How to Raise Your Skeletons

“Huff, huff.”

“Whew.”

Hot breaths escaped from the team members. Sweat formed on their foreheads, and their breathing became increasingly ragged. Even for high-level hunters, stamina wasn’t infinite. We were still human, after all. Expending a certain amount of stamina made their breathing labored, especially if they were a class that didn’t require much physical training.

Furthermore…

The march seemed endless. No matter how far we walked, the tower ahead remained the same size, as if even after a month of walking, we would still be in the same spot. This fear consumed our bodies. It was psychological terror.

“Let’s take a break here.”

In the end, I stopped walking in the middle of the trail. No matter how much of a competition it was, managing stamina was crucial. In short, it was similar to a marathon. If you overdid it early on and used up all your energy, you could end up getting overtaken by the other teams.

“Spear of Judgment, take charge of setting up camp. Find a shaded spot and let those who need to handle personal business do so. Also, search for some food nearby for sustenance.”

Fortunately, there was plenty of food nearby. It seemed like there were wild animals, and I spotted fruits and roots similar to those seen in Theme 1, which made sense. If they’d sealed our bags and didn’t provide food, that would have just been torture rather than a trial.

Well, this is already torture enough.

Honestly, I didn’t know how to define what a “trial” was these days. I went through the old man’s massage, ingesting poison, the Sun Spear’s challenge in the past, and so on. For something to be called a “trial,” it had to be quite painful and gruesome.

“…”

Now that I thought about it, even if becoming stronger was my dream, living a life of constant suffering like this… Was this really a happy life?

Hmm…

I thought about it briefly, but as expected, the thought was short-lived.

I must be a masochist. Because being weak was more unbearable than being in pain. No matter how hard or painful it was, being strong was better—it made me happier. If I had no strength, I’d have already been killed by the assassin from the Shadow Lurkers or harassed by that spoiled rich kid, Shin Jongoh of the Ohsung Group, before being assassinated.

At the very least, being miserable but strong was better than facing those injustices. That was how the world had always been. The weak were always subdued by great power, losing what they had. Only the strong could fully protect what was theirs. And you had to be strong to protect what was yours.

Therefore…

I will grow even further. In the future, I’ll climb so high that not even the top 1,000 rankers inscribed on the board can treat me carelessly.

“Skeleton King. I’ve roughly finished giving instructions.”

The Spear of Judgment approached me. He was faithfully fulfilling his role as the vice leader.

“I’ve assigned tasks according to everyone’s abilities.”

“Well done.”

“The problem is you.” He looked at me. “As the vice leader, I can’t assign you any tasks.”

“Ah.”

That was true. So what he was asking is, “While everyone’s working, what are you going to do?”

“I have some personal matters to attend to, so I’ll be going somewhere.”

“Where to?”

I grinned. “I’ll tell you later. It’s definitely not something unnecessary.”

I still had unfinished business from yesterday. I had to find Floa.

—Step, step.

I walked along the deserted trail with the elder after I’d summoned him once again.

“First of all, that absent-minded girl. She seems to have become somewhat more clever,” the old man whispered. “She’s maintaining a constant distance and seems prepared to escape if she’s discovered. She knows you have a method to find her.”

I’d been meticulously planning since yesterday, but I couldn’t come up with anything. Whenever I moved, she instinctively sensed it and widened the gap.

Hmm.

Floa the Thundercry was a ranker—not just any ranker, but a top-tier ranker at Rank 84 at that. As long as she remained alert, there was absolutely no way for me to capture her for now.

“Lad, this is what I’ve been telling you since yesterday. No matter how skilled you are, you can’t overcome a vast power gap, not even with the All Techniques.” The old man chuckled with a thrilled expression as if he found my helplessness amusing. “That’s why it’s delightful. This world is full of strong individuals. Do you know that they’re all stepping stones that will help you grow?”

Yes, yes, that sounds great and all… But to grow stronger, I need to complete this trial with a good score.

“True, normally I’d scold you for seeking strength through rewards… But this time, I have to admit it.” Surprisingly, the old man agreed with me. “That’s just how incredible that weapon is. Tsk, lucky brat.”

This…

I stared at the staff in my hand.

The godslayer-rank item Sealed Spirit of the Seven Elements gleamed brilliantly. After it had first spoken to me, it had been silent ever since.

“In my world, I’ve never seen anything like the thing inside it. The weapon seems to have something vast and transcendent, far beyond my comprehension, slumbering inside it.”

You’ve said that several times now, I grumbled.

Yesterday, he spent ages circling the weapon, exclaiming, “Wow!” and “Huh?” I barely got any training done. Nor did I come up with a way to catch Floa.

“You don’t seem to get it, so I’ll say it again! You unromantic fool! Don’t you feel excited? I can only wonder what kind of power will emerge once all seven elements are gathered in those empty slots. To have a chance to glimpse something beyond All Techniques…! It’s thrilling! I am happy that I endured all those days! Your teacher is truly delighted!”

Yes, yes. But for you to fully enjoy that, I need to find the judge first, don’t I?

The old man’s sincerity was admirable, but sadly today’s summoning was allotted only an hour. There was no time.

