Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 107

Reorkan Empire Calendar Year 468, the 36th day of the month of Sol.

Dear Diary,

I really love you a lot. So can you listen to my story today as well?

A lot has happened last night, and something I will likely never forget in my life happened last night. The brawl that broke out between the two beauties will probably end up as a legendary story among the patrons of this inn.

Last night, Shaneth and Sheryl got into a catfight against each other. Oh, please bear in mind that the term ‘catfight’ here is a very toned-down version of what actually happened. It was a fight that somebody like me would never be able to participate in. In fact, it would be more suitable to call it a ‘fight to the death’ rather than a catfight.

It was a relief that Sheryl was drunk and could not use all of her strength, and only ended up breaking a few things. It is a given that a few people would have died if they clashed full force against each other in a crowded place like the inn.

How good would it have been if it were only two of them who fought? Poor Kang Yoon-Soo tried to sneak away from the scene while holding a bottle of booze, but he was caught by the two women. You should have seen the spectacle of two women fighting over one man, dear diary. If any other man aside from Kang Yoon-Soo had been caught in that fight—they would have died.

Kang Yoon-Soo narrowly avoided Shaneth’s flaming scythe, but Sheryl grabbed his shirt, and I could not see anything after that. That was because Henrick, who was standing beside me, covered my eyes. I was curious as to what was happening, but I am still thankful that Henrick covered my eyes.

After the fight to the death ended, the owner of the inn came over furiously. The total damage consisted of five broken tables, twenty-seven broken bottles of booze, and twelve broken windows. The damage would add up even more if you count the inconvenience the inn suffered.

“Hey… There’s a limit to disturbing someone else’s business, you know?! I’ve already called the investigators on you guys!” the owner said, sounding enraged.

It was around that time that the investigators arrived. They exclaimed with surprise, “Sheryl-nim…?”

I was told that Sheryl was a First Grade investigator. Do you think the investigators were quite surprised when they found out that their superior was the one who caused a ruckus while drunk? A funny scene where the investigators had to grab a towel and take care of the suspect unfolded before our eyes.

The two women sobered up eventually. Shaneth just felt embarrassed after she sobered up and complained of a dizzying hangover, but it was different, or rather much more severe, in Sheryl’s case. Sheryl grabbed a knife and tried to stab her own abdomen with it when she realized what had happened.

“Don’t die,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“I’m going to die! Don’t stop me!” Sheryl replied.

“I said don’t die,” Kang Yoon-Soo repeated.

“I’m going to die! Don’t stop me!” Sheryl repeated.

Sheryl’s suicide attempt was barely stopped, thanks to Kang Yoon-Soo. It was quite a relief for the owner of the inn, as the customers would feel reluctant to come to an inn a First Grade investigator had killed herself in.

I was told that Sheryl compensated the owner of the inn, and it was an amount that would be able to purchase a few inns the same size as this one—and still have some change left over. The inn’s owner’s eyes opened wide in surprise, and he started to smile greedily and laugh.

Shaneth and Sheryl ended up apologizing to each other, and they shared a deep conversation as if the fight last night had never happened. Henrick came and whispered to me, “That’s how scary booze is…”

I swore that day to never drink excessively. Sheryl seemed to have a hard time believing the things she had done while she was drunk, and she could not even look at Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo said just before she left, “Thank you for overlooking my crime.”

Sheryl responded by planting a kiss on his cheek, and everyone was speechless at what she did—including Kang Yoon-Soo himself. Sheryl whispered in Kang Yoon-Soo’s ear, “Call me if you ever have the need to call for an investigator later in the future.”

Dear diary, what do you think of love? I mean the love that happens between a man and a woman. I still have not felt something like that. I do, of course, love the people that I travel with, but the love between a man and a woman is different.

One thing I’m certain of is that love is selfish. Sheryl definitely heard that Kang Yoon-Soo loved someone else, but she still kissed him on the cheek. I was told she would be unable to bear it if she had not done that. Hmm… Love is too difficult.

Oh! I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. It must be Henrick, judging by the fact that he is skipping over a few flights of stairs. Actually, I am keeping the fact that I am keeping a diary secret from everyone; it feels a little embarrassing… It is a shame, but I have to end it here. You take care, my dear diary! See you again tomorrow!

-Iris

Creak…

The door opened, and Iris hurriedly hid her quill pen. Henrick stared at Iris for a moment before asking, “What are you doing?”

