REAPER SCANS

How to Raise Your Skeletons

[Translator –  Dawn]

[Proofreader – BringTheRayn]

Chapter 167: The World Ranker Announcement Ceremony (3)

I stared blankly at the phone screen. I could understand Floa, but what about these other people? Masked Rider? Mudskipper? Golden Lion? Grim Reaper? These were all names I had heard before. After all, they were rankers within the top 100.

“Did you secretly go on a world ranker-gathering trip or something? What is all this…?” Kim Jinah muttered in disbelief. “If this is real, it’s absolutely insane! Our shop master is a ranker recognized by rankers all over the world…! Ahhh! Demir’s Workshop’s influence and reputation are going global now!” She grabbed her cheeks with both hands and was on the verge of screaming.

“…Donghoon. Looks like they were the judges,” Gi Soyul approached and whispered to me, making sure Kim Jinah couldn’t hear. “I found out later too. Apparently, part of our trial process was observed by judges.”

“Ah…”

Was that so? So that was why they were cheering for me so enthusiastically?

“I guess you really made an impression by shattering all the previous records. No matter how incredible someone is, I’ve never seen rankers act like this before.”

“Huh. But if they post about it so openly on social media… wouldn’t that violate confidentiality?”

“Would it? They didn’t reveal any trial details—just gave praise.”

“True, that makes sense,” I nodded.

Strangers, people I had never even met before, praising me, huh? …For some reason, it made me feel embarrassed. They had been watching me from behind the scenes. And now, they were excited and publicly praising me.

My comrades did just as well, though.

Come to think of it, my fellow teammates’ rankings had also been revealed.

[Rank 601 - Vladimir Rodigin, the Spacial Mage]

[Rank 654 - Zhang Wei, the Spear of Judgment]

[Rank 740 - Olena Zelenska, the Water Witch]

[Rank 819 - Myoi Hana, the Spring Apostle]

[Rank 905 - Maximilian, the Absolute Peerless]

[Rank 908 - Capu, the Guide]

They all had impressive aliases with the newly updated rankings. Vladimir and Zhang Wei had broken into the 600s. Olena at 740, Myoi Hana at 819. Even Maximilian and Capu were in the upper 900s.

Honestly, I shouldn’t be used as the standard.

Even those rankings were insane. Normally even after passing the trial, the average ranking was in the 800s or 900s.

I guess that dungeon maniac Kim Hyukseon was just standard.

I suddenly thought of Kim Hyukseon, the Dark Lord, a necromancer my age. He had taken Delilah’s trial a generation before me.

If I remember correctly, his starting rank was around 948th.

Thinking about it now, it wasn’t really anything special.

Why was I so jealous back then?

It was envy over what I didn’t have—ugly jealousy and resentment. However, I decided to acknowledge those feelings fully.

Because that was also a part of me.

Back then, I was really stubborn. And thanks to that tenacity and a bit of luck, it helped me climb to where I am now. 

“You reap what you sow,” the old man muttered with a chuckle.

…What does that mean?

“Exactly as it says. There’s no harvest without seeding it. Nothing in this world happens without a reason.”

That’s a good saying.

Even if I had made mistakes and done shameful things, that was still me—I had grown because of it. As long as I recognized my faults, I could improve moving forward. That was a much more mature choice than denying myself.

“Wahaha! Shop master!” Kim Jinah was still bouncing around in excitement.

I chuckled as I watched her.

“Should we go ahead and launch our guild now? Beer! No… Beer won’t cut it!”

Not many people would be this happy about my achievements when they weren’t even my family—it was a strange feeling.

Well, I guess you could say we’re basically family now. A family bound by Demir’s Workshop.

“Shop master! We need to go for strong whiskey, right? A smooth balsam? But balsam is blended, and connoisseurs don’t like that… What about single malt? I worked hard enough that we deserve high-end liquor!”

“…Have you always liked drinking?”

“I’m practically a lush! There’s nothing better for stress relief than this! Hic!”

From the way she talked, she was like a dwarf obsessed with alcohol.

Jeez.

At her age, she should be careful, or her pancreas might give out.

Just as I looked at Kim Jinah with concern…

“Breaking news! Following the wave of rankers, we now have a statement from… the world’s rank 5! She just spoke on an American broadcast!”

“Rank 5? That would be… Delilah, the one known as Mirage?”

“Th-That’s correct! She, who stands alongside the Demon King as a legendary figure in America, has also praised the new ranker, Joo Donghoon!”

“Is that for real?!”

“Wh-Whaaaaa?” Kim Jinah nearly dislocated her jaw from how wide she opened her mouth. “What is this now?”

“Hm?”

“…Huh?”

Gi Soyul and I also stared at the screen in shock.

What? Even Delilah praised me?

Are these people serious?

This was ridiculous. Were they trying to turn me into some kind of superstar? I could understand the others, but Delilah too? What was I supposed to do now?

“This is crazy! Wh-Who even are you?!”

It seemed Kim Jinah finally gave up on seeing me as human.

“You’re not really the shop master, are you?! What kind of insane things have you been up to?! Delilah?! The icon of mystery itself?! That’s crossing a serious line! I knew something was off when you said you couldn’t explain everything!”

“…Ugh.”

It would have been fine if things had stopped there. Unfortunately, the screen soon displayed even more breaking news.

