Record of a Thousand Lives

The immense, agonizing pain the Dragon of Destruction felt was a foreign sensation to it.
The dragon had never met its match, so it had not really felt a lot of pain in its battles, but it now felt agonizing pain all over its body…

All because of one insignificant human.

“Kruuwaa… Heok…! Heok…!” The Dragon of Destruction coughed up blood while staggering backward.

The flesh torn off its body had been scattered all over the place, and the gaping wound left on its body revealed the bloody muscle of its abdomen.
The dragon’s guts had begun to spill out from the cut, flowing onto the ground.

The Dragon of Destruction seemed to be confused by its wounds, looking at Kang Yoon-Soo with disbelief in its eyes.
It asked with a shocked expression, “What the… How… What did you do to me…?”

“My wife’s left eye was destroyed, along with ten of her ribs,” Kang Yoon-Soo said in a low voice before readying the spear in his hand once again.
Then, with an aura of extreme bloodlust seeping through his usual monotone, he asked, “Let me ask you seriously.
In what way should I kill you in order for you to feel the same amount of pain my wife did?”

“You cannot kill me, old geezer,” the Dragon of Destruction roared viciously, then rushed toward the human that had cut it open.

Kang Yoon-Soo was satisfied by the fact that the Dragon of Destruction had not chosen to run away, and he found its courage to be commendable.

Was it because the dragon had saved him the trouble of chasing after it?

No.
It was because he simply wanted to instill terror into the dragon.

“Kruuuwaaaah!” The Dragon of Destruction roared while charging toward Kang Yoon-Soo.

However, he seemed to be unfazed despite the fact that a gigantic dragon was barreling toward him.
The Dragon of Destruction was much more powerful than any other creature on the continent, but it had been reduced to mere prey making a last-ditch effort against its predator.

Kang Yoon-Soo swung the spear in his hand in a quick, powerful sweep.

Kwachiiik!

The spear’s destructive power manifested even through the air pressure it exuded without even touching the dragon’s body.
It severed the Dragon of Destruction’s left wing like a butcher’s knife cleanly cutting through a carcass.
The Dragon of Destruction felt a searing pain as its wing was cut off, but it still continued its charge toward the human.

However, by the time it opened its bloodied jaws to devour the human, its opponent was no longer standing there.

Kwachaaaaak!

It had become impossible for the Dragon of Destruction to take flight, but at that moment, it was flying through the air.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s speartip smashed against the dragon’s jawbone, shattering it.
The force of the strike slammed the Dragon of Destruction against the hard rock wall, before gravity did its job and sent the dragon crashing into the ground.

The Dragon of Destruction felt its bones shatter from the force of its impact.
It gasped, vomiting up blood.
“Kruuwaa… Heok…!”

As its vision turned hazy, it felt pain spread all across its body.
Amid that pain, it was suddenly struck with an agonizing sensation that indicated a certain important part had been cut off its body.
The Dragon of Destruction finally realized that it was being cut apart limb from limb, and that included its ‘other’ limb.

The Dragon of Destruction’s eyes trembled with despair, not because it had lost its body parts, but because of the human standing in front of it.

Kang Yoon-Soo prepared to swing the spear in his hand once again, even after having severed the dragon’s limbs.

“Stop! Enough!” the Dragon of Destruction screamed in horror, making a last-ditch attempt to beg pitifully for its life as it felt its life force running out.
It pleaded, “Please… Just kill me already.”

It seemed that, even compared to the severe wounds its body had sustained, the dragon had suffered even worse mental trauma.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo replied coldly, “I refuse.” He stabbed the spear into the ground and stared at the bloodied Dragon of Destruction before continuing, “Slowly… I want you to taste a slow and painful death.”

The Dragon of Destruction looked at Kang Yoon-Soo with its golden eyes, and what it saw was the embodiment of a kind of fear it had never imagined it could ever feel in its entire life.

Its life force remained quite tenacious, even though its limbs had been severed and it had lost a lot of blood from its wounds.
It seemed to be aware of that fact, sensing that its doom was far from arriving anytime soon.

