"I-I can''t do it..."
"You can."
"Why... why are you deciding that?! You''re trying to work me to death, aren''t you? That’s it, isn’t it?!"
[The Ring of Joy and Sorrow reacts to the target’s most intense emotion.]
[The absorbable emotion is ‘ck.’]
[Absorbing emotion from the target.]
"You can do it."
"...Okay."
While Gong Da-won was crafting the Bone Dragon, Su-ho’s role was straightforward:
using the Ring of Joy and Sorrow to keep him under control.
Given the current circumstances, that was the extent of what Su-ho could do.
"It''s... it''s too hard."
"No, you can push a bit harder."
"N-no, I can''t. I feel like I''m going to die."
[Heal is activated.]
[Recovery is activated.]
[Blessing is activated.]
"Better now?"
"Ughhh! What kind of person does this?! You''re really trying to kill me with overwork!"
"Not at all."
[The Ring of Joy and Sorrow reacts to the target’s most intense emotion.]
[The absorbable emotion is ‘ck.’]
[Absorbing emotion from the target.]
"Ughhh..."
Gong Da-won was undoubtedly a skilled necromancer yer.
However, despite his abilities, his fragile mental state due to mental illness made him highly sensitive and in constant need of care.
But if securing a Bone Dragon was the reward, Su-ho could endure any amount of caregiving—hundreds of times, if necessary.
Su-ho ensured Gong Da-won didn’t run out of mana by continuously supplying mana potions. After exhausting a dozen drake corpses:
[yer Gong Da-won has sessfully crafted a Bone Drake.]
Gong Da-won finally managed toplete the crafting of a Bone Drake.
The Bone Drake creaked and groaned as it moved.
Getting to this point had been a long journey.
Su-ho, genuinely pleased, congratted him.
"See? I told you that you could do it."
"Y-yeah, I guess so..."
"Now that you''ve seeded in crafting a Bone Drake, the rest should be easier, right?"
"Y-yeah, easier..."
"Then let’s rest for a bit and start again. What would you like to eat?"
"Ah, anything is fine..."@@novelbin@@
"Alright, I’ll get it."
Su-ho handed him a bento box and some water he’d brought from outside, smiling.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
At this rate, it seemed feasible to craft the Bone Dragon soon enough.
‘Since this is Daniel''s method, it should be foolproof.’
The method to craft a Bone Dragon from a Bone Drake was shared by Daniel Hunter, the world’s top necromancer yer.
“Skeleton series undead can be upgraded through bone reconstruction and species evolution. For example, you can even craft a dragon from a wyvern.”
"Then why don’t you make a Bone Dragon yourself?"
"Because it’s fake, not the real thing. I’ve never worn knockoffs, even as a kid."
"That’s your reason?"
"It’s important. A fake is a fake. No matter how good it looks, it can never surpass the original."
Using Daniel’s theory, Su-ho had adapted it to Gong Da-won. Failure wasn’t an option, not when the method came directly from Daniel.
After finishing the bento, Gong Da-won handed back the empty box and cautiously asked,
"Um... How did you know I was here?"
"That’s a secret."
"Huh? A secret?"
"Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"Then… one more thing!"
"What is it?"
"Why did you pick me? Surely, there were other necromancers?"
Why you?
If he answered honestly, it would probably hurt his feelings:
Because you’re the easiest to handle.
Crafting a Bone Dragon required a minimum of a one-star necromancer, and there were very few of those in Korea.
‘Even if there were, they’d belong torge guilds.’
Contacting such people in secret and convincing them to help? Unlikely.
‘Even if I seeded, it’d create endlessplicationster.’
That’s why Su-ho chose Gong Da-won—unaffiliated and hassle-free.
Su-ho answered, "Because out of all the necromancers I know, you’re the most talented."
"M-m-me?!"
"Yes. Now that you’ve rested, let’s get started on the next step. Since you sessfully crafted a Bone Drake, you can now use Rise Bone Drake, right?"
"Y-yes, I can... Alright."
To use Rise Skeleton with an actual corpse, one needed prior experience in assembling at least one skeleton.
That’s why Gong Da-won had been meticulously arranging the drake bones.
Su-ho replenished Gong Da-won’s mana with potions and had him demonstrate Rise Bone Drake.
[yer Gong Da-won uses Rise Bone Drake.]
Kugugugu!
As Rise Bone Drake was cast, Bone Drakes began rising from the scattered drake corpses.
Although Gong Da-won’s mana depleted rapidly, Su-ho replenished it precisely when needed.
"Hold on."
"Ughhh! It’s so hard!"
"You can do it."
"You’re just trying to drain my mana and kill me, aren’t you?!"
[The Ring of Joy and Sorrow reacts to the target’s most intense emotion.]
[The absorbable emotion is ‘ck.’]
[Absorbing emotion from the target.]
"You can handle it, right?"
"Ughhh! I-I’ll try!"
He really was easy to manage.
That’s exactly why Su-ho chose Gong Da-won.
