Record of a Thousand Lives

It was difficult to tell how long they had been falling, as their surroundings had been engulfed by complete darkness.

Suddenly, a kind of rock that nobody had ever seen before on the continent became visible as the bottom of the pit appeared.

The Dragon of Destruction was able to avoid being damaged by the fall by twisting its body while biting Kang Yoon-Soo‘s neck, then spreading its wings and letting go at the last second before impact.
After landing on the strange rock, it said, “I made my lair deep underground because of my desire to see the end of the world.”

Perhaps because the dragon had made special arrangements for its lair, the place was completely unaffected by any sort of pressure despite being so deep underground.

The Dragon of Destruction smashed its claw against the strange rock, but it did not even leave the tiniest scratch.
It continued, “However, the rock here is so hard that not even a dragon is able to break through it.
That is why I concluded that this was the deepest abyss of the world.”

Kang Yoon-Soo realized that just as the Dragon of Destruction said, the dark layer of rock on the ground marked the deepest point of the world—the mantle[1].

“I have always wanted to set this as the stage in the event I met a worthy opponent.
You will meet your demise in this place, old geezer,” the Dragon of Destruction said, rushing at Kang Yoon-Soo as soon as it finished speaking.
Kang Yoon-Soo could not avoid the dragon’s sudden attack, and was slammed into the ground by the mighty dragon.

Crack…!

The Dragon of Destruction bit Kang Yoon-Soo’s neck.

[7% of the bones in your body have been destroyed!]

“Mini-Lich, raise as many undead as you can from the bones falling from my body,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“I will do as you say, teacher,” Mini-Lich responded.
It swung its staff and raised as many of the weakest skeletons as it possibly could from the bones.

The hundreds of skeletons were crushed in an instant as they attacked the Dragon of Destruction, but the green light from the King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone shone even more brightly whenever the skeletons were destroyed.
A strange atmosphere spread across the area wherever the green light reached.

Kang Yoon-Soo did not relent, biting the Dragon of Destruction’s neck in retaliation.

[You are draining the blood of the most powerful dragon on the continent.]

[Your life force is quickly recovering!]

[Your joints have gotten stronger.]

[You have drained the blood of the same species.]

[Your attack power and rage have increased.]

“Kruuuwaah!” The Dragon of Destruction roared as it thrashed around in an attempt to shake Kang Yoon-Soo off.

As soon as it was able to successfully shake the Bone Dragon off its neck, it immediately started casting magic.
The Dragon of Destruction was not casting one spell, however.
Rather, it was simultaneously casting three.

River of Fire, Lightning Javelin, and Frost Explosion!

The Dragon of Destruction’s three spells intertwined with each other before shooting toward Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo quickly used the Vampire Lord’s spell in response.
“Blood Storm.”

A stream of blood gushed from the Bone Dragon’s jaws, then smashed against the three magic spells from the Dragon of Destruction and tore them apart.
The Dragon of Destruction quickly turned to face the storm of blood and charged it head-on.
Its scales became tattered and ragged in the process, but it was able to bite Kang Yoon-Soo from the front.

Kang Yoon-Soo had received the brainwashing ability from the Vampire Lord Argoric.
However, that skill not only consumed the summoning bone’s durability, but was also ineffective against opponents much more powerful than him.
Thus, he ended up sacrificing quite a large proportion of his bones to get away from the Dragon of Destruction.

[39% of your bones have been destroyed!]

[All of your stats have been significantly reduced.]

[Your size has become smaller.]

The Bone Dragon’s body was on the verge of being destroyed!

Kang Yoon-Soo had been able to go toe to toe against the Dragon of Destruction due to the mighty strength of the Colossus, but he was now being pushed back.
He would end up in a disadvantageous position if he did not end things in one blow.

‘Kartheon’s Time Freeze…’ he thought.
That was the trump card he had.
The ability to freeze time would normally have consumed the user’s lifeforce, but the summoning bone would pay for it instead.
‘It doesn’t matter if it only lasts for a short while, as long as I can find an opening.’

Kang Yoon-Soo and the Dragon of Destruction were in a standoff, with neither making the first move.
Suddenly, however, the two dragons charged at each other simultaneously, as if they had discussed it in advance.

At the very moment when their bodies were going to crash into each other, however…

[You have stopped time for 1 second.]

[The durability of the King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone has been reduced by 14%.]

