Record of a Thousand Lives

Kang Yoon-Soo grabbed Shaneth and Henrick by theirnecksas he pulled them toward the center of the ice sheet. The ice stabilized after they reached the center, and thankfully, the cracksdid not spread throughout the entireplatform.

Kang Yoon-Soo pulled Shaneth up,lookingat her before saying,“Stupid.”

“…” Shaneth said nothing.

“I’ve never heard such emotionless cursing in my life…” Henrick grumbled.

KangYoon-Soo, on theother hand, was deep in thought.‘This wouldn’t have happened if I had an ice spirit.’

The legendary quest would eventually give them an objectiveto raida ruin;the material to create the ice spirit, Icicle, could be found in the center of that ruin.He thought,‘I have to meet the lord of this castle to do that.’

Kang Yoon-Soo stretched out his right hand and said, “Summon 14 zombie orcs.”

At the same momentthat a group of blue orc zombiesappeared, aloud voice reverberated from the castle.“Who dares to raise corpses in theCastle of theDead?!”

An invisible and mysterious power filled the area as the fog surrounding the castle dissipated, and a gigantic black knight jumped down from the castle wall.

Kwachik!

The black knight stood upright after landing from its jump.Itlooked quite sinister, clad in full black armor;its skin was ghostly pale, and its eyes were a tainted black. In addition, theknight’sgigantic framehad an imposing aura as it stood upright, towering above the group. The sword on its waist looked quite expensive and luxurious.

[Death General Kalriven (Boss, Level N/A) has appeared!]

Death General Kalriven, ahigh-rankingundeadcreature,had appeared; thishigh-level monster had the power to turn them into dust with one fell swoop of its sword.

“The dead will rip you apart and swallow you, you Necromancerwhotreats life as a joke,” Kalriven spoke with a deep and sinister voice that made the party’sbacks break outincold sweat.Kalriven possessed an absurdly high amount of charisma, and the fact that they were face to face with the black knight was enough to make them go numbwithfear.

“Heed my call,legions of thedead!” Kalriven said in a booming voice asitstabbeditssword into the frozen lake. The ice covering the lake shattered into pieces.

Kwachik!

Suddenly, a legion of undead surfaced from the lake, pushingthrough the shattered ice. The undead legion numberedin thethousands; itwas composed of variouscreatures,includinglow tier undead,mid-tierundead, zombies, ghouls, dullahans, and even banshees; even theSkullKnights thathad falleninto the water surfacedandjoined the legion.

The trio was helplessly surrounded in an instant by the undead legion, and there was no room for them to escape.

“We’re screwed,” Henrick grumbled as he bit his lips.

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo saidnonchalantly.

“Thislittle punk!” Henrick screamed and grabbed Kang Yoon-Soo’s collar as ifthe other manwerehis mortal nemesis fromaprevious life.“You little punk! You’re more emotionless than a wooden doll! We’re about to die because of you!”

“Let go,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“You have a solution,right? It really looks like we’re going to die at this rate!” Shaneth screamed in horror.

The undead legion that was encircling them had an extremelycommanding and threatening presence, and the presence of the boss monster, Death General Kalriven, made the situation seem all the more grave. The killing intent spilling out ofitspitch-blackeyes was enough to numb their senses from fear.

“I’llfixit, so letgo,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Henrick released him from his grip. It was not because he trustedKang Yoon-Soo’swords;rather, that was just how desperate their current predicament was.

Kang Yoon-Soo walkedconfidentlytoward the undead legion. The undead growled at him as if they were about to rip him to shreds at any moment.However, he walked calmly without changing expressions once, as if he had been through the exact same predicament numerous times.

“Kalriven!”heshouted.

“Ihave no desire to speakwith an insignificant intruder. All forces, attack!” Kalriven commanded.The undead started their fierce charge, and Shaneth and Henrick’s facesturned blue from fear.

It was at that moment that Kang Yoon-Soo,stillunfazed by the situation, shoutedloudly, “Look at this!”Heraised his right arm, and the Ring of Life Suppression on his fingerglistened.

Kalriven openeditseyes wide asitsaid, “What?! That ring is…?”It was flustered and commanded hurriedly, “Stop! All forces, stop the attack!”

The undead obeyed Kalriven’s commandas they came to a halt. Kalriven grounditsteeth asitscreamed, “That ring is the Ring of Life Suppression that was handmade by Lord Nakron, the Ultimate Necromancer! How dare an insignificant human possess it?! Reveal your identity!”

Kang Yoon-Soo crossed his arms as he confidently declared,“I’m the successor of Nakron.”

“What did you say?!” Kalriven exclaimed.

“You stupid musclehead! Do I have to repeat myself? I’m the successor of Nakron, the Ultimate Necromancer, and his only disciple!” Kang Yoon-Soo shouted, furrowing his brow as he rebukedthe black knight.

“Stop lying! Are you telling me Lord Nakron had a disciple while he was alive? Hewas not someone who would easily pass on his teachings to just anyone!” Kalriven retorted.The initial charismaticdominanceitprojected could no longer be found, asit evidentlyseemed to be surprisedbythehuman’s words.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised the ring on his right hand once again as he asked, “Then how would you explain this Ring of Life Suppression? Are you saying I tricked Nakron and stole it from him?”

“That’s…!” Kalriven was beyond flustered,asitcould not think of any response.

Kang Yoon-Soo’svoicesuddenly changed, taking ona commanding tone filled with confidence and authority.“The way you welcome an important guest is a mess, Kalriven. Is this your way of repaying Nakron,whoresurrected you from the dead?”

Those words were the final nail in the coffin.The Death General seemed to have made upitsresolve, asitgot down on one knee and stabbeditsswordintothe ice. The other undead followed suit,allbowing down along with it. Thousands of undead were now on their knees, bowing down andworshipingKang Yoon-Soo.

