Chapter 1: Tomb Raider King (1)

A Note from the Author.

Hello, I’m SAN.G.

It is a tremendous honor and a great joy to be reunited with all of you through Tomb Raider King. Thanks to the readers who continued to remember this work, I have the opportunity to tell Joo-Heon’s story once again, coinciding with the premiere of the Tomb Raider King anime.

You would think that after becoming the King of Relics, he would finally live a peaceful life… but, as you might expect, that never happened.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this new story.

Thank you very much for your support.

***

Damn bastard.

That was the phrase Dohyun had heard the most over the past two years.

“This is the first time I’ve ever met a bastard as ruthless as you!”

Of course, he knew the reason as well.

It was all because of those damned tombs.

The year 2025.

One day, mysterious tombs suddenly appeared all over the world.

Myths, historical figures, legends, folktales, famous novels.

Didn’t they say that stories remembered for a long time possessed power?

Well, those very stories had become tombs and suddenly began appearing in the modern era.

The problem was the items that came out of those tombs.

Those damned relics.

Just as Prometheus gave fire to humanity, relics granted people abilities and wealth, allowing anyone to change their destiny and rise through society.

It was an era in which anyone could become someone extraordinary!

But that only lasted for a while.

Once the Relic Administration Organization (Pandora) was established, all relic users came under its control. Those with power and wealth became part of Pandora, and all relics ended up in the hands of the elite.

People believed them when they claimed they were responsible for maintaining peace and global security.

Even if they suffered injustice, no one dared to rebel out of fear of the power of the relics.

Yes.

At least, no one except one person.

[Seo Joo-Heon once again seizes all of Pandora’s relics.]

[(The relics) were never a divine gift meant to help humanity progress.]

[The relics’ true purpose was to exterminate humanity. They had joined forces with (Pandora) to wipe out mankind.]

[(Pandora) knew the truth but concealed it for its own benefit.]

[(Pandora) suspected of conducting human experiments to obtain powerful relics.]

[Seo Joo-Heon saves the world from Pandora’s conspiracy.]

[Seo Joo-Heon becomes Majesty, the King of Relics, and the ruler who controls all relics.]

Seo Joo-Heon.

The hero who saved the world.

The King of Relics.

Majesty.

Dohyun had seen those headlines countless times.

On the news.

On the giant screens in the streets.

Even on the televisions in bars.

In short, amid the chaos, Seo Joo-Heon became Majesty, the King of Relics, and restored order to the world.

‘Damn Seo Joo-Heon!’

Seo Joo-Heon had saved the world.

But there were also people who had never wanted that to happen.

“Damn it! Because of Seo Joo-Heon, our business went to hell!”

“We were making a fortune trafficking relics!”

“It was so much better when there were no laws! What the hell is this Relic Law?”

Those who distributed relics illegally and those who worked alongside the monopolizers deeply hated Seo Joo-Heon.

Dohyun belonged to that group as well.

He had survived by betraying others without the slightest remorse and made a living stealing relics.

People called him a ruthless bastard.

But it all ended today.

“You son of a bitch!”

Dohyun was dying.

“That bastard! He used us as bait and escaped!”

Around him, enormous pythons writhed.

It was an unidentified supreme tomb discovered by his team leader.

At first, everyone had entered excitedly, convinced they had found a treasure.

But they ended up like this after running into a deadly trap.

When he realized he was going to die, Dohyun began laughing like a madman.

“You damned bastards! As if I’d ever trust anyone with relics again! Even if I have to become a ghost, I’ll haunt you for all eternity!”

Just as his desperate shout echoed throughout the labyrinth, he heard an unexpected voice.

“Ah, seriously, you’re making quite the fuss over dying.”

Huh?

When he looked up after hearing that pleasant deep voice, he saw the figure of a tall man.

A well-defined face.

Sharp features.

A man so handsome that it was impossible not to admire him.

…What?

A person?

There was someone here?

‘A rescuer?’

At that moment—

Thud!!!

He was hit by a tremendous kick.

The man who had just kicked him without the slightest mercy casually picked at his ear with an annoyed expression.

“Hey. Why are you making such a racket over such an insignificant tomb? What are you going to do if the relic in here escapes?”

“??”

W-Who the hell was this guy?

Dohyun was completely bewildered.

This was a tomb whose entrance had been forbidden worldwide by Seo Joo-Heon.

No one should have been able to enter.

“Ah, you’re in the way. Move.”

“Aaah!”

Dohyun screamed.

“Wait! I’m injured! Can’t you see my leg was torn off?”

“Ah. Really?”

The hooded man calmly took out an item.

[Qin Shi Huang’s Fruit of Immortality (S Grade / Consumable Relic)]

Remaining Uses: (1/1)

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a red fruit.

