Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 18

Cold sweat started forming on Shaneth’s back as she stood frozen on the spot.

“What are you doing just standing there??Won’t you?tell me?” Lee Min-Chan?asked as he started walking toward her.

The door opened before Shaneth could do anything, and?a lightly dressed Kang Yoon-Soo?peeked out and asked, “Aren’t you coming in?” He grabbed Shaneth’s wrist and pulled her inside before she could react, then closed the door.

“The guy a while ago said his name was Lee Min-Chan. Do you think he’s?the serial killer?”?Shaneth?asked nervously.

“That’s right,”?Kang Yoon-Soo?replied.

“Do you really think that kid was the serial killer? He didn’t?look like a nice kid, but he looked too composed to be someone that would rape and kill women,” Shaneth said while she was feeling around for a lamp in the dark room, but she couldn’t find?it?anywhere.

“He’s been like that ever since,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied in a way that sounded as if he had experienced this situation?in the past.?It was unlikely for?him?to be lying; even though he did?not seem to be very trustworthy, everything he had said up?until then?had been true.

Shaneth finally felt something at the tips of her fingers; it was the lamp?she had been?looking for. She turned on the lamp and it brightly illuminated the room,?revealing?Kang Yoon-Soo sitting on the bed armed with his greatsword.

“We have to be prepared tonight if you don’t want to die,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Me? What do you mean I’ll?die?” Shaneth asked, surprised.

Kang Yoon-Soo?answered as if he were?stating the obvious, “If the serial killer that only targets beautiful women were?staying in this inn, who do you think his target would?be?”

***

‘The world revolves around me!’

That?was Lee Min-Chan’s motto in life.

Lee Min-Chan?had been?a meek 18-year-old high schooler?until just a few months before.?His daily life?had been?an endless cycle of being bullied by the school thugs, and his only source of happiness?had been?watching anime?in his room all day. He did not have any friends, nor did he have any ambitions; while?everyone around him was busy studying for their future, Lee Min-Chan spent his time sleeping?at?his desk or reading fantasy novels.

He liked fantasy novels. His favorites were isekai stories where the high schooler protagonist would go to another world and become an overpowered character. He enjoyed the exhilarating secondhand satisfaction he felt whenever he read about cheat protagonists who could easily conquer countless obstacles and challenges.

Right?when his parents’ disappointment in him and his anxiety for his future started to grow, however, he was transported to another world. The place he?had arrived in?was none other than a dragon’s lair.

“Traveler from another world, I will enter dormancy soon. Inherit my powers and prepare to fight against the danger coming to this world in the near future,”?the?dragon covered?in tough-looking?scales told the youth.?It?passed on?its?magic powers before entering into a deep sleep.

Lee Min-Chan had obtained a high-level skill that others would probably never get in their life at Level 1, and?without any sort of effort?on?his part, no less.

“Awesome! This is exactly like that one?novel!” Lee Min-Chan exclaimed in excitement.

He was an outcast in real life, and he did not have any friends to talk to.?Real life?was boring for him, and he did not have anything he wanted to do, nor did he have any ambitions or hopes for the future. His mundane life was?filled with?his parents and his teachers nagging him to study. The device on his wrist that had appeared when he was summoned had a message that said?he would?be able to return to reality once the Demon Lord has been killed, however.

‘Why would I go back?’?Lee Min-Chan thought while smirking.?He was in a different world now,?and he liked this world better than reality because he could?now be like the protagonist?of an isekai novel?and wreak havoc in this world!

‘I’m glad I made the right choice by not studying.

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‘It was all useless anyway?since?I was going to?be sent?here.

‘I would have regretted it if I listened to those adults.

‘There’s nothing to gain by listening to those boomers anyway.’

He took a look at the skill the dragon?had given?him.?It?allowed him to manipulate a person as long as they?had no special resistance against magic.

‘Wow. I’ll be using this to my heart’s content.

‘Fight against the evil of this world? Why would I?with?this awesome skill?’

He had always felt frustrated whenever he read fantasy novels with protagonists that acted?self-righteous?even though they had the power to do whatever they want.

He scouted around for a town after leaving the dragon’s lair, and used his manipulation skill exclusively on beautiful women.

[Do you wish to manipulate?Irina, the?young flower vendor?]

[The skill will activate if you recite the activation phrase embedded deep within the mind of the target.]

[The activation phrase for Irina is?‘I heard your ex-boyfriend ran off with your engagement ring?’.]