“I bought a notebook from the marketplace,” Iris replied.

“You… You know how to write? That’s unexpected…” Henrick said.

“Henrick must think I’m stupid,” Iris complained, puffing up her cheeks.

Henrick yawned and said, “Pack your bags. We’re going to depart soon.”

“Where are we going?” Iris asked.

“Why do you even bother asking? We’re just going to follow that guy. I think he said we’re going to the vampires’ city or something…” Henrick responded.

Iris closed her diary and stood up. When she went down after packing her things, she found Kang Yoon-Soo and Shaneth on the first floor.

Shaneth was applying ointment to the scar on Kang Yoon-Soo’s face. She asked, “Are you really alright?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“I have no idea what that female investigator wanted. She was so cold when we first met her, but her drinking habits are just too…” Shaneth trailed off.

“This scar is from your scythe though,” Kang Yoon-Soo interrupted her.

“I-I… I was drunk so I can’t remember!” Shaneth exclaimed in a panic as her face turned red.

Kang Yoon-Soo stood up from his seat and then said, “Let’s go to the vampires’ ossuary.”

“You mean the vampires’ city? I’ve been traveling the continent ever since I was young, but I’ve never come across a city that only has vampires living in it—nor have I ever heard of it,” Henrick said.

“Right, don’t vampires get weaker when they’re exposed to sunlight in the first place?” Shaneth added.

Vampires were powerful monsters, but they also had a lot of weaknesses such as garlic, divine power, fire, light, and silver. They were also quite restricted in the amount of time they could be active in a day, so it was quite rare to see them as well.

‘There are quite a few who fantasize about being vampires, and they end up changing their class and race to do that.’

Vampires were associated with race-changing classes. People could purposely receive the blood of a contractor and become vampires themselves; there were quite a few Travelers who had changed their class to become Low-Ranked Vampires or Vampire Knights.

‘Yu Si-Do is an example.’

The leader of the Black Tiger Clan, Yu Si-Do, had the ability to change his class alternately between Vampire and Homunculus. Of course, that was something he could only achieve because he had changed classes using a special method.

“Vampires… It is making my heart tremble just thinking about them,” Iris said nervously as she gripped her left chest.

Henrick snickered and remarked, “You don’t want to share your heart when you always eat others’ hearts?”

“Carnivores would not wish to be eaten themselves, no?” Iris responded.

Suddenly, Kang Yoon-Soo’s eyes trembled for a second, and he stared at Iris.

Iris asked, “Kang Yoon-Soo, is there something wrong?”

“…it’s nothing,” Kang Yoon-Soo responded.

Memories of his past lives had almost come back just then. He was not sure why, but memories from his past lives had suddenly begun popping up quite often as of late.

He shook his head and said, “The vampires’ ossuary is hidden.”

The vampires’ ossuary, Sanguineum, was their destination. They originally would have had to repair the Old Bloody Key they had received from Rapelka to open the door to Sanguineum, but they did not have the time to spend collecting the other keys one by one.

That was why Kang Yoon-Soo chose to take the fastest route, saying, “We’re going to the Great Cathedral.”

***

The Great Cathedral of Vulpehin was a white building that was quite small, despite its title as a ‘Great Cathedral’. Inside it was a priest who was wearing a black robe, who was there all alone.

“How may I help you?” the priest asked.

Quite a variety of people went to cathedrals; most of them went there to change their class to Priest, lift a curse, give tithes, or simply to pray. The Travelers who visited cathedrals were mostly followers of the religion.

“My name is Deff. Have you come to the cathedral to pray?” the priest asked.

It had been a while since somebody had gone to visit the cathedral, as Vulpehin had very few followers of the goddess Sylphia. The followers of Sylphia usually practiced abstinence from alcohol, but the City of Vulpehin, which was famous for its red wine, was mostly filled with alcohol lovers.

“No.” The visitor shook his head.

Father Deff smiled and closed his thick book as he asked, “Then have you come to confess your sins? But judging by how many people are with you… I don’t think that’s it either.”

He was neatly dressed, but he possessed a thick beard and he was quite well-built. He seemed to be more suited to wearing armor than a priestly robe.

“We’re trying to go to Sanguineum,” the visitor said.

“Sanguineum? What are you talking about?” Father Deff asked, feigning ignorance.

Kang Yoon-Soo went straight to the point and said, “I also know you aren’t human.”

