Record of a Thousand Lives c8

Man, I love Kang Yoonsoo.

Author: Flatter

The Author of this story, Flatter, has full rights over this story, and I am translating this work with his permission.

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Chapter 8. Shard of Strength (1)

A droplet of water that traversed down a voluptuous chest splashed against the bathroom floor.
There wasn’t even time to dry her wet hair.
She had been relaxing in the hot tub just a moment ago, but Hermia had now put on her gown, and hurriedly walked towards the guest room.

There was a young man inside.
His short black hair made quite an impression on her.
The man seemed quite handsome, but his face seemed emotionless, like a doll.
His face was emotionless to the point where it made one feel nervous.
There was a terminal strapped to his right wrist.

Hermia frowned slightly.

“You were a traveler?”
“Why are you just wearing a gown?”

The guard who was standing nearby asked in a worried tone.
Since the mansion didn’t have any servants, the guard had to guide the man to the room.
Hermia put her hand on top of her large b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and made an indifferent face.

“It’s quite annoying to hear that, especially when you’re a person who doesn’t even take off your helmet indoors.”
“You know that’s because of my burn marks.”
“I’m telling you, you need to learn to expose yourself the uglier you see yourself to be.”

Hermia sat down on the chair that was at the other side of the man’s.
When she put her leg on top of the other, it was possible to catch a glimpse of her flesh hidden behind the gown.
The beautiful thighs that were revealed slightly would’ve made any man l.u.s.tful, but the man didn’t even glance at them.
Hermia liked that very much.

“My name is Hermia Lefei. I am the lord of Kellin. Please forgive the guard here for being rude. I took the child in at a young age, and this person prefers to hide their face because of some burn marks. What is your name?”
“I’m Kang Yoonsoo. As you said, I am a traveler.”
“As elves have very good ears, I was able to overhear what you were talking about outside. You said you can use the Pearl of the Covenant?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes.”

Kang Yoonsoo replied shortly.
Hermia narrowed her eyes, and looked carefully at the man in front of her.
She then opened her mouth.
She raised her voice, as if she was singing, and spoke.

“The one who endlessly walks in the desolate desert.”
“Will manage to be lost within the eternal illusion at the end of the burning fire.”
“Oh my.”

Hermia covered her open mouth with a single hand.
She looked at Kang Yoonsoo dumbly.
She then began muttering with a tone filled with disbelief.

“Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Oh, oh. My, my.”

The guard bowed down a bit, and looked at Hermia.
The guard definitely had a worried face under the helmet.

“Do you want me to get some tea?”
“Y, yes. Put in a lot of tea leaves. In his cup. Be careful of the fire.”

The guard exited the guest room.
Hermia put her hands on her forehead, then moaned as if she was in anguish.
She then proceeded to slowly take off her gown.
Her white skin and voluptuous chest mixed with the sunlight and glowed lightly.

“Can you check if my heart is still fine?”

Kang Yoonsoo put his hand on the lord’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

“It’s still beating.”
“Really? That’s good. I was so surprised a while ago, I thought my heart had stopped.”

Hermia put her robes back on.
Normally, such an event would’ve made a normal man and woman blush, but this was not the case for the two people here.
Hermia stroked her red cheeks, as if she was trying to calm her excitement.

“I was really…. Really surprised. To think that I’d hear the words of the scripture that the Lefei Clan was guarding for four hundred years not from an elf nor human, but a traveler from a different world.”

The scriptures from the Ignus Dragon.
There was a prophecy in the elven race that the person who would take the shard of strength from the Pearl of The Covenant would come. It was stated that that person would come whilst uttering the words of the scriptures.

“How did you find out about the Pearl of The Covenant? And the scriptures of the Ignus Dragon?”

Kang Yoonsoo silently shook his head.
His story wasn’t something that was very believable.
Since he uttered the words of the scripture, if he explained things properly, Hermia would believe him. However, there was no need for him to do this.

“Alright. I won’t try and pry into your business. After all, the Lefei Clan is only acting as a witness, anyway.”

Hermia took a deep breath, and began to talk.

“The ancestor of the Lefei Cla……”
“The ancestor of the Lefei Clan, the glorious archer Nillion was a great warrior who served beside King Siryan. It is said that the desolate desert formed when Nillion, who was the leader of the elves at the time, lost in a battle against the Ignus Dragon, and had his forest and its surroundings burned to ashes. But this was a lie. In reality, Nillion and the Ignus Dragon had hidden the Pearl of The Covenant in order to prepare for the lord of darkness who will appear in the future. It is the duty of the Lefei Clan to find the person who is destined to inherit the shard of strength from the Ignus Dragon.”
“…….”

