How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 110: Theme 2 (2)

My team consisted of the ten members as follows:

1. Myself, the team leader

2. Zhang Wei, the Spear of Judgment

3. Olena Zelenska

4. James

5. Capu

6. Myoi Hana

7. An unintroduced middle-aged man

8. Olivia Rodrigo

9. A man who seemed to be Olivia’s subordinate

10. Vladimir Rodygin, a spatial mage

From now on, I had to lead this team to navigate through Theme 2.

“First,” I pulled two pieces of paper from my pocket, “before we delve into our main task, I’ll share some information.”

These were the ‘Theme 1 Information Ticket’ and ‘Theme 2 Information Ticket’ I had purchased from the shop.

“For those who may not know, these were obtainable in the previous theme by spending trial points. Gather around and take a look.”

Combining the two, I shared the information with my team members. Even the middle-aged man and Olivia, who had been in conflict, seemed to acknowledge the arrival of the mission message.

“You, we’ll settle this later.”

“Hmph, whatever.”

Though they continued bickering, they followed my lead for now.

“Oh, you bought this from the shop?”

“Wow, so this is the famous information ticket? I couldn’t afford it.”

The team gathered around me in a circle.

“Well, considering your rank as first place, it’s no surprise you could afford two of these.”

“Let’s take a look.”

#3. Shops appear 30 days after the trial begins.

– The currency used in shops is trial points, and participants must gather various ‘treasures’ to earn these points.

PS: For every ‘treasure,’ there is a ‘treasure bonus.’

#4. There is a special perk.

– Participants can locate the judges who are observing them from a distance.

– If found, the participant can access the shop early.

#5. There are two ways to obtain this information:

– Purchase it with trial points through a discovered judge.

– Find the information tickets hidden by the judges across the area.

“Hmm, so we have to find treasure?” Vladimir murmured.

“It seems trial points and the shop will be the same as the previous theme.”

“Hmm, so should we gather trial points before heading to the tower?”

The team members voiced their thoughts as they absorbed the information.

I carefully observed each of their faces and then said, “We won’t be searching for treasure.”

“…”

“Remember, our goal isn’t just to find the ‘National Treasure’ hidden in the grand tower. What’s important is that we must find it before Team 2 and Team 3. For all we know, they might have already headed for the tower while we’re wasting time here.”

At my words, the group fell silent. Their expressions turned serious, realizing the urgency. This wasn’t a simple treasure hunt; it was a race and a competition.

“There’s no time to lose. We’ll march toward the tower while remaining vigilant. Prepare your survival and defense strategies. Mr. Capu?”

“Yes, I’m right here, Hoon.” He raised his hand.

“Since you’re a guide, you’ll lead the way. And Spear of Judgment?”

“Speak, Skeleton King.”

“You’ll be the vice leader. Handle detailed role assignments, and if I’m absent, you’ll have full authority as team leader.”

Zhang Wei was a just and moral hunter. I was confident he’d handle tasks fairly.

“Understood. I will fulfill the role to the best of my ability.”

With the Spear of Judgment assigned in his position of vice leader, my first order was issued: “Prepare to march.”

“Wow, as expected of first place! Straightforward and efficient!” Vladimir gave a thumbs-up.

“Fufu, this inspires confidence.” Myoi Hana smiled gently.

The tense atmosphere quickly shifted to one of determination and readiness. Seeing this, Olena exhaled in relief and said, “You all know I’m in charge of water supply and camping! Let’s do our best, everyone!”

“Oh, water supply? Wow, what a valuable skill.”

“Hehe, I noticed you were pretty skilled earlier too, Vladimir.”

“Of course! I’m quite strong myself. Just wait and see. I’ll be a top-ten ranker someday.”

“Eh, that’s a bit much…”

With light jokes and banter, the team started moving.

I stepped back slightly, lost in thought.

First, I need to check my trial points.

[Current trial points: 891,500]

They’re still there.

I felt relieved. I had been worried they might have vanished.

This theme will likely be similar to the last.

They’d probably allow us to use the shop only near the end, just like during the previous theme, encouraging us to accumulate points until then. And most likely, a VIP shop would exist again—like the one that had gifted me the godslayer-rank weapon.

I must make good use of it.

While moving quickly, I planned to gather resources efficiently.

[Using skill ‘Summon Skeleton Knight’ (A-rank).]

This involved using my skeletons!

—Creak, creak!

I summoned six skeletons, excluding Demir who was left back on Earth.

“My lord.”

“At your service.”

—Creak, clatter!

Bones emerged from the ground, assembling themselves. Reliable as ever, these were my forces.

“Listen up,” I spoke quietly. “Search this entire area and bring me anything that seems strange or unusual.”

“Anything strange or unusual, you say?”

“Yes, anything imbued with a peculiar aura or anything out of the ordinary.”

Since I didn’t yet know the nature of the ‘treasures,’ I decided to gather everything.