[The manipulation skill is more effective on emotional and weak-willed people.]

[On the other hand, the skill will be less effective on?less emotional or older?people.]

The ugly and scrawny Lee Min-Chan?had brainwashed?a?beautiful girl to see him as if he were?an astonishingly handsome?man. However, the skill had limitations. He could only manipulate one person at a time.

“This is so frustrating. Why does this skill have so many restrictions?! I can’t make a harem at this rate.”

He?would change his female companion whenever he saw another beautiful girl in another town. Of course, the women?who had been?manipulated by him did not have any memories of what had happened, and they ended up being lost and homeless—not that he cared.

“What?do I care? I’m?now the protagonist! I’ll do whatever I want in this world.

“I’ll travel with a beautiful woman. Yes,?with women, it’s all about how they?look.”

Lee Min-Chan wanted to become a cheat character. A cheat character?could do whatever they wanted.

He tried to hunt monsters with his lady companion, but his only skill was manipulation. Manipulation was a high-grade?skill, but it was?ineffective on monsters. He had a couple of close encounters with death, but he never hesitated to use his companion as?a?meat shield to survive.

“Kyaaah! Help me! Don’t leave me behind!” his companion pleaded.

“Shut up! I’m the protagonist! You’re just an extra! That’s why I have to survive!” he would shout brazenly.?He was the protagonist, and there were no fantasy novels where the protagonist died in the early chapters. He had to survive even if he had to sacrifice others.

‘Well, there are plenty of women out there. Heh.

‘Don’t they usually say ‘throw it away if there’s no longer any use for it’?’

He changed his approach when he realized hunting monsters was not as easy as he had thought. He sought to cooperate with other travelers like himself, but things?did not?go as easily as he thought?they would then, either. On the first hunt, the travelers did not hold back their aggressive nature and berated him endlessly.

“Hey, Min-Chan, you have to swing your sword. You’ll die if you keep spacing?out, you?know?”

“Hey,?you punk! Do you have a death wish?!?Just stay behind if?your?level is low! Do?you really think you can actually kill a monster?”

“What? This girl doesn’t know how to wield a spear or a sword? Hey, I don’t want to sound rude but…?What’s the use?of her just being?pretty? This is a hunting ground; you should’ve brought a fighter and not a muse!”

Lee Min-Chan was upset. He was the protagonist, but they dared to?treat?him?this way? The protagonist would usually be surrounded by people wherever he?went, and?he was supposed to?have at least one loyal friend to accompany him?on his?travels.

He?was furious for the whole day, and he could not even eat because of his anger. He needed a way to vent his stress and anger. While he was thinking of a way to vent, he suddenly snapped his fingers as if he?had a ‘Eureka!’?moment.

“That’s right, you’re here!” he exclaimed.

Lee Min-Chan immediately went to buy a whip used for horseback riding, and?began whipping?the girl every night. At first, he hesitated and whipped her lightly, but he felt a sense of superiority as he heard the girl scream in pain. That?feeling of dominance and superiority gave him a feeling of ecstasy and satisfaction.

“It’s alright! I’m the protagonist!”?A protagonist did not need any justification for his actions;?besides, people these days preferred a villainous protagonist?to?a?self-righteous?protagonist. That?was?how he justified his own actions.

Crack!

“Kyaaah! Help me!” the girl screamed whenever he whipped her.

“What? It called?itself a dragon but it only gave me this manipulation skill? Shouldn’t it?have given?me some cheat artifact at least, just like in the fantasy novels?!” Lee Min-Chan complained.

He?released his stress?every day?after coming back from a hunt by whipping the girl. He frequently went out to hunt, but his level was still low. He?had been?physically weak to begin with and was not the sporty kind at all. It would have been a different story if he?had done?some physical activity back in?his world,?but he was a lazy kid.

His reputation among?Travelers was very bad because of his habit of cursing them behind their backs, and soon enough,?no?party was?willing to take him in anymore.

“Why? Why won’t you let me join you?” he protested.

“You have a bad personality, and we don’t like you,” the?Travelers?would reply.

Lee Min-Chan gritted his teeth in anger.?‘You idiots! I’m the protagonist!’

He beat the girl?the same way he did on any?other day to vent his anger, but this time?he did not use?a whip. He chose to use a large wooden club?instead in?his anger, and continuously beat the girl over and over again.?Just when?his stress was almost relieved, however, he noticed that the girl had stopped breathing—she was dead.

Lee Min-Chan dropped the club,?trembling?with?guilt,?but a message?suddenly popped up on his wrist device.