Hermia’s eyes widened.
Kang Yoonsoo had just summarized everything she was about to say.
Unlike her, who had an expression of immense surprise on her face, Kang Yoonsoo had a very bored one.

“I didn’t want to hear the long version.”

Kang Yoonsoo said this, and stood up.
It was when Hermia was unable to recover from her shock.

“I brought tea. Ah.”

The guard who brought the tray of teacups stumbled, and fell forward.
Kang Yoonsoo extended a hand, and supported the guard’s chest.
With the other hand, he grabbed the tray.
Tak.
It was all done in one, smooth movement. It was almost as if he had expected all this to happen.
Not a single drop of tea had been spilled.

Kang Yoonsoo put to tray on the table.
He then took a teacup, and put it on his dry lips.
He slowly took a sip, and spoke.

“Disgusting. As always.”

Both Hermia, and the guard in his hands looked at Kang Yoonsoo dumbly.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke.

“I need something before seeing the Pearl of The Covenant.”

.
.
.

The thing that Kang Yoonsoo had asked for was alcohol.
He said that out of all the expensive drinks stored in the mansion, he needed the strongest one.
Hermia told the guard to give him the drink.

“It’s good that you came here.”

The guard said this whilst looking through the storage room.
Kang Yoonsoo had followed the guard, and was leaning against an old stone wall.
The guard threw a bag of empty bottles to the side, and kept talking.

“It is truly a pity that lord Hermia is stuck at a rural area like this. She had taken in an orphan like me at a young age, and she is quite a beautiful person. She had told me several times about the task of the Lefei Clan. Now, lord Hermia will be able to escape from the stressful wheel of responsibility.”
“Do you think Hermia is beautiful.”
“Isn’t that what you’d usually think?”

The guard asked this in response.
Kang Yoonsoo grabbed a random hand mirror off a floor.
He spoke in a low tone.

“I know someone more beautiful than her.”
“I’d like to see someone like that. You see, I lived in Kellin since I was young, so I’ve never been anywhere else in my life.”
“You can see her too.”
“How surprising. How would I be able to meet her?”
“Take off your helmet, and look at the mirror.”

The guard’s gloves, which were searching through a pile of objects, suddenly stopped.
It was only possible to see her from the back, but it was easy to tell that she was angered.
The guard’s voice became cold.

“…….You’re calling a person filled with burn marks, who has hairs falling out in patches beautiful? What a bad joke.”
“I don’t like jokes.”
“You talk like an old man who’s sick of the world.”
“Because I’m tired.”

Soon enough, the guard found the bottle of alcohol.
It was a very strong bottle of whisky.
She stood up, and walked towards the door.
Right then, a single mouse ran across the dusty floor of the room.
The guard grabbed the mouse’s tail, and began to tickle its stomach.
A small laughter sounded out from the helmet.

“Hahaha……. Mm.”

The guard became conscious of Kang Yoonsoo watching her, and tried to put the mouse back on the floor.

“Squeak!”
“Ahh!”

Right that moment, the mouse jumped up, and climbed into the helmet.
The mouse moved around everywhere inside the helmet as it squeaked.
The guard dropped the helmet on the floor out of confusion.

The guard’s eyes met with Kang Yoonsoo’s.

She truly looked wretched.

Her hair was falling out in random patches, and her dead scalp was all shriveled up.
Her face, and everywhere below it was full of burn marks, and it was hard to see anywhere that was untouched by fire.
The guard, who had dropped the mouse, quickly covered her face with her hands.

“Don’t look at me!”

She shouted out sharply.
She would rather die than show herself to others.
Especially to an attractive young man like this.

She had covered her face, but she still felt an immense amount of shame.
Kang Yoonsoo tapped her shoulders lightly.
When she opened her eyes slowly, Kang Yoonsoo handed her the helmet with an emotionless face.
She quickly put on her helmet, and bit her lips.

“I’m sorry.”
“Why.”
“You saw my face. I’m sorry…… for making you see something so disgusting.”
“It’s not disgusting.”

It was an unexpected answer.
The guard stayed silent for a bit, then carefully asked a question.

“Aren’t I scary?”
“Not at all.”

