The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 35

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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 Returned After 1000 Years — Episode 35
Kieeeee—
The demon beast shrieked with a noise that made eardrums rupture, like the spawn of devils themselves.
Valentinius wanted nothing more than to flee, but he gripped his sword tightly.
How could he run shamefully when his master was watching?
‘I can do this. A creature like that is…….’
Yet despite his resolve, his feet refused to budge.
The opponent barely reached his waist, but the problem lay in their number.
Even as he deliberated, Tendra’s severed tentacles sprouted from the earth like seedlings, taking humanoid form.
“What are you doing? Attack.”
“But Master, their numbers…….”
“That’s precisely why we must strike before they multiply further, isn’t it?”
There was nowhere left to retreat.
He steeled himself and took a step forward when the creature charged at him first, as if to say there was no need for hesitation.
Startled, Valentinius instinctively raised his blade.
Thwack!
His sword pierced straight through the heart of the creature that lunged at him.
He had slain one beast almost by accident.
“Well done. But don’t let your guard down just yet.”
Cain’s words rang true.
The creature he’d thought dead thrashed about with the sword still lodged in its chest.
“You must sever the neck to kill it. Troublesome, isn’t it?”
‘So I’m supposed to aim for the neck……?’
A wave of despair washed over him.
How was he supposed to target a moving creature’s neck?
For a novice like him, this was training beyond his reach.
“Hurry. If you don’t kill it quickly, they’ll keep multiplying.”
‘I know that already…….’
His master stood behind him with crossed arms, unwilling to help—only watching. The sight made him seeth with frustration.
Kieee!
More than ten of Tendra’s tentacles had already risen.
As Valentinius severed the head of the one on his sword, three more charged at him.
In his panic, he swung wildly without aim.
But he slashed only empty air, and that haste left him exposed.
“Ah…….”
That was when Cain moved.
Slash!
“Watch your opponent and swing accordingly. Like this.”
Cain approached calmly, drawing his blade across the incoming tentacles.
No matter which direction they came from, he severed only the heads with perfect precision.
Soon ten heads rolled across the ground, leaving only one creature remaining.
“Now, your turn.”
Valentinius, momentarily entranced by his master’s flawless movements, quickly snapped back to attention.
Kieeeee!
The last surviving tentacle, enraged by the deaths of its siblings, charged at him with fury.
Imitating his master’s movements from moments before, Valentinius swung his blade in a diagonal arc.
The creature’s body split cleanly in two.
But he had cut through the waist, not the neck.
So the beast shrieked and thrashed its limbs in agony.
Cain finished it by driving his sword through the creature’s neck.
“Your swing was calm and controlled, which is good, but your accuracy needs work.”
Leaving the limp corpse behind, Cain approached Tendra.
It lashed out with fresh tentacles, but a single sword stroke severed all ten cleanly.
“Now try again. Focus on raising your accuracy with absolute determination.”
Valentinius watched the small demonic sprouts regenerate, his expression twisted in dismay.

* * *
Day after day, Cain took Valentinius into the Demon Forest.
Each time, they encountered Tendra, severed its tentacles, and repeated the training against the small demons.
What had seemed unremarkable at first began to wear on him, and after five such outings, Dmitri finally asked.
“Prince Cain. What’s the meaning of this?”
“Meaning of what?”
“Five days have passed since you asked me to place the subjugation request. Wasn’t it supposed to be resolved together with Prince Valentinius?”
“I’m already handling it.”
“You’re saying you’re conducting the subjugation?”
“Yes.”
“But you haven’t brought back any proof of killing monsters.”
“You never asked me to bring anything back.”
Dmitri found himself at a loss for words.
“Well, I naturally assumed you would…”
“Haven’t the monster sightings decreased lately?”
“Monster sightings?”
“The ones from that subjugation list.”
Dmitri shook his head.
“I haven’t confirmed it myself.”
“I’d wager they’ve all diminished. Every last one.”
“Surely you’re not saying you’ve subjugated all the monsters on the list?”
Cain didn’t deny it.
Disbelief flickered across Dmitri’s eyes.
“If you doubt me, verify it yourself.”
With those words, Cain rose and left.

* * *
Dmitri immediately sent people to the subjugation site to verify the claim.
The report that came back matched Cain’s words exactly.
The number of monsters listed had visibly diminished.
It was only natural that Dmitri’s brow furrowed.
‘He subjugated all those monsters in five days? What kind of sorcery is this?’
Dmitri didn’t know it, but Cain hadn’t actually killed them all himself.
Each time Cain severed one of Tendra’s tentacles, Tendra devoured the surrounding monsters indiscriminately to regenerate.
It was Cain’s strategy from the start.
But there was more surprising news to come.
A fortnight passed.
“Congratulations. You’ve finally awakened it.”
“I… I’ve awakened an Aura…?”
Valentinius had awakened his Aura.
He felt it clearly.
The magnificent force that now dwelt in his heart.
Years of effort had finally borne fruit.
Or rather, fruit that came in just a fortnight.
Before meeting Cain, his body had been incapable of accumulating Aura whatsoever.
As he stood overwhelmed by surging emotion, Cain spoke matter-of-factly.
“You can rejoice as much as you like. For your level, this is quite fast. What normally takes years, you’ve accomplished in a fortnight.”
“Is… is that so…?”
“But your celebration ends today. Now that you’ve reached First Circle, we begin in earnest tomorrow.”
Aura First Circle.
How much had he longed for that stage, which others ascended relatively easily?
Not only had he awakened his Aura, but he’d climbed faster than anyone.
Valentinius knew exactly to whom he owed this.
And so he prostrated himself.
“Thank you, Master. Without your healing and instruction, I would have lived my entire life never knowing the touch of an Aura. I am truly grateful!”
To his heartfelt words of gratitude, Cain remained composed.
Or rather, beneath that composed exterior lay a hint of bewilderment.
‘Receiving thanks from an enemy. How exasperating.’
In any case, everything proceeded as planned.
Though he was merely at First Circle now, if he trained in the Demon Forest, his growth would accelerate sharply.
A smile played across Cain’s lips.
Despite the meaning behind it being different, Valentinius smiled in echo of his master’s expression.

