How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 36: C-Rank Hunter

It had been a week.

During that time, I worked diligently.

“Huff, huff.”

This open clearing now felt more familiar than home.

I wiped the sweat running down my forehead. My whole body ached from the old man’s great technique. Thanks to that, any accumulated excess inside my body had completely evaporated.

Haah, when would this darn technique end?

I immediately sat down and crossed my legs.

The Great Blue Heart Technique—I tried to sense ki in the stance the old man had taught me.

[Bonehead 1’s strength has increased by 1!]

[Bonehead 5’s magic power has increased by 1!]

“…”

Even when I quietly trained alone, the skeletons’ abilities kept rising. This was because they trained voluntarily, following the old man’s instructions.

I’ve never even heard of undead doing self-directed learning…

Every necromancer in the world would be shocked and envious if they knew.

[Sun Spear’s strength has increased by 1!]

[Sun Spear’s dexterity has increased by 1!]

In particular, Sunny’s training ability was outstanding.

—Flash! Flash!

Every time their spear swung and emitted light, holes of a certain size appeared in the scattered leaves.

Even without the old man giving a specific training curriculum, it seemed like it recalled past memories on its own and engaged in training.

[Name: Sun Spear]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]

[Class: Spearman]

[Rank: D]

[Strength: 38] [Dexterity: 38] [Constitution: 36] [Magic Power: 30] [Technique: 38]

[Skills]

– Intermediate Thrust (Lv.3)

– Solar Strike (Lv.2)

– Raging Desert (Lv.2)

– Soulflare (Lv.2)

“Nice.”

The skill levels had increased significantly. ‘Low-Level Thrust’ had reached MAX level and was upgraded to ‘Intermediate Thrust.’

Boney 1 and the others were the same.

[Name: Bonehead 1]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]

[Class: Swordsman]

[Rank: D]

[Strength: 30] [Dexterity: 27] [Constitution: 28] [Magic Power: 20] [Technique: 30]

[Skills]

– Intermediate Slash (Lv.3)

First off, Boney 1 simply focused on ‘Intermediate Slash.’

[Name: Bonehead 3]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]

[Class: Archer]

[Rank: D]

[Strength: 27] [Dexterity: 30] [Constitution: 25] [Magic Power: 20] [Technique: 30]

[Skills]

– Intermediate Rapid Fire (Lv.3)

– Secure Vision (Lv.9)

– Poison Arrow (Lv.9)

Next was Boney 3. It had maxed out ‘Secure Vision’ and ‘Poison Arrow’ and upgraded ‘Low-Level Rapid Fire’ to ‘Intermediate Rapid Fire.’

[Name: Bonehead 4]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]

[Class: Shieldsman]

[Rank: D]

[Strength: 24] [Dexterity: 21] [Constitution: 24] [Magic Power: 23] [Technique: 20]

[Skills]

– Intermediate Block (Lv.3)

– Intermediate Taunt (Lv.3)

Boney 4 had ‘Intermediate Block’ and ‘Intermediate Taunt.’

[Name: Bonehead 5]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]

[Class: Mage]

[Rank: D]

[Strength: 22] [Dexterity: 20] [Constitution: 20] [Magic Power: 28] [Technique: 22]

[Skills]

– Fireball (Lv. MAX)

– Fire Field (Lv.2)

– Air Shield (Lv. MAX)

– Haste (Lv.2)

Lastly, Boney 5. Its skills were unique. When it mastered a skill, it seemed to develop a derivative skill. After mastering ‘Fireball,’ it acquired ‘Fire Field.’ After mastering ‘Air Shield,’ it got ‘Haste.’

I wondered if it would eventually become a true mage with hundreds of skills if it kept acquiring them. But that was just a guess.

“Still, I’m glad it learned fire magic.”

Boney 5 was currently using the S-rank item ‘Staff of the Fire Dragon.’ This item doubled the firepower of fire-attribute skills. The fact that it had learned Fire Field was quite satisfying.

I sighed.

Now, it was my turn. I closed my eyes and focused. In the world of nothingness, where nothing was visible, I tried to grasp an intangible energy.

C-rank…

The journey to upgrade one rank.

Honestly, I didn’t know what conditions needed to be met. Did I have to keep getting beaten by the old man? Or did I have to grasp the rhythm of the ‘Great Blue Heart Technique’ I was doing now? Or did I have to visit dungeons and gain another ‘fortuitous opportunity’?

But.

I wasn’t frustrated, even if I didn’t know. What was certain was that I was getting stronger even at this moment.

Let’s not think of complicated things; I should just do as instructed.

I slowly erased my thoughts—the formulas the old man taught, the surrounding scenery, the distractions. I erased all of them from my mind to enter a state free from all thoughts and emotions.

—Fuu, thump-thump. Fuu, thump-thump!

In my ears, I only heard my breathing and my heartbeat. No, now I couldn’t even perceive that.

How much time had passed? Minutes? Or even hours?

—Swoosh!

Hmm?

My consciousness awakened. I didn’t open my eyes but felt a strange sensation—not the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch, but a new sense. It was soft and warm, yet rough and cool at the same time.

This feels nice.

I glided through the tranquil waters without a ripple, as if swimming in a calm lake. I wandered slowly within it, touching, feeling, and even tasting it. I felt like a child playing with its toys, immersed in pure enjoyment.

