Record of a Thousand Lives

The surroundings became pitch black after they were swallowed by the fireplace, and it felt as if their bodies were endlessly spinning while floating in midair.

Crash!

Shaneth got up, holding her head as she felt dizzier than she ever had before in her life. What greeted her was a wide and dark place where she could see Travelers and chimeras battling right in front of her.

Clang!

Kwachik!

Baam!

“Kyarruruk!”

“Now’s our chance!”

“Alright, let’s finish this!”

A tall man dug his sword deep into the head of a chimera, and the chimera let out a shriek before falling to the ground. Chimeras had grotesque appearances, resembling mixtures of various creatures. One could find chimeras that had six legs or three heads. Kang Yoon-Soo and Shaneth were not the only ones in the Chimera Dimension; there were tens of other people bravely hunting chimeras.

Kang Yoon-Soo helped Shaneth up. He should have been dizzy as well, but he actually looked just fine.

“Kyarruruk!” A group of chimeras shrieked and ran toward them. The chimeras on the first floor were usually around Level 40, and they were not that strong.

Shaneth took her scythe out as she prepared for battle, while Kang Yoon-Soo raised his right hand and said, “Summon White.”

“Kaimaksiron!” White roared loudly as it was summoned, and the appearance of a boss monster was enough to draw everyone’s attention.

In a group of Travelers from afar that had been hunting chimeras, someone suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “What?! Why is a monster here?!”

“Aaaah! It’s a werewolf! Why is there a monster in the Chimera Dimension?!”

There were some who felt threatened and pointed their weapons toward White.

Kang Yoon-Soo pointed at a chimera and said, “Kill it.”

“Urno…”

Whimper!

The Chain of Obedience around White’s neck shook. White could not disobey Kang Yoon-Soo because it had been tamed by the chain. It gritted its fangs and ran toward the chimera, cursing, “Urnokra!”

“Kyarururuk!” The chimera relentlessly attacked with its three arms and five legs, but White ripped it apart with razor-sharp claws.

White took care of a chimera in an instant, then turned its gaze toward another chimera and charged at it. Its instincts as a beast kicked in once it got a taste of fresh blood, and it started to massacre the chimeras at an astounding rate.

“Haa!” Shaneth also killed a chimera that got close to her, and blood followed the scythe whenever she swung it.

Kang Yoon-Soo pulled his greatsword out and charged toward the largest chimera.

Pukeok!

He mercilessly cut down all the chimeras that got in his way, and blue blood started to spurt out like a fountain. The destructiveness of the greatsword that had been enhanced to the maximum was incomparable to a normal sword. The sound of chimera bones being crushed followed whenever he swung the greatsword; his precision strikes that only landed on critical spots, along with the power of the greatsword, exceeded the level gap between them.

“Finally, we’re done! Good job, everyone!”

“Great job today, all of you.”

A group of Travelers on the other side of the space began wrapping up their hunt, as a group could move on to the next level after hunting a hundred chimeras. They watched how Kang Yoon-Soo’s group fought while they were waiting to be summoned to the next floor.

A man suddenly said while he was watching White, “Hey, that werewolf. It seems as if it’s been tamed…”

“Tamed? What are you talking about? The tamers on the continent struggle to even tame a deer.”

“But look at that. How can anyone fight alongside it if it’s not tamed?”

“Hmm… But I’ve never heard of a werewolf being tamed even by a Continental. Perhaps there’s a special taming skill? The chain around its neck seems quite sturdy as well—”

They suddenly disappeared in the middle of their conversation—they had been sent to the next floor.

Kang Yoon-Soo and his party quickly finished their hunt as well. The surrounding area was covered in a tide of blue blood and the remains of the chimeras that they had hunted, and Kang Yoon-Soo’s level had increased by two. He was now Level 37.

[You have killed 100 chimeras.]

[Do you wish to proceed to the next floor?]

Kang Yoon-Soo delayed his reply to the system.

"Grrrrr…!" White was looking at the remains of the chimeras with its mouth wide.

It looked hungry after the fight, but Kang Yoon-Soo pulled on the chain and commanded it, “Don’t eat that.”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!” White glared at Kang Yoon-Soo, but soon retreated and obeyed.

A tamed monster had to obey its tamer, but the taming could be undone if the relationship between the tamer and the monster deteriorated. A tamer could not treat its tamed monster like a slave because of that.

Kang Yoon-Soo searched the remains of the chimera and pulled out a pink stone fragment. While cleaning the blue blood from her hair, Shaneth asked curiously, “What’s that?”

“Look for more,” Kang Yoon-Soo simply said. The pair spent quite a while searching the remains of the chimeras.

[Heart Fragment of a Low-Grade Chimera]

It is the power source of a chimera. You can feel a faint life force emanating from it. It has no value because no use has been found for it yet.

Kang Yoon-Soo put the heart fragment in the backpack and said, “Mass Raise Dead.”

The hundred dead chimeras around him rose up as undead. The chimeras that other Travelers had killed were too damaged to be resurrected as undead, however. The grotesque-looking chimeras looked even more horrific after being raised as undead.

Creating an undead army to fight was not a bad idea, but one would receive fewer experience points. ‘I have to use all of the undead in the fight against the boss.’ Kang Yoon-Soo planned to use the biggest advantage of a necromancer, and that was to supplement one’s lack of firepower with the undead.

[100 Evil Chimeras have been sent to the summon dimension.]

[Summons currently stored in the dimension: 100 Evil Chimeras, 54 Dark Landworms, the salamander Sally.]

