Record of a Thousand Lives

The newly-born Spirit of Ice was a handsome young boy. He hadplatinum white hair that was neatly arranged, and his frosted clothescomplementedhis handsome face well. The boy seemed to be around fifteen years old, andhisfirst words were, “I am a great spirit.”

[You have created Icicle, the Spirit of Ice.]

[You may summon the spirit from the summon dimension anytime you want.]

[The spirit willbe angryif you summon him in a hot environment.]

[Icicle has the ability to create special structures made out of ice.]

It was Henrick and Iris’ first time seeing the creation of a spirit, and they stared athimin amazement.

“Oooh, so this is a Spirit of Ice?” Henrickasked, rubbinghis chin.

“Don’taddressme with those filthy lips of yours. You foolish human,” Icicle arrogantly retorted.

“What did you say, you punk?” Henrickshot back, furrowing his browat the arrogant little boy’s words.

Icicle had a nonchalant expression that basically said,‘What will you do about it?’Heaskedhaughtily,“Do I have to repeat myself?”

“This punk…He doesn’t have any manners, does he?” Henrickremarkedas he looked at Kang Yoon-Soo and let out a forced laugh.

ThenSally, whowas in Shaneth’sarms, skippedtoward Icicle and said with a big bright smile, “Hi! Nice to meet you, dongsaeng![1]I’m Sally, and I’m your sister!”

Icicle stared at Sally for a minute before frowning angrily andretorting, “Are you saying someone weak and insignificant like you is my elder sister?”

Truthfully, if people compared how the two spirits looked,theywould likely agree that Sally looked younger than the newly-born spirit.

Sally balled her fists as shepuffed upher cheeks and angrilyexclaimed, “Sally isn’t weak! I’m not insignificanteither!”

“What a joke.I can’t acknowledge this,” Icicleremarked.

“W-what?” Sally was taken abackbyIcicle’s attitude.

“I’d haveno reason to call someone weaker than me noona[2]in the first place,” Icicle said with a sigh.

Tears started to forminSally’s eyes as she sniffled and said, “Sally…Sally is older…! You…heuk…are my dongsaeng…! Sally… wanted to play…heuk…!and get along… with my dongsaeng…heuk!”

“There’s no reason for me to be under a spiritwho’sweaker than me,” Icicle saidcoldly.

“Uwaaaah! You’re mean!” Sally cried, running back into the summon dimension.

Icicle was not fazed at all by Sally’s tears. He turned to look at Kang Yoon-Soo and said, “It seems you’re the one who created me.”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Why do you look weak? I can’t believe someone like you managed to create me,” Icicleremarked disdainfully.

“I’m stronger than you,” Kang Yoon-Soo repliedemotionlessly.

“Ha! I don’t buy it!” Icicle said, scoffing.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly drew both of his swords and pushed them againstIcicle’s neckbefore the spirit even finished speaking.

Icicle was surprisedby the sudden movement, as even though he was a spirit, the blades would still cut him. He stuttered,“…I-Isee that you know the basics.” Despite everything, he still remembered to maintain his air of arrogance.

“You’re a spirit I created. I’ll now give you a name,” Kang Yoon-Soo saidcoldly.

“A-alright! Just put these swords away!” Icicleexclaimed.

Kang Yoon-Soo withdrew his swords, and Icicle immediatelyreturnedto his haughty, arrogant self, crossinghis arms over his chest and saying,“I hope it’s going to be a noble name that befits a great spirit like me.”

“Acle,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Acle? Are you kidding me? What kind of a name is that?” Iciclecomplainedwith a frown.

Kang Yoon-Soo did not bother speaking as he slowlyreachedfor his sword.Acle forcefullyturned uphis lips andsaid, “It’s not a name I like, but I guess I have no choice.”

Kang Yoon-Soo placed his finger on Acle’s forehead, and Acle frowned as if to show that he felt Kang Yoon-Soo’s touch was unpleasant.

[Acle]

Level: 152

Race: Icicle

Age: Growing Stage

Charisma: 20

Magic Power: 50

Chill: 62

Skills: FrostShaping (Lvl3), Ice Storm (Lvl5)

A spirit that is haughty and arrogant. He will never follow theinstructions of someone weaker than him.

‘Acle’.Kang Yoon-Sooreminisced about thepast while looking at Acle’s status window. Acle was a difficult spirit to manage, but he was definitely going to be a big help in the future. However…

“Acle,”hecalled outtothe spirit.

“What?” Acle asked, sounding annoyed.

“Don’t die in this life,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Acle looked at Kang Yoon-Soo with a confusedexpressionandasked, “What are you talking about?”

“There’s no need for you to sacrifice yourself for me, nor do you have to sacrifice yourself for the other spirits. You just have to do your part. That’s all,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“You’re a strange human,” Acle said. He continued to watchKang Yoon-Soo with the same confusedexpressionand added, “Why are you looking at me, someone who was just born, as if you knew me before?”

