Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 125

Mini-Lich clacked its jaws and said, “I have been researching the werewolves’ language these days.”

“Why would you research something as useless as that?” Acle said, poking fun at the small lich.

Mini-Lich shook its head and responded, “There is no such thing as useless knowledge in this world.”

“It sounds like nonsense, and I’m not interested in those kinds of things, but you looked bored so I’ll at least listen to what you have to say,” Acle said haughtily.

“Thank you, Acle,” Mini-Lich replied.

“Hmph!?Go on, tell me about it,” Acle said. Then, Mini-Lich pointed at White, who was sleeping under the shade of a tree on the other side.

“Rakuran... Zekaru…”?White grumbled in his sleep.

Mini-Lich translated, “That means ‘Don’t… I can’t anymore…’ in their language.”

“Hmm… Sounds boring, but go on,” Acle said.

White continued to talk in its sleep. “Rakur. Rakurni! Kiruzard…”

“That means ‘Don’t. I said stop! You bastards…’ in their language,” Mini-Lich translated once again.

“Noryazekarwee…!” White grumbled.

“He says ‘That’s my ass…!’ in their language,” Mini-Lich translated.

“…What kind of dream is he having?” Acle muttered, furrowing his brows. He said, “Hey, not something like that. I mean, don’t they have any cool words in the werewolf language? How about a cool way to greet someone or something?”

“Of course there is,” Mini-Lich said as it opened Nakron’s Codex. The empty pages at the back of the codex were where Mini-Lich wrote down all of its personal research notes. Mini-Lich went through its notes and said, “Based on analyzing the words White often uses... I found the most elegant and coolest word in their language.”

“What is it?” Acle asked.

Mini-Lich replied with all seriousness, “Urnokra.”

“And what does it mean?” Acle asked as he tilted his head.

Mini-Lich explained, “I do not have the exact translation yet, but I am certain that it is the best praise one can give in the werewolf language, according to my research.”

“Hmmm… Is that so?” Acle muttered. He walked toward White, who was still soundly sleeping under the shade of the tree. The Ice Spirit grabbed White’s fur and shook it awake, yelling, “Hey! White! Get up! Urnokra! Am I saying it right? Urnokra! Huh? Why do you look mad? Did I pronounce it wrong? Urnokra! Urnokraha! Urnokraaat!”

“Grrrr…”?White growled, and then…

Pukeok!

“Euk!”?Acle was flung backward a few meters after White swiped at him.

Mini-Lich scratched its skull in confusion at the sight and muttered to itself, “It seems there was an error in my research.”

Shaneth looked at the three summons from a distance and asked, “Aren’t those three fighting?”

“That’s how they usually grow up,” Kang Yoon-Soo said nonchalantly.

The party was camping on the riverbank, and the beautiful scenery and clear waters had made them want to summon all of their companions to enjoy the view together.

‘Cayman River…’

It was the largest river on the continent, and the wide body of water was deep enough for different kinds of large fish species to live in it. The large river started from the southern tip of the continent and went all the way to the northern tip.

‘We’ll be able to see a lot of things?on?this river.’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The Cayman River was famous for a lot of things, such as the sunken ships hidden beneath the surface, water ghosts that preyed on the living, and rare fish species that would grant a boost to one's stats if eaten. However, the biggest reason why people frequently visited it was…

‘Fishing.’

Cayman River was a must-visit place for anyone who claimed to be a fishing aficionado, and a fisherman would only be able to call themselves a veteran if they managed to catch at least ten large fish in it.

The reason why Kang Yoon-Soo had come to this place was to meet a certain fisherman. ‘The?fisherman?who?can’t fish to save his life.’

It was a paradoxical title, but Kang Yoon-Soo, who had met numerous fishermen over the course of his multiple lives, believed that man was still the best fisherman on the continent. He absolutely needed to meet the man to obtain an item he would definitely need to defeat the Demon Lord.

“It’s been a while since the two of us got to spend time together alone,” Shaneth said while sitting beside Kang Yoon-Soo. They had separated from the party for a moment to scout out the place and scavenge some firewood. Shaneth moved closer to him and said, “I think I’ve learned and experienced more things while traveling with you than when I worked as a soldier.”

The sun shone down on them through the trees towering above, and the fresh breeze from the river cooled their skin.

