How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 8: Master of All Techniques (1)

Soon, the people around began murmuring.

“Huh? Did I hear that right? A porter wants to enter a dungeon where even a ranker failed?”

“Judging by his training, he seems to be a necromancer. Hmm… But still, it’s not going to work. Unless he’s Dark Lord or something.”

“Right. Isn’t he just a novice necromancer who can only summon skeletons?”

“Hey, you’d better stay put and not cause any trouble. No matter how frustrated you are.”

“Yeah, the old man boss hurts, you know.”

Some shook their heads in disbelief. Others tried to dissuade me gently.

With the atmosphere already dampened by Gi Soyul’s repeated failures, they were likely worried I’d cause unnecessary discord.

“Hey.”

At that moment, one of Parang’s A-rank hunters stepped forward.

It was Shin Sunghoon, known by the alias “Swift Blade.”

“You should act like a porter and just carry the baggage. Know your place.” He spoke roughly.

I understood. It was a frustrating situation, and now a rookie porter was stepping up, which must have been annoying.

Well…

Under normal circumstances, I might have lost my nerve. Especially considering his fierce aura was far more intimidating than the orc I’d faced.

“…”

In fact, I felt suffocated.

So this must be what murderous intent feels like, the feeling that my head could be dropped to the floor at any moment by his sword.

But my gaze remained firm. I didn’t back down.

Why? Because they failed every time. They kept challenging the boss despite failing. They had plenty of chances.

So isn’t it fair for me to have a go?

“Oh, look at this one. Not blinking an eye, huh? It seems the Dark Empress’s courtesy makes you think you’re someone special…”

Swift Blade murmured quietly as he approached. His hand was already on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

A moment later…

“Stop it.” A firm voice broke the tense silence in the cave.

Everyone turned their heads.

The voice belonged to Parang’s second-in-command, the Dark Empress.

With an inscrutable expression, she stared directly at me.

“Why? Is it because you don’t trust me?”

Gi Soyul’s voice was even, devoid of highs and lows. Was she exhausted? Or was it because her pride was hurt?

“That’s not it.”

A brief silence followed my answer.

After the everlasting suffocating moment, her lips slowly parted.

“According to the original contract, you are a porter. You can’t give opinions on dungeon exploration.”

“I understand.”

“Then may I ask why you want to challenge?”

She tilted her head slightly as she asked.

“They said the old man is looking for someone ‘fit,’” I replied.

“And?”

“I thought the old man’s ‘resentment’ might be about finding a worthy disciple. And a worthy disciple means potential. It doesn’t necessarily mean current skill.”

“Oh, so you want to make the old man your master rather than defeat him?”

“That might be the hidden clear condition.”

A hidden piece. Occasionally, dungeons had alternative ways to clear them. And in such cases, the rewards were usually greater.

“A hidden piece, you say…” Gi Soyul pondered, touching her chin. “That’s all good. But how do you plan on becoming his disciple? Are you saying you have more potential than me?” Gi Soyul frowned slightly.

Swift Blade also glared fiercely.

Hmm, the atmosphere seems to keep getting tense.

I quickly waved my hand.

“No, that’s unlikely…”

“I see you didn’t completely deny it.”

“Well…”

Damn. I might get slashed to death before I even get to challenge him.

I hurriedly came up with another excuse. “It’s not that. I mean, the pain… Yes, the pain! Everyone else has experienced it. I’m the only one who hasn’t. I feel out of place. And aren’t you resting right now anyway?”

“Pfft.” Gi Soyul let out a small laugh.

She looked like she had expected this.

“Right, that look. Now you’re showing your true colors.”

True colors? Look? What does she mean?

“I told you you were suspicious from the start. When I was waiting outside the dungeon, I saw you had the eyes of a wolf on the prowl, not those of a porter.”

“…”

“You’re after the dungeon’s rewards, aren’t you? Worried you might miss out on some fortuitous encounter during the clear?”

My god. This woman. She should be a fortune teller, not a ranker.

How can she read people so quickly? Or did I make it too obvious?

Anyway.

My motives were exposed. It was pretty rude for a porter who was promised 20 times the pay, also aiming for the dungeon’s rewards. But…

“Go ahead. Try it,” she said nonchalantly, as if she was bored. “There’s no solution anyway. I wanted a break anyway, like you said. Besides, I’m not one to talk since I failed.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But you get one chance. Emergency food is running out, and the rescue team isn’t coming. We need to clear this as soon as possible.”

Hmm, I suddenly feel a bit pressured.

But the outcome wasn’t bad. If I succeed, it’s a jackpot. Even if I fail, it doesn’t matter. I’d be embarrassed, but so what? A young man’s mishap would be forgotten soon enough, especially since this was a dungeon that not even a ranker could clear.

“Understood. Thank you.” I bowed my head politely.

I knew how big a gamble it was to pass on a chance to clear a high-difficulty dungeon because they could miss out on great rewards. However, they probably let me try because they were 100% sure I would fail.

For now, I should consider it a debt owed to her.

Step by step, I walked carefully to the door.

[You can challenge the stage by opening the door.]

[Do you want to open the door?]

—Gulp.

I swallowed and took a deep breath.

It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. No one has died, right? At worst, it’ll just hurt.

I repeated this to myself over and over.

Then…

—Clunk!

I boldly opened the door.

* * *

[Stage: An Elderly Man with White Hair Filled with Deep Resentment]

[His resentment is so deep that icy frost forms in his hair.]

[Defeat the old man.]

—Flash!

As soon as I entered, a light enveloped me. As time passed, it gradually faded.

—Rumble!