It squirmed uncomfortably, trying to speak through labored breaths.
“I now understand… why I sensed that thing… from you… old geezer… The sensation of that person who should not exist… Two identical people… in the same world… Kuheok!” 

The life force of a once-powerful being was slowly being extinguished.
Despite that, Kang Yoon-Soo merely stood there silently, watching that being as it faced a slow, pitiful death at the deepest point of the world.

[You have completed the Legendary Quest—Wrath of the Dragon of Destruction.]

[You have been granted the right to acquire the treasures of the Dragon of Destruction.]

[You have killed the most powerful dragon on the continent!]

[This is a legendary achievement!]

[You have obtained the qualifications to change class into a Dragon Slayer if you go to the Hunters’ Guild at the capital.]

[You may walk in the steps of the legendary Dragon Knight after changing classes.]

[You have gained an unbelievable achievement as a meager human.]

[All of your stats have risen by 14.]

[Your level has risen.]

[Your level has risen.]

[Your level has risen…]

[The death of the Dragon of Destruction has dispelled all of the spells and seals on the lair.]

[All creatures will be expelled from the lair in 10 minutes.]

[You will need the power of an old Colossus to reenter the lair that has lost its master.]

[The King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone’s durability has been depleted, as you have killed your target.]

The King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone turned into dust, scattering onto the ground.

Kang Yoon-Soo sat on the ground while looking at the dragon’s butchered corpse.
He had finally killed the Dragon of Destruction, but he did not feel any sense of achievement at all.
Rather than thinking of what he had gained through his victory, he thought of what he had lost in the war.

As he was deep in thought, a pleading voice came from somewhere.

“Teacher… Help me… Please…” Mini-Lich cried out desperately.

“You won’t die as long as your life vessel stays intact,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied before lifting up the small lich that had been stepped on by the Dragon of Destruction.
The bones in the lich’s body had cracked and shattered here and there, but it had only suffered some stat penalties and would recover from them soon.

Then, Kang Yoon-Soo said in a low voice, “I hope all the others won’t die like you…”

“Teacher…?” Mini-Lich began, looking at Kang Yoon-Soo while tilting its head in confusion.
It clacked its jaw and said, “Teacher, I will take responsibility and raise Shaneth as a powerful undead being if she dies!”

Kang Yoon-Soo walked toward the Dragon of Destruction’s corpse—after throwing Mini-Lich away.

The time limit was ten minutes long.
He had no time to feel emotional or melancholic, as he could not afford to lose the rewards right before his eyes.
Thus, he raised the spear in his hand once more and diligently dug through the Dragon of Destruction’s carcass as quickly as he could.
He soon managed to obtain a single golden eyeball, as well as the dragon’s heart, which had still not stopped beating.

With that, the time limit expired, and a mysterious wall of light surrounded the lair before expelling all of the creatures within it.

***

A week quickly passed after they successfully defeated the Dragon of Destruction.
They mourned for those who had fallen in battle, but the entire underground was in a festive mood.
The titans who had finally gained their freedom from the underground, and the men who had finally gained their freedom to use their nether regions, drank so much that they lost track of the amount of alcohol they consumed.

However, the man who should have been hailed as the hero of the war was nowhere to be found amid the festivities, even after a whole week had passed.
Mayor Kaldo expressed his regret for the fact that the hero of the war was not present for the festivities, and no one knew where he was.

The underground cities were not developed enough to have any sort of medical facilities, so they had needed to modify one of the rooms in the city hall to house Shaneth, who had been severely injured in the war.
To compensate for their lack of facilities, Mayor Kaldo had given his express approval and made sure that the cities would unsparingly provide the rarest and most precious healing potions available underground for her treatment.
Thus, the number of healing potions they had used to treat her injuries and bleeding was so great that several adults could swim in a pool made from them.