[You have gained experience?points?from killing your own?kind.]

[You have gained additional experience?points?for your first murder.]

[Your notoriety will increase if there was a witness to the murder.]

[You may face consequences if your notoriety increases too much.]

[You have gained 2?levels.]

He had leveled up!

That?was the moment Lee Min-Chan realized?one could?still get experience from killing people. In fact, it was a more efficient way to get experience points than hunting monsters.?Afterward, he started to manipulate the travelers that looked down on him one by one, and?killed them all.

It was ironic that the power bestowed upon him by the dragon was actually the best possible power one could have to commit murder. The skill limitation of only being able to manipulate weak people had grown along with his level, and he was now able to manipulate stronger and older people;?however, the restriction of only being able to manipulate one person at a time still existed.

Soon enough, his notoriety increased?so much that he could not stay in one place any longer. That?was how he had ended up in?Hiledan?to hide for a while. However,?he did not stop manipulating and killing girls there as well. He no longer?thought there was?any reason to feel guilt, because he was the protagonist in this world.

People actually found it amusing and fresh if the protagonist scammed?people and acted?like a villain. So what?did?it matter if he, as?the?protagonist, committed?murder for his own benefit? That was his rationalization. However, the continuous?pattern of killings?had started to bore him, and that was when he had the idea to?give?his manipulated victims?a certain command.

“Smile, smile as if you were really happy.”

His victims smiled no matter how painful the beatings were, and they did not stop smiling even after they died—and?that?made the killing even more pleasurable for him.

He reasoned?that he was?a compassionate and considerate?person after?all…

“It’s better than dying with a?tearful expression,?right? Heh.”

***

It had been a little bit over a month since Lee Min-Chan had arrived at Hiledan.

He?had been?around Level 30 at that time, and although he wanted to kill more people to level up faster,?he?had to lay low for a while to avoid being caught. He would have already been caught if he did not manipulate the inspectors and?run?away.

It was around the time Lee Min-Chan was lounging at the inn when a couple?arrived. The couple looked very dirty, but the?red-haired?woman was very beautiful. It was a shame that she had a burn mark on the left side of her face, but aside from that,?she was gorgeous. He?even thought?that she was the most beautiful woman he had seen, compared to all the women he had killed.

‘It’s that bitch tonight. Heh.’

Night?fell.

Lee Min-Chan was heading to?the restroom when he saw the woman from earlier?in the day?walk toward him. Perhaps it was because she?had just taken?a bath, but her fragrance captured him, and?he could not stop looking at her milky-white skin and?well-toned?figure. The burn mark on her face?no longer mattered.

They exchanged a few words, but she?left for?her room without even telling him her name. It left a bad taste in his mouth, but he did not mind it at all.

‘Well, she’ll be mine anyway.’

Lee Min-Chan went to his room and?looked?over his equipment.

How long had?it been since he caught a beauty like her? He planned to toy?with?and torture her for his own entertainment and pleasure—for a very long time. It was the perfect timing too, since he had been looking for a toy to relieve his?pent-up?stress.?He?took his whip, rod, and dagger with him.

‘I’ll toy with her for a little bit and kill her off if I get bored. Heh.’

Lee Min-Chan treated everyone as if they were toys?he could play with as he wished. He looked at people as insignificant playthings?to?toy around with and throw away once they started to bore him. Extras?were meant to be used by the protagonist as he wished, after all.

‘I can do whatever I want.

‘Because I’m the protagonist.’

Dawn?arrived.

Lee Min-Chan went to the?woman’s?room, and found that the door was not locked. He finished?preparing?to use his manipulation skill, and flung the door open.

Suddenly, a hand?reached out from the room and grabbed him by?the?hair.

‘What…?’?Lee Min-Chan was about to scream, but before he could?get?a sense of what was going on, Kang Yoon-Soo?dragged him by the?hair and smashed his head?into?the window.

Crash!

“Aaah!” Lee Min-Chan screamed.?Blood started to flow down his head, and shards of glass?dug deep into his face.?“My face…!” he?cried.

“It looks fine,” Kang Yoon-Soo said emotionlessly?as?he started to pound his fist?into?Lee Min-Chan’s face.

Pukeok!

Lee Min-Chan’s nose broke, and a river of blood started to flow out of it.

1. The raw says “???”, which is an abbreviation of “A?High Schooler?Going to?Another?World to?Wreak?Havoc”, but there’s no proper way to express that in English.