Record of a Thousand Lives

TheBone Dragondid not miss theopportunityto unleashits dragon breath towardsShaneth.

Fwaaa!

The black flame engulfed Shaneth as it tried to consume her, but Shaneth was not being burnedbyit. A bright red luster surrounded her body as if it wereprotecting her from the black flame; it was the bright lightofthe power fragment.

[The Chosen One has completed all conditions.]

[The first stage of the power fragmenthas beenreleased.]

[The Soldier class has evolved into the Ignus Warrior class.]

[The skills and characteristics of the Soldier class have disappeared.]

[You have obtained the unique skills of the Ignus Warrior class.]

[Your class evolution has opened newcharacteristics.]

[Your fire resistance has increased by one level.]

[Your equipment will not be burned by fire.]

[Your strength and vitalityhaveincreased.]

[Your mana has increased.]

[Your affinity with fire spiritshasincreased.]

[Your affinity with ice spiritshasdecreased.]

[Yourcombat skills have all increased by one level.]

[You may hear the Ignus Dragon’s whispers from now on.]

[You have learned the unique skill ‘Pyrokinesis’.]

[You have learned the unique skill ‘Fire Strike’.]

AClass Evolutionhad been unlocked.It was normal for someone to get the option to change their class, but havingone’sclass forcefully changed was a very rare occurrence.

The benefits of the Soldier class might have disappeared, butitwas not a loss at all for her. The Ignus Warrior class was not only superior to theSoldierclass in terms ofbase stats, butalso greatlysuperior to itinall other aspects. She now had higher staminawith which tofightcontinuously, and her fire resistancewasnow stronger as well.Additionally, she could handle more kinds of weapons compared to other basic combat classes.

“Haa… Ha…”Shanethgaspedfor air.

The way she moved had changed greatly from just momentsbefore.Her desire to not be a hindrancetoKang Yoon-Soo and help him insteadhadcaused her to evolve. Now, she was no longer afraid of theBone Dragon’s black flames.

Kang Yoon-Soo called out to the newly evolved Shaneth.“Shaneth.”

“Yes! I’m overflowingwith power!” Shaneth exclaimed.

“Bemyshield,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“...Alright,” Shaneth replied.

Thus, Shanethbegan tostand at the forefront and block theBone Dragon’s flameshead-onwhenever it breathedthemout. The destructive black flames could no longer inflict any damage on her. TheBone Dragonwassooncornered after its breath attack wasrendered ineffective, and theyraineddown a barrage of attacks on it.

“ReleaseLightning. ReleaseLightning. ReleaseLightning.”Kang Yoon-Soo swung his Staff of Lightning and struck theBone Dragonwith lightning strike after lightning strike, and he even used up all of the staff’scharges to call forth devastatinglightningandinflict massiveamountsof damage to theBone Dragon.

The magic attacks were very effectiveagainsttheBone Dragon, which lacked any sort of magical barrier. In time,cracks began to form on the dragon’s sturdy bones.

“Kirigriyaaah!”TheBone Dragonspread out its wings as it attempted to escape, but Shaneth leaped up and slashed both wings with her Death Scythe.

The boss monster fell to the ground, and Kang Yoon-Soo stabbed his longswordinto the dead center of itsskull.Kang Yoon-Soo shattered theBone Dragon’s skull and stabbed its core, destroying both.

[You have defeated theBone Dragon, Skeltrodon (Boss, Level 174).]

[Yourlevel has increased by 12.]

Kang Yoon-Soo was now Level 86.He skillfully dismembered theBone Dragonand stored it inhisdimension bag.

[Ancient Dragon Bone]

A piece of theBone Dragon. Its value lies in beingresearched or used as crafting material. It is anancientbone that has not eroded over time and still maintains its durability.

[Skeltrodon’sEyes]

Color: Red

The eyes of an ancient dragon. Time has crystallizedthem, but the magic power of an ancient dragon can be felt inthem.

Dragon eyesheld different magic based ontheircolor, and in the case ofSkeltrodon’sred eyes,theystored fire attribute magic. It was possible to refinesucheyes intodragon eye jewelswith special magic or crafting skills.

‘I have no use for Skeltrodon’s eyes, but I’ll keepthemjust in case,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

There were some shiny items underneath the remains of theBone Dragon, and upon closerinspection,they werea stone tablet with mysterious characters engraved on it and a brightly glowing piece of stone.

[Tablet of Records]

A tablet that holds records of missinghistory. It has been severely damaged and it is difficult to read the characters engraved on it, but a seasoned archeologist might be able to restore it.

[Ancient Stone of Requiem]

An extremely rare piece of stone. It looks simple butholds a brilliant luster, and itcontains a forgotten power. The details of the stone will be forever lost if it is not cutproperly. It is one of thehighest-gradecraftingmaterials.

Kang Yoon-Soo stored both items in the dimension bag before leaving the excavation site. He notified theexcavatorsthat theBone Dragonwas dead.

Ramax could not hide his joyupon hearingthe good news andgrabbedKang Yoon-Soo and Shaneth’s hands, exclaiming,“Thank you! Our association would have been in ruins if itweren’t for you!”

Kang Yoon-Soo took out the Tablet of Records from his dimension bag and handed it to Ramax. Ramax and the other members could not hide their surprise;their mouths were left hanging open in astonishment.

“This…It’s an ancient tablet, right?”

“Wasn’t this believed to be lost forever?”

“I knew it. You aren’t an ordinary man.”Ramax inspected the tablet before shaking his head in disappointment.“Phew… It’s unfortunate but its condition isn’tgood. It’s impossible to read the charactersdescribing themissing history.Thiswill take at least a month to restore;come drop by then to collect it. I promise to restore it by then.”

