Record of a Thousand Lives

Kang Yoon-Soo pressed the center button on his wrist device,whichshowed him his current stats.

Kang Yoon-Soo

Level: 137

[Strength]: 72

[Tenacity]: 1

[Vision]: 1

[Sensitivity]: 1

[Regeneration]: 20

Remaining Points: 47

He hadgained an absurd amount of experience points from killing the300bandits. Hehad been Level 90 just a few daysbefore,but he hadgained an absurd 47 levels in less than a day.

One could truly call it‘powerleveling’. However, leveling ridiculously fast like thatwas only possible atsuch alow-level stage, as it became significantly more difficult to increase one’s level afteronereached Level 200—unlessonemanaged to kill a strong monster that gave an even moremassiveamount of experience points.

‘I should distribute my stat points first,’hethought.Hepondered for a momentwhich stats he should increase;as he had invested all of his points into strength and regeneration,hisotherstats were significantly weaker.

Hehadnotplannedto increase any of the other stats, thinkinghe would not be running into any dangerous situations as he only had to avoid them using the experience from his previous life. However, it was different in this life.

He had resolvedto choose the most difficult path that required him to risk his lifethis time, andthus concluded that even if he displayed amazing martial skills and summoned absurdly strong undead, it was no use if his body was weak and could not take any hits. Therefore, Kang Yoon-Soo evenly distributed the remaining points into strength, tenacity, and regeneration.

‘Leveling isn’t the only important thing. I have to obtain all the secrets, weapons, and treasure hiddenon this continent,”hethought.

“Grrrrrr…” White growled as he approached and licked Kang Yoon-Soo’s bloodied cheek.

If someone were towitness thatsight, they would thinka pet was licking its owner as a sign of affection. However, a werewolf licking the blood off one’s cheek was a sign of unwavering loyalty.The bloodsoaked Kang Yoon-Soolooked like an honorable warrior in White’s eyes, and White growled in the werewolf language,“Rakuronin. Okan.”

Kang Yoon-Soo understood what it meant:“I respect you, human.”It was actually ironic that a werewolf respected him after he had killed humans.

Hewas about to send White back to the summon dimension when he suddenly stopped.‘This is the last time…’he thought.

He wasdeep in thought for a moment, but eventually decidedto do something different this time.Hetook out a wooden mug from his bag, saying,“Take it.”

“Ikironid?”White growled in surprise as it took the wooden mug.It was awkward for White, who was used tocrawlingon the ground on all fours, to suddenly receive and hold a mug in its paw.

KangYoon-Soogenerously poured the expensive wineintoWhite’s mug and said, “Drink it.”

White dippeditslarge tongue into the wooden mug before scrunchingitsfaceupand growling,“Karugradin?”

“That’s the taste of alcohol,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied, He thenadded, “Thanks for tonight.”

All of White’s fur suddenly stoodon end.

***

Kang Yoon-Soo sent White back to the summon dimension,thentrekked down the mountain trail that was nowa wet, muddy mess thanks to the landslide he had triggered. Thebandits’ corpses floatedon the surface of water thatwas tinted witha hint of red due to the sheer amount of blood mixed into it.Hescooped some of the waterupwith his handandproceeded to washthe blood offhis body.

Suddenly, however,he noticed a familiar face on a corpse—it was Arkan. Arkan’s bodyhad beenseverely disfigured afterit washitbythe landslide, and his cold, lifeless body was floating downstream. Kang Yoon-Soo jumped into the muddy water and fished outthecorpse.Arkan’s armor was in bad shape because of the landslide, but his other items were still inrelativelygood shape.

[Slaughterer’s Bloodsword]

Rating: Rare

Attack Power: 74

A sword imbuedwith evilmagic. It is said that a vampire dipped this sword in its own blood. This sword will suck the life force out of any living thing it penetrates like a parasite.

* The sword will suck the bloodoutof any living thing you cut.

* Thesword'sattack power will increase the more blood it consumes.

[Stolen Ruby Ring]

Rating: Normal

A ring that belonged to a young noble,which hasa large, tempting ruby embedded in it. The crest of theOkanicFamily is engraved on the back of it.

[Bandit Leader’s Belt]

Rating: Normal

The belt of Arkan, the leader of the Crossed Swords Bandits. It has sixslots that carrydifferent kinds of items.

