How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 116: The National Treasure of the Aranballon Kingdom (1)

The effect of the scrolls was immense. The towering castle that hadn’t seemed to shrink no matter how far we walked had truly become giant.

Amazing.

It was so massive that the sky was no longer visible. It felt as if the entire world was cast in the shadow of the giant fortress.

“Skeleton King! No, Hoon! How on earth did you do it?” The guide, Capu, was astonished. “Even with my Clairvoyance, it’s unmistakable that there’s only about 400 kilometers left now!”

“…400 kilometers?”

That was “only”? As far as I knew, that was something like 250 miles.

Capu’s face flushed red as I wondered how he had been measuring distances with Clairvoyance all this time.

“Normally, I can only sense distances vaguely, but now I can see the exact distance to the entrance.”

“…”

“What did you do? What were those papers you tore earlier?”

Capu wasn’t the only one speaking up.

“Yeah, I’m curious too.” The spatial mage, Vladimir, stepped forward as well. “In a brief moment, there was an enormous compression of space. Even with my S-rank spatial movement skill, I couldn’t grasp the distance we crossed. How is something like this possible? I can’t believe it.”

“Just wait a moment.”

Olena, James, the Spear of Judgment, the middle-aged man, and Myoi Hana all looked at me with expressions full of curiosity.

“Let’s keep walking, and I’ll explain everything one by one.”

Of course, I’d be making up a story. No matter how important teamwork was in this theme, I couldn’t afford to reveal everything about myself, could I?

* * *Nôv(el)B\\jnn

I skipped over the incident with Floa entirely. I explained that while searching for treasures using my skeletons, I found scrolls. Those scrolls were labeled “distance-shortening” and distance-lengthening.” That was about it.

“So in the end, finding treasures was the answer,” Olena sighed lightly. “In some ways, it’s similar to Theme 1. Back then, we searched for food or poison in the forest. Now, it feels like we’re searching for scrolls in the wilderness.”

“This game definitely favors necromancers.”

“Is there any game that doesn’t? Their summons do everything for them.”

“Still, thanks to the team leader, we might actually clear this trial easily. Thank you, team leader. If I did anything right in this trial, it was meeting you.”

“Yeah, at this pace, 400 kilometers will pass quickly, right? And that Olivia girl isn’t that heavy anyway.”

—Flinch.

Olivia’s man, Kane, shivered. On his shoulders, Olivia’s face was still swollen, and she lay limp as a corpse.

I nodded.

Yeah, just stay like that. You’re more useful this way.

For now, in terms of immediate power, she was a liability, but when looking at the bigger picture, this was much better.

Not much further now.

As the towering fortress grew closer, I pressed my hand to my chest. The pounding of my heart steadied my breathing.

The theme isn’t over yet.

Delilah’s trials were infamous for their difficulty. Even the immensely strong Five Stars of Seoul spoke endlessly about them.

Or rather, it might not have even begun.

So far, all we’d done was travel while searching for treasure. We might not have even taken the first real step. The true beginning might only start once we entered that giant fortress.

—Thud thud!

We walked and ran endlessly. We decided to march ahead without wasting much time. Since there wasn’t much distance left, we cut down on mealtimes and rest periods as much as possible.

And after some time had passed…

“Hoon,” Capu muttered. “There, I see the entrance!”

In the distance, the entrance on the wall wasn’t exactly a door. Could it even be called a door? It was a massive hole that looked like it would swallow us into an abyss.

[Team 1 has reached the ‘Giant Fortress.’]

At the same time, a message appeared.

Tension arose in the expressions of my team members.

“Deep breaths! Let’s all take deep breaths! We have our team leader, don’t we?”

Olena placed her hand on her chest and steadied her breathing.

[Team 1 is the first to arrive.]

[Teams 2 and 3 are automatically disqualified.]

“Disqualified?”

“Whoa, does that mean we succeeded? We passed?”

“Wow, unbelievable. So the other teams were eliminated before even entering the fortress? That’s actually so unfortunate for them.”

Once again, a large number of people were eliminated. And yet, Theme 2 hadn’t even properly started. Now, only ten people were left… It was clear that becoming a ranker wasn’t an easy feat.

I looked at the entrance and said, “It’s too soon to celebrate.”

The true goal of Theme 2 was to find the “national treasure” that lay within the fortress.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

“If it’s preparation to enter, we’re ready,” the Spear of Judgment replied with a serious expression.

Seeing that serious face, I couldn’t help but feel like teasing him. “Any last words?”

“Last words?”

“Just look at it—it clearly looks ominous inside.”

“Hmph, such a dull joke. I’ll go in first.” The Spear of Judgment, claiming it was dull, smirked slightly before stepping into the hall.

—Swish!

His body was pulled in as if diving into water.

“Then we’ll go next.”

“Let’s do this! Let’s do this!”

“Hoon, I’m going in too. See you later.”

Olena’s group followed after him.

