Record of a Thousand Lives

A Spirit Sword was a powerful sword that had its own ego.
Its sharpness would be second to none, and it would also have astounding abilities.
The sword’s durability might be a bit questionable, but having countless souls residing in it would make it very powerful.
However, the difficulty of handling such a sword was always proportional to its power, and the user had to be constantly alert about the fact that the sword might devour them anytime.

‘It’s much better to just break it and use it as a catalyst to create a spirit,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he observed the broken sword.

[Broken Spirit Sword]

A Spirit Sword that has lost its properties after being broken in two, but the characteristics of a powerful spirit still remain.
It emits a very sinister and depressing aura.

+You may mend the sword fragments if you use the core of a powerful golem, but it will still not be as powerful as it used to be.

Kang Yoon-Soo placed the sword fragments in his backpack.

Minerva did not seem to be surprised at all by his actions.
She had already expected for him to survive this ordeal if he was indeed a regressor.
She remarked calmly, “So you managed to survive.”

“I’ve experienced it numerous times already,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Shall I make you a cup of coffee?” Minerva asked.

“I prefer booze,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“…”

The rest of the party members were perplexed when the two suddenly began chatting leisurely right after a near-death experience.

Minerva waved her hand, and space twisted for a moment before a blue book popped out of it.
She handed the book over to Kang Yoon-Soo and asked, “I’m sure you know what this is for if you inherited Nakron’s powers, right?”

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded before opening the book, and a blue light slowly emerged from it.

[Do you wish to change into the hidden class, Great Alchemist?]

“I refuse,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
He had been the Great Alchemist in one of his previous lives, but he was unable to kill the Demon Lord.

[You have refused the class change.]

[Do you wish to inherit the Great Alchemist's skills without changing your class?]

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
The blue book slowly dissipated andhe absorbed it.

[You have inherited the skills of the Great Alchemist.]

[A new stat, ‘Experiment’, has been created.]

[Create Artificial Lifeform]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Mana Consumption: 200

Consume mana and materials to create an artificial lifeform.
The types of lifeforms available, as well as their power, will increase depending on the level of this skill.

Current lifeforms you may create: Small Golem, Chimera.

[Create New Species]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Mana Consumption: 100%

Create a new species that does not exist on the continent.
The traits of the new species will depend on the materials used and the way they were processed.
The new species may die as soon as it is created, or even rapidly multiply and affect the ecosystem of the continent.

+ Single-use skill

The inheritance of the Great Alchemist consisted of skills that were much better than those of an average Alchemist, and the ‘Create New Species’ skill was a skill that no other Alchemist had.

‘I should make the new species later,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

Minerva took off the shining, blue-gray ring on her finger and handed it to Kang Yoon-Soo, saying, “Take this with you.”

[Alchemical Spirit Ring]

Rating: Unique

Increased Maximum Mana: 1,255

Mana Regeneration: +70

A unique, top-quality ring crafted by the Great Alchemist, Minerva.
It holds her endless knowledge of alchemy, and will thus increase your Alchemy level to 8.

It was similar to the Ring of Life Suppression Kang Yoon-Soo had received from Nakron.
He promptly put it on.

[You have equipped the Alchemical Spirit Ring.]

[A new skill has been created—Alchemy.]

[Alchemy]

Skill Level: 8 (00.00%)

A branch of chemistry that was created to turn base metals into gold and produce the elixir of eternal life.

+The success rate of anything related to alchemy will increase.

+The skill effects of Create Artificial Lifeform and Create New Species will be improved.

+You may create high-tier artificial lifeforms.

Alchemy Level 8 was something that could only be attained by immersing oneself in experiments for over half a year to achieve, but the ring Kang Yoon-Soo had received from Minerva instantly boosted his skill level.

He nodded and thought, ‘I’ve gotten everything I can here.’

Minerva looked at him and said, “I’ve given you everything I could possibly give.
You now have to grant my request.”

“I’ll do it if it’s within my power,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“If… Sirian… that man who betrayed me and everyone precious to me is still alive…” Minerva began, clenching her fist.
She composed herself before she continued, “I want you to kill him.
That’s my request.”

“I’ll get you your revenge,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Then, Minerva said something strange.
“Additionally, I found something strange when I went into your consciousness.”

“What was it?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked in response.

“Someone who was exactly like you,” Minerva replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo’s face crumpled the moment he heard those words, as a sharp migraine struck his head.

Shaneth rushed over and asked, “Are you alright?”

Kang Yoon-Soo barely managed to stay conscious, asking Minerva, “What… do you mean by that…?”

“I’m not sure myself, but there was this strange sensation when I entered your consciousness.
It’s not because you lived a long life… Rather… It was like the same person, but in a different body? How should I put this… It felt as though a great evil invaded your mind in the past, but I realized later that the evil was a twin of yours,” Minerva replied.

“I don’t have a long-lost sibling or anything remotely close to that,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“But I’m certain that I felt it.
There’s a being exactly like you somewhere in this world, but I can’t really put my finger on what that being is,” Minerva explained.

This was the first time Minerva had mentioned such a thing in the hundreds of times Kang Yoon-Soo had met her.
Kang Yoon-Soo bit his lip, now certain that things were changing in his final life.

“Besides that, there’s something else I wish to ask,” Minerva added, staring at Kang Yoon-Soo with eyes filled with longing and sadness.
She asked, “Nakron… Where is he now?”

“He moved on to the underworld,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Did he… Did he resent me for what I did…?” Minerva asked carefully.

“He didn’t say anything about you.
Nakron was infuriated by Sirian’s betrayal, after all.
However…” Kang Yoon-Soo trailed off.
He stared at her for a moment before he continued, “He still loved you even after he died.”

“I see…” Minerva muttered, and a mix of emotions filled her eyes.

