Chapter 3

               

“…Ugh.”

All the strength drained from my body.

I felt weak, like I’d just sweated buckets in a sauna.

[Hunter: Joo Donghoon]

[Energy: 0/100]

This is what happens when you hit zero energy.

But while my body was limp, my mind was boiling over like a kettle.

“No….”

The desire to live, the instinct to survive, was squirming inside me.

Part of me thought I’d done all I could, but for some reason, I felt bitter.

I didn’t go through three years of hell just to die like this.

This wasn’t the kind of ruined life I wanted.

But reality was a pit.

All I had left were three skeletons, wobbling like candle flames in the wind.

‘So much for being a ranker—guess I was just meant to be orc food.’

My body went slack.

I felt wronged. Angry.

Was I just a little bird with legs too short to even try running with the storks?

I mean, is it really that wrong for a sparrow to dream of keeping up with the cranes?

“Hiss!”

Maybe the orc could sense my despair.

Just as it let out a nasty grin and a victorious roar—

[You have met a condition! Check your message!]

“Huh?”

I frowned.

It felt like that message had been floating there for a while.

But I’d been too pissed, too overwhelmed, to notice the faint text in front of my eyes.

“…?”

But now I snapped to attention.

Unlike the usual notifications, this one was pure gold.

I clicked it in a hurry.

[You have met a hidden condition!]

[‘Unique Power: Cursed Necromancer’ exclusive hidden condition!]

[Condition: The Rule of Ten Thousand Uses!]

* To raise your unique power’s rank, you need to put in extraordinary effort!

* Use the skill ‘Ordinary Skeleton Summon’ (E-rank) 10,000 times!

“What?”

My eyes widened.

A dumb sound slipped out of my mouth.

Glittering gold dust sparkled around the message.

Creak, creak?

Even the skeletons facing off with the orc stopped, as if wondering what was happening.

‘The Rule of Ten Thousand Uses?’

I’d never heard of that condition.

But I guess if it were known, it wouldn’t be called “hidden.”

‘So that means…’

Had I really used my skill ten thousand times?

Well, after about three years, even just ten uses a day would add up…

That’s when it happened.

[Congratulations!]

[Your rank has grown to D-rank!]

Oh, wow.

Heavens. Gods.

D-rank…?

Three years of nothing, and now this?

Well, whatever—thank you!

[You have received a reward for your rank up!]

Yeah, hurry up!

Come on, give me something!

I urged whatever mysterious god was out there in my head.

“Hiss!”

The orc started moving again, so I was getting desperate.

[Your energy is replenished!]

[Energy: 100/100]

“Yes!”

I shouted without thinking.

To me, energy was as good as an extra life.

Clang! Clang!

The orc’s axe crashed against Bonie’s greatsword a few times.

But now, the sound was completely different.

It was no longer the sound of bones shattering, but of blows bouncing off with force!

“Ohh.”

The skeletons’ strength had changed!

[Skill, ‘Ordinary Skeleton Summon’ (E-rank) has been upgraded!]

[Skill has changed to ‘Awakened Skeleton Summon’ (D-rank)!]

A new message popped up.

[Skill: Awakened Skeleton Summon]

[Rank: D]

[Effect 1: Consumes 10 Energy to summon an intermediate skeleton. Up to 10 can be summoned at once.]

[Effect 2: You can name each skeleton.]

The only change was that what used to be a ‘low-level’ skeleton was now an ‘intermediate’ skeleton.

And there was more.

[New skeletons have had their primary weapons set!]

[Relevant skeletons: ‘Bones4’, ‘Bones5’]

[From now on, these skeletons will respond to your commands!]

“Huh?”

I stood there slack-jawed.

I checked the message again and again.

‘Primary weapons set? That means…’

All my suffering flashed before my eyes like a near-death experience.

So all this time,

Had I been trying to train skeletons that weren’t even awakened?

Was their power just sealed away?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

They should’ve told me sooner!

I looked back toward the fight.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

The orc was roaring in rage.

It seemed pretty angry about the suddenly-stronger skeletons.

Clang! Thud!

The orc was busy blocking Bonie’s sword, Bontwo’s spear, and Bonthree’s arrows.

‘Yeah, these guys are different now.’

Back when they were E-rank, they were weak.

Now that they’ve grown to D-rank, they’re not going to lose to a fellow D-rank.

That’s how much effort and training I’d put in.

If the orc weren’t a high-grade type, Bonie’s greatsword would have sliced it in half already.

Nodding, I used my energy again.

‘If you get a new ability, the first thing you do is try it out, right? That’s just what hunters do.’

[Skill, ‘Awakened Skeleton Summon’ (D-rank) is used.]

[10 Energy is consumed.]

[‘Bones4’ has appeared.]

[Skill, ‘Awakened Skeleton Summon’ (D-rank) is used.]

[10 Energy is consumed.]

[‘Bones5’ has appeared.]

With a surge of black energy from the ground—

Whirr…

Two new skeletons materialized.

Bonefour and Bonefive.

“Whoa.”

I stared at them, awestruck.

The blank, unarmed skeletons were gone.

Bonefour was holding a huge shield almost as big as his body.

Bonefive was holding a staff, like some kind of mage.

A tank and a mage?

Now I could even form a real party with my skeletons?

Creak!

First, Bonefour raised his shield and crouched a little.

