The Whisper of the Thousandth Life
Kang Yoonsoo and Caliburn drew their swords and began to spar.
At first, Caliburn moved with extremely slow, deliberate motions. But after observing Kang Yoonsoo’s swordplay, he gradually increased his speed.
Every thrust of Kang Yoonsoo’s blade was perfectly blocked by Caliburn.
Yet the difference was purely physical. In terms of technique, Kang Yoonsoo’s swordsmanship was so astonishing that it was hard to believe he was inferior.
Even Caliburn, who had intended to go easy, narrowed his eyes and took the duel seriously.
Clang—!
Every time their blades crossed, sparks of dark energy scattered like embers.
Despite the overwhelming level gap, the intensity of their clash made it clear that Caliburn was deliberately holding back his strength.
Yet Kang Yoonsoo’s movements were razor-sharp. His sword would suddenly strike from unexpected angles, and even Caliburn had to defend quickly or risk being hit. Several times, only his rapid reaction prevented a counterattack.
After several hours of sparring, Caliburn lowered his sword first.
The Death General smiled with satisfaction.
A violet aura flowed from the undead’s sword and was absorbed into Kang Yoonsoo.
You have received the Abyssal Swordsmanship skill from Death General Caliburn.
You are the first on the continent to learn swordsmanship from an undead.
Your authority over undead has increased.
Abyssal Swordsmanship
Skill Level — Lv1 (0.00%)
Vitality Cost — 20%
A sword art steeped in darkness that destroys the enemy. An undead-exclusive technique. The nature of the swordsmanship changes depending on the undead who taught it.
Death General Variant: Deals critical damage that drastically reduces the enemy’s life force. The stronger the opponent is compared to the user, the higher the success rate.
Just as spells consumed mana, skills related to physical activity like swordsmanship consumed vitality.
Since Abyssal Swordsmanship used twenty percent of one’s vitality per activation, using it five times would leave the user completely exhausted.
Moreover, the skill was notoriously difficult to master.
The fact that its success rate increased against stronger opponents meant the reverse was also true: it was less effective against weaker ones.
Most of all, the fact that it had been taught by a monster made it truly special.
No one had ever learned a skill from a hostile monster before.
Caliburn took out a single black crystal and handed it to Kang Yoonsoo.
The Death General spoke with genuine sincerity.
The undead all knelt and bowed their heads toward Kang Yoonsoo.
Kang Yoonsoo gave a small, indifferent nod.
It happened as they were crossing the castle’s drawbridge.
A faint whisper reached Kang Yoonsoo’s ears.
“The anomaly is now close at hand. You must prepare for it.”
Kang Yoonsoo stopped walking and looked around.
It was the same voice he had heard back in the Mudgem’s habitat.
A gentle yet profound woman’s voice.
“Kang Yoonsoo, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
A vague sense of unease stirred within him, but Kang Yoonsoo simply shook his head.
The three of them left the Castle of the Dead behind.
The moment they stepped off the frozen lake and set foot in the forest, they looked back.
The black castle that had stood at the center of the lake had vanished without a trace.
The Castle of the Dead had disappeared like morning dew.
Henrik scratched his cheek.
“What a bizarre experience. Feels like I dreamed the whole thing.”
“I thought my heart was going to burst. It feels like I haven’t seen sunlight in a hundred years.”
Shanette waved her hands as if the warm rays were some kind of hallucination.
Kang Yoonsoo, who had been walking in silence, suddenly stopped.
He held his hand out toward Henrik.
“What?”
“Alcohol.”
“Sharp-eyed bastard.”
Henrik grumbled but opened his pack anyway.
Inside was a generous supply of the unique cold liquor they had drunk inside the Castle of the Dead.
Even though the weather was quite warm, the chilled bottle radiated a biting chill.
Shanette asked, looking incredulous.
“You stole it already?”
“Idiot. What do you take me for? The skeleton bastards gave it to me.”
“Undead give gifts?”