Without the slightest consideration, the man forcibly shoved it into Dohyun’s mouth.

“What a fuss you’re making over losing one little leg.”

“Ghk! Damn you…! What the hell did you make me swallow…? H-Huh?!”

Then something incredible happened.

A flash of light enveloped his body.

And his severed leg began regenerating completely.

‘That level of regeneration is only possible with a Divine Grade relic.’

The relics were classified from F Grade (Antique) to SS Grade (Divine Grade).

That was, at the very least, an SS Grade relic.

An item impossible to obtain even if you offered tens of billions.

And yet, that man had used it as if it were worthless.

“I’ll only charge you ten billion as payment.”

“W-What?!”

But he didn’t even have time to be shocked.

Dohyun desperately pointed behind the man.

“Behind you! Behind you!”

Then he remembered that this place was the nest of enormous pythons.

“Those things ate my teammates!”

As one of the pythons opened its mouth and lunged at them, the hooded man swiftly pulled out another relic.

“Oh? Then I guess I’ll have to deal with it.”

[Egyptian Embalmer’s Possessed Knife (C Grade – Normal / Consumable Relic)]

Remaining Uses: (44/100)

But the moment he saw the weapon, Dohyun fell into despair.

He had been a relic user for years himself.

One glance was enough for him to know.

“C Grade!? Damn it, this guy is a complete rookie! Even S Grade relics couldn’t hurt it! That’s why my teammates ended up being devoured!”

“Hah. Just watch.”

The man disappeared in an instant.

Then he attacked.

He drove the blade in.

He slashed.

He carved it apart.

As if he could clearly see every single weak point on the creature.

Crunch!

At last, the enormous python collapsed to the ground.

The hooded man flashed a ferocious grin.

“You said it ate your teammates?”

“Then we’ll just have to take them back out of its stomach.”

The man climbed onto the python’s mouth and forced it to swallow something.

[Medicine That Made Cronus Vomit (S Grade / Consumable Relic)]

The python instantly vomited everything in its stomach.

Among it were Dohyun’s teammates.

“G-Guys!”

“B-Boss!”

Seeing his teammates alive, Dohyun’s eyes became moist as he looked at the man.

“T-Thank you…”

“Saving your teammates costs another ten billion.”

“W-What?!”

“That’s enough. Follow me.”

“W-What… what?!”

Was he going to lead him to the exit?

However, the hooded man grinned from ear to ear and shoved Dohyun into a room completely covered in sand.

Immediately, dozens of venomous snakes began falling from the ceiling.

“?!”

After barely dodging them, Dohyun shouted at the man.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“What am I doing? Crossing this trap is too dangerous for me.”

“What?!”

At that moment, the snakes that had fallen to the ground bit Dohyun.

He felt no pain.

Nor did he suffer any damage.

But—

“The password to my bank account is 4989…!”

Hearing that completely unexpected outburst, the hooded man calmly stroked his chin.

“Hmm. So it’s a trap that forces you to reveal your secrets? Perfect. Now that I know the password, I’ll simply collect my reward.”

Right after that, he threw Dohyun’s teammates into the sand pit as well.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

The man smiled carefree.

“Did you really think I went through the trouble of saving your teammates out of the goodness of my heart?”

“What…?”

Then a voice echoed from within the trap.

[You will die if you do not tell the truth. What is your name?]

The people trapped in the pit hurriedly answered.

“Jin Jeonghui!”

“Shin Gyeongjae!”

“Alex Walker!”

[That’s a lie.]

“Aaaagh! We’re not lying! W-Why…?! Gulp! Gulp!”

It was then that the hooded man—the very one who had saved them—spoke.

“Ah, you still trust those damned objects?”

“!”

“Relics are a bunch of bastards. Every time they open their mouths, all they do is lie.”

The tall man crossed the sand pit, stepping without the slightest hesitation on the backs and heads of those struggling not to sink.

Then he walked over to a wall.

Embedded within it was a golden fang.

“Perfect. So this is the owner of this tomb.”

[Isis’s Venom Fang (SS Grade – Divine / Consumable Relic)]

There was only one way for a human to become the owner of a relic.

Pass the tomb’s trial and earn the relic’s acknowledgment.

However, trying to obtain that acknowledgment was practically a one-way ticket to the grave.

Why?

Because relics had terrible personalities.

The closer they grew to a human, the more they ended up making that person sick.

So what was the solution?

The man grabbed the fang as if he were simply ripping it out.

Crack!!!

The fang released a dark aura as it desperately resisted.

But the man’s power completely crushed the relic’s aura.

Dohyun’s eyes widened.

‘H-He’s subduing a relic by force?!’

