How to Raise Your Skeletons

“Injuries? Honestly, it’s not a big deal.”

“Yeah, injuries are nothing. It’s normal to wake up and hear that a hunter you knew yesterday is now being mourned.”

“If a seasoned hunter doesn’t have at least one limb missing, are they even a real hunter?”

This was the blunt evaluation from the public.

And so I frowned but did not break formation. I kept my focus on holding off the advancing dullahans while monitoring the situation. The gate couldn’t be breached, no matter what.

“Ugh! Hngg!”

Kang Yoojung’s eyes were filled with shock. It wasn’t just the pain from the amputation, but the terror of having lost an arm as a swordsman seemed even more significant.

“Hey, are you okay? Try to stop the bleeding on your own for now!” vice leader Kang Jihoo shouted as he swung his sword.

“Ugh, yes, sir!”

“Jinsoo, cover Yoojung’s position! Move fast! If we break here, we’re all dead!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Despite the sudden injury, the vice leader managed the situation with expertise. As expected of an S-rank hunter from the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.

Even more surprising was Kang Yoojung’s next actions.

—Riiiip!

With tears in her eyes, she tore the bottom of her clothes with her teeth. Then she quickly wrapped the wound tightly with the torn fabric. The bleeding was so severe that her white clothing was rapidly soaked, becoming red.

“Hmph, huff!”

Despite the pain, she moved decisively. It was almost as if she was driving on instinct.

—Thwack!

“Finish stopping the bleeding and get back here! Sorry, but we can’t change the whole formation for you! You get that, right?” Kang Jihoo crushed the head of a ghoul with the hilt of his sword and shouted.

“Yes, sir, I understand!”

“The situation is bad! We’re at a major disadvantage! If it weren’t for those soldiers on the wall providing long-range support, we’d already be finished! If those guys had siege weapons, we’d be doomed!”

“…”

I watched them with a bitter expression.

So this is what life was like for hunters who had teammates. Even when injured, they couldn’t receive proper treatment. They had to endure the pain and keep fighting. Why? Because if they didn’t, they’d burden their team. Their absence would cause the formation to break, leading to everyone’s demise.

Ah. Suddenly, I realized once again just how incredible my skill was.

Skeleton Summoning…

My skeletons wouldn’t get injured. They wouldn’t even die. As long as I had energy, they could be revived, good as new. That was the overpowered nature of being a necromancer.

“I’ve stopped the bleeding! I’m getting back in formation now!”

“How’s the pain?”

“Huff, I feel like I’m going to die… but I’ll endure it!”

“Get back here! Even if you don’t have your left arm, swing with your right! Block them!”

“Yes, sir!”

Kang Yoojung once again took over fighting the dullahan from Kim Jinsoo.

Wow, that’s…

High-ranking hunters were high-ranked for a reason. To show such willpower in a situation worse than a battlefield… Did you have to be at least this strong to join the Cult of the Heavenly Demon?

Of course.

I would have done the same. I could endure quite a bit of pain myself. I trained my tolerance by getting beaten up by the old man daily. I had also endured the Sun Spear’s attacks all over my body without collapsing.

—Swoosh!

I swung my spear at full force again.

—Clang!

The dullahan’s axe clanged heavily as I blocked it. Facing an A-rank dullahan alone was still tricky for me. I could only block its attacks for now.

But that was enough. The opening it left was all that Sunny needed. They swiftly moved in and struck the dullahan’s separated head with their spear without hesitation.

—Thunk!

“Kiyeeeh!”

The dullahan’s weakness was the head it held in its left hand. Letting out a horrific scream, it turned into black smoke and disappeared.

“Are you okay, my lord?”

“I’m fine. Thanks.”

“No, my lord, your spear…”

“Oh.” I looked down at the spear I was gripping.

The blade was utterly worn out with cracks. No wonder it hadn’t been stabbing properly for a while.

Well, no problem. There were plenty of weapons lying around.

—Tunk!

I dropped the spear to the ground and then picked up a sword from a nearby dullahan.

“Hey, over there!” From a distance, Kim Jinsoo shouted, “Look over there! Another wave of undead is coming!”

What the hell? More undead? Even more than we already had right now?

I looked up again, scanning the battlefield.

“Huh?”

And there, a legion of white skeletons was advancing.

“Are those…?” I was taken aback. “Skeletons?”

[You have witnessed the Skeleton Legion.]

—Creak! Clatter!

They carried various weapons as they marched, their bones rattling with every step.

“I-It seems they’ve raised the fallen soldiers as skeletons!”

“That seems to be the case.” I nodded.

The armor and weapons those skeletons wore were the same ones the soldiers on the wall had.

But…

Why had these skeletons only appeared now?

I climbed onto a nearby pile of ghoul corpses to get a better view of the battlefield because I needed to have the high ground to assess the whole situation.

Then, in the distance…

—Boom! Boom!

I could see Lee Sunah clashing swords with the liches.

Did they summon them because of her assault?

In any case…

I smiled.

Skeletons, huh? That’s perfect.

What was my title?

The Skeleton Lord—the one who ruled over all skeletons.

I recalled the message I had received when I earned the title.

[You command all skeletons.]

[You reign over all skeletons.]