Soon, an overwhelming pressure bore down on me, changing the entire cave’s scenery. The weight crushing my body made my lungs wheeze.

I saw something before me, but opening my eyes was a struggle.

What kind of being can emit such a presence?

“What is this? First, a shabby girl keeps coming, now an even more pitiful fellow?”

Amidst the terrible air, the old man’s voice sounded clear.

Ah, that must be him. The one who toyed with rankers, the ‘Elderly Man with White Hair Filled with Deep Resentment.’

He was a formidable boss, but his power exceeded my expectations.

Such an overwhelming combat strength!

I instinctively understood that the old man could end my life with a mere flick of his finger.

I swallowed hard.

“Tsk, another one not worth looking at. I’ll just toss you out quickly.”

—Flash!

Just as the old man’s piercing gaze focused on me…

[You are facing the memory of a ‘cursed’ soul!]

[Hidden condition achieved!]

[This is the hidden condition for ‘Unique Authority: Cursed Necromancer’!]

Huh?

I widened my eyes at the familiar golden message. It was the same as when the ‘The 10,000 Uses Rule’ was unlocked.

[Condition: Encounter the memory of a cursed soul!]

– A necromancer ultimately commands the dead.

– Encounter a cursed soul with strong determination.

‘Cursed’ Necromancer. ‘Cursed’ soul. Could these two curses be from the same caster?

Anyway.

So the system was telling me that the old man was a dead soul and he was cursed, so encountering him unlocked my hidden condition.

[Congratulations!]

[A hidden skill has been unlocked!]

[You have acquired the skill ‘Memory Recreation’ (S-rank)!]

Oh my god!

My widened eyes opened even wider. In my vision, only one thing stood out.

S-rank.

What is an S-rank skill, one might ask. It was a rare skill that could only be obtained through repeated fortuitous encounters.

Is this for real?

I was overwhelmed by the unexpected fortune.

Then another message popped up.

[You are using the skill ‘Memory Recreation’ (S-rank).]

Using the skill?

Ah, come to think of it. The old man who said he’d toss me out wasn’t moving like time had frozen.

I frowned at the strange sense of unease.

[Recreating the memory of the cursed soul ‘Master of All Techniques’.]

[You will be transported shortly.]

‘Master of All Techniques,’ who is that?

Is the ‘Elderly Man with White Hair Filled with Deep Resentment’ the ‘Master of All Techniques’?

And what is memory recreation? How does it work?

As I pondered the message…

—Flash!

An intensely bright light engulfed my entire body.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator – Dawn

Proofreader – BringTheRayn

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* * *

—Whoosh!

I opened my eyes.

The landscape before me was a snowy mountain covered in white.

There stood an elderly, white-haired man.

He sighed. “How can there be no suitable candidate? Tsk. But it’s too wasteful to leave it behind.”

The old man sighed deeply, looking very regretful.

Hmm?

I frowned.

Or rather, I intended to frown because I was conscious but had no form.

Is this what it feels like to become a ghost? It felt like I was dreaming, observing the situation from a third-person perspective.

“Life is fleeting. I’ve worked hard to reach this state, and now I’m told to discard it.”

The old man’s breath formed a visible cloud.

I instinctively understood his emotions.

First of all.

The old man’s home wasn’t on Earth. It was a new world I didn’t know.

Another world…?

That’s right. The old man was a transcendent being from another world. A transcendent from a place teeming with orcs and various other monsters.

A real other world existed?

It was shocking.

But now that I thought about it, what wouldn’t exist in a world full of dungeons and monsters?

“…It was such a long time.”

As the old man spoke, memories flooded into my mind.

“Hehe, it was quite an interesting life.”

In a world where only the strong survived, the old man studied countless martial arts and professions—swordsman, spearman, assassin, archer, mage, buffer, healer, etc.

“Once you master the flow of ki, all techniques become one.”

The old man, who transcended everything, lived for a long time. He seemed to have transcended death itself.

He was called the sword master, martial god, grand mage, great sage… His titles varied over eras.

Yet even the old man could not resist the passage of time. He continued to age. Even his proud mastery of ‘ki’ couldn’t halt his aging.

It was a struggle.

“Drinking water feels like swallowing poison, and the once light air now crushes me as if to kill. It’s painful, excruciating. And I’m thirsty. But I can’t die like this. I can’t die with this resentment.”

The old man had an attachment to the collection of techniques he had researched for centuries. He wanted to pass down the essence of his martial arts. Losing them felt as terrifying as losing himself.

However, no one could absorb those incredible techniques so quickly.

“How can there be no one with enough talent? I don’t want to spread it around to many people. I want to find one exceptional individual and teach them.”

The old man traveled across the empire. He searched even the remote villages of border kingdoms. But no one met his expectations.

“Oh, such a lament! The idea of a single successor was nothing more than my meaningless greed!”

In the end, the old man found no successor. No one could match the talents of the extraordinary genius of the old man.

“Oh, please.”

The old man instinctively realized that his time was running out. He struggled to breathe. His skin began to melt. His mouth and tongue dried up, and parched.

“I can’t go like this.”

A drop of moisture gathered in his dry eyes—tears he hadn’t shed even when his parents died or when his chest was pierced.

—Drip!

The snow on the mountain soaked it up.

The forced halting of aging through his ki quickly reversed. His skin wrinkled, and his bones grew thin.

“I’d sell my soul… just to leave behind my complete self.”

Frost formed in his hair and icicles in his beard.

His life ended.

The old man’s ‘resentment’ was as cold as frost.

[The skill ‘Memory Recreation’ (S-rank), has ended.]