Record of a Thousand Lives

Kang Yoon-Soo looked up at the grimacing blacksmith and said, “Send us to the surface.”

“Just walk up,” the Blacksmith of Fire replied.

“That will take too long,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“That’s none of my business,” the Blacksmith of Fire grumbled.

“We can reach the surface in no time if you use your powers,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“I refuse,” the Blacksmith of Fire said.
Then, his fierce voice reverberated throughout the underground as he continued loudly, “I have no plans to go up to the surface, so I’ll be remaining here, but you want me to use my powers for your convenience? The fact that you’re an insignificant human that I can swat away with a flick of my finger hasn’t changed even if you were able to kill the Dragon of Destruction.
Don’t look down on a Colossus.”

There was a possibility of the blacksmith, who was an old but still powerful Colossus, attacking them if Kang Yoon-Soo kept annoying him.
Of course, he could afford to fight against the Blacksmith of Fire, because the army he had with him had survived the war against the Dragon of Destruction.
However, the titans would no doubt refuse to fight against the blacksmith they had once served as their king.

Kang Yoon-Soo rummaged through his backpack before taking out the Infinite Chalice.
The golden chalice had intricate patterns carved on its side that made it look highly valuable from its looks alone.

The Blacksmith of Fire squinted, staring at the golden chalice in Kang Yoon-Soo’s hands for a moment before muttering, “That’s…?”

“It’s one of the artifacts created by the Infinite Dimension Wizard, Sephia, when she was still alive,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Lies! Don’t make me laugh! There’s no way such a precious and important artifact would be in your hands!” the Blacksmith of Fire cried.

Kang Yoon-Soo took out a bottle of alcohol in front of the blacksmith, as if to show he would demonstrate something, and poured it into the golden chalice.
Then, he flipped the chalice upside down and a vast quantity of alcohol rushed out from it like a tidal wave.
The titans took several steps backward in shock as the river of alcohol started to cascade down the stone mountains like a waterfall.

Kang Yoon-Soo flipped the chalice, which had turned a single bottle of alcohol into a river, back up, and the endless stream of alcohol instantly stopped flowing.

The Blacksmith of Fire asked in disbelief, “Oh my god… That’s the real thing.
Where did you get it?”

“From the Dragon of Destruction’s treasure trove,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“I see… The Dragon of Destruction took the artifact Sephia left behind… So that’s why she was in this place…” the Blacksmith of Fire muttered while deep in thought.

The Ancient Heroes were the ones who had stopped the invasion of Pandemonium in the past and saved the continent.
The five Ancient Heroes were the King of All Things, Sirian; the Ultimate Necromancer, Nakron; the Great Alchemist, Minerva; the Noble Archer, Nahilen; and the Infinite Dimension Wizard, Sephia.

The Infinite Chalice was an artifact created by the Infinite Dimension Wizard, Sephia.

The Blacksmith of Fire was immersed in thought for a while before slowly saying, “I met the Ancient Heroes in the past, and I shared a few drinks with them.”

The blacksmith seemed to be reminiscing about the past, looking up at the ceiling before adding, “I had a master and disciple relationship with Sephia.
I learned how to create rifts in midair and summon things from her.” There was a hint of melancholy and nostalgia in the blacksmith’s voice.

“I might have only spent a short time with them, but they really lived up to their titles as heroes,” the Blacksmith of Fire said.
He looked down at Kang Yoon-Soo and continued, “You did mention that you wanted to go to the magic tower to meet the King of All Things, Sirian.
I didn’t think much of it the first time you said it, but you even have the artifact left behind by Sephia.
What do you hope to achieve by meeting Sirian?”

“I’m going to kill Sirian,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The Blacksmith of Fire grimaced and said, “The King of All Things, Sirian, is much stronger than the Dragon of Destruction.”

“I know,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What a foolish human.
What do you hope to achieve by killing the king?” the Blacksmith of Fire asked.

“None of your business,” Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly replied.

The Blacksmith of Fire raised his gigantic hammer, and the others present tensed up in anticipation of an attack, but that was not the case at all.

“You’re no ordinary human, judging by the fact that you know about the magic tower and the fact that the king is alive… and you also managed to kill the Dragon of Destruction,” the Blacksmith of Fire began.
He paused for a moment before continuing, “However, don’t be too full of yourself.
The things in your head and the things you see with your eyes aren’t the full picture, the same way this world isn’t the only one that exists in this universe.”