[Remaining space for additional summons: 345]

Kang Yoon-Soo’s party went to the next floor.

The chimeras on the second floor of the Chimera Dimension were stronger than the ones on the first floor. It was rare for them to die in one strike, and they tended to perform a last stand before dying. A more intense battle could be expected compared to the previous floor’s battles.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his right hand and summoned a different being this time. “Summon Salamander Sally.”

A flame spun in mid-air and a young girl emerged from it. Sally took a look around before spotting White, exclaiming, “Wow! It’s a doggy!” She excitedly approached White, but White swung its claws at her.

“Korunok! Makiron!” White growled.

“Waaaah!” Sally started to tear up because of White’s aggressive behavior.

This was the problem with summoning more than one being at a time. They were usually not used to cooperating with each other and had a tendency to create problems during a battle. Stronger summons tended to be more picky and ill-tempered, which would test the patience of the summoner.

“Sally, wrap our weapons in flames,” Kang Yoon-Soo commanded.

Sally used a skill. “Flame Equip!”

Kang Yoon-Soo’s greatsword, Shaneth’s scythe, and White’s claws were all wrapped in flames. The power of a weapon wrapped in the flames of a spirit would grow several times over.

A flame vortex formed whenever Kang Yoon-Soo swung his greatsword, and the destructive combination of his swordsmanship and the flame vortex was unbelievably strong. The chimeras were smashed by the blade, and the flames set them ablaze.

“Kyarrururuuk!” a chimera shrieked in agony.

It was impossible for the other Travelers who were watching Kang Yoon-Soo’s party fight not to be shocked.

“As if a werewolf weren’t enough… They have a spirit now?”

“But spirits rarely show themselves to humans, right?”

“Oh my god! What the hell is that person’s class?”

The Travelers were dumbfounded by what they were seeing and could not believe their eyes.

A Traveler, a Continental, a monster, and a spirit. What the hell was that strange party composition…?

[You have killed 100 chimeras.]

[Do you wish to proceed to the next floor?]

Kang Yoon-Soo delayed his reply once again. He had gained six levels, and his level was now Level 43. He once again went through the remains of the chimeras together with Shaneth as they looked for heart fragments. He raised the chimeras as undead, and those around them were surprised once more.

“What the hell? Now he’s using a necromancer skill?”

“What the hell is he?”

Kang Yoon-Soo sent the new Evil Chimeras to the summon dimension.

A man suddenly approached him after the battle was over. The man introduced himself, saying, “My name is Lee Kang-Hyun. Excuse me, but may I ask for your name?”

“Kang Yoon-Soo,” came the reply.

“I’ve been watching you for a while now and your swordsmanship is quite exquisite. Would you like to join our party? We have four Level 70 swordsmen and a sorcerer in our party,” Lee Kang-Hyun said, making a very tempting offer.

In truth, Kang Yoon-Soo was only in the vicinity of Level 40. The bracer he had obtained from the ruin simply increased his lacking strength, and his swordsmanship made up for the rest; that made people misunderstand him for a high leveled Traveler.

Just as Kang Yoon-Soo was about to shake his head and reject the offer, a large, burly man who was wearing a robe and had a staff on his back touched Lee Kang-Hyun’s shoulder and said, “Don’t bother, Kang-Hyun.”

“What? But…” Lee Kang-Hyun began.

“His level is much lower than ours, although his skills are amazing,” the large man replied.

“What? Han-Yul hyung, what do you mean?” Lee Kang-Hyun asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo spoke while Lee Kang-Hyun was still confused by the situation. “That’s right.”

The people around them were taken aback too. They had mistaken Kang Yoon-Soo to be very high leveled after seeing his swordsmanship.

The man called Han-Yul approached Kang Yoon-Soo, saying, “My name is Shin Han-Yul. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re certainly different from the other Travelers that are just wannabe adventurers.” Kang Yoon-Soo did not reply. Shin Han-Yul did not seem to mind and kept talking. “We’re after the boss in this dimension; are you here for the same thing?”

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly nodded. The Chimera Dimension was a secret hunting ground that only a few adventurers knew about. Even if one found out about it, they had to first complete the secret quest of the alchemists and receive the secret password to enter.

Most people would stay on the floors that matched their strengths, but there were others that attempted to raid the boss because of the rumor that the boss monster was wielding a rare sword. However, the chimeras started to grow stronger as one ascended the floors, and there were multiple cases of parties being wiped out before even reaching the fifth floor. No one had been able to kill the boss on the fifth floor yet.

“Let’s meet at the top. Although, we don’t know who’ll reach it first.” Shin Han-Yul left with those words. His mantle fluttered when he turned around, revealing the symbol of a white lion embroidered in it.

Someone suddenly exclaimed, “White Lion Clan! That man! He was a member of the White Lion Clan!”

The White Lion Clan was one of the clans that had received the most attention among the Traveler clans. It was a prestigious clan that had many of the high-leveled Travelers in its ranks. The clan leader of the White Lions was famous for being a capable leader, and even the Continental nobles were interested in him.

The White Lion Clan was among the top clans in the continent, and it was the largest clan among the Travelers. There were even rumors that the clan provided precious items to their clan members once they hit certain levels.

“Is the clan that person belongs to really that amazing?” Shaneth asked.

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied as he stared at Shin Han-Yul’s back. The lion embroidered on the mantle had eyes that glowed white as it roared toward a throne.

“I will be destroying them, though,” he added.