“Then I’ll do it myself,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“What? What did you say you woulddo?” Ramax doubted his ears.

Kang Yoon-Soo took the tablet back from Ramaxandheaded inside the tent.Just ashe brought out a set of repair tools, the association members suddenly rushed at him andexclaimed, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Restoring it,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

“Are you crazy?! Restoring artifacts isn’t an easy jobjustanyonecan do! You could damage the tablet and turn it into a useless piece of stone!” Ramax exclaimed as he ran towardKang Yoon-Soo.

However,Shaneth stood in his way and blocked him.“Don’t worry. If it is that man, he will be able to do it,”she said, trying to calm down theold man.

“But! It’s impossible for a beginner like him to restore that valuable artifact!” Ramax pleaded.

However, perhapsbecauseShaneth hadspent too much time with Kang Yoon-Soo,she hadstarted to sound pretty brazen. She said,“We were the ones who found it first. Sodoesn’t it belong to us, and thuswe can do whatever we want with it?”

“Still! Do you have any idea how much historical value that tablet holds?!” Ramax would not back downandprotestedheavily.

However, the Red Rock Excavators coulddo nothingbut watch from the sidelines, filled with suspense and unease, as the man worked on the tablet.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly raised a hammer and struck the tablethard.

Crack!

The Tablet of Records was split into two pieces, and the faces ofthe onlookersin the tent turned ghostly pale. What had happened right in front of their eyes was so unbelievable that an eerie silence filled the tent, as no one could muster up their voice to speak.

A bluish light started to escape from the broken tablet.

[The seal holding the records within the ancient tablethasbeen broken.]

[The recordshave begunflowing out of the ancient tablet.]

[A magician sacrificed his own soul to preserve the records.]

[Only some of the records remain, but you mayaccess the missing portion ofhistory.]

“Oh!”It was only then that the excavators were relieved.

The characters written on the ancient tabletwerenothing more than a trap;they were merely scribbledgibberishmade to look like ancient characters. Multiple scholars hadtried to decipher the tablet in the past, but the way to access the records was actually quite simple.They only had to break it.

‘It wassosimple that no oneimaginedit to be thiseasy,’Kang Yoon-Soothought.

A lot of researchwould actually berequired to finally figure outhowto access the tablet, but thatwould only applyif it weredone the normal way—and normal did not apply to Kang Yoon-Soo.

The blue light that flowed out of the tablet started to change the surroundings, and the dusty tent suddenly turned into a war zone.The missing portion of history was being playedlikea video right before theireyes; those present in the tent held their breaths as they focused on the miracle unfolding.

Thousands of vile demonsroamed across the landscape. Most of them had black wings on their backs, taking the form most people commonly recognized; however,some of them looked quite vile and grotesque. Some, for instance, had thousands of eyes embedded across their bodies.

Numerous demons of all shapes and sizescharged toward a horde ofmonsters andfeastedon them;even gigantic monsters that would behard to hunt evenby a party of hundredswere mercilessly slaughtered, andthe stench of blood filled the air.

However, the strangest sceneof allwas the sky. The gloomy sky looked likea doorway flung wide openas the cloudspartedrightdownthe middle;the demons were descendingto the earthfrom the heavens.

Five humansstoodat the edge of a cliff as theywitnessedthe grotesque sight from above;their appearances and outfitslooked quite familiar.They were theFiveAncientHeroeswho hadstopped the invasion of Pandemonium in the past, and they looked exactlythe way they had been described to future generations.

“The doors of Pandemonium will be fully open in a matterofhours,”an elf wielding a large wooden longbow muttered. He was the onewho wouldbe known in the future as the Noble Archer, Nahilen.

“It’s already hell down there. I can’t imagine how bad it will be after the doors fullyopen,”Sephia, the Infinite Dimension Wizard, said as she stroked her golden hair.

“The war with the demons will start once the door fully opens, and the strongest being from Pandemonium will cross over to this side. We have to stop that at all costs…But something’s fishy…”Minerva, the Grand Alchemist, said in a tone that seemed calm and calculating.

“I welcome the world being covered in darkness and blood, but it has to be done by my hands. I cannotletthem do that before me,”Nakron, the Ultimate Necromancer, said as he tapped on his blade made of bones.

“You guys are too talkative. Let me summarize it for you. Justasour parentsalways said, life’s unfair. The armies of the continents have been wiped out, the demons of Pandemonium are crossing over to our continent, and all of the plans we made have all been for naught. I wouldn’t mind eating that disgusting food Nakron cooked for us if it would help us out,”said a man, the final member of the party.

Nahilen and Sephia both burst out into laughterasNakron swung his swordangrilyat the man. However, the man easily avoided the sword as if it werea joke to him. He said lightly,“It was just a joke.”

The man suddenly turned serious as he saidgravely,“We just have to remember one thing.”

All of theAncientHeroes nodded.

The man grasped his spear as he shouted,“We will protect our family, our friends, and our continent!”

The demons charged at theAncientHeroes as soon as they ran down the cliff; the five fought aloneagainst thousands of demons. However, they pushed through the demons with immense destructivepower,shredding their foes to pieces.

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at the manatthe forefront.Whenever the man swung his spear, the groundwasshattered and severaldemonswere rippedapart.He thought,‘Your past is always awkward no matter how many times I see it, Sirian.’

He was the authority above all creatures.

The King of All Things.

The only living hero.

Sirian Lanchecaster.