Record of a Thousand Lives

Henrick let out a chuckle and asked, “You think you’re better than me?”

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and said, “That is, if you don’t use your left hand, and use your right hand as you did just now.”

Henrick suddenly glared at Kang Yoon-Soo with sharp eyes. However, he composed himself after a moment. He had a perplexed expression, but then he rubbed his rough chin, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, he said, “Indeed, our family heirloom belongs only to the best artisan, and it’s tradition to pass it on to someone better. However, how do you plan to prove your skills? You look young no matter how I look at you.”

“I’ll sculpt an Ancient Stone,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Henrick’s eyes widened. “Ancient Stones are top-grade materials that aren’t only difficult to find, but difficult for even the best artisans to deal with. And yet you’re telling me you’ll sculpt that?”

Kang Yoon-Soo said, “I’ll get the material if you give me some time, and I’ll sculpt it in front of you.”

“Don’t make me laugh.” Henrick glared at Kang Yoon-Soo with eyes filled with animosity, but he soon sighed in resignation. “Alright, damn it. You did bring me the mudgem’s treasure, and you gave me a silver coin as well, so I might as well give you a chance. However, I’ll treat you as just another arrogant greenhorn the moment I feel that your skills aren’t up to par.”

[The Best Artisan]

The real identity of Henrick the drunk was the personal artisan of the royal princess. He inherited the blood of the Elrickersson family, and the Elrickersson family, famous for its craftsmanship, produced a master artisan. Sculpt an Ancient Stone before Henrick’s eyes.

*Henrick has very high standards. It will not be easy to satisfy him.

*The quest will be a failure if not completed within fourteen days.

*You will lose Henrick’s trust if you fail the quest.

Reward: Heirloom of the Elrickersson family

A hidden quest appeared. It was a quest that would never have appeared if they had only thought of Henrick as a useless drunk.

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded slightly and walked away.

“Thank you,” Shaneth told Henrick as she ran after Kang Yoon-Soo.

Henrick was left there scratching his cheek as he stared at Kang Yoon-Soo’s back with a strange expression. His observant gaze led him to raise a question about the young man. “That guy… Is he really a youngster?”

It was strange. Kang Yoon-Soo looked young on the outside, but he gave off the feeling of being older than the elves who lived for hundreds of years.

Henrick scratched his cheeks as he tried to remember. He could swear that he had seen those eyes somewhere, and it was not a pleasant memory. He closed his left hand into a fist and gripped it hard, but for some reason, the way he moved his hand seemed unnatural.

‘I hope he didn’t notice the secret behind my left hand…’ he thought, before shaking his head and muttering, “So what if he did? There’s no way he can bring an Ancient Stone anyway.”

Ancient Stones were extremely rare and precious minerals that even dwarves found difficult to mine. Ancient Stones had nine properties; each property was mysterious on its own, and immense powers were hidden in them.

It was impossible for a greenhorn artisan to be able to carve a perfect jewel out of one no matter how many days and nights they spent working on it, and yet that youngster was confident that he could craft that difficult mineral himself? It was impossible.

Henrick the drunk staggered sideways as he left the back alleys, heading toward the pub to grab a drink.

***

The Red Rock Excavators were located in the rocky terrain north of Riel. Tens of tents were set up in the large and wide wilderness as hundreds of archeologists, adventurers, and explorers scoured the area with brushes and pickaxes looking for clues. Although it was much more usual for their efforts to betray them and reward them with nothing, there were a few of them who managed to get lucky and found rusted swords or mysterious ornamental headgear.

‘This brings me back to the time I took the Excavator class.’ Kang Yoon-Soo had set up the largest excavation association in a previous life and searched every single excavation site on the continent, leaving no stone unturned. The scale of his work had not ended at simply looking for historical artifacts; he had gone a step further to excavate the geological strata of the land looking for buried ruins.

‘There were no artifacts I didn’t manage to find back then. The armor of the Old God was the best find, since it managed to block the Dragon of Destruction’s breath attack and even Sirian’s magic spear.’ Of course, that was all in the past. Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head before he got lost in nostalgia..

The two passed all the regular tents and went straight to the tents of the largest excavation association. The tents were filled with scholars going over stacks of old records, and an old man seated at the largest desk was intently observing an Ancient Stone with a magnifying glass.

The old man wore slightly tilted silver eyeglasses, and his gray hair showed the years he had lived. He kept looking into the magnifying glass as he asked, “Who are you? What do you want?”

“We wish to apply for excavation work,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Ah, what are your names?” the old man asked.

“Kang Yoon-Soo.”

“Shaneth.”

The old man adjusted his silver glasses and said, “My name is Ramax. I’m the leader of the Red Rock Excavators, and also an archeologist. People say I moonlight as a historian too. Anyway, the joining fee is ten silver coins.”

Kang Yoon-Soo paid the fee.

[You have become a temporary member of the Red Rock Excavators.]

[Current Contributions: 0]

Ramax stood up with his hands behind his back, saying, “The fact that there are more youngsters showing interest and joining the excavation gladdens me, but why is it that instead of searching for things with historical value, they seem to be here to hunt for treasures? It isn’t a good thing…”

“Treasure hunting?” Shaneth asked.

