Record of a Thousand Lives

Henrick let out a chuckleand asked,“You thinkyou’re better than me?”

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and said, “That is, if you don’t use your left hand, and use your right handasyou did just now.”

Henrick suddenly glared at Kang Yoon-Soo with sharp eyes. However, he composed himselfafter a moment. He had a perplexed expression,butthen he rubbed his rough chin, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, he said,“Indeed,our family heirloom belongs only tothe best artisan, and it’s tradition to pass it on tosomeone better. However, how do youplanto prove your skills? You look young no matter how I look at you.”

“I’ll sculptanAncientStone,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Henrick’s eyes widened.“AncientStones aretop-gradematerialsthataren’t only difficult to find, butdifficult for even the best artisans to deal with. And yetyou’re telling meyou’ll sculpt that?”

Kang Yoon-Soo said,“I’ll get the material if you give me some time, and I’ll sculpt it in front of you.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”Henrick glared at Kang Yoon-Soo with eyes filled with animosity, but he soon sighed in resignation.“Alright, damn it. You did bring me the mudgem’s treasure, and you gave me a silver coin as well, so I might aswell giveyou a chance. However, I’ll treat you as just another arrogant greenhorn the moment I feel that your skills aren’t up to par.”

[The Best Artisan]

The real identity of Henrick the drunkwas the personal artisan of the royal princess. He inherited the blood of the Elrickersson family, and the Elrickerssonfamily, famousfor its craftsmanship, produced a master artisan. Sculptan AncientStonebeforeHenrick’s eyes.

*Henrickhas veryhigh standards. It will not be easy to satisfy him.

*The quest will be a failure if not completed within fourteen days.

*You will lose Henrick’s trust if you fail the quest.

Reward: Heirloom of the Elrickersson family

A hidden quest appeared. It was a quest that would never have appeared if theyhadonly thought of Henrick as a useless drunk.

Kang Yoon-Soo noddedslightlyand walked away.

“Thank you,” ShanethtoldHenrick as she ran after Kang Yoon-Soo.

Henrick was left there scratching his cheek as he stared at Kang Yoon-Soo’s backwith a strange expression. His observantgaze led him to raisea question about the young man.“That guy…Ishe really a youngster?”

It was strange.Kang Yoon-Soolooked young on the outside, but he gaveoffthe feeling of being older thantheelveswholived for hundreds of years.

Henrick scratched his cheeks as he tried to remember. He could swear that hehad seenthose eyes somewhere, and it was not a pleasant memory. He closed his left hand into a fist and gripped it hard, but for some reason, the way hemovedhis hand seemed unnatural.

‘I hope he didn’t notice the secret behind my left hand…’he thought, before shaking his head and muttering, “So what if he did? There’s no way he can bring anAncientStone anyway.”

Ancient Stones wereextremely rare and precious minerals that even dwarves found difficult to mine. AncientStones had nine properties;each property was mysterious on its own,and immense powers were hidden inthem.

It was impossible for a greenhorn artisan to be able to carve a perfect jewel out ofoneno matter how many days and nightsthey spentworking on it, and yet that youngster was confident that he could craft that difficult mineral himself? It was impossible.

Henrick the drunk staggered sideways as he left the back alleys, headingtoward the pub to grab a drink.

***

The Red Rock Excavators were locatedin the rockyterrain north of Riel. Tens of tents were set up in thelarge and wide wilderness as hundreds of archeologists, adventurers, and explorers scoured the area with brushes and pickaxes looking for clues.Although itwas much moreusualfor their efforts to betray them and reward them with nothing,therewere a few of themwhomanaged to getlucky and foundrusted swords or mysterious ornamental headgear.

‘This brings me back to the time I took theExcavator class.’Kang Yoon-Soo had set up the largest excavation association inaprevious life andsearchedevery single excavationsiteonthe continent, leaving no stone unturned. The scale of his work had not merely been limited tohistorical artifacts; he had gonea step further to excavate the geological strataof the landlooking for buried ruins.

‘There were no artifacts I didn’t manage to find back then. Thearmorof theOldGod was the best find, since it managed to block the Dragon of Destruction’sbreath attackand evenSirian’s magic spear.’Of course,that was all in the past. Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head beforehe got lost in nostalgia.

The two passed all theregulartents and went straight to the tents of the largest excavation association. The tents were filled with scholars going over stacks of old records, and an old manseatedat the largest desk was intently observing anAncientStone with a magnifying glass.

The old man wore slightly tilted silver eyeglasses, and his gray hair showed the years hehadlived.Hekept looking into the magnifying glass as heasked, “Who are you? What do you want?”

“We wish to apply for excavation work,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Ah, what are your names?” the old man asked.

“Kang Yoon-Soo.”

“Shaneth.”

The old manadjustedhis silver glasses andsaid, “My name is Ramax. I’mthe leader of the Red Rock Excavators, andalso an archeologist. People say I moonlight as a historian too. Anyway, the joining fee is ten silver coins.”

.

Kang Yoon-Soo paid the fee.

[You have become a temporary member of the Red Rock Excavators.]

[Current Contributions: 0]

Ramax stood up with his hands behind his back, saying,“The fact that there are more youngsters showing interest and joining the excavation gladdens me, but why is it that instead ofsearchingfor things with historical value, they seem to be here to hunt for treasures? It isn’t a good thing…”

“Treasure hunting?” Shaneth asked.

