Record of a Thousand Lives

Henrick was shockedupon hearing Shaneth’s words, and he looked at her withwideeyes…and a cherry-red nose from the alcohol. He exclaimed, “What?! You think anArtisancan’t fight?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…” Shanethbegan.

“Alright, come outside,” Henrick said firmly.

The trio left the pub. Thebill, of course, was paid by Kang Yoon-Soo.

Henrick, who was obviously drunk, guided the two to the military training center. The place was still crowded with people training their combat skills amid the sound of clashing weapons.Henrick looked at Kang Yoon-Soo and said, “Hey, you. You have a sword, so I’m guessing you know how to use it?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo said simply.

“Good. I thought it was just for show, since you have a staff together with it,” Henrick remarked.

The military training center had weapons lined up,rangingfrom practice wooden swords to real steel swords.Henrick pickedout two real swords with dull edges.“Shall we sparlightly? You can use your sword.”

“Okay,”Kang Yoon-Soosaid as hepulled out Ravian’s Longsword.

The gazes of thosetraining in the military training center focused on thetwo, whowere about to spar with real swords. It was easy to wound one another when real swords were involved,which waswhy only experts sparred with real swords;doing sowhile trying not to woundone’sopponent required a significant amount of skill and control.

Most of theonlookerswatching wereworried for the two, but there were some who sighed as if they had seen numeroussuch fools,who had sparred with real swords only to end up getting hurt. Some of the people who prided themselveson“living by the sword” frowned at the pair for insulting the sword.

A man approached Shaneth andremarked, “Does it make sense that apairof drunks will be sparring? Why don’t you stop them,miss?”

“Unfortunately, they aren’t thekindof peoplewhocan be convinced to stop,” Shaneth replied as she lookedworriedlyat the pair.

Henrickwieldedbothswordsas hegot intoan offensive stance. Suddenly, however,heput his hand into his coat and pulled out a small square box. He slowly opened the box, and a large wooden dollthatwas several meters tallemerged from it.

The onlookersshouted in surprise.

“Oh!”

“He was a Puppeteer!”

The Puppeteer classmade combat dolls and used themin battle. It was Shaneth’s first time seeing a Puppeteer, because they were not a common class. To be frank, she had had no idea that a Puppeteer was even a combat class.

“I made this guy myself. You can go all out on him if you want,” Henrick declaredproudly.

The combat doll tightly grippedswords inboth hands. A thin threadextendedout of Henrick’s right hand, infused with his mana; the mana thread could not be cuteasily,and it allowed him to manipulate the combat doll according to his will.However, manipulating and controlling a combat doll was not an easy task. The combat prowess of a Puppeteer heavily depended on their control.

‘Henrick Elrickerson…’Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he looked at the Puppeteer.Hehad beenas intertwined with Henrick as he was with Shaneth in his previous lives, and Shaneth was someone hehad beendeeply involved withto begin with.

He suddenly recalled the past,whenHenrick had first died. He had cried in agony as he clutchedthe man’scorpseback then. In that lifetime, Henrick had beenhis teacher and his sworn brother. Of course,thosewerejust distant memories of a nonexistent past in thislifetime. However,that didnot mean the event was completely gone from his memories.

Just as he wasgetting lost in melancholy; heheardHenrick’s voicecalling out, “Let’s start. Should I go first?”

Kang Yoon-Soo snapped back to hissenses. He nodded at the manwho had been deadin his memories just a momentbefore, answering,“Yes.”

The wooden combat dollcreakedinto motion. However, just when the onlookersthoughtit was having difficulty moving; its attacksuddenly appearedin front of Kang Yoon-Soo.It struck down rapidly with its dual swords.

Clang!

Kwachik!

Instantly, the wooden combat doll’s waist was shattered.

Henrick’ssudden strikewas so quick that nobody in the training center saw what had happened. The movements and swordsmanship displayed by the wooden combat dollhad been so uniqueand exquisite that it was hard to believe a doll madeof wood had performed them.