* The chances of successfully looting a village or a merchant company will increase.

Kang Yoon-Soo equipped Arkan’s items,except forthe Slaughterer’sBloodsword. TheSlaughterer’sBloodswordwas an excellent magic sword, but Ravian’s Longsword was an equally excellent item as well. Regardless,hestored the Slaughterer’sBloodswordintohis bag for future use.

Heeven tookthearmor that had been severely damaged by the landslide. It was abrigandine[1]made from sturdy leather, and he planned to repair it orbreakit down at a smithyeventually.

There were other items that belonged to the other dead bandits, buthedecided to only equip the good ones and store the rest in the bag.He continued his descent down the mountain.

***

The dark clouds that covered the sky retreated, andsunlight shonedown on the mountain ranges.

Yawn!

Shaneth stretched after waking up. Shehad been unable tosleep properly because of the noisy landslide that hadbeen triggered the previous night.Unlike her, however,Iris was fast asleep while hugging Sally. Sally’s expressionshowed her discontent with being hugged by Iris, but Iris was smiling while fast asleep, as if she werea baby holding on to a teddy bear doll.

Shaneth seemed to have completely misunderstood the situation; shelaughedandsaid, “It seems these twohavegotten pretty close with each other.”

It hadnot been long since she first met Iris, but it was strange that despite knowing the fact that Iris was a doppelganger, Shaneth did not feel any hostility toward her,nor did shefind it uncomfortable to travel alongside Iris. She actuallythought of Iris as innocent,like a babywhodid not know the ways of this world, and thatmade her feel sympathy and a sense of similarityto the doppelganger.

‘But still… I don’t like it when I see Iris with that guy…’Shaneth was shockedbyher own thoughts,andran out of the run-down cabinto clearher mind. However, what greeted her outside was a middle-aged man, who lookedas if he hadrolled around in the mud all nightand wasfast asleep on the muddy floor.

ZzZzz… Snore!

She lightly jumped over Henrick and went over to take a look at the surrounding scenery. The areas hadmassively changed overnight, and the only thing in front of her was absolute destruction.‘If we were a bit closer, we would have been swept up as well…’she thought.

The mountain across from theirshad beendestroyed by a landslide. They were safe because they were quite a distance away from that mountain, but the sheer thought of it sent chills down her spine as she thought,‘If we decided to stay the night over there…We would have been swept up.’

However, something more shocking happenednext.

“But why are you coming down from there…?” Shaneth muttered, hereyes wide with surprise as she saw KangYoon-Sooslowlywalktoward the run-down cabin, walking across the devastationcaused by the landslide.

Kang Yoon-Soo did not give her any reply, but Shaneth noticed that his attire was different. She also noticed the fact that his movements were duller than usual.Sheaskedworriedly, “Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

Shaneth was surprisingly sharp;Kang Yoon-Soo tried not to reply, but he abruptly stopped walking as he suddenly remembered,‘Right, this is the last time…’Heturned around and looked at Shaneth before answering, “I tripped.”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” Shaneth replied.

“Yes…” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered.

Shaneth let out a sigh before bringing her backpack over. She took out a healing potion from her bag and said, “I figured we would need these later, so I saved some. Show me your wound.”

“I can do it alone,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Will you keep being stubborn?” Shaneth rebuked him.

Kang Yoon-Soo eventually submitted to herandtook his shirt off;the penetrating trauma[2]on his abdomen was stillpresent. The bleeding had already stopped, but it was still a dangerous wound thatcut to the muscle.

Shaneth bit her lipsandasked, “Whendid you get hurt?”

Kang Yoon-Soo would not have answered her normally, but surprisingly,hereplied, “I fought with the mountain bandits.”

“Alone?” Shaneth asked.

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.Shaneth’sexpressioninstantly turned cold, andshe remained silent for a while. Even Kang Yoon-Soo stayed silent as an awkward silence filled the air,leaving only the sound of flowing water.

At last, Shaneth opened her mouth and asked, “Why did you go alone?”

Kang Yoon-Soo could not provide an answer. Seeing his silence, Shaneth raised her voice andexclaimed,“Why won’t you give me an explanation?!”Anger filling her voice, she continued, “I can help too! There’s no reason for you to bear all the burden alone. Aren’t wetravelingtogether? I even inherited the power fragment, didn’t I? Idon’t mind it beingdangerous as long as I can be with you!”

