Chapter 14. Record of a Thousand Lives
There wasn’t even a name associated with the southwest wasteland part of the Sylphia Continent.
There weren’t hardly any number of explorers or merchants who crossed the land, either.
It’s interesting that there was a ruin in such a place like this?
It was also the first time that Shanette, who has been living in Kellyine Territory, has heard about it.
“Wasn’t a ruin in an ancient territory ordinarily formed by the monsters in the region? If there is a ruin in the wasteland, then there must have been a lot of people here at one point.”
It was always difficult to discover an existence of ruin’s significance in any history.
Traditionally, there were two characteristics of ruins which have been found in the ancient continent.
First, there were a massive number of monsters.
There minimally live many hundreds of monsters at a single ruin.
Due to the effects of the ruin’s magical power, the monsters would not able to come out of the buildings.
Monsters do not eat or drink, and live in the ruin, but as they were confined for a very long time, their rage is at the point of exploding.
No matter who the intruders are, they would shred them up.
Second, a precious reward.
The ruin would be conquered should the treasure that is in the heart of the ruin was to be stolen.
The treasures of the ruin have ordinarily been rare items that weren’t easily found.
On top of that, the treasure at the heart of the ruin was guarded by the boss monster.
Even today, there were many more than one or two clans that were exploring the ruin quicker than anyone else, in order to obtain the treasure.
“Ruin is not depended on territories.”
Not even surveying the area, Kang Yoonsoo walked without any hesitation.
“It’s just difficult to locate.”
At the end of the long walk, what welcomed the two was a field with overgrown thorny brushes.
This enigmatic field of thorns was one of the factors that contributed to having turned this land into a wasteland.
“There was such a place like this in the wasteland.”
There was a large field of thorny brushes that stubbornly survived on the grounds of the wasteland.
The thick thorny bushes were such that if one was just to get close to them, they would tear one’s flesh.
Shanette asked with an apprehensive look on her face.
“You want to go through them?”
The machete that Kang Yoonsoo has prepared was for use in the jungles.
It worked fine in battles, but it was a specialized knife for cutting brushes or tree branches.
However, Kang Yoonsoo shook his head.
He extended out his right arm.
“Summoning Salamander Sally.”
A small flame of fire appeared in the air.
After a small twister of flame, a pretty girl showed herself.
“Daddy-!
Sally ran over to Kang Yoonsoo, and stood right beside him.
“Daddy, daddy, why did you call me?”
Kang Yoonsoo pointed to the field of the thorny brushes.
“Burn it.”
“Then what are you going to give me?”
“What would you like.”
“Hm…. A hug?”
Whirl.
“Aaak!”
As Kang Yoonsoo hugged her, Sally rubbed her reddish cheek on his.
Shanette thought that it was unexpected.
She thought that he was a man who didn’t know how to express his emotions. Perhaps, he wasn’t just a callous man, after all?
Sally raised both her hands high. And she shouted at the field of thorny brushes.
“Flame of wrath!”
A flame twister originated from her hand and began to pan out.
It was a blaze of brilliance and hot spirit.
The flame’s effectiveness was even more powerful as the wasteland was dry and lacked moisture.
The flame burned up the entire field of the thorny brushes at once.
The girl looked up at Kang Yoonsoo, and rushed toward him as if she was asking him to praise her.
“Daddy, daddy, did Sally do well?”
“You did. Go back.”
“A-ing. Praise me more.”
“Don’t feel like it.”
Sally pouted.
Sally walked over the Shanette and clutched around her waist.
“Sally likes mommy, too. I’m going, mommy!”
“OK, good bye, Sally.”
After sending Sally back to the summoning world, Kang Yoonsoo moved quickly.
It was when Shanette blankly stared at the surrounding land where the heat of the flame was still lingered.
Turning his head, Kang Yoonsoo said quietly.
“Come quickly.”
The burned up thorny bushes began to slowly grow again.
The regeneration ability of the thorny bushes was incredible.
Scarily, the surrounding area once again began filling with thorny bushes.
Alarmed, Shanette followed Kang Yoonsoo.
Shrreek! Shreek!
The thorny bushes quickly grew and were overcrowding the area.
They couldn’t be seen as ordinary plants.
With any delays, it was possible for them to be trapped in the field of thorns.
“At this rate, we will be trapped and won’t be able to get out!”
“So, hurry up.”
Kang Yoonsoo said nonchalantly.
The two ran to the point of being unable to breathe.
It was hard to tell how he found it, but Kang Yoonsoo ran into an underground tunnel.
“This way.”
The thorny brushes carpeted the ground as if it was trapping them.
Shanette ran fast and jumped up high.
As soon as she made her entrance into the underground tunnel, the thorny brushes have entirely closed up the opening of the tunnel.
Shreeek!
“Ah, that was close.”
Shanette said swallowing her dry mouth.
However, Kang Yoonsoo was already walking into the underground tunnel.
Letting out a breather, she followed him.
He was a man with zero trace of emotions like back in time as he was during the period of the dragon mercenary ordeal.
Hermione’s advice came to her mind.