While Shaneth was undergoing treatment, Iris had nursed her every night.
That was why Iris, who looked exhausted and haggard with hollow, empty eyes, was the first person Shaneth saw when she opened her eyes.
It was also why there were no dramatic scenes such as Iris’ tears dripping down Shaneth’s face as the latter slowly opened her eyes, before they hugged while crying.

Iris looked down at Shaneth, who had just woken up after a week, before murmuring with tears welling up in her eyes, “Shaneth…? Are you alright…?”

The first words Shaneth said after waking up were…

“It’s salty…” Shaneth said, licking Iris’ tears of her dry lips before furrowing her brow.

The owner of the tears on Shaneth’s lips seemed to have forgotten about her injuries, as Iris pulled her into a tight embrace and exclaimed, “It is a relief that you are alright!”

Shaneth would have lost consciousness once more if Henrick, who was also nursing her, did not pull Iris back.

“You nursed me?” Shaneth asked Henrick with a look of surprise.

“Those titans can’t even stitch a wound, let alone wrap a bandage,” Henrick grumbled.

Shaneth looked around her surroundings before asking, “What happened in the war?”

“The Dragon of Destruction is dead, and we won,” Henrick replied.

“What about Kang Yoon-Soo?” Shaneth asked.

“Beats me.
He went missing, the way he always does,” Henrick replied with a shrug.

“Was he hurt anywhere?” Shaneth asked worriedly.

“Unfortunately, he made it out perfectly intact,” Henrick grumbled in response.

Shaneth slowly got up from the hard bed and tried to walk before falling over.

“It is still too early for you to start walking again!” Iris exclaimed as she helped Shaneth up.

Shaneth was perplexed.
She could endure the pain from the stitches on her body, but her vision was strange and she seemed to have lost her sense of distance.
For some reason, she found it difficult to gauge whether an object she was looking at was near her or not.

She slowly moved her hand toward her head, and felt a bandage wrapped around her left eye.
Of course, she could not feel her left eye through the bandage; the eye socket that should have contained that eye was hollow and empty.

Shaneth fell silent for a moment before slowly asking, “Did I lose my left eye?”

“Yeah,” Henrick replied, his expression darkening.

Iris was restless, seemingly worried that Shaneth, who had just regained consciousness, would be severely shocked by what had happened to her.
Henrick, on the other hand, spoke to Shaneth in a calm tone.

“Please tell me honestly… Is it impossible for me to recover?” Shaneth asked.

“Yeah.
It’s impossible for you to regain your left eye even if we pour buckets of potions on it, since it was thoroughly crushed,” Henrick replied frankly.

“Would it be impossible even with your Body Crafting Kit?” Shaneth asked.

Henrick shook his head and explained, “The eyes are the most sensitive part of a human body.
It’s possible to stitch a doll’s arms or legs, but it’s impossible to replace a human’s eyes that easily.
We would need to find an eye that matched the size of your previous eye exactly, and the nerves would have to align together as well.
Even Rick didn’t replace her eyes.
Instead, she only slightly modified them so they wouldn’t be damaged.”

Shaneth thought quietly to herself for a moment, before smiling and saying, “I guess it was still a small price to pay.
I mean, I only lost an eye and nothing else.”

Henrick smiled bitterly, while Iris tried her best to fight back her tears in front of Shaneth.

Shaneth stretched lightly before adding, “I thought my back or my neck would have snapped when I was kicked by the Dragon of Destruction, but look at me.
Everything else is fine except for my left eye.
I’m sure I’ll be able to get used to this in no time.”

The smile on her face suddenly disappeared, replaced by a solemn look as she added, “I’m really alright, so please tell Kang Yoon-Soo not to feel guilty over what happened to me.”

“Alright.
I’ve got you covered, so go and rest up for now,” Henrick replied before patting her on the shoulder.

It was then that someone suddenly opened the door and entered the room—it was Kang Yoon-Soo.

Henrick had a baffled expression as he asked, “You… Where have you been this whole week, for you to only be showing up now?”

“Smithy,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
His face was void of expression as always, but he looked pale and tired as he walked quickly toward Shaneth.

