Record of a Thousand Lives

Creak…

The carriage door opened, and Kang Yoon-Soo clambered up into it. He said, “We have to chase after the demon.”

“I’ll chase after the trail of blood the bastard left behind,” Yu Si-Do replied. He yanked the reins and shouted, “Let’s go! My lovely horsies!”

“Neiiighh!”The horses neighed loudly.

The two horses that had slowly and leisurely pulled the carriage up the mountain suddenly transformed into battle horses with dark red eyes—Hell Steeds.

Yu Si-Do hummed a nasally tune before saying, “These are just normal horses, but they transform into Hell Steeds the moment they’re splashed with blood. Do you know how hard it was looking for these?”

These Hell Steeds were exactly like the ones Kang Yoon-Soo had summoned in the trial. Hell Steeds only listened to the commands of vile criminals, which was precisely why they were the perfect horses for the leader of a criminal clan like Yu Si-Do.

“Neiiigh!”

It was a carriage pulled by Hell Steeds!

The Hell Steeds neighed loudly while charging through the fog, and Yu Si-Do recklessly drove the carriage onward, plowing through tree branches and stones. He remarked, “Hey, you don’t think I’m helping you for free, do you?”

“What do you want?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“Hmm… Your lips?” Yu Si-Do replied.

Shhk…!

Yu Si-Do snickered as Kang Yoon-Soo thrust a sword toward his neck. He said, “Don’t worry, I was being serious.”

“Keep driving,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

The carriage rolled along for quite a while before they finally caught up to the demon, its back coming into view through the fog.

As expected from a high-ranking demon, Berbal continued to run quickly despite being heavily injured and bleeding. It would have been impossible for Kang Yoon-Soo to catch up to him if not for the carriage that was being pulled by Hell Steeds.

‘I have to kill Berbal to be able to go to the magic tower,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he inspected his injuries. His severed arm and leg were slowly growing back due to his Authority of Creation, but the demon’s toxins were still smeared over it. ‘I don’t have time to wait around until my body fully heals.’

It was still difficult for him to shift his weight around, but he had recovered just enough to swing his sword once. That left only one way to finish the fight.

‘I’ll end it in one attack,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought. His disadvantage would only grow the longer things dragged on.

He said in a low voice, “Drive the carriage as quickly as you can and try to pull up alongside the demon.”

.

Yu Si-Do let out a mad laugh, exclaiming, “Did you guys hear that? Listen to this villain who’s more evil than a demon!”

“Neiiigh!”The Hell Steeds puffed smoke out of their noses and began to gallop even more quickly.

Berbal was frightened to see that the carriage was catching up to it. The demon spotted Kang Yoon-Soo, who was crawling across the carriage floor while missing two limbs. Despite having gone berserk, it still felt inexplicable fear toward Kang Yoon-Soo.

“Kraaaah!You persistent pest! G-Get out of my sight! Go away!” Berbal cried, swinging its claws to smash one of the carriage wheels. The moment the wheel broke, the carriage began to tip over, and it seemed about to crash to the ground.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo used his remaining leg to kick off the carriage and jump toward the demon. He swung his sword with his left hand while muttering, “Annihilation Slash.”

Sukeok!

His sword split the demon open all the way from its skull to its chest.

[You have completed the Legendary Quest—Journey to the Magic Tower (5)!]

[You have killed the demon, Berbal!]

[You have accomplished a hunting achievement that will be talked about for generations!]

[All of your stats have risen by 6.]

[You have killed the demon that was forcibly bound by a contract.]

[You will be transported to the Colossi’s Magic Tower.]

As the demon lay dead on the ground, Kang Yoon-Soo’s body started to become indistinct. Just like that, he was transported to an entirely different place from where he had just been.

***

Rumier lay Iris onto the ground. She was still sleeping after being sedated with the alchemist’s special concoction.

‘I originally wanted to do this at the palace, but…’Rumier thought. He would have done the procedure at the palace as he initially intended, but he had to make up for lost time, as there had been various interruptions to his plans.

Thus, he slowly started to undress Iris, who shivered slightly when her milky white skin came into direct contact with the chilling breeze. Her innocent yet seductive body was laid bare for the alchemist to see, but Rumier’s focus was on something else. The only thing on the alchemist’s mind at that moment was the ‘thing’ inside the doppelganger.