Ramax nodded and continued, “The association will provide you with contribution points of equal valuetothe artifacts you excavate and bring. The contribution points you earn can be exchanged for rare items or useful tools. It seems the youngsters these days are only after the contribution points.”

Helooked toward the Travelers that were digging outside, as if he could not stand the sight of them.He continued,“Excavation isn’t treasure hunting. It’s workingto unravel themysteriesof the past and preserve history. I hope you two will understand this point.”

He then pointed toward a spot in the distance; in that spot wasa large rock, surrounded by red dust. He said,“You may purchase any tools you require for excavation here, whether it’sa pickaxe, shovel, or magnifying glass. That rock is our current excavation spot. Be careful, as aggressive monsters show up from time to time to rampage;a few of our members were injured because of that.”

Hecontinued, “If you’reafraid of monsters, then you can aim forlow-valueartifacts here in the outskirts. Of course, you’ll most likely end up turning in stones and get nothing in return.”

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly spoke up, saying, “I wish to know more about the missing portion ofhistory.”

“What?”Ramax’s expression suddenlyturned serious as he said, “You must have heard that from the drunkenfool Henrick. Damn it…”

“Yes,I did,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Thatloudmouth… Why is he making me itch to expose his secrets as well…” the old man muttered.He lookedup and down at the pairbefore giving them a stern warning.“Normally, I would’ve instantly chased you away, but I’ll look overit once,since you joined our association after all. Don’t ask about itand justgo back.”

“I’ll bring the ‘Tablet of Records’,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“What?” Ramax exclaimed.

“Tablet of Records. You need that to chase the trail of the missing history, right?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

Ramax glared at him for a minute before shaking his head, saying,“The Tablet ofRecords is something that even I failed to find, but you’re telling meyou’ll bring it? That’s impossible.”

“I’ll bring it,” Kang Yoon-Soo repeated.

Ramax could only sigh in resignation as he saw Kang Yoon-Soo’s confidence. He said,“I’ll give you a quest then. However, if you fail to bring it, don’t expect me to have anything to say toyou anymore.”

[Legendary Quest—Missing History]

The Tablet of Records is required to look for the missing portion of history. Find the Tablet of Records and bring it to Ramax.

*You will not be able to participate in the activities of the Red Rock Excavators if you fail.

Kang Yoon-Soo went to an association staff member to purchase tools for excavation. He bought a pickaxe, a shovel, a magnifying glass, and a brush and placedthemin his backpack.

Shanethasked with a confused expression, “Do you plan to use all of that?”

“Yes,”Kang Yoon-Sooreplied.

The twowalked toward the large rock,finding a small opening beneath it.A long corridorstretched out pastthe opening, forming a passage that led underground.

‘This placewas alwaysquite wide, no matter how many times I came here,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The excavation site was very wide,and the interior network of passageswasquite complex like a maze.That was why there were still a lot of artifacts and treasures left undiscovered, and there were stillmonster lairs that had not beensubjugated.

‘I have to excavate everythingofvalue before that monster appears.’

It was around thetime that the boss of theRedRock excavation site, that held immense power, would awakenfrom its slumber.

The sound of wings flutteringfilled the airat the end of the tunnel,whereseverallargecreatureswerehanging upside down from the ceiling.They werelargebeast-type monsters,theBig Bats—bat monsters thathadlong fangs and large bodies withblack wings.

The moment Kang Yoon-Soo and Shaneth readied their weapons, thebats on the ceilingcharged towardthemin midair. They had lowerdefensethan normal monsters, but their agility and attack speed werenot to be underestimated.

Kang Yoon-Soo cut down all of the charging bats approaching himwith Ravian’s Longsword.Shaneth, although not as goodas he was, could hold her ground;she too managed to cut down the bats approaching her with one big swing of her Death Scythe.

The two easily managed to take care of theBig Bats, and Kang Yoon-Soo’s level rose after the hunt. He was now Level 74.

“Mass RaiseDead.”Numerousbat corpses started to squirmas Kang Yoon-Soo spoke, and thegray undeadslowly rose from the ground as theirfurchanged to red.

[The level of ‘Mass RaiseDead’ has risen.]

[Certain undead raised will gain a special attribute.]

[TheBigBats have gained the lifesteal attribute.]

TheBigBats rose from the ground asBloodBats. BloodBats were undead that were aggressive and had a strong, instinctive lust for blood.

“Kwiiik! Kwiiik!”

Undead with a certain amount of intellect wouldprioritize their instincts more than the commands of their master. There were certain cases of unskilled necromancers being killed by their own undead because of their lack of talent and control. The most importantstatfor any necromancer was leadership. A necromancerwho dreamedof commanding awholearmy needed to have a high amount of leadership.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his hand as he sent theBlood Bats to the summon dimension.

[317Blood Bats have been sent to the summon dimension.]

[Summons currently stored in thedimension: 317Blood Bats, 76RottenMudgems, White, and Sally.]

[Remaining space for additional summons: 306]

TheBlood Bats let out shrieks asthey obeyed theirmaster.

“Being a necromancer sure is tough…” Shaneth said.

Thepair enteredthe excavation site.Numerous forks in the roadappeared, but Kang Yoon-Soo never stopped once—as if he already knew the way.