How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 104: The Poison Mist (3)

First, my energy returned. The color came back to my face, and strength returned to the hands that had been limp moments ago. Moreover, a familiar power filled my heart and lower abdomen—the ki I had been mastering through the Great Blue Heart Technique. And not just that, but my melted flesh began to regenerate.

“Grrr…!”

The nerves and bones that had lost their function started to grow anew. Damaged organs regained their functionality, and my weakened immune system surged back to life. Torn muscles healed, and my blurry vision cleared.

This was resurrection—a sight so miraculous it could only be called a miracle.

[Your body has been restored to its state 24 hours prior.]

From vocal cords that had only been capable of letting out faint whispers, a strong, vibrant voice erupted. “Haah!”

Even the dulled sense of pain receptors returned.

Good.

It was time to start again. The fight against the poison mist wasn’t over yet.

“Screeeeeeech!”

The poison mist’s energy surged into me, churning and probing. The familiar pain resumed, as did the process of neutralization and expelling.

Damn it, I muttered to myself.

I had endured so much torment to get through that hellish moment. And yet, here this monster was, dragging me back into a vortex of agony.

But…

This time, it was bearable. Compared to the beginning, it seemed I had built up at least some resistance.

“Hmm.”

I closed my eyes and focused on circulating my ki. I analyzed the toxic elements entering my body, trying to control them.

Indeed, the old man had been right about everything. There was no need for extensive research—just consuming poison was enough to gain knowledge about it. It wasn’t about learning through books but through direct experience.

My brain worked rapidly.

The second and sixth poison seem highly reactive. If they mix, it’ll be disastrous. Keep them apart.

Hmm, poisons one and three might cancel each other out. They feel similar to the Crane Soul Herb and Crane Red Bloom from before.

Oh? Poison five’s extreme toxicity can be neutralized by poison nine? Let’s merge them!

Wow! Eureka! Poisons 14 and 18 combined with 19. It’s like a perfect elixir! My energy is replenishing!

Even without knowing the proper names of the poisons, I was thinking like a poison scholar. Without precise knowledge, my instincts guided me—just as one didn’t need to study fire to know it was hot. This was the experience of someone who had consumed thousands of poisons.

“Screeeeeeech?!”

Perhaps because I wasn’t succumbing to it, the poison mist grew more violent. Its movements became more aggressive, its speed faster, and the winds more ferocious.

I won’t try to suppress it.

I acknowledged it—the poison mist was a natural disaster. It wasn’t something that could be controlled by mere human strength. To “control” something so vast was akin to trying to hold the ocean within a human body.

I won’t try to oppress you. Roam freely within me.

This was a monster that seemed to embody all the poisons in existence. Its goal was clear: to melt me with its collection of toxins. But in fact, that was also exactly what I wished for.

Come at me.

I opened all the circuits and meridians within my body. At the same time, I controlled the Great Blue Heart Technique to delicately protect those pathways.

—Whoosh!

Toxins began flooding in. The poison mist carried not only Grade 1 lethal poisons but also Grade 2, 3, and even common poisons—those too weak to harm me. This was possible only because of my current state. Had I tried this earlier, my body would have melted instantly.

But my body now was different. My brain automatically processed the old man’s Poison Arts, breaking down and synthesizing the toxins. Most importantly, my body had started to accept the poisons.

“Hoo, huff, hmph.”

Amazingly, the overwhelming toxins no longer suffocated me. My breathing was steady, and the foul, rotting stench was gone. Instead…

It’s fragrant.

I sniffed. It was a sweet aroma, like passing through a bakery in the morning. The texture of it on my tongue was so smooth that it made my mouth water.

Ah… is this really poison?

Poison was like Korean kimchi or cilantro in China—spicy and strong at first, but the more you consumed, the more you grew addicted.

Ahh. I felt joy. It was as if I’d reached a state of unity—no, oneness with poison.

Time passed as I relished this new sensation.

“Hahaha!” a voice rang out beside me.

Hm?

I opened my eyes wide. The old man stood there, grinning brightly in the greenish haze.

Huh? Elder, how did you get here?

“Didn’t you know? You’ve been instinctively summoning me every 24 hours. You’d summon me and then fumble around like an idiot, so I lent you a hand.”

…What?

I was dumbfounded. I’d only closed my eyes for a moment. What did he mean by summoning him every 24 hours?

“Haha. It seems you were so immersed you didn’t even notice. This is the fifth time you’ve summoned me, lad!”

“…”

Fifth time? Did that mean five days had passed?

“What?”

Come to think of it… My vision was clear. Even though my body was floating in the air and the poison was still pouring into me, I felt nothing. Rather, I felt refreshed.

“Screeeeeeech? Screeeeee?”

