REAPER SCANS
How to Raise Your Skeletons
[Translator – Dawn]
[Proofreader – BringTheRayn]
Chapter 172: How to Survive in a Harsh World (1)
—Whoosh!
In a cold city in Siberia, inside a sleek, modern building, a man in a black suit burst through the door with a loud bang.
"Zahar, bro!"
The rough-looking, bald man’s name was Pavel—Zahar’s younger brother and one of the most infamous figures in this region.
"What is it?"
Unlike his brother, Zahar had a thick beard covering his face.
"I heard that a foreign Asian man and woman are approaching our building."
"Foreigners?" Zahar furrowed his brows.
This city, Krasnoyarsk, was already doomed. No one roamed the streets, and businesses had shut down. The city couldn’t function like this. The government had abandoned it, and criminal organizations ran rampant. Even regular citizens had to join gangs just to survive. In other words, everyone here was affiliated with a gang by default.
"They have some nerve coming here. Obviously, they aren’t tourists. What’s their purpose?"
"How should I know? But it feels off that they’re heading straight for us."
Even though this city no longer functioned, there were countless organizations here. And yet, the foreigners were coming directly to their headquarters out of all the other ones.
"How do they feel?"
"Dunno. They're still too far away to judge. What should we do?"
"Hmm." Zahar tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought. "They’re probably here because of the dungeon…"
"Then shouldn’t they head straight to the dungeon instead? Why are they coming here?"
"For now, get the guys ready."
In a brutal city like this, being cautious was a necessity to survive. Sudden ambushes had already wiped out countless organizations.
"Should I just take the guys and deal with them?"
"You?"
"They look young. I’ll ask them a few things, and if they’re useless, I’ll just take them out."
"You dumbass." Zahar shot his younger brother a disapproving look.
This was always the problem with Pavel. It was understandable that his actions had grown harsh since he lived in a place like this, but sometimes the guy just spoke without thinking.
"You’re not taking out anyone. Just talk to them first and send them away. They might actually be strong, so be careful."
"Strong?" Pavel scoffed. "Bro, I wouldn’t be scared even if a ranker came. Besides, it’s just two people. Did you forget? We’ve already taken down more than two rankers before.”
The Zahar brothers were both S-rank hunters, and most of their subordinates were A-rank. That was why they were able to claim several buildings in this mafia city. Basically, they weren’t a big deal internationally, but they were local tyrants.
On top of that, the Russian hunters had more experience fighting humans than monsters. That meant they had the advantage in hunter v. hunter combat. Plenty of cocky rankers had come here thinking they were untouchable—only to end up dead.
"Still, be careful. If you mess up and it turns out to be a high-ranker, we’re seriously screwed."
"Ugh, bro. That’s your problem. You worry way too much. Why the hell would a high-ranker come to a dump like this?"
"…Maybe you're right."
Even Zahar realized he might be overthinking. There were only 100 high-rankers in the entire world. He couldn't think of a reason for a high-ranker to visit a ruined city like this.
Still…
"You memorized the updated ranker list, right?"
"…Bro, it hasn’t even been a week since the rankings changed. Idiots like us need at least a month to remember all that."
"Haah, this is important," Zahar sighed and shook his head.
Well, imagining his brother being smart was kind of creepy anyway.
"Whatever. Just be cautious and ask them their business first—politely."
"Got it, bro. Trust me."
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Dawn
Proofreader - BringTheRayn
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://discord.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Gi Soyul and I halted as we walked down the empty street, revealing ourselves.
"They really came, huh?" Gi Soyul looked at me with fascination.
All I did was scan the city with the Great Blue Heart Technique and head toward the strongest energy source. I didn’t explain in much detail, so she seemed impressed.
Closing her eyes, the Dark Empress assessed the surrounding energy. "Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen… No, twenty? They've already surrounded us."
"Bingo. Right on the mark," I nodded. "Exactly twenty. And their aura is downright murderous."
I turned my head slightly, scanning the area. An empty beer can lay discarded nearby, crushed underfoot.
—Step, step.
Walking forward in the eerie silence, I suddenly kicked it with all my strength.
—Bang!
—Whoosh!
The crushed can sliced through the air, flying straight ahead. And then, a dull thwack followed by a sharp scream echoed in the still city.
"Aghhh!"
With the pained cry as background music, I murmured, "I know you're watching. Come out."
The city was so silent that even a quiet voice carried loudly.
"Oh?"
Soon enough, a man strolled out with an amused expression. He had a bald head and scars covering his entire body.
"Coming on strong from the start, huh?" He chuckled. Voice laced with curiosity, he said, "You seem like you know how to fight. Who are you, and why are you here?"
"Hm," I raised an eyebrow.
I could understand him not recognizing me, but they didn’t recognise Gi Soyul either. I figured they might not have cared much about rankers. Or perhaps this city was so far gone that information barely reached them.
Well.
I had heard about it once. In our tiny country, the internet spread information quickly. But in massive nations like Russia and America, news traveled much slower to remote regions.
"Are you the local mafia?" I asked as a form of greeting.
"What?" the bald man snorted. "Mafia? Hah! Yeah, sure. And if we are?"
"I just have some questions."
"Questions, huh…?" the bald man snickered, amused. Then his laughter suddenly stopped, and he stared at me. "Listen, kid."
"Hm?"
"You clearly don’t know how things work around here. This isn't the kind of place where you just show up and ask questions, expecting answers. You wanna know how it works?"
"How does it work?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"How? Haha. You gotta pay up, of course. Something valuable."
—Slurp!
The bald man licked his lips, his expression grotesque.
Ugh. What is with this guy?
I grimaced in disgust.