Shaneth hugged her legs while leaning against a tree trunk as she said, “I still think about it from time to time. What would my life be like if I hadn’t met you? If I were still living in Kerlin?”

She touched the remaining burn mark on her cheek. That was the burn mark that had caused her a lot of pain in the past. In truth, however, it was the way people looked at her that had hurt her more than the pain of the burn itself.

“Thank you,” Shaneth said.

“For what?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

Shaneth smiled brightly and replied, “For letting me travel with you.”

The sun shone down on her, and the sight of Shaneth smiling while bathed in sunlight made her seem more beautiful than anyone else in the world.

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at her and muttered, “It’s a shame…”

“Eh?” Shaneth exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s not a safe day today,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“…”

How did this guy know about that? A series of thoughts and questions spun in Shaneth’s head like a whirlwind, but she decided to ignore that for now. She touched Kang Yoon-Soo’s lips and asked him, “I can still kiss… Do you want to?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, as he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her lips.

The leaves danced as a warm, gentle afternoon breeze gently blew around the two. The three summons, on the other hand, were hiding behind a tree while peeping on them.

White growled in amazement, “Karunok. Korund. Ramirok.”

Acle grumbled, “It must be good to have someone…”

Mini-Lich diligently jotted down research notes while muttering, “I have to research that as well later on.”

***

“I killed someone…” Iris moaned, covering her face with both hands.

Sally started crying and wailed, “I was an accomplice too!”

Henrick snickered and said, “You have no problems beating up monsters. What’s the big deal?”

“Henrick, how can you say something like that?” Iris asked as tears started welling up in her eyes.

Henrick clicked his tongue and said, “Hey… Think about it. Did this man die because you fished him out? You just fished out someone who was already dead.”

He observed the man the two had fished out. The man was young and slender, although he was tall and quite well-built. Henrick rubbed his chin for a moment before muttering, “He looks like someone who lives near the river, based on his attire… I’m pretty sure he isn’t an adventurer. Did he fall overboard while on a boat or something…?”

Henrick placed his finger on the young man’s neck, then immediately furrowed his brows and exclaimed, “What the…? He still has a pulse. That, and he only has an external wound on his head, now that I look at it closely.”

“Are you saying he is still alive?” Iris suddenly asked as she stopped crying.

“Wow!” Sally exclaimed.

The two hugged each other in joy upon hearing the news that their ‘catch’ was still alive.

Henrick squinted as he looked closer, saying, “On closer inspection, he seems to have drunk too much water after falling in. Hey, do you guys know how to perform CPR?”

Sally and Iris tilted their heads in confusion as they replied.

“What's ‘CPR’?”

“I have no idea.”

Henrick sighed and asked Rick instead. “How about you?”

“Can I break his ribs while I’m at it?” Rick asked.

“…I don’t think you should,” Henrick muttered.

Kang Yoon-Soo, Shaneth, and the three summons returned just in time after foraging firewood and medicinal herbs.

Shaneth was surprised when she saw the unconscious man, asking, “What happened here?”

“Our two lovely ladies caught a huge haul. Unfortunately, we can’t call it an edible catch,” Henrick said, then explained the situation.

Shaneth nodded after listening to the full story and said, “I know how to perform CPR. I learned it when I was working as a soldier for Lady Hermia.”

It was at the moment when she rolled up her sleeves and touched the man’s chin that Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly took over and snatched the man away.

“Eh?” Shaneth muttered in surprise.

“I’ll do it,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, then angled the young man’s chin and performed CPR.

Iris covered her mouth with her hands and exclaimed, “Omo! Kang Yoon-Soo must love that young man!”

Sally had tears welling up in her eyes as she pulled on Shaneth’s sleeve and cried, “Papa likes men? What about mama…?”

Henrick glared at the two ladies and remarked, “You guys are having a blast today, aren’t you?”

“Kuheok! Cough! Cough!”?The young man coughed and spat out water, then opened his eyes. He barely managed to get up before looking around and asking with a groan, “Euh…?Where am I…?”

Iris proudly replied, “You got caught by us!”

The young man was perplexed, muttering, “Eh…?”

“Hey! You punk! Why would you say that to someone who just woke up?” Henrick scolded Iris before smacking her in the head.

