How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Floa, Again

Some compared walking tens or even hundreds of kilometers in the military to “training in bloom” or “hell training.” I can confidently say that if that person came here, hell would be an understatement. They would’ve called it something like the “father of all hells”?

“Huff, huff.”

“Whew.”

Hot breaths escaped from the team members. Sweat formed on their foreheads, and their breathing became increasingly ragged. Even for high-level hunters, stamina wasn’t infinite. We were still human, after all. Expending a certain amount of stamina made their breathing labored, especially if they were a class that didn’t require much physical training.

Furthermore...

The march seemed endless. No matter how far we walked, the tower ahead remained the same size, as if even after a month of walking, we would still be in the same spot. This fear consumed our bodies. It was psychological terror.

“Let’s take a break here.”

In the end, I stopped walking in the middle of the trail. No matter how much of a competition it was, managing stamina was crucial. In short, it was similar to a marathon. If you overdid it early on and used up all your energy, you could end up getting overtaken by the other teams.

“Spear of Judgment, take charge of setting up camp. Find a shaded spot and let those who need to handle personal business do so. Also, search for some food nearby for sustenance.”

Fortunately, there was plenty of food nearby. It seemed like there were wild animals, and I spotted fruits and roots similar to those seen in Theme 1, which made sense. If they’d sealed our bags and didn’t provide food, that would have just been torture rather than a trial.

Well, this is already torture enough.

Honestly, I didn’t know how to define what a “trial” was these days. I went through the old man’s massage, ingesting poison, the Sun Spear’s challenge in the past, and so on. For something to be called a “trial,” it had to be quite painful and gruesome.

“...”

Now that I thought about it, even if becoming stronger was my dream, living a life of constant suffering like this... Was this really a happy life?

Hmm...

I thought about it briefly, but as expected, the thought was short-lived.

I must be a masochist. Because being weak was more unbearable than being in pain. No matter how hard or painful it was, being strong was better—it made me happier. If I had no strength, I’d have already been killed by the assassin from the Shadow Lurkers or harassed by that spoiled rich kid, Shin Jongoh of the Ohsung Group, before being assassinated.

At the very least, being miserable but strong was better than facing those injustices. That was how the world had always been. The weak were always subdued by great power, losing what they had. Only the strong could fully protect what was theirs. And you had to be strong to protect what was yours.

Therefore...

I will grow even further. In the future, I’ll climb so high that not even the top 1,000 rankers inscribed on the board can treat me carelessly.

“Skeleton King. I’ve roughly finished giving instructions.”

The Spear of Judgment approached me. He was faithfully fulfilling his role as the vice leader.

“I’ve assigned tasks according to everyone’s abilities.”

“Well done.”

“The problem is you.” He looked at me. “As the vice leader, I can’t assign you any tasks.”

“Ah.”

That was true. So what he was asking is, “While everyone’s working, what are you going to do?”

“I have some personal matters to attend to, so I’ll be going somewhere.”

“Where to?”

I grinned. “I’ll tell you later. It’s definitely not something unnecessary.”

I still had unfinished business from yesterday. I had to find Floa.

—Step, step.

I walked along the deserted trail with the elder after I’d summoned him once again.

“First of all, that absent-minded girl. She seems to have become somewhat more clever,” the old man whispered. “She’s maintaining a constant distance and seems prepared to escape if she’s discovered. She knows you have a method to find her.”

I’d been meticulously planning since yesterday, but I couldn’t come up with anything. Whenever I moved, she instinctively sensed it and widened the gap.

Hmm.

Floa the Thundercry was a ranker—not just any ranker, but a top-tier ranker at Rank 84 at that. As long as she remained alert, there was absolutely no way for me to capture her for now.

“Damn that bastard,” she grumbled.

Rankers who participated as judges in Delilah’s trials received rewards based on their contributions after each theme ended. For rankers, every single stat point was extremely important, and that was the reason they took time to act as judges.

But because of Joo Donghoon, she had lost everything.

She didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

But I’m just too curious.

Curiosity won over reason. By her judgment, Joo Donghoon had enough potential to become a single-digit ranker in the future. And witnessing his trial was a very important matter.

I can’t miss that.

It was a sight you wouldn’t be able to see even if you paid for it.

“Hm?” As Floa chewed her jerky, she suddenly stood up.

Joo Donghoon—his eyes had just glanced this way for 0.1 seconds. Considering the odds of him looking in this direction from his angle a kilometer away, it was impossible it was a coincidence.

“He knows I’m here?”

This time, she absolutely couldn’t be discovered. Beyond losing trial rewards, this was a matter of pride.

“I admit you’ll become strong one day, but not yet. Don’t think you’ll find me this time.” With a smirk, she kicked off the branch.

For now, she planned to maintain an even further safe distance.

* * *

“Hm?”

Floa, who had widened the distance, tilted her head with a curious expression.

So my guess turned out to be true.

A glimmer of surprise danced in her eyes.

Honestly, she’d thought it was just a coincidence that she’d been discovered—just a fluke caused by her momentary carelessness. She assumed the attack before had landed because she’d let her guard down, allowing the opponent to get too close.

But...

Joo Donghoon was relentlessly closing the gap at a speed far beyond what she had expected. There could only be one explanation for this—he was actively hunting her down, just like he did during Theme 1.

Ha, this is kind of a blow to my pride.

Even if he was a monster who had overcome the poison mist, being challenged so openly sparked some peculiar feelings within her. Perhaps it was her pride as a double-digit ranker flaring up.

Well, he’s someone putting up unprecedented results. He might have a unique method. I’d better not let my guard down.

Of course, running away was not an option her pride could tolerate. And even if she wanted to, she wasn’t sure she could manage to escape. Whatever method he was using, it was letting him close the gap at an alarming rate.

“Sorry, kid, but if you want to find me, you’ll have to land a hit first.” A sly grin spread across her face.

Floa wasn’t like the other judges. She could merge with the electrical particles flickering around her, making her nigh undetectable while disrupting her opponent’s approach.

—Bzzzt! Crackle!

Lightning crackled around her body. In a flash of blue electricity, her form vanished. Simultaneously...

—Whoosh!

Floa swung her hand in the direction Joo Donghoon was advancing from—a clear signal of her presence but also a warning not to get any closer.

—Crack! Crackle!

Yellow lightning coalesced into bolts aimed directly in Joo Donghoon’s trajectory—not at him directly, of course, as that would penalize her. Delilah, after all, despised excessive intervention by judges. Whoever was caught attacking a participant was immediately expelled, with severe penalties to follow.

Well, as long as I don’t hit him directly, it’s fine, right?

Still, she poured more than half her energy into this move. That should be enough to intimidate him.

A rare, excited expression spread across Floa’s face.

This is going to be fun.