How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Confidence or Arrogance?

“Hahaha!” the laughter of Floa the Thundercry echoed in the distance. “You’re not quite as good as me yet!”

—Bzzt!

Electric currents sparked everywhere—from the ground, behind the trees, and some even struck down like lightning from the sky.

“All you’ll find are my afterimages! And keep this in mind! As long as you don’t see me with your own eyes, there’s no reward for you!”

“...” I furrowed my brow.

Floa was blatantly flaunting her presence. Was this kind of behavior even acceptable for a judge?

“Hup!” I grunted and moved my feet.

There was no room for complaints. Floa’s attacks were fiercer than I had anticipated. When I passed through the spots where the current flowed, I could feel an intense heat, enough to make my face redden.

—Crack!

Even the slightest misstep felt like it might well break my body into pieces.

“Hup.”

—Snap!

“Ugh.”

—Crash!

With every stride I took, the rocks and trees beside me collapsed and bent over. Debris mixed with sand was scattered in all directions.

—Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire area trembled as if it was about to collapse. Dust filled the air, making it hard to see.

Still, one thing is certain.

I narrowed my eyes.

Even with such overwhelming attacks, even with these being attacks from a double-digit ranker, there was a reason I could endure this situation—she was definitely not attacking me directly. She seemed to be hitting everything around me, avoiding striking me directly, as if I were something untouchable.

“That scatterbrain... It seems your chances of victory are increasing,” the old man who was following me mumbled.

I smirked.

I feel the same. After all, physiognomy is a science.

“Physiognomy?” The old man tilted his head.

I nodded.

Yes, do you remember her appearance? First, her nose is incredibly high, isn’t it? You know, people with high noses hate being looked down on.

“What nonsense is this? Did you... study physiognomy?”

And her eyebrows are raised really high, too, right? Plus, her mouth twists in a sneer. Traditionally, people with those features really hate losing.

“Hehe, like you?” the old man laughed teasingly.

Hm.

Did I look like that? I didn’t think so.

Well, what was certain was that I hated losing just as much as dying, so you could say Floa and I shared similar personalities. And furthermore...

You’re the same, aren’t you, Elder? You’ve got your pride too.

“Well, you and I... There’s a saying about teachers and disciples being alike.”

...Wasn’t it fathers and sons?

“Anyway, lad. The strong are right to be confident, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for the arrogance of the weak.”

Then what about her? What’s she showing right now?

“Of course, that’s arrogance.”

I thought so.

The old man and I exchanged glances and smiled at each other.

“The result is yours to create. Look at that scatterbrain. She could just run away, but she’s falling for your provocations. Doesn’t that tell you everything? No matter how powerful she is, a fool is still a fool. And you already know I’m an excellent judge of people.”

“...Demir’s Workshop?”

Demir? Demir... The name rang a bell. What was it again?

“Ah?” Floa’s eyes widened. “Demir... You mean that workshop that crafts S-rank weapons? The one that’s been making waves in South Korea?”

The value of S-rank weapons was immense. The Demir’s Workshop incident had gone viral worldwide. As a top-tier ranker with an interest in weapons, she had heard about it. The Berserker reportedly received a weapon from there.

“Huh, I did hear that the owner of Demir’s Workshop was a necromancer... Don’t tell me—”

“That’s me.”

“Oh?” Floa blinked rapidly. Her reaction would make anyone think she was naive and innocent. “Well, that’s interesting.”

In that case, the math worked out. Her chances of losing were virtually zero. That meant she would get money and items for free.

And I could have him keep making me exclusive gear too!

This was a jackpot!

Her mind raced. And her decision was made in seconds.

“Okay!” She nodded. “Come at me! I’ll show you how wide the world is... Hm?”

—Sniff, sniff!

At that moment, Floa caught a peculiar scent—a strange, horrifying smell.

“What the hell? Ugh.” She froze, her eyes widening. “Poison?”

And not just any poison. It felt like a highly potent neurotoxin with dozens of lethal poisons complementing one another.

Since when?

The distance between her and Joo Donghoon was at least 500 meters. But for a poison of this level, it would have had to be dispersed at least five minutes ago...

“No way... You bastard!”

Was that why he had kept her distracted with his banter?

As Floa processed this realization, he grinned.

“You agreed to the bet, right? A ranker wouldn’t break a promise out of cowardice. Now, I’m going to take you at your word and capture you.”

At that moment, Joo Donghoon surged forward at explosive speed.

“Ha,” Floa let out a hollow laugh.

She was dumbfounded—-so much so that she couldn’t even find the words to express it.

Her lips, which had been twisted in disbelief, parted. “Was this a trap?”

“Call it using my abilities because that sounds better.”

“You filthy, cunning bastard.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“Fuck you.”

Floa kicked off the ground swiftly. She needed to widen the gap between them again. However...

My body feels heavy.

She felt her nerves dulling. She couldn’t help but wonder how strong the poison was to affect a ranker like her. And now her vision was blurring, too.

A hallucinogenic poison as well?

What was once one path now appeared as two. The sky looked like the ground, and the ground was like the sky. Her insides churned uncomfortably.

—Bzzt!

Electric currents crackled around her body as she burned away the poison inside and around her.

Her gaze sharpened.

Poison is just poison.

That was all it was. She was a ranker—she couldn’t afford to lose to a mere participant.

I was caught off guard, but there’s no way I’ll be defeated by something as trivial as poison.

That was Floa’s pride as a ranker.