Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: I Raise Skeletons
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There are always those who liken trudging dozens or hundreds of kilometers with the Floa army to the "flower of training" or "hellish training."
I could confidently say that if any of them came here, hell wouldn't even begin to describe it.
They'd probably call it "Hell Grandpa" instead.
"Huff, huff."
"Hooo."
Hot breaths escaped from the team members' mouths.
Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and their breathing grew steadily rougher.
Even high-rank Hunters didn't have infinite stamina.
We were human, after all.
Once we expended a certain amount of energy, our breaths inevitably grew labored.
Especially for those without abilities like Judgment Window or James that directly enhanced the body.
'And besides.'
This was a march with no end in sight.
No matter how far we walked, the castle ahead remained the same size, instilling a fear that we'd still be in the same spot even after a month.
It was psychological terror.
"Let's take a break here for a bit."
In the end, I halted in the middle of the narrow path.
No matter how much of a competition this was, pacing our stamina was crucial.
It was like a marathon, in other words.
We couldn't afford to burn ourselves out early and get overtaken by the other teams.
"Judgment Window, can you handle setting up camp? Find some shade, let everyone handle their business, and scout around for food to tide us over."
Fortunately, edible plants were plentiful nearby.
There seemed to be mountain game too, and I spotted fruits and roots like those from Theme 1.
Well, yeah.
If they sealed our bags and didn't provide food, this wouldn't be a trial—it'd be torture.
'Ah, is it torture?'
Honestly, I wasn't even sure what qualified as a "trial" anymore.
Old man's massage, poison ingestion, Sun Window's past challenges, and so on.
They were a bit too painful and gruesome to call "trials."
"......"
Come to think of it, yeah.
Even if getting stronger was the dream, was a life of constant suffering truly happy?
'Hmm......'
I pondered it briefly, but as expected.
The pondering didn't last long.
I must be a masochist after all.
Because being weak scared me more than the pain.
No matter how grueling or agonizing, being strong was better.
It made me happier.
'If I hadn't gained this power.'
I'd already have had my throat slit by one of the Dark Shadow Squad's assassins in the past.
Or been tormented by Oh Sung Group's thug heir, Oh Jong-oh, one of the top ten conglomerates in Korea, before getting assassinated.
At least this grueling strength was better than such unjust ends.
The world had always been like that.
The weak always bowed to overwhelming power and lost what was theirs.
Only the strong could fully protect their own.
You had to be strong to keep what's yours.
'That's why.'
I'd grow even more.
So relentlessly that even the 1,000 rankers etched on that board later wouldn't dare treat me lightly.
"Skeleton King. Instructions are done."
Judgment Window approached me.
He was faithfully fulfilling his role as vice-leader.
"I've assigned tasks according to everyone's abilities."
"Good job."
"The problem is you."
He looked at me.
"As vice-leader, I can't assign you a task."
"Ah."
Fair point.
So the gist of his question was:
Everyone's working, so what are you going to do?
"I've got some business to attend to, so I'm heading out for a bit."
"Where to?"
I grinned.
"I'll tell you later. It definitely won't be a waste."
The unfinished business from yesterday.
I had to find Floa.
* * *Crunch, crunch.
I walked an empty narrow path.
A day later, with the elder resummoned alongside me.
"First off, about that dimwit. She seems to have gotten somewhat clever."
The old man said in a whisper.
"She's maintaining a set distance while plotting an escape if she notices. She knows you can find her somehow."
I'd meticulously planned since yesterday, but nothing worked.
Whenever I moved anywhere, she sensed it like a ghost and widened the gap.
'Hmm.'
Thunderclap Floa was a ranker.
Rank 84, an ultra-high ranker at that.
As long as she stayed vigilant, I had zero ways to catch her right now.
"You fool. That's why I kept telling you yesterday. No matter how masterful your skills, you can't bridge an overwhelming gap in power."
What was so delightful about my powerless state?
The old man grinned excitedly.
"That's precisely why it's fun. This world is full of the strong. Know this? They're all fertilizer for your growth."
'Yeah, yeah, all good, but... to get stronger, I need to clear this trial with top scores, right?'
"Indeed. Normally I'd scoff at relying on rewards to grow, but... I have to admit it this time."
Surprisingly, the old man conceded.
"That weapon's just that broken. Tsk, lucky bastard."
'This......'
I stared at the staff in my hand.
The divine-slaying item "Sealed Sevenfold Spirit Staff" gleamed brilliantly.
It still hadn't responded since first speaking to me.
"What's inside that thing is something even I've never seen in our world. It feels like some colossal entity, infinitely transcending my own realm, lies dormant within."
'How many times have you said that?'
I grumbled.
Yesterday, he'd circled the weapon exclaiming "Wow!" and "Huh?" in awe for ages.
Ruining my training.
And I still hadn't figured out how to catch Floa.
"You're not grasping it, so let me explain! You romance-less fool! Aren't you excited? Imagine when all seven slots are filled with spirits—what power it'll unleash. Ahh, to witness something beyond mastery...! It's thrilling! After enduring with this lingering regret, to see it shine like this! Your master is overjoyed!"