The once-ferocious roar of the poison mist now sounded confused.

“What’s happening…?”

“What’s happening? You’ve surpassed yourself, that’s what! Tsk. Even if you are my disciple, you’ve done something extraordinary.” The old man’s voice sounded as sweet as poison itself. “To think that the mere Thousand Poisons Immunity could endure such an impossible environment, absorb all those poisons, and still stand. Tell me, how do you feel? Can you instinctively identify the poisons swirling around you?”

He was right—I could. Every poison floating near me, I could taste them all. My body instinctively knew them—how to neutralize and control them without anyone telling me. I felt like I could even combine them to create something new.

“That is one of my All Techniques, the Poison Arts. Tsk, life is so mysterious that I still get amazed by it sometimes. Some of the techniques I drilled into you, you still haven’t mastered, yet you’ve reached the pinnacle of something entirely new.”

“Pinnacle…?”

“Yes, you fool! The state you’ve reached is Absolute Poison Immunity!”

“…!” My eyes widened.

[Congratulations!]

[The skill ‘Thousand Poisons Immunity’ (A-rank) has reached its max.]

[You have acquired the skill ‘Absolute Poison Immunity’ (S-rank).]

Ah, so this was the realm of Absolute Poison Immunity.

[Skill: Absolute Poison Immunity]

[Rank: S]

[Effect 1: Resistance to all existing poisons.]

[Effect 2: Identifies all existing poisons.]

[Effect 3: Can manipulate all existing poisons.]

“Yes, Absolute Poison Immunity doesn’t just end with resistance.” The old man smiled as he spoke. “It’s about becoming friends with poison—not fighting it but harmonizing with it. Therefore, you no longer had to resist it and instead formed the closest bond with it. You instinctively grasped that and achieved it through sheer perseverance!”

—Swish!

The swirling wind of the poison mist began to calm.

“Screeeeeeeeech… Scree…”

The vengeful roar of resentment from the poison mist became the purr of a contented cat.

“Huh.”

I nodded and opened my meridians. Through them, the once-disastrous energy of the poison mist began to flow into me.

“Do you want to come in? You say you want to stay within me because it’s more comfortable than the outside world?”

Its emotions flowed into me.

“Scree! Scree! Chrrr!”

Yes, you adorable little thing. Or rather, it suddenly became adorable.

“Come in, I’ll take care of you.”

I activated the Great Blue Heart Technique. No matter how strong its poison was, it could no longer harm me. It was just a soft, pleasant energy now. Its immense energy settled around the center of my body.

“Hehe,” the Elder chuckled and shook his head. “No matter how much I think about it, you’re absurdly lucky. To tame something so impossible. If there’s a ‘Great Art of Luck,’ you’ve already reached that pinnacle.”

“…This time, I can’t disagree.”

The poison mist nestled in my lower abdomen. I couldn’t control it because its energy was too immense, but as long as it was within me, it wouldn’t allow anything to threaten its newfound home. With that alone, I felt like I’d gained an army. I’d reached the stage of Absolute Poison Immunity—I was a friend to the poison mist.

Truly the stroke of a fortuitous encounter.

Just as the old man had said, I was brimming with gratitude for this fortuitous encounter.

—Ring!

[With the disappearance of the poison mist, the clear condition has been met!]

[Ending Theme 1 Trial.]

[You will be transported to the location of Theme 2 in 30 minutes.]

[Surviving participants: 41]

[Calculating rewards.]

A message announcing my success appeared before me.

“…”

“…”

In Delilah’s hall, two people stood frozen, their mouths agape.

Staring at the hologram, the man finally said, “Wh-What did I just witness?”

“…”

“The poison mist. Did someone just take down the poison mist? And it wasn’t a ranker—it was just an ordinary participant?”

The red-eyed Lucas had lost his usual composed demeanor. That was how shocking this incident was.

“…”

Even Delilah’s usually calm gaze trembled. This newcomer—this anomaly—had shaken her deeply.

The poison mist was a manifestation of every poison in existence, gathered to its fullest by her ability. She hadn’t created it to be defeated. It was merely a trigger designed to raise the dungeon’s difficulty to an extreme and reward participants accordingly.

“Joo Donghoon. He’s far beyond what I imagined.” Delilah licked her lips.

A participant who had shattered the framework of surviving against the poison mist for a week by simply eliminating the poison mist itself.

“What happens now?” Lucas asked with a curious expression.

“It’s simple. The dungeon will calculate his actions and reward him accordingly,” Delilah replied calmly.

“Then…”

“Yes.” Delilah swallowed hard. “I’m certain it’ll be a reward beyond anything I can imagine.”

At the same time, her eyes sparkled with curiosity. Delilah was genuinely eager to see what unimaginable reward her dungeon would produce.