Record of a Thousand Lives - Chapter 124

I will catch the treasure fleet!

-Noob Fisherman

An elf woman bowed down and thanked Kang Yoon-Soo while tears fell from her eyes. “Thank you very much! I do not know how we can ever repay you…”

This was probably the 200th ‘thank you’ he had received. The party had kept count until the 143rd person; but if they were to take into account the fact that Shaneth, who was supposed to be keeping count, had fallen asleep halfway, this could also be the 300th person to thank Kang Yoon-Soo.

The next in line to thank Kang Yoon-Soo was the old centaur. The two of them shook hands as the centaur expressed his gratitude. “Thank you. We would never have been able to achieve our freedom if not for your leadership.” Kang Yoon-Soo just nodded in response.

It was already dawn, and the night of the full moon was almost over.

“We should start making a move now,” Deff said while tightly holding his brother’s hand.

Kang Yoon-Soo stared at the brothers for a moment before nodding and saying, “Let’s go.”

They went up to the roof of the vampire castle, and the full moon’s light shone brightly down on them. Kang Yoon-Soo stood in the center of the roof and muttered something akin to a spell. “We are the rulers of the blood. Every last drop of blood in this world belongs to us. We will never run dry of blood, but every drop is precious. That is why our blood is thicker than water.”

The others looked tense as soon as he finished chanting the spell, but there seemed to be no reaction whatsoever.

It was then that someone suddenly pointed at the sky and shouted, “Bats!”

Thousands of bats covered the night sky, flying down toward the group. The bats blanketed them, completely obscuring their vision. The world surrounding them was devoured by darkness.

***

Rapentahil decided to travel to the art museum. He was not sure whether it was just because he was old, but he decided to drop by to visit because he had suddenly sensed something. He put on his coat and began making his way to the art museum despite Sheryl’s sharp glare.

“Where are you going, sir?” Sheryl asked.

“One should live in this world the way one wants to, right?” Rapentahil replied.

“That is not something someone in your position should be saying, sir,” Sheryl responded.

“That’s not something an investigator who made a scene at a pub should be saying either,” Rapentahil retorted.

“…Please come back as soon as possible,” Sheryl muttered, admitting defeat.

When he arrived at the museum, Rapentahil stared at the painting. How many years had he spent just to obtain it? He thought, ‘I hope my daughter-in-law in heaven won’t be too touched by this…’

While he was deeply immersed in his own remorse, the painting started to tremble.

“Euk!”

“Kyaaah!”

The painting started to continuously spit out members of the party one by one. Rapentahil looked at the scene and proudly smiled as he muttered, “I could open a fortune-telling stall after I retire.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did you go senile, old man?” Renil grumbled, grimacing while massaging his head.

Iris looked pale and blue as she complained, “I feel dizzy…”

“It feels like seasickness,” Shaneth said, shaking her head to combat the feeling of nausea.

Henrick looked around and saw that they were back in the art museum where they had first entered the painting. He asked, “Where are the others?”

“They would have been sent to their respective paintings if they weren’t holding hands, the way I held my brother’s hand,” Deff replied.

Rapentahil’s eyes shot wide open as he stared at the young boy who was holding onto Deff’s hand. He asked, “Brother? Deff, is this boy your brother?”

“Yes,” Deff replied as he held Diel’s hand tightly.

“Woof?” the young boy called out, shifting his gaze between the room and his brother.

It was then that Deff smiled and continued, “He is indeed my brother.”

“Oh! Congratulations! You’ve finally gotten your lifelong wish!” Rapentahil sincerely congratulated Deff.

Renil snickered and said, “That’s not all. Your jaw might drop if you hear about the things we did at Sanguineum.”

“Oh really? Well, unfortunately for you, my jaw isn’t that healthy, so we might have to hear your stories a while later,” Rapentahil replied.

The group composed themselves before standing up. It was then that Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “We’ll be leaving, then.”

“So soon? We still have a lot of gratitude we want to convey to you. I was hoping you would at least wind down for a few days with us,” Deff pleaded.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo shook his head and replied, “We still have a long way ahead of us.”

Kang Yoon-Soo and his party left the art museum first, and the Vampire Hunters watched them from the windows.

Renil suddenly said, “They were good people, right, Gasen? I’ll assume you agree if you don’t respond.”

“…” Gasen silently nodded in agreement.

The party had suddenly appeared and left like the wind. They had not spent a lot of time together, but the Vampire Hunters felt sad to see them leave.

