The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Dragon Slayer Regression: Chapter 2
‘Everything’s going according to plan.’
Cain had decided to follow the Village Chief willingly.
His offer to become the Sacrifice in Jake’s place had been sincere.
‘I’ll go straight to Bernatheus’s Lair and find the relic.’
In the lair of the green dragon Bernatheus lies a relic of the Dragon Lord Arcadion.
A treasure entrusted to the Lord as he entered his Hibernation Period.
‘That treasure belongs to me now. Arcadion.’
Meanwhile, Cain’s words struck the Village Chief like a thunderbolt.
He hadn’t expected anyone to speak that forbidden word—Sacrifice.
The flustered Village Chief’s eyes darted sideways.
Fortunately, Jake’s expression suggested he understood nothing.
“Cain. What did you just say? A Sacrifice?”
“The Village Chief’s promise to find you work is a lie. This village is under a dragon’s rule. You were just about to become that dragon’s Sacrifice.”
The Village Chief smiled broadly.
“Ha, Cain. Cooped up at home not working the fields lately, are you? Conjuring strange fantasies. A dragon, no less. How amusing.”
“You find it amusing, sir? Offering your own villagers as Sacrifices?”
Cain’s sharp retort stripped the smile from the Village Chief’s face.
His expression hardened, then forced itself back into a grin.
“Ah. So you want to go in Jake’s place?”
……
“If you’re jealous, just say so—instead of spouting nonsense about dragons and such. Very well. You’ll go instead of Jake.”
“What? But sir, you promised to give me the work….”
“Since Cain’s being so stubborn, there’s nothing to be done, Jake. I’ll have to postpone your turn. Go on home.”
Within the village, the Village Chief’s word was law.
Jake couldn’t defy him—he trusted the Village Chief too much.
He could only glance at his friend with a sense of betrayal.
“Cain. Are you really that desperate for my spot….”
“Jake.”
Cain’s eyes held an unusual gravity.
“I just saved your life. Don’t forget that.”
“Stop talking nonsense and come on, Cain.”
Jake watched his friend recede into the distance behind the Village Chief, his expression unreadable.

* * *
‘What on earth is happening?’
As Jake shuffled toward home, he stopped short—a blonde woman blocked his path.
“Jake! Have you seen Cain?”
“Well… that is….”
Perhaps she sensed something in his hesitation?
Serena’s expression hardened instantly.
“Jake. Tell me what actually happened.”
The sudden coldness in Serena’s voice startled him—it was nothing like her usual warmth.
This was not the gentleness he knew.
“Well?”
“I… I was following the Village Chief when Cain showed up and….”
Crushed by the weight of her presence, Jake tumbled out the truth of what he’d witnessed.
Serena’s expression grew darker with each word.
“What are you saying? A Sacrifice?”
“Cain said it. That finding work was just an excuse—that the Village Chief has actually been offering people one by one as Sacrifices to a dragon….”
“And Cain?”
“He went with the Village Chief. In my place.”
……
Silence fell between them.

* * *
As Cain steeled himself, the Village Chief’s footsteps suddenly ceased.
They had reached the territory of the green dragon.
“Head on from here, Cain.”
“The work you mentioned—it’s here in this forest?”
“Stop talking and lead the way.”
Somewhere along the way, a small dagger had appeared in the Village Chief’s hand.
Snap!
Cain snatched the blade away with a sudden motion.
The Village Chief’s face drained of color at the unexpected disarmament.
“Did you really think you could threaten me with this dagger?”
“You….”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of harming you. Not yet, anyway.”
The Village Chief swallowed hard and took a step back.
Cain walked steadily toward the dragon’s domain.
After all, he’d already volunteered to be the sacrifice.
There was no reason to turn back.
The Village Chief watched Cain’s receding figure until it vanished from sight.
Then, suddenly—
Crack-crack-crack!
The trees began to shake, their trunks unwinding to coil around Cain.
The Ancient Tree, the dragon’s guardian, had seized him.
At the sight, the Village Chief threw himself prostrate on the ground.
“Master of the forest, I have delivered the sacrifice as promised. My village shall be….”
[Well received, old man. Your village shall know peace for two more years.]
Hearing the voice that rang in his mind, the Village Chief finally rose and turned to leave.
Wrapped in the tree’s embrace, Cain watched the Village Chief’s departing back in silence.
There was no struggle.
‘Everything according to plan.’
A smile had spread across the sacrifice’s lips.

* * *
Bernatheus was a green dragon who had lived for 1,200 years.
Compared to a dragon’s potential lifespan of up to 10,000 years, he was barely adolescent.
Still.
‘How tedious.’
His usual days were spent cooped up in his dark lair, yawning away the hours.
The one hobby he truly enjoyed was collecting treasure.
And devouring the humans from that small village called Sordin.
‘Good food should be savored. Mother always said not to eat it all at once.’
Bernatheus chuckled to himself, already drooling in anticipation.
According to his memory, today marked exactly two years.
‘Ah! They’ve arrived.’
Bernatheus gazed through the eyes of his guardian, who shared a connection with him.
He saw an old human and a young one entering his domain.
―Master of the forest, I have delivered the sacrifice as promised. My village shall be….
[Well received, old man. Your village shall know peace for two more years.]
After instructing the guardian to bring them here, he licked his lips lazily.
Human flesh after two years away.
The mere thought made him salivate.
And yet—
‘Why hasn’t the guardian brought the meal?’
Time had passed, but the guardian had not returned with the food.
Bernatheus poked his head cautiously out from his lair.
The sunlight, which he hadn’t seen in ages, stung his eyes.
As his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was the Ancient Tree lying on the ground.
It was slashed in countless places, charred black and smoking.
[What is the meaning of this? Where has the human gone?]
“K-keeeek….”
The creature barely had the strength to respond.
[Fool! To lose prey you had already caught!]
Fury rose within him, but so too did a troubling question.
‘How could a human from that worthless village have defeated the Ancient Tree?’
Without at least a 4th Circle mage, it would be impossible to wound his subordinate.

