How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 122: Aranballon, the Dragon of Greed (3)

—Zap! Crackle!

Through the crackling electricity, a German girl with porcelain skin emerged, her teeth clenched in frustration.

“You crazy bastard!”

The woman glaring fiercely at me was none other than Floa.

“You cleared Theme 2, didn’t you? So what the hell are you poking the dragon for? Are you all trying to die together?”

Her tone was harsh, but I could sense the concern buried within. Of course, she still carried the commanding aura of a ranker.

“Who… is she?”

“A judge…?”

The team members frowned, instinctively taking a step back.

“Thundercry?”

The middle-aged hunter stepped forward. “Oh! Could it be? Are you the legendary Thundercry?”

“What? Who’re you?” Floa flinched slightly, stepping back.

“Oh, Thundercry! To think I’d meet a national hero in a place like this! What an honor this is!”

“Wait, you’re German?”

Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even know the middle-aged man’s name. All I knew was that he wasn’t on good terms with Olivia and that he wielded a sword.

“Yes, I’m an A-rank swordsman, Maximilian! It’s an honor to meet the Thundercry I’ve admired for so long!” Maximilian gave a polite bow, and the tension in the air eased slightly thanks to him.

“Good for you. Anyway!” Though momentarily distracted, Floa turned her attention back to me. “This isn’t happening! As a judge, I have the right and duty to stop participants from making reckless decisions! You can’t do this! Drop your weapons!”

“…”

“Think about it! You all have been doing great so far, so why go off the rails now? That dragon is different. It’s absolutely terrifying. The poison mist you endured is nothing compared to this!”

“I know that.” Because it wasn’t my first time seeing a dragon, after all.

“And yet you’re still doing this? Do you have some chronic disease where you suffocate unless you’re being reckless?”

“Not exactly, but—” I grinned. “It’s intuition.”

“What?”

“Just my intuition. A wise person I respect once told me…” (The Master of All Techniques) “He said I had already mastered the art of Divine Fortune. And my instincts are telling me to slay the dragon.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Killing that dragon will be a jackpot.”

“…?”

Floa’s expression froze in bewilderment. Her face practically screamed, “What kind of lunatic is this?”

“Anyway,” I said, “if you’re going out of your way to stop me, doesn’t that mean we can have a go at that dragon if you just overlook it for once?”

“You’re insane! You think that’s a convincing argument?”

—Crackle!

Electricity surged in Floa’s hands.

“With that kind of garbage logic, there’s no way you’re convincing me. If you want to go, you’ll have to get past me!”

“Hmm.”

It was a tricky situation. I hadn’t expected a judge to intervene directly. I could use the wish I had earned earlier, but it felt like a waste. Besides, getting past her didn’t guarantee I could bypass all the other judges.

But then…

“…How intriguing.”

Floa’s aggressive energy dissipated in an instant. The surrounding atmosphere fell silent, and the murmuring team members stopped. Even my and Floa’s breaths seemed to vanish. The only sound that lingered was the voice echoing in my ears.

“This is a first. Since this trial began, I’ve never seen a participant try to slay the dragon.” The owner of the voice spoke as if she had orchestrated the trial herself. “Most participants don’t even realize the dragon exists before clearing the trial. Hmm. This is certainly an unusual situation. How should we handle this?”

Ranked 5th in the world, it was the Dungeon Maker, Delilah. She slowly revealed herself.

I swallowed hard.

The team members’ faces reflected pure shock. Even the top rankers found it rare to encounter someone like her, and yet here she appeared in Theme 2.

“Delilah…”

“Yes, this is our first time meeting in person, Skeleton King.”

Ah. I was speaking to the 5th-ranked hunter in the world.

In any case, her direct involvement meant this was a monumental moment. It felt like I was bickering with a staff member in front of the office, only for the CEO to step in personally.

“Can I slay that dragon?” I got straight to the point.

“Hm.” Her gaze swept over my face. “Impressive indeed.”

“…”

“You’ve already rendered Theme 1 unusable. And now you’re trying to destroy Theme 2 as well. Thanks to you, future participants will face entirely new trials.”

Her words carried weight, but I focused on something else. She said “destroy.” This confirmed something for me—this place was another world. It was not a simulated, man-made world but a real one. Delilah wasn’t crafting dungeons; she was connecting worlds—a link, not a creation. Just as I had experienced with the medium dungeons, Delilah might have been a being who bridged worlds.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Hmm, I’m concerned,” Delilah’s gaze turned worrisome as she addressed me. “Skeleton King, you’re rewriting the history of my trials. Even if you stay as you are, you’ll be the best product I’ve put out since the Berserker. Losing you to a reckless challenge would be a waste—for both of us.”

“That may be true,” I said confidently.

I had to be straightforward in a situation like this. With reduced momentum, things would never work in my favor.

“But there’s no growth without risk. If my goal were safety, there’d be no point in these trials. What you said doesn’t align with their purpose.”