“Why not? There are no boundaries in love, so why should friendship be any different? Especially drinking buddies—they can transcend species and even time itself. Of course, only a crazy bastard would steal their booze and drink it.”
“……”
Shanette stared straight at Kang Yoonsoo.
“What are you looking at?”
“Don’t drink too much. It’s bad for your health.”
“Alcohol is supposed to taste bad. Nagging woman.”
The two heavy drinkers clinked their cups of cold liquor and continued walking.
The nagging woman sighed and followed the two men from behind.
A towering mountain range.
A group of exhausted-looking men rode their horses through it.
They were the Imperial Third Knight Order.
Right now, they looked nothing like knights.
After tying their weary horses to a tree, Renox spoke.
“I know you’re all tired. But there is no doubt that our target is somewhere in the Hatar Mountains. We must find it at all costs. It is an imperial command.”
The rigid commander reminded them of their objective once more.
The knights nodded, but exhaustion was written clearly on their faces.
They were knights, not mountaineers.
With only about sixty men, thoroughly searching such a vast mountain range had its limits.
They had received testimony from villagers at the foot of the mountains who claimed to have seen a blonde girl heading into the range, and they had even found traces of someone passing through.
Yet after nearly twenty days of searching, the woman they sought was nowhere to be found.
Normally, searching a mountain range of this scale would require deploying a large force of imperial troops or enlisting skilled hunters and rangers.
But they could not do that.
The target they were searching for was one of the empire’s most closely guarded secrets.
Although they were knights, they wore no armor and were dressed relatively simply.
For the imperial knight order to go to such lengths just to find a single woman…
If the republicans ever learned of this, they would go beyond mockery and unleash scathing criticism.
“Um, sir…”
The rookie knight Eric, who wore his hood low, scratched his cheek.
Despite the glares from his seniors, Eric couldn’t contain his curiosity.
“Why is the Third Knight Order chasing after just one woman? And why are we acting so secretly? I want to know why the imperial knights themselves have to personally search for a single girl.”
In truth, the seniors were dying to know the same thing.
No matter how loyal an imperial knight might be, it was difficult to maintain motivation for a long-term mission without knowing the reason.
Then, unexpectedly, Knight Commander Renox spoke.
“From what I’ve heard, this mission is related to the assassination of the imperial princess.”
The knights were more surprised that their strict, rule-bound commander had revealed the purpose of a top-secret mission than by the mention of the princess’s assassination.
Renox, who had risen from a fallen noble house to become commander of the imperial knights through outstanding swordsmanship and strategy, was respected by every knight in the order.
If not for their immense trust in him, complaints would have erupted long ago.
Even so, Renox himself was not pleased with this mission.
He gazed down at the distant road.
Was this mission truly so important that they had to reroute the entire trade route?
The sun hung high in the sky, looking down on the three travelers.
Henrik was the first to speak.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“About the situation we’re in right now.”
“Hmm. Well… it’s an incredibly awkward and troublesome situation, I suppose.”
“Want me to sum it up in one word? It’s fucking shit.”
“Watch your language.”
The Silantra Trade Route.
It was a massive road that connected not only the imperial capital but every major city in the empire.
The stone pavement was so solidly built that it wouldn’t collapse no matter how many merchants and carriages passed over it. There were no protruding pebbles or rocks, making it famously easy to walk on.
It had taken the three of them over ten days just to reach the trade route.
Their food supplies had dwindled rapidly, and fatigue had piled up.
Yet when they finally arrived, an unimaginable sight greeted them.
The trade route had been completely destroyed.
The neatly laid bricks were jutting out everywhere, and gravel was scattered all over the ground.
The cracked stone pavement was so uneven that even walking carefully would likely result in a fall.
There wasn’t a single carriage or even a pedestrian in sight.
“What the hell happened here?”
“It’s strange that the largest trade route on the continent is in this state and there’s not a single person around.”
While the two of them stood there looking dumbfounded, Kang Yoonsoo suddenly raised his right arm and pointed into the distance.