Rumier touched the center of Iris’ chest, thinking, ‘The time to retrieve you has come.’

The alchemist had to enter the doppelganger’s consciousness if he wanted to retrieve the ‘thing’ he was looking for. However, it would be an extremely difficult task even for someone like Rumier. Invading someone else’s consciousness without their approval required an enormous amount of concentration.

Rumier had just begun to peel back the sleeping doppelganger’s consciousness layer by layer when a message suddenly appeared in front of her face.

[Your companion who has a fragment of the magic tower has slain the demon!]

[You will be transported to the Colossi’s Magic Tower.]

Iris’ body slowly started to become indistinct before she completely disappeared.

Rumier grimaced and thought, ‘It would have been difficult for him to kill Berbal, but he managed to do it more quickly than I anticipated.’

However, he had also prepared for that scenario, knowing that he would be going up against the man who had lived for the thousandth time.

Rumier took out a pendant from his pocket and gripped it tightly. His body started to become indistinct, and he completely vanished from view.

***

Meanwhile, Shaneth and Henrick were searching the forest for any tracks that might have been left behind by Kang Yoon-Soo. Suddenly, however, a message popped up in front of each of them.

[Your companion who has a fragment of the magic tower has slain the demon!]

[You will be transported to the Colossi’s Magic Tower.]

“I guess Kang Yoon-Soo did it,” Shaneth said.

“So we’re finally going to go to that dangerous place… I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad about it…” Henrick grumbled.

The two of them slowly started to become indistinct before disappearing. Sharp was forcibly sent back to the summon dimension, while Rick was sent back into Henrick’s summoning box. The two felt their consciousness drift for a moment, before once again feeling solid ground beneath their feet.

Shaneth and Henrick slowly opened their eyes and saw that they were in a strange, desolate place that was filled with thick fog, just like the mountain they had been in. However, unlike the lush vegetation of the Kervas Mountain, their surroundings seemed dark and eerie, and the rubble of several buildings lay strewn across the ground.

[You have arrived at the Colossi’s Magic Tower.]

[This place exists in a dimension separate from the continent.]

[Nothing is known about the terrain of this place.]

[You may be able to create a map if you explore its surroundings, but what kinds of creatures you will face here are shrouded in mystery.]

[Loud footsteps will reverberate across these desolate lands every so often.]

[The grand magic tower is being reconstructed somewhere in this place.]

“This feels pretty different from all the other places we’ve been to,” Shaneth said.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Henrick grumbled, clicking his tongue.

The two of them decided to look for Kang Yoon-Soo and Iris first. They were certain that those two would not be far off, as they would have been transported to this place at almost the same time.

“I hope the two of them are safe,” Shaneth said.

“Hey, what are you getting so worried about? Those two are the type who would survive without missing a meal even if you abandoned them in the middle of a desert,” Henrick retorted.

“Still, what Kang Yoon-Soo said is bugging me. Some changes are bound to have happened if he was going to meet with the alchemist who knew about his regression,” Shaneth said.

Fortunately, it did not take them long to find their other two companions in the desolate landscape. Iris was fast asleep, snoring with her upper body exposed. Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo was drinking alcohol while waiting for his arm and leg to recover.

Henrick smirked in disbelief and remarked, “See, I told you that you wouldn’t have to worry about our trustworthy comrades.”

***

Soon, Kang Yoon-Soo managed to fully recover, and he had no problems moving the arm and leg that he had recreated using his Authority of Creation.

‘I’m finally here.’

The Colossi’s Magic Tower was the place where the King of All Things, Sirian, was. Kang Yoon-Soo thought, ‘Rumier mentioned thatSirianwas the mastermind behind everything that’s happened so far.’

The changes in his thousandth life…

The fact that this was his final life…

The early appearance of the Demon Lord…

The White Shadow…

The balance of the world being broken by the ‘One Who Should Not Exist’...

‘What Rumier said was concerning…’Kang Yoon-Soo thought. The alchemist had mentioned that the world had to be destroyed, and that its destruction was the path that had to be walked.