This was not the only world that existed, and Kang Yoon-Soo was aware of that fact.
After all, he was someone who had come from another world, and he had once created an artifact to return to his world as well.
Of course, the Demon Lord had crossed dimensions to come after him in the end, making the artifact he had spent twenty years creating useless.
He never again attempted to make it after that, because it took too long to even complete the item.

“Anyway, I can see that you have some sort of relationship with the Ancient Heroes.
I don’t know what your intentions are, but go ahead and meet the king.
You seem to already have the right to have a drink with him,” the Blacksmith of Fire said before swinging his hammer through the air.

Then, a rift that led elsewhere opened up in midair.
It did not lead directly to the surface, but it would undoubtedly be faster for them to walk from there to the surface.

“The king will decide whether to punish or forgive you,” the Blacksmith of Fire said.

“Thank you,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
After his brief farewell, he entered the rift together with his party.

The ghostly assistant seemed perplexed as she asked a question.

[Why did you let him go so easily when he said he was going to kill the King of All Things, Sirian?]

“That young man has to meet Sirian to learn his place,” the Blacksmith of Fire replied.

[Is Sirian really that powerful? I cannot understand you…]

“That’s what I thought when I met him.
After all, he’s someone who deliberately chose to be the villain,” the Blacksmith of Fire said, letting out a sigh.

The underground cities were empty after the titans left, and there was no sign of life in the once lively underground.

The Blacksmith of Fire sat with his shoulders hunched and asked, “Do you know why I decided to go underground and live here?”

The assistant responded with a question.

[Were you not abducted here by the Dragon of Destruction like the others?]

“I chose to come to this place of my own will,” the Blacksmith of Fire replied.

[What was your reason then?]

The giant blacksmith looked at his assistant for a moment and replied, “To serve my master, who lost her life and memories when the king betrayed her.”

[Omo! Is your master’s grave located here underground, then? That sounds a bit strange, though… I cannot recall seeing anything like that here…]

The assistant looked around the surroundings while speaking.
However, the Blacksmith of Fire did not reply.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Only the ear-splitting noise of the blacksmith’s hammering reverberated throughout the underground, as he resumed doing the same thing he had done for centuries.

***

Meanwhile, the rift transported Kang Yoon-Soo’s party to the area just ahead of the three corridors in the abandoned mine, where they had previously gone through several intertwining mineshafts.
They could tell that they were close to the surface, judging by the fresh, cool breeze blowing through the mineshafts.

It was now time to say goodbye.

Mayor Kaldo held Kang Yoon-Soo’s hands tightly as he said, “So the hero from our legend really did exist.
We titans will never forget you even after we go to the surface.”

Kang Yoon-Soo simply nodded in response.

Most of the titans came to him to say their farewells before heading through the left shaft.
The men chose to go through the right shaft, but just like the titans, they all went to Kang Yoon-Soo to bid him farewell beforehand.

“I guess it’s now time to say goodbye.
I feel a bit reluctant to part ways despite having only spent a short time with you.
I’ll make sure not to squander the newfound freedom I gained thanks to you,” Recifer said with a smile.

“I thought I was strong enough to at least be among the top five most powerful people on the continent… but I changed my mind after meeting you.
I should train more once I go back to the surface,” Swemer said.

Hawk wrapped his arm around Harpoon’s shoulder and exclaimed, “We’ll enjoy the freedom our nether regions have regained as soon as we get back to the surface!”

“Listen up, all of you brothels on the continent! These two men are coming to make you wet! We’re coming for you!” Harpoon added.

The men laughed at Harpoon’s crude joke.

Danesh crossed his arms and grimaced, saying, “I’m going to find the woman who’s waiting for me.”

“Hmm… Sounds good, but… Who asked you? Hey, rock, did you ask him?” Hekal remarked sarcastically.

Danesh clenched his fist, but soon relaxed and just laughed off the blind man’s sarcasm.

It was then that Ramel suddenly mustered his courage to shout, “Iris! I have something to tell you before I go back to the surface!”

The men looked at Ramel and Iris, excited about what he was about to say.