Bam!

“Euh…?That hurts…” Iris teared up as she rubbed her head.

The young man looked around nervously at the summons, looking scared as he asked, “W-What’s going on? A werewolf, skeleton, and strange spirits?”

“There’s no need to be scared… Hmm. Now that I think about it… It would be strange if someone didn’t get scared after seeing our party’s composition,” Shaneth said. She explained, “You were drowning, and we fished you out.”

“I see,” the young man said as he let out a sigh. He continued, “My name is Yan. I fell into the river last night while I was fishing with my father. Excuse me, but have you seen my father? He has a white beard, and he was wearing a straw hat.”

“Oh, we haven’t seen him. I’m sorry,” Shaneth replied.

“Oh, I see…” Yan muttered, seeming dejected. Then, he suddenly grabbed his head with both hands and pulled his hair, screaming, “Aaaaaaaaah!”

The party members were surprised by the gentle-looking young man’s scream. He started to pull his hair and scratch his head as if he had gone mad, muttering, “Ha… Damn it. Fuck. Father… Why did you have to be so stubborn instead of just letting go of that fishing rod… You were so crazy about fishing that you decided to end your life by fishing? This is driving me crazy… Damn it…!” It seemed as if he would end up hurting himself if nobody stopped him.

Mini-Lich, on the other hand, opened its research notes and started to write something down diligently. Acle looked at the skeleton curiously and asked, “What are you writing?”

“Research notes on a madman. They are usually not too easy to come across,” Mini-Lich replied.

“Stupid. There’s one right beside us all the time,” Acle said, glancing at one man in their group.

Kang Yoon-Soo curtly remarked, “What are you looking at?”

Mini-Lich exclaimed in admiration, “Acle is a genius!”

“Heh,?isn’t that obvious?” Acle replied smugly.

Yan suddenly stood up and said, “Thank you for saving me. I have to go and look for my stupid father who fell in the river. I’m just hoping that he’s still alive somewhere…”

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “We’ll help you find your father.”

“Really? Will you really help me out?” Yan asked as his face brightened. He said, “Thank you… Thank you so much… But why are you helping me?”

“I have business with your father,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Yan immediately stood up straight and bowed toward Kang Yoon-Soo before saying, “Thank you very much. I’ll definitely repay you. My father is an amazing fisherman.”

Henrick raised a brow and asked, “An amazing fisherman?”

“Yes, there are no fishermen who don’t know my father’s name,” Yan said.

“Oh, that’s amazing. Then, what kind of fish does he usually catch?” Henrick asked.

“No, my father has never caught a fish before,” Yan replied.

Henrick furrowed his brows as he asked, “What? What kind of a fisherman can’t catch a fish?”

“Instead, he fishes up relics, artifacts, land deeds, treasure chests, mermaids, and other rare things like that,” Yan replied.

“…”

“My father is someone who would fish on the River Styx even after he died,” Yan continued.

Henrick nudged Shaneth and asked, “Should I stop crafting and fish instead? It looks much more lucrative than what I’m doing.”

“Dream on,” Shaneth replied.

Yan continued, “First, I think I have to go to my mother and ask for a boat. Then, I’ll go to the area where my father fell in.”

Henrick rubbed his chin and said, “You’re quite an organized young man.”

Yan let out a sigh and said, “Anyone would be like me after spending two days with my father…”

“You seem to have had it rough… Why are you going to your mother to ask for a boat, though?” Henrick asked.

“Actually, my mother is a merchant. She’ll probably give me a good boat… Although I’m scared to think of how I’ll convince her…” Yan said as he started to walk.

Kang Yoon-Soo sent the summons back to the summon dimension before he and the party followed Yan. He thought, ‘It’s not going to be easy this time.’

Nell’s disappearance was linked to a big event. He was certain that this would be a tough time for them. In fact, their previous luck while gambling with their lives could run out, and they could actually die this time around. However, there was no other way besides this path.

‘I just?have to do my best,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought, steeling his resolve once again.

His final life was hanging by a thin thread, but he had to keep moving forward with his life on the line.

1. The word ‘caught’ here is a play on words in Korean that literally means ‘scammed’

2. In Greek mythology, the River Styx is the river where dead people take a boat ride to cross over into the underworld.