How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 59: Two Birds, One Stone

I tried to calm myself down. I took deep breaths to steady my heart.

At times like this…

Nothing beat having a conversation with someone.

[Using skill ‘Summon Great Skeleton’ (B-rank).]

[Consuming 30 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Sun Spear.’]

[Summoning ‘Eldrin.’]

[Summoning ‘Demir.’]

I swung my staff, summoning my skeletons. This was one of the good things about conversing with them.

“My Lord.”

We could discuss and seek opinions. In other words, there was no need to feel alone.

“To not only mess up your residence but also demand that you come in person, he must be insane!” Sunny hissed, their spear bristling with murderous intent.

“This Shin Jongoh, let me sever his head immediately. Please grant me permission!”

As expected of Sunny… They seemed ready to rush over and deal with Shin Jongoh at a mere command.

Should I?

I almost considered it since I trusted them that much. Even if Sunny did get hurt, I’d only lose ten energy. I wouldn’t be at an actual loss. It was the best way to give a lowlife a taste of their own medicine at minimal cost.

“Haah.”

Of course, I had no intention of doing that. This world was still filled with hunters stronger than me. Dungeons were enough for showing bravado. You never knew; there could be a ranker waiting out there.

“Hmm.”

As I mulled over the situation, Eldrin looked around curiously.

“Is this the world where Master lives?” The newly summoned Eldrin’s curiosity about the new world was evident in her eyes.

“Well, if our master’s come to this place, then of course it’s where he lives. What else would it be?”

Next to her, Demir also appeared.

A total of three, they were the ones I summoned as soon as I returned—the ones I could converse with.

For a moment, Demir looked around and shook his head. “But for being my master’s residence, there seems to be much that needs improvement. I, Demir, cannot stand seeing my master live in such conditions.”

“Oh! Are you going to start hammering? Can I perform a ritual, too?”

“Hm, we need to build a palace. A palace so high that it overlooks all other beings in this world.”

“Great! I’ll look into performing protective spells. Let’s leave the mark of our tribe on this world.”

“Hold on, hold on,” I quickly intervened.

If I didn’t, they might have started remodeling the place immediately. That couldn’t happen… This wasn’t even my place. I was just renting it… Right now, the critical issue wasn’t the house but Shin Jongoh’s situation.

“Thank you both, but stop.”

“Okay, understood.”

Eldrin smiled brightly. “By the way, the atmosphere feels tense. Is there a being like the Giant Magic Dragon here?”

“Well, first I must find out who Shin Jongoh is. I’ve never heard of him, so he’s probably not a ranker.”

I took out my smartphone. He mentioned that he was running a group of hunters, so there could be some information on a website, even if it was small.

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And sure enough…

“‘Shin Jongoh, a C-rank hunter, is the eldest grandson of the chairman of the Ohsung Group, one of Korea’s top 10 companies…’ So he’s the heir to his company? No wonder he threw money around so recklessly.”

“Heir to his company? What’s that, Master? Is it a big deal?”

“Well, it’s quite a big deal. It means he has a lot of money.”

“Money, huh…”

“In our world, money is equivalent to power. It’s like saying he’s the son of a tribe leader.”

I quickly skimmed through the information I found online. Being the grandson of one of the top companies in his country was fine, but why was he picking a fight with me? However, there was only so much information one could glean from the internet.

“Master,” Demir spoke up at that moment.

“Yeah?”

“So if having a lot of money makes someone like a tribe leader’s son, does that mean this world’s power is all about money?”

“It’s pretty close. Even if things are starting to change, power still revolves around money.”

Because you could even buy a ranker with money.

“Fascinating. I guess I can’t understand this new world just basing it on the values I’m familiar with. Anyway, Master, how much money do you have?”

“Huh? My money…? All of a sudden?”

“I’d like to know your standing in this world.”

“Alright.”

I opened my banking app and checked my account.

[Account Balance Inquiry]

[Account Holder: Joo Donghoon]

[Hunter Preferred Account (E-rank)]

[Deposit: 5,805,000 KRW*]

≈ $4,465 USD

That was what was displayed. Including the cash scattered around here, it would be about 10 million won.*

≈$7,700 USD

For a hunter, that was practically nothing.

“I don’t have much.”

Of course, it would be different if I sold the Staff of the Fire Dragon that I gave to Boney 5 or the bag and materials I owned. But for now, I was practically broke.

“I see.” Demir fell silent for a moment, then spoke again. “Master.”

“Yeah?”

“How about we make some money?”

“Make some money, you say?” My attention turned to Demir.

Sunny and Eldrin also focused on him.

“You are the one who sealed away the Giant Magic Dragon. Do you think it makes sense for someone so powerful to have no influence in this world? I, Demir, cannot accept that.”

“…Wow, you’re hitting where it hurts.”

“I’m saying, let’s think about it simply. If this world’s power lies in money, wouldn’t having more money than anyone else solve everything?”

“…”

Was this just dwarven simplicity? It didn’t sound wrong, though. Moreover, to stick to my principle of ‘give back what you get,’ it was only right to hit back with money if someone used money against me.

“Really?”

Was that right?

I had considered asking Gi Soyul for help. After all, a ranker’s help would resolve everything. However, I didn’t want to do that for some reason. As Demir said, I was the one who had sealed the Giant Magic Dragon. Now, I felt like I could stand alone in the world. I couldn’t always live under someone else’s protection.

Besides…

There were countless reasons why I should earn more money in this world. The materials to increase proficiency required money, and protecting myself from vicious rankers also involved money.