Then he charged at the orc.

“Huh?”

The orc, busy fighting, recoiled in surprise.

As if to say, “You think you can block me with that thing?” it swung its axe hard.

Clang!

But the axe bounced right off the shield.

And behind the orc—

[‘Bones5’ uses the skill ‘Fireball’ (Lv. 1).]

Whoosh!

Bonefive’s fireball crashed down on the orc.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

The orc howled in pain as its skin burned.

Thwack! Stab!

Bontwo’s spear pierced the exposed throat.

It was a shockingly fast, ruthless combination.

“Wow.”

I hadn’t done anything.

I just watched.

[‘Sturdy Orc’ eliminated.]

“……”

My heart pounded.

Two feelings welled up in me.

Relief at surviving a life-or-death situation.

And excitement at my new powers.

‘Looks like…’

I thought my life was ruined.

But maybe the world doesn’t want me dead after all.

—

‘Unbelievable.’

No matter how many times I tried to calm down, I couldn’t.

I mean, who could?

Just a few minutes ago, I thought I was on my way to the afterlife.

I still couldn’t believe I was breathing.

‘Besides…’

I’d just achieved the result of three years of effort—how could I possibly calm down?

I left training behind and went back to my tiny basement room, where I spent all day staring at my status window.

“Hehehe.”

A smile played on my lips.

[Hunter: Joo Donghoon]

[Title: X]

[Energy: 100/100]

[Unique Power: Cursed Necromancer]

[Rank: D]

[Effects]

* You are a Necromancer, a class that controls dead souls. You can use deadly spirits and poisons to overwhelm your foes. However, you are cursed.
* You can only summon skeletons.

[Skills Owned]

* ‘Awakened Skeleton Summon’ (D-rank)

‘Nice.’

I clenched my fist.

I thought my life was over,

But now I had hope again.

I’d misunderstood everything until now.

The world was so beautiful, and here I was cursing it and calling myself a failure.

Yeah, you should get results when you put in the effort.

“….”

Of course, I still had a long way to go before reaching ‘ranker’—the land of A- and S-ranks.

I could see the field of thorns ahead of me.

What kind of madness would it take to reach C-rank next?

Still, I was happy.

I used to think it was an impossible dream.

‘Back to basics.’

Anyway,

The path I mapped out wasn’t wrong.

Endless effort and training are what make you strong.

That’s enough.

‘And the skeletons—’

Honestly, I was shocked.

The power of a D-rank, intermediate skeleton was way beyond what I expected.

It was nothing like any undead I’d ever read about or studied.

Normally, a skeleton is just a skeleton.

I’d never even heard of an “intermediate” skeleton.

Plus, these ones even grow.

And that’s not all.

There was even a magic user now.

‘It’s ridiculous.’

As far as I know, among undead, only Liches—top tier even among A-ranks—can use magic.

“……”

I pictured it for a second.

Bonefive, spamming Blink, Hellfire, and Blizzard Storm.

Bonie and Bontwo growing into Sword Master and Spear Master.

Would that make Bonthree and Bonefour Bow Master and Defense Master?

Grinning, I heated up some instant noodles.

Slurp!

Ramen after a brush with death really hits different.

Even though I’ve had it a million times, it tasted amazing.

‘Anyway.’

Nothing much had changed in my life yet.

Even tomorrow,

I’d have to go to work at the mercenary guild and earn money.

Still have to eat.

Still have to train.

‘Hopefully the other five skeletons awaken soon.’

Maybe it’s still too soon.

But if I train the five I have, the rest should unlock eventually.

Flop!

After eating, I threw myself on the bed.

I’d probably end up spending all night staring at my status window again.

But for now, I needed sleep.

It was just a good night, that’s all.

—

The next day.

The atmosphere at my mercenary guild, Problem Solvers, was buzzing.

Normally, you’d only see E- and D-rank mercenaries drifting through, but today I even spotted some of the higher-ups I’d only heard about.

‘What’s going on?’

I set my bag on the table, tilting my head, when Team Leader Kim Junseo walked over.

We’ve known each other long enough to just call each other brothers.

“Hey, Donghoon! You made it? Get over here! This is huge, man!”

“Big news?”

“Yeah, you know Parang Guild? The one founded by Ki Parang.”

“Of course.”

Who wouldn’t?

Ki Parang the “Famed Archer.”

Now that Dark Lord has joined the domestic ranks, he’s one of the thirty-seven rankers in Korea.

He’s so strong that once, he accidentally shot an arrow and took off the peak of a mountain.

Parang is the famous guild he started.

“Parang Guild put in a request with our mercenary group. Looks like they’re going into a newly unlocked dungeon and need porters. The pay is insane. About ten times the usual rate.”

“…Ten times?”

As expected of a major guild.

They don’t mess around.

Ah, so that’s why even the top mercenaries showed up today.

Honestly, I was curious.

As a low-rank hunter, it’s not every day I get a chance to enter a high-rank dungeon.

“Yeah, they’re even accepting E-ranks. Want to go? There’s nothing else on today’s board.”

In other words,

There weren’t any other jobs.

I smacked my lips.

Maybe because of what happened yesterday,

I couldn’t just accept on impulse.

I’d learned just how precious life was.

After thinking it over for a moment, I nodded.

“Let’s at least check out what kind of dungeon it is.”