How to Raise Your Skeletons

—Bzzt!

Electric currents sparked everywhere—from the ground, behind the trees, and some even struck down like lightning from the sky.

“All you’ll find are my afterimages! And keep this in mind! As long as you don’t see me with your own eyes, there’s no reward for you!”

“…” I furrowed my brow.

Floa was blatantly flaunting her presence. Was this kind of behavior even acceptable for a judge?

“Hup!” I grunted and moved my feet.

There was no room for complaints. Floa’s attacks were fiercer than I had anticipated. When I passed through the spots where the current flowed, I could feel an intense heat, enough to make my face redden.

—Crack!

Even the slightest misstep felt like it might well break my body into pieces.

“Hup.”

—Snap!

“Ugh.”

—Crash!

With every stride I took, the rocks and trees beside me collapsed and bent over. Debris mixed with sand was scattered in all directions.

—Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire area trembled as if it was about to collapse. Dust filled the air, making it hard to see.

Still, one thing is certain.

I narrowed my eyes.

Even with such overwhelming attacks, even with these being attacks from a double-digit ranker, there was a reason I could endure this situation—she was definitely not attacking me directly. She seemed to be hitting everything around me, avoiding striking me directly, as if I were something untouchable.

“That scatterbrain… It seems your chances of victory are increasing,” the old man who was following me mumbled.

I smirked.

I feel the same. After all, physiognomy is a science.

“Physiognomy?” The old man tilted his head.

I nodded.

Yes, do you remember her appearance? First, her nose is incredibly high, isn’t it? You know, people with high noses hate being looked down on.

“What nonsense is this? Did you… study physiognomy?”

And her eyebrows are raised really high, too, right? Plus, her mouth twists in a sneer. Traditionally, people with those features really hate losing.

“Hehe, like you?” the old man laughed teasingly.

Hm.

Did I look like that? I didn’t think so.

Well, what was certain was that I hated losing just as much as dying, so you could say Floa and I shared similar personalities. And furthermore…

You’re the same, aren’t you, Elder? You’ve got your pride too.

“Well, you and I… There’s a saying about teachers and disciples being alike.”

…Wasn’t it fathers and sons?

“Anyway, lad. The strong are right to be confident, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for the arrogance of the weak.”

Then what about her? What’s she showing right now?

“Of course, that’s arrogance.”

I thought so.

The old man and I exchanged glances and smiled at each other.

“The result is yours to create. Look at that scatterbrain. She could just run away, but she’s falling for your provocations. Doesn’t that tell you everything? No matter how powerful she is, a fool is still a fool. And you already know I’m an excellent judge of people.”

I remember. That’s why back then, you chose me after seeing my skeletons.

—Bzzt!

Even at this moment, I was constantly on the move. Dust made a mess of any clear sight, so spotting Floa’s figure was nearly impossible.

Hm.

What should I do?

“How much time has passed? It should be about time for her to react,” the old man stretched his wrist and asked.

It hasn’t been long. But…

“Are you about to start tightening the leash? hehe.”

Yes, as you said, it’s time to start.

—Squirm!

The poisonous fog lurking in my abdomen wriggled. Thankfully, a few minutes earlier, it had given me a few poisons the Elder and I wanted.

Right, you can’t just live in a cozy home for free. I’ll consider this a month’s rent paid.

What is this?

Floa, who had been meticulously attacking, furrowed her brow. Normally, Joo Donghoon would have panicked and stopped advancing.

But he keeps sticking close?

As expected, top ranker candidates were different from the start. How could he keep charging in the face of such overwhelming attacks?

“…”

He was just a sprout—still an immature rookie who hadn’t fully grown yet.

Besides, she wasn’t just any ordinary ranker; she was also ranked 84th in the world—one of the strongest who was treated as a VVIP anywhere on Earth. Her chances of losing in a fight against Joo Donghoon were practically 0%.

The problem is…

This wasn’t a fight to the death. She couldn’t directly attack Joo Donghoon, but he could attack her at any time. No, he didn’t even have to attack—just spotting her with his eyes would end the game.

“Seriously…”

It was laughable. Even with penalties, how could a mere participant compete with a double-digit ranker like her?

“Ahaha!” she laughed, finding it hilarious.

How long has it been since I felt this kind of thrill?

“Hey, just who the hell are you?!”

Floa amplified her voice using electromagnetic waves. This method allowed her to communicate without revealing her location.

“Where did you even come from? Do you have a master?” She asked questions out of sheer curiosity. “You can answer right there. No matter what you say, my hearing transcends space.”