Kang Yoon-Soo just silently looked at Acle. He had seen the boy numerous times—and the sight ofhimdying numerous times.

“Acle, go to the summon dimension,”hecommanded.

“Hmpf!” Acle scoffed beforeleavingfor the summon dimension.

Kang Yoon-Soo had to put intheeffort to shake off the nostalgic feeling heexperienced.

***

Somewhere in a dark basement, a single lightshonefrom a lamp, and the sound of something feasting on somethingfilled the air.

Munch…Munch…

Lefman, the leader of the Sunset Glass Merchant Company, slammed his fist on a table.

Baaam!

“Are you telling me that man wasn’t one of your clan members?!” Lefmanexclaimed angrily.

“Do you think we’re crazy enough to cut off our cash cow? On top of that, you said he only showed you the tattoo and there was no other evidence? Also, the explosives under the building were all a lie too, right? Why would we go through such trouble just to face losses? You got scammed,” a manreplied.

“But he knew everything about your clan, as if he wereone of your members!” Lefman retorted.

“Doesn’t that mean he did a very good job scamming you?”theman said, his face shrouded indarkness. The only visible thingnext tohim was the longleg of lambon the dining table.

Munch…Munch…

Lefman’s temper flared even moredue tothe man’s carefree attitude.He raged on,“You don’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation!”

“I’m very well aware. Didn’t you,someone who bragsabout having been through all sorts of things in life, get scammed by someone,and yet you’renow taking it out on me?” the man in the darkness said. Theclan members around him all snickered.

Thanks to that, Lefman’s mood soured even more as he raged further, “Itwasan impostorwho posed as one of you guys! I just lost a few hundred potions and an old carriage, but do you think this won’t happen again?”

“I want to keep teasing you, but I guess we have to stop here. Alright, we just have to catch that guy and take revenge for you, right?” the manreplied, raisinghis arms in a mocking gesture of surrender.

Munch…Munch…

“Tell me,whatdid that guy who scammed you look like?” the man asked.

“I’m sure he was a Traveler by the looks of his wrist device. He was tall but skinny, and he had a black sword with him. He had a silver bracer and a black ring, and also a bluish bracelet with him. Also, he was expressionless,” Lefmansaid, describingthe impostor.

“Expressionless? How the hell is that even going to help find him?” the man asked in confusion.

“It’s the truth. That scammer didn’t change his expression once even while he was dealing with me. It was hard to believe he was a human,” Lefman replied with a serious expression.

However, the manappeared to be done with the conversationandsaid, “Hmm… Why don’t you just tell me a ghost fucked you?”Hisclan members all broke out into the laughter theyhad beenholding back.

Munch…Munch…

Lefman seemed to be tired of getting angry, as he said in a dejectedtone, “Anyway, you need to take care of him. This isn’t about my personal vendetta. If you let this guy be,he’s going to cause a big problem in the future.”

“Now that youmentionit, I’m curious as towhatthat guy looks like. Should I try meeting him?” the manremarked.

“Can you find him as soon as possible?” Lefman asked.

“If he’sstill in the capital,Ican find him in half a day,” the man replied.

Munch…Munch…

Lefman looked exhausted, but hesuddenlyasked, “That’s that, but what are you eating this whole time?”

“Who knows? What do you think I’m eating?” the manasked playfully.

“You’ve been grinding your teethagainstsomething long for a while now. Is that a carrot or a cucumber?” Lefman asked.

“Puhahahaha!”The man laughed hysterically at Lefman’s words.

Lefman felt a headachestarting afterthe man’s sudden outburst of laughter. No one was normal in that clan, andhenever would have gotten involved with the Black Tiger Clan if not for the profits from the drug trade.

Munch…Munch…

Lefman hurriedly rose up from his seat, extendinghis hand and saying, “Anyway, I look forward to your cooperation, Yu Si-Do.”

The man in the darkness was the leader of the Black Tiger Clan, Yu Si-Do.Hishandslowly approached, before he grabbed Lefman’s handand shook it.

At that moment, Lefman felt sick and he wanted to throw up, but he used all of his willpower to keep thenauseatedfeeling down.The hand thathad shaken hiswas missing a middle finger, as ifsomeone or something had munched on it.

***

The smithy was usually a crowded place that was always hustling and bustling with people going around and doing their own work, but today,everyone in itwas fixated on onespot.

Kang Yoon-Soo was carefully sewing an arm ontosomeone with the Body Crafting Kit.

“Try and see how it feels,”hesaid.

Jiang Ren-Wei opened and closed his right hand. He swung his shoulder in a large motion, and he even poked his arm to test how it felt.He said, sounding fascinated,“This is amazing. I don’t feel like a one-armed man at all. It seems I can also move my fingers according to my will. I don’t feel any pain, but it still feelsas if this has beenmy arm allthistime.”

“Of course, who made that arm in the first place?” Henrickremarked, snickering.The one who had procured the arm from the morgue and patched it up again was none other thanhe.

