REAPER SCANS

How to Raise Your Skeletons

[Translator –  Dawn]

[Proofreader – BringTheRayn]

Chapter 180: Gathering Rankers (2)

"Hmph!" Bong Jaeyoung took a deep breath, filling his lungs, and sprinted forward. He layered his body with energy, reinforcing it for protection.

"Huh?"

"Where are you going?!"

"Steel Fist! What are you doing?! Don't tell me you're running away by yourself?!"

The bewildered voices of the survivors rang out behind him.

Like I care.

Bong Jaeyoung kept his mouth shut and continued running. He felt a twinge of guilt, but at the same time, he knew many hunters had died in dungeons because they were too worried about honor. A little disgrace was worth it if it would save his life.

I just need to get past this damn fog.

The green mist surrounding him was a type of acidic poison. It wasn’t there at the start, but it had slowly accumulated until it had filled the entire area over the past three days as they moved toward the center. If not for this mist, they wouldn’t have been wandering aimlessly in this death trap.

Here I go!

—Tap, tap, tap, tap!

Bong Jaeyoung didn’t stop running, despite the horrifying poison.

—Hissss! Ssshhhhh! 

The acidic mist, potent enough to reduce flesh to ashes on contact, consumed his energy as it surrounded him.

"Grrrgh!" With his eyes wide open, Bong Jaeyoung ignored the pain and pressed forward.

My body and energy are like steel! This is nothing…!

He just had to push through. He was ranked 101st in the world, so he believed that there was no way some mist could bring him down.

—Hiss! Ssshh!

His entire vision was now dyed jade green. He could see nothing ahead, so there was no way to tell what obstacles lay before him. All he could do was smash through with his fists, befitting his alias, Steel Fist.

—Boom! Boom!

And after some time…

"Well, well." A mocking voice reached his ears.

—Flinch!

Bong Jaeyoung came to an abrupt halt.

"Don't tell me… you ran away by yourself?" The voice had an unfamiliar foreign accent.

"Who the hell are you?!"

—Whoosh!

Bong Jaeyoung threw a punch in the direction of the voice on pure instinct. The voice carried a sharp hostility that he could feel deep in his bones. But…

"Wow, what a loose punch."

His fist struck only air.

"For someone who forcefully broke through the formation, you're pretty disappointing."

—Bam!

At that moment, an unknown force smashed into Bong Jaeyoung’s ribs.

"Guhh…!"

A pain worse than anything he had experienced as a ranker shot through his abdomen. However, Bong Jaeyoung was a hunter whose fists and body were like steel. He gritted his teeth and focused on assessing the situation.

Who the hell is this guy?

Could it be Joo Donghoon? No, the voice didn’t match. Then…

Could it be…?

Bong Jaeyoung’s eyes shook.

"Gotham…?"

Gotham—the notorious criminal group he had heard about endlessly from the survivors over the past three days.

He looked around in confusion.

"Oh? You know about us?"

—Clap! Clap! Clap!

With the sound of slow clapping, a Russian man with jade-green eyes emerged from the mist.

"So you knew about us and still walked right into our den?"

Behind him, dozens of hunters began to appear one by one.

It’s that bitch…!

Among them, he spotted the female Russian trickster who had disguised herself as a survivor.

"Damn it!" Realizing he had been completely deceived, Bong Jaeyoung shouted in frustration, "You criminal scum! What do you want from me?! Why are you doing this?!"

"Huh? What do we want, huh…? You were the one who led a bunch of hunters here to attack us, remember?" The man smirked. "And didn't you just call us criminals? If you're asking why we commit crimes… Well, isn’t it obvious? Because we're criminals."

Just looking at the jade-colored insects crawling over his body made it easy to guess his identity—it was Andrei the Insect King.

Standing behind Andrei was another man with blonde hair—Zima the Ruthless, ranked 79th in the world. He laughed, "Haha, this is hilarious. You're ranked 101st, and after all that talk, now you're asking 'Why are you doing this?'” 

