How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 92: The First Theme (2)

—Whoosh!

The first to react to the display of my abilities was Olena, the blonde-haired mage. She pulled a long staff from her back.

That staff looks high-quality.

Maybe it was because of my class, but my eyes instinctively examined the staff. It was made from fine wood, adorned with a sophisticated design with a blue gem embedded in the center. It looked expensive at first glance.

I hope Demir’s business is doing well.

As I unconsciously licked my lips, thoroughly inspecting the item, Olena swung her staff.

—Swish!

“My ability is magic. My element is water.”

Bubbling droplets formed in the air and then cascaded down to the ground in streams.

“You’re all quite lucky. I’ll be able to supply drinking water easily.”

Oh, not bad. Olena’s ability was better than I expected since water was one of the most essential things for survival. Especially in a tropical region like this, even if we found a river, the water wouldn’t be drinkable as it’d likely be muddy. With her ability, we wouldn’t have to rely on sporadic rainfall for water.

I nodded in approval. “That’s great. It’ll be a huge help.”

“Not only that, but I’m pretty skilled too. I was the top recruit at Oxford’s Magic Tower.”

“Wow, really?”

Capu looked impressed. “The Oxford Magic Tower? That’s the prestigious organization that Silverstone is in, right? I heard it’s nearly impossible to get into.”

“Haha, yeah, it’s a tough place.”

“Impressive.” Even the usually reserved Capu was genuinely impressed by her achievement.

Ranked 4th in the world, Sophia Silverstone was no different from a god to us. For us hunters, even being in her vicinity would be an honor.

“…”

James raised an eyebrow. The woman he’d argued with earlier turned out to be quite formidable, which seemed to sting his pride a bit.

But he, too, was a candidate recommended by five rankers.

—Thud!

James set his backpack on the ground and clenched his fists, launching a series of jabs and straight punches into the air.

—Whoosh, whoosh!

Waves of force cut through the air, his body twisting with fluid precision.

—Thwack!

As his straight punch landed, his rear foot followed after, planting firmly on the target near simultaneously. The execution was so clean it was impressive.

“Wow.” I took a step back in admiration.

Regardless of his strength, his form alone was practically artistic in its perfection.

James opened his mouth to speak. “My ability is martial arts. I am restricted from using weapons, but I can deliver critical hits with more precision than any other profession. If my punch hits you, you’re done for.”

James’s ability wasn’t bad either.

I’ll just consider him a standard combat type.

Combat types depended heavily on the individual. If the person wielding the ability was strong, it would be a powerful ability. If they were weak, then the ability would be weak. In fact, the Berserker was an ordinary combat type too—he was just absurdly strong.

“…”

Capu, who had been watching James, hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. “…I’m more of a support type than a combat type.”

Support, he said?

Everyone’s gaze turned to Capu.

“Yes. My ability is an explorer. I can map dungeon layouts, scout uncharted areas, and specialize in detecting hidden traps or conditions.”

Oh. I’d seen a similar ability before.

Ah.

I remembered now. This was like that A-rank hunter, Kang Sunwook, who was a guide for the Parang Guild.

I wonder how he’s doing.

A wave of nostalgia hit me. Back then, he’d seemed like such a big shot, but now here I was, also an A-rank.

“Well…” Olena smiled brightly. “This is shaping up to be a golden balance, right?”

She was right. This was a solid team composition. Necromancers were already overpowered. And we had a combat type, a magic type, and now a support type.

Not bad.

The situation wasn’t as bleak as it could’ve been. I would’ve been worried if everyone turned out to be combat types…

“Then how about we assign tasks based on our roles?”

—Clap, clap!

I clapped my hands. For some reason, I’d naturally fallen into the role of the group’s leader, so I decided that I might as well play along.

“Olena, please clear a spot on high ground. Clear away the leaves to give us visibility and create some basic cooking tools for us. Should be easy for a mage, right?”

“Are we setting up camp?”

“Yes, just a temporary one, so it doesn’t have to be fancy.”

“That sounds easy. Consider it done,” Olena responded cheerfully and headed to a high point.

I aimed to settle on the highest area. While we would typically need to stay near water for survival, having Olena meant we could choose a higher, more secure spot.

“Next, Capu.”

“What should I do?”

“Scout the surrounding area and gather intel. Other teams’ locations or hidden clues—anything you can find.”

“Perfect. That’s my specialty.” Capu tightened his shoelaces.

“And James.”

“Yeah?”

“Since you’re a combat type, you’ll guard Capu. The two of you are now a team.”

“So, protect Capu so he can support us better, right?”

“Exactly.” I nodded.

Pairing James and Capu together was the best option. I’d initially thought of assigning guard duty to James, but in operations, security was crucial. As General MacArthur once said, “I can forgive a commander for failing in operation, but not for failing in security.”

But in all honesty, I trusted my skeletons more than I trusted James.

“I’ll handle lookout duty and gather food. Just make sure to return before nightfall.”

“Got it. Understood.” Capu and James nodded and set off.

There was no grumbling or questioning. Since my stern words earlier, they’d all accepted the situation with a calm, practical mindset.

“Alright, time for me to get moving too.”

I turned around. My gaze fell on my skeletons, who were waiting with weapons in hand. Sunny and Eldrin stood at attention, awaiting my command.

I smiled softly as I looked at them.

Two hours later.

“My lord, here’s everything you requested.”

Sunny returned to our camp with his subordinates, dumping a pile of supplies onto the ground.

—Thud!

