REAPER SCANS

How to Raise Your Skeletons

[Translator –  Dawn]

[Proofreader – BringTheRayn]

Chapter 174: How to Survive in a Harsh World (3)

The collapse of the Russian government began three years ago with the emergence of a new organization—Gotham, a group formed by Russia’s largest corporations. After the creation of this new organization, they overthrew the country's four-term president in an instant. Well, "overthrown" wasn’t the right word—they turned him into a puppet.

Some citizens raised concerns. Rumors spread that the president had gone mad or that he was suffering from severe panic attacks.

"Something's wrong with our president!"

Some saw it as a positive change.

"Honestly? I think this is better than before. At least he's not running a dictatorship anymore."

"Yeah, I used to be scared we’d get dragged into a war."

Others disagreed.

"But he’s still our head of state. Shouldn’t we impeach him?"

"If something’s off, we need to replace him. Besides, people say the past elections were rigged. Maybe now’s our chance to set things right."

Through all of this, Gotham continued its silent expansion to become a global mafia syndicate—an organization that didn’t hesitate to commit any crime to achieve its goals. And Gotham’s goal wasn’t mere dictatorship. They didn’t want to rule by democracy or law. That didn’t suit Andrei the Insect King, who was ranked 69th in the world.

"I want to reestablish an absolute monarchy. My word will be law. I want to unite the country through power and strict regulations."

His ideology spread quietly in the shadows. 

Of course, there was resistance. However, Gotham silenced every single voice of opposition before anyone could notice. The news articles never made it to the public. They completely controlled the flow of information, rendering the internet useless. If anyone tried to leak something, their post was erased, along with their life. For years, Gotham had deceived the world while taking over the underworld. The result was the birth of a criminal nation.

No one can stop them anymore.

Zahar sat alone in the conference room with his head down. Sooner or later, the world would realize the truth about Russia.

A high-ranker came here once before too… 

Even though Gotham tried to suppress all rumors, Russia was simply too large. Some European nations had sent high-rankers to investigate and help. One of them was Octavia Spencer, currently ranked 18th in the world. She had come to Russia on an expedition and then left with these words:

"Russia is a strange country. I know crime syndicates exist here… but I couldn’t reach them. I can tell the country is falling apart. The streets are eerily quiet, and there's no one but mafia everywhere. But strangely… it doesn’t feel wrong. Almost like it's just the way things are."

It was a cryptic statement. What was more surprising was that the world did nothing, even after her report.

"I feel the same way."

"I don't know what people expect me to help them with or how."

"I can’t even tell where the criminal groups are. It just looks like a poor country to me."

"Even the dungeons didn’t have anything wrong with them."

Furthermore, many other rankers came after her, but they simply gave up.

“Another European Ranker Found Dead in Russia?”

“High-Ranker Killed! Rumored Battle with Russian Mafia?”

And those who didn’t give up simply died. Because Gotham was that good at hiding—and very powerful. Despite Andrei being only 69th in the world rankings, Russia was ranked 15th as a nation in terms of hunter power. That meant one thing—there were a lot of strong rankers in Russia.

"Haah," Zahar let out a deep sigh.

How long… Just how long do we have to live like this? Is there anyone in the world who can save us?

There was an underground resistance—Aetham. "Aetham" was a play on words, a combination of the words “aether” and “Gotham.” The group was formed by Vladimir Lodygin, a dreamer who had gathered a few rankers to fight back against Gotham. But… 

The current rumor is that they’ve all been wiped out.

Zahar fell silent.

The Skeleton King was here—ranked 78th in the world, but that was all. Gotham was an unstoppable disaster. If they wanted to survive, they had to do what they had always done—stay silent. Do nothing. Live in the shadows.

"Boss! Boss Zahar!"

A subordinate rushed into the room, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"The rankers have left."

"…I see. So in the end, he's going into the dungeon."

It was the dungeon connected to Gotham—located in Russia, yet unknown to its people. It was like a black hole from which no one returned. And strangely, it was a place that the rest of the world had barely heard of.

"But, um…" the subordinate hesitated. "Before he left… he left us some supplies."

"Supplies?" Zahar frowned.

"Yes. Drinking water, hot packs, boxes of noodles, portable stoves, gas canisters… He said it was his ‘lodging fee.’"

"Hah…?" His mouth fell open in shock at an unexpected act of kindness. 

The Skeleton King had not only forgiven his brother’s rudeness, but he had even helped them.

Are… are all Korean rankers this kind?

"…" Zahar closed his eyes for a moment. Then he lifted his head to the sky and prayed for the safe return of the Skeleton King.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Dawn

Proofreader - BringTheRayn

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

* * *

Near the dungeon entrance, in a desolate square where not a single citizen was in sight…

"This is really strange," Gi Soyul murmured, her expression serious.

"Yeah, it's beyond strange," I agreed, nodding. 

"Even considering how remote this place is, it makes no sense that there’s not a single person around in a city of this size. And on top of that, here is this insane dungeon, yet there's not even a single rumor about it. I wonder if this is some sort of dangerous trap.”

"Soyul."

"…Yes?"

She had insisted I call her by name, yet when I did, her eyes slightly widened as if she wasn’t used to it.

Hm.

Gi Soyul… Could it be that she was an introvert? Her reactions were getting more and more amusing.

Anyway…

"Have you ever seen me avoid a dangerous dungeon?"

"…No." She blinked.

I smirked and continued, "Besides, don’t you enjoy exploring dangerous dungeons?"

After all, she had volunteered for an unranked dungeon expedition before.

Gi Soyul shook her head. "Not particularly. I just… don’t run away when things get tough." 

