Record of a Thousand Lives

The moment Kang Yoon-Soogained hisnewfound resolve, a black bear charged toward him. He leaned on his back foot for a second beforesprintingtoward the charging black bear and swinging his sword.His blade cleanly severed the bear’s neck; theattack was completely differentfromhis usual movements.

“Grrrruuuoo!”

Severalbears roared as they emerged from the bushes.The black bears of the Hatar Mountains were infamousnot only fortheir viciousness, but also forthethick hides that managed to protect them from most attacks.

The other members of the party prepared to enter combat. Shaneth tightly gripped her Death Scythe, while Henrick pulled out five wooden swordsman dolls from his summoning box. However, Iris remained calmly seated inplace.

Henrick screamed angrilyat the doppelganger’s nonchalant display,“You idiot! The black bears areapproachingus;what are you doing sitting there?!”

Iris, on the other hand, tilted her head in confusion as if she could not understand why he was getting so worked up. She said, “A princess does not participate in combat.It is quite rare for aroyalto joinabattle.”

“Then run far away or something!” Henrick shouted. He was about to swearat the doppelganger when a black bear suddenly charged toward him.

Kwachik!

A wooden swordsman doll in front clashed with one of the black bears. Half of the doll’supper body was blown away by the black bear,butHenrick immediately reacted by moving his mana threads. Then, the remaining four wooden swordsman dolls immediately surrounded the black bear and simultaneously stabbed it.

However, thedolls’swords were not able to penetrate deep enough, andtheir shallow thrustswere not enough to stop it from rampaging.They had to targetvital points such as the neck or the heart to quickly end the battle.

Sukeok!

Shaneth swung her Death Scythe with all her might toward a black bear, and the black bear responded by swinging its paw at the scythe.

Clang!

An immense impact shook her hands when her scythe clashed with thebear’s paws, and the impact felt as if she hadstrucka large boulder.She swung her scythedownwardto create distance between herself and the black bear she was facing,then took theopportunity to use her skill.“Fire Strike!”

It was the skill shehadreceived after she changed into the Ignus Warrior class. Five fire orbs appearedaroundher Death Scythe. She swung herscythe in a wide sweep,and the fire orbsflewtoward the black bear.As they came into contact with the bear, the orbs detonated into a massive explosion.

Boom!

“Kuuuek!”

Some of the black bears standing several meters away from the main target of the fire orbs were caught in the explosion as well, and they roared in agony as their bodies wereset ablaze.

Shaneth’s combat prowesshad goneupseveral times overafter changing her class into the Ignus Warrior. The increase in her combat capabilitieswas not the only change that had happened, however. Inaddition, the mistakes she had made inpast battleswere no longerpresent,and her scythe did not tremble one bit even after prolonged combat. It was all thanks to the special trait of the Ignus Warrior class that increased her musclestrength, vitality, and weapon mastery.

“The flowers here are pretty,” Iris saidcalmly.

She was strolling leisurelyaround the flower field while the others were engaged in an intense battle, and herexpressionlooked quite peaceful despite the ongoing battle, as ifit werebeing fought in another dimension separate from hers.

Kang Yoon-Soo walked toward her after striking down a black bear. Thebears’ blood,dripping down the tip of his longsword, painted the flowers red.Hewent over his memories. He needed toincreaseIris’ combat capabilitiesif shewereto travel with them.

“Don’t sit around. You’re not the princess,”hesaid.

Iris replied with an innocent expression, “If I am not the princess, then what am I?”

“You are you,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

“A doppelganger does not haveitsown identity,” Iris explained as she lightlyheld a flower she had picked off the ground.Despite her loose grip,the flower crumbled into dust, and she picked another flower before continuing, “If I donot imitate,what else can Ido?”

“Make a new you,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

At the very moment thatIris stood up from herspot,Shaneth screamedhurriedly,“Watch out!”

Three black bearscharged together at Kang Yoon-Soo and Iris, but Kang Yoon-Soo was just standing there without even raising his sword. At themoment thatone bear’s front pawwas about tostrikeKang Yoon-Soo’s face,Iris stood up and swung her right arm.

Kwachik!

The three black bears were swept off thegroundand away from them as if a sudden wave had swept themaway; ‘swept away’was the only way to describe what had happened justthen.

Shaneth and Henrick could not believe what just happened;a pair of long, thick tusks had grown out of Iris’ right arm.