“I’m really alright, so…” Shaneth began.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly cut her off mid-sentence, saying, “Show me your eye.”

He started to unwrap the bandages before she could even respond.
Shaneth’s empty left eye socket, which looked quite grotesque, emerged when the bandages were fully removed.

“Kang Yoon-Soo, what are you trying to do?” Iris asked.

“Attaching an eye to her,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Iris could not hide the surprise on her face.

Henrick quickly said, “I’m really sorry to say, but you can’t attach an eye.
You won’t be able to find an eye that perfectly matches hers even if you get one from a family member.
She’ll end up getting hurt even more if you recklessly attempt it.”

“I just had to make one that matched hers,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What…?” Henrick muttered in disbelief.

Kang Yoon-Soo opened his hand, revealing a small, round golden jewel.

Henrick’s eyes widened in surprise as he exclaimed, “Isn’t this a Dragon Eye…?”

“What is a Dragon Eye?” Iris asked.

Henrick looked at the Dragon Eye with a bewildered expression before saying, “It’s a jewel made from a dragon’s eye, and it’s extremely valuable.
Not only does its luxurious appearance make it look valuable, it’s also rumored to contain the rare and powerful magic of a dragon.” Then, he looked at Kang Yoon-Soo and asked, “Where the hell did you manage to find this?”

A Dragon Eye was a jewel crafted from the eye of a dragon.
Kang Yoon-Soo had previously obtained a pair of such eyes from the fossilized dragon in the excavation site of the Red Rock Excavators, but this Dragon Eye was made from a much better material than the one he had previously obtained.

“I crafted the Dragon of Destruction’s eye,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“You crafted such a big eye into something this small…? That’s a job that would take you months no matter how good you are,” Henrick replied in disbelief.

“I spent a week without sleeping at the smithy,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Sure… You’re a guy who can perform a miracle by staying up a week.
Got it,” Henrick grumbled before taking out his Body Crafting Kit.

“Stay still,” Kang Yoon-Soo said to Shaneth before taking out the tools from the Body Crafting Kit and putting them to use.

Streaks of blood quickly covered the tools as Shaneth felt the excruciating pain of having them dig into her eye socket.
However, she stayed still and endured the pain until the end.

Then, Kang Yoon-Soo placed the small golden jewel into her left eye socket and started to perform the most vital part of the attachment operation.

The whole process took a long time, and Iris assisted by wiping off the blood that flowed down Shaneth’s face, while Henrick stood outside the door to prevent anyone from entering and disturbing the operation.

Eventually, Kang Yoon-Soo finally set down the Body Crafting Kit and said, “Try closing your eyes and blinking.”

When Shaneth blinked, her left eye exuded a golden luster; on top of that, it was surrounded by a mysterious, flowing current of mana.

Shaneth slowly began to speak, murmuring in disbelief, “I can… see…” She looked around at her surroundings and squinted a few times before exclaiming, “My vision is perfectly normal, and it doesn’t feel awkward at all.
This… This really feels like my eye!”

“That’s great! That’s really great!” Iris exclaimed in joy as tears flowed down her cheeks, hugging Shaneth tightly.

Henrick smirked and said, “This is really unbelievable… What kind of a life have you lived for you to have so many tricks up your sleeve?”

“I’ve lived a thousand lives,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What did you say just now…?” Henrick muttered.

Both Henrick and Shaneth stared at Kang Yoon-Soo in surprise.

Kang Yoon-Soo had contemplated the matter for a long time, and he had decided to finally confess the truth he had held back for so long.
However, he was simply too tired at the moment.
He had not even gotten a minute of proper rest ever since his battle against the Dragon of Destruction, and the fatigue he had been fighting back since then rushed back into him once the important thing he had needed to do was finally done.

Kang Yoon-Soo tiredly began, “Shaneth, Henrick, and Iris…”

The three of them intently waited to hear what he was about to say.

“Don’t die, you guys,” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered.

Then, his fatigue finally took over, and he collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.