Father Deff’s eyes suddenly changed. Shaneth whispered in surprise, “Then is the priest a vampire?”

However, Father Deff’s eyes were not red like Rapelka’s, and neither was his skin pale white; rather, his skin was copper-toned.

“He isn’t a vampire,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Father Deff said, clearly sounding offended, “I don’t know where and how you’ve heard of Sanguineum, but please leave at once.”

“I’m planning to go to the vampires’ ossuary, and for that, I’ll need your help,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“…What did you say just now?” Father Deff asked. His eyes twitched, and his warm, calm expression crumpled in an instant.

“Vampires. Aren’t they your mortal enemies?” Kang Yoon-Soo added.

“Those words are pretty arrogant coming from a mere human like you,” Father Deff said, his speech and tone turning vulgar. He grabbed Kang Yoon-Soo’s collar with his large, thick hands and said, “The vampires’ ossuary. Do you have any idea what that place means to us?”

“Let go,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Deff looked around him and saw that Shaneth’s scythe, Iris’ fists, and Henrick’s combat dolls were all aimed at him. The priest slowly let go of Kang Yoon-Soo’s collar and said, “Please leave. I have no reason to help an arrogant human like you.”

“You have to cooperate with me. You have to for your race,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“What do you mean?” Deff asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo extended his right arm and muttered, “Summon White.”

“Grrrwaaaah!”

White appeared, and the werewolf’s silver fur shone brightly in the cathedral. Deff could not believe his eyes as he stared at White, exclaiming, “T-This can’t be!”

“Ramirurk?”?White called out as it sniffed Deff. It then drew closer and rubbed itself against the priest, growling, “Rwerorlf!”

“Hahaha! That’s right! It’s nice to meet you too! I’m so glad to meet you that I’m tearing up right now!” Deff replied, laughing heartily.

Henrick nudged Kang Yoon-Soo’s waist and asked, “Hey, what the hell is going on? Is that silver werewolf a pet that priest used to raise or something?”

“No, no, no… That’s not it. We’re of the same species,” Father Deff said as he hugged White.

“…What?” Henrick replied with a frown.

Iris, on the other hand, immediately hid behind Kang Yoon-Soo. Her voice trembled as she asked, “W-Werewolf?! Is Deff a werewolf too?”

“Yes, that’s right. Ah, are you a doppelganger by any chance?” Deff asked.

“Kyaaah!” Iris screamed and hid behind Kang Yoon-Soo, trying to hug him tightly.

Kang Yoon-Soo, however, quickly escaped before Iris could crush him. His ribs and spine would be in severe danger if she managed to squeeze him with her monstrous strength.

“Iris unni, don’t stick to Kang Yoon-Soo too much,” Shaneth said, openly warning Iris after the incident with Sheryl.

Iris asked as she cried, “A werewolf should be a wolf. Why are you a human?”

“I’m a human when there’s no moonlight. Actually, it’s rare for a werewolf to always maintain their wolf form like this one over here,” Deff said as he pointed at White, who was licking his face like an obedient and harmless dog. Deff did not seem to be bothered by it, as he kept rubbing White’s fur.

Henrick frowned and said, “This is messed up…”

“Haha! I do hear that from time to time!” Deff replied, laughing heartily.

Kang Yoon-Soo sent White back to the summon dimension. White looked quite sad to go back as it slowly disappeared.

Deff shook off some of White’s remaining fur on his hand and said, “That was a wolf who evolved into a werewolf, huh? I could tell based on the fact that it was only using the werewolf language. Some wolves usually end up turning into werewolves if they get infected by a highly infectious disease that transforms them.”

“That’s why I need your help. There are still a lot of werewolves out there who are currently suffering,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

The priest nodded sincerely in agreement before saying, “Alright. I can trust you if you’re someone a fellow werewolf is serving. Come, follow me.” He opened the locked door behind the altar, revealing a staircase leading down to the basement behind the door.

The party followed the priest down the staircase, and Henrick suddenly asked, “Weren’t we going to the vampire’s city? Why did we come to find a werewolf priest?”

“We need to cooperate with the werewolves,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

.

“Why?” Henrick asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo answered, “Because we’ll destroy the vampires’ city.”

1. The original raw says ‘?? ? ??’, which literally means ‘this is really like a dog’, but the phrase ‘like a dog’ in Korean can also mean ‘messed up’, ‘fucked up’, or simply ‘annoying as fuck’.