Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 164

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The party jumped aside to avoid the Lightning Golem’s attack. Dust and rock flew across the cave, and the golem’s strike left behind a molten patch on the ground.

“We’ll be fried if that lightning as much as grazes us,” Henrick grumbled while spreading his mana threads out.

Kang Yoon-Soo charged at the Lightning Golem with his halberd and magic sword, but the golem unleashed a flurry of punches against him and Rick.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Lightning Golem was insanely strong, but it was not that agile due to its size. Rick unleashed a combo of punches against its body with her tiny fists.

Peok! Peok! Pukeok!

Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo hopped onto the Lightning Golem’s fist and ran all the way up to its chest. Then, he jumped onto the golem’s chest and hacked away with his halberd and magic sword.

Pukeok! Sukeok! Sukeok!

“Krruuuooo!”?The Lightning Golem roared in agony and flailed its arms, trying to swat Kang Yoon-Soo away.

Kang Yoon-Soo was not able to cut through the Lightning Golem’s chest, and his attacks only managed to scratch it. He thought, ‘As expected… It’s going to be difficult to fight against the Lightning Golem with my current level.’

However, the party continued to unleash a barrage of attacks against the golem.

“Pyrokinesis!”

“Wrath of the Flames!”

Shaneth and Sally unleashed a combined flame attack against the golem’s left leg, making it glow bright red as if it had been dipped into a melting furnace.

Kang Yoon-Soo took out the Frozen Crown from his backpack and threw it toward Acle. Acle jumped up and caught the Frozen Crown, putting it on and laughing like a maniac. “Hehehe…! Hahaha! I’m invincible as long as I have this! Ice Storm!”

This time, the golem’s right leg froze. A message popped up before Kang Yoon-Soo’s eyes that made him furrow his brow for a moment.

[Acle’s ability to control his powers has improved due to freezing the Lightning Golem.]

[A new skill has been created—Sub-Zero Self-Destruction.]

Acle’s expression brightened at the message and he shouted, “Alright! A new skill!”

“Don’t use that skill,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Huh? Why? What are you talking about?” Acle asked, taken aback by Kang Yoon-Soo’s stern warning.

The Lightning Golem was enraged by the annoying human clinging to its chest, and it aimed for Kang Yoon-Soo, shouting, “Die, you bastards!” It started to gather its energy into the shining core on its chest, then unleashed a bolt of lightning from it.

Kang Yoon-Soo immediately jumped down with the lightning trailing in his wake. At the moment when the bolt of lightning was about to hit him, however…

Whoosh!

Something suddenly snatched Kang Yoon-Soo out of the air—it was Iris, flying with a pair of black wings on her back. It was one of the abilities she had obtained after eating the heart of the Vampire Lord, Argoric.

Iris smiled while her arm was wrapped around Kang Yoon-Soo’s waist, saying, “Flying feels really good.”

“Keep holding on to me,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, sheathing his Vampire Lord’s Magic Sword and extending his right hand before muttering, “Create Artificial Lifeform.”

It was the skill he had obtained from the Great Alchemist; he could create high-tier lifeforms due to the Alchemical Spirit Ring he was wearing.

Crack… Crack… Crack…

The small rocks around the Lightning Golem started to crack, and the dirt beneath the ground welled up and began to combine with them. The rocks followed the movement of Kang Yoon-Soo‘s hands, splitting apart and mixing with the dirt, then manifested into numerous dirt-gray golems.

The new lifeforms created by Kang Yoon-Soo were smaller than the Lightning Golem, but they were still larger than the average golem.

[You have created 14 Land Golems.]

[The Land Golems are the rulers of the ground.]

[They are ill-tempered and very territorial.]

[The skill level of Create Artificial Lifeform has increased.]

[You are now able to create higher-tier lifeforms.]

Alchemists had the ability to use their surroundings to create allies to fight their battles for them.

The newly created Land Golems were quite ill-tempered.

“How dare you be bigger than me, White Golem?”

“You are an arrogant one, White Golem.”

“I will kill that White Golem and make this cave mine!”

“Kill! Kill!”

The Land Golems openly showed their hostility toward the Lightning Golem, and they simultaneously charged at the much larger golem without an ounce of hesitation. They stomped the ground hard enough to cause it to tremble, then began punching the Lightning Golem as hard as they could.

“You bastards! I do not want to fight against fellow golems!” the Lightning Golem cried as it destroyed the Land Golems one by one.

Meanwhile, Iris and Kang Yoon-Soo landed on the ground. Kang Yoon-Soo looked at the others and said, “Fighting against it normally will take too long. We need a new plan.”

“That new plan is something only you would know anyway, right? Anyway, what do you suggest?” Henrick asked.

