Record of a Thousand Lives

Kang Yoon-Soo summoned his undead army.“Summon 76RottenMudgems. Summon 316BloodBats.”He pointed toward the flyingBone Dragonand said, “Kill it.”

Shriek!

TheBlood Bats let outan ear-splittingshriek beforespreadingtheir wings and charging toward theBone Dragon. Theyattacked theBone Dragonand an aerial battlebegan.

TheBone Dragonwas relentlessly attacked by thebats’ sharp fangs, and theRotten Mudgems gathered mud from the excavation site and flung it toward theBone Dragon. However, the attacksofthe undeadwereineffectiveagainst theBone Dragon.

“Kirikiryaaaaah!”TheBone Dragonlet out a burstof dark flame from its mouth—it wasBlackDragon’sBreath.Black Dragon’s Breathwaseven stronger than the flames of a fire spirit.TheBone Dragonwas a monster that had high resistance against fire,which waswhy Kang Yoon-Soohad not summoned Sallyfor thefight.

MultipleBlood Bats were burnedto a crispandfell to the ground. Kang Yoon-Soo waved his hand around as he gavemore orders.“Rotten Mudgems, throw the corpses of theBlood Bats into the sky.”

TheRotten Mudgems picked up the corpses of theBlood Bats thathad beenkilled by theBone Dragon, andflung themtowardthe dragon.

Kang Yoon-Soo quickly used a skill once the corpses wereabouttohittheBone Dragon’s wings.“Corpse Explosion.”

The corpses of theBlood Bats simultaneously exploded and inflicted damage on theBone Dragon.Kang Yoon-Sooused ‘Corpse Explosion’ over and over again until the skill gained a level.

[The skill level of Corpse Explosion has increased.]

[Explosions will now trigger chain explosions.]

TheBone Dragoncould no longer focus on flight because of the continuous barrage of explosions, and it decided to land on the ground.The moment it landed, however,Shaneth swung her Death Scythe down at its tailbone.

“Karigriyaaaaah!”TheBone Dragonlet out anothergoutof black flames as it roared in pain.

“Kyaaaah!”Shaneth screamedasthe black flame engulfed her. She hadbelieved in her resistanceandtried to take the black flamehead-on, but she soon realized that the black flame was hotter than what she could handle. TheBone Dragon’sbreathwas somethingeven she could notwithstand.

“Kyaaaarigaaaah!”TheBone Dragonroared as White lunged at it and dug its claws deep into the dragon’s ribcage,trying to tear it apart.TheBone Dragonthrashed for awhilebefore managing to bite White’sneck.

AsWhite was roaring in pain, however,Kang Yoon-Soo smashed theBone Dragon’s skullwith Ravian’s Longsword. TheBone Dragonwildly swung its claws as it tried to catch the human that was causing damage to its skull, but Kang Yoon-Soo lowered his stance as he evaded everyclaw swipebefore stabbing his swordtowardthe core located between theBone Dragon’s ribs.

TheBone Dragonthrashed and squirmed in painasits corewasstabbed, and Kang Yoon-Soo usedthe newopening to use the ability attached to Ravian’s Longsword—Vitality Absorption. Vitality Absorption was an ability that drained the life force of any creaturethe sword came into contact with.

“Vitality Absorption.”

[You have drained a fraction of theBone Dragon, Skeltrodon’s life force.]

[You have absorbed one of Skeltrodon’s characteristics.]

[The chance of sustaining bone injuries has decreased.]

That was not all, however.Kang Yoon-Soo’smana regenerated quicklydue to the ‘Ring of Life Suppression’,andhecast another spell.“Life Drain.”

It was theNecromancer’s signature skill, Life Drain.Itwas also a skill that absorbed the life force of another.Kang Yoon-Soo’s use of both skills that drained theBone Dragon’s life forcemade it sustain continuous damage, whileheon the other hand could keep fighting without getting tired at all.