Rapentahil rubbed his mustache before saying, “Well, it was indeed a hell of a strange ride…”

“I’ll especially remember one person from that group,” Deff said.

“Who is it?” Rapentahil asked.

Deff smiled and replied, “It’s just a hunch, but… I think that guy already knew about everything…”

“Hmmm? What are you talking about?” Rapentahil asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Diel pulled at Deff’s sleeves and whimpered, “Kyeong. Ramikriya?”

Deff smiled before suddenly clapping and saying, “Now, now! We don’t have time. The vampires are gone, so we’ve achieved our goal. So what do you think about having a meeting to set a new target? What about Raihuen Pub?”

“That’s fine with me! The barmaids over there are really pretty! Gasen, you’re on board as well, right? I’ll assume you agree if you don’t say anything!” Renil enthusiastically exclaimed.

“…”

“Haha! I’ll never get bored if I’m with you lot,” Deff said with a hearty laugh.

The Vampire Hunters left the art museum, and a gust of wind entered through the window and gently embraced the painting—the painting nobody would visit from then on.

***

A father and son duo were fishing at a river that flowed calmly and gently.

The father was the first one to break the silence, calling out, “My son.”

“Yes, father?” the son replied.

“Do you know how I won in a hundred to one fight when I was younger?” the father asked.

“No, I don’t,” the son replied.

“It’s because I was with the hundred,” the father said.

“…”

“My son, it’s all a numbers game at the end,” the father said.

Yan knew his upright father very well, which was why he knew very well that his father was two thousand times more sensitive than a woman who was about to have her period—because his father had not gotten a nibble all day.

‘This is pretty rare…’ Yan thought, scratching his head. His father, Nell, was an experienced fisherman, and there was nobody among the fishermen who had not heard his stories.

‘There hasn’t been a day where he hasn’t gotten a single nibble in more than a decade,’ Yan thought.

Nell was an old man who already had gray hair. The color of his hair revealed the years he had spent fishing, and his skills had been refined by time itself. His ability to provide for Yan and his wife through fishing alone was a more than adequate testament to his skills as a fisherman.

It was then…

Chwik!

A fish bit the hook, and Nell pulled on the rod with all his strength. Then, a large silhouette started to surface from underneath the water.

Chwaaaaak!

As expected, Nell had caught something that looked drastically different from a normal fish. A beautiful mermaid’s lips had been caught on the fishing hook.

Nell asked, “What are you?”

“I’m a mermaid,” the mermaid replied.

“Why did you try to eat my bait?” Nell asked.

“The worm you used looked quite appetizing,” the mermaid replied.

“You know the good stuff, eh?” Nell remarked. He looked the mermaid up and down and asked, “Why don’t you become my daughter-in-law?”

“Is it possible for him to ejaculate on eggs?” the mermaid asked.

“…”

Yan immediately freed the mermaid. Nell quietly put more bait on his hook and cast the line into the river. Then, he fixed his straw hat and leaned on a tree before saying, “She was quite the beauty.”

“Looks aren’t everything,” Yan replied.

Then, Nell began, “My son.”

“Yes, father?” Yan responded.

“Do you know why I’m living with your mother?” Nell asked.

“Isn’t it because you love her?” Yan replied.

“That’s the first reason. I’m asking about the second reason,” Nell said.

“Then, I don’t know,” Yan replied.

“It’s because she does a good job at night,” Nell said.

“…”

“My son, there’s nothing special about love,” Nell said.

Yan was left speechless by his father’s blunt words, as he sat awkwardly while rubbing his fishing rod. Then, he carefully asked, “Do you want a grandchild early?”

“It’s not something that will happen just because I want it,” Nell replied.

There was no one who could hold a candle against Nell when it came to his laid-back personality while fishing. However, the problem was that his laid-back personality affected even his life outside of fishing.

Yan started to feel uneasy as he asked, “Shall we head back, father? The sun is about to set.”

“Let’s go after catching just one more,” Nell said leisurely.

The river started to grow dark, and the warm breeze made the grass around them sway from side to side.

Yan started to break out into cold sweat as he said, “I heard that a water ghost would emerge from the Cayman River…”

“I caught it twice,” Nell said casually.

“…You caught the water ghost?” Yan asked, dumbfounded.

“It’s a shame that you didn’t inherit my skills,” Nell said with a sigh.

Yan had always wondered why he had not inherited his father’s incredible fishing skills. Should he suspect his mother’s history with men? In fact, he had considered a few times that he might actually be adopted.

Chwik!

