How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 24: The Ancient Desert (4)

A storm blew across a certain desert.

The monster… no, the being that had been rejected as a human finally realized what to do—to survive, to avoid suffering.

—Whoosh!

It swung its spear endlessly. It stabbed into the noisy mouths and tore out their insolent tongues.

Blood splattered, organs spilled out. The more violence it unleashed, the less noise there was; the more slaughter it committed, the quieter it became.

Ah.

The child felt satisfied. It realized its judgment was correct. If it killed all the humans in the desert, the negative malice directed at it would disappear.

You were the ones who started it. You were the ones who rejected me, so don’t blame me for being rough.

—Flap!

The black wings on its back twitched excitedly. The child became increasingly intoxicated by the slaughter.

As it hunted humans, its combat skills also naturally improved.

From the village to the city, from the city to the kingdom, from the kingdom to the empire. The more it expanded its hunting range, the more graceful and sharp the spear’s movements.

A mystical aura began to form around the spear, and the humans called it ‘Spear Ki.’

The aura ingrained in a weapon contained something that was deeply wished for.

The child imbued the blade with the sight it saw at birth—the sun shining brightly in the sky on the day it lost its sight. A spear that absorbed the sun!

The sun-imbued spear bestowed punishment upon humanity. It burned, pierced, and impaled them.

It’s truly laughable.

The child laughed. Why? Because the more it killed, the less resentment and malice it faced from them.

It defied common sense. Humans, strange as they were, lost their negative emotions the more they were tormented. They turned to admiration and reverence. They turned to fear and awe as if begging to be tormented more.

Foolish creatures.

More people followed the ferocious child. Some even worshiped it, killing their kind.

“…”

Sun Spear—it was the title given to the child at some point.

“Lord Sun Spear!”

“The great hero and warrior born of the Desert Empire! We shall follow you!”

“Lead us, save us, oh merciful one!”

The child accepted these humans.

To lead them? To save them? Absolutely not!

The child knew well that human nature was cruel; they couldn’t be saved without violence. To revive the ecosystem of the desert, they needed…

Death.

The child ruled the Desert Empire to exterminate all humans. If all humans died, there would be no more victims like itself. No one would be denied life from birth.

Raise your spears!

The followers of the Sun Spear raised their weapons. Their eyes shone with the madness of the cursed heretics.

From now on, kill each other! Slaughter your kin mercilessly! Burn everything down like the scorching sun!

The child had truly become the monster humans had called it.

[The skill ‘Memory Recreation’ (S-rank) has ended.]

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator – Dawn

Proofreader – BringTheRayn

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* * *

—Flash!

In the strange and dark space, the triangular area resembling the top of a pyramid, a being stared at me.

[The ‘Sun Spear’ gazes at you.]

Or rather, it couldn’t stare since its eyes were hideously hollow.

That’s the Sun Spear…

I shuddered as the presence emanating from its black wings suffocated me.

Is this really a B-rank?

Though I had never experienced a B-rank dungeon before, I could tell this was too much.

The activation of the Memory Recreation skill and the intense pressure brought me an old memory.

It’s almost like the case of the Master of All Techniques.

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Its mouth opened.

“Filthy and heinous human.”

It exuded a severe murderous intent. Its primal malice and resentment toward humans pierced my heart coldly.

“Did you come to deny me as well?”

—Whoosh!

The “spear” in its hand gleamed.

It felt like being swallowed by the scorching sun.

“…!”

The overwhelming attack made me instinctively shut my eyes, unable to even dare defend against it.

Hm?

However, even after a while, I felt nothing.

I opened my eyes slightly.

Did it miss?

The spear that was thrown at me had gone off to the left as if I had dodged the attack instinctively.

While my mind was filled with confusion, I heard a familiar voice.

“Tsk, tsk. Can’t you get your act together?”

“Elder?”

Surprisingly, behind me stood the Master of All Techniques.

In that brief moment, he had grabbed my sleeve and pulled me away from the attack.

