"I-I can't do it..."
"You can."
"Why... why are you deciding that?! You're trying to work 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 ‘Black.’]
[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 with overwork!"
"Not at all."
[The Ring of Joy and Sorrow reacts to the target’s most intense emotion.]
[The absorbable emotion is ‘Black.’]
[Absorbing emotion from the target.]
"Ughhh..."
Gong Da-won was undoubtedly a skilled necromancer player.
However, despite his abilities, his fragile ntal state due to ntal 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 tis, 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:
[Player Gong Da-won has successfully crafted a Bone Drake.]
Gong Da-won finally managed to complete 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, congratulated him.
"See? I told you that you could do it."
"Y-yeah, I guess so..."
"Now that you've succeeded 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..."
"Alright, I’ll get it."
Su-ho handed him a bento box and so water he’d brought from outside, smiling.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
At this rate, it seed feasible to craft the Bone Dragon soon enough.
‘Since this is Daniel's thod, it should be foolproof.’
The thod to craft a Bone Dragon from a Bone Drake was shared by Daniel Hunter, the world’s top necromancer player.
“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 thod ca 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 ? 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 to large guilds.’
Contacting such people in secret and convincing them to help? Unlikely.
‘Even if I succeeded, it’d create endless complications later.’
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-?!"
"Yes. Now that you’ve rested, let’s get started on the next step. Since you successfully 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 ticulously arranging the drake bones.
Su-ho replenished Gong Da-won’s mana with potions and had him demonstrate Rise Bone Drake.
[Player 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 , aren’t you?!"
[The Ring of Joy and Sorrow reacts to the target’s most intense emotion.]
[The absorbable emotion is ‘Black.’]
[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 ga Drakes. And we already have…"
Su-ho pointed to a massive drake corpse, far larger than the others, lying in a corner.
It was the boss of the drake gate: the ga Drake.
"Since we already have one ga 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 , are you?"
[The Ring of Joy and Sorrow reacts to the target’s most intense emotion.]
[The absorbable emotion is ‘Black.’]
[Absorbing emotion from the target.]
"Of course not."
"I-I’ll work hard!"
Gong Da-won began crafting the second ga Drake with determination.
***
How much ti had passed?
[Player Gong Da-won uses Bone Reconstruction.]
[The Bone Drake enters a restructured state.]
[Player 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 enhancent: success 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 success this ti.
Then, as the skill was activated, the drake’s bones began to glow.
[The evolution of the Drake's bones was successful.]
[The bones have evolved into ga Drake bones.]
"I-it worked! It worked!"
Gong Da-won’s hands trembled with excitent as he saw the notification.
Finally, success.
Su-ho, remaining calm, said, "Quickly, assemble it."
"Y-yes, sir!"
The precious bones of a ga Drake were now in their hands.
At Su-ho's urging, Gong Da-won steadily and ticulously reassembled the bones. Finally, as the last piece clicked into place:
[Bone Reconstruction has been completed successfully.]
[A Bone ga Drake has been crafted.]
Fwoosh!
As the skill succeeded, a dazzling light radiated from the bones, and a massive Bone ga Drake appeared before them.
Its presence was commanding, 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 succeeded in crafting the Bone ga Drake, you can use Rise Bone ga Drake, correct? Go ahead and try."
"Y-yes! Right away!"
Gong Da-won imdiately used Rise Skeleton on the boss monster’s ga Drake bones.
[Rise Bone ga Drake is activated.]
At Gong Da-won’s command, the massive Bone ga Drake began to rise.
At last, the minimal requirents for crafting the Bone Dragon were in place: two Bone ga Drakes.
As he gazed at the two massive Bone ga Drakes, Gong Da-won hesitated.
"U-um... but..."
"What is it?"
"To create a Bone ga Drake, we used two sets of Bone Drake remains each ti, right?"
"That’s correct."
"But... we barely succeeded after several attempts. What if we fail this ti? What will we do then?"
It was a valid concern. Gong Da-won had used up nearly all the Drake bones available in the gate just to create one ga Drake.
Su-ho had anticipated this issue long before. That’s why he ca prepared.
"You’ll use this."
"W-what’s this?"
"A skill potion."
"A s-skill potion?"
"Yes, it increases success rates by up to 75%."
Skill potions ca in various types—so boosted skill effects, while others mitigated skill drawbacks. The one Su-ho brought increased the probability of success.
‘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% success potion.
‘It cost a fortune, but it’s worth it.’
To Su-ho, it wasn’t a waste; it was an investnt 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 glanced at the piles of bone dust scattered around them and said, "We start over from scratch."
"W-what?!"
"I an it. So make sure it works this ti."
The weight of Su-ho’s words felt more like a threat than encouragent.
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.
[Player Gong Da-won uses Bone Reconstruction.]
[The Bone ga Drake enters a restructured state.]
[Player Gong Da-won uses Species Evolution.]
[The ga Drake's bones begin to evolve.]
As the ga Drake’s bones started glowing, both of them silently prayed for success.
Then—
[The evolution of the ga Drake’s bones was successful.]
[The bones have evolved into Quarter Dragon bones.]
"...!!"
"It worked!"
At last, they had succeeded in obtaining the bones necessary to craft the Bone Dragon.
The journey toward their goal had reached a critical milestone.
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