Jiang Ren-Wei looked on in surprise attheright arm he was able to move according to his will.Durman, who was watching his boss get so excited over his new arm, felt a tingling sensation in his nostrils as heremarked, “Aigoo. How will we ever repay this favor? Our boss can now live normally like other people, and he doesn’t have to be calleda disabled personanymore!”

“Hey, Durman, a disability is nothing to be ashamed of,” Jiang Ren-Wei rebuked him.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that…” Durman said, pouting.

Jiang Ren-Wei stood up and bowed from the waist down toward Kang Yoon-Soo and Henrick. He said,“Thank you so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay you. Please tell me, whether it’smoney, items, or anything Icando.”

“I don’t need anything now,” Kang Yoon-Soo saidnonchalantly.

“Uhm…But…” Jiang Ren-Wei looked troubledbyKang Yoon-Soo’s words.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo soon added, “But help me whenever I ask forit.”

“Are you sure that will suffice?” Jiang Ren-Wei asked.

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Jiang Ren-Wei and Durmanthankedthem multiple times.Kang Yoon-Soo and Henrick hurriedly left the smithy, as the two men from the Martial Blood Clan seemed to be on the verge of giving them all of their items.They exitedinto the busy streets.

“To think you would refuse to accept a reward,” Henrick said with a smirk.

“It’s better to keep it for later,” Kang Yoon-Soo responded.

The two men entered the inn, and abrunette woman ran toward them huffing and puffing. Shaneth exclaimed urgently,“Come quick! Something happened!”

“What happened?” Henrick asked.

The next words out of Shaneth’s mouth were unbelievable.“Iris unnicollapsedafter eating a bar of soap!”

“…”

***

“I should detest soap from now on,” Irisgrumbled angrilyas she sat down.The inn was not so busy at this hour,so the only ones sitting at the table were Iris and Henrick.

“I wonder…In which universe does a bar of soaplookappetizing?” Henrick asked in a teasing, mocking tone.

“Henrick, I am really upset,and teasing me right now does not make me feel any better,” Irisreplied.

“When did our little miss grow up so fast? You now know how to get mad?” Henrickteased heronce again.

Shaneth came over with a cup of water and asked, “So, did you manage to fix Mr. Jiang Ren-Wei’s new arm at the smithy?”

“Of course.I made that arm, after all,” Henrick said.proudly

“Wow, that’s amazing.Soyou can restore any damaged body part with the Body Crafting Kit then? In theory, you couldfix all theillnessesin this world, right?” Shanethasked.

“No.I need to reiterate, there’s a huge side-effect if you fail to do it properly. There’s a chance that if you fail to properly affix the body part,that specific part will feel excruciating pain for the rest of that person’s life. Therehavealso been some instances where a monster body part was affixed instead of a doll part, but the successrateof that is extremely low,” Henrickexplained.

“The Body Crafting Kit is really an amazing heirloom,” Shaneth said in amazement.

“Of course, but I’ve always wondered…Whydo you have so many questions?” Henrick asked with a frown.

“…Isit a crime to be curious?” Shaneth replied while pouting.

“It’s a crime to bother me,” Henrick shot back.

The barmaid brought the food they had ordered,spreadingsteaming veal stew, freshly baked hot bread, and fresh fruits out on the table.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said to the barmaid, “The alcohol.”

“Ah!I’m sorry, I forgot. I’ll bring it right away,” the barmaid said with a bright smile. She went back to the bar and brought outmugs of ale. Kang Yoon-Soo took a swig out of the mug beforestartingto eat,taking abig spoonful of the veal stew as Henrick watched on with a shocked expression.

“It’s strange to see you eating so well. Were you that hungry today?” Henrick asked, continuing to stareat Kang Yoon-Soo.

“The food in front of us is laced with strong sleeping pills, and that barmaid is a member of the Black Tiger Clan. There are assassins in the kitchen right now planning to kidnap us,” Kang Yoon-Soo saidcalmly.

The partyimmediately stopped eating. Henrick and Shaneth almost spat out their foodin surprise.

“What do you mean by that?!” Shanethexclaimed, panicking.

“It’s alright. You won’t die,” Kang Yoon-Soosaid calmly.

“Why didn’t you say anything if you knew it was laced with sleeping pills?!” Henrick panicked as well.

“Because we’ll get kidnapped on purpose,” Kang Yoon-Soo repliedcalmly once again.

Severe drowsiness engulfed them as soon as they finishedspeaking. They did not even have the time to stick their fingers in their mouth to try and make themselves throw up the food theyhad eaten.Kang Yoon-Soo peacefully closed his eyes, but the others glared at him with eyes full of resentment.

“Please… tell us… things… like this…in… advance…!” Shaneth complained.

“You fucking… punk…!” Henrick cursed.

“I’m… sleepy…” Iris… was Iris.

They allcollapsedface-firstonto the table.

1.’Dongsaeng’iswhatonewould call a younger sibling in Korean. It’s a gender neutral term.👈

2.’Noona’iswhata boy wouldcall an elder sister. It’s specifically used by boys to refer to older girls.👈