, and drives them to the brink of madness. Only then can they accomplish great things.
F*cking God!
“Ahem. Anyway, I can control low-level skeleton soldiers now, right? And quite a few of them?”
【Yes. Normally, your ability would let you control at most five, but this system has expanded that number to 100】
I was astonished.
“100?! Isn’t it 25?!”
【100 is a theoretical figure. Your current hardware can’t support controlling that many】
“Uh, you mean…”
【You suck】
“……”
MMP. When I become a god, the first thing I’m doing is pulling this artificial idiot out of my head and formatting it over and over!
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west! Never look down on a poor young man!
“Ahem. Anyway, I should test out these new skills first.”
[Bone Synthesis], [Bone Transformation], [Low-Tier Undead Control]
The first two were self-explanatory. One let me fuse the bones of other undead into my own body. If I reached a high enough level someday, I might even be able to make myself a skeleton mech.
And Bone Transformation probably meant I could turn myself into a skeleton mech…
“But there aren’t any skeleton soldiers around here. Guess I’ll have to go back to the Myriad Bones Wasteland…”
Honestly, I didn’t want to go… It was creepy, and underground, too.
“Sigh… What a hard life…”
I looked around to make sure nobody was there, sighed, put on my armor, and headed toward the nearby Myriad Bones Wasteland.
【You say you don’t want to, but your body’s being honest】
“Shut up, you artificial idiot…”
“Ah…”
When I reached the first level of the Myriad Bones Wasteland, I looked at the skeleton soldiers lurching around and slapped my thigh bone as I suddenly remembered something.
“I don’t even have a staff! How am I supposed to cast spells?!”
A staff was practically a mage’s badge of identity. It could also boost the power of spells and store spellcasting materials.
But most importantly, at the heart of a staff—and at the heart of using magic—was the catalyst.
A magic crystal.
“Damn… I don’t have anything. Maybe I should go back and get Eileen’s staff…”
As I spoke, I turned around to head back.
【You don’t need to】
“Huh?” Paper-chan stopped me.
【A staff is just a tool for holding a medium and materials. As long as the magic crystal is suitable, anything can be used as a casting tool】
I tilted my head.
“The catalyst has to be suitable?”
【For example, you’d make a very good magic crystal】
I blinked my nonexistent eyes.
“Me?”
【Yes. Every spell requires a suitable magic crystal. For necromancy, for instance, it’s best to use a monster’s core or the remains of a powerful being】
【A medium used to cast spells is called a magic crystal】
“I see…”
【Yes. According to the database, most low-level elemental magic requires only a low-grade magic crystal to activate, such as Fireball. But powerful spells from specialized branches of magic require precious magic crystals suited to them】
【And a Life-and-Death Spirit like you, forever wavering between [life] and [death]—your body is dead, yet your soul remains; you’re dead even as you live—should make an extremely powerful magic crystal】
【So you don’t need a catalyst or anything like a staff to cast spells】
My face fell.
“Why do I feel like I’m just a walking, extremely valuable research specimen and spellcasting material…”
【You catch on so quickly. It saves this system a lot of trouble】
“Sigh…”
“Born to toil… I wonder if I’ll learn a skill like Face-Changing someday… At least give me a face that doesn’t look awful…”
With that, I straightened up, cleared my mind, raised my right hand, and began casting a spell at the skeleton soldiers in front of me.
“O cold God of Death, Gonaer…”
I softly recited the incantation I’d learned from the grimoire, recalling it from the depths of my subconscious.
But strangely, something in my mind seemed to start up on its own, like an automated workshop, helping me cast the spell.
“Clack, clack.”
Suddenly, the five skeleton soldiers in front of me froze. Then, all at once, they turned toward me, their gazes vacant as they waited for orders. Through their hollow eye sockets, I could even see faint orange soul fires burning.
“Oh! It worked! I can feel that I’m connected to all of them! I can control them perfectly!”
Seeing my squad grow, I felt a little proud of myself.
【Do you feel any discomfort?】Paper-chan suddenly asked.
“Huh? I… No, I don’t.”
【That’s good】
“???”
