Chapter 2

I try to live diligently, so why is this happening to me?

Ranker.

The aspiration and idol of all Hunters.

Those who have seized all the world’s honor, wealth, and power.

The way to become one is very simple.

「World Ranking Board」

Just engrave your name here.

Was it about 10 years ago when a mysterious giant board appeared in the eastern region of the United States?

The number of Hunters who can be listed here is exactly 1,000.

Moreover, it is a ranking system with assigned ranks.

Some might wonder.

‘Something’s strange, isn’t it? I’ll admit that you can become a Ranker by having your name listed on the board. But who lists it?’

‘That’s right, there aren’t any clear criteria for Rankers.’

‘Indeed… It’s ambiguous. In fact, skill can vary greatly depending on the day’s condition, and there are also Hunters whose Unique Ability is related to daily life or support, right?’

These kinds of questions.

When the board was first created.

Many people had these doubts.

However, they didn’t need to worry.

Because the System that calculates the rankings is not ‘human.’

[Ranking has been updated.]

[Please refer to the World Ranking Board.]

At the beginning of every month.

A status message appears, notifying all the Hunters in the world of the update.

That alone put an end to all the controversy.

There’s no way a ‘human’ could do something like this.

‘Okay, if the System automatically assigns it, then I acknowledge it.’

‘That’s right, as long as it’s not human. Then at least there won’t be any corruption, right?’

Humanity did not have much resistance to acquiring and understanding the ‘Ranker’ System.

Because they had already deeply accepted the ‘Hunter’ System into their bodies.

Step, step.

I continued walking along the path.

How much time had passed?

I was able to find an empty lot.

“Shall we start preparing?”

It wasn’t an empty lot that someone had made.

It was a space naturally created by my tears and sweat.

I always headed here naturally when I got off work.

Crack, crack.

As soon as I arrived, I turned my neck and started stretching.

At the same time, I opened the skill window with one eye.

[Skill: Summon Common Skeleton]

[Rank: E]

[Effect 1: Summons a low-level Skeleton by consuming 10 Mana. Up to 10 can be summoned.]

[Effect 2: Each Skeleton can be named.]

“……”

Familiar content greeted my eyes.

It’s content that causes annoyance and raises blood pressure every time I see it.

“Hoo.”

Of course, it wasn’t like this when I first got the skill.

‘You can name the Skeletons? This is a skill with content I’ve never heard of before? Maybe it has a special ability different from others?’

It was a thought that anyone could have.

I heard that the Undead of ordinary Necromancers are disposable.

Once you use a skill, the summoned creature never appears again in the next skill.

But I was different.

Every time I summoned them by consuming Mana.

[Using skill, ‘Summon Common Skeleton’ (Rank E).]

[Consuming 10 Mana.]

[‘Bone One’ has appeared.]

[Using skill, ‘Summon Common Skeleton’ (Rank E).]

[Consuming 10 Mana.]

[‘Bone Two’ has appeared.]

[Using skill, ‘Summon Common Skeleton’ (Rank E).]

[Consuming 10 Mana.]

[‘Bone Three’ has appeared.]

Creak, creak!

With very perfunctory names that attach numbers to bones, the welcome guys appear.

They are not disposable Skeletons, but always the same guys.

“Nice to see you again today, you little shits. Warm up. You have to take good care of your fragile joints.”

Of course, it wasn’t difficult to distinguish them even without names.

Because their weapons were different.

“Okay, number 1 has a big sword.”

Clang!

The guy swung his sword at the scarecrow set up in the corner.

“Number 2 has a long spear.”

Whoosh!

Bone Two, not wanting to be outdone, rushed towards the scarecrow on the opposite side.

“Number 3 has a bow.”

Squeak!

The last guy drew his bow towards the target hanging on the tree.

That’s right.

This was the effort I had made to become a Ranker.

Training.

I had been constantly pushing these guys for three years.

Under the assumption that the memories and skills of the summoned guys are preserved, I thought that training them might give them better abilities.

At first, there was some progress.

The guys who used to struggle to catch even one E-grade Goblin could now easily handle three on their own.

‘But.’

E-grade is E-grade.

That was it.

No matter how intense the training became.

No matter how much time passed.

There was a limit to their growth.

‘I even hired a tutor.’

When I spent a lot of money to hire a C-grade Hunter, I directly experienced the feelings of a parent crazy about education.

And what’s even more miserable is.

‘I gave up on the remaining 4~10 guys altogether.’

Unlike Bone One~Three.

The remaining guys didn’t even have weapons themselves.

I wondered if they were hand-to-hand combatants or support types, so I experimented with various things.

Creak?

Whenever I saw the guys moving like robots with bugs.

My chest felt so stuffy that I felt like I was going to die of a fever.

I got hundreds of weapons and gave them to them.

I taught them martial arts that I had learned myself.

I read them books or played videos for them.

As a shock therapy, I even participated in high-level Dungeons as a porter and let them loose.

“……”

But as expected, no reaction.

I only wasted precious Mana.

One year passed, two years passed, and now it’s the third year.

The guys were still just ordinary E-grade Skeletons.

“Haa.”

I couldn’t help but get tired as a human being.

Could it be that I have to live this kind of life forever?

“A miserable life.”

But there is no other way.

Didn’t someone say?

That a person without a dream is more pitiful than a person living with an unattainable dream.

My dream is to be a clear Ranker.

That’s why I just keep running steadily.

As I continued training.

Rustle!