Another fish bit the hook, and Nell pulled on the rod with all his strength.

Chwaaaak!

The surface of the water rippled as the fishing line made out of a wyvern’s tendon raced around the river.

As Nell pulled on the rod, he called out, “Son.”

“Yes, father?” Yan responded.

“Help me out,” Nell said.

Yan’s eyes opened wide in surprise. His father was someone who had fished out a sunken ship alone, and that could only mean that the thing on the line was in no way ordinary.

He hurriedly wrapped his hands around Nell’s waist and pulled him, yelping, “Euk! Why is this thing so strong?”

Any fishing rod and line other than Nell’s would have already snapped, but the thing on the hook was so strong that it was dragging the fisherman into the river. Yan gritted his teeth and shouted, “We’ll drown at this rate. Just let go!”

However, Nell did not let go of his rod. He prided himself on never having lost a single thing on his hook; as such, he planned to keep that record. He muttered, “I have a good feeling.”

Nell’s mumblings made his son’s face turn blue. Yan shouted desperately, “Father!”

Nell, on the other hand, was still calm and relaxed even though he was being dragged into the river. Then, he said, “Son.”

“Ah! What now, father?” Yan asked.

“Tell your mother,” Nell said.

“What?” Yan exclaimed in shock.

“I’ll kill her if she meets another man after I die,” Nell said.

Chwaaaak!

The fishing rod was sucked into the river, and Nell immediately kicked his son off him. Yan fell backward and screamed, “Father!”

However, it was already too late, as Nell was sucked into the river while still holding onto his fishing rod with both hands. Yan immediately took up a harpoon and jumped into the river.

Splash!

The river below was dark, but Yan opened his eyes wide and scoured his surroundings. Then, he saw a large shadow swimming away in the distance, deciding to chase after it.

Fwoooosh!

A strong current swept him away. He flailed his arms and legs to try to catch up to the shadow as it swam away, but he was just swept farther away from the shadow by the current.

Kwachik!

Yan hit the back of his head on a rock and started to bleed. His consciousness started to fade; he was drowning, and his voice was fading, but he did not stop screaming as loud as he could. “Father! Father!”

***

“Hum… Humhum… Humhumhum… Hum…” Iris hummed a tune through her nose while tying a thin string to a stick. Sally squatted down beside her and asked, “What’s that?”

“It is called a fishing rod,” Iris replied.

“A fishing rod?” Sally asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“We can cast this out and catch a fish with it,” Iris said, miming casting the fishing rod.

Sally’s clear eyes twinkled in excitement as she exclaimed, “Wow! That sounds fun!”

The party was camping beside the Cayman River. It was a perfect camping spot, as it had fresh and clean air.

Henrick snickered and said, “Hey, you punk. Do you actually think you’ll be able to catch a fish with a crude fishing rod like that?”

“Why not be quiet if you will not be helping out anyway? Just watch. I will catch a huge fish today,” Iris said confidently as she tied part of a steel skewer to the end of the string instead of a needle.

“I hope you go catch a whale or something. Do you think you’ll catch anything when your hook is that big?” Henrick mocked.

“Hmph! Why don’t you just stand and watch? We’ll catch a huge fish!” Sally chimed in as well. The two girls were full of excitement as they sat beside the fishing rod cast into the river.

Henrick took a sip of alcohol and said, “Innocence can be cruel sometimes.”

“Pour me some,” Rick said.

“Aren’t you a doll…?” Henrick grumbled.

“I can convert alcohol into mana within me,” Rick replied.

“Wow… Isn’t that amazing? Why don’t you install that in me as well next time?” Henrick replied as he poured Rick a cup.

It was then that Sally suddenly stood up and shouted, “The stick is shaking!”

“We have a bite!” Iris exclaimed excitedly as she stood up and grabbed the fishing rod.

Henrick raised a brow and muttered, “Already?”

Iris and Sally pulled the fishing rod while struggling with all of their strength. Iris called out, “Henrick! Help us! It’s too strong!”

“I think the skewer got stuck in a rock or something,” Henrick said as he moved his mana threads and sent Rick over. The fishing line came out of the water as soon as Rick gently pulled on the rod.

“Hurray!” Sally exclaimed.

“It’s a huge one!” Iris exclaimed too.

Chwaaaak!

What they had caught on the end of the skewer was a man bleeding from the back of his head. Iris and Sally looked at each other for a moment before screaming. “Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Henrick, on the other hand, clicked his tongue and remarked, “Wow… You really caught a big, tasty-looking fish, didn’t you?”