Necromancer Survival

Usually, Users need to go through a number of complex hoops to leave the hub, but it was a different reality for those who have money. After waiting for about a day, we were able to leave for Busan Port immediately.

Disregarding the tension we felt, I felt refreshed when I saw the open road beyond the window reflected in Dawon’s expectant eyes. After all, I had been inside for more than three weeks in the safety of Koo Hui-seo’s mansion.

“……” I looked out the window and looked down at the wriggling Lackey in my arms. “Shall we open the window?”

[Clack Clack Clack?]

[No?]

I had merely asked since it looked uncomfortable, but the skeleton refused straight away. Then, it wriggled again, changing its posture. Perhaps all it wanted was to be in my arms.

Lackey, who finally peacefully settled down, looked at its open right hand–a ruby-embedded jewel ring snugly fit onto its middle finger had caught its attention.

This ring was given to me by Koo Hui-seo. On the evening before we left for Busan, the baby harassed Lackey so much that the skeleton eventually pushed him away. The push was gentle, so the baby wasn’t hurt, but the rejection must have shocked him. The baby sobbed as if to protest the unfair treatment. And, despite Koo Hui-seo’s efforts, the tears continued.

Worried that both the baby and Koo Hui-seo would become dehydrated at this rate, I tried to persuade Lackey to apologize to the baby. Koo Hui-seo put the baby to sleep, though; when he returned, he gave the ring to Lackey.

Fortunately, the skeleton seemed to like the ring very much. When morning came and we would soon depart, Lackey gracefully accepted the baby even if he sucked on the skeleton’s skull or poked through the eye sockets with his fingers.

Since the skeleton had received the ring yesterday, and even until it left the very next morning, Lackey was kept busy looking at the ring…

“Do you like it that much?” I asked.

[Clack Clack?]

[What?]

However, whenever I touched Lackey, it quickly focused on me as if it never had been so entranced. That sight was just so adorable. I kissed the top of the skeleton’s head and murmured, “So cute…”

[Clack clack clack].

[Hehe.]

At that moment, a low voice cut into our lovey-dovey atmosphere.

“Thanks.”

I looked up at the Mage who unabashedly stole the compliment–it seemed like he was dissatisfied when I placed my lips atop Lackey’s skull. How could he be so jealous of Lackey?

However, with a forewarning, Dawon-ie nibbled on my earlobe–lightly, so it wouldn’t hurt. It didn’t feel bad…I guess, you could say the sensation made me giggle.

“Aren’t you glad the other kids aren’t in the car?” Seo Dawon whispered softly into my ear when I giggled.

Heat rising in my face, I replied, “I’m sure you’re glad.”

Though my reply was quite blunt, I definitely agreed that I wouldn’t do this where the other Servants were buzzing about.

Actually, there was a reason why Seo Dawon, Lackey, and I were alone in the same car. That was because Kim Olim and Choi Kyung-sik insisted on dividing the team at our last meeting the evening before our departure.

Olim-ie was continuously anxious about me leaving the mansion–she agonized over it for hours silently…without speaking a word of her worries to anyone. Then, in the end, she came up with the idea of dispersing us between multiple cars with the focus on my protection.

However, most servants were skeptical of that route.

Garam was the first to express his discontent, “Tsk…What’s the point of that? We’re all just souls anyway. Whether or not we’re in cars…it’s all the same.”

Then, he looked at me and pouted, “And, if you divide us, Choi Lee-kyung will say he wants to go with Dawon-ie-hyung!”

Seo Dawon only raised his eyebrow slightly. I couldn’t really refute and dithered. As the atmosphere became a bit tense, Choi Kyung-sik stepped forward, “Mmm, Actually… We do have a security problem, but I finally created the [Prototype] dummy.”

Then, Choi Kyung-sik took out white dolls that looked like mannequins from his inventory.

Surprisingly, though the dolls had the same face, each one had different clothes and body types. So, as soon as I saw the dolls, I knew who was intended to operate which doll.

Garam-ie just disdainfully glanced at the shortest dummy.

