Record of a Thousand Lives

After thepairpassed through the wilderness, what greeted them was muddy terrain with weeds everywhere, and the atmosphere slowly changed from dry to humid.Theywalked the whole day beforegettingready to set up camp.Kang Yoon-Sooset up the camp and the fire, whileShanethprepared their meals. A single plume of smoke rose intothe night sky.

“This is our next destination,right? I think it will take us around ten days by foot to get there,” Shaneth said as she pointed at the map.She was indicatingRiel, the city north of Hiledan.

Kang Yoon-Soo started to search through his memories.‘I should look for that puppeteer as soon as we reach Riel City.’

A puppeteer with excellent skills was someone he needed to recruit so the legendary questwouldbe easier to complete. However, there was somewhere he needed to drop by first before continuing to Riel City. As such, he said,“There’ssomewhere we have to stop by before we head to Riel.”

“Please don’t tell me it’sanotherruin…” Shanethmurmured nervouslyas she recalled her experience from the Yultika Ruin.

.

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly shook his head as he replied, “It’s ahunting ground.”

“A hunting ground? Do you mean a lair or a breeding ground?”Shaneth asked.

“Something similar,”Kang Yoon-Sooreplied as hedrankbeer under the moonlight. Heraised his hand and said, “Summon Sally.”

A flame twisted in midair as a beautiful young girl popped out of it. However, Sally seemed to be gloomy for some reason, and herdoll-likeface was filled with sadness.

“Papa,” Sally began.

“What?” Kang Yoon-Soo responded.

“Make me a sibling,” Sally said.

“Keuheok! Cough! Cough!”Shanethhad beenchewing on some stale bread, and she choked on it as soon as she heard what Sally had to say.She barely swallowedit afterdrinking some water, interjecting,“No!”

“Hing…Why? Mama and papa can make me one, can’t you?” Sally asked.

Shaneth lookedinto Sally'stearful eyes, and the innocent look on her face almost made her concede the issue, butshe ultimatelystood her ground and shook her head.She said,“No, Sally.”

“Hiiing…”Sally covered her face as she started to sniffle.

Shaneth spoke to the young girl with a gentle voicefilled with maternal love, asking, “Sally, why do you want a sibling?”

“Sniffle!The summon dimension is too boring! Thedoggyonly growls at me and the undead don’t even understand me! I want a sibling to play with! Waah!” Sallycried, throwing a tantrum.

Shaneth awkwardly scratched her cheek. It was notas ifshe could not understand what Sally felt, but it wasimpossible—no way.

“I’m sorry, Sally, but there are things in this world that aren’possible no matter how much you wantthem.Lifecan’tbe simply formed just because you want it to,” Shaneth explained.She looked toward Kang Yoon-Soo and added, “Right?”

“No, there’s nothing stopping us from making one,” Kang Yoon-Soo unexpectedly replied.

“What…?”Shanet felt as if her headhad been struckwith a hammer. Her face turned bright red as she asked, “A…Are you serious…?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Wow! Papa is the best!”Sally ran toward him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Kang Yoon-Soo got up from his place, leavingShanethstunned on the spot. He said, “Sally, there’s something you have to do.”

***

The place Kang Yoon-Soo brought Sally towasan eerieswamp.Rows uponrows of plants that most people had probably never heard of grew there, and various kinds of bugs crawledalongthe ground.Muddy ground lay beneaththe deep waters.

“Sally,” Kang Yoon-Soo called out.

“Okay.”The spirit’s flamesspread across the areaandbrightened the dark swamp; then,Sally morphed into a flame lizard.Shelet out her fire breath toward the sky, andits powerwas incomparably stronger than when she was in her human form.

Shaneth looked confused as she asked, “What do you plan to do with Sally’s fire?”

“Shh.” Kang Yoon-Soo signaledquietly.

Soon after, the presence of something moving around emergedin the tranquil but eerie swamp. The muddywatersstarted to slosh around as something crawledout of the swamp.

“Kaskuram…”came thevery sluggish cry.Severalcreatures covered in mud slowly rose up from the swamp one by oneand started to close in on the group. They were known as mudgems, creatures that livedburied under the swamp andlongedfor sunlight.

A large mudgem saw the bright light and started to approach it.Itextended its handtowardSally.

Slash!

Themudgem’s hand was cleanly severed.“Makeruinuradi!”it screamed, clearlyin pain.

Kang Yoon-Soo, on the other hand, lifted the sword thathad beencovered by the mudgem’s blood. It wasRavian’s longsword, and it was now time for him to test his newweapon.The mudgems let out a chilling cry astheychargedtowardhim. He lowered his posture beforemeeting the charging mudgems head-on, and he swung thelongsword in his handlike a storm.

Slash! Slash!

Three mudgems sustained heavy damage andfell tothe ground.Kang Yoon-Soo’s swordsmanshipwas not something they could avoid.Ravian’s longswordhad a thin blade,making iteasier for it to cut and slash through enemies,unlike the greatswordhe hadused to wield.