“…!” they exclaimed.The tusks looked like something they hadseen before.They had an eerie resemblance tothe tusks of the wild tusk boar theyhad eatenlast night.

[The doppelganger has opened herself up to another for the first time.]

[She is the first doppelganger that has made a resolve to find her true self.]

[The hidden ability of the doppelganger race,‘Predation’,has been unlocked.]

[The doppelganger will absorb the stats and physical abilitiesof an enemy whenever sheconsumestheir heart.]

[Thepreviousability will disappear if a new ability is absorbed.]

[Consuming the heart ofan identicalcreature will not enhance theabsorbedability.]

[Consuming different species will help the doppelganger grow faster.]

[Thedoppelganger’sability absorptionefficiency will increase the more hearts she consumes.]

[*This message is only visible to the one the doppelganger opened herself up to.]

Iris’ new skill, Predation, allowed her to absorb the ability of the wild tusk boar after eating its heartthe previousnight. She could not morph her entire body, but she had gained the ability to change a portion of her bodyinthe absorbed ability.

She was now much stronger than a normal doppelganger. Shedidnot have the ability to completely shapeshift, but her ability to absorb the abilities of another creature through her ‘Predation’ abilitywasan abilitythat could not be found in any other monster.

/p>Iris gently touched theboar tuskthathad grown out ofher right arm.“This thing called battle is such a mysterious thing…”shemurmured.

“As if!” Henrick retorted with a haggardlook.

The strength of a doppelganger was fargreaterthan that ofan average human. It was her first battle, butIrisefficiently disposed of her enemiesby swinging her tusk-covered right arm, killingone black bear after another.

All oftheblack bears were now taken care of. The ground was dyed red with their blood, and the surroundings were littered with their corpses.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s level went up by two, and he was now Level 90. He dug his longsword into the corpse ofablack bearand tookits heart out. Hethrew the raw heart to Iris, saying,“Eat it.”

“Why do I have to eat this?” Iris asked.

“So you will be useful in combat,” Kang Yoon-Soo repliedcoldly.

Iris did not bat an eye as she consumed the raw heart, whichgave off a severe fishy stench.

[Iris has consumed the heart of a vicious black bear.]

[Iris’ strength has increased.]

Iris smiled in satisfaction.“Itisreally delicious;much better than eating it cooked,” shesaid as she devoured the raw heart like a baby suckling on their mother’s teat.

She stopped eating for a moment as she stared at Kang Yoon-Soo, asking,“Can I have a taste of your heart too?”

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Ah… That’s a shame…” Iris muttered, as she really regretted it.

Shaneth did not even have the energy to speak, staring dazedlyat Iris because of the unbelievable words shehad just heard.

Afterward, Kang Yoon-Soo raised the black bears as undead, muttering,“Mass Raise Dead.”

The dead black bears were resurrected as undead at Kang Yoon-Soo’s command,becomingZombie Black Bears. The Zombie Black Bears hadpitch-blackeyes, and they drooledconstantlyas if theycoulddevour the living atany moment.

Kang Yoon-Soo sent the undead to the summon dimension.

[52 Zombie Black Bearshavebeen sent to the summon dimension.]

[Summons currently stored in the dimension: 52 Zombie Black Bears, White, Sally.]

[Remaining space for additional summons: 646.]

***

Kang Yoon-Soo and his partyenteredan old abandoned cabin in the mountains that seemed to have been used by the mountain keeper. It was quite cramped inside, but it worked asan overnightshelter, and they decided to spend the night inside.

The exhausted Shaneth fell asleep immediately, and Henrick started to snore not long after he closed his eyes.However, Iris just continued staring at the night sky.

“The night is quite pretty. I hope I can reach the sky one day,” Iris said as she stretched her hand toward the sky.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked at Iris for a moment before extending his right hand and saying, “Summon Sally.”

Flamesspun inmidairanda beautiful young girl emerged fromthem. Sally stared at Iris for a moment before skipping towardher. This was not their first meeting, as theyhadpreviously met when Sally set fire to the mountain, but theyhadnot hadthe luxury to get acquaintedat that time.

“Wow! A pretty unni[1]!” Sally exclaimed, lookingat Iris with sparkling eyes.

“You are a beautiful child too,” Irisresponded.

“Really? Do you mean it?” Sally askedexcitedly, andher sparkling eyesgrew even larger.

Iris nodded, smiling as she answered, “Really.”

“Wow! I love you!” Sally exclaimed as she jumped and hugged Iris.