Shaneth’s voice started to grow louder, as if all of herpent-upemotionshadfinally exploded, and there was a hint of resentment mixed inwith her anger as she continued,“Youaren'ta doll,are you? Let’s laugh together when we laugh,and let’s cry together when we cry. Let’s go through things together if things get tough. We’re companions,right? We’re traveling together. If things get too much for you, feel free to ask for help. I’ll do anything as long as I can be with you. There’s no reason for you to sacrifice yourself and bear it all.”

Tears started welling upinShaneth’s eyes, but Kang Yoon-Soo only watched her cry. Then, he saw his reflection in her eyes—his own emotionless, doll-like self. Could he still consider himself a human?

KangYoon-Sooslowly, hesitantly said, “Iwasscared.”Hewas not aware of the words he hadjust said. It had been far too long since hehad last beenable to speak the words stuck deepin his chest.

“I was scared you would die,”herepeated.Heresented the fact that this would be the last time. If he failedagain this time, he would no longer be able to see his companions, and above all else, he would not be able to see Shaneth again.

“I won’tdie,” Shaneth said with firm resolve.Shedippedher finger in the healing potion, her eyesstillfilled withtears, and she traced her finger across Kang Yoon-Soo’s wound.“I won’t die, so don’tyoudieeither,” she muttered.

Thegrievouswound started to slowly close up, and the pain slowly subsided.Kang Yoon-Soo stared at Shaneth,butbefore he knew it, his cold lips suddenly warmed up.

Thewomanwho manipulated firehad stolenthe lips of the man colder than anyone else.

Shanethtrembledlightly as she kept her eyes closed;Kang Yoon-Soo could feel her trembling through her lips. However, Kang Yoon-Soo gently wrapped his hand around the back of her head, and Shaneth opened her eyes in surprise.

Kang Yoon-Soo then saw his reflection inShaneth’seyes. Wouldhe be able to finally find the life hehad beenlonging for?

He couldno longer be indifferent toward life.Not in this thousandthlife...

…Because this wouldbe the last one.

***

Having woken up quite a while later, Henrick remarked as he looked over the mountain that was devastated by the landslide,“I guess all sorts of things happened overnight. Well, at least thoseknightswon’t be able to chase after us anymore.” He then looked at Shaneth, whose face was cherry red, and asked while raising an eyebrow, “Did something happen? Why is your face so red?”

Shaneth hurriedlylooked away, and Iris, who was looking at her, giggled as she played with the wings of a beetle.“I guess there’s one more person I have to take care of,”shesaid.

“Huh? Why are youspeakingas if you ever took care of me?” Henrick protested.

“Then stop drinking,” Shaneth retorted.She thenwalked behind Iris, and Iris looked at her curiously. Shaneth gently smiled at her and said, “Let me tie your hair up.”

Iris had a beautiful face, but it was her long blonde hair thatwould attractmore attention. She was the doppelganger of the princess, after all, and nothing goodwouldcome from standing out inacrowd.

Shaneth tiedup Iris’blonde hair with alight-coloredcloth,thentookthe doppelgangerinto the woods and helped her change into a clean set of clothes.

Afterward, Iris looked like a country girl. She looked so natural that she would fit right into acrowd.However, her innate beauty could not be hidden by the cloth holding back her hair and the new set of clothes she was wearing.

“Thank you,” Iris said, kissingShaneth’s cheek with her pink lips.Shaneth jumped in surprise at the sudden show of affection;Iris stared at her in confusion, saying as she tilted her head,“I saw that the child called Sally greeted you like this.”

Henrick could not hide his disbelieftowardthe sight in front of him andexclaimed, “What the… Is she a child mimicking her parents? I guess I have to mind my words and actions from now on…”

Shaneth grasped Iris’ hands and firmly told her, “Don’t kiss someone’s cheek unless you’re very close to and intimate with that person. Ah, don’t do this especially to Mr. Kang Yoon-Soo, do you understand?”

“Hmm…This is complicated,” Iris said, falling deep into thoughtas she furrowed her brow. Even that expressioncould also be called beautiful.

“Let’s go,” Kang Yoon-Soo saidfrom ahead of the othersas he lifted his backpack.

The group started their descent down the Hatar Mountains.

1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigandine👈

2.In medical terms, ‘trauma’ can refer to an injury or wound.👈