Kang Yoon-Soo saw a stream of tears flow down the Great Alchemist’s cheeks as she looked away, but he felt that there was no need to mention anything about it.
Instead, he said his goodbyes and left while saying, “Thank you.
I’ll definitely fulfill your request.”

The party left the hidden room and the wall closed, leaving Minerva all alone.
She wiped her tears away and said, “I was fine just being alone, reading books, and drinking coffee.
However… there is one thing I couldn’t stand…”

She looked into empty space and muttered, “Nahilen, Sephia, and… Nakron…”

She went up the stairs and drank the remaining coffee in her cup.
Right at the very moment when she drank the last drop, she was suddenly surrounded by a bright light and instantly disappeared.

The secret room in the library disappeared, and the wall that had hidden it would never open up again.

***

The chief librarian suddenly woke up.
The sunlight shone down on him through a window in the basement room, and he was surprised by the fact that he had been knocked out for half a day.
He sighed and got up.

It was then that he touched something with his foot.

“Ah! This is…!” the chief librarian exclaimed as he picked up the old, worn-out book.

[The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17]

It was the book that Sage Akenil was looking for.
It seemed that the arrogant young man had left it behind.

The chief librarian was overcome with joy.
He immediately stood up and thought, ‘With this, we won’t have to give up the books related to the King of All Things, Sirian!’

He thought of the promise he had made to Sage Akenil.
The destruction of the books would be canceled if he managed to find the missing book within a month.

The old chief librarian immediately ran up the nearest flight of stairs, then knocked on a door.

Knock knock!

“Who is it?” a voice called out.

“It is I, Sage-nim.
The chief librarian,” the chief librarian replied.

“Come in.”

Sage Akenil, who was in his office reading an old, worn-out book, lowered his glasses and looked at the chief librarian before asking, “What is it?”

“Sage-nim, I hope you will rejoice.
I have found the book missing from the library!” the chief librarian exclaimed, presenting the old book.

“Are you telling me you already found that book? How surprising…” Akenil said with a smile.
He inspected the book before continuing, “It really is ‘The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17’ that I’ve been looking for.
The covers are a bit tattered, but none of the letters are faded and none of the pages are missing.
Good job; I seem to have underestimated you.”

The chief librarian gulped nervously and asked, “T-Then… Your order to destroy the books related to the King of All Things, Sirian, will be…”

“No, I can’t do that,” Akenil replied, shaking his head.

The chief librarian, who loved books more than anyone else, suddenly turned ghastly pale.
He cried out, “Huh? How could you…! Have I not found the missing book before the deadline?!”

“I acknowledge your efforts, but it’s a shame that I found that one of the other books I was looking for was lost as well,” Akenil said.

The chief librarian was severely taken aback, as the library prided itself in not losing any of its books.
That was because it was almost impossible for anyone to simply show up and steal a book was guarded by the librarians, who were much stronger than any mercenary.

‘The Epics of the Ancient Heroes, Volume 17’ had gone missing because it was a very old book loaned out to a noble, but that was a very special case that did not happen in the library often.
And yet, another book had gone missing?

The chief librarian had a hard time imagining the possibility of such a thing occurring.
Then, he carefully asked, “W-What book has gone missing…?”

Akenil pointed at a nearby table, where a list of the library’s books lay.
The chief librarian walked over to the table and nervously checked the list, and he found that there was one book crossed out in red.

[The Cherry Scent of Our Housemaid]

“…!”

The chief librarian’s eyes trembled.

***

“It was a very nice place,” Iris said while looking at the library from outside.

Mini-Lich nodded in agreement and said, “I’m happy because I got to read a lot of books.
I almost felt like staying here for the rest of my life.”

The party had read as many books as they wanted after they left Minerva’s laboratory.
Mini-Lich had been summoned by Kang Yoon-Soo, and had ecstatically gone through a ton of books related to cadaver anatomy.

Iris smiled brightly and said, “Omo, I like Mini-Lich.”

“I like you too, since you’re nice… unlike my teacher,” Mini-Lich said, stealing a glance at Kang Yoon-Soo.

“Please stay nice and keep loving books,” Iris said as she smiled brightly and hugged Mini-Lich.
The tiny skeleton did not seem to mind the hug at all.

Henrick smirked and remarked, “I know there aren’t a lot of people around us, but isn’t it time to go back to the summon dimension? A passerby could faint from shock if they saw a beautiful lady hugging an undead being, you know?”

Mini-Lich quickly retorted, “I’m nice.”

“A walking skeleton? Nice? Come on,” Henrick grumbled.

Mini-Lich tilted its head in confusion and asked, “Is that so…?”

“Don’t you think so?” Henrick replied.

“Henrick is a genius,” Mini-Lich said admiringly, then went back to the summon dimension.

On the other hand, Shaneth said while enjoying the gentle evening breeze, “It was a short but good rest.
We also got to read a lot of… Huh?”

Her gaze went directly to Kang Yoon-Soo, who was reading a book while standing.
Shaneth approached him and asked, “What book are you reading?”

Then, she peeked to see the title on the cover of the book.

[The Cherry Scent of Our Housemaid]

Shaneth’s face suddenly flushed red as she shouted, “T-This book! When did you steal it?”

“A while ago, on the way out,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Shaneth was flabbergasted to learn that Kang Yoon-Soo had been able to penetrate the tight security of the library and steal a book.
She asked in a trembling voice, “W-Why did you steal that book…?”

Kang Yoon-Soo closed the red book and looked at her before replying, “It’s a nice book.”

Henrick and Iris nodded in agreement at the same time.

They walked away from the library, and only Shaneth was left standing in place.
She muttered while blushing furiously, “Oh my god…”

She soon rushed to catch up with the rest of the party members, while the northern wind carried the scent of books toward them.