“Let’s destroy the cave,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“You’re making it sound way too easy…” Shaneth said with a sigh.

Shaneth and Sally shot large flames toward the ceiling of the cave at Kang Yoon-Soo’s command, heating the weakest points of the rock above. Then, Acle shot a freezing cold blast at the ceiling, freezing the same spot.

Iris tilted her head in confusion and asked, “Will the cave collapse because of that…?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The party repeated the process numerous times.

Kwachik… Creak…?

The stalactites hanging on the ceiling fell one by one, and cracks began to appear across the top of the cave.

Meanwhile, the Lightning Golem had just destroyed all of the Land Golems, and was now walking slowly toward the party. It yelled, “You bastards… Die…!”

Kang Yoon-Soo gave a short and simple command. “Run.”

Drrr… Booooom!

The ceiling started to collapse, raining rubble down onto the Lightning Golem’s large body.

“Kruooo!”?the Lightning Golem cried.

The cave’s collapse began from one end, but soon triggered a chain reaction that made total collapse imminent. The party ran as quickly as they could to avoid getting swept away by the disaster.

Henrick huffed and puffed while running, cursing, “Damn it! You always find a way to make things turn for the worse at the last minute!”

“Just keep running if you have time to complain!” Shaneth snapped back while running ahead of Henrick.

Rick timidly poked Henrick’s leg while they were running, asking, “Henrick… Do you want to die with me here?”

“I really want to shove you back into the summoning box, but I don’t have time for that!” Henrick retorted, then picked her up and started to run while carrying her.

A smile formed on Rick’s face.

[Rick is moved by your actions during a dangerous situation.]

[The little girl might show her cute side if you give her a hug after singing her a lullaby.]

Sanity: +15

Current Sanity: 25

*Rick will go berserk if her sanity drops to zero.

Henrick was left in disbelief by the message. He grumbled and shouted, “I have to survive to see you act cute or whatever!”

The spirits had the ability to fly for a short while, but it consumed a lot of their stamina. Sally fell to the ground and cried out, “Acle! I’m too tired to fly!”

“You stupid slowpoke! Take my hand, and don’t you dare fall behind, you got that? Hey! What are you doing? Hurry up and grab my hand! Do you have a death wish?” Acle shouted in response.

Iris flew while holding onto Kang Yoon-Soo, and Kang Yoon-Soo swung his halberd to prevent any stalactites from landing on the party members.

“Go upstairs,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

The metal door leading to the first floor had already started to crumble due to the cave’s collapse. Right at the moment when they were about to reach the door, a large boulder suddenly fell and blocked their path.

“No!” Shaneth screamed and swung her scythe, but she failed to destroy the boulder.

The cave ceiling behind them was already on the verge of total collapse, and they did not have much time left.

“Move,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, getting off Iris. He gripped his magic sword tightly until his arm started to tremble, and the sword started to glow bright red.

[The Vampire Lord’s Magic Sword is sucking its owner’s blood.]

[The sword skills of the Vampire Lord have been activated!]

[Your blood offering has allowed you to unleash the mad sword skills of the Vampire Lord.]

Kang Yoon-Soo’s sword instantly cut the large boulder to pieces, and the party quickly ran up to the surface and exited the building. The abandoned building collapsed just as Henrick, who was the slowest one among them because he had been carrying Rick, barely managed to exit the building.

Baaaaam!

Henrick collapsed on the ground and said, “I’m gonna die!”

Iris frowned and grumbled, “My wings feel stiff from flying so much…”

“You should be thankful that your shirt’s still intact despite sprouting those wings,” Henrick said.

“I controlled my strength while sprouting my wings this time, so it only ripped the back of my shirt,” Iris replied, smiling proudly with her hands on her waist.

Henrick was flabbergasted by her response and replied, “Shouldn’t you only be happy if your shirt isn’t ripped at all?”

Sally hugged Acle tightly while crying, “Waaaah! Acle! We’re alive!”

“Aaaaaahk! Get lost! It’s hot! Are you crazy?! Why would a fire spirit cling to an ice spirit?!” Acle protested.

Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo quietly gripped his halberd as a large object slowly started to rise up from the rubble—it was the Lightning Golem, damaged nearly beyond recognition.

“You… ba… st… ard… s… I… wi… ll… kill… yo… u…!”

The Lightning Golem’s body was cracked all over. Its chest had sustained particularly severe damage, exposing its round, brightly shining core. That was the source of the golem’s brilliance, as well as its heart.

Kang Yoon-Soo swung his halberd as hard as he could and split the Lightning Golem’s chest apart.

Kwachik!

[You have killed the Lightning Golem of Brilliance.]

[Your level has risen!]

