Record of a Thousand Lives

The smashed-up Mana Golem and the dead Frost Demon lay on the ground. That was the result of the raid under Kang Yoon-Soo’s leadership.

“Your clan can take the Mana Golem’s body,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“What? Can we really do that?” Jiang Ren-Wei asked in surprise.

The body of the Mana Golem consisted of mana stones; those magical stones not only aided in mana regeneration, but were also traded at premium prices for their other uses.

‘There are thousands of other ways to earn gold anyway. What’s more important now is to obtain more precious items.’ Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and replied, “But in return, the corpse of the Frost Demon belongs to me.”

“I understand. We would have no idea what to do with the corpse of a demon even if we took it anyway,” Jiang Ren-Wei responded.

The Martial Blood Clan members gathered around the shattered body of the Mana Golem. They used their weapons like pickaxes, starting to diligently mine mana stones from the golem.

Jiang Ren-Wei looked at his clan members before carefully saying, “It seems as if it’ll be difficult to raid the ruin’s boss monster at this rate.”

He sounded as if he had put a lot of thought into it before saying those words, adding, “Not only has our supply of holy water run out, our supply of frost antidotes and healing potions are exhausted as well. Not to mention that a few of our clan members died in this raid. Of course, they were all prepared for it, but everyone is exhausted now after the battle. I believe it’s foolish for us to charge toward the ruin’s boss in this state. I’m sorry, but our clan plans to end the raid here.”

“Sure,” Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly replied.

Jiang Ren-Wei was slightly taken aback at Kang Yoon-Soo’s reply, saying, “I was 90% certain that you would rebuke me for being too timid or say I lacked credentials as a leader… but you seem to be pretty cool about it?”

“An unprepared raid only brings casualties,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Thank you for your understanding.” Jiang Ren-Wei bowed with a bright expression of relief on his face before adding, “We’ll head out first then. We still need to take care of our comrades’ bodies, and we’ll leave the ruin door open, so feel free to follow us out.” The Martial Blood Clan members gathered up the deceased and the mana stones before exiting the ruin.

“I’ll come to you later for your right arm,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. He walked toward Shaneth and asked in his usual cold, indifferent tone, “How’s your wound?”

“Thankfully it wasn’t that deep,” Shaneth replied, looking ghastly pale.

Henrick, who had been playing with the fragments of ice lying around, suddenly spoke up. “It’s a relief that’s all that happened after getting caught by a demon, and you didn’t spill your guts out or anything…”

Iris, who was standing beside Henrick, looked up to him and asked, “Guts? Are those edible?”

“…is that all you think about?” Henrick asked with a sigh.

Kang Yoon-Soo took the healing potions meant for him from his waist and told Shaneth, “Remove your shirt.”

“Excuse me?” Shaneth asked, just in case she had heard him wrong.

“I’ll apply the potion,” Kang Yoon-Soo said indifferently.

“N-no… I can do it alone…” Shaneth replied.

“You did it for me before,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Shaneth hesitated for a moment before entrusting her body to Kang Yoon-Soo. Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo was deep in thought as he rubbed the potion on her wounds. ‘I can’t turn time back if Shaneth dies this time around.’

That was not only the case for Shaneth, but also for everyone else. If someone died this time, that was the end for them. There was no way for Kang Yoon-Soo to go back in time and prevent their deaths anymore. The same was also true for Kang Yoon-Soo. ‘I need to take risks, but I have to be careful at the same time.’

Kang Yoon-Soo was hesitant about visiting the dangerous places he had encountered in his previous lives. That was the case for the lair of the Dragon of Destruction and the Magic Tower of the Giants. However, he needed to visit those places for their rewards if this life was going to be his last chance. ‘It seems I’ll have to go to all of the dangerous places on the continent.’

It was while Kang Yoon-Soo was deep in thought that Iris tilted her head while looking at what they were doing. She asked, “I believe that is what lovers do. Kang Yoon-Soo, do you love Shaneth?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied nonchalantly.

“…”

Kang Yoon-Soo stood up while the party was still shocked at his response, and slowly walked toward the Frost Demon’s corpse. The Sword of the Holy Cross easily slipped out of the demon’s corpse once he pulled it out. ‘We wouldn’t have been able to fight against the Frost Demon if I hadn’t stabbed this sword into its chest in advance,’ he thought.