“Almighty successor! Please punish these insolent corpses!” Kalriven screamed at the top ofitslungs.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s expression did not change one bit at the sight of the thousands of undead at his feet as he repliedin a cold, authoritative voice,“The punishment will be postponed to a later date, insignificant fools.”

“You were the successor to Nakron, the ancient hero?” Shanethwhispered, unable tohide her surprise.

“No,”Kang Yoon-Sooreplied.

“You’re such a jerk…”Shanethsaid as furrowed her brows.

***

The party enteredthe black castle with Kalriven escorting them.The interior of the castle was as sinister and eerie as its exterior. Its large hall was covered in cobwebs, and abitterly colddraftflowed throughit as well. The corridorswerefilled with numerousmisshapen shadows lurking within, anda strange mistfilled the air; the sounds of crying echoed in the distance.

“I hopeyou may forgive my insolence for failing to recognize you. I welcome you, the successor of Lord Nakron, to the Castle of the Dead,” Kalriven said in a greatly humbled and respectful tone.

The name of the black castle, in other words, wasthe Castle of the Dead.

The trio was escorted to the VIP room. Although it wasalso sinister and eerie, as if to live up to its undead title, it was clean at the very least. A long dining tablewas present inside; itseemed that thecastle’s inhabitantswere planning to serve dinner for the guests.

“Serve the delicacies,” Kalriven commanded. Numerous banshees and skeletons appeared to prepare a feast for the guests.

A scrumptious(?) feast of bat wings, frog blood jellies, live squirming worms, and spider pie was laid out on the dining table. Shaneth and Henrick could not help but frown at the sight of the hideous things thathad beenserved.

“Shouldn’t they at least differentiatewhethertheir guests are humans or undead?” Henrick complained.

“Shh! They might hear you!” Shaneth hushed him in a hurry.

Being treated as a VIP by the undead was a rare experienceone mightonly get once in a lifetime, but the experience itself could not be describedasa good one.

Suddenly, Kang Yoon-Soo stabbed alamb’s eyeballwith his fork,putting it intohis mouth with perfect dining etiquette and posture.The other two could not help but be stunned at the sight.

“It’s not bad,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“As expected of the successor of Lord Nakron. Lord Nakron was also fond of these delicacies when he was alive,” Kalriven said, seeminglymoved by the sight of Kang Yoon-Soo eating.

Kang Yoon-Soo continued eating the hideous things they called‘delicacies’without batting an eye.

“Are… you alright…? Why are you eating that…?” Shaneth asked,trembling at the sight of him eating.

“Because I’m hungry,”Kang Yoon-Sooreplied.

“What…?” Shanethasked, dumbfounded.

Kang Yoon-Soo wolfed down plate after plate of the undead delicacies.At times,he wouldeven graba plate full of squirming bugs and eatthem all, down to the last piece.It wasnecessaryto enjoy the feast to increase his intimacy with Kalriven; justas he expected, Kalriven was looking at him with satisfaction.

However, Henrick sighed at the sight ofKang Yoon-Sooeating and said in resignation, “That guy’s morelikean undead than an undead.”

Thankfully, the undead laid out foods fit for human consumption soon enough. However,they were justan assortment of stiff, hardjelliesand cold,bland soups, and the cold alcohol theundeadservedcould chillthe drinker down to thebones.

Shaneth strictly stuck with food that looked edibleby humans, while Kang Yoon-Soo and Henrick gulped down all of the alcohol served by the undead.

Having chuggedall of the alcohol served down to the last drop,Henrick licked his lips in satisfaction andexclaimed,“It’s a little bit too cold, but the alcohol tastes fantastic!”

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The skeletons clacked their jaws as if to express their delight after hearing Henrick praise the alcohol they served;it seemedthey had brewed the alcoholthemselves.

The undead cleared the plates once the feast was over, and Kalriven sat oppositefromthe trio. Itexudedinsurmountable pressure, even thoughitwas just sitting there.Atop-tierundeadcreaturepossessed significant intelligence and combat prowess, suchthat a Necromancer could not lightly dealwith them asthey wished;the Death General was not one to obeya Necromancer who wasunworthy ofitsloyalty.The sight of an undeadcreature of Kalriven’s caliberserving Kang Yoon-Soo with utmost respect was a testament to how amazingaNecromancer Nakronhad been.

“You may stay as long as you wish if you so desire,” Kalriven said politely.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and said, “I have business in this place, Kalriven.”

“What do you mean?” Kalriven asked.

“I wish to undothe holy seal in the castle’s basement,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“…!”Kalriven suddenly looked conflicted;itsexpressionwas a mix of surprise, admiration, and sadness.Itspoke in a low voice afteritsilently contemplated what Kang Yoon-Soo had just said.“The holy seal… Are you aware of what it means to undoit?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“You might end up dying,” Kalriven warned him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kang Yoon-Sooreplied. Headded, “I have to release the seal foryou lot tobe free.”

Kalriven had a surprisedexpression,as ifithad beenstruckinthe back ofitshead with a hammer. The Death General got down on one knee, bowing its head while facing Kang Yoon-Soo; it was a knight’s way of showingtheirloyalty totheirmaster. Itdeclared,“To be honest, I did not believe that you were the successor of Lord Nakron, because you looked very weak. However, I am certain of it now. I am certain that your soul is stronger than your physical form and you are the successor to Lord Nakron, and that you are the one I should devote my entire existence to.”

Kalriven prostrated in front of Kang Yoon-Soo, and the rest of the undead followed suit as they bowed down one by one in front of him once more.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the sight with emotionless eyes, and he did not feel a single thing in front ofsuch agrand sight.