Vladimir, the middle-aged man, and Myoi silently entered one by one. Everyone seemed tense but not afraid. Of course, if they were afraid, they wouldn’t have attempted the trial in the first place. When Judge Lucas issued the warning, those people would have dropped out.

“Ex-Excuse me.” Someone poked me from the side—it was Kane.

Behind him, Olivia still refused to lift her face, either out of shame or embarrassment. Even though time had passed, she remained perched on Kane’s shoulder, pretending to be unconscious. Honestly, all the team members knew that she was awake and just pretending not to be.

“Yes, what is it?”

When I asked, Kane hesitantly said, “Do we enter too?”

Of course you’re going in. If I hadn’t planned to bring you, I would’ve left you behind the day I beat you up.

“Yes, go on. Before I change my mind.”

“Ah, understood.”

—Swish!

Kane hurriedly entered with Olivia, marking the last of the team to go in.

The hole, still open, vibrated faintly as if waiting for my entry.

—Step, step.

Standing before the dark hole, a thrilling sensation swept through my entire body.

What could possibly be waiting for me in there? What kind of challenges will torment me?

Entranced by the strange sensation, I slowly closed my eyes.

[The trial of the ‘Ancient Aranballon Kingdom’ begins.]

This message marked the true start of Theme 2.

As Joo Donghoon entered the Giant Fortress, two individuals watched holograms in a white hall.

“Uh…”

Lucas’s lips twisted. They say when someone sees something unbelievable, their face changes instinctively. If anyone saw Lucas now, his expression would be absurdly comical.

He glanced to his side. “Hmm…”

Delilah also let out a groan, seemingly in awe.

“Is this the first time?”

“Pardon?” Delilah tilted her head at Lucas’s sudden question as if to ask what he meant.

“All ten team members entering Aranballon together—isn’t this a first? Back in our day, three people had died before it even started due to a fight… Don’t you remember, Lady Delilah?”

“Yes, I remember. But this isn’t the first time.” Delilah shook her head.

“Really?”

“Yes, there have been times when all ten members entered together. Though no team has ever made it through with all of them getting out alive.”

“…”

“In fact, the conflict Team 1 faced shouldn’t even be considered a real conflict.”

The only notable conflict was when Joo Donghoon clashed with Olivia. And even that was resolved by Joo Donghoon’s overwhelming force. Such occurrences happened with every team, so it wasn’t even worth calling conflict.

“That’s true.” Lucas nodded. “Team 1 arrived at the fortress so quickly that there wasn’t even time for conflict. Unlike during our trial, when it took us over two months to get there.”

“The longer discomfort persists, the greater the discord.”

Walking an endless path may seem easy, but when faced with it, it was no joke. Competition with other teams, the anxiety of potential elimination, lack of progress—and so on. All these factors piled up until doubts about the team leader arose.

At first, you endured. But as the days stretched into weeks and weeks into a month, the team started to split. Mutual slander began and misunderstandings grew into grudges.

“My apologies.” Suddenly, Lucas bowed his head. “About Floa. I warned her to be cautious, but she caused trouble again.”

He believed that the imbalance in Joo Donghoon’s team was entirely due to Floa.

“It’s fine, Lucas. That was just part of the rules I set. There’s no need to blame Floa. Joo Donghoon is just an exceptionally unique case. Besides, didn’t we already expect this?”

It was true. The disparity among the participants was so vast that all the judges had predicted Team 1’s victory.

“We are the Dungeon Maker. All we do is create the environment and observe.” Delilah smiled. “Moreover, the real trial begins now.”

* * *

I opened my eyes. The chaotic blend of light and darkness around me returned to normal.

This place is…

I looked around. The space was so vast that no ceiling or walls were visible in the giant hall. And we stood in the middle of it.

How did I know it was a hall? Because the floor was engraved with enormous patterns. Around the patterns were inscriptions—perhaps the language of the Aranballon Kingdom.

[Within the deepest part of the ‘Ancient Aranballon Kingdom.’]

[Here lie countless treasures of those that once ruled the world.]

At that moment, golden light sparkled everywhere. From those sparkling points, an extraordinary aura radiated.

[Seek the treasure.]

[Claim the treasure.]

[Among the countless treasures, find the ‘National Treasure.’]

Hundreds, no, thousands—tens of thousands of valuable items were spread out everywhere.

They’re not fake.

I knew instinctively that each one was an S-rank treasure, or even beyond. And only one of them would be the National Treasure.

“Wow, this truly is the work of a Dungeon Maker. The scale is something else,” Vladimir muttered. “But…”

“…”

“This can’t be the end of it, right? I mean, considering how difficult things have been so far. This trial can’t just be about searching for treasures, can it?”

“You’ve got a point. Just looking at it, this reeks of traps.”

Nobody here was foolish. I wondered if someone would stupidly dash forward to start treasure hunting. Fortunately, even Olivia remained silent, holding her breath.

“Well then.” I swallowed hard. “Why don’t we start by assessing our surroundings?”

We could take it slow now, since there was no more competition.