Record of a Thousand Lives

There had been a lot of opportunities for the goddess to approach Kang Yoon-Soo in his countless regressions, but why was it that she had just approached him now?

“You, who have lived for the 1,000th time.
The world’s balance has started to tilt,” the goddess said.

“What do you mean?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“My strength is dwindling,” the goddess replied.
Kang Yoon-Soo frowned as the goddess continued in a clear voice, “I am the continent and the continent is me.
The continent’s name is Sylphia, and my name is Sylphia as well.”

“Are you trying to say the continent is in danger?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“One of the laws of this world has been broken, and the world has started to crumble because of it,” the goddess replied.

“The world will crumble because one law has been broken? What kind of logic is that?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked again.

“I do not know,” the goddess replied.

“Can there be something even a god doesn’t know?” Kang Yoon-Soo remarked with a frown.

The angels were flabbergasted, left at a loss for words by the insignificant creature’s brazenness.
Yuriel contemplated whether she should immediately drag Kang Yoon-Soo out of the temple or not.

However, the goddess calmly replied, “You creatures have this fantasy about what you call ‘god’.
A god is just a creator.
The myth of ‘omnipotence’ you have about gods is nothing but a fantasy.
A god is not all-powerful; the only one who is truly omnipotent in this world is a higher being who is shrouded in mystery even to the gods.”

Kang Yoon-Soo inscribed the words spoken by the goddess in his mind; she had just indirectly implied that even a god could be killed.

“Are you trying to say that the laws of this world were broken because of me?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“One who should not exist in this world has appeared, and that has caused the laws of this world to break.
I am certain that it is somehow related to your regression,” the goddess replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo frowned once again and said, “I didn’t regress because I wanted to.”

“I am aware that it is because of the Demon Lord,” the goddess said.

‘She’s aware of the existence of the Demon Lord? It’ll be easier to talk to her, then,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

“You’re aware of my regression? Are you also aware of the events that happened in my previous lives, then?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“No, I do not know about those,” the goddess replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo bit his lip.
He was slowly becoming even more disappointed by the goddess as their conversation continued.
He asked, “Then how did you find out that I regressed?”

“It was easy to find out by looking at the years you have lived for.
It is uncommon to come across a human that has lived for more than twenty thousand years,” the goddess replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo started to be skeptical of the goddess as he said, “You just said that the continent was starting to crumble, but I don’t recall anything like that happening.
There’s never been an instance where the continent was destroyed prior to the appearance of the Demon Lord.”

“Why do you think a change happened in your life?” the goddess asked.
Kang Yoon-Soo’s eyes started to tremble before the goddess finally told him the reason.
“The reason why this will be your final life is exactly because the laws of this world have been broken.”

“…How were the laws broken?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“That is related to what I plan to command you to do,” the goddess said.

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped Kang Yoon-Soo; it was so bright that he had to cover his eyes with his hand.
He slowly lowered his hand as the light started to dissipate, and saw that a totally different scene was in front of him.

“It’s the continent,” Kang Yoon-Soo remarked.
He was high up in the sky, looking down on the vast continent; the whole continent was right before his eyes.

“I have the ability to see anywhere in the continent, and I have been watching your journey since the beginning,” the goddess said.
She waved her hand, and the view moved to a specific place on the continent; there, Lady Hermia was drying her hair while wet and naked.
The scene continued to shift, and many villages and large stretches of wilderness flashed past Kang Yoon-Soo’s eyes.

Ramax, the leader of the Red Rock Excavators, was proudly announcing the missing portion of the continent’s history.
Jiang Ren-Wei, the leader of the Martial Blood Clan, was swinging weapons in both hands while fighting intensely in a raid.
Han Se-Hyeon was swinging his hand toward Yu Si-Do, and Yu Si-Do was cackling like a madman as he bared his fangs.
Yanak was arguing with the other Fire Trolls over camel meat.
Katz was tending to several plant seedlings together with a young elf girl.

Then, the scene passed from the desert to a lush overgrown forest.

“I never imagined Kang Yoon-Soo would steal the alcohol bag.
I’ll secretly throw away the alcohol next time!” Shaneth exclaimed furiously.

“Shhh! Lower your voice.
Kang Yoon-Soo is a sharp one,” Iris said.

“Hey, you punk, do you think he can hear us or something?” Henrick grumbled.

The scene in front of Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly turned black before returning to the Angelic Temple.

“However, I have lost my power to descend down to the continent,” the goddess said.