It was then that I felt something stirring in the dark forest over there.

“Huh?”

I frowned.

Even though it’s a back mountain in a neighborhood with no owner.

This place has been my own sanctuary for the past three years, where no one has set foot.

It was an instinctive sense of alertness.

Growl! Screech!

‘What is it?’

My eyes widened.

What’s that pig-slaughtering sound?

One thing is for sure, it’s definitely not human.

Then, in the best case, it’s a wild boar-like bird, and in the worst case…

‘A monster?’

Creak, creak!

Bone One, Two, and Three also seemed to have read my mind and instinctively stopped training.

And it was when they were right next to me, ready for battle.

“Screech!”

With a foul roar coming from right in front of me, a monster appeared.

The guy boasting green skin, large fangs, and burly muscles was none other than.

“An Orc?”

It was a fairly tricky monster registered as D-grade.

“Crazy, why is an Orc here?”

I stepped back in embarrassment.

One D-grade Orc wouldn’t even be a handful for a Ranker.

But for me, it was nothing short of terrible fear.

Because the only force I could use was just three E-grade Skeletons.

Moreover, what I felt in the guy’s bloodshot eyes was clear.

A huge desire to eat.

The way he was drooling, he seemed quite hungry.

[‘Bone One’ (Rank E) is suppressed by the aura of the strong. All stats are reduced by 20%!]

[‘Bone Two’ (Rank E) is suppressed by the aura of the strong. All stats are reduced by 20%!]

[‘Bone Three’ (Rank E) is suppressed by the aura of the strong. All stats are reduced by 20%!]

“These damn bastards?”

To make matters worse.

Our damn lovely bones, whose three years of training were overshadowed, were immediately suppressed by the aura.

“It really feels like the sky is just pushing me to die, please.”

The fact that an Orc appeared here meant that a Dungeon Break had occurred.

‘Dungeon Breaks aren’t rare phenomena, but.’

If you calculate the probability of it appearing here when I’m alone in this secluded place?

Hmm, maybe it’s about the same as the probability of getting struck by lightning while walking down the street?

“Haa.”

I let out a deep sigh.

How much would it hurt to be crushed by that Orc’s teeth?

Will he eat me from the upper body? Or from the lower body?

No, will he cut off my breath before eating me?

“Ugh.”

Of course, I have no intention of being obediently defeated.

Because I don’t want to die.

“Screech! Screech!”

The Orc, who had been wary for a moment, began to charge, swinging his axe in the air.

“Block it!”

I immediately controlled the Skeletons and deployed them.

Although they were suppressed by the aura, the bones, who don’t know the feeling of fear, moved immediately.

Clang!

Bone One, shortened to Bone One, swung his sword and blocked the axe.

Bone Two, holding a spear, also jumped out like lightning and helped Bone One.

But.

“Screech!”

As the Orc’s fierce muscles twitched.

Crack! Snap!

The Skeleton’s body was easily smashed.

It was a moment when my mind went blank.

[‘Bone One’s summon has been canceled.]

[‘Bone Two’s summon has been canceled.]

“These damn bastards!”

The only fortunate thing was that Bone Three, who uses a bow, was at a distance.

Whoosh!

The arrow was fired as the Skeleton released the drawn bow.

That’s right, Bone Three! You’re the only one I can trust.

Please cheer up! No matter how miserable my life is, I want to keep living.

[Hunter: Ju Dong-hoon]

[Mana: 70/100]

I stepped back and checked my Mana.

The remaining Mana was 70.

In other words, I could still summon 7 more bones.

[Using skill, ‘Summon Common Skeleton’ (Rank E).]

[Consuming 10 Mana.]

[‘Bone One’ has appeared.]

[Using skill, ‘Summon Common Skeleton’ (Rank E).]

[Consuming 10 Mana.]

[‘Bone Two’ has appeared.]

“You guys are the tanks!”

I quickly ran away and summoned the melee dealers again.

With my life on the line, I excluded the useless 4~10.

“Run! Block as much as you can!”

Creak!

Bone One and Bone Two, nodding their heads, rushed in again.

The advantage of Skeletons is that they can be resurrected infinitely as long as you have enough Mana.

Yeah.

I’m sorry for being a bad master, but please buy me some time, even if it’s just a little.

“Screech!”

The Orc, enraged by being disturbed from his feast, roared so loudly that the forest echoed.

Then, he relentlessly hacked at the two who were persistently sticking to him with his axe.

Ting! Ting!

The arrows fired by Bone Three bounced off the guy’s tough skin.

It wasn’t that there was no impact, but what was certain was that it was only provoking the guy.

‘Damn it.’

It felt like my head was burning.

I’m running away, but I can’t get too far away from the Skeletons.

The guy’s target is my soft skin and fragrant blood.

If he puts everything aside and only aims for me, I won’t be able to escape him at a mere human speed.

[‘Bone One’s summon has been canceled.]

[‘Bone Two’s summon has been canceled.]

“Damn it!”

There was nothing much I could do.

I ran away with all my might.

And when the summon was canceled, I summoned them again to replenish them.

It seemed that the attack wasn’t working because it was an Orc, a higher species even among D-grades, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

I did my best like a bug struggling to survive.

After a few minutes of doing so.

[All Mana has been consumed.]

[Tip/Want to replenish your Mana? Try taking a rest.]

“Rest my ass!”

Now the remaining Mana is 0.

I looked up at the sky and cursed at someone.

I try to live diligently, so why is this happening to me?