"That’s the same thing."

"I test the waters first, though. I dislike recklessness as much as I dislike running away."

So she preferred to test the bridge before crossing it. That made sense. She had done the same in the past.

What was his name again… Guide Kang Sunwook?

She used him for scouting. She’d also assigned me—her porter at the time—to manage emergency supplies. Old memories resurfaced, now nothing but nostalgia. However…

"I usually just go in headfirst."

"Pardon?"

"Danger has always helped me to grow."

"What does that mean?" 

"Sometimes, I hope it’s even more dangerous than I expect. That way, I can get even stronger."

If my goal was to be rank 1, I couldn’t settle for easy dungeons. At the very least, I had to clear a few dozen more trials like Delilah’s.

And I still have to show that old man, the Spear King, what a real spear tastes like.

That time, the world-ranked 10 Spear King had challenged me. I didn’t care who it was. I never avoided a fight. I felt bad for Zhang Wei, but I’d be returning the favor to his teacher soon. Of course, only after getting even stronger. 

"Haah. Really, you’re impossible, Donghoon. But whatever. I’m just an employee. If the boss says we go, we go."

—Swish!

Gi Soyul tightened the laces of her shoes. She stretched her muscles, loosening her joints, getting ready. Her actions clearly acknowledged me as the leader. 

It was now time to enter the dungeon. However…

"Hm?" I furrowed my brows.

This place was supposed to be completely deserted, yet I felt three presences behind us.

"Hm?" Gi Soyul straightened her posture, having sensed them too.

And before long, a familiar Korean accent rang out, "Hey, hold up!"

After the world went to hell, every language was automatically translated in real time. It was probably the same for alien beings because the same principle applies to creatures like shadow dogs, Sunny, dragonkin, elves, dwarves, and even the Elder.

Which is why…

Hearing a Korean accent felt even more refreshing.

"Skeleton King, Dark Empress! Don't enter yet—wait a second!"

"…?" Gi Soyul and I turned around, tilting our heads.

Three figures emerged—one muscular man and two women.

* * *

His alias was the Steel Fist—a man whose body was covered in muscle. World rank 101, Bong Jaeyoung.

And now, he stood before a certain man.

So this is that hotshot everyone’s talking about… The Skeleton King?

A smirk crept onto his lips.

Lately, the internet had been booming with talk of “God Donghoon” and “SkeleGod.” Bong Jaeyoung considered the praise to be ridiculous. And to be honest, he hated it.

How the hell did he jump straight to 78th place? That doesn’t make any sense.

A case of someone leaping from outside the top 1,000 into high-ranker territory had never happened even once in the 13-year history of hunter rankings. It simply defied logic.

It must be a mistake.

Even supercomputers made errors sometimes. Even living beings sometimes had genetic mutations. So he assumed that the ranking system was also capable of making errors.

And seriously? The Skeleton King?

To him, a necromancer's ultimate summons were death knights and liches, not freaking skeletons.

That guy is probably way below me in terms of experience and skill.

So when he heard that this Skeleton King had gone to Russia, he immediately went to the president of the Korean Hunter Association. His personality wouldn’t let him stay put—he had to see things with his own eyes.

“President, remember that request you made? You wanted someone to assist in Russia, right? I’ll go. But in exchange, I’ll be keeping an eye on that so-called Skeleton King. We need someone to monitor him… Seriously, think about it. This guy wasn’t even ranked a week ago! Can we really trust him with an S-rank dungeon? If we put our faith in him and he screws up, that’s a major loss for Korea. Just give me two rankers from the Association as support. Oh, and make sure they’re fresh-faced, not some boring old dudes. You know me.”

With that brazen tone, practically a demand, Bong Jaeyoung boarded on a plane and flew straight to Russia. And as soon as he landed, he rushed to the dungeon. And now… 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Bong Jaeyoung, rank 101. Dark Empress, been a while, huh?"

“…Yes," Gi Soyul responded with an expressionless tone.

Bong Jaeyoung’s brows twitched slightly.

This one too. She thinks she’s hot stuff just because she climbed a bit in rank lately, huh?

Her frosty attitude, colder than the Siberian wind, ticked him off. But he was used to it since she had always been like this to him.

Then, the Skeleton King himself spoke up. "Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Joo Donghoon. May I ask why you’re here?"

Jaeyoung glanced at him.

He’s… underwhelming.

For someone ranked 78th, his presence was weak. He couldn’t fully sense his power.

Is it because he’s not a melee fighter?

He was a necromancer, after all.

Yep. It's definitely a system error.

As someone ranked 101st, Jaeyoung had a keen sense of gauging strength. Sure, assassins could conceal their presence, but he had never heard of a necromancer using stealth tactics in his entire hunter career.

I can take him.

A smirk played on Jaeyoung’s lips as he finally said, "Association’s orders. We’re entering this dungeon together—and I’ll be monitoring you." He gestured to the two rankers behind him. "Introduce yourselves."

"Yes, hello. I’m Kwon Soyi from the Hunter Association."

World rank 909, Kwon Soyi, the Druid.

"Um… I-I’m Im Sujin! It’s an honor to meet you, sir… You’re really famous these days."

World rank 930, Im Sujin, the Asura.

Both were in their 20s, but since they weren’t from Seoul, they weren’t part of the Five Stars of Seoul.

"Ah, I see." The Skeleton King politely nodded at them. "By the way, did you say you were sent here by the Association to monitor me?"

"That’s right. Strictly a surveillance mission." Jaeyoung widened his stance, making his presence known.

"Hm. Well, alright." Joo Donghoon nodded coolly. "I don’t mind. The dungeon’s public after all. Let’s go in together."

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