That was how powerful the demon race was, and the fact that the Sword of the Holy Cross had lost its luster and its edges were now dull was proof. The sword had sealed the demon’s powers, but it had lost its holy powers as well. ‘It was a waste to use this item like this, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It did its job, at least.’

Kang Yoon-Soo threw the Sword of the Holy Cross aside and ripped open the demon’s chest. Unfortunately, the demon’s heart had disintegrated because of the holy powers of the sword. ‘What a shame. It would have been nice to feed it to Iris. She would have been able to use powerful ice magics then.’

Kang Yoon-Soo found a couple of items after he skinned the demon’s hide.

[Frost Demon’s Leather]

Leather that is stronger than that of any other creature in this world. It does not contain any magic, as it belonged to a lesser demon. It is a top-quality crafting material.

[Frost Demon’s Winter Fragment]

A jewel fragment that contains cold and corrupted power. Its use is unknown.

Demon leather was a top-quality crafting material. It did not only increase defensive power, but also increased the magic resistance of the armor it was crafted into.

Kang Yoon-Soo stored all of the items into his backpack and turned around toward his party members before saying, “Let’s go.”

“…”

The party was silently staring at him, and Shaneth’s face was a ripe red as she kept stealing glances at Kang Yoon-Soo. Kang Yoon-Soo asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

“I know it might sound old now, but it really is hard to find someone as weird as you on this continent,” Henrick said with a sigh.

They left the hidden room, and Kang Yoon-Soo, who was standing at the forefront, walked in a different direction than when they had come in.

“Hey, that’s the way down to the basement and not the way out,” Henrick called out.

“I know,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, adding, “We’re going straight to the heart of the ruin.”

***

There were no other monsters on the lower floor of the ruin, but the entire floor was filled with a cold that chilled the party down to their bones.

‘I want to raid the boss of the Winterkill Ruin, but that’s a stretch right now,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. The boss of the Winterkill Ruin was an eight meter tall Ice Giant, and it was far too risky for them to face the tough and tenacious giant in their current state, just as Jiang Ren-Wei had said.

They soon reached a large door they believed was the entrance to the heart of the ruin, and a pale white giant was sitting in front of it.

Shaneth carefully asked in a whisper, so as to not get caught by the giant, “Do you plan to fight that boss monster head on?”

“No.” Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and added, “We’ll just pass by it.”

It had been written in Rekimond’s journal that he had shone a torch at the giant before passing by it to enter the heart of the ruin; that was how weak the Ice Giant was against fire.

“Summon Sally,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Sally, who had forcefully been sent back to the summoned dimension, appeared. She sniffled as she hugged Kang Yoon-Soo and cried, “Papa…! Sniff! I was so cold and scared!”

“I know,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Sally started to cry and throw a tantrum. “Hing! Sally wants to rest. It was really cold a while ago!”

“I’ll make you a sibling now,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Really?” Sally’s eyes brightened and she looked at him with sparkling eyes.

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and said, “Yes.”

“Hooray! I love you, papa!” Sally said gleefully as she clung to Kang Yoon-Soo.

Iris looked confused, asking, “Does Sally love Kang Yoon-Soo too?”

“Yes! Sally loves papa!” Sally replied.

“Hmm… Love is quite a mysterious thing,” Iris said, falling deep into thought.

Sally raised both of her arms and spewed fire out, and the Ice Giant slowly rose from its spot.

“I, kill intruder,” the giant said, charging toward the pillar of fire.

Kang Yoon-Soo and the others took the chance to sneak into the heart of the ruin. It was a cold place that housed a hexagon-shaped crystal. The bitter chill of the Winterkill Ruin flowed out of that crystal.

“C-cold!” Sally said, shivering as the temperature dropped the closer they went to the crystal.

An altar that seemed similar to the one they had encountered previously towered above them. Atop it was a cold, shining crown.

Kang Yoon-Soo obtained the treasure of the Winterkill Ruin.

[Frozen Crown]

Rating: Rare

Magic Power (Ice Attribute): 52

A crown made up of souls frozen by the cold. It is presumed to have been used by a king from a cold country. It is an item liked by an arrogant spirit.

[The Winterkill Ruin has been conquered.]