[Congratulations!]

[You have sensed the essence of all things, ‘ki.’]

[You have acquired the skill ‘Great Blue Heart Technique’ (S-rank).]

What?

I was startled, as if cold water had been poured on my head.

Sensing ki? An S-rank skill?

Right, I was in the middle of training for the Great Blue Heart Technique. Did that mean I had finally sensed the ‘ki’ the old man talked about?

My whole body shivered. For the first time, I was discovering the essence that formed the All Techniques.

So this is ki…

I examined my body. I felt something flowing smoothly inside me. It felt mysterious.

‘Ki’ clearly constituted the whole world.

I slowly expanded my senses. Sunny’s aura and Boney 5’s fireball were all made of ki. Even Gi Soyul, analyzing Sunny’s movement from afar, the sunlight, the moist earth, and the lush foliage, were all made of ki.

“I’m not telling you to just memorize it without thinking. You have to concentrate and feel how the intangible energy moves.

“Ki is the foundation of all physical power, no, of the whole world. If you can handle ki, you can construct all existing skills.”

I only vaguely understood this concept, but now I finally physically understood the meaning of what the old man said.

Of course, handling it and simply sensing it were different matters.

—Ring!

A voice rang in my head at that moment.

[Hidden condition achieved!]

I gasped. I stood up involuntarily and opened my eyes.

“F-Finally?”

Because I knew exactly what this meant.

The awakening.

When I encountered the strong orc in this open clearing and when I awakened from E-rank to D-rank, such a message had definitely appeared.

[Condition: Essence of All Things]

– Enormous effort is required to raise the rank of the unique authority!

– Ki is the essence of all things and the foundation of all life energy.

– The closer you get to the essence, the clearer your existence will become.

– Sense the ki!

“Huh.”

I was overwhelmed with emotion.

The awakening condition was to sense ki!

Of course, it could have been something else. I might have achieved one of many conditions.

What’s important is that…

The system judged that sensing ki itself was an achievement worthy of adjusting my ability.

[Congratulations!]

[Your rank has been upgraded to C-rank!]

“Ah…”

I trembled all over.

I’ve worked so hard to grow and become stronger. The result of training day and night has finally come to me.

[A reward for the rank change has arrived!]

[Your energy has increased!]

[Energy: 120/120]

“Good, good.”

If I level up, I should receive a reward. I waited for the reward to slowly appear.

[Skill: Summon Awakened Skeleton (D-rank) has been upgraded!]

[Skill: Summon Balanced Skeleton (C-rank) acquired!]

“Yes!”

As expected, the rank of my unique authority’s trademark skill, summoning, was adjusted.

[Skill: Summon Balanced Skeleton]

[Rank: C]

[Effect 1: Consumes 10 energy to summon an advanced skeleton. A maximum of 10 can be summoned.]

[Effect 2: You can name each skeleton.]

The skill’s prefix changed from ‘Awakened’ to ‘Balanced.’ The ‘mid-level’ skeletons changed to ‘advanced’ skeletons.

And one more.

[New primary weapons for the skeletons have been adjusted!]

[Assigned skeletons: ‘Bonehead 6’]

[These skeletons will now respond to your command!]

“Wow.”

Finally, the slot for Boney 6 has been unlocked.

“You’ve grown another level.” Gi Soyul approached, noticing the change in my aura. “You also gained more energy.”

“Oh, that’s impressive! How did you know that?”

“It’s thanks to my skill, Search. I can accurately determine the level of the assassination target.”

“Pardon?” I flinched. Did that mean I was her ‘assassination target’ now?

“It’s just for convenience.”

“Oh, I see.”

“By the way, I’m curious to know what your next summon will look like. So far, it’s been a swordsman, spearman, bowman, shieldsman, and mage, right?”

Gi Soyul’s eyes sparkled. As someone who always monitored and checked my training and skeletons, she seemed curious about the primary weapon of my next skeleton.

“Personally, I hope the main weapon is a dagger or throwing stars.”

“…”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have at least one assassin in your party?”

An assassin, huh? It seemed she had ulterior motives, as expected.

—Whoosh!

I swung my staff. I was curious too, so I wanted to check it quickly.

[Using skill ‘Summon Balanced Skeleton’ (C-rank).]

[Consuming 10 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Bonehead 6.’]

A skeleton formed frlm the black energy that surged from the ground. Unlike other skeletons, Boney 6 was a bit shorter. And the weapon it held was…

“A hammer?”

“Tsk, it’s a hammer… I wonder if it’s some kind of paladin?” Gi Soyul’s face was filled with disappointment.

“Wait a moment.”

I displayed its status window.

[Name: Bonehead 6]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Unique Ability: Balanced Skeleton]

[Class: Blacksmith]

[Rank: C]

[Strength: 30] [Dexterity: 27] [Constitution: 28] [Magic Power: 20] [Technique: 30]

[Skills]

– Intermediate Smelting (Lv.1)

– Intermediate Weaving (Lv.1)

– Intermediate Item Crafting (Lv.1)

– Intermediate Alchemy (Lv.1)

“What is this…?” My jaw dropped.

Blacksmith… A smith? Moreover, being short, it seemed that it was a dwarf.

Unbelievable.

It was a production-worker skeleton.

____