He easily cut downone mudgemafter another without even getting scratched, and every time he cutone open,the attack power of his longsword increased.

Shaneth readied her ‘Death Scythe’ as well.The moment she swung her bluish-white scythe in a large arc, it easily destroyed a mudgem’s heart.Shewas surprised,asthe capabilities of the new scytheweremiles beyond the old one.She thought,‘It’s really amazing.’

What was more surprising was actually the man fighting in front of her, though. Swordsmanship, crafting, alchemy, and even necromancy;was there anythingthis man could not do?She started to be even more curious aboutKang Yoon-Soo’s identity.

Shaneth askedworriedlyafter she cut open a mudgem, “Will Sally be alright?”

“I’ll send her back to the summon dimension if it gets dangerous,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The two disposed of the mudgems that tried to approach Sally;Sally trusted them as well, and she continued to breathe out fire. More mudgems started to approach Sally as her pillar of fire started to burn brighter,but it simplyhelped them hunt all of the mudgemsmore quickly.

At last, thefinalmudgem appeared from the swamp. This mudgem was taller than the others and it had a strange jewel embedded in its chest. It screeched,“Kahimonoi!”

It was aMagic Mudgem. AMagic Mudgemwas a mudgem variant that was different from a normal mudgem; theycould actually use magic.Itslammed its large hands ontothe ground, and the mud in the area flew up in the air.

“Kyaah!”Shaneth exclaimed.

It was using magic that manipulatedmud, and the mud not only blocked their vision, but it clung to its target to reduce their movement speed. TheMagic Mudgemdid not miss its chance when it saw Shanethsurrounded by mud.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo was already in front of her. TheMagic Mudgem’s jaw was knockedaway when he swung his longsword upward.

Slash!

TheMagic Mudgemwas stunnedbythe critical strike, and Kang Yoon-Soo swung his sword downward before immediately slashing horizontally to the left. As soon as he finished his movement, theMagic Mudgemwas helplessly cutinto pieces.

Hepicked up a large shiny rock from theMagic Mudgem’s corpse.

[Treasure of the Mudgems]

Rating: Normal

It shines like a jewel but is just a worthless rock. A small amount of mana is stored inside.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his hand and said, “Mass RaiseDead.”

The dead mudgems slowly rose up from the ground, and theyspilled out light green mud that let off a severely rotten stink.

[76Rotten Mudgems have been sent to the summon dimension.]

[Summons currently stored in the dimension: 76Rotten Mudgems, White.]

[Remaining space for additional summons: 623]

Suddenly, Sally returned to her human form and approached Kang Yoon-Soo,hereyes sparkling with expectation. She continued,“Papa, what about my sibling?”

“Later,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered coldly.

“Hing…Then make a promisetoSally. Promise me you’ll definitely give me a sibling later,”Sallysaid as she extended her pinkytowardhim.

Kang Yoon-Soo wrapped his pinky around hersandmade a pinky swear with her, saying,“Yeah.”

“Thank you,papa! Sally loves papa and mama!” Sally exclaimed.Kang Yoon-Soo sentherto the summon dimension.

“I’m sorry;I was just a burden to you today,” Shanethsaid dejectedlywhen they were finally alone.

Kang Yoon-Soo replied,“It’s alright.”

However, Shaneth could not help but feel frustrated. Shehad beenone of the top five soldiers in Kerlin back when she used to serve under Lady Hermia, but she started developing an inferiority complex every time she watched Kang Yoon-Soo fight. Itrevolved aroundhow Kang Yoon-Soo could beat anyone as if he had faced themthousandsof times. Also, he had now started to catch up to her level.

‘But why do I feel I want to be of help to that man?’Shaneth was confused, before she suddenly remembered about the power fragment. She had grown stronger by quite a bit compared towhen she had justreceived the power fragment. She moved her hands in midairto checkher status window.

[Shaneth Elogra]

Power Fragment: 1

148 hours remaining before the first opening. The waiting time will reduce as the user grows in power.

There was not much time left before the first seal was lifted. Kang Yoon-Soohad been staringat her,andhe muttered, “I guess I have to raise you faster.”Shaneth suddenly feltas ifshe had become his pet for some odd reason.

Atthat moment, something whisperedquietly into Kang Yoon-Soo’sears, “A disaster will strike in the near future. You have to be prepared for it.”

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at Shaneth’s face, asking,“What did you say just now?”

“What? I didn’t say anything,” Shanethreplied.

They started to observetheir surroundings, but therewasnobody in the swamp aside fromKang Yoon-Soo, Shaneth, and thegently blowing wind..

‘I guess my mental state deteriorateduntilI started to hear illusions,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.He was not surprised at all,as he knew that he was not in a normal state of mind, and there were times that hehad experienced hallucinations. Hefelt something was strange, but he decided nottodwell too much on it.

That was the case,at least,until after acertain time…