[Remaining Durability: 6%.]

Kwachik! Crack…!

Kang Yoon-Soo bit the Dragon of Destruction’s neck with all his might while spewing out a cloud of darkness.

A single second had managed to decide the outcome of the battle.

The Dragon of Destruction squirmed, trying to resist as the Bone Dragon bit down on its neck… but then, it lay sprawled out on the ground.
Its scales were destroyed and the Bone Dragon’s breath penetrated directly into its body, dealing a huge amount of damage to it.
It was certain that the huge lifeforce of the Dragon of Destruction was about to run out.

However, at that very moment, Kang Yoon-Soo’s body suddenly became smaller as his bones started falling off one by one.

[The Dragon of Destruction’s magic has absorbed all of your mana.]

[The Bone Dragon Transformation Magic has been forcibly dispelled.]

Kang Yoon-Soo returned to being a human, and his body was left in critical condition due to the battle he had fought.
The Dragon of Destruction was likewise a bloody mess.
The scales all over its body were in tatters.

“I almost died, old geezer,” the Dragon of Destruction said in a tone that made it difficult to tell whether it was joking or not.
“I can absorb mana whenever I am attacked after I shed my scales, and I was stealing your mana bit by bit in secret without you noticing it.
My arrogant self would not have prepared such a contingency plan normally, but I carefully did so in secret, just in case.”

The bloodied dragon slowly approached Kang Yoon-Soo.
However, it was then that a clacking skeleton stood in front of him with its arms spread wide—it was Mini-Lich.

Mini-Lich shouted in desperation, “I will stop the Dragon of Destruction, so hurry up and run away, teache… Ack!”

The Dragon of Destruction stepped on Mini-Lich and crushed it.
Then, the dragon said in a fierce, but exhausted tone, “Let us finish this.”

“I don’t want to,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What did you just say…?” the Dragon of Destruction asked in disbelief.

“I already said it once.
I told you that I would make you die in the most agonizing way possible,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Then, he rummaged through the countless bones left behind by the Bone Dragon and found a spear beneath the pile—it was Swemer’s spear, the weapon that had been deflected off the dragon’s Golden Guardian Barrier and wedged itself between the Bone Dragon’s bones.
Kang Yoon-Soo took up the spear in one hand.

The Dragon of Destruction furrowed its brow and asked, “Do you still wish to fight?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Please stop this.
It is obvious that you have lost,” the Dragon of Destruction said.

Kang Yoon-Soo silently took the King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone in his other hand.
The green light the summoning bone emitted shone even stronger than ever, and the Dragon of Destruction grimaced in disgust at the eerie sensation the light brought.

“I haven’t changed my mind about killing you,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

[The continuous raising of undead has increased the summoning bone’s power.]

[The King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone has read your intentions and bestowed an appropriate power of the dead on you.]

[The regressor who has lived for the thousandth time!]

[You are now able to borrow the power of the dead you have killed in your previous lives.]

Kang Yoon-Soo recalled numerous powerful and vicious enemies he had killed in the past, but he had already decided on whose power to borrow.
It was obvious whose power he would use if he had a spear in his hand.

[You have borrowed a new ability.]

[The three remaining abilities have disappeared.]

[You have borrowed the power of the dead.]

[You have selected ‘The King of All Things, Sirian’.]

[Location Killed: The Magic Tower of the Colossi.]

[Ability Obtained: ???.]

[The ability you have obtained will not be specified, as the target is still alive at present.]

[The durability of the King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone has been reduced by 5%.]

[Remaining Durability: 1%.]

Kang Yoon-Soo breathed deeply to calm himself.
Then, he slowly swung the spear in his hand in a smooth motion, and the mantle that even the Dragon of Destruction could not scratch split apart easily.

The Dragon of Destruction’s eyes trembled with disbelief and it exclaimed, “Old geezer… Just what in the hell are you…?!”

Kang Yoon-Soo did not even bother to respond as he swung the spear in his hand.

The Dragon of Destruction hurriedly set up its Golden Guardian Barrier, but the spell was rendered completely useless.

The spear in Kang Yoon-Soo’s hand cut the Dragon of Destruction open from the base of its body to the top of its head.

1.
Technically, the mantle is only the deepest solid layer before the molten core in real life.
Evidently, the Sylphia Continent’s geology is a little strange. ☜