In other words, she had the ability to see, but not to be present.

“It feels as if the continent I created is nothing but a picture framed on a wall now.
In fact, even watching over the continent has become difficult for me,” the goddess said in her usual gentle voice that was filled with authority, but her voice shook for a moment as she continued, “I was searching all over the continent to find the cause of the laws breaking, and that was how I found you.
I also found out about the Demon Lord destroying the continent and forcing you to regress back in time as I watched over you.
That was why I decided to speak to you and guide you to this place.”

Kang Yoon-Soo went straight to the point and asked, “What do you want from me?”

“Fix the broken laws of this world and kill the Demon Lord,” the goddess replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo had already planned to do the latter and kill the Demon Lord, but to restore the laws of the world? He said, “I don’t understand.
How do you expect me to restore the laws of the world?”

“There is someone who is trying to intentionally destroy this world,” the goddess said.

“Do you mean the Demon Lord?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“No, the Demon Lord is not your only opponent,” the goddess replied.
She then continued, “I told you that the 1,000th life was your final one, right? Well, there is someone who is aware of your regression and is hoping that you will fail this time and die.”

Kang Yoon-Soo’s face turned cold.
The only other person who knew about his regression was Sirian, but he had not met him yet in this life.
He asked, “There’s someone like that? I’ve lived the same life hundreds of times, but I’ve never met someone like that before.”

“I am ashamed to admit that I am not certain of this.
I lost too much power when the laws of this world broke.
However, if there is one thing I am certain of…” The goddess’ tone turned serious all of a sudden as she continued, “There is definitely a reason as to why so many changes have occurred in your 1,000th life.”

Kang Yoon-Soo had actually been relieved by the fact that a change had occurred in this life.
Who knew how many times more he would have needed to regress and live the same life over and over again if no changes had taken place?

“I am certain that someone intentionally broke the laws of this world.
That person has called someone who should not exist in this world.
However, I cannot seem to find the person that should not exist in this world,” the goddess said.
She continued, “Find this person who should not exist in this world and kill them.
Then, the world will be back to normal, and my strength will return.”

A light holier than any other light in the world descended upon Kang Yoon-Soo.

[You have obtained the qualifications to change into the class “Knight of the Goddess”.]

[You have been blessed by the goddess.]

[All of your stats have increased.]

[All experience points obtained on the Sylphia Continent will increase by 40%.]

[The Sword of Revelation will transform into the Holy Sword of Sylphia once you complete your class change.]

[Your race will change from ‘human’ to ‘angel’.]

[You may directly request for the goddess’ favor once every thousand years.]

[You will have to pledge unconditional loyalty to Sylphia if you change your class to the Knight of the Goddess.]

[The class’ full powers are currently sealed as the goddess has been greatly weakened.]

Kang Yoon-Soo carefully read the message that popped up on his wrist device.
He had never seen nor heard of the class ‘Knight of the Goddess’ in the hundreds of times he had lived.

The angels turned rowdy, murmuring noisily and exclaiming among themselves.

“How could this be?!”

“The title of Knight of the Goddess is only given to heroes who appear once in a century!”

“Is that creature really that amazing?”

It was Kang Yoon-Soo who had received the class change opportunity, but Yuriel was more excited than he was.
The angel shouted, “What are you doing, you dense creature?! Hurry up and accept it!”

Kang Yoon-Soo was currently classless, and the Knight of the Goddess was not a bad class.
‘However, it has one crucial weakness,’ he thought.
It was a problem only he could see.

Kang Yoon-Soo asked the goddess, “So I have to change into an angel if I change my class?”

“That is right,” the goddess replied.

“But I heard that angels have very low alcohol tolerance…?” Kang Yoon-Soo continued.

“Angels get drunk from even a single drop of alcohol, so they should definitely abstain from alcohol,” the goddess said.

“Then I’ll pass,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
An eerie silence filled the temple.

Eventually, Kang Yoon-Soo broke the silence by asking the goddess, “Is that all you have to say?”

“Are you refusing the offer to become my knight?” the goddess asked as her voice turned cold.

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded and replied, “Yes.”

Suddenly, Kang Yoon-Soo felt a sharp pain in his heart that forced him to go down on one knee, and he barely managed to stay up by supporting himself with his sword.
He was struggling to breathe.

“Becoming the Knight of the Goddess is not an opportunity that is given to just anyone,” the goddess said with a cold voice.