"Damn right it was hilarious," the Russian woman who had disguised herself as a survivor giggled. "Acting all noble, pretending he was going to save everyone. It was so funny to watch him." She was Tima the Lightning Step, ranked 110th in the world.

And beyond them there were more rankers—Rank 132, Rank 150, Rank 181, Rank 192, Rank 255, Rank 291. What made Gotham terrifying was the sheer number of rankers concentrated within the organization.

"Damn it…" Bong Jaeyoung trembled.

This is hopeless.

If it were a one-on-one fight, he might have been able to find an opening, but surrounded by this many rankers, there was no way out. And to make matters worse… 

“Grrrrr!”

“Grrrkkk…!”

Dozens… no, hundreds of crimson-eyed monsters encircled them. Just from their appearance, each one seemed to be at least S-Rank.

Bong Jaeyoung lowered his head. "Wh-What are you going to do with me…?"

"Do with you? Why ask?" Andrei chuckled. His voice alone carried a chilling sense of control. He could sense the fear in Bong Jaeyoung’s voice. "You know."

—Step. Step.

Andrei leisurely walked in a circle around the frozen Bong Jaeyoung. “I’m genuinely curious.”

“What is it…”

A cold sweat trickled down Bong Jaeyoung’s nape. Andrei’s moves, the insects crawling on his skin, and his twitching fingertips—every single one of his actions put Bong Jaeyoung on edge.

"Do you seriously think you’re going to walk out of here alive?"

“…What?"

Bong Jaeyoung’s heart sank. There was something about Andrei’s voice—a pure, unfiltered evil tone. 

"Hehehe, this is hilarious."

"He looks so dumbfounded, saying ‘What?’ Pfft!"

"Rankers are just people too. Nobody can remain fearless in front of death."

The rankers of Gotham chuckled as they watched. Then they started taking a few steps back.

“Grrrk!”

“Grrrrrr…!”

At the same time, the monsters began creeping forward. Their movements were those of starving predators who had just spotted prey.

"Hey." Andrei smirked. "Try beating them. Who knows? Maybe we’ll let you live."

"…" Bong Jaeyoung clenched his fists.

"But I doubt you’ll last long. These guys don’t seem to understand yet. Pretty soon, I’m going to release my Malevolent Venom.”

"Malevolent Venom…? What is that?"

"Oh, you'll all find out soon enough. Now then, good luck." Ignoring Bong Jaeyoung’s question, Andrei turned his back.

“Grrrr…!”

The monsters lunged forward.

"Damn it."

Now, in the clearing beyond the mist, only Bong Jaeyoung and the monsters remained.

* * *

Reaper Scans

Translator - Dawn

Proofreader - BringTheRayn

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

* * *

"Yo, Andrei," Zima the Ruthless spoke up.

"What?"

"That idiot aside… What about the guy waiting outside?"

"You mean that Skeleton King or something?"

"Yeah. He’s not making any move to come here. And I don’t know how, but he’s somehow getting rid of all the mist you spread out there."

"Ah, that." Andrei nodded. "It's fine. Actually, it’s better this way."

The white mist outside was the toxic gas emitted by the venomous insects. The gas was critical when combined with the venomous insect itself, which was why he had spread it outside. But if someone was clearing it away, that just made things more convenient.

"Honestly, I was a little annoyed that the mist kept scaring away the big prey."

"Still, it’s a little suspicious. Since he entered the dungeon, he should have either headed toward the center or tried to leave. But he’s just staying put. I heard he’s been… training with his skeletons or something?"

"Hmm." Andrei tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So what are you getting at?"

"We should strike first! That guy is just Rank 78, and the woman with him is only Rank 151. We’ve got the numbers. Why don’t we just go over there and kill them?"

"No, we can’t."

"Hah," Zima exhaled in frustration.

This was always the problem with Andrei.

"Don't tell me it's that ‘don't leave the formation to fight’ rule again?"

"Just be patient,”  Andrei muttered as he glanced up and to his left.

