How to Raise Your Skeletons

“Look, Sunny.”

It was a country I had never once thought to visit in over 20 years of my life. To get here, I had to fly for ten hours. And now I was standing on a beach where waves crashed and grains of sand glittered like gold and silver treasure.

Sunny was impressed. “It’s truly a beautiful sea. The feeling of this wide-open view is so different from the seas in your homeland, my lord.”

Whenever I encounter a breathtaking scene in a new area, I always summon Sunny. Granting them sight and showing them a new world was the promise I had made when I tamed them in the Ancient Desert.

“Yes, this is what they call the Arabian Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean. It’s my first time seeing it too.”

“I will remember it deep in my heart.”

I moved to the location that White Swine had instructed and secured a boat.

My final destination was the mystical island of Mora. After paying for the boat fare and heading out to sea, I recalled my conversations with the rankers.

“Brother, make sure to come back alive. I can’t give you the details now, but once you return, the restriction on sharing information will be lifted. Let’s stay up all night chatting over drinks then.”

Starting with Jang Daewoong, who genuinely wanted me to become a ranker.

“I hope you didn’t forget. When you become a ranker, I’ll expect full payment. Hmm, let’s see. You look kinda nice… Should I sign you on as the exclusive model for our company? How about it? Deal?”

Yoo Sangdon was already half certain that I’d become a ranker. Of course, as the owner of Demir’s Workshop, I’d never work as a model for a competing workshop like the White Swine Corps.

“Skeleton King, Delilah’s trial is not standardized. When there seems to be no answer, try to use everything around you. I’ll be rooting for you as always.”

Lee Sunah continuously emphasized having the right mindset, though she couldn’t explain the specific trials.

And lastly…

“I’ll take care of things here. Please return safely.”

Gi Soyul gave me a gentle bow of encouragement.

“…”

I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of place it would be to guarantee that an A-rank hunter would “automatically” become a ranker if they just managed to survive.

Becoming a ranker, huh…

When I thought about it, it didn’t make sense. A ranker was someone among the elite, even among S-rank hunters! I’d just reached A-rank. So how did it make sense that I could rise to become a ranker?

What on earth will happen in there?

Suddenly, nervousness crept over me. What kind of trial was so secretive that even the mighty rankers weren’t allowed to speak of it?

I wondered if it was going to be something similar to what the old man did to me, beating me senseless until I could endure the pain. If it were something like that, I could understand.

After all, that’s how I became strong.

I was a living testament of it. It only took me about half a year to go from E-rank to A-rank.

That was why I could say this: as a hunter, with enough luck and the unyielding persistence to seize that luck, there would be plenty of opportunities to become powerful overnight.

And now, this “Dungeon Maker” was also one of those opportunities.

I have to succeed.

Even if death was what awaited me at the end of this trial, I’d say it was still a far better life than being an E-rank who hid in his room, barely surviving every day.

—Splash, splash!

After some time passed, I arrived at the mystical island of Mora’s harbor. It seemed to be a relatively well-known island with a fairly developed town on it. However, perhaps due to its remote location, I almost only saw local Indians. I did spot some foreign hunters here and there.

I guess they’re participants too, huh?

Seeing that they were all wearing A or S-rank badges, they seemed to be Delilah’s guests, just like me.

Where am I supposed to go?

—Thump!

The moment I stepped off the boat and my foot hit island ground, my heart full of anticipation, an odd sensation washed over me, sinking deep into my body. It felt like every nerve and cell in my body was awakening.

—Ring!

[The ‘eye’ of the Dungeon Maker is observing you!]

“Dungeon Maker?” I instinctively looked up, scanning my surroundings. An eye observing me? What?

[Verifying your identity.]

[Scanning for recommendations…]

[Your recommendations are from…]

[Rank 20 – Jang Daewoong, the Berserker]

[Rank 58 – Giparang, the Fine Bow]

[Rank 379 – Gi Soyul, the Dark Empress]

[Rank 509 – Lee Sunah, the Black Sword]

[Rank 828 – Yoo Sangdon, the White Swine]

[Confirmed!]

[You are a recommended candidate backed by five rankers.]

“So this is it…”

Seeing the message before me, I instinctively felt that the trial began now.

[You are invited to ‘Delilah’s Trial.’]

[Proceed to the light pillar within the allotted time.]

[Remaining time:]

[01:15:30]

[By order of arrival – 50 participants]

—Flash!

With the message window popping up, a beam of light shot up into the sky from the horizon.

So I have to go there?

The scheduled time, as Delilah mentioned, was 3:00 PM international time.

Yoo Sangdon had arranged everything so I’d arrive well ahead of time, so there was plenty of time left.

But the problem was…

[By order of arrival – 50 participants]

There was a capacity limit.

What? Does that mean I might not even get a chance to attempt the trial if I don’t make it in time?

