How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 57: The Giant Magic Dragon’s End

The former high elf queen, Seraphine—or more accurately, the Giant Magic Dragon—was moved to the center of the battlefield.

The method was simple. By moving the moonlight arrows that Eldrin had shot, the dragon, unable to destroy anything due to the prohibition, would naturally be dragged along.

“Grrr, you fools! Release me at once! Release me now, and I will at least spare you from extinction!”

…While spouting words that made no sense, that is. The Giant Magic Dragon’s true form was now bared before the world.

“…Th-That is?”

“Seraphine?”

“Isn’t that the queen of the damn elves? Why is she tied up like that?”

The dwarves were in shock.

And it was understandable. Along with Vulcanus, Seraphine was known as an untouchable, transcendental being. The idea of her being captured and powerless was beyond imagination.

But the more shocking part was…

“…Die!”

“You vile dragon who deceived our people! Did you think you could hide the truth forever?”

“It’s the dragon that defiled the forest! A vile demon!”

The elves, too, stared at Seraphine with faces full of rage.

Only then did the dwarves start to believe the things I had said. Seeing it with their own eyes had made the difference.

But it wasn’t enough yet. I needed to drive the point home.

“Eldrin,” I called out to her, who was using Boney 3’s body.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Please tighten the gap between those arrows.”

So that it could be smaller to fit the size of a dwarf—specifically, Vulcanus.

I intended to reveal the Chief’s true identity to the Rock Tribe.

“Hmph, pathetic trickery.”

But the Giant Magic Dragon quickly assessed the situation—the gathered races and the fact that he was being paraded before them. As a dragon, he clearly understood what this meant.

“Haah.”

The dragon let out a soft sigh. Then, without hesitation, he transformed into Vulcanus.

Oh, feeling confident, are we?

“Hear me, brave warriors of the Rock Tribe!” Chief Vulcanus’s roar echoed across the battlefield.

“Why are you so foolish? Haven’t I always told you? The elves’ sorcery has more trickery than the magic dragon! You’re being deceived! Caught in the vile high elf queen’s scheme, you are oppressing me, your chief!”

The dragon’s last resort was to turn the dwarves to his side once again.

“Remember, in the 500-year war, who kept everyone in check? Do you think the Rock Tribe has a future without me? Will you only realize it after I am gone, pounding the ground regretfully?”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s gaze swept over the battlefield.

“Wh-What is this?”

“I don’t know what’s right anymore!”

“What if the Chief is telling the truth? What if Joo Donghoon is a spy for the elves?”

“Hey! There’s no way Joo Donghoon would do that!”

“He could be a spy trying to gain favor! Let’s be honest. Who else could capture our chief if not the high elf queen?”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s words were not entirely wrong. Indeed, the dwarves were naive—no, foolish. How could they fall for such simple instigation?

“…”

The dragon continued to sway them, and the dwarves fell into utter confusion. They had to choose between the chief they had trusted and followed for 500 years and a recent benefactor.

“Tsk, I’m sorry.” Dagnar, who had been watching, shook his head in dismay. “To think our race could be so foolish. It’s embarrassing. I can’t even lift my head.”

Then he took a step forward, standing next to me. The Amplification (A-rank) skill was magic that covered a specific area. Therefore, Dagnar was also affected by it.

“You idiots!” he shouted, putting his strength into his stomach. “Why do you close your eyes even after we show you the truth? Did you put down your brains when you put down your hammers? You bastards!”

Dagnar’s scathing insult swept over the area.

Oh?

I stepped aside to watch him.

Yeah. It was only right that your kind should solve the issues of your people. No matter how high my level of affection was, I was still an outsider.

“What? Did he just call us bastards?”

“Who’s that?”

“It’s Dagnar! The guy who was next to Joo Donghoon!”

“Who do you think you are, calling us bastards?!”

The sudden insult sparked intense backlash in an already chaotic situation. However, Dagnar did not back down.

“Hmph, how can you not show respect when your great ancestor stands before you? How could I not call you bastards?”

Perhaps because they had heard Demir and Eldrin’s story earlier, some dwarves flinched.

“Here! The spirit of the great Demir is watching! Don’t show any more shameful behavior! Dwarves of the Rock Tribe! If the Chief were truly powerful, how would such lowly arrows trap him? I saw it! I saw it with my own eyes! The Chief was a vile dragon! Did we escape the oppression of the dragon thanks to our great ancestors just for us to fight the elves?!”

Dagnar’s speech was simple and blunt, but what was certain was that it was powerful.

I knew he’d be helpful.

I smiled. Dagnar cared about his people more than himself. That was why his sincerity was so heartfelt.

“Look at the elves over there! Take off your colored glasses and see! Do those tears look fake? They are genuinely angry! Angry at Seraphine, who was their queen! Angry at the Giant Magic Dragon that deceived us for 500 years!”

“Silence!” the dragon intervened at that moment. “The one who is deceived is this immature dwarf! Will you believe this young dwarf who has fallen for elven sorcery over the chief who has worked for you for 500 years? Are you truly that foolish?”

“Shut up, dragon!”

“What did you just say?”

“Just thinking about what you did still infuriates me! What did you ever do for us? Start a war and then step back and watch? Or maybe suppress our blacksmithing skills and force even young dwarves into war?”

“You little…”

“Even if you truly were the chief, you’d be impeached, you bastard!”