“Who am I?” Joo Donghoon replied nonchalantly. “I’m the guy who will catch you and claim the reward.”

“Hahahaha!” Floa burst out laughing.

No hunter in the world would dare treat her like this. She found the audacity of the man in front of her oddly appealing—no, intriguing. She had never encountered someone like this before in her life.

“You? You’re going to catch me?” She smirked. Her expression was a mix of disbelief and faint curiosity. “Really? Give it a shot. If you manage to find me when I’m serious, you can call yourself my ‘oppa.’”

“Oppa?”

“Yes, you little punk. But don’t worry because that’s not going to happen.”

To her, it was a meaningless promise. She didn’t believe that she could lose to a participant.

But the cheeky man took it a step further. “I don’t want someone as clueless as you calling me oppa… How about a bet instead?”

“What?” Floa chuckled incredulously. What was this nonsense? “A bet?”

“Exactly. The loser bows their head and obeys everything the winner says. What do you think? Surely, someone ranked 84th in the world isn’t scared? If you’re not interested, we can drop it.”

“Hey, hey. Are you crazy?” Floa placed her hands on her hips, stunned. “Okay, I fuckin’ admit that people call me thoughtless sometimes… But the sheer difference between my value and yours is astronomical. And you’re suggesting such a ridiculous bet? It doesn’t add up!”

“Why?” Joo Donghoon smirked. “Afraid you might lose? Besides, if you do some digging, you’ll find I’m worth quite a bit too.”

“You?” Floa tilted her head.

Well, if he eventually became a single-digit ranker, he’d be worth a lot. But that was a hypothetical future. Right now, he wasn’t. Becoming a single-digit ranker wasn’t something just anyone could achieve.

“Yes. I have money, and I can craft S-rank items. If you’re a hunter, you’ve probably heard about Demir’s Workshop recently.”

“…Demir’s Workshop?”

Demir? Demir… The name rang a bell. What was it again?

“Ah?” Floa’s eyes widened. “Demir… You mean that workshop that crafts S-rank weapons? The one that’s been making waves in South Korea?”

The value of S-rank weapons was immense. The Demir’s Workshop incident had gone viral worldwide. As a top-tier ranker with an interest in weapons, she had heard about it. The Berserker reportedly received a weapon from there.

“Huh, I did hear that the owner of Demir’s Workshop was a necromancer… Don’t tell me—”

“That’s me.”

“Oh?” Floa blinked rapidly. Her reaction would make anyone think she was naive and innocent. “Well, that’s interesting.”

In that case, the math worked out. Her chances of losing were virtually zero. That meant she would get money and items for free.

And I could have him keep making me exclusive gear too!

This was a jackpot!

Her mind raced. And her decision was made in seconds.

“Okay!” She nodded. “Come at me! I’ll show you how wide the world is… Hm?”

—Sniff, sniff!

At that moment, Floa caught a peculiar scent—a strange, horrifying smell.

“What the hell? Ugh.” She froze, her eyes widening. “Poison?”

And not just any poison. It felt like a highly potent neurotoxin with dozens of lethal poisons complementing one another.

Since when?

The distance between her and Joo Donghoon was at least 500 meters. But for a poison of this level, it would have had to be dispersed at least five minutes ago…

“No way… You bastard!”

Was that why he had kept her distracted with his banter?

As Floa processed this realization, he grinned.

“You agreed to the bet, right? A ranker wouldn’t break a promise out of cowardice. Now, I’m going to take you at your word and capture you.”

At that moment, Joo Donghoon surged forward at explosive speed.

“Ha,” Floa let out a hollow laugh.

She was dumbfounded—-so much so that she couldn’t even find the words to express it.

Her lips, which had been twisted in disbelief, parted. “Was this a trap?”

“Call it using my abilities because that sounds better.”

“You filthy, cunning bastard.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“Fuck you.”

Floa kicked off the ground swiftly. She needed to widen the gap between them again. However…

My body feels heavy.

She felt her nerves dulling. She couldn’t help but wonder how strong the poison was to affect a ranker like her. And now her vision was blurring, too.

A hallucinogenic poison as well?

What was once one path now appeared as two. The sky looked like the ground, and the ground was like the sky. Her insides churned uncomfortably.

—Bzzt!

Electric currents crackled around her body as she burned away the poison inside and around her.

Her gaze sharpened.

Poison is just poison.

That was all it was. She was a ranker—she couldn’t afford to lose to a mere participant.

I was caught off guard, but there’s no way I’ll be defeated by something as trivial as poison.

That was Floa’s pride as a ranker.