Ramax nodded and continued, “The association will provide you with contribution points of equal value to the artifacts you excavate and bring. The contribution points you earn can be exchanged for rare items or useful tools. It seems the youngsters these days are only after the contribution points.”

He looked toward the Travelers that were digging outside, as if he could not stand the sight of them. He continued, “Excavation isn’t treasure hunting. It’s working to unravel the mysteries of the past and preserve history. I hope you two will understand this point.”

He then pointed toward a spot in the distance; in that spot was a large rock, surrounded by red dust. He said, “You may purchase any tools you require for excavation here, whether it’s a pickaxe, shovel, or magnifying glass. That rock is our current excavation spot. Be careful, as aggressive monsters show up from time to time to rampage; a few of our members were injured because of that.”

He continued, “If you’re afraid of monsters, then you can aim for low-value artifacts here in the outskirts. Of course, you’ll most likely end up turning in stones and get nothing in return.”

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly spoke up, saying, “I wish to know more about the missing portion of history.”

“What?” Ramax’s expression suddenly turned serious as he said, “You must have heard that from the drunken fool Henrick. Damn it…”

“Yes, I did,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“That loudmouth… Why is he making me itch to expose his secrets as well…” the old man muttered. He looked up and down at the pair before giving them a stern warning. “Normally, I would’ve instantly chased you away, but I’ll look over it once, since you joined our association after all. Don’t ask about it and just go back.”

“I’ll bring the ‘Tablet of Records’,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“What?” Ramax exclaimed.

“Tablet of Records. You need that to chase the trail of the missing history, right?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

Ramax glared at him for a minute before shaking his head, saying, “The Tablet of Records is something that even I failed to find, but you’re telling me you’ll bring it? That’s impossible.”

“I’ll bring it,” Kang Yoon-Soo repeated.

Ramax could only sigh in resignation as he saw Kang Yoon-Soo’s confidence. He said, “I’ll give you a quest then. However, if you fail to bring it, don’t expect me to have anything to say to you anymore.”

[Legendary Quest—Missing History]

The Tablet of Records is required to look for the missing portion of history. Find the Tablet of Records and bring it to Ramax.

*You will not be able to participate in the activities of the Red Rock Excavators if you fail.

Kang Yoon-Soo went to an association staff member to purchase tools for excavation. He bought a pickaxe, a shovel, a magnifying glass, and a brush and placed them in his backpack.

Shaneth asked with a confused expression, “Do you plan to use all of that?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The two walked toward the large rock, finding a small opening beneath it. A long corridor stretched out past the opening, forming a passage that led underground.

‘This place was always quite wide, no matter how many times I came here,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The excavation site was very wide, and the interior network of passages was quite complex like a maze. That was why there were still a lot of artifacts and treasures left undiscovered, and there were still monster lairs that had not been subjugated.

‘I have to excavate everything of value before that monster appears.’

It was around the time that the boss of the Red Rock excavation site, that held immense power, had awakened from its slumber.

The sound of wings fluttering filled the air at the end of the tunnel, where several large creatures were hanging upside down from the ceiling. They were large beast-type monsters, the Big Bats—bat monsters that had long fangs and large bodies with black wings.

The moment Kang Yoon-Soo and Shaneth readied their weapons, the bats on the ceiling charged toward them in midair. They had lower defense than normal monsters, but their agility and attack speed were not to be underestimated.

Kang Yoon-Soo cut down all of the charging bats approaching him with Ravian’s Longsword. Shaneth, although not as good as he was, could hold her ground; she too managed to cut down the bats approaching her with one big swing of her Death Scythe.

The two easily managed to take care of the Big Bats, and Kang Yoon-Soo’s level rose after the hunt. He was now Level 74.

“Mass Raise Dead.” Numerous bat corpses started to squirm as Kang Yoon-Soo spoke, and the gray undead slowly rose from the ground as their fur changed to red.

[The level of ‘Mass Raise Dead’ has risen.]

[Certain undead raised will gain a special attribute.]

[The Big Bats have gained the lifesteal attribute.]

The Big Bats rose from the ground as Blood Bats. Blood Bats were undead that were aggressive and had a strong lust for blood.

“Kwiiik! Kwiiik!”

The Blood Bats thirsted for blood—it was their instinct as undead.

Undead with a certain amount of intellect would prioritize their instincts more than the commands of their master. There were certain cases of unskilled necromancers being killed by their own undead because of their lack of talent and control. The most important stat for any necromancer was leadership. A necromancer who dreamed of commanding a whole army needed to have a high amount of leadership.

Kang Yoon-Soo raised his hand as he sent the Blood Bats to the summon dimension.

[317 Blood Bats have been sent to the summon dimension.]

[Summons currently stored in the dimension: 316 Blood Bats, 76 Rotten Mudgems, White, and Sally.]

[Remaining space for additional summons: 306]

The Blood Bats let out shrieks as they obeyed their master.

“Being a necromancer sure is tough…” Shaneth said.

The pair entered the excavation site. Numerous forks in the road appeared, but Kang Yoon-Soo never stopped once—as if he already knew the way.