“Alright, I’m brainstorming too, so stop pestering me.” The old man stroked his chin and closed his eyes.

Floating in midair in white robes, he really looked like a mountain deity.

“Hm, given your skill level, your best chance might be… using the poison mist.”

The poison mist?

I sensed the energy of the entity coiled within my body. It was resting quietly for now, but I wasn’t sure if it was willing to help me.

“With your meager skills, catching that girl would be like cutting down stars in the sky with a knife. But you’ve mastered poison to an extreme level.”

The problem is this thing is still hard to control.

“Of course I know that. But as of now, there’s no other way. You instinctively know how to mix poisons, don’t you?”

The poison mist within me contained countless toxins. I couldn’t use them all, but if I were to rely on the poison mist, I would need to lure it out and extract only the necessary poisons.

“A mix of hallucinatory and paralysis poison should suffice. How about it? Want me to teach you the perfect combination?”

There’s such a thing?

“Hehe, try enticing it. Once you do, I’ll teach you.”

Hm.

The old man was right. Instead of complaining and doing nothing, it was better to try something. After all, the early bird got the worm.

Alright.

I met the old man’s eyes and nodded. By coincidence, the moment we nodded, a breeze swept by.

Yes. Everything was ready.

* * *

At the same time…

—Munch, munch.

Perched on a thick tree branch, a German girl was chewing jerky exclusive to judges.

“…”

Hiding her body within the electromagnetic waves around her, she gazed at the natural scenery ahead. Or, to be precise, she was staring directly at Joo Donghoon about a kilometer away. With keen eyesight that most hunters couldn’t even dream of, she was none other than Floa the Thundercry.

“That guy… He seems to have figured something out.”

His behavior had been a bit odd since yesterday. Occasionally glancing around or stopping in place and muttering as if talking to someone.

“Hehe, but he won’t know I’m watching from here.”

Truthfully, she hadn’t planned to follow Joo Donghoon this time. Due to penalties from being discovered last time, she had lost all her rewards from Theme 1.

“Damn that bastard,” she grumbled.

Rankers who participated as judges in Delilah’s trials received rewards based on their contributions after each theme ended. For rankers, every single stat point was extremely important, and that was the reason they took time to act as judges.

But because of Joo Donghoon, she had lost everything.

She didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

But I’m just too curious.

Curiosity won over reason. By her judgment, Joo Donghoon had enough potential to become a single-digit ranker in the future. And witnessing his trial was a very important matter.

I can’t miss that.

It was a sight you wouldn’t be able to see even if you paid for it.

“Hm?” As Floa chewed her jerky, she suddenly stood up.

Joo Donghoon—his eyes had just glanced this way for 0.1 seconds. Considering the odds of him looking in this direction from his angle a kilometer away, it was impossible it was a coincidence.

“He knows I’m here?”

This time, she absolutely couldn’t be discovered. Beyond losing trial rewards, this was a matter of pride.

“I admit you’ll become strong one day, but not yet. Don’t think you’ll find me this time.” With a smirk, she kicked off the branch.

For now, she planned to maintain an even further safe distance.

* * *

“Hm?”

Floa, who had widened the distance, tilted her head with a curious expression.

So my guess turned out to be true.

A glimmer of surprise danced in her eyes.

Honestly, she’d thought it was just a coincidence that she’d been discovered—just a fluke caused by her momentary carelessness. She assumed the attack before had landed because she’d let her guard down, allowing the opponent to get too close.

But…

Joo Donghoon was relentlessly closing the gap at a speed far beyond what she had expected. There could only be one explanation for this—he was actively hunting her down, just like he did during Theme 1.

Ha, this is kind of a blow to my pride.

Even if he was a monster who had overcome the poison mist, being challenged so openly sparked some peculiar feelings within her. Perhaps it was her pride as a double-digit ranker flaring up.

Well, he’s someone putting up unprecedented results. He might have a unique method. I’d better not let my guard down.

Of course, running away was not an option her pride could tolerate. And even if she wanted to, she wasn’t sure she could manage to escape. Whatever method he was using, it was letting him close the gap at an alarming rate.

“Sorry, kid, but if you want to find me, you’ll have to land a hit first.” A sly grin spread across her face.

Floa wasn’t like the other judges. She could merge with the electrical particles flickering around her, making her nigh undetectable while disrupting her opponent’s approach.

—Bzzzt! Crackle!

Lightning crackled around her body. In a flash of blue electricity, her form vanished. Simultaneously…

—Whoosh!

Floa swung her hand in the direction Joo Donghoon was advancing from—a clear signal of her presence but also a warning not to get any closer.

—Crack! Crackle!

Yellow lightning coalesced into bolts aimed directly in Joo Donghoon’s trajectory—not at him directly, of course, as that would penalize her. Delilah, after all, despised excessive intervention by judges. Whoever was caught attacking a participant was immediately expelled, with severe penalties to follow.

Well, as long as I don’t hit him directly, it’s fine, right?

Still, she poured more than half her energy into this move. That should be enough to intimidate him.

A rare, excited expression spread across Floa’s face.

This is going to be fun.