“How?”

I was bewildered. I had no more energy left, which meant I had no means to summon either the skeletons or the old man.

“…You dare evade my attack?” The Sun Spear’s voice was filled with anger. “A mere human thinks it can withstand my spear technique that ruled the Desert Empire for hundreds of years?”

Once again, the sun gleamed.

But.

[‘Master of All Techniques’ used the skill ‘Absolute Shield’ (Lv. Max).]

—Vwoom!

The gentle aura surrounding him met the Sun Spear’s weapon.

—Boom!

The tremendous physical force threw me against the wall, followed by pain that surged through my back and ribs.

“Ugh!”

Thanks to the old man’s skill, I survived. Otherwise, I would have died instantly.

“Tsk, tsk. Foolish one.”

“Elder?”

“You’re my disciple, yet it seems you can’t tell the difference between illusion and reality.”

“Illusion and… reality…”

I frowned.

I looked down at my body. It was transparent like a hologram—a ghostly figure like the old man.

This indicated only one thing.

“This isn’t real.”

“Exactly, boy. This is inside your mind. That child named the Sun Spear invaded you while you were unconscious.”

The old man had mentioned before that he and I were connected mentally, so inflicting pain was no problem. That’s why he could appear without any energy consumed.

“Tsk. Looks like you finally got a grasp.”

The old man laughed, then looked at the Sun Spear.

“That thing.”

“Yes?”

“You are no match for it yet.”

“Yes.”

I knew since I had read its memories—a monster that massacred tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of humans.

I understood how strong it was and the “resentment” it held.

But that was all. I didn’t feel sympathy. From a human perspective, it was just a monster, nothing more, nothing less.

“So I need you to step back for a bit this time.”

—Swoong!

The old man drew his weapon with an immense fighting spirit emanating from him.

“A monster that once ruled a world. Oh, how interesting, very interesting.”

The old man had never shown such an expression. He looked highly intrigued.

“Once again, choosing you as my disciple was the right choice.”

As the absolute ruler of his other world, he was curious about the absolute ruler of another world.

“…Will you be okay?” I asked hesitantly.

Because the energy emanating from that monster was also formidable.

The old man grinned at my question.

“Will I be okay? Well, it certainly possesses a formidable spear technique. Stronger than mine by several times.”

I gasped, “It’s that strong?”

“You fool. What do you take the power of All Techniques as? I’m just talking in comparison with strictly spear techniques. Overall, it is far beneath me.”

The old man’s spear technique was just one of the ten thousand techniques he had mastered. When all those techniques were combined and amplified to synergize, true mastery of All Techniques would be achieved.

“Hahaha, this is exciting any way you look at it. To find such entertainment after death! How could I miss this opportunity!”

The old man’s fighting spirit clashed with the Sun Spear.

“Formidable. Are you a human who has transcended your limits?”

Even the furious Sun Spear seemed to sense the threat as it was wary of the old man.

Good gracious.

I swallowed a gulp.

I didn’t know why it had come to this, but maybe I could resolve this situation without lifting a finger.

[‘Master of All Techniques’ is gazing at the ‘Sun Spear.’]

[The ‘Sun Spear’ is gazing at the ‘Master of All Techniques.’]

A tense standoff began between two absolute beings.

—Rumble.

The space started to tremble. Sand trickled from the ceiling, and stones on the floor floated into the air.

All I could do was cheer him on.

I hope the elder wins!

I moved to the corner, protected by the old man’s shield.

* * *

—Crash! Crash! Crash!

The air tore apart, and the space collapsed.

The pyramid could not withstand the collision of two absolutes.

“Can a mere human even dare to understand my resentment?”

“I have no interest in your past! I only long for a worthy opponent.”

The two clashed over a few hundred times within seconds.

The sound of their collisions deafened my ears.

The fierce fight continued.

One absolute being sought recognition for its resentment while the other absolute being sought only the thrill of battle.