A tiny dot was trudging toward them from far away.
The dot gradually grew larger, but it remained small.
That was because the one approaching was a dwarf.
The dwarf, with a thick black beard, untied the cloth bundle he carried and began picking up the broken bricks scattered across the trade route.
“Excuse me, just a moment!”
When Shanette called out, the middle-aged dwarf turned his head.
“What?”
“Why is the trade route in such a ruined state? And where did all the people go?”
“You three must be slow on the news.”
The dwarf stroked his beard and answered.
“This trade route has been closed.”
“What? Why?”
“Bandits. They’ve been running rampant around here lately.”
Shanette looked incredulous.
“The bandits’ raids were bad enough to close the entire trade route?”
“How should I know? Honestly, there have been all sorts of rumors. Some say it’s a power struggle among nobles, others claim it’s the empire’s dark scheme to suppress the growing wealth of merchants. But anyone with eyes can see that blaming bandits is just an excuse.”
The middle-aged dwarf neatly stacked the bricks on his spread-out cloth.
“People are taking detours along other roads now. With no one around, monsters and wild animals come and dirty the path, which is why it looks like this. Though I suppose dwarves like me occasionally sneaking off with good-quality bricks doesn’t help either.”
With that, the dwarf trudged back the way he had come.
Shanette looked around with a flustered expression.
“What do we do now?”
“What choice do we have? Either go back the way we came and buy horses, or take a detour along another route.”
“It feels like such a waste to go back.”
Shanette looked gloomy.
At that moment, Kang Yoonsoo spoke.
“We’re not going back.”
“Huh?”
“We’re crossing the Hatar Mountains.”
Kang Yoonsoo pointed at the mountain range visible on the other side.
Since it wasn’t a path people normally took, there wasn’t even a proper trail.
Henrik asked with a dumbfounded look.
“You’re going to cross the mountains without a guide? You want us to starve for three days and nights after getting lost?”
“This is the shortcut.”
“B-but then who’s going to lead the way?”
“Me.”
Kang Yoonsoo had already begun walking toward the mountains.
Shanette and Henrik hesitated, exchanged glances, and finally let out a sigh.
“Can we really trust that guy?”
“Didn’t you see what happened in the Castle of the Dead? He’s not the kind of person we can hope to catch up to.”
“So in the end, he really is a madman.”
Henrik took out an automaton that breathed fire from his pocket.
It was a precaution so they could find their way back if needed—the smoke would serve as a marker.
Henrik grumbled as he followed behind Kang Yoonsoo.
“If he wasn’t the one carrying out that legendary quest…”
The Hatar Mountains.
Several massive peaks were connected together.
Some mountains were so tall their summits pierced the clouds, while others were low enough to be considered mere foothills.
Yet the geography was incredibly complex, and the interior was vast.
Even now, no proper map of the Hatar Mountains had been made.
Furthermore, ferocious beasts like violent bears and wild boars roamed freely, making it a dangerous place even rangers feared.
“Kyaa!”
Shanette nearly tripped over a tree root, but Kang Yoonsoo caught her with one hand.
Just as she was about to thank him, Henrik shouted from behind.
“Whoa!”
He had nearly impaled the back of his hand on a tree thorn.
Fortunately, Kang Yoonsoo had blocked his hand in time, so Henrik wasn’t seriously hurt.
Shanette sighed.
“Walking through the mountains at night is really dangerous.”
“You’re telling me. It’s so dark I can barely see what’s around us.”
Henrik waved his hand through the empty air.
Yet Kang Yoonsoo walked forward without the slightest hesitation.
Not a single branch even brushed against his body.
Henrik twisted his face into a strange expression.
“Just what the hell is that guy?”
“At the very least, he’s definitely not an ordinary person.”
“So I’m traveling with something that isn’t even human? Well, a guy who doesn’t get drunk and keeps a completely blank face whether it’s morning or night does seem closer to a ghost than a person.”
Kang Yoonsoo, who was walking ahead, pointed into the distance.
