Record of a Thousand Lives

They ran into people a few times, but most of themwere so focusedon their own excavations that they did not even notice thepairpassing by.

Once they had reached a certain level below ground,Kang Yoon-Soo said,“Let’s do it here.”

“Do what?” Shaneth asked.

Kang Yoon-Soopassed her a shovel and said, “Dig.”

“…”

“Dig this spot,” Kang Yoon-Soo reiterated.

“…”

Shaneth was covered in sweat as shedug,whileKang Yoon-Sooexcavatedthe walls of the cave with a pickaxe. Multiple old and rusted artifacts started to appear one by one as they dug.

[Old Bone]

Value: 3

The bone of an ancient creature. Its age makes it difficult to tell whatcreature itcomes from.

[Rusty Sword]

Value: 14

It is a sword that was used a long time ago. The edgeshavedulled, so restoring it will be difficult.

[Belt of a Noble Child]

Value: 42

A belt that looks to have been worn by a noble child. It is well preserved.

Most of the artifacts could not be used ifthey werenot preserved properly,but the higher their value rating was,the more contributionpointsone couldreceive. There were some excavatorswho had come across highly valuable artifacts and become rich overnight, but those were extremely rare cases.

Kang Yoon-Soo stuffed the artifacts that werein goodconditioninto his bag.

AsShaneth was diligently shovelingdirt,she felt something at the tip of the shovel. As she dug further, she foundsomething that looked like an amulet.

[Moonlight Amulet]

Value: 177

An amulet that hasnot lost its luster through the ages. It is an artifactthat holdsvalue both historically and artistically.

“Look! Look at this!”Shaneth shouted in surprise, but she froze on the spot whenKang Yoon-Sooturned around. He was in the process of pulling out a large artifact from the wall.

[Golden Horn Goblet]

Value: 557

A goblet that was used by a Viking leader in the past. It issowell preserved that it could be used right now. It holds tremendous archeological value.

Kang Yoon-Soo tied the goblet to his waist while Shaneth was looking at him with a stupefiedexpression. The backpackhad beenfilled to the brim, and there wasno morespace for more artifacts.

Thepairleft the excavation site and went to the main tentthat served asthe headquarters of the Red Rock Excavators. The gazes of thosein the areawerefixed on thetwo who had brought backa backpack full of artifacts.

“What the? The two of them dug all that up?”

“The artifacts look quite valuable too.”

“It seems they excavated all night without resting.”

It was actually not easy to find anythingofvalueeven if one stayed up digging all night, and all they usually got after working all night wereseveralrusted spears or torn leather boots.Excavating artifactswas a very laborious and difficult job without the help of anyhigh-leveldetection skills.

The people around thepairlooked at them withenvy-filled gazes.

“We came to submit the artifacts we’ve excavated,” Kang Yoon-Soo told the attendant. Hepassed on all of the artifacts theyhadexcavated, including the Golden Horn Goblet and the Moonlight Amulet.

Ramax’s eyes were wide,as if he could not believe what hewas seeing.“Are you telling me you excavated all these artifacts in less than a day?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replieddryly.

Ramax sat in disbelief,butthen he took out a magnifying glass to inspect the artifacts.“Hmm… These are quite well preserved… andthey holdhistorical significance too. You could gain a handsome sum of contribution points with these.”

[You have submitted valuable artifacts to the Red Rock Excavators.]

[Your contribution points have increased by 1,328.]

[Current Contribution Points: 1,328]

“You can exchange your contribution pointsforitems or money over there,” Ramax explained. The way he looked at Kang Yoon-Soo and Shanethhadchanged. He looked at the two witha gentle gaze, and histonewassoft-spoken.

He gazed at the two before he suddenly proposed something.“Are you two by any chance interested in becoming official members oftheRed Rock Excavators? I think it would be a waste to leave you twoas temporary members. If you become official members of our association, we’ll reward you even more for the artifacts you bring.”

[Ramax of the Red Rock Excavators has made a proposal.]

[The contribution points you gain will increase if you become an official member. However, you will have toremainwith the association at all times.]

[Do you want to advance to the classofExcavator?]

Once, in apast life,Kang Yoon-Soo had become anExcavator. He had not just beenan ordinaryExcavator; rather,he had established the largest excavator associationonthe continent andled itas its leader. However, he had no plans to become anExcavator in his 1,000th life.

“I refuse,” he said.

“It’sa nice offer, but I have no plans to be an excavatoreither,” Shaneth saidpolitely.

Ramax looked alittledisappointed andreplied, “Oh, that’s a shame… Let me know just in case you guys change your mind.”

A cabinet that seemed to be made out of steel came into view.Kang Yoon-Soo pressed the middle button on the cabinet, anda list of items that could be exchanged for contribution points suddenly popped up in front of him.

[Which item do you wish to exchange forusingyour contribution points?]

[Staff of Lightning: 100,000 CP]

[Magic-AmplifyingBracelet: 50,000 CP]

[Expert’s Pickaxe: 45,000]

[Precise Appraisal Magnifying Glass: 40,000 CP]

It was a list of rare items that could not be purchased at a normal shop, especially the ‘Staff of Lightning’ that cost an astounding 100,000 contribution points.

‘The ‘Staff of Lightning’ is a very good item at themoment,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

A magic staff not only increased the magic power of the user, but also greatly increased the power ofany spells cast. It was actually very difficult to find decent magic equipmenton the continent, and thatwaswhy evennormal-ratedequipment related to magic fetched a hefty price.

However, 100,000 contribution pointswasa huge amount that would still not be enough even ifonecombined the contribution points of numerous excavators. There were numerous excavatorswhohadbeen digging for years, but no one hadmanaged to get the ‘Staff of Lightning’.

