How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 130: The Dragon Slayer (3)

I can’t win against Aranballon easily.

I swallowed hard.

The reason I managed to slay the Giant Magic Dragon was due to luck and a convergence of favorable circumstances. If it hadn’t been locked in a life-and-death battle with Aranballon…

I never would’ve been able to kill it.

It wouldn’t have even used its breath attack, and it would’ve noticed me the moment I infiltrated its body and countered instantly.

That’s why this fight isn’t going to be easy.

I needed to use every tool at my disposal.

[Skill: Bone Dragon]

[Rank: S]

[Effect 1: Consumes 100 energy to turn a dragon’s corpse into an undead.]

[Effect 2: The ‘Bone Dragon’ will serve you for 5 hours before vanishing into subspace.]

[Effect 3: The cooldown of this skill is 24 hours.]

I reread the skill I had obtained as a reward for the Dragon Slayer achievement. It was a skill only I, as the highest contributor, could use—the Bone Dragon.

Like damn.

Chills ran down my spine.

That massive thing would come back as an undead to fight for me?

The thought alone made my chest swell with excitement. Yes. This was what it meant to be a necromancer.

True necromancer glory wasn’t in death knights or liches. It was in bone dragons—the ultimate undead. A skeletal dragon was the definitive symbol of a necromancer, capable of stirring any man’s heart!

—Rumble!

Let’s go!

I directed the surging energy toward the fallen Giant Magic Dragon. I imagined the overwhelming creature rising again to sink its fangs into Aranballon.

But then…

“…Huh?”

I frowned as the energy that had been rushing forward lost momentum and dissipated.

“What the hell?”

[An error has occurred!]

“Huh?” A confused sound escaped my lips.

Error?

[You are cursed.]

[You can only summon skeletons.]

[Skill: Bone Dragon (S-rank) has been canceled.]

[100 energy has been returned.]

“What the…?” I narrowed my eyes and reread the message—twice to be sure. “Hah.”

Right. Of course. I had forgotten that my unique ability was the Cursed Necromancer. That meant I could only control skeletons.

Still, isn’t this a bit much?

This wasn’t a skill I gained for being a necromancer—it was an achievement reward. Did that mean that my curse had a higher authority than the system, overriding it? I scowled in frustration.

[The system is reassessing your achievement reward.]

[Analyzing the correlation between the skill and your unique ability.]

[Please wait.]

Right. That’s more like it.

I sighed in relief.

If it hadn’t been reassessed, I would’ve felt incredibly cheated. How could they just take away my Dragon Slayer reward after all I went through to earn it?

—Ring!

[Skill: Bone Dragon (S-rank) has been converted to Dragon Bone Skeleton (S-rank)!]

Dragon Bone Skeleton? What was that?

[Skill: Dragon Bone Skeleton]

[Rank: S]

[Effect 1: A skill exclusive to the ‘Cursed Necromancer.’]

[Effect 2: Consumes 100 energy to absorb a dragon’s bones.]

[Effect 3: Transforms the bones of all summonable skeletons into the absorbed dragon’s bones.]

[Effect 4: The skeletons’ bone density will vary depending on the dragon’s size, quantity, and the number of skeletons summoned.]

I skimmed through the description.

Basically, my skeletons, like Sunny or Eldrin, would gain bodies made of dragon bones. I guessed this could be considered similar to spartoi. If spartoi were made of dragon’s teeth, then my skeletons would become dragon bones themselves.

“Well, okay then.”

It didn’t sound bad. But as they say, seeing is believing. So let’s try using it.

[Using skill ‘Dragon Bone Skeleton’ (S-rank).]

[Consuming 100 energy.]

—Rumble!

A torrent of energy shot from my staff toward the Giant Magic Dragon’s corpse.

“What are you muttering about? If you have nothing to show, disappear.”

Aranballon’s magic circle released a burst of crimson flames.

“Hoon!” Olena cried out.

“I’m fine!”

I had been monitoring Aranballon’s movements.

—Fwoosh!

The flames surged toward me, but…

“Boney 4!”

Boney 4 appeared beside me, raising its shield to block the blaze. The ancient shield engraved with a demon’s face, Behemoth’s Bone Shield, absorbed the flames.

—Ring!

[Absorbing ‘Giant Magic Dragon’ bones.]

—Flash!

A brilliant light enveloped the world.

[All skeletons’ bones are now replaced with dragon bones.]

A faint, mist-like glow enveloped all 7,777 skeletons.

“What…?”

Aranballon’s golden eyes widened. It was just the natural reaction. The massive corpse of the Giant Magic Dragon had dissolved into thin air, leaving only its hide.

“You… What have you done?”

The dragon roared.

“Where did you take my trophy?”

Oh. It wasn’t shock—it was rage induced by the disappearance of his possession. Typical of the Dragon of Greed.

“That wasn’t just yours. I contributed too,” I muttered, glancing below.

My subordinates were examining their new forms with fascination.

“My lord, is this…?” Sunny murmured in awe.

“Master. Could it be…?” Eldrin’s voice was filled with astonishment, “Our bodies have become dragon bones?”

“It seems so. Look.”

—Fwoosh!

Even Boney 4, who normally would’ve melted under Aranballon’s flames, was holding steady.

“Solid, right?”

It was no wonder. They were made of dragon bones strong enough to withstand the clash of dragons’ breath.