“I said, I don’t want to,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Abstinence from alcohol was not the only reason Kang Yoon-Soo had refused to become the Knight of the Goddess.
The Knight of the Goddess class actually had a lot of advantages and strong points, but the knight also had to pledge unconditional loyalty to the goddess.

‘I don’t like it.’

Kang Yoon-Soo was actually on guard against the goddess.
The goddess might appear to be a holy being, but who knew if her true self was actually rotten and corrupt? It would be stupid for him to pledge unconditional loyalty to someone he did not even know anything about.

The goddess spoke once again, but this time with a voice filled with hostility.
“A god is not omnipotent, but it is also not so weak as to overlook the transgression of a mere creature like you.”

Kang Yoon-Soo’s breathing became labored, and the light that had felt holy and pristine moments before was now engulfing him with hostility.

“There is a fragment of a demon embedded inside you,” the goddess said.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly felt the torturous pain he usually only experienced at night, and he vomited blood because of the pain. “Kuheok!”

Kang Yoon-Soo had been forced onto his knees, covering his mouth.
He kept vomiting blood as he felt his organs twisting inside, and his head started to turn hazy as he struggled to maintain consciousness from the immense pain he felt.
However, he still managed to raise his sword despite all the pain he was going through.

“What in the world?!”

“How dare a mere creature attempt to stand up against the goddess?!”

The angels were in an uproar, but Kang Yoon-Soo did not point his sword toward the light where the goddess was presumed to be.
Instead, he placed his sword against his own neck.

“What are you doing?” the goddess asked in a cold, hostile tone.

“You… How come you’ve never tried to kill the Demon Lord?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

The goddess remained silent, and Kang Yoon-Soo continued, “The world was destroyed at the hands of the Demon Lord in my past lives, but you did not do anything about it.
The Demon Lord would have received your judgment long ago if you were stronger than him.” He continued on, seemingly prepared to risk it all.
“You aren’t confident that you can win against the Demon Lord, and it’s a fact that you can’t win.
That’s why you’re passing the responsibility to me, aren’t you?”

“That is a plausible assumption,” the goddess replied.

“I refuse to become your knight, and I’ll kill myself this instant if you try to force it on me,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Are you saying that you will throw away the life you tried so hard to preserve over the hundreds of times you have regressed?” the goddess asked.

“That’s right,” Kang Yoon-Soo responded, even as he continued to struggle to breathe.
He collected his breath before he continued, “The continent will definitely be destroyed if I die, and you’ll die along with the continent, Sylphia.”

The sword had become tainted with Kang Yoon-Soo’s blood, but he continued speaking as if he could not feel any pain at all.
“Remember this.
I’m the only one that can kill the Demon Lord.”

The goddess was silent for quite a while, and Kang Yoon-Soo stared at the light without even batting an eye.
Eventually, the goddess spoke from within the light with a sigh.
“You are the first creature to ever say my name to my face.”

Kang Yoon-Soo felt the pain subside, and he lowered his sword and wiped away the blood on his lips.
He touched his neck and found that the wound was deeper than he had thought it was.

“How foolish and stupid of you,” the goddess said, and light shone on Kang Yoon-Soo once again.
Kang Yoon-Soo once again put up his guard, but the light instantly healed the wound on his neck this time around.

“I have realized one thing.
The reason why the Demon Lord has chosen you,” the goddess said with a sigh.
She continued, “I suppose it is not that easy to put someone who has lived a thousand times under my thumb.”

The light enveloped Kang Yoon-Soo once again, but this time, it felt warm and gentle, and he felt the heavy burden in his chest suddenly disappear.

“I have removed the demonic fragment lodged in your body.
I cannot stand the sight of someone carrying out my will having something so evil in his body.
Never try to borrow demonic powers ever again,” the goddess said.

“Thank you,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he stretched his tired body.
He had not managed to get any rest because of the curse inflicted upon him by the Frost Demon’s fragment.

“You have told me to kill the person who should not exist in this world, but what will you give me in return?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo was not someone to take a loss just because the other party was the goddess herself, but the angels around him did not seem to appreciate his brazenness as they gritted their teeth in anger.

“I do not plan to order you around for free,” the goddess replied.
She offered a proposal to Kang Yoon-Soo.
“I will lend you one of my angels.”

Kang Yoon-Soo was surprised and asked, “An angel?”

“That is right,” the goddess responded.
The light illuminated the angels in the temple before the goddess continued, “Pick one from these children to become your guardian angel.”

Yuriel took a step forward when she heard the goddess’ words.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and said, “I don’t need them.”