Kang Yoon-Soo scrolled down to the bottom of the list.

[Phoenix Feather Candle: 1,800 CP]

[Dimension Bag: 1,200 CP]

[Alloyed Shovel: 700 CP]

Kang Yoon-Soo used his contribution points to exchange for a ‘Dimension Bag’.The backpack was too small to fit all of the artifacts,butthe ‘Dimension Bag’ had almost an endless amount of spaceandcould store a lot of items in it.

Kang Yoon-Soo stored the tools he had bought in the dimension bag and said, “Let’s go.”

“Okay,” Shaneth answered.

Thepairwent back to the excavation site anddiligentlystarted to excavate more artifacts. Their speed and efficiencyindigging artifactswas somewhatslow compared to other people that had the Excavator class, because of theclass' uniqueskill that allowed them to easily locate artifacts. However, they were still able to find valuable artifact after artifact with relative ease.

[Brooch of a Child Prodigy]

Value: 155

A brooch used by a prodigy from a noble family. There are traces of dried blood on it.

[Pearl Belt]

Value: 279

A belt adorned with large pearls. The pearls arein excellentcondition, and you might be able to remove the pearls and sell them separately.

[Mysterious Pumpkin]

Value: 417

A multi-colored pumpkin. A mysterious creature is preserved in it. A skilled scholar would be able to identify the pumpkin and the creature inside.

[Exquisitely Adorned Sword]

Value: 247

A sword used by an ancient noble. It is usedas a ceremonialsword, rather than for actual combat. A skilled blacksmith would be able to repair it.

Their results werebecause they were digging only in places Kang Yoon-Sooindicated.Shaneth forgot about her fatigue and kept digging happily as the dimension bag started to fill up as well.

‘I want to dig more, but these are the only artifacts left in good condition. The rest would require repairs or repair magic to be of any value. I should stop being greedy,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought to himself.

Just when they started walking toward the surface…

“Kirigryaaaaah…!”

A loud vibration reverberated from the lowest floor of the cave, and a deafening sound akin to a monster’s roarfilled the air.At that moment, the situation felt ominous.

Shaneth looked backupon hearingthe ominous sound, but she did not dareto stop moving as shefollowed behind Kang Yoon-Soo.

Ramax exclaimed once again as they submitted the artifacts they had excavated, “You did it again! Do you guys really have no plan to join our association? It’d bea shame to lose such skilled people.”

They rejected Ramax’s offer this time as well, and the old man looked quite disappointed by their refusal.

[You have submitted valuable artifacts to the Red Rock Excavators.]

[Your contribution points have increased by 1,917.]

[Current Contribution Points: 2,045]

Kang Yoon-Soo purchased another dimension bag, and he gaveitto Shaneth.

Right atthe moment they were about to head to the excavation siteagain,a loud screamemergedfrom the excavation site.“Aaaahk!”

People were scrambling outofthe entrancetothe excavation site with pale, horror-stricken faces. There were somewhowere covered in blood, and some had grave injuries as they huffed and puffed on the way outof the excavation site.

“What’s going on?!”

“What happened?!”

The people in the area started to gather one by one. It seemed something bighadhappened in the excavation site.

A disheveled andhaggard-lookingwomanwho had been crying screamed at the top of her lungs, “Don’t come in here! No one should cometo thisexcavation site from now on!”

Theonlookersstarted to look at each other withpuzzled expressions. One maninthe crowd asked,“Why?”

The woman explained,“Aboss monster appeared from the basement of the excavation site. It was a large flying monster, and it started attacking people left and right. That’s why the people at the bottom of the excavation sitewho wasexcavating for artifacts got trapped…sniff!”

The people looked at each other with puzzledexpressions.

A boss monster? At the excavation site?

Thehorror-strickenfaces of the survivors told theothersthat they did not seem tohave been lying,and thebloodstainsand severe injuriesthey had sustainedgave credibility to the story. A fewpeoplestarted to shout out orders to theothers.

“Call the leader!”

“Is there anyone who has healing skills? There are injured people here!”

A man hurriedly approached the survivorand asked, “What happened tothe peoplewhowere excavating inside? Are they all dead?”

“Nobody has died yet, but the boss is circling around the excavation site. No one shouldenter; otherwise, they’ll undoubtedly die!”thesurvivorcried outfearfully.

The members of the association, including Ramax, ran out of their tents.Ramax had a seriousexpressionas he pondered the situation after hearing the woman’s story. Eventually, he decided,“Cease alloperationsat the excavation site right now! The excavation site isoff limitsfromnow on! All outsiders, including the temporary members, are requested to leave this place at once.”

Ramax then looked toward the members of the Red Rock Excavators and said, “We’ll now organize a search party. A boss monster is rampaging in the excavation site, but there are still survivors trapped inside. The fault of not properly investigating the excavation site lies heavily with us, and we won’t be able to receive any support from the city if any victims die at the site. We have to rescue the survivors at allcosts.”

Suddenly, amemberawkwardly raisedanopinion.“But boss, as you said, we haven’t investigated that excavation site and we don’t know the interior that well. How do you proposewe find and rescue the people trapped inside?In the worst case scenario,we might alsobe trapped inside…”

“Hmmm…” Ramaxhad encountered adilemma. It was a cold and heartless opinion, but it made perfect sense. Rushing into the excavation site whilea boss monster was rampaging in it could actually put more people in danger.

Hesighed as he saidregretfully,“If only there weresomeone who knew the interior of that excavation site well enough…”

“I know it,” someone suddenly said.