“What is it?” Iris asked.

“I only knew how to fight back in the days when I was the Nameless Mercenary, but I’ve since experienced a feeling I never had before! Do you want to start a relationship with me?” Ramel asked, confessing his feelings.

“Sounds good,” Iris replied.

“OOOOHHH!” The men broke out into an uproar, displaying a mixture of excitement and jealousy.

When Ramel walked toward Iris with an emotional gaze, she gently took his thick, rough hands.

“…!” Ramel grimaced in surprise.
He could feel enormous strength within her small hands despite her gentleness.
Even when he exerted force to try to free his hands, he ended up losing to her.

Iris smiled and continued, “That is, only if Ramel is stronger than me.”

“Huh…? Eooook!” Ramel screamed in surprise as Iris lightly swung her hand and flung him toward the mine walls.

Just like that, Ramel, who was one of the strongest among the men in terms of pure physical prowess, was flung around like a ragdoll by a beautiful girl.

The men stared dumbfounded at Iris for quite a while.
She placed both hands on her waist and said, “I cannot give birth to a strong child if the man is not stronger than me.”

Henrick discreetly whispered to Shaneth, “Isn’t she basically saying she’ll be single for the rest of her life?”

“Shhh! She might hear you!” Shaneth replied, trying to hush him.

“Henrick, my ears are quite sensitive,” Iris said, cracking her fists.

The men finally left after saying their goodbyes, kicking up a ruckus the entire time.

Kang Yoon-Soo took out the glass bottle that the corrupted fairy had been trapped in.
He said, “Quishow.”

“W-What is it, human-nim?” Quishow asked nervously.

“I need dust,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Kyaaaakh! Spare me… Huh? D-Dust…?” Quishow asked, looking confused.

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and said, “Fairy dust.”

“That’s not… going to be difficult,” Quishow replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo vigorously shook the glass bottle as soon as the corrupted fairy agreed.

“Kyaaakh!” Quishow screamed while rolling around, scattering fairy dust whenever it bumped into the walls of the bottle.

“That’s enough,” Kang Yoon-Soo said after quite a bit of fairy dust had accumulated in the glass bottle.
Then, he set the corrupted fairy free.

Quishow’s wings had grown back to a point where it could fly, but it could not use any of its powers yet.
The fairy looked around nervously after emerging from the glass bottle, then asked, “Is it over…?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Q-Quishow said Quishow was prepared to do whatever human-nim asked me to, even if you commanded me to kill myself or become your slave,” Quishow said.

“I don’t do those kinds of things,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“That’s unexpected,” Iris said, her eyes wide in surprise.

Quishow nervously stuttered, “Then… Are you really going to let me go? Can I go back down and live with the other fairies?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Quishow did not seem to be happy with the freedom granted to it by Kang Yoon-Soo.
The corrupted fairy looked conflicted for a moment before flying down a mineshaft.
After a moment, however, it suddenly shouted, “Human-nim is stupid!”

Quishow darted toward Kang Yoon-Soo and sat near his neck, then proceeded to kiss him on the cheek.

“Quishow will treat you well if you ever come back underground.
I won’t try to kill you or fight against you.
So human-nim has to treat Quishow well if you come back,” the corrupted fairy said while hugging Kang Yoon-Soo’s neck.

“Thank you,” Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly replied.

Quishow blushed for a moment before flying back into the mine shaft.

Shaneth asked coldly, “I wonder why the fairy did that? You only bothered it until the end.”

Henrick shrugged and remarked, “Who knows? Maybe this guy’s mean treatment grew on it.”

After the groups finally separated, Kang Yoon-Soo and his party took the middle shaft.

“So we’re finally leaving the underground.
It wasn’t easy, but I somehow feel bittersweet now that we’re going back to the surface,” Shaneth said.

“It was a fun new experience.
I am happy to have learned how it feels to meet new people and say goodbye to them too,” Iris said.

“I’m sick and tired of it.
Don’t you remember how much we suffered against the Dragon of Destruction?” Henrick grumbled.

Only after they had walked for quite a while did they see sunlight beginning to pour in through one of the mineshafts—it was their exit to the surface.

Kang Yoon-Soo took a sip from the whiskey in the Infinite Chalice before leaving the mineshaft for the surface.