Beneath a dark stone wall, a small gap was visible.
It was a small cave.
“We’ll stay here for the night.”
“There aren’t any beasts inside, right?”
Henrik picked up a stone and threw it into the cave.
Whoosh—!
But no sound came back.
The three of them entered the cave.
Despite its narrow entrance, the interior was surprisingly spacious.
The temperature inside was comfortable, making it a decent place to camp.
Kang Yoonsoo gathered branches and lit a fire. Shanette took out some dried rations, and Henrik flopped onto the ground and began carving wood with a chisel.
Despite his casual movements, he quickly produced three wooden bowls and set them on the floor.
Shanette said in amazement.
“Your carving speed is incredible.”
“What else would I do? I still can’t match that guy over there.”
“No.”
It was Kang Yoonsoo who spoke.
Henrik stopped moving the chisel and looked at him.
Kang Yoonsoo stared back with an indifferent gaze.
Yet there was something different about his eyes this time.
“I once learned carving and puppetry from you. But even then, I could never match your skill. No matter how much I practiced.”
It was a strange thing to say.
Learned carving and puppetry from Henrik?
Henrik had only been traveling with Kang Yoonsoo for less than a month, and he had no memory of ever teaching him any techniques.
Henrik looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“I heard something similar back at the tavern, but what the hell are you talking about? We’ve only known each other for less than a month. When did you learn any skills from me? You talk like you’ve met me before.”
Kang Yoonsoo closed his mouth and said nothing.
As an awkward silence settled over them, Shanette spoke up to change the mood.
“Anyway, our food is running out faster than I expected. We’re eating it quickly because we’re worried it’ll spoil in our packs. If I had known, I would have bought a lot more dried rations.”
At that moment, Kang Yoonsoo stood up.
Shanette looked at him curiously.
“Where are you going?”
“To get food.”
It was unlikely, but Shanette asked just in case.
“You’ll be able to find your way back without getting lost, right?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Yoonsoo left the cave and began walking.
It was dark, but visibility didn’t matter to him.
Eventually he grew annoyed and simply closed his eyes as he walked.
The rustle of fallen leaves, the sound of dirt being dug up, the snap of weeds bending in the wind.
Those sounds alone were enough for him to determine his path.
He walked for a long time.
Yet his mood refused to improve.
I have to be careful.
He had accidentally brought up something about Henrik.
He had tried to restrain himself, but words related to his previous lives kept slipping out.
In truth, Kang Yoonsoo knew.
He was failing to adapt to this changing life and was slowly breaking down.
I can’t think negatively. I have to endure. Just like I always have.
Kang Yoonsoo pressed his fingers against his temples.
He walked behind a wide, flat rock.
As expected, a porcupine boar was sniffing the ground, searching for mountain mushrooms.
A porcupine boar was a beast with sharp, vicious tusks that resembled porcupine quills.
Its tusks were so sharp that they could be used as spears without any modification.
Kang Yoonsoo drew his longsword and stabbed the porcupine boar in the nape of its neck in a single motion.
The large boar let out a scream that pierced the eardrums.
Kang Yoonsoo could even understand the meaning behind that scream.
Spare me! I have five piglets back at my den. If I don’t return alive today, they will all die.
Kang Yoonsoo silently stabbed the beast two more times.
Understanding the words of animals was painful.
Killing a crying beast and killing a talking one were two different things.
To Kang Yoonsoo, the line between humans and monsters had always been blurred.
He had once conversed with monsters, hunted alongside them, and built bonds of friendship.
After all, he had once been the Monster Lord—the ruler of all monsters.
He bit his lip lightly.
Don’t think about the past. Focus on this life.
The porcupine boar’s breathing stopped.
Kang Yoonsoo hoisted the large carcass onto his back and headed back toward the cave.
He had been walking for quite some time.
Swish—!
A sharp arrow suddenly grazed his cheek. A thin line of blood trickled down.
Kang Yoonsoo turned toward the direction the arrow had come from.
A cold voice rang out.