The guard was confused.
Normally, a man who saw her face would either be extremely shocked, or be angered.
But Kang Yoonsoo was different.
He didn’t seem affected by her appearance. On the contrary, he was completely indifferent to it.
But it wasn’t like he was very polite, either.
He didn’t seem like a bad person, even though he seemed completely indifferent to the world.

“Let’s go.”

Kang Yoonsoo spoke.

.
.
.

“This should be good.”

It was a big wasteland.
It was a place that almost seemed too empty.
On this land where not even a single blade of gra.s.s grew, were three people.

Hermia took out a red marble.
It was the Pearl of The Covenant.
The marble was a little too big to grab with one hand, and was crimson red, as if it was imbued with fire.
She carefully put down the Peal of The Covenant on the wasteland.

“According to the stories that were pa.s.sed down by my ancestors, it is said that the Pearl of The Covenant contains a shard of strength from the Ignus Dragon. But it is also said that one has to go through a terrifying challenge in order to take the shard of strength. A challenge that is dangerous enough to make you risk your life.”

It was possible to get support from the soldiers for safety, but Kang Yoonsoo refused the help.
Kang Yoonsoo took a look at the guard.
The guard, slightly nervous, handed him the bottle of whisky with a stagger.
She asked him a question.

“Excuse me for asking this, but what are you going to use this for?”
“Right, I’m curious as well.”

Hermia asked as well.

Kang Yoonsoo did not respond, and put the bottle of whisky on his waist.
He walked forward slowly, and put his finger on the Pearl.
He then opened his mouth.

“The one who has walked in the desolate desert without end, will finally return to the eternal illusion at the edge of the burning flame.”

They were scriptures of the Ignus Dragon that had been modified a little.
At that moment, the Pearl of The Covenant began to break apart.
The pearl began to emit a red glow.
Hermia and the guard quickly moved away.
A blinding light covered the area, then a big shadow appeared from the Pearl.

“I sense a person who is to inherit the shard of strength nearby.”

It was a Spartoi.
Rough scales were covering its entire body.
It was about four meters tall, with well-proportioned muscles.
It seemed to be a mix between a human male, and a red dragon.
There was a thick spear in its big hands.

[A Spartoi(clone) of the Ignus Dragon has appeared.
Pa.s.sing its test would allow the chosen one to get a reward.
Being unable to pa.s.s the test would make you have to face the Spartoi’s wrath.]

“Are you the one who is trying to inherit the power of the great one.”

Kang Yoonsoo did not respond.
The Spartoi held up its spear.

“I, the Spartoi of the Ignus Dragon, shall test you. Only by pa.s.sing my test will you be able to attain the shard of strength.”

The Spartoi lightly swung its spear.
Vuun–.
It just moved its spear a bit, but the sound of the spear cutting through the air was extremely fierce.
Hermia and the guard, who were watching from the sidelines, swallowed in nervousness.

Flap.

A red cloth floated down from the air.
The cloth landed on Kang Yoonsoo’s eyes, and covered it completely.
The Spartoi pointed its spear at Kang Yoonsoo, and spoke.

“Fight me blindfolded. It’s fine whether you use magic or dolls. If you take me down, I will accept your strength. I will, of course, give you time to practice.”

The two people that were watching were astounded.
Fight the Spartoi blindfolded?
Surely this was a feat that was impossible for any sword master.
This truly was a test meant for those who were masters of battle.

“Wait.”

Kang Yoonsoo put up his right hand.
The Spartoi, who had been raising its spear for battle, stopped.
Kang Yoonsoo took off the cap from the bottle of whisky.
The eyes of Hermia and the guard were filled with curiosity.
If it was that man, he would definitely do something ingenious with the whisky.
Just what would he do?

Glug. Glug,

Kang Yoonsoo drank the whisky unreservedly.
He emptied the bottle in an instant.
He threw away the bottle, and took out his machete.

“I don’t need any practice. Let’s start.”

Hermia and the guard made a shocked face, and looked at each other.

“Did he ask me to bring the whisky just because he wanted to drink it?”
“Is he fighting blindfolded and drunk?”

It was so surprising, it made them feel annoyed.
To them, it seemed that Kang Yoonsoo was determined to kill himself.
The Spartoi frowned.

“I will fight with my full strength. You might even lose your life. Are you that confident of winning against me?”
“Uhuh.”
“You, you are an arrogant man!”

The Spartoi’s sharp spear struck forward towards Kang Yoonsoo.