Relics could be controlled through one of three types of power.

Domination. Affinity. Compatibility.

Simply put, Affinity meant getting along well with a relic.

Compatibility was the natural talent to wield a relic, just as a great musician masters an instrument.

Most people used one of those two.

But this.

“It’s Domination!”

Domination was the power to forcibly subjugate a relic.

‘H-He’s using the very method relics hate the most?!’

As expected, the resistance was fierce.

[How dare you lay your hands on me, insignificant Tomb Raider!]

The hooded man merely narrowed his eyes, as though he were already used to it.

“Are you going to shut your mouth or not? Do you want me to break your teeth?”

Booom!!!

The fang unleashed all of its power.

But the man answered by mercilessly crushing it with his Domination.

[Aaargh! Damn it! Damn it…! A relic… submitting to a human…?!]

In the end, the fang transformed into a knife.

The man casually slipped it into his pocket.

“You talk too much for a mere object.”

Then Isis’s Venom Fang muttered as though cursing him.

[(The Twelve Executors) will judge your worth…!]

“The Twelve Executors? What are you talking about? Do you want me to chop you into twelve pieces and mail you one every quarter?”

It was then—

Realizing he had been used to conquer the tomb, Dohyun shouted at the hooded man.

“Who the hell are you?! I’m reporting you to Majesty!”

The man blinked.

“…To Majesty?”

“Yes! I’ll tell Seo Joo-Heon everything! That you stole the relic! That you threw me into the trap! If it’s Seo Joo-Heon, the hero who saved the world, he won’t let this slide!”

A brief silence followed.

“…Uh, but I am Seo Joo-Heon.”

Seo Joo-Heon?

That guy?

That day, Dohyun finally understood.

‘What a ruthless man.’

He himself had spent his entire life being called a ruthless bastard, but…

‘The truly ruthless monster was someone else…’

Yes.

Someone he couldn’t even begin to compare himself to.

“Oh, by the way. The fee for conquering this tomb is one billion.”

Dohyun was speechless.

A fee for conquering the tomb?!

“But you’re the one who took the relic!”

“That has nothing to do with this. Ten billion for regenerating your leg, ten billion for saving your teammates, and one billion for conquering the tomb. That makes a total of twenty-one billion. Make the deposit by tomorrow.”

Damn it.

Dohyun collapsed on the spot.

***

It was the great age of relics.

The entire world fought, killed, and tore itself apart over those treasures known as relics.

And it had already been two years since Joo-Heon survived that ruthless competition and became the King of Relics (Majesty).

During that time, all he had done was capture relics, subjugate relics, and establish the Relic Law.

Just when it finally seemed like the world had become a slightly safer place.

‘There are still many undiscovered relics.’

Mythology contained countless dangerous relics.

Some were even capable of destroying the Earth in an instant.

That was why he continued searching for them, to prevent any future disasters.

But they never appeared so easily.

‘Where the hell are they hiding?’

Well, at least he had obtained one of them today.

‘If it’s Isis, we’re talking about an SS Grade—no, practically an SSS Grade.’

[Isis’s Venom Fang (SS Grade / Consumable Relic) (10/10)]

[This relic steals its target’s True Name, robs them of their power, and kills them. (It also works against Divine Grade beings).]

Looking at the system window before him, Joo-Heon smiled.

‘Isis is famous for the legend in which she stole the True Name of the sun god Ra.’

“To heal you, I need to know your true name.”

In Egypt, for both gods and humans, a name represented one’s very existence.

In other words, revealing your name meant losing your power.

In fact, when Isis discovered Ra’s True Name, she took away part of his divine authority and passed it on to her son Horus.

In other words, the effect of this relic was to tear away its target’s True Name in order to steal their power.

But.

‘A relic capable of killing gods?’

Too bad.

The war over relics had already ended the moment Majesty, the King of Relics, was born.

“To be honest, I don’t think the day will ever come when I’ll need to use a relic of this level.”

For the sake of the child who was about to be born, he couldn’t allow relics to continue causing trouble either.

‘I have to leave a better world for my child.’

And besides.

I’m going to become a father who only says kind and wonderful things.

It was then that an unfamiliar message appeared.

[The Administrator of this world and Majesty No. 187487 have been registered.]

[As a result, Seo Joo-Heon has obtained the right to participate in the War of the Majesties.]

[The Forced Reset of Humanity has begun ♥]

[The scenario of humanity’s extinction at the hands of the honorable Relics has begun ♥]

…

“What the hell is this crap now?”

T/N:

I will continue translating this series until I receive a DMCA notice or until the licensed publisher asks me to remove it. Even so, I would appreciate it if you support this fan translation, and especially support the novel’s author. Greetings, and enjoy.