Take the White Swine, for example. The reason why even rankers above him couldn’t take him lightly was because of his wealth.

And it didn’t sit well with me that I was a B-rank hunter living in a one-room, basement apartment. I, too, deserve to live like a human, right?

“Alright.” I nodded. “It’s something I can do alongside my training anyway.”

While training, I’d earn money in my spare time.

Shin Jongoh? There was no need to bother with a small fry like him. In fact, I was motivated.

The Ohsung Group, huh?

Since their grandson screwed up, let’s target the heart of the operation first.

And I have the items to do business that will make it possible.

I took the bag off my back and patted it. Inside were the materials that would make me wealthy. I had to deal with these anyway.

“What’s this? A workshop in this day and age?”

“Looks like there are skeletons around. Is he a necromancer?”

“Yeah, why run a workshop when you could be out raiding dungeons? Workshops are on the decline these days, thanks to big corporations. It’s a dying industry. Tsk, tsk.”

“But you gotta admit, it’s impressive. The skeletons are more accurate and faster than laborers.”

At the underground shopping center at the express bus terminal, Gotomall, the store owners gawked at the sight with wide eyes.

Seven skeletons diligently hauling rebar and swinging hammers—it was indeed a sight not usually seen.

“Wow, who knew skeletons could be used like this? Incredible.”

Word spread quickly. An article titled “Gotomall’s Necromancer” even made the rounds. Naturally, nearby store owners started showing interest. Especially the middle-aged lady next door who often treated me to snacks and stuff, saying I reminded her of her son.

“Hey, young man. I heard skeletons are too dumb to be controlled properly. Is that true?”

“I guess my ability is a bit unique,” I mumbled an excuse, and the old lady laughed, covering her mouth.

“How fascinating. These days, young folks rush off into dangerous dungeons the moment they gain some skills, but this seems better. There are other ways to contribute to society using your abilities.”

“That is true.”

“Hoho, such a good lad. Anyway, we’re neighbors now, so I look forward to working with you.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

I decided to invest all 10 million won I had. I secured a high-rent spot in Gotomall’s prime location and purchased various interior decor items.

{Demir’s Workshop}

That was the name on the sign. Since I planned to utilize Demir heavily, I named it after him.

“Haha, master! You’ve got a knack for names, don’t you?”

Demir seemed genuinely pleased. Thanks to that, the work inside sped up considerably.

—Bang! Bang!

[Allows the use of production-related skills without additional tools.]

Thanks to Demir’s hammer, which was basically overpowered, expensive equipment was unnecessary. A simple swing of the hammer turned ore into ingots and ingots into rebar.

[Using skill ‘Intermediate Smelting’ (Lv.1).]

[Crafted an ‘Iron Ingot.’]

[Crafted an ‘Iron Ingot.’]

[Proficiency increased by 1.]

Of course, the proficiency gains were a bonus.

“Master, I’ll start the ritual now.”

Eldrin didn’t stay idle either.

“A ritual?”

“The air here is very impure. It makes my throat scratchy and blocks my nose.”

“Oh, I see. And?”

“So I’m going to perform an air purification ritual. It’s a spell that will make this area as fresh and pleasant as the forest. But since my proficiency is still low, I’ll need 100 iron ingots as the price. Is that okay?”

“100 iron ingots, huh.”

I could build a mountain with the amount of ore piled up in my bag. I figured a hundred iron ingots were a fair trade for fresh air. Clean air would benefit my Great Blue Heart Technique training even if skeletons didn’t breathe.

“Alright.”

“It’ll take a little time, so please wait.”

Eldrin set up a makeshift altar and began her ritual. It felt good to see everything fall into place.

“Alright, everyone, keep up the hard work.”

I left my busy skeletons behind and headed toward the center of Gotomall.

Gotomall, which dominated the entire Gangnam underground, was vast. It took me about ten minutes to reach the center from my rented spot, which showed just how big it was.

At the center, there was a small auction house. Since I was starting a workshop, I needed to spread the word gradually.

[Item: Demir’s Standard Sword]

[Rank: B]

[Type: Sword]

[Description: A swiftly made weapon by the blacksmith ‘Demir.’ It has decent performance for its rank.]

[Effect 1: All stats increase by 10.]

[Effect 2: Increases energy by 50.]

[Effect 3: Increases skill damage by 30%.]

I put up a sword I had hastily made for now. It was the best I could do with my current proficiency.

Of course, it might be different if we put our hearts and souls into it, like before, but for business, I needed something that could be produced consistently…

“Oh, isn’t this quite a decent sword?” The appraiser at the auction house eyed it keenly. “Are you sure you want to sell this?”

“Yes, it’s made at Demir’s Workshop.”

“Huh. This is almost at the quality that big companies distribute.”

“I want to see if it’ll work in this market, so I’m selling just this one.”

“Interesting.” The appraiser turned the sword over in his hands. “We’ve been short on auction items, so this is perfect. I can start the bidding at 1 million won. With some luck, it could go up to 10 million.”

Ten million won would be average for a B-rank weapon.

I nodded gladly since I aimed to promote the workshop, not make money.

“Then, please take care of it.”

That was it for business preparations. I’d hear the results later; now was time for training.

I left Boney 6 at the workshop and headed to the training grounds.

Don’t lose focus.

Making money was merely a step toward becoming a ranker, not the goal itself. My ultimate goal was to join the rankers. For that, I couldn’t give up training.

I planned to hit two birds with one stone. One bird was for earning money, and the other was for becoming stronger.