“Kirigriyaaaaah!”TheBone Dragoncharged toward Kang Yoon-Soo, findingthe human annoying.

Clang!

Kang Yoon-Soo continuously attacked theBone Dragonwith his longsword, but thedragon’s boneswere quite sturdy. The longsword could not causethem to crack.

“Kirikriyaaah!”Black flames poured out of theBone Dragon’s mouth, and the attackers suddenly spread out toeither sideto avoid the devastatingfire.

TheBone Dragon’s black flamesheated up the area;in fact, the heat was so intense that some parts of the floor started to melt. Itmade the combatantsall the more cautious, asthe slightest graze from the flameswould inflict significant damage.

‘This guy has always been annoying to deal with,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

TheBone Dragonwas a powerful boss monster.Its bones weresosturdy that it was not easy to inflict any damage on it with swords, and it was relatively agile too, despite its huge size. It was capable of flyingquickly, and the black flame it breathed out could melt almost anything.

TheBlood Batshad all beendestroyed, and there were only a handful ofRotten Mudgems left. The situation was significantlystacked against them.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “Retreat.”

TheBone Dragoncharged toward them as it smashed stalactite after stalactite. Kang Yoon-Soo grabbed ShanethandleapedatopWhite, and Whitefled atincredible speed.They barely managed to escape from the excavation site.

“Oh! Are you guys alright?” Ramax asked worriedly, and the otherexcavation groupmembers as well as the survivors looked toward thepartywith great concern.

“We’re alright, but we weren’t able to kill theBone Dragon. It’s a shame.” Kang Yoon-Soo answered with empty words as he put on an act, appearingexhausted.

“Hmm…” Ramaxmused,deep in thought.Then,hespoke up and said, “You aren’t only my savior, but also everyone else’s. There’s no way we can just sit back and watch as our savior is going through all of this. Also, if thatBone Dragonis left asis, we won’t be able to continue excavating. I’ll give you the contribution points in advance.”

[Your achievementinrescuing 150 civilians and members of the Red Rock Excavators has been acknowledged.]

[Your contribution points have increased by 150,000.]

[Current ContributionPoints: 150,845]

It was an astounding amount of contribution points. It was an amount that even a seasoned excavator wouldbe unable to earn even if they worked day and night without rest for months.

Kang Yoon-Soo exchanged his newly earned contribution points for the ‘Staff of Lightning’ and the ‘Magic Amplifying Bracelet’.

[Staff of Lightning]

Rating: Rare

Mana Increase: 125

A staff that can call forth powerful lightning. The user may be electrocuted as well if it is used carelessly. The ability ‘ReleaseLightning’ may be used four times a day.

[Magic-Amplifying Bracelet]

Rating: Rare

Mana Increase: 445

Mana Regeneration: +25

A bracelet thatsignificantly increases the magic powerof the user, as well as mana regeneration.

Accessories such as necklaces, rings, and trinkets were usually sold at an expensive price. They were much more complex to manufacturethanweapons and armor, and even if they could only givesmall boosts alone,they had anadvantagein that one couldequip numerous accessories at the same time.Besides that, a bracelet that increased theuser’s magic power would bean extremelyexpensive item.

Shaneth looked at Kang Yoon-Soo skeptically as she asked, “Do you know how to use magic staves as well?”

Magicstavesrequiredtheirusers to have an understanding of magic forthemto be used properly,which wasone of the reasons why it was difficult to change into the Sorcerer class. Magiccould not becast just by wildly swinging a staff; rather, itrequired acalculated movement,or sometimes even tens of calculated movements, fora spell to manifest. There wasa distinctdifference between offensive magic and magic like raising undead or summoning spirits.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and answered as ifstating theobvious, “Yes.”

Hehadonce reached the pinnacle of mana as aMagician in one of his previouslives.Kang Yoon-Soo had a perfect understanding of being both aMagician and aSwordsman after reaching the pinnacle of bothclasses.‘A magician is effective in a brawl, and a warrior is better ina duel.’