Suddenly, I was wide awake. The scenic beauty I had been savoring faded away, and my palms started sweating. If I didn’t make it in time and had to say, “I missed the first day and didn’t make the cut,” I didn’t even want to imagine how they would look at me.

Time to run. This was a race.

Estimating the distance to the light pillar, I decided I didn’t need any other mode of transport. Running would actually be faster for this stretch.

—Tap!

I pushed off the ground with all my might, ignoring my nerves and running as fast as I could. Finding the way wasn’t difficult. Following the town’s path led me to a forest, where a wide trail was clearly leading toward the light pillar.

After running for about ten more minutes, I arrived at the destination.

“Is this the place?”

It was a clearing about the size of a school field, with hunters scattered around, waiting. They were likely all candidates like me, with recommendations from five rankers.

I felt some gazes directed at me, but that was all. No one approached me for conversation.

—Ring!

[You are qualified!]

[You are the 36th to arrive.]

Wow, 36th…?

I marveled to myself. People really respected time here. I arrived an hour early, and I still nearly didn’t make it. Perhaps the White Swine knew about this.

I chose a spot in the corner and sat down, feeling a bit out of breath from the short sprint.

“Whew.”

Taking a careful breath, I surveyed my surroundings.

Most of the hunters seemed anxious, scratching the ground or murmuring. Near me, three people—two men and a woman—were chatting as a group. From their atmosphere, it didn’t seem like they knew each other beforehand but rather seemed to have just met here.

“More and more are coming, huh?”

“There are quite a few, considering the strict requirements.”

“Yeah, five rankers for each person, yet there are already 36 here. That means 180 recommendations were given just for this group, right?”

“If the limit’s 50, there must have been at least 250 recommendations.”

“Wow, Delilah… She’s impressive. That means she has that much influence over the rankers, doesn’t it?”

“She’s ranked 5th in the world, after all. Rumor has it that those in the top ten are practically gods.”

One remarkable thing was that although they were speaking foreign languages, everything was translated perfectly in my mind. I figured it was probably an effect of the light pillar field.

“Isn’t it funny?” The woman in the hood spoke up. “That you need five recommendations from rankers to become one of them. Feels like a rankers’ cartel, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, seriously.”

“Exactly. We were lucky, but if you don’t have connections, life must be rough.”

The two men nodded. They all seemed to share the same sentiment.

I felt the same way, to a degree. Honestly, getting here was harder than becoming a ranker itself might be. What were the odds of a regular hunter earning the admiration of a ranker, let alone five? It would probably be easier to win the lottery.

“By the way, you there.” It was then that the hooded woman looked at me. “Why just sit there listening? Join in. Might as well introduce ourselves if we’re all here.”

“Ah.” I lifted my head, meeting her eyes.

She was leaning against the wall, hands in her pockets. Her blond hair peeked out from under her hood, signaling she was likely white.

So it was her, huh?

Quite an outgoing personality. It was probably her idea to group up and start chatting.

“Judging by your looks, you’re from Asia… Are you from Japan? No, maybe China? Or Korea?”

“Korea,” I replied with a smile.

There was no harm in getting along since the Five Stars of Seoul said they had met here for the first time as candidates too. And who knew what kind of trials Delilah would throw at us?

“Wow, Korea? Isn’t that where Ha Sera is from?”

“…Well, yes it is.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Olena, from Ukraine. And these two… Why don’t you introduce yourselves?”

“James from the United States.”

“I’m Capu, from Brazil. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Joo Donghoon.”

“Oh, Hoon!”

James made a friendly American gesture. I returned the gesture with an awkward laugh. The four of us passed the time chatting, making it surprisingly bearable. Perhaps the fact that talking with others was the best way to pass the time was an everlasting fact.

—Ring!

[50th participant has arrived.]

Soon, someone arrived to fill the final spot. With that, Delilah’s first trial—if it could be called a trial—the Order of Arrival mission had concluded.

What gave me chills was that we still had 20 minutes until the scheduled time of 3 o’clock.

This place really doesn’t show any mercy, huh?

Even if you arrived at the promised time, you would still be turned away since you were considered late. That was the reality of the Dungeon Maker’s trial.

Then, trouble arose.

“Huff, huff…! What? It’s full?” said someone who arrived 51st.

“Huh? How’s that fair? She should have informed us ahead of time! We came all the way to this remote place, and suddenly it’s a first-come-first-served rule?! What kind of nonsense is this?”

And then the 52nd person arrived. Then the 53rd, the 54th, and so on… Participants kept arriving.

Oh my goodness.

I was genuinely amazed at the fact that there were so many rankers who actively gave out recommendations. Truly, there was a world beyond what non-rankers knew. The thought left me a bit awed. I also felt a sense of gratitude toward Gi Soyul.

“Come out, Delilah, you damn bitch!”

—Boom!

Someone slammed his fist to the ground in anger with a shout.

It was the man who’d arrived 51st—the one who was now the unluckiest person in the world.