“Did you just call me a bastard? Grahhhh! You little dwarf! Do you wish to die?”

“…”

Correction. It was not just the dwarves who were foolish; the dragon was too. Seriously. Did its intelligence underdevelop because it had nothing to do but smash things?

“…”

I didn’t need to step in. This was clearly Dagnar’s show.

The hearts of the dwarves had already turned. The funny thing was that they regained their loyalty not because of the dragon’s rage but because of Demir.

“Yeah, that craftsmanship. It was our ancestor’s.”

“I thought that hammering was indeed extraordinary. But I never thought it was really that of Demir the Great.”

“I felt my heart race for the first time in ages. Even though I haven’t held a hammer in 200 years… We are, after all, natural-born blacksmiths.”

“But the Chief oppressed us.”

“He wouldn’t let us hold our hammers. He suppressed our freedom.”

“Freedom… Suppression… The Giant Magic Dragon.”

“That’s right. The Chief is a dragon.”

One by one, they came to their senses. They’d feel guilty if they were deceived again after being tricked for 500 years.

“Yeah, why are we fighting the elves anyway? The reason makes no sense. We’ve been suffering for 500 years over one ancestor’s artifact… Does that make any sense?”

“That’s right, we were all comrades during our ancestors’ time, weren’t we?”

“Forest or stone, it’s all from nature. There’s no reason to be enemies.”

They were simple but not very stubborn. They were a wonderful race that knew when to acknowledge the truth.

Good.

It felt like just yesterday that I arrived at this Dungeon of Forest and Stone. And now, the two races had already stopped warring and regained their senses.

“Otherworldly being,” Demir muttered next to me. “Thank you. Thanks to you, all the preparations are complete.”

Eldrin also approached and said, “Preparations, you say?” When I inclined my head, she nodded. “Then now we need to seal the dragon completely.”

“Huh?”

Wait. Can we actually seal that thing away?

“The conditions for the ritual have already been satisfied.” Eldrin looked up at the sky.

Even though her face was just a skull, it felt like she was smiling softly. Or was it just my imagination?

“The condition is complete harmony between the two races. As long as this harmony remains unbroken, the dragon will never reappear in this world.”

“Oh, a conditional ritual.”

It was a seal based on unity. It wasn’t an infallible seal, but it seemed appropriate considering the properties of this world. It was as if it were set by a god who said, “Do not fight, or there will be consequences.” Something like that.

“Gehehe, fine. I’ve been completely defeated.”

As it realized that the ritual was complete, the dragon gave up. With a resigned sigh, it surrendered everything. Perhaps worn out from 500 years of effort, it looked utterly exhausted.

“But you cannot seal me completely. Just you wait. One day, I shall return and bring ruin upon you all!” The dragon’s tone was solemn.

With warning, it faded away from the world, sucked into the black Orb of Restriction.

—Whoosh!

With a tremendous force, the shadow of the Giant Magic Dragon loomed briefly over the battlefield. The true form of the dragon lorded over the world.

Someone gasped.

Another said, “…Is that the true form of the dragon?”

Elves and dwarves alike stared in awe at the sight. Its enormous form made the warning feel even clearer and more terrifying. It resonated in the hearts of both races.

After some time had passed, I cautiously opened my mouth to ask, “…Is it over?”

“Yes, it’s all over.” Dagnar smiled.

It was the first time I had seen him smile so brightly. The smile was genuine, the kind that comes from true happiness.

“Thanks to you. It was a short time, but I experienced a lot. Now the word ‘benefactor’ feels too humble a term to call you.”

“…”

“Our Rock Tribe will forever honor you. We will build statues of you and record your name in all the ancient texts.”

He had an expression of pure gratitude. Dagnar wiped the sweat from his hand on his clothes and extended it to me.

I smiled and took his hand.

This feels nice.

It was a strange feeling. I didn’t know receiving pure goodwill from someone was a pleasant feeling. The respect that one would receive from hunters as a ranker felt different from this.

“You heard it, right? If you don’t stay united, the dragon will appear again.”

“Haha, I heard. Not just me, but everyone here must have heard it.”

Not long after, a message indicating the quest completion popped up.

[Congratulations!]

[At last, the conflict between the two races has been resolved, and peace has been restored.]

[Receiving rewards!]

The rewards!

They could only mean one thing: the true awakening of Boney 3 and Boney 6!

Right on cue, Demir and Eldrin approached.

“Thank you, being from beyond this world. Thanks to you, we can rest in peace. However, we must keep our promise, right?”

“We shall serve you wholeheartedly until our souls are exhausted. We will be your limbs, and we shall fight for you.”

The phrase “We shall fight for you” had never sounded so reassuring.

“Yes, I look forward to working with you.” I bowed my head in return.

Just as they decided to follow me, I would also leave them with good memories. I would show them the joy of traveling to other worlds beyond this one.

I suppose I’ll be leaving the dungeon soon?

Thankfully, there was still time. It seemed like the dungeon would be fully cleared only after the sealing of the dragon was complete.

Good for me.

I needed to gather everything I could, including textile materials from the elves and the ores from the dwarves. The elves would do anything Eldrin asked them to. And I made a deal with the dwarven councilors, so they would undoubtedly hand the ores over.

I genuinely smiled. It felt like this was the happiest moment since I entered this dungeon.