How to Raise Your Skeletons

Of course, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Curiosity is a fundamental instinct for all intelligent beings. Through curiosity and the pursuit of learning, humanity has grown this far. In fact, curiosity is a form of courage—the courage to try things that are uncertain or even dangerous.

And while it may sound odd for me to say this about myself, if anyone represented courage, it was me.

“…” I stared at the mushroom before me.

After all those thoughts, my point was simple. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to take a bite of that colorful mushroom. If I could gain “trial points” from every edible item, then… maybe this mushroom could grant the same.

“Hey, Hoon, you’re not thinking about…” Noticing my gaze, James frowned. “Are you planning to eat that? It looks like it’d give you at least a stomachache…”

“I agree. We haven’t even scouted the area properly, and we don’t know how much food is in this forest. There’s no need to pick up something that’s clearly poisonous,” Olena chimed in, nodding along with James.

Both teammates objected.

“Hmm.” I scratched my chin.

Perhaps it was due to my stubborn nature, but their warnings only made me want to eat it more.

“Hoon, hold on.”

—Step, step.

It was then that Capu walked up to the mushroom. Squatting down, he studied it closely, nodding.

“Hmm, it’s definitely poisonous.”

Wait, what?

So as an explorer, it turned out that he also had the skill to identify poisonous mushrooms.

“We call this type of mushroom the ‘death devil’ back home.”

“Death devil?”

“Yes, the menacing name’s meant to warn people. Just a single bite of this can burn your esophagus and rot your stomach. Under no circumstances should anyone ever eat it.”

“…I see.”

Reluctantly, I nodded and took a step back. I couldn’t just ignore my entire team telling me not to eat it. Besides…

“…”

I looked up at the sky. The sunset was nearly gone, and the forest was growing dark. Out here in nature, night would be pitch black without any light. Even now, it was hard to make out anything in the dim light.

“For now, let’s take shelter in the spot we prepared.”

“Sounds like a plan. But what about the watch? We can’t light a fire, and it’s too dark to see anything… And keeping watch won’t do much good without night vision.”

“I’ll handle the watch.”

“You will?” Olena blinked in surprise.

I smiled in response. “Yes, I have a skeleton well-suited for darkness.”

I was talking about Sunny, the one who lived their whole life in darkness.

“I’ll cover the night watch from now on.”

I’d planned to do it in the first place anyway. And besides, I had some other business to take care of.

“Phew.”

The forest was now fully cloaked in darkness. I stood on a hilltop, exhaling a quiet breath. Only the eerie wind and the sound of insects echoed through the deep forest. Olena, James, and Capu had all fallen into a shallow sleep.

“My lord, aren’t you sleeping?” Noticing my presence, Sunny approached. “There’s still nothing unusual around.”

“Is that so? Thanks.”

Sleep was indeed essential for life. But at some point, the amount of required sleep time had sharply decreased for me.

It must be due to the Great Blue Heart Technique.

It was the S-rank ki technique that I learned from the old man. Its effects were remarkable. It expelled impurities and fatigue from the body, energizing my cells. The more I practiced it, the younger and fresher my skin looked. It even reduced the need for sleep.

I don’t need to force myself to sleep.

After all, I still hadn’t completed my day’s work. To truly end today, I needed to spend an hour with the old man.

[Using skill ‘Teaching of All Techniques’ (S-rank).]

[Consuming 20 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Master of All Techniques.’]

“You rascal.” The old man materialized, his figure like that of a ghost. “You decide to procrastinate, summoning me in the dead of night now, huh?”

“Haha, Elder.”

“So this is the dungeon created by that Dungeon Maker fellow, correct?”

“That’s right.”

I usually told the old man about everything I was up to, especially when I was in a place like this. That way, he could plan his curriculum for me depending on the circumstances.

“Hm, there’s no light, and visibility is poor, which makes the perfect conditions to practice sensing ki. Let’s begin with the Grand Technique as usual, shall we?”

The Grand Technique. I’d raised my rank significantly thanks to it, but it was still a torturous massage for me.

“Wait, Elder. Just a moment.”

“What is it?”

Since I usually just obeyed without question, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“About the Great Blue Heart Technique…”

“…”

“Can it expel poison?”

That was right. I still couldn’t get that poisonous mushroom out of my mind. I kept thinking about it, even now.

For a moment, I considered eating it and using Boney 7’s Recovery skill afterward. However, that skill was still on a month-long cooldown, and I didn’t want to waste it on this. Recovery was practically an extra stock of life, after all.

“Eh? Poison, you say?”

“Yes.”

“You fool! Of course it can. The Great Blue Heart Technique is flawless! I spent years selecting it as the finest of all techniques, and you think it can’t handle poison?” The old man straightened his shoulders, clearly proud.

“Oh, really?” My eyes lit up at the old man’s remark.