‘I just have to climb the magic tower now to find the answers to my questions,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought, as he was certain that Sirian would have all the answers he was looking for.

On the other hand, Iris was still fast asleep.

Shaneth took out a change of clothes and covered her up, then looked at Iris worriedly and said, “She isn’t showing any signs of waking up no matter how hard I shake her or slap her.”

“Hmm… It doesn’t look as if she simply fell asleep. It seems she was purposely sedated by someone. Hold on a minute,” Henrick said before opening Iris’ mouth to make it easier for her to breathe. Then, he took out a piece of beef jerky and waved it around near her nose so she could catch its scent.

Shaneth looked at him in disbelief and asked, “Do you honestly think that’s going to wake her up…?”

“Humans are faithful to their instincts. Do you think it would be any different for a monster?” Henrick replied.

Then, Iris slowly opened her eyes and bit Henrick’s fingers, which were still holding onto the jerky.

“Ouch! Hey! You’re going to chew my fingers off!” Henrick screamed.

Iris chewed and sucked Henrick’s fingers for a while, before eventually opening her eyes completely and letting go of his fingers. She chewed on the jerky while remarking, “Henrick’s finger tasted nice to chew on. It might be because of your calluses.”

“You should never be starved… Never…” Henrick muttered.

“I guess the sedatives weren’t strong enough to keep her down for longer,” Shaneth said with a sigh of relief.

Iris let out a yawn and stretched before heading over to Kang Yoon-Soo’s side. She asked, “This looks like a very desolate place. Have you been here before?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly replied.

“How did you survive in such a desolate place?” Iris asked.

“I dug up and ate the bugs underground,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Iris looked at the ground beneath her feet with a very serious expression before muttering, “I’m sure it was tasty.”

Kang Yoon-Soo had been to this place before in his previous lives, but he had needed to be extra careful whenever he did so in the past. Ironically, he had always trained and prepared for nearly twenty years before coming here in his previous lives, yet this time, he had lived for barely a year. However, this time, he had become something that he had never been in his previous lives—a god.

Kang Yoon-Soo used his Authority of Insight. It had previously been impossible for him to peek into this place previously because it was a separate dimension, but that was no longer an issue.

[All of your authorities have grown stronger as a reward for destroying your natural enemy, the God Breaker.]

[+Your Authority of Insight is now able to peek into both the continent and other dimensions.]

[You may peek into the continent and other dimensions for thirty minutes.]

[It will now be easier for you to invade another person’s consciousness.]

‘So even a god can grow stronger,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

He was a god who had lost most of his powers due to the ‘One Who Should Not Exist’ breaking the balance of the world, but he was still able to reclaim a portion of the powers he had lost by destroying the God Breaker.

He shifted his gaze from where he was to look all across the desolate lands. His vision pierced through the fog, making it easier for him to scout the area. Then, the sound of footsteps reverberated across the lands, and a shadow so tall that even he could not see it in one glance appeared before him.

Booom… Boom… Boom…!

It was a Colossus whose body was fully engulfed in flames!

That was not all. Kang Yoon-Soo saw another Colossus whose entire body was covered in ice. Several Colossi, beings that were even rarer than dragons, walked leisurely across the landscape.

‘These are on a different level compared to the old Colossi we faced against in the desert and underground,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

A single Colossus was so powerful that it had the ability to destroy an entire town in an instant if it wanted to. Here, however, there were dozens of them, and the intricate tattoos all over their bodies allowed them to borrow the power of nature. These Colossi were young and had quite a bit of life ahead of them. As they were at the peak of their physical abilities, they would undoubtedly be stronger than dragons. Some of them were feasting on monsters larger than houses.

Kang Yoon-Soo and his party had to cut across a landscape patrolled by dozens of Colossi for them to reach the magic tower, but Kang Yoon-Soo did not have the skills to harm the Colossi.

‘I can use all of my divine power to turn into the god of destruction,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The god of destruction was a being that ignored everything else and solely focused on destroying things. However, it would be dangerous for him to depend on a skill that he had never used before.

‘As I thought… That’s my only option…’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

He planned to call for reinforcements. To be exact, he intended to call for backup that was strong enough to contend against the Colossi.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his Immortal Sword and muttered, “Summon Deathless Dragon.”