* * *
The Drake Family’s influence within the Empire is considerable.
They hold a dukedom as large as a kingdom, and even the Emperor does not treat them lightly.
The fact that Alton Drake reached the rank of Sword Master in his mid-thirties and is now an eight-star Grand Sword Master surely plays no small part in this.
Yet even the Drake Family, possessed of everything, harbored one troubling matter.
It was Valentinius, the eldest son.
“Father. Is it true that you’ve sent my brother to the Asel Kingdom?”
Cassius Drake, the second son, wanted to confirm the fact.
The reason he’d abandoned his training with the Imperial Knights to seek out his father’s study was precisely this.
Alton regarded his son.
“I went to some lengths to keep it quiet, yet word seems to have reached you somehow.”
“I have eyes and ears of my own, after all.”
“True enough. You’ve heard correctly. I sent Valentinius to Asel.”
“But why would you do such a thing? Have you decided he’s no longer of use and cast him aside?”
In that moment, Alton’s eyes hardened.
“Cast him aside? What do you take your father for? I have never, not for a single moment, abandoned Valentinius.”
“Then why did you send him?”
“For Valentinius’s own sake, of course.”
Alton’s gaze softened.
“A wall does not break when struck—it is the man who does. Do you not know how desperately your brother yearns to awaken his Aura?”
Cassius nodded silently.
Three years older than himself, his brother had labored with extraordinary dedication.
Yet despite it all, his brother had failed to awaken even a single star, while Cassius himself had risen to four.
Cassius could scarcely fathom the depth of despair that must come from wielding the sword for years without ever touching that unreachable pinnacle.
“So I gave him a mission—to infiltrate the Asel Knights and gather intelligence. Perhaps exposure to different swordsmen in a different place will prove instructive.”
“Instructive? In the Asel Knights?”
A bitter smile tugged at Cassius’s lips.
Alton echoed the sentiment with a self-mocking smile of his own.
“A drowning man grasps at straws, does he not? And it seems your brother has found one.”
Even as his father released a weary sigh, Cassius’s eyes sharpened.
“What has happened?”
In truth, Alton had not intended to tell Cassius.
He wanted his second son focused entirely on his training with the Imperial Knights.
But now that Cassius had already uncovered the fact of Valentinius’s departure to Asel, there was little point in concealment.
“Valentinius has found himself a master.”
“A master? In Asel?”
At Alton’s nod, Cassius could not contain his shock.
His brother had sought instruction even from Sword Master swordmasters, yet had never taken any of them as a true master.
And now his brother had taken a master?
For a moment Cassius wondered if it was some jest, but his father was not one for such frivolities.
“What can he possibly be thinking?”
“I am equally perplexed. By his account, he found much worth learning and so made this person his master. The problem, however, is that this very person is a surveillance target.”
“A surveillance target? Then his approach was strategic, meant to extract information—”
Alton shook his head.
“I thought as much at first myself. But no. Valentinius was sincere.”
……
The notion that Valentinius had formed a genuine bond of master and disciple left Cassius equally bewildered.
“What manner of master could be so accomplished that he rivals even a Grand Sword Master like yourself, Father?”
“A man called Cain Asel. He knows far too much of dragon factions, which is precisely why I sent Valentinius to keep watch. I never imagined the boy would take him as his master.”
“Cain…… Asel?”
Cassius’s expression contorted.
“I received intelligence on that man as well. I was told he was merely a provincial royal of two stars—”
“Seven stars, not two. And at the age of twenty, no less.”
“Pardon?”
A Sword Master at his own age?
If that were true, the Imperial Knights would surely recruit such talent.
Though of course, it would require your father’s influence to make it happen.
“That is not possible. No matter how gifted, twenty years old is the limit for reaching four stars. You yourself reached that level at that age, as did Father.”
“Indeed. Especially the leap from six to seven stars—there is a formidable wall there. Do you think Sword Force is the exclusive domain of Sword Masters for nothing?”
“Hm…… It is hard to believe.”
“I share your skepticism. Yet there is something even harder to credit.”
“What else?”
Alton paused for a moment before continuing.
“Valentinius’s Mana Circuit was twisted. That’s why he couldn’t accumulate Mana all this time.”
“His Mana Circuit?”
“The funny part is, that teacher of his apparently fixed it. Used some sort of special medicine.”
Cassius couldn’t manage even a forced smile.
“You’re joking… aren’t you?”
“I wish I were.”
Just then, the light from the Crystal Orb cut into the conversation between father and son.
“Valentinius?”
“Perfect timing. Switch to me, please. I won’t believe it unless I hear it directly.”
“Very well.”
Alton tapped the Crystal Orb.
―Father. It’s me.
“Yes. What is it?”
One might have expected Alton to seem disappointed that his son jumped straight to the purpose of the call rather than asking after his welfare, yet Valentinius’s voice carried a note of excitement.
―I called to share good news.
“Good news?”
―I’ve awakened. First Grade, no less! Ha ha!
Neither Alton nor Cassius, standing beside him, could bring themselves to laugh.
How many times can one be shocked in a single day?
It was nonsense. Pure nonsense.

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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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