However, the wooden combat doll’s attackwas neutralized in one exchange, and it was destroyed in a singleblow.

Nobody saw what kind of attack Kang Yoon-Soo had used, and nobody could explain how he had counterattacked. Those who had beenlaughing at the two drunks were immediately silenced; they stood frozen on the spotin disbelief, and some of them rubbed their eyes as if they could not believe what had just happened.

Henrick laughed as he stared at the destroyed combat doll. He asked,“Hey, what was your name again?”

“Kang Yoon-Soo,” came the reply.

“Right, Kang Yoon-Soo… What the hell are you?” Henrick asked.

“Why do you care?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked back.

“You’re quite the jerk, aren’t you?” Henrickreplied.

Those were the words Henrick would end up repeating over and over again.

***

Henrick’s luggage was quite simple and modest.Itconsistedof a crafting kit, a doll summoning box, a pouch of dried food, and all sorts of alcohol.

He was loitering aroundthe other twowhen Shaneth said, annoyed,“Please go wash up.”

“It’s bothersome,” Henrick complained.

“Then don’t come with us,” Shaneth snapped.

Henrick grumbled for a bit before he went and washed up,buthe returned looking neat and tidy. He had changed his clothesforones that were not ragged, and he now looked quite decent;he had handsome features tobeginwith.

The trio purchased some cooking tools and ingredients, and left Riel to head north.

Henrick askedcuriously, “Wouldn’t it befaster to ride a horse if we plan to go all the way to the capital?”

“No.” Kang Yoon-Soo flatly rejected the notion.

The legendary questhad beenupdated after they found the missing piece of history.

[Legendary Quest: Loyal Subject]

You have found the missing portion of history and facts that nobody has ever heard of. A creaturerelated to theAncientHeroes inhabits the roads to Riel. Meet up with the creature and continue your travels.

“A legendary quest?” Henrick asked as he scratched his beard.It was newsto him, as he hadjust joined the party.

Shaneth put both arms on her waist, puffed out her chest, and proudly asked Kang Yoon-Soo,“I guess we can tell him, right?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Shaneth said,“Yes, we’re currently doing a legendary quest.”

“Is that so? Hmm… It must be a legendary quest related to theAncientHeroes,” Henrick replied, rubbinghis chin.

Night came as they walked, and Kang Yoon-Soo methodically checked the surroundings before choosing a campsite. He set up the campfire as Shaneth started cooking.Henrick laid out a blanketandprepared to sleep, only to get up and collect firewood after receiving an earful of nagging from Shaneth.

Their food situation was not bad, as it had only been a day since they left the city. They enjoyed a scrumptious meal of pancakes, smoked ham, bread, cheese, and soup.

Henrick could not hide his admiration at the sight of the food Shanethhad prepared. He remarked,“I thought you looked like a miss who wouldn’t even know how to use a kettle, but I guess your cooking skills aren’t bad at all.”

“You praise me too much,” Shaneth replied.

“No no, your skills are comparable to the chefs at the royal palace. Especially the soup; it’s really tasty.”Henrick gulpeddown severalbowls of the soup before going over to his luggage looking for something. He brought out a glass bottle with hard liquor sloshing in it.

Kang Yoon-Soo held out his cup as if it weresomething they had previouslyagreedupon, saying,“Give me a cup.”

Henrick remarked,“Oho, this guy knows his stuff. Drinking alone doesn’t taste good,after all.”

“Drink moderately;it’s not good for your health,” Shaneth naggedworriedlyas the two menclinkedtheir cups.Shelet out a sigh before tending to the campfire. Suddenly, though, she askedKang Yoon-Soo,“Don’t you think we have to introduce Mister Henrick to our other companions?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“‘Mister’? Why‘mister’?! Call me oppa!” Henrickprotested.[1]

Henrick was already blabbering inadrunken stupor. He was a “normal” human, unlike Kang Yoon-Soo, so it wasnatural that he wouldbe drunk after drinking that much.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his right hand as he saidin his usualdry, mundane tone,“Summon Sally.”