Surprisingly, a ghostly old man hovered in the air. He was the fortuitous opportunity he had gained from the Immeasurable-rank dungeon—a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. His name was Dang Huipyung the Insect King. His poison arts were extraordinary. Just by spreading a small amount, he could enslave people. It was truly the ultimate biochemical weapon. Moreover, his ambitions aligned closely with Andrei’s.

A real man should aim to rule at least one world.

Andrei dreamed of becoming the supreme ruler, starting with Russia, his motherland, and then expanding across the globe. On the other hand, Dang Huipyung once sought to unify the world through his poison. But Earth was vast, and there were many powerful people—which meant they needed to prepare carefully.

Leaving the formation is only an option once I am fully ready to take on the world.

"But you see…" Dang Huipyung murmured, hovering midair.

Yes, Elder.

Andrei subtly bowed his head. It was impossible not to show respect, for Dang Huipyung knew too much.

"For the past few days… there’s been an awful, ominous stench. A truly vile smell."

…What do you mean?

"…Never mind. Forget it. That would be impossible," Dang Huipyung muttered something cryptic before closing his eyes once more.

* * *

—Pshh… 

"Mmm…" I let out a low groan with my eyes closed.

Sitting in a meditative position, I felt it.

—Pshh! Pshhhh!

The poison mist I had absorbed was swirling around me as if excitedly greeting an old friend.

"Take it slow, my guy. I’m fine, so just enter slowly."

Indeed. My body would be a much more comfortable place than some unknown ground for it. The mist’s mass had almost doubled, but there was no issue absorbing it. Hunters were bound by the System, and the System had told me I could resist any and all existing poisons.

[Skill: Absolute Poison Immunity]

[Rank: S]

[Effect 1: Resistance to all poisons in existence.]

[Effect 2: Identifies all poisons in existence.]

[Effect 3: Manipulates all poisons in existence.]

"Wow!"

"The mist is disappearing!"

"Amazing! Absolutely incredible!"

The surviving hunters cheered. Their reactions were like shipwreck victims spotting a rescue boat. Seeing them react that way filled me with a strange sense of pride.

"…That’s amazing."

"How can he…? I tried getting close to it for a second, and I could barely breathe."

Even Kwon Soyi and Im Sujin were shaking their heads in disbelief. And Gi Soyul especially still had a face full of shock and confusion.

Well, that’s understandable. 

She had personally experienced the nightmare of the poison mist back in Theme 1. She probably understood its horrors better than anyone here. 

It took about 30 minutes for the poison mist to fully enter my body.

"Thank you, Skeleton King! I will never forget this debt!"

"We’re leaving now, but please stay safe, Skeleton King!"

One sobbed, “Thank you! Thank you so much!"

After safely escorting the survivors out through the exit…

"Ahhh." I laced my fingers together and stretched, loosening my stiff muscles from sitting in one position for so long. "Alright, guess it’s time to get moving." 

The Elder told me if I removed the poison mist stored within the venom, the formation would collapse. 

But that was only one part of the issue. Everything else, I had to deal with myself.

Gotham, huh?

Technically speaking, my mission from the South Korean Hunter Association was already complete. Choi Taeseung had only asked me to rescue the missing Korean citizens. I could go home right now, and no one would complain. I wasn’t a volunteer or some interpol officer. There was really no need to risk my life fighting a criminal syndicate.

But I was curious about this Dang Huipyung guy. It wasn’t just curiosity—he was from the Elder’s world, and that intrigued me.

Also… wasn’t that Insect King guy ranked 69th?

If I took him down, I’d have a legitimate reason to climb the rankings.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Are you seriously going to fight those guys?"

Two rankers from the Association asked me cautiously.

But before I could answer, a strange message appeared in my vision.

[The Guide has invited you to a chat room.]

[Chat room name: Dragon Slayer Alumni Group Chat]

[Participants (6/7)]

Huh…?

Capu? A chat room? What is this?

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