Over a dozen Bone Drakes rose. Satisfied, Su-ho said,
"Let’s move on. To craft a Bone Dragon, we’ll need at least two Bone Mega Drakes. And we already have…"
Su-ho pointed to a massive drake corpse, farrger than the others, lying in a corner.
It was the boss of the drake gate: the Mega Drake.
"Since we already have one Mega Drake, we just need to make one more. Let’s get to it."
"Y-yes..."
"But after this, you’re not going to… you know, abandon me, are you?"
[The Ring of Joy and Sorrow reacts to the target’s most intense emotion.]
[The absorbable emotion is ‘ck.’]
[Absorbing emotion from the target.]
"Of course not."
"I-I’ll work hard!"
Gong Da-won began crafting the second Mega Drake with determination.
***
How much time had passed?
[yer Gong Da-won uses Bone Reconstruction.]
[The Bone Drake enters a restructured state.]
[yer Gong Da-won uses Species Evolution.]
[The Drake''s bones begin to evolve.]
How many attempts had it been by now?
Species evolution was akin to weapon enhancement: sess was never guaranteed, and failure was always a looming possibility.
Su-ho looked at the piles of bone dust left behind from failed attempts, silently praying for sess this time.
Then, as the skill was activated, the drake’s bones began to glow.
[The evolution of the Drake''s bones was sessful.]
[The bones have evolved into Mega Drake bones.]
"I-it worked! It worked!"
Gong Da-won’s hands trembled with excitement as he saw the notification.
Finally, sess.
Su-ho, remaining calm, said, "Quickly, assemble it."
"Y-yes, sir!"
The precious bones of a Mega Drake were now in their hands.
At Su-ho''s urging, Gong Da-won steadily and meticulously reassembled the bones. Finally, as thest piece clicked into ce:
[Bone Reconstruction has beenpleted sessfully.]
[A Bone Mega Drake has been crafted.]
Fwoosh!
As the skill seeded, a dazzling light radiated from the bones, and a massive Bone Mega Drake appeared before them.
Its presence wasmanding, its majesty undeniable.
With a smile, Su-ho said, "See? I told you it was possible."
"Y-yeah, I guess you were right..."
"Now that we’ve seeded in crafting the Bone Mega Drake, you can use Rise Bone Mega Drake, correct? Go ahead and try."
"Y-yes! Right away!"
Gong Da-won immediately used Rise Skeleton on the boss monster’s Mega Drake bones.
[Rise Bone Mega Drake is activated.]
At Gong Da-won’smand, the massive Bone Mega Drake began to rise.
Atst, the minimal requirements for crafting the Bone Dragon were in ce: two Bone Mega Drakes.
As he gazed at the two massive Bone Mega Drakes, Gong Da-won hesitated.
"U-um... but..."
"What is it?"
"To create a Bone Mega Drake, we used two sets of Bone Drake remains each time, right?"
"That’s correct."
"But... we barely seeded after several attempts. What if we fail this time? What will we do then?"
It was a valid concern. Gong Da-won had used up nearly all the Drake bones avable in the gate just to create one Mega Drake.
Su-ho had anticipated this issue long before. That’s why he came prepared.
"You’ll use this."
"W-what’s this?"
"A skill potion."
"A s-skill potion?"
"Yes, it increases sess rates by up to 75%."
Skill potions came in various types—some boosted skill effects, while others mitigated skill drawbacks. The one Su-ho brought increased the probability of sess.
‘The current limit of human technology is 80%.’
Even so, 80% potions were out of reach, as the alchemists capable of making them operated overseas.
Su-ho had settled for the next best thing: a 75% sess potion.
‘It cost a fortune, but it’s worth it.’
To Su-ho, it wasn’t a waste; it was an investment in the future.
Handing the potion to Gong Da-won, Su-ho said, "I can’t guarantee 100%, but 75% is a gamble worth taking. I brought two potions—use one for Species Evolution and the other for Bone Reconstruction."
"Y-you’re really serious about this..."
"Of course I am."
"What if we fail?"
"If we fail..." Su-ho nced at the piles of bone dust scattered around them and said, "We start over from scratch."
"W-what?!"
"I mean it. So make sure it works this time."
The weight of Su-ho’s words felt more like a threat than encouragement.
Swallowing hard, Gong Da-won gulped down the potion.
A notification signaled the potion’s activation, and Gong Da-won proceeded to use Bone Reconstruction.
[yer Gong Da-won uses Bone Reconstruction.]
[The Bone Mega Drake enters a restructured state.]
[yer Gong Da-won uses Species Evolution.]
[The Mega Drake''s bones begin to evolve.]
As the Mega Drake’s bones started glowing, both of them silently prayed for sess.
Then—
[The evolution of the Mega Drake’s bones was sessful.]
[The bones have evolved into Quarter Dragon bones.]
"...!!"
"It worked!"
Atst, they had seeded in obtaining the bones necessary to craft the Bone Dragon.
The journey toward their goal had reached a critical milestone.