Flames started to gather in midair, manifesting into the form of a beautiful young girl.Henrick, after seeing Sally’s clothes made from fire, asked Kang Yoon-Soo in confusion,“You were a Spirit Summoner?”

Kang Yoon-Soo did not bother to reply. However,Sally ran toward him and looked at him with teary eyes, asking,“Papa, where’s my sibling?”

“Later,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Hing…!Then play with Sally!”Sally started to cry, butShaneth hugged her and calmed her down.

Henrick was stunnedbythe scene unfolding in front of him.He remarked,“I’ve seen countless peoplewho hadcontracts with spirits, but it’s my first time seeing someone appease a crying spirit.”

However, it was too early to be surprised, asKang Yoon-Soo called forth another summon.“Summon White.”

“Grrrrr…!”White growled.

Henrick sobered up instantly.It was natural for him to become alert whenasilver-whitewerewolf suddenly appearedbeforehis eyes out of nowhere. He tensed up as he reached forthesummoning box in his coat pocket.

However,White had already pledged its loyalty to Kang Yoon-Soo. The werewolf sat beside Kang Yoon-Soo like a docile puppy, and the manbeganstroking its fur as if it werea house pet.

“Grrrr…”The werewolf let out a low growl. It was not a growlofrebelliousness; rather,it simplyfelt good from havingits fur stroked. Kang Yoon-Soo took out a piece of meat from his backpack,throwingit toward White. White jumped to catch the meatand swallowed the whole piece,including the bones.

Henrick could not help but stare at thestrangeparty composition before saying, “That’s an amazing group you have. AContinental, a Traveler, a spirit, and a monster. Hmm…Should I feel sorry that I’m so normal…?”

“No,Mister Henrick is quite the oddball too,” Shaneth replied.

“Why? Aren’t I considered normal? No, wait…Maybe I‘m too handsome…?”Henrick mused.

“…” Shaneth said nothing.

“What’s with that disgusted look? This fragile middle-aged man will get hurt…”Henrick complained. In any event, he hadsobered up thanks to the appearance of the werewolf.

Suddenly,hiseyes narrowed andhe shouted,“Get down!”

Shaneth, Sally, and White instinctivelydropped low to the ground. The moment they ducked,numerous projectiles whistled past their heads—it was a rain of arrows.Severalarchers aimed at themfrom afarbefore letting more arrows loose.

“Grrrr…!”White growled from behind the bushes,having taken cover behind themdue to its large frame.

Sally instantly extinguished her flames, as the fire would give away their positionandmake it easier for their enemies to target them in the dark.

Henrick whispered as he crouched, “Do you know whatsurprisedme the mostjust now?”

“What is it?” Shaneth asked.

“Kang Yoon-Soo, that guy…He already ducked even before we took cover,” Henrick replied.

The two glared at Kang Yoon-Soo, whononchalantly replied, “Well, you didn’t get hurt.”

“What a jerk,” Henrick muttered.

The arrows flew over theirheadsseveral more times. Therewasno guarantee that they were hitting anything, but the arrows kept coming.Kang Yoon-Soo sent the two summons back to the summon dimension. White was too big, and Sally’s flames made her an easy target for the arrows.

Henrick cursed under his breath before taking out his summoning boxand saying,“Summon three runner dolls.”

Three wooden dolls popped out of the box. These dollshad slender figures,as opposed to the combat doll he had summoned at the military training center in Riel. Henrick imbued his mana into the threads connected to the three wooden dollsas hecrouched, and the three wooden dolls all sprinted in differentdirections.

When their prey spread out in three different directions, the ambushers shouted in surprise.

“Kironuko!”

“Osikiradurin!”

1. ”Oppa” iswhata girl would call an older brother in Korean. It’s also widely used as a cute wayfor girls to address guysolder than them, and in some cases,it’s used similarly to ‘daddy’ or ‘uncle’inWestern culture.👈