“Hehe, Eunji’s figure… It’s one-to-one as well?” Eunji stood in front of her dummy, seemingly pleased.”

“Hey, but why is it so smooth here?” Woo Ragi crudely lifted the trousers on his dummy, looked inside, and asked.

Dawon clicked his tongue, “You’re originally small anyway, Ragi-yah.”

“I was twice your size, though?”

The two glared at each other through the air.

Just as this childish argument was about to start, Olim coolly said, “Are you really asking for him to attach genitals? I don’t know what you want to do with these dummies, but keep that within your imagination only.”

Upon hearing that, I noticed that Choi Kyung-sik was looking into the distance, likely trying to suppress a laugh.

Meanwhile, Garam protested to Choi Kyung-sik in a very dissatisfied manner, “Why is mine so small?!”

Bang Eunji reflexively blurted, “It’s the same size as Garam-kun, though?”

“Piss off!”

Choi Kyung-sik chuckled, shook his head, and looked at me when the others started quibbling. Perhaps he wanted me to calm these people down–I scratched my cheek and clapped once.

Clap–

Suddenly, all the servants focused on me. Choi Kyung-sik quickly continued now that we regained their attention, “Please take a good look at the dummies, and tell me if the size exceeds your margin of error. Alright?”

“It’s twenty centimeters shorter than my real height!” Garam-ie immediately protested, but Choi Kyung-sik didn’t even bother to answer.

Then, he shook his head a little bit with a regretful expression, “Honestly, I’m a little ashamed. I originally wanted to make a homunculus.”

Homunculi and Dummies were different alchemical types, and Homunculi were considered superior to Dummies. Choi Kyung-sik continued on to tell us why crafting the Homunculus failed, “In order to properly control the Homunculus, smart parts of our bodies or corpses need to be involved.”

“……”

“Flesh, blood, hair… Well, I couldn’t find any of those, so I eventually made a Dummy as a substitute. Mm, it’s not so bad, but…” He trailed off, as if he couldn’t hide the regret in his voice. He pointed to the fake bodies and continued, “Still, thanks to Koo Hui-seo-ssi the dummies are high-quality enough that people would be surprised to know that they’re dummies. You guys will realize that when you drive them yourselves.”

Choi Kyung-sik explained that the dummies could be considered a minimalistic golem as he handed each person a key-like gem.

Then, Choi Kyung-sik demonstratively effortlessly cranked the joint between the dummy’s face and neck. In doing so, the spot where the jeweled key would be inserted–the cross-section–became visible.

“The initial installation will take some time. About 1 to 2 minutes after you insert the key.”

Every servant, except Seo Dawon, placed their key in their Dummy.

‘Come to think of it, Dawon-ie doesn’t have one.’

I was a bit puzzled about that, but, since Dawon-ie didn’t particularly react, the two must have talked about this matter in advance.

Meanwhile, the Dummies began to illuminate; the servant’s appearances became hazy. The bent necks automatically returned to their proper positions…like a robot…?

“Huh?” I muttered.

Though the bodies’ faces were initially unremarkable, as the Servants vanished, distinct facial features started to emerge. Subsequently, their bodies and faces matched, forming a coherent visage. Even the blinking eyes made it seem as if the bodies were truly alive.

Of course, upon closer inspection, each body part was clearly segmented, and the body felt distinctly non-human. Especially if the Dummy were to be placed among humans, the disparity might become more apparent.

Nonetheless, they were amazing. I approached them slowly.

Woo Ragi was the first to raise his head, “This isn’t too bad, huh.”

When he flicked his finger, the assemblage of the joints were inhuman, but the movements felt very human.

“…So annoying.” Jung Garam punched in rapid succession before setting his hand down, muttering indignantly. It seemed like he was still upset, but he had no complaints about the body’s performance.

“It’s a lot heavier than Eunji?” Eunji, who gracefully twirled like a ballerina, lowered her raised heel.

Choi Kyung-sik, who was making similar movements as he stretched, replied, “It’ll be a bit heavier. They’re mostly made out of metal.”

—-

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TL: Also, Oh my god…the conversation about the dummy genitalia…