Heheldthe ‘Staff of Lightning’in his left hand,and equippedthe ‘Magic Amplifying Bracelet’ on his rightwrist.With a black longsword in his right hand, anda staff bearingvarious exquisite engravings on itinhis left hand,seeing him wield a staff and a swordsimultaneouslymade it difficult to tellwhetherhe was aMagician or aSwordsman. He looked like aMagicSwordsman, a class usually only heard ofin folktales;even the survivorswhotrusted him could not help but express their skepticism.

“What? Why is he using a sword and a staff at the same time?”

“Maybe he plans to use the sword and magic at the same time?”

“No way! Don’t you know that’s like doing needlework with your left hand and hammering with your right?”

“Do you think that man is adual-class? You know, that rarephenomenonwhere two classes are merged into one!”

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored theonlookers’ murmursand quietly walked toward the excavation site.Whitefollowedafter him, even as it licked its wounds.

Shanethwalked beside him andasked, “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Kang Yoon-Soo seriously pondered for a minute before answering, “Abstain from alcohol.”

“…”Shanethwas speechless.

***

They entered the excavation site once again, and theBone Dragonspread its wings as it roared.“Krigriyaaaah!”

TheBone Dragonflew toward them at a low altitude,butKang Yoon-Soo raised his staff and slammed it against the ground.

Bzzt!

Bluelightning started to rain down; itwas so intense that just being grazed by it would definitely electrocute anyone. The intense lightning struck downontheBone Dragonand inflicted heavy damage on it.

Kang Yoon-Soo continued his magic attack on theBone Dragon.“ReleaseLightning.”

The ability ‘ReleaseLightning’unleashedthe mana stored within the magic staffto summon even stronger lightningagainst the target.Fierce lightningstruck down on theBone Dragon.

White did not missthechance to charge toward theBone Dragon.“Grrrrr!Urnokra!”

White attacked theBone Dragon’s tailbone,buttheBone Dragonretaliated by slamming White’s waist. White sustained critical damage, but it managed to hold on and lunge toward theBone Dragon’s tailbone. The beast bit down on the Bone Dragon’s tailbone as it clung on.

Shanethtook theopportunity to striketheBone Dragon’s skullwith her Death Scythe. TheBone Dragontried to resist, butShaneth stubbornlyrefused to back down and rained down a barrage of attacks on it.

Bam! Bam!

[TheBone Dragon, Skeltrodon has been inflicted with theCurse ofSloth.]

[The target’s movement and defensehavebeensignificantlyreduced.]

The Death Scythe had the ability to inflict curses upon damaging enemies, and theCurse ofSloth was one of the seven cursesitcould inflict. TheBone Dragon’s movementslowed down, and its bones seemed to have softenedsomewhat.

Kang Yoon-Soo relentlessly swung both his sword and his staff at theBone Dragon. Alightning bolt struckwhenever he swung his staff, and hethrust his sword at the Bone Dragon’s coreto inflict critical damage. He did not forget to use both ‘Vitality Absorption’ and ‘Life Drain’ continuously against theBone Dragon, either.

As the Bone Dragon wasbeing abused by Kang Yoon-Soo’s continuous barrage of attacks, it suddenly opened its mouth wide.

“Avoid it,” Kang Yoon-Soo told his team.

Shaneth and White instantly obeyed his orders as they disengaged from theBone Dragon, and the black flames it breathedout melted the floorat the spot they had beenstandinginjustmoments before.The dragon breath used by most dragons had limited uses and long casting times, butitsdestructivenesswas not something to underestimate.

TheBone Dragoncontinuedbreathing out black flames as it tried to keep the attackers at bay. They had lost their chance to capitalize on their momentum, and if theBone Dragonkept using dragon breath,their chance of winning against it would be zero.

At that moment,something that would change the tides of the battle happened.

Shaneth suddenly grasped her chest as she felltoone knee. She gaspedfor air as her breathing became rough and ragged.“Something hot is swelling up in my chest…!”