“Raaaargh!” the monster howled. “I only wanted to live! To see the world! To behold the scorching sun, the warm sand, and the lush greenery in my sight!”

It deflected the old man’s attacks with the light emanating from its spear.

“But you humans brutally took away my rights. You gouged out my eyes without reason!”

The voice’s owner, the Sun Spear, cried out desperately. The child’s fierce murderous intent made my skin tingle.

“So I slaughtered the humans of the desert! I conquered the world with my spear-wielding followers!”

“…”

“So you must know the pain I endured! I cannot be the only one to suffer!”

The old man grimaced and took a step back.

“Such deep resentment,” he muttered. “I must admit, my resentment pales in comparison,” he said, but the tide of the battle was already tilting in his favor.

Even I, a novice compared to them, could sense it.

The Sun Spear seemed precarious.

“However, that is all. If resentment alone could determine the outcome of the battle, the most wronged would be the strongest.”

The old man now held a bow.

—Creak…

He only performed the action of pulling the bowstring, yet hundreds of magic arrows formed around him.

Despite the awe-inspiring skill, the Sun Spear’s momentum didn’t wane.

Had it not been satisfied, even after killing so many humans?

It lifted its spear and charged.

“…”

I watched their battle in silence. But a part of my chest felt stuffy as if I was missing something.

This dungeon’s difficulty is B-rank.

I hadn’t experienced a B-rank dungeon, but it wasn’t supposed to be this hard. Was it because it transformed?

My mind spun.

Come to think of it…

When I entered the dungeon, this message appeared.

[Discovering the connection between the dungeon and Hunter Joo Donghoon’s profession.]

A stage related to my profession. What could it be? What was pressing down on my chest?

After pondering for several minutes, something flashed in my mind.

“Ah?”

Undead, spear, skeleton, and something related to me.

“No way, could it be?”

My heart raced.

Now that I thought about it, the Sun Spear fighting the old man looked very similar to someone I had seen for more than three years.

“No way, that…”

Overlapping their shapes, it was indeed… the same.

“Boney 2…?”

A message appeared before my eyes as if responding to my question.

—Ring!

[Stage: Resentment of the Sun Spear]

[Difficulty: Immeasurable]

[The Sun Spear’s resentment toward humans.]

[Subdue the Sun Spear to achieve the true awakening of ‘Boney 2.’]

Immeasurable!

With an insane difficulty, it was a stage solely for achieving ‘Boney 2’s’ true awakening.

Ah.

My whole body shivered in enlightenment.

At the same time, I clearly understood what I had to do.

“Elder.”

I took a step toward the realm of the two absolutes.

“What are you doing?”

The old man frowned.

“Stop. It’s dangerous if you interfere. As I said, you are no match for that thing yet.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Remember you said this is my mind.”

“…Indeed, I did.”

Now that I’d given it more thought, it didn’t make sense. This was my profession’s quest. How could it require the old man’s help to clear it?

“Look at that child.”

I pointed at the Sun Spear with black eagle wings and hollow black eyes.

Unlike when it was a child, it was now in a grown adult body—a form chilling enough to make anyone shiver.

But.

Knowing it was Boney 2’s previous life, I felt sympathy. If it was just a monster, I wouldn’t feel anything.

I wonder if that’s because it’s my baby?

I couldn’t fathom how much it suffered, and how much agony it had to endure. I began to understand the pain it felt.

“It was just going through a tough time. It wanted to let go of its resentment.”

“So what will you do?”

“This is my mind, so I will bear it. Until its resentment exhausts. Until it collapses from its exhaustion.”

“…”

The old man, about to stop me, hesitated.

“It is my summon. My child. If I can’t bear its resentment. How could I even hope to control it?”

“…”

“That’s right. This was my stage from the very beginning.”

Step by step, I walked forward.

Only then did the Sun Spear’s gaze turn to me.

[The ‘Sun Spear’ is watching you.]

“…!”

Its immense murderous intent and pressure weighed down on me.

Yet I walked silently toward Boney 2.

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