【Normally, controlling other living beings or undead takes a considerable amount of mental energy and requires a great deal of mental control. Most mages can manage three at once at most. If they tried to control five, they might split their minds】
【It’s like doing a brutal calculus problem, coding in Java, and drawing doujinshi all at once—three tasks that each demand intense concentration. It’s a wonder a normal person wouldn’t go insane】
I froze for a moment, then patted my head.
“Then why am I… still fine?”
【Current system memory usage: 78.9%】
【This system is handling all the mental strain and organizing everything for you. All you need to do is give orders. This system relays them to the skeleton soldiers, and any information they send back only reaches this system, so it won’t affect you】
It took me two seconds to understand what it meant. A wave of emotion welled up inside me.
“Paper-chan, I had no idea you cared about me this much!! I shouldn’t have called you an artificial idiot!!”
【It’s nothing】
【This system is your guide, and it’s responsible for helping you achieve your goal with everything it has. You could say that what belongs to this system is yours】
Its voice was still mechanical and cold, yet as calm as a placid lake. It put me at ease.
[Then what’s mine?]
【Yours is still yours】
Oh-ho?
What was with that master-and-servant kind of thing to say?
Why was it being so nice to me?
【But you belong to this system】
【……】
Never mind…
There was no point arguing with an artificial idiot.
How irritating.
I turned toward the five skeleton soldiers, who were already lined up in front of me. I focused and ordered them to randomly face forward, backward, left, or right, then spin in place three times.
“Clack, clack.”
The five skeleton soldiers turned in different directions.
“Oh-ho, that’s interesting.”
I tried making it harder.
“Now dance ‘Gokuraku Jodo’ for me!”
But then…
“Clack, clack.”
The five skeleton soldiers jerked around on the spot like they were having seizures, then all collapsed at the same moment, like puppets with their strings cut. They lay completely still.
I was a little startled by the sight.
“W-what happened…?”
【You broke them】
[What?!]
Paper-chan sighed in its mechanical voice, sounding a little regretful.
【Ordinary skeleton soldiers have limited brain capacity, so they can’t understand complicated instructions. Give them an order beyond their comprehension, and they’ll crash just like a computer with 4 GB of RAM trying to run Battlefield 5】
【……】
【But that’s exactly what this system is for: precise control of multiple units at once】
【With this system’s current energy limit, it can support up to 100 units running at full power for one hour. The higher the energy limit, the more units it can control】
It took me two seconds to understand, then I slapped my thigh bone hard.
“Ohhh!!”
So it was an RTS?!
I had no idea this skill was so powerful!
“You’re amazing, Paper-chan!”
“I can already picture myself directing the battle from a thousand miles away, laughing as enemy ships crumble to dust!”
But Paper-chan wasn’t nearly as optimistic as I was.
【But this skill works through your [Low-Tier Undead Summoning]. In other words, it remotely controls them through your spell】
【If anyone uses a Silence skill, every unit will immediately disconnect】
【So this skill will only work well if the enemy has no mages. Otherwise, its effectiveness will drop sharply】
“An EMP, huh…” I rubbed my jawbone.
【Exactly. These skeleton soldiers are basically robots controlled remotely over a wireless connection. If the enemy throws out a Silence spell, they’re all done for】
“Hmm… I’ll have to figure out a way to deal with that later…”
“But once I get stronger, I’ll be able to control more skeleton soldiers—and stronger ones, too, right?”
【Of course】
A terrifying idea came to me.
“Wait, then wouldn’t that mean…”
A million undead. Countless pairs of eye sockets flickering with ghostly fire. From a distance, they’d look like a tidal wave—tireless warriors who felt no pain.
An army made of the dead.
“An undead apocalypse…!”
【That’s right, Ojer】
【This world has never seen an undead apocalypse. If you’re going to reveal your true form, an undead apocalypse would make the perfect opening】
It said this in a voice utterly devoid of emotion, cold to the extreme.
I listened in a daze as the purple ghost flame in my skull burned ever brighter, and the blueprint for a terrifying plan took shape in my mind.
[When the time comes, with a million undead as our backdrop, let us proclaim it to the world.]
[The Life-and-Death Spirit has been born!]