“Of course! Why do you ask?”

“Well, actually…”

I told him about what happened this afternoon, from how I gained trial points from food to my encounter with the death devil mushroom.

“Hmm.” The old man listened, contemplating. Then, as if it was a good idea, he spoke up. “Indeed, this might be a good time to build some tolerance for poison.”

“Tolerance?”

“Yes, lad. Good timing, actually,” the old man praised me, almost as if this was the perfect time for it. “Listen well. All Techniques is no trivial thing. It’s a technique that will lead you to the pinnacle of power in any world once you learn it.”

In his world, the technique had gotten him to that position and earned him the title of the World’s Strongest. In this world, it would be equivalent to becoming the no. 1 ranked hunter.

“Keeping the position of absolute power is not an easy task, lad. It’s savage and dangerous. Do you know one of the things needed to maintain such a position?”

Something needed, he asked…

I cleared my throat before speaking. “Maybe strength? Or connections?”

“Those are important too, but first you must realize how rotten the world truly is. At least, that was my experience. For centuries, I held the position of the absolute power, and countless others envied my spot.” The old man reminisced about his past. “Great organizations that could have unified the world if I hadn’t existed, jealous second-rankers, third-rankers, and even emperors. Of course, I laughed while crushing those losers—such is the dignity of the Master of All Techniques. But that requires readiness for ambushes and surprise attacks.”

“And you’re saying that one of those dangers is poison?”

“Precisely.” The old man nodded. “The Great Blue Heart Technique purifies the body. To reach the legendary state of Absolute Poison Immunity, I began consuming all kinds of poisons.”

Absolute Poison Immunity was a legendary state where no poison could penetrate an individual. I didn’t need the old man to tell me what that meant.

“When I overcame a hundred poisons, I reached the state of Hundred-Poisons Immunity. After a thousand, I achieved Thousand-Poisons Immunity. Finally, after consuming every poison in my world…” The old man smiled. The Master of All Techniques was relishing the memory as he relived the hardships and pains it took to reach his level. “I gained immunity to all poisons.”

“That’s incredible.”

“So if you see a deadly poison nearby, welcome it with open arms. If you encounter a new poison, be joyful rather than fearful.”

“…”

To an outsider, it might have sounded deranged. But for some reason, his words greatly resonated with me. I couldn’t help but wonder why I found the old man’s encouragement to view poison as a delicacy far more exciting than the caution of my teammates.

“Eldrin.”

—Swoosh!

The high elf, once a member of the Forest Tribe, approached at my call.

“You called, master?”

“From now on, bring anything that looks poisonous too.”

If poison would be so beneficial to me, then this rainforest was my opportunity. Collecting them here felt faster and more straightforward than outside the dungeon. And who knew, there could even be poisons here that didn’t exist on Earth.

“Hmm, I saw a few poisonous-looking mushrooms earlier… But are you sure about this?”

“Really? Even better.”

At my reply, the old man chuckled. “Good. It took me years to find poisons, yet you have a subordinate specialized in forest commodities.”

“Haha…” I scratched my head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Well then.” The old man clapped his hands. “Go on, try that thing you call the death devil. Usually you’d have to learn through trial and error, but you can use the advantage of having a good teacher. I’ll guide you directly.”

“Oh, thank you! I appreciate it.”

Not only would I get to eat that tempting mushroom, but I’d also get to skip a torturous massage. This was perfect.

I quickly made my way to the spot where I’d found the mushroom. It was dark, but the basic moonlight was enough to guide me, making it easy to find.

There it was—a vibrant, colorful mushroom growing in the shadow of a tree.

“…”

—Gulp.

I swallowed nervously.

The “death devil,” huh?

Capu’s warning came to mind. He mentioned that the moment you ate it, your esophagus would burn and your stomach would rot, right?

I couldn’t help feeling tense. It would probably hurt to eat this, wouldn’t it?

But… if it’ll make me stronger…

I’d endured plenty of pain before. Not to mention, I had a pain resistance skill. And I had Boney 7 on standby to heal me. Plus, I had the reliable Master of All Techniques watching my back.

Alright. Let’s eat it. Just pop it in my mouth!

Resolving myself, I stuffed the whole mushroom into my mouth.

—Crunch, crunch.

Uncooked, it was tough between my teeth.

Ugh.

The earthy taste and a strange sensation spread over my tongue and down my throat.

—Ring!

[You have ingested the ‘Death Devil.’]

[You have gained 10 trial points.]

[Bonus for poison.]

[‘Death Devil’ is classified as a Grade-2 poison.]

[You have gained an additional 300 trial points.]

What the…?

My eyes widened.

An entire day’s worth of eating had only brought me to 320 points, and killing someone would give me 100 points. Yet one poisonous mushroom gave me 300 trial points?

This… This challenge is practically made for me.