"If you don’t have anything to offer, you can either get your ass kicked or find someone else to bother."
"Hmm. No other options?"
"Other options?"
"Yeah. A counteroffer, let’s say. You cooperate with me, and in return, I don’t beat you to a pulp."
"What?" The bald man's head tilted as if trying to process my words. Then his expression twisted into a scowl."You really don't get the situation, do you…?"
With a gesture, nineteen figures revealed themselves from the dark.
—Shhh!
Not bad.
Each one of them looked elite—even a few S-ranks. At the very least, every single one was A-rank or higher, about the same level as the participants at the start of Delilah's Trial.
"You sure you wanna back up that talk?" the bald man grinned wickedly.
His underlings surrounded Gi Soyul and me with a confident expression.
"They’ve got some guts, huh?"
"They're acting cocky with just the two of them? Pfft, this is hilarious."
"They don’t understand fear. More like they don’t understand Russia."
"Boss, should we start by breaking a finger? No need to waste time listening to this crap."
They were big, tattoo-covered thugs. They looked exactly as bad as they sounded.
Nice.
I smiled.
This was much easier. Even if they were criminals, I hesitated a little about starting a fight just to get information. But now, they were openly hostile—which meant I could go all out.
"Hey, look at that guy. He’s smiling?"
"Is he out of his damn mind? Or maybe he’s just stupid?"
"This one's really asking for it, boss. Let’s break his toes too!"
Hm. Yeah, no. I think you're the ones asking for it.
They kept talking about breaking fingers and toes. It was only fair to return the favor.
"Donghoon, should I take care of them all?" Gi Soyul asked in a chilling tone.
"No," I shook my head. Then I swung the staff I had just summoned.
—Whoosh!
"Time to give my unawakened guys some practical combat training."
[Using skill ‘Summon Skeleton Lord’ (S-rank).]
[Consuming 30 energy.]
[Summoning ‘Bonehead 1.’]
[Summoning ‘Bonehead 5.’]
[Summoning ‘Bonehead 8.’]
I summoned three skeletons—Boney 1, Boney 5, and Boney 8.
—Creak!
Rising from the ground, their joints cracked as they grabbed their weapons.
"Wait, what? He’s a necromancer?"
"Pfft! But skeletons? That’s it? You underestimate us too much."
—Shing! Clang!
The twenty hunters all drew their weapons.
"You." Pavel stepped forward. "Kneel and apologize now. If you do, I’ll spare your life."
"Apologize? For what?"
"Tch. So you’re just a lunatic. Fine. We’ll beat you down and toss you in a drum barrel."
That was it. No need for more words. From here on, we’d let our bodies do the talking.
* * *
"Go."
—Whizzz!
Boney 1 and Boney 8 shot forward at terrifying speeds.
—Slice!
Boney 1's greatsword slashed across a mafia thug's ankle. At the same time, Boney 8’s gauntlet slammed into another thug’s abdomen.
—Thud!
One collapsed, clutching his ankle. The other was launched into the air helplessly. The whole thing took just three seconds.
"Wh-What the hell?!"
"Shit, why are they so fast?!"
The Russian hunters panicked, but by then, it was already too late.
—Bam! Slice! Slice!
Boney 1 and Boney 8, completely unleashed, descended on them like wolves on a flock of sheep.
"You bastard!"
One of the more composed S-rank hunters swung his sword at Boney 1’s neck.
—Clang!
"Wh-What?!"
The jarring impact rattled his hands. It felt like he had struck solid iron plating.
—Fwoosh!
Suddenly, his body burned with intense heat.
"Aghhhhh! AAAHHHH! Water! Someone put it out!" he screamed.
—Pssshhh!
A fellow mage conjured water, dousing the flames. The fire was extinguished, but his skin was already scorched red.
"Th-The fuck…?"
The hunters felt something was wrong. The skeletons were absurdly fast and tough. A-rank and S-rank hunters were getting wrecked with ease. Even teamwork and formation meant nothing before them. The skeletons bulldozed forward relentlessly, leaving only one option—run.
What the fuck…?
Pavel felt a chill crawl up his spine. He had brushed off Zahar's warning earlier, but now…
He really was a strong one!
And if his subordinates couldn't even touch these skeletons, then the summoner himself must be…
A ranker.
Not just any ranker—a high-ranker.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Shit. We’re fucked.
The situation was obvious. Even taking down one of these skeletons would be a struggle.
Damn it.
Zahar was right. He should have been more careful.
"Aaaghhh!"
At that moment, another of his subordinates screamed, clutching his fingers and toes. It was the same guy who trash-talked earlier.
"Damn it…"
That only meant one thing. The enemy wasn’t even going all out—he was playing with them. Otherwise, how could they deliberately target fingers and toes so precisely?
What do I do?
—Clench.
Pavel gripped his axe tightly.
He’s a necromancer… Should I just aim for the main summoner?
But that was just a thought as his body refused to move.
Now, I see it…
Only now did he truly feel it—the overwhelming presence of this man and the woman beside him. And then, it hit him.
Now that I think about it…
Pavel finally remembered that a high-ranker who used skeletons had appeared. He couldn’t recall the exact ranking, but he did remember the shock.
"…" Pavel’s heart sank.
He’d thought this was someone he’d never have to deal with, so he never even bothered to check his face. But why… Why did he have to appear now?
Man, fuuuuck…
There was only one option left. One of the key reasons the Zahar brothers had survived in the brutal mafia world was that they knew when to swallow their pride.
"I-I'm sorry!" Pavel dropped to his knees, raising both hands. "We surrender! Surrender! What the hell are you guys waiting for? Get on your knees!" he frantically shouted at his men. "I'll tell you everything! Just please spare our lives! Boss!"
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