Iris staredcuriouslyat the child before grasping her cheeks and pinchingthem.“Ouch!” Sally screamed.

Iris immediatelylet gowhen she heard Sally scream in pain,thentilted her head sideways and licked Sally’s cheek.

Sally lookedinnocentlyat Iris beforeputtingher lips on Iris’ cheeks as well.“My name is Sally! What’s your name, unni?”sheaskedwith an innocent look.

“My name is Iris,” Iris replied as shestrokedSally’s fiery orange hair.She looked at Sally with warm, gentle eyes beforereiterating, “You really are a beautiful child.”

“Unni is pretty too! Do you want to play with me?” Sally asked.

“If you wishto, letusplay,” Iris answered, nodding.

Sallysmiled widelybefore hugging Iris again. Sheexclaimed excitedly,“Hurray! Sally was really bored! What does Iris unni want to play with Sally?”

“MayI taste your heart?” Iris asked with a smile on her face.

“Waaa!Papa!” Sally cried out as she clung to Kang Yoon-Soo’s waist.She sniffled andsaid, “Papa! Papa! That unni is scary!”

“Let’s play,” Iris said, approachingSally with a smile.

“Waaaah!”Sally cried out.

“I won’t make you a sibling if you cry,” Kang Yoon-Soo coldly threatenedSally.

“Waa…sniff!”Sally sobbed.

Sally was left alone with Iris in the abandoned cabin…

It was wheneveryone fell asleep that Kang Yoon-Soo left the cabin alone. He trekkedalongthe mountain trail as he closed his eyes andreminisced about thepast.‘This mountain was my world, and I was its owner, when I lived as a ranger and a mountaineer back then.’

He recalled everything about the Hatar Mountains. The lost sword of the previous emperor was stuck in the groundbeneath the river flowingthrough the mountain gorge, the gold mine of the dwarveswastucked away beneath the foot of the mountain, and the Herb of Eternal Youth grew on the second mountain peak from the west.

Kang Yoon-Soo jogged his memories a bit more. The lost sword of the previous emperor hadverygood attributes, but it was too damaged and would require a great amount of mithril just to repair; the gold mine of the dwarves would makeonethe richest person on the continent, butone wouldincur the wrath of the gold dragon; andthe Herb of Eternal Youthwouldsignificantly increaseone’slife force, but reduce one’s lifespan by a proportional amount.

Of course, if he took the time to collect all of them one by one, they would be great assets. However, it was just a waste of time. There were plenty of hidden treasures and secrets that he was well aware of.

‘There’s no need to waste time in these mountains just to get those,’Kang Yoon-Soo thought to himself.

Kang Yoon-Soo stopped walkingand looked at a wooden palisade in front of him. The laughter of mountain banditsrang outfrom the other side of the wooden palisade. A banditwhowas standing watch drew his sword, pointing ittoward Kang Yoon-Soo as heexclaimed, “Halt! Who goes there?”

KangYoon-Sooslowly walked toward the bandit on watch, thenpierced the bandit’s neck. The bandit died with his eyes wide open, unable tobelieve that Kang Yoon-Soocould kill himsoeasily without a word.

[You have killed the vicious bandit Greenwell.]

[Your notoriety will not increase, as you have killed a criminal.]

[You may receive a bountyas a rewardif you go to the investigators.]

[You have obtained additional experience points for killing a member of the same race.]

[Your level has increased by 1.]

This was the method he had chosen to grow stronger in the shortest time possible. The Crossed Swords Bandits wereaninfamous and vicious criminal gang that used the Hatar Mountains as their headquarters. He would beable to obtain a significant amount of experience points if he wiped them out, and the bandit leader had a rare magic swordonhim.

However, it was impossible for even Kang Yoon-Soo to face that many bandits alone. Ithadnot been in his plan to get rid of the bandits originally, but he did not have a choice now, as he needed to get stronger faster.

KangYoon-Sooslowly closed his eyesto jog his memories, ponderingwhich Kang Yoon-Soo of which life he needed to be thatday. He slowly opened his eyes after a short while, having chosenwhich one of his previousliveshe had decided to imitate—his tenth life.

Hehad beena ruthless predator in his tenth life,murderingcountless people and committingcountless atrocities.

Now, that version of Kang Yoon-Soo was walking into thebandits’ basewithinthewooden palisade, having turnedinto the most vicious murdereronthe continent.

1.A term used by girls to refer toanolder girl/sister in Korea.👈