“W-Wait! We’ve just received another statement—this time from the Master of Britain’s Oxford Tower, Sophia Silverstone!”

“Silverstone? Isn’t she rank 4?”

“Yes…?”

“What did she say?”

“Well, to translate it roughly… ‘It seems like the Joo Donghoon praise relay is trending, so I’ll join in. Our Tower invited him first, so be ready for some competition.’”

“…Excuse me? What does that even mean?”

“What in the world…? Joo Donghoon, just who is this man? I’m starting to get a little scared.”

“It feels like we’re watching the world’s rankers trying to cozy up to him! It’s almost as if they all want to stay on the Skeleton King’s good side. Or is it just me?”

“No, I feel the same way. This is unbelievable!”

“Gaaahhh!” Finally, Kim Jinah foamed at the mouth and collapsed backward.

—Thud!

“…”

That was the first time I had ever seen someone literally faint from shock.

“…She seems very drunk. We should just leave her be. She’s still breathing,” Gi Soyul muttered quietly. But even she looked shaken.

I sighed internally.

These rankers… They’re just messing with me at this point.

For a brief moment, I could see the mischievous smirks of both the Tower Master and Delilah in my mind.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Dawn

Proofreader - BringTheRayn

Join our discord for updates on releases! https://discord.gg/reapercomics

* * *

"Yeaaahhhh!"

"Cheers to Ha Sera! And cheers to Joo Donghoon!"

"The new ranker! Joo Donghoon! Joo Donghoon!"

"Skeleton King!"

The entire country of South Korea erupted in cheers.

A new ranker had emerged, but this ranker wasn’t just any ranker. Ranks 4 and 5 publicly endorsed him, and numerous rankers within the top 100 followed suit. Not only that, but this ranker happened to be Korean. That alone was enough to fill the people with national pride.

"Let's go to Demir’s Workshop!"

"Hey! What are the reporters doing?! What about the streamers?! We need an interview right now! Whoever gets the first scoop will land a massive exclusive!"

"We want to see the hero’s face!"

A massive crowd gathered in front of the workshop—reporters wielding cameras, internet streamers, curious onlookers… The streets of Apgujeong instantly became chaotic.

"Ahem. Ahem."

Now fully awake, Kim Jinah looked at the scene with a serious expression. Behind her, Dana, formerly known as Boney 7, was casting a healing spell. 

"Oh friend of my Benefactor, just a little longer, and you’ll feel completely refreshed."

"Ah, thank you. I do feel the drunkenness fading. Phew."

After about 30 minutes since Kim Jinah had fainted, I had Dana help wake her up quickly.

"Cheers to Joo Donghoon!"

"Hail the Skeleton King!"

"What happened?! What kind of fortuitous opportunity did you seize to become a ranker in an instant?!"

Handling this overwhelming crowd alone would be impossible.

"So…" Kim Jinah quickly grasped the situation. “What you’re saying is that you don’t want to deal with all those people, right?"

"Can I be honest?" I replied with a tired expression. "This looks more annoying and difficult than any dungeon I’ve ever faced."

I had only thought about becoming a ranker and never considered the flood of attention that would come with it. Attention was nice, but I never wanted this level of attention. Having fans was cool but some distance was necessary.

Because I haven’t achieved my real goal yet.

My goal was Rank 1. If I tried to deal with all these people, even half a day wouldn’t be enough. The questions would be endless, and I’d have to keep responding. And after today? Tomorrow would bring more, along with countless corporate and media offers.

Simply put, I needed time—time to focus solely on getting stronger.

"Alright," Kim Jinah bit her lower lip firmly. "This is exactly why I took on the role of vice shop master. Good thing you told me."

"Do you have a plan?"

"That’s my problem to figure out. Instead, I have a favor to ask," Kim Jinah suddenly locked eyes with me. "First… I want to apologize."

"Huh?"

"For the past three months, I resented you a lot. I even regretted my choice. I thought I picked the wrong master to serve."

"Ah…"

"But I had no idea how hard you were working," her voice wavered slightly. "No matter the method, you must’ve shed so much blood and sweat to become a ranker… And to earn the recognition of all those rankers…"

"If that’s how you see it, then I appreciate it, but—"

"So from now on!" Kim Jinah stretched out both arms in front of her dramatically. "Just keep being my ‘light’ to guide the way! Train as much as you want! Go through dungeons as you please! Vacation? I’ll handle it. Guild? I’ll grow it for you!"

"…"

"Press conferences? Public statements? You just name it. I’ll take care of everything. You know how the Cult of the Heavenly Demon operates, right? Have you ever seen Ha Sera appear in the media? No! The guild handles everything internally, and no one dares to criticize them!"

"That’s true."

Why? Because she was Ha Sera. That name alone gave her immunity—unless it was an actual crime, she could do whatever she pleased.

"Shop master, you’ve now reached that level too! You deserve it! You’ve already become a VIP capable of receiving state-level treatment worldwide! All you need to do is maintain that dazzling level!"

Damn. That was… reassuring. Extremely reassuring! I really did hire an excellent employee, didn’t I?

"Just give me a week, and I’ll clean everything up. Leave it all to me, shop master!"

"Then…" I glanced toward the terrace where I could see the crowd was growing even larger. "I’ll leave it to you."

—Ssst!

With the shadow technique, Gi Soyul and I vanished into the darkness.

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