'Yeah, yeah. To fully enjoy that joy, we need to find the judge now, right?'
The old man was sincere, which was nice.
But sadly, today's summon time was only one hour.
No time to waste.
"Fine, that's why I'm racking my brain too, you brat. Don't nag."
The old man stroked his chin and closed his eyes.
Floating there in white robes, he really looked like a mountain spirit.
"Hmm, to maximize your chances with your current level... how about using that Poison Fog?"
'Poison Fog?'
I sensed the energy coiled near my dantian.
It was quietly resting now.
Would this guy help me?
"Telling you to catch that woman with your pitiful skills is like asking you to slice a star in the sky with a knife. But poison's the one area where you've reached the pinnacle."
'Trouble is, this one's still hard to control.'
"I know that. But right now, it's the only option. You instinctively know how to mix them, don't you?"
The Poison Fog inside me harbored ten thousand poisons.
I couldn't use them all.
If I needed its help,
I'd have to coax it out and extract only what I needed.
"You could probably make hallucinogenic and paralytic poison. How about it? Want me to give you a killer recipe?"
'Such a thing exists?'
"Heh, go on and tempt it. Tempt it, and I'll tell you."
'Hmm.'
He was right.
Better than moping alone—time to experiment.
Nothing comes served on a platter.
'Alright.'
I met the old man's eyes and nodded.
Coincidentally, just as we nodded—whoosh! A gust of wind brushed by.
Yes.
All preparations were complete.
* * *At that moment.
Munch, munch.
A German girl sat on a thick tree branch, chewing jerky.
Emergency jerky provided only to judges.
"......"
Hidden within electromagnetic waves formed in the air, she observed the natural surroundings.
More precisely, she stared directly at Joo Dong-hoon, about 1 km away.
It was Thunderclap Floa, with eyesight no ordinary Hunter could match.
"That bastard seems to have caught on."
His reactions had been off since yesterday.
Occasionally glancing around.
Or stopping in place, muttering as if talking to someone.
"Heh, but he won't know I'm watching from here?"
Truth be told, she hadn't planned to follow Joo Dong-hoon in this theme.
The penalty from last time had cost her all of Theme 1's rewards.
"Damn punk."
She grumbled.
Rankers participating as judges in Delaila’s trials
received rewards proportional to their work after each theme.
That was why rankers, for whom every stat point was precious, spent their invaluable time on judge duty.
But that
had all flown away because of Joo Dong-hoon.
She couldn't afford another slip-up.
'But it's just too intriguing, isn't it?'
Curiosity overrode reason.
In her judgment, Joo Dong-hoon had the potential to reach single-digit ranker status down the line.
A trial of such a guy?
'Couldn't resist that.'
It was a spectacle you couldn't even pay to see.
"Hm?"
Floa, mid-chew, suddenly stood.
Joo Dong-hoon.
His eyes had clearly flicked this way for 0.1 seconds.
Considering the angle and 1 km distance, an impossibility.
"He knows I'm here too?"
She absolutely couldn't get caught this time.
Beyond rewards, this was about pride.
"I'll grant you're going to be a powerhouse, but not yet. Don't think you'll find me again."
She smirked and kicked off the branch.
She planned to put even more distance between them for a while.
* * *"Hm?"
Floa, now farther away, wore a puzzled expression.
'I hoped not, but it's real.'
Surprise flickered across her face.
Honestly, she'd thought the first discovery was luck.
Her own carelessness.
Getting too close, and him luckily landing an attack.
'But.'
Joo Dong-hoon kept following as she increased the distance.
At an unexpectedly tremendous speed.
Only one explanation.
He was actively trying to catch her now.
Just like in Theme 1.
'Ha, bruising my pride here?'
Even a monster who'd handled Poison Fog.
This blatant challenge stirred odd feelings.
Her two-digit ranker pride surging?
'Well, he's posting historic scores. Maybe he has his own method. Can't let my guard down.'
Of course, fleeing outright wouldn't sit with her pride.
Nor was escape guaranteed.
Whatever his trick, he was closing in fast.
"Sorry, kid. To find me, you'll need to land an attack first."
She grinned.
Floa differed from other judges.
She could merge with the surrounding electricity, interfering without being detected.
Bzzzzt!
Lightning crackled around her.
In a blink, her form vanished into the blue electricity.
Simultaneously.
Whoosh!
She swung her hand toward Joo Dong-hoon's approach vector.
A notice of her presence, and a warning to stay back.
Crackle! Bzzzzt!
Yellow electricity surged like lightning toward him.
No.
Precisely toward the path ahead of his trajectory.
Delaila despised excessive judge interference.
Attacking a participant meant instant disqualification.
Plus massive penalties.
'What, as long as I don't hit directly?'
Still, she'd used over half her power. Enough to scare him off.
A thrilled expression crossed Floa's face for the first time in ages.