‘He seemed to have been living for a very long time. Something…was different from us.’
What was that man’s true identity?
* * *
A ray of bright light shone down on them after having walked for a long time, inside the underground tunnel.
It was a way out.
When they exited the tunnel, an expansive space opened up before them.
It was a space that was quite different than the wasteland.
The ground was covered with grass that was still moist with dew.
The large trees shook the leaves.
“This place… Where is this?”
“A space made with magic.”
Kang Yoonsoo picked up a stone from the ground and threw it.
Tup!
As if the stone has hit an invisible wall in the air in the trajectory of its flight, it fell down to the ground.
Unable to believe what she has witnessed, she walked over to it to see it personally.
A hard wall was felt although there was nothing in the air.
“There is a limitation to space creating magic. It returns if a specific area is broken.”
Externally, it might be a forest of large trees, but it was, in fact, an illusion of magic.
Kang Yoonsoo took out the secret dagger from his bosom and held it.
After surveying the area, he threw the secret dagger to the largest tree that he saw.
Puck-!
The secret dagger precisely pierced the trunk of s tree.
At that moment, the big tree and its surrounding broke apart and the view changed immediately.
The surrounding area has returned back to a wasteland.
There stood a huge building at the other side.
There was a high carved stone wall with odd patterns etched on it.
It was the ruin.
The Ultica Ruin.
It was rated as being the lowest attackable ruin which currently existed in the continent.
Even the reward was comparable to that.
However, as there lived hundreds of monsters, they couldn’t take the ruin as an easy target.
The constructions of the ruin boasted remarkable feats.
The stone columns were lined up in the tens, and the internal space appeared to be limitless.
“This ruin has been hidden by ma, magic?”
“It could be easily looked over as a forest due to the illusion.”
“But would there be anyone else who would come here through the thorny field, besides us?”
“Yes.”
Kang Yoonsoo responded nonchalantly.
Shanette has now become used to such attitude of his. So, she didn’t necessarily correct or ask him again.
However, the feats of the ruin were incredible.
This was the first time in her life that Shanette has seen a building as big as this one.
Although nothing was felt from outside, it was highly possible that the inside was overcrowded with monsters, for sure.
“What are you going to do, now?”
“Go inside.”
Kang Yoonsoo moved.
Shanette was concerned, but she held the scythe tightly.
Although he was cold and talked little, Kang Yoonsoo was talented in many ways.
He had no occupation and his level was low, but he must surely have a plan of his own.
The two people entered the ruin.
As every column had luminous stones on it, the area was not dark.
It was as when they were walking carefully in there.
As they were marveling with the expansive space, a sound of something crying came from somewhere.
“Woooooo-!”
She had goose bumps all over.
It was a crying sound of a beast.
Soon, a shape of a wolf appeared from the other side.
Its entire body was covered with silver mane and its eyes were red.
Just by looking at the huge size and its long and sharp canines caused chills to go down her back.
A werewolf.
It was a veracious, stubborn monster which was hard to deal with.
Unlike ordinary wolves, they were living beings that talked with each other and lived in a group.
The werewolf monster’s level was about 70
There was a clear difference in the risk level between the land worms and werewolves.
Shanette gritted her teeth as she pulled out the scythe.
However, the crying sound that came next put her in despair.
“Awoooooo-!”
“Awoooooo-!”
“Awoooooo-!”
As expected, there was more than one werewolf.
Several hundreds of werewolves showed themselves as they came out of the hiding from inside the ruin.
The area, crowded with werewolves, flashed with silvery radiance.
Instantly, the two were surrounded by about 700 werewolves.
“Krrung! Krrung!”
“Krrrrr…..!”
The werewolves howled veraciously.
“Now, what do we do?”
Shanette asked urgently.
However, Kang Yoonsoo was not shaken at all.
He audaciously stepped forward.
Shanette felt overwhelmed by the posture of the man who wasn’t any different than other times.
It was when the werewolves were exposing their canines as if they were about to devour them.
Kang Yoonsoo raised both his arms wide and high.
It was a moment of desperation.
Kang Yoonsoo yelled loudly.
“Krung. Krrrung. Krrrr… Krung. Krung. Krrrung. Krung. Krrung.”
….It was the sound of a dog.
Then the werewolves raised their fur on their bodies and responded loudly with the like sounds.
“Krung? Krung-krung! Krrung!”
“Krrrr…..? Krung! Krrung? Krung!”
“Keeung… Keeeeewwwonng!”
The werewolves opened up a path.
The werewolves closed their jaws, turned and lowered their heads as gentle puppies.
Moreover, a few of them even shed tears as they moaned.
The monsters are opening a path in this way!
Having witnessed an incredible turn of events, Shanette approached him.
“Did you, perhaps, have a conversation with the monster, just now?”
“Yah.”
At that moment, Shanette did not know how to react.
“What did you say to them that they lowered their guards like that?”
Kang Yoonsoo said.
“Told them I’ll free them from the ruin.”
“Are you really going to do that?”
“No.”
The two headed towards the heart of the ruin.