[The number of times you have delivered the killing blow to enemies far above your level is now on par with the Ancient Heroes.]

[A new legendary quest has been created.]

Kwakang!

The Lightning Golem collapsed to the ground, and Kang Yoon-Soo extracted its brightly shining core.

[Lightning Golem’s Core]

The heart and core of the Lightning Golem. It will always emit bright light. Its main use is unknown, but it holds a great amount of power.

The Lightning Golem’s core was a material Kang Yoon-Soo needed to create a new spirit.

“Look! The building collapsed!”

“What’s going on?”

People started to flock toward the source of the commotion.

“Let’s get away from here,” Kang Yoon-Soo said to the others.

***

In the basement of another abandoned building that nobody had visited for a long time…

‘I won’t attract any attention even if I create a spirit here,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

“Papa! When are you making me a dongsaeng?” Sally asked.

“Now,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Wow!” Sally exclaimed in delight.

Sally rejoiced, while Acle folded his arms over his chest with a disgruntled expression.

Kang Yoon-Soo took out the Lightning Golem’s core and the Spirit Sword fragment from his backpack. He was going to create two spirits simultaneously this time.

‘The Spirit of Light, and the Spirit of Swords…’?he thought.

However, the creation method would be different this time.

[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.

It would be possible to mend the Spirit Sword if he used the Lightning Golem’s core. It would not be as strong as it once was, but that would still be better than having to deal with the hundred thousand vengeful spirits previously residing within the sword.

Kang Yoon-Soo placed the Lightning Golem’s core into the broken part of the Spirit Sword, and the bright light from the golem's core seeped into the broken sword.

[The Broken Spirit Sword and the Lightning Golem’s Core have fused together!]

The details of the Broken Spirit Sword changed.

[Sword of Anguish]

Rating: Unique

Attack Power: 217

A Spirit Sword containing the sadness and grief of countless civilians who died due to a dragon’s attack. It is not as powerful as it once was, as it was broken and repaired. The shining fragment in the middle of the sword is a Lightning Golem’s Core.

*The sword’s ego will only awaken if you use the sword for half a year.

*The sword’s abilities will awaken when the ego awakens.

*You will feel depressed whenever you grab the sword.

*The sword’s attack power will increase slightly whenever you kill a monster with it.

A unique-rated Spirit Sword had been created, but it would take him half a year to awaken the ego sleeping inside it. That meant it would remain weak despite being a unique-rated item, at least until the ego residing in it awakened.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo did not have half a year to wait. He extended his hand and muttered, “Create Spirit.”

[The sword contains an ingredient for the Spirit of Light, Bright—the Lightning Golem’s Core.]

[The sword contains an ingredient for the Spirit of Swords, Sharpness—the Spirit Sword.]

[You may create both spirits at once, but severe side-effects might result.]

[Do you wish to create both spirits?]

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

A bright light shot out from the Sword of Anguish. The light slowly coalesced into the form of two fetuses, gradually growing warmer.

Iris exclaimed at the sight before her, “The sword is letting out a very beautiful light!”

[The powers of the Lightning Golem’s Core and Spirit Sword have combined.]

[The spirits’ appearances are unstable.]

[You have been deprived of the option to choose their gender.]

[The spirits' genders have been randomly decided.]

[The Spirit of Light will be female.]

[The Spirit of Swords will be male.]

Thus, the spirits were born in an explosion of light. Sally and Acle gulped, watching the birth of spirits just like them in awe.

The light spirit was a beautiful girl with brightly shining, silvery-golden hair that reached down to her waist. She was smiling so brightly that simply looking at her could make one feel better.

On the other hand, the sword spirit was small and skinny. He was a boy with dark grayish hair that covered his left eye. He looked depressed, emanating an aura of misery. His appearance perfectly matched the dull, chipped edges of the sword he had been created from.

They both appeared to be fifteen years old. Additionally, they had appeared holding each other’s hands the moment they were born. Both spirits began speaking before anyone else.

The sword spirit sat down and sniffled, saying, “I never imagined I would be born…”

On the other hand, the light spirit smiled brightly and exclaimed, “Hurray! I’ve finally been born!”

Their reactions were the complete opposite of each other.

The sword spirit looked at the light spirit’s hand that he had been holding, saying in a miserable tone, “It’s strange… I can’t let go of your hand… It’s as if we were stuck together before we were born… I want to let go of your hand…”

“Whyyyy? I’ll never let you go! Don’t worry! We’ll get along just fine!” the light spirit exclaimed cheerfully, smiling brightly and patteing the sword spirit’s head.

Henrick, who had been quietly observing the whole situation, smirked and remarked, “How the hell did these two end up together?”