“Sounds like when we collected poisonous mushrooms!”

“We’ll do our best, my lord!” Sunny and Eldrin responded confidently.

—Swoosh!

They scattered in all directions—north, south, east, and west. They’d likely summon their subordinate skeletons to search thoroughly, using every means possible to find something.

How dependable.

This was the advantage of being a necromancer. Without even moving, I could command a vast number of subordinates from afar. Watching them disappear into the distance, I couldn’t help but smile.

—Drip, drip!

Rain began to fall.

Squelching through the wet ground, we continued forward. Our goal was the massive structure towering ahead. Of course, just because it looked close didn’t mean we’d arrive anytime soon. Even after a full day, we hadn’t reached our destination.

“Phew, it feels endless. Ugh, it’s so humid.”

“We keep getting drenched by this rain. As soon as we dry off, it starts again.”

“Well, trials aren’t supposed to be easy, are they?”

“Doesn’t the tower feel like the sun? No matter how far we walk, it stays the same size.”

Indeed, as someone pointed out, the tower’s size hadn’t changed since the day before.

Why was that? Was the land truly vast? Or was it some kind of trap? Like magic designed to make us wander in circles, chasing our tails.

“Unfortunately, there’s no trap.” Capu shook his head firmly. “The distance is definitely decreasing. According to my Clairvoyance skill, we’re getting closer by a few meters every moment.”

“Wow. Really?”

“The tower is just… incredibly large and far away.”

“Unbelievable.”

The hunters shook their heads in disbelief.

Olena sighed. “At this rate, there’s no point in staying on guard.”

Since yesterday, everyone has been cautious about Team 2. Led by Chris Larsen, Team 2 was composed entirely of murderers, making them our biggest threat.

“What a pity,” the Spear of Judgment muttered. “I need to meet them and deliver judgment.”

His voice was so low that even I could barely hear it.

“Let’s keep moving for now.”

“Olena, pass me some water. I’m thirsty.”

“Sure, anyone else need water? Just let me know, and I’ll refill your bottles!”

Everyone looked tired. Even for ranker candidates, endlessly repeating the same task was exhausting.

“…” I walked silently.

Of course, during this time…

[Bonus for treasure.]

[‘Useless Medieval Relic’ is classified as an F-rank treasure.]

[You have gained an additional 10 trial points.]

…

[Bonus for treasure.]

[‘Bird of Prey Statue’ is classified as a C-rank treasure.]

[You have gained an additional 300 trial points.]

These notifications kept appearing. The skeletons were finding treasures far away; trial points accumulated without distance restrictions.

This is so convenient.

I chuckled.

All I needed to do was resummon them every day to reset their locations. Meanwhile, my points snowballed without much of my effort.

The treasure bonus system was similar to the poison bonus from Theme 1.

[F-rank treasure: 10 points]

[E-rank treasure: 50 points]

[D-rank treasure: 100 points]

[C-rank treasure: 300 points]

[B-rank treasure: 500 points]

[A-rank treasure: 1,000 points]

Points increased according to the rank of the treasure found.

“Hey.”

Then while we were walking, someone spoke to me. It was Olivia, who had been quietly following until now.

“Yes?”

“For fuck’s sake, are we just going to keep walking like this? Don’t you think we should try something else?”

“Hm?”

“We’ve been walking for hours. What if this trial just ends with us walking like this?”

“…” I gave a bitter smile.

I understood her frustration. After all, the entire team was wandering aimlessly on my orders.

“Just give it a little more time. I’ll figure something out today.”

“Today? You have a plan?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of plan?”

“…”

“Why? Are you up to something shady? Did you use some sneaky method to get first place in Theme 1 too?”

Her words, though provocative, weren’t entirely wrong. I had indeed been quietly accumulating points behind the scenes.

But…

Who knew? Perhaps these points would become the key to breaking through this frustrating situation.

“Hmm, but why is that woman yapping at you? She doesn’t seem to have any viable plan either.” The elder I had summoned earlier floated in the air, tilting his head in curiosity.

I responded internally.

I don’t know. Just ignore her. She seems to have a rather peculiar personality.

“Haha, my disciple, you’re truly remarkable! A paragon of virtue! If she acted like that in front of me, at least one of her bones would have been snapped by now.”

She’s not worth the effort.

Getting swayed by comments like that would make me no different from the middle-aged man who lost his temper yesterday. What was important to me right now was finding the solution.

Elder.

“Yes?”

Do you see that girl around here? The one we encountered before.

“Girl? Which one?”

The judge who wielded lightning—the one called Thundercry.

“Ah, that dumb-looking one?”

…Yes.

“She’s been tailing you from the start. It seems she’s keeping more distance this time though…”

Really?

My eyes lit up.

When there were no answers, the best approach was to exhaust all possible options.

Elder.

“What is it?”

Can you pinpoint her location in real time?

Once again, I planned to use the Elder’s abilities to locate a judge.