[Not a single skeleton can dare to attack you.]

[You are the ‘Skeleton Lord.’]

A grin spread over my face.

Ah. Every dungeon had its solution as long as you knew where to look.

“Vice leader!” I called out to Kang Jihoo.

“Yes?”

“I think I’ve found our way to win this game!”

“What do you mean?!”

“Can you get me to those skeletons over there?”

It was good that the skeletons had appeared. However, the densely packed ghouls and specters prevented the skeletons from reaching me.

“Hmm? Could it be…” Kang Jihoo seemed to have realized something as he looked at me with hope. “Are you certain about that?”

“I can’t guarantee it, but we don’t have any other options, do we?”

“But we’d have to move the entire team to break through their forces. The gate could fall while we’re gone!”

I understood his concern. If this plan wasn’t guaranteed, we could end up surrounded. But if we succeeded, we could turn the tide.

It didn’t matter if the skeletons were strong or weak. What mattered was the change in the formation. We could use the skeletons as shields, and the expanded front line would allow our skills to hit more enemies.

“So what’s your decision? We’ll have to go together because if I leave, the others will be overrun.”

There were only three of them, excluding Lee Sunah. And one of them was injured.

As I spoke, I kept glancing at the front line. We didn’t have much time. The undead were pressing in closer and closer to the gate.

“Damn it!” Kang Jihoo cursed. “We’re all going to die anyway if we stay here and do nothing. Let’s go!”

“You’ve made the right choice.”

They didn’t believe it, but I had already cleared more than three S-rank dungeons. And every time, my instincts had been right.

Once we left the safety of the wall in the rear, the attacks became even more relentless.

“…”

“Huff, huff!”

There was no time to talk. We could only hack and slash through the endless waves of enemies like mindless machines.

There was no time for precision or finesse. We were cutting down enemies on pure instinct, sometimes just smashing them with the hilts of our swords.

“Stay close! Don’t break formation! Move according to Boney 4’s directions!”

Our goal was the skeleton army.

At the front, Boney 4 and its skeletons pushed the enemies back with their shields. The rest of us—myself, Boney 4’s minions, and the Black Sword Squad members—cut down the enemies attacking from the sides.

“Huff, huff! Are we… really going to survive this?” Kim Jinsoo asked, panting heavily.

“Focus! We don’t have time to think about anything else!” I answered quickly.

“You’re incredible. You’re still just B-rank, but you feel like an S-rank. Huff, huff!”

“…”

Kim Jinsoo marveled at me, but I didn’t respond. I was too busy moving my body, focusing on the Great Blue Heart Technique and All Techniques.

It’s for sure…

That I was mentally and physically stronger than the A-rank hunters in this battle.

Hey, System… Isn’t this enough to justify my promotion? Just hurry up and let me awaken!

“Skeleton Lord!”

“Yes, vice leader?”

“We’re almost there.”

“Oh?”

I saw the skeleton army charging toward me with incredible speed.

—Creak! Clatter!

The skeletons, their joints creaking, were…

Huh?

They were attacking the ghouls and specters from the Immortal Legion.

“Y-You were right! The Skeleton Lord was right!” Kim Jinsoo shouted in surprise.

“Th-They really are… Ugh, attacking the ghouls and specters!” Kang Yoojung echoed.

About 1,000 skeletons were attacking in full force.

[You are the ‘Skeleton Lord.’]

[You reign over all skeletons.]

Ah.

I could feel their presence.

These aren’t…

These weren’t ordinary skeletons. They were at least on par with the ghouls, maybe even stronger. The skeletons had been rushing toward me from the moment they saw me.

To protect me.

They were undead. Without fear, they pressed forward and began to push back the enemy forces.

“I see now… This was your trump card, wasn’t it?” Kang Jihoo exhaled in admiration. “Huff… No wonder the leader was interested in your ability. You’re far more useful than I am, even as an S-rank. So please…” He gulped and continued. “Please save us.”

Of course, that was my plan.

“Skeletons, spread out! Widen the front line so our skills can hit more enemies!”

To be honest, the tide hadn’t completely turned yet since we only had about 1,000 skeletons. However, we had been holding on without them until now, so at least now we could catch our breath.

“Necromancer.”

At that moment…

“You’ve done well holding out this long. But I haven’t shown you the true power of the Immortal Army yet.”

The voice of a lich echoed in my ears once again. One of the eleven liches—the one who had cursed us in the beginning.

“Now, let me show you… the cold magic of darkness…”

—Vwoooong!

Suddenly, the drizzling rain stopped.

—Swooooosh…

A fierce wind began to blow and the temperature plummeted rapidly.

Even Lee Sunah, fighting the other liches in the distance, stopped her battle and started running toward us, sensing something was wrong.

The rain turned to frost in mid-air.

—Fwoosh!

A blizzard began to rage.

“I-It’s getting colder!”

“This is…”

It was the lich’s ultimate area-wide spell—a massive cold storm that sent shards of ice raining down, freezing everything in its path—Blizzard.

—Crunch! Crunch!

The skeletons began to slow down.

Instinctively, I braced myself against the cold.

“Damn… Is this dungeon even possible to clear?” Kang Jihoo muttered as he shivered.

Good question. That was what I wanted to know too.