[Conqueror: Kang Yoon-Soo]

[Rank 1 Achievement: Shaneth Elogran]

[Rank 2 Achievement: Henrick Elrickerson]

[You have conquered the Winterkill Ruin.]

[You have absorbed the ruin’s magic power.]

[Your resistance against illnesses caused by the cold has increased.]

[Your resistance to frostbite has increased.]

[You have obtained the title ‘Explorer of Cold’.]

[Conquered Ruins: 2]

[The boss monster of the ruin still survives.]

[The Ice Giant will return if you do not escape soon.]

Kang Yoon-Soo’s wrist device vibrated as soon as he conquered the Winterkill Ruin.

[You have completed the Legendary Quest—Castle of the Dead.]

[7,287 undead have been freed.]

[The undead that will march through the continent at night will produce numerous tales.]

[Their new objective is to raise the strongest dragon in the continent as an undead being.]

[You have obtained Nakron’s codex.]

[The Legendary Quest—Desert Palace has started.]

Kang Yoon-Soo took out a black crystal from his backpack. It was the mode of communication provided by the Death General Kalriven.

-Lord, can you hear me?

Kalriven’s voice rang out from the crystal.

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied dryly.

-Rejoice, my lord! The seal on the Castle of the Dead has finally been released!

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo repeated.

-We shall depart on a journey to fulfill master Nakron’s wish of raising the Deathless Dragon. It will take us to the most dangerous places on the continent, but if my lord requires our assistance, we will always be at your service!

“Okay,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

-Please take special care of master Nakron’s codex. There is nothing more precious to a Necromancer than that.

***

Kang Yoon-Soo climbed down from the altar, but he did not head for the exit immediately. Instead, he stared at the hexagonal crystal that was emitting the intense cold of the Winterkill Ruin.

“Huh? Now that I’m looking closely, isn’t this Ice of Eternity?” Henrick asked as he examined the crystal.

Shaneth could not help but be curious, asking, “What’s Ice of Eternity?”

“It’s a block of ice that lets out cold year-round. It’s a very rare crafting material, and quite expensive too. It’s a bit small, but it’s still in good condition. Should we take some?” Henrick asked, taking out his sculpting knife.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly blocked his path and said, “No.”

“Why not?” Henrick asked with a frown.

“Because I’m going to use it to create a spirit,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. The Ice of Eternity was required to create the spirit of ice, Icicle.

‘I have to make the ice even colder.’ Kang Yoon-Soo took out his water canteen, spraying the water around the Ice of Eternity. The Ice of Eternity grew colder as the water froze up.

“You have to do something,” Kang Yoon-Soo told Iris.

Iris used her newly found immense strength to crush a block of ice and brought it to Kang Yoon-Soo. Shaneth used her scythe to cut the ice, while Henrick used his sculpting knife to trim it down. Then, they spread the pieces of ice around the Ice of Eternity, and a chill that automatically made them shiver flowed out from it.

“Ah! Mama! Sally is too cold!” Sally complained.

“Come here. I’ll hug you,” Shaneth said, consoling the poor little girl.

Kang Yoon-Soo extended his right hand that had the Ring of Life Suppression on it and muttered, “Spirit Creation.”

A dazzling, blinding light circled around the Ice of Eternity, and the silhouette of an infant was visible within it..

[Please choose the gender of the Ice Spirit, Icicle. A male Icicle will have the power to bring forth a chilling disaster, but it will be cold and arrogant. On the other hand, a female Icicle will be cold and indifferent, but will be well versed in cold magic.]

As opposed to Sally, whose gender had forcefully been decided, Kang Yoon-Soo had the choice to choose the gender of the spirit this time.

“Male,” he muttered.

The blinding light shot out from the Ice of Eternity as it circled.

[The Ice of Eternity is a bit small.]

[The age of the spirit has decreased.]

[The charisma of the spirit has decreased. Charisma -31]

[The intense cold has strengthened the spirit’s soul. Magic +17]

[The harmony between both the master and the spirit’s cold personality has increased the power of the spirit. Chill +2]

[You can only create one spirit from each element. The chance to create an Icicle has been used.]

The chill from the Ice of Eternity slowly subsided as the blinding light filled the entire room. That was the moment Icicle, the Spirit of Ice, was born.