The pile had guava roots, cassava, sugarcane, and various types of mushrooms—edible plants we could use for food.

“I’ve brought some as well.”

—Swish.

Eldrin leaped down from a tree, landing softly. She and her subordinates had gathered a variety of tropical fruits such as bananas, mangoes, papayas, and pomelos. She gathered enough to last a week.

“Wow… What is all this?” Olena looked astonished as she finished setting up the campsite. “How did you gather so much in such a short time…?”

“For the forest folk, this is routine work… I hope they are useful to you.”

“Wow.” Olena’s mouth dropped open. She openly admired the convenience of having a necromancer on her side.

I gave Eldrin a thumbs up. “No need to say more. You’re the best.”

I’d asked them to gather items that didn’t require cooking since building a fire would be like announcing our location to the enemy.

“For today, let’s get by with this.”

“…This feels almost like a hotel buffet.”

—Rumble!

Olena used magic to dig a shallow pit.

As the skeletons carefully transferred the food into the pit, we heard footsteps approaching. James and Capu were returning from their scouting mission.

“Phew, Hoon. We’re back.” Capu looked disappointed. It seemed the results hadn’t met his expectations. “There were no clues anywhere nearby. It’s just pure rainforest. No monsters, no traps.” Capu wiped sweat from his forehead as he put down his equipment. “We even snuck near the central area, but it looks like everyone’s gone. No other hunters in sight, either.”

“Right. I thought we’d find some supplies, but no luck. Damn.” James shook his head in frustration.

“Supplies?” I asked.

“Yeah, usually in survival games, you get supply drops from the sky and stuff.”

“…” This guy.

That was a game, and this was real life. Although, I had to say that it wasn’t a bad attempt. Without confirmed information, we had to be open to all possibilities.

“Thank you both for your hard work. We’ve prepared food, so let’s settle down for the night.”

“Oh? What’s all this?”

“Hoon, did you get all of this?”

The two men’s eyes widened.

“…Compared to my lack of results, you two achieved a lot,” Capu mumbled apologetically.

I’d noticed this before, but for someone who looked so tough, this guy was surprisingly pure-hearted.

I chuckled. “We’ve only been a team for a few hours. Just do your best in your roles.”

“Thank you, Hoon.”

Capu nodded, and Olena smiled warmly.

“Alright, shall we eat?” Olena said as she grabbed a bunch of bananas that Eldrin brought. She took a big bite.

Then she gasped.

Clearly hungry, Olena had chowed down eagerly before suddenly stopping with her mouth open.

What’s with her reaction?

“What’s the matter? Is it that good?” I asked, and she shook her head as if to say it wasn’t about the taste.

Why, what is it?

“…Are you serious? What the hell is this?” Olena yelled out a curse.

Huh? Did the banana have poison or something?

“Hoon.” She looked at me. “Try it.”

“…?”

“Just try it! There’s nothing weird about it!”

“Uh, alright?”

I took a bite of the banana. I trusted that Eldrin, a member of the forest folk, wouldn’t bring me anything poisonous. Besides, I was hungry.

—Munch!

Hm? It’s tasty.

Just as I was wondering why she’d reacted that way, my eyes widened just like hers because…

—Ring!

[You have consumed ‘Banana.’]

[You have gained 10 trial points.]

A notification popped up with a message that made no sense.

“What the—?”

Killing a person grants 100 points, yet eating a banana gives 10 points? With no announcement about this beforehand?

“What’s going on?”

“Why is Hoon making that face now? You two are scaring me…”

“Are we really supposed to eat this?”

James and Capu murmured in confusion.

—Munch, munch!

I quickly swallowed and grabbed another banana. However, the points didn’t increase after the first bite.

What’s this?

Does each food item only grant points once?

I went to the pit and grabbed a mango.

—Squish!

I broke it open, scooped out the flesh, and ate it.

—Ring!

[You have consumed ‘Mango.’]

[You have gained 10 Trial Points.]

“Just as I thought!”

I didn’t know exactly what these trial points were for, but one thing was clear. We could accumulate points by consuming food found in this place.

“Okay, seriously. What’s the matter?” James blinked, chewing a banana. “Whoa! Damn, my trial points went up!”

Now, everyone on the team understood.

—Ring!

[You have consumed ‘Papaya.’]

[You have gained 10 trial points.]

We eagerly began devouring the food.

—Ring!

[You have consumed ‘Guava root.’]

[You have gained 10 trial points.]

There was no room for picky eating. We savored each item we’d gathered, one by one.

—Ring!

[You have consumed ‘Cassava.’]

[You have gained 10 trial points.]

—Ring!

[You have consumed ‘Sugarcane.’]

[You have gained 10 trial points.]

…

With over 30 different edible plants…

“Wow.” James finally sighed in amazement. “Just from this meal, we each scored the equivalent of killing three people.”

[Trial Points: 320]

That was the number each of us accumulated.

“This is insane.”

“This is all thanks to you, Hoon.” Capu nodded respectfully. “We were able to consume such a variety of foods thanks to you. Thank you, Hoon.”

“No.” I shook my head. “We just got lucky, and nothing’s guaranteed yet. And we don’t know what these trial points mean yet.”

There was no need to thank me. We still didn’t know what trials awaited us. It felt like we hadn’t even scratched the surface of the iceberg yet.

However, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Does it have to be edible food?

Was it possible to accumulate points with something else?

At that moment, my eyes fell on a colorful mushroom growing at the base of a tree.

What would happen if I ate that?