“Fair point. However…”

“I will win,” I spoke with unwavering confidence.

“…”

“I have a plan, and I see a path to victory. I’ve done it before.”

“You’ve… slain a dragon before?”

“Delilah, you aim to nurture strong hunters, don’t you?”

Her trials offered rewards proportionate to their difficulty. She didn’t intervene directly—she only managed them. That was why I believed…

“You want me to grow stronger.”

She was raising me, helping me. I didn’t know why exactly, but that much was enough for now.

“I’ve heard that the gap between rankers widens exponentially at the top. The ever-confident Berserker once mentioned he couldn’t last more than three moves against the Heavenly Demon, ranked 3rd globally.”

That gap was enormous. And I wanted to surpass it.

“I don’t aim to be an ordinary ranker. If I’m climbing, I want to stand above them all. To do that, I can’t settle for ordinary methods. I need to extract the maximum rewards from these trials by forcing the system to acknowledge my extraordinary actions.”

“…”

“I owe you my gratitude.”

Becoming a ranker had been my lifelong dream and Delilah turned it into a structured system. Regardless of the circumstances, she had given me an opportunity to soar higher.

“That’s why I want to repay you by becoming stronger. So strong that even you won’t be able to surpass me. Isn’t that what you truly want?” I looked her in the eyes.

“…”

A long silence followed. Then…

“Pfft,” a soft laugh escaped her lips. “So you’re asking me to gamble. With your life as the stakes.”

“…”

“You want me to crank up the difficulty until it’s unbearable, right? Until you’re almost dead—or actually dead?”

Well, that wasn’t exactly what I meant. Maybe I shouldn’t have said so much.

My heart pounded.

“Well, fine.” Delilah nodded. “I’ll accept your gamble. Big risk, big reward—that sounds amusing.” She waved her hand. “Theme 2 will be extended. I’ll reframe it as a hidden quest. From now on, all judges will withdraw from this area. Additionally…” She turned to my team members. “You may move to Theme 3 immediately if you wish.”

“No need.” The Spear of Judgment shook his head firmly. “I will follow my friend to hell and back.”

His tone was resolute, even in front of Delilah. Such an attitude truly befitted him.

“We’re staying, too,” Myoi Hana said.

“We were already prepared for this.” Capu nodded.

“If you’re going to be friends with a madman, you might as well be mad, too.”

“I hear dragons are skilled with magic. I can’t miss this opportunity as a mage.”

One by one, the team agreed. Not a single person chose to flee. They all stood by my side.

—Grin.

I smiled. Not because they stayed. I would’ve been fine alone. But I was thrilled that my newfound peers were so courageous—people with such potential for growth. If we survived this, we would all rise to greater heights. Together, we’d be an unstoppable force.

“Magnificent.” Delilah smiled. “This trial’s members are truly showing a beautiful friendship.”

—Ring!

[A hidden mission has arrived.]

[Stage: Slay the Dragon!]

[The seven team members must cooperate to defeat the Dragon of Greed, Aranballon, within the Grand Central Fortress.]

“May your courage bring equal rewards.”

[Delilah wishes you good luck.]

It was a hard-won opportunity.

* * *

[Aranballon frowns.]

[The dragon speaks to the otherworldly being.]

[The dragon asks if she’s violating the pact.]

[Aranballon grows furious at the lack of response.]

—Rumble.

The white portal vanished, and so did all the treasures around us. The ground shook violently as a massive dragon towered before us. Its golden-yellow eyes glared down at our group of seven.

“So you’re not as virtuous as I thought.”

Ah.

Chills ran down my spine. Its overwhelming power made me question how I ever thought I could defeat it.

“Hngh!”

My breath caught as it used the skill Dragon Fear. The sheer presence of the beast triggered an instinctive terror that crawled up from the soles of my feet. Goosebumps erupted all over my body. The pressure from Capu’s video footage didn’t even compare to this.

This wasn’t just a dragon; it was a god of destruction.

“But it turns out you were just a bunch of fools who don’t know their place.”

Indeed, Delilah had kept her promise. Instead of throwing Eldrin into the white portal, she had personally placed us right in front of the dragon.

Damn it. That wasn’t necessary.

I looked at my team. They were frozen stiff, their heads tilted upward.

This couldn’t go on. If we didn’t move, we’d be crushed in an instant.

“Snap out of it!”

—Crack!

I transformed the Sealed Spirit of the Seven Elements into a gauntlet. At the same time…

—Boom!

I slammed my fist into the ground with all my might.

“What the hell?!”

“Hoon?”

“Everyone, get moving! Fall back!” I shouted.

It might not have made much of a difference, but standing still would mean certain death. The real action began now.

“Eldrin!”

“Yes, Master!”

“Release the seal now!”

“Yes, Master!”

Black energy quickly began to radiate from Eldrin’s grasp.

—Vwoooooooom…

It sounded like the wailing of demons from the abyss.

And with that, we unleashed the Great Magic Dragon upon this place.