* * *
While Bernatheus stood outside his Lair, eyes darting about.
‘Thank goodness he didn’t notice.’
Cain had already infiltrated successfully.
He’d made it inside the Lair.
‘Timing my entry while he first poked his head out—that was well done.’
Dragons dwelling only in sunless Lairs had no choice but to close their eyes when first venturing outside. The light would be blinding.
He’d seized that moment to slip in.
Of course, he’d had to deal with the Ancient Tree binding him first.
‘That was no problem. I’ve already reached the 4th Circle.’
He’d burned through the creature’s trunk with Flame Hands—a 4th Circle spell—then hacked the Ancient Tree to pieces with the Dagger he’d stolen from the Village Chief, fusing magic with an Aura-infused blade to unleash power rivaling an Aura Knight.
That fusion was what he’d called the Arcane Bladesman in his former life.
Cutting down a single tree had been child’s play.
‘A sacrifice wouldn’t dream that a human would covet artifacts. This is my window.’
As Cain ventured deeper into the Lair, treasures stacked like mountains came into view.
Finding the Lord’s relic among them was hardly difficult.
‘There it is. The Seer’s Eye.’
A fragment of a violet eyeball hung suspended in mid-air.
Bernatheus, careful to preserve his valuables, had placed a preservation spell upon it.
‘A relic the Lord entrusted to him upon entering Hibernation Period.’
The Hibernation Period was when dragons were most vulnerable.
They would sleep thirty years at minimum, a century at maximum, leaving themselves utterly defenseless.
So it was custom for a dragon to entrust its most precious treasures to a trusted kinsman before entering that state.
That was why Bernatheus possessed the Seer’s Eye.
‘He’s Arcadion’s loyal servant, after all.’
Cain approached slowly, reaching toward the eye floating in empty space.
The instant his hand made contact, a vast surge of magical force flowed through him.
Violet light swirled through his left pupil, then faded.
The moment he touched the Seer’s Eye, it had imprinted itself upon him.
Cain didn’t understand how it was possible.
He simply felt it each time he touched an artifact.
It was like slipping on a garment tailored perfectly to his body.
‘It was the same before Regression. But in my former life, I could only obtain three relics.’
Now, things would be different.
Before Arcadion awoke from Hibernation Period, he would slay the dragons and monopolize all fifteen artifacts.
Unable to suppress the rising euphoria, Cain decided to test his newly acquired ability.
Channeling a trickle of magical force into the socket where the Seer’s Eye had taken root.
A low hum resonated—
Whoooom.
‘I see it.’
His pupil, now gleaming violet, revealed the future.
‘In five seconds, Bernatheus will burst through that door.’
Right on cue.
A massive shadow crept toward the treasure vault.
Precisely at the five-second mark, Bernatheus thrust his head through and revealed himself.
‘Beyond ten seconds—I can’t see. Perhaps five seconds is my limit with my current magical reserves.’
It didn’t matter.
As his power grew, the span of foresight would expand with it.
[YOU WRETCH!]
Even with the dragon’s roar and bulging eyes, Cain remained unmoved.
Dragon Fear held no sway over him.

* * *
‘How dare you! How dare this insect of a human approach my treasure vault?’
The moment Bernatheus confirmed the Seer’s Eye had vanished, his mind snapped.
Stealing a relic entrusted by the Dragon Lord Arcadion himself?
[I’LL KILL YOU, HUMAN!!]
Yet something was amiss.
Even as he unleashed Dragon Fear with his roar, the human showed no trace of terror.
Instead, he was raising his hand as if asking the dragon to wait.
“Jncfks… qsrmtlvn…”
Unable to decipher the words, I cast a translation spell.
“Stop, Bernatheus.”
Bernatheus’s pupils dilated.
‘You know my name?’
But that was far from the only shock.
“I am a Seer.”
[What?]
“If you attack me, Arcadion won’t be pleased.”
The creature knew the Lord’s name as well.
Just then, a memory surfaced—something the Lord had said before entering the Hibernation Period.
―The Seer’s Eye, true to its name, can only be wielded by a Seer. A Seer is one who can prevent the extinction of our kind. Should such a one appear, I will not hesitate to surrender the eye.
―But how shall we recognize this Seer?
―You will know. The Seer’s Eye can only be used by a Seer, after all.
Bernatheus, whose race never forgot, recalled a conversation from twenty years past, and his mouth fell open.
[Could it be… the Seer the Lord spoke of?]
Cain nodded without hesitation.
“Yes. I am the Seer. And here is my proof.”
Tap-tap. The human tapped the space between his eyes with one finger, and Bernatheus recoiled in shock.
The pattern inscribed in the human’s pupils matched exactly the pattern that had dwelt within the Seer’s Eye.
[How… the Seer’s Eye has been imprinted upon a human eye?]
“Well, I am the Seer, after all.”
Bernatheus’s pupils trembled violently.
And then came the memory of his final conversation with Arcadion.
―If ever you should meet the Seer, treat him with special regard. The future of our kind rests upon him.
Bernatheus bowed his head before the human.
[I… I greet you, Seer!]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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