“Amazing, my lord.”

—Boom!

Sunny launched themself at Aranballon. “Though my skill hasn’t increased, I feel indestructible, as if no attack can break me.”

—Dash!

Eldrin darted to the side. “And having tougher bodies means we can attack more aggressively. I’m very satisfied, Master.”

It wasn’t just Sunny and Eldrin.

—Creak! Clack!

Countless skeletons glowed with renewed vigor. Their resolve was stronger than ever, untainted by fear or despair, as if showing their satisfaction with their new form.

I, too, transformed my staff back into a spear.

—Splash!

Footsteps on water sounded as my teammates approached.

“Hoon, we’re here!”

The others joined me.

“Team Leader! What’s going on?”

“My friend, are you all right?”

“Hey, Team Leader! Are you going inside that dragon again?” Vladimir raised his staff.

“No, that won’t work.” I shook my head.

“Why not?”

“It’s too risky. The dragon will be expecting it.”

Dragons were strong and intelligent, so using the same tactic twice would be dangerous.

—Flap!

You could tell by looking at Aranballon taking to the skies to create distance as if anticipating that.

—Crash!

With a massive paw, it swatted Sunny aside and ascended into the air.

“Fair enough.” Vladimir clicked his tongue in frustration. “At this range, calculating teleportation coordinates would be nearly impossible. Like trying to hit a bullet mid-flight.”

“What’s the plan, then?” The Spear of Judgment asked seriously.

I clenched my fists, gazing at Aranballon above. “We fight.”

The dragon was injured. Its body was bruised and swollen, with wounds still bleeding. Difficult as it would be, victory wasn’t out of reach.

“This is where the real mission begins.”

I launched myself forward.

A storm had descended in Aranballon’s stronghold—the massive fortress it had built had now become a battlefield.

Aranballon swatted at the skeletons and lashed out with its tail, scattering them.

Even injured, a dragon was still a dragon.

—Boom!

Each attack shook the world as if it were collapsing. But despite the carnage, Aranballon’s expression showed a hint of frustration.

Impressive.

It hadn’t expected these humans, whom it had considered insects, to fight so effectively.

Hm. Soldiers infused with dragon bones, huh?

The human’s power was extraordinary. With just a gesture, he had dissolved the dragon’s bones and transformed them into his soldiers’ bodies.

This makes things tricky.

Swords, spears, bows, shields, staffs, gauntlets. The attacks of those charging forward with various weapons were honestly laughable. If it had been before getting injured, “It tickled” would have been the only response, followed by trampling and crushing them. However…

They’re tough.

Perhaps it was because they were made of dragon bones. No matter how much they were struck or crushed, they hardly broke. Even when destroyed, they would come back fully restored.

As expected from the one who received a dragon’s recognition, huh?

Aranballon, in truth, already knew the true meaning of the words left behind by the Giant Magic Dragon before it died.

“You may laugh now… You may think you’ve won… But you’ll soon pay the price for your greed.”

It had hinted at that humans’ victory. And to some extent, it could acknowledge that possibility.

However, that is only if I let my guard down.

But now that it had recognized and was wary of those humans, in such a situation, it was safe to say that its victory was predetermined.

“My victory.”

The mana twisted inside Aranballon like a stretched rubber band suddenly unraveled.

—Whoooosh!

Dust on the ground trembled and scattered, and the skeletons approaching lost their balance and fell due to the windstorm.

A force that exerted physical power just by releasing its energy—this was the power of a dragon, a being that ruled an entire world.

“That one manipulating space magic is irritating.”

Aranballon’s yellow eyes fixed on Vladimir. Since earlier, every time it tried to catch him, he distorted space and escaped. It was infuriating. Not only did he escape on his own, but he also took all seven humans with him. Because of that, it was forced to fight endlessly regenerating skeletons. In other words, if it could just restrain the one using space magic, it could completely immobilize the enemy.

“Die!”

—Vweeeeeng!

The magic circle etched into the air began to glow…

—Shoosh!

But once again, they sneakily disappeared.

—Boom!

Light shot out, piercing through empty air and exploding when it hit the ground. The dirt exploded, and dust rose high.

“Lizard, where are you looking?”

“Dragon, it would be wise to focus here.”

—Swish, swish, swish!

The persistent skeletons clung to it once more.

“These pests.”

One of Aranballon’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance. The skeleton wielding a spear and the one with a bow were relentless. They targeted its left wing and right thigh, where there were fractures and bleeding.

I can’t afford to drag this out.

The battle wasn’t entirely in its favor. Its body wasn’t in good condition. It needed to end things quickly.

“…”

Aranballon closed its eyes and focused. From this moment on, it would temporarily put aside the greed that had taken over its body. It would acknowledge its opponents. There would be no arrogance or carelessness.

—Rumble!

When Aranballon opened its eyes again, a massive magic circle was forming in the air. It was a spell that even the dragon itself had never used before due to how strong and unmatched it was. It consumed a great deal of energy, but its sealing effect was guaranteed.

[Arabalon used the skill ‘Targeted Dispel (SS-Rank).]

[Target: Vladimir Lodygin.]

[Vladimir Lodygin cannot use any skills for 24 hours.]

—Thunk!

The humans, who had been running frantically, were now rooted in place.

“Got you.”

At the same time, all the magic circles that had been drawn in the air turned their focus toward the humans.