The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 37

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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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The Dragon Slayer’s Return After 1,000 Years — Episode 037
Alton understood Cain’s question only when it was too late.
He had been staring at the man far too intently.
“Ahem, no—you’re free to go.”
“Very well, then.”
Alton’s eyes remained fixed on Cain until he disappeared through the doorway.
‘What is this? Why does that man carry the aura of the one I serve……?’
It had been only a moment, but he felt it unmistakably.
A familiar presence radiating from Cain.
But now it was gone.
‘Was it a mistake……?’
No. It was no mistake.
He could not possibly confuse the unique aura that the Time Dragon exuded.
“Valecius.”
“Yes, Father.”
Alton spoke without turning his gaze from the door.
“Take that man as your master, but keep watch over him.”
“Keep watch……?”
Alton’s eyes shifted to Valecius, as if detecting reluctance in his son’s voice.
“Have you forgotten your duty?”
“I understand…….”
He was grateful that his son had been awakened, but it ended there.
He had intended to sever their bond now that the boy could stand on his own.
But circumstances had changed.
‘Something is amiss. I must watch and see.’
Alton’s sharp gaze lingered on the door for a long while before finally falling away.

* * *
Training with Tendra proved remarkably effective.
The clumsy movements from the beginning were nowhere to be found.
Slash!
Valecius’s blade cut cleanly through the creature’s neck.
The ground around him was littered with headless corpses.
“Ten of them—you handle easily now.”
“I’m confident I could take on twenty.”
Cain did not dismiss Valecius’s words as mere boasting.
Though still 1-Star Rank, the boy was wielding Aura with skill that rivaled seasoned warriors.
‘He’s no dullard, at any rate. That’s how he must have reached the Sword Saint realm before the Regression.’
Even across a thousand years, one could not attain the Sword Saint stage without unwavering devotion to the blade.
In that regard, Valecius possessed genuine potential.
“Let’s see it then. Show me if you can handle twenty.”
Cain severed exactly twenty tendrils from Tendra.
They stirred sluggishly, then transformed into humanoid shapes.
“Hahhh!”
Valecius charged forward with a sharp battle cry.
His movements were unmistakably different from his fumbling start.
As Valecius fought through the creatures, Cain’s thoughts turned to Alton.
‘Valecius lived for a thousand years—that could only have been possible through Alton’s intervention.’
How had he managed it?
Cain had not aged because of his mother’s Necklace, but what of Valecius?
‘I need to grow closer to the Drake Family if only to gather information.’
Now that he thought about it, he knew little of the Necklace itself.
It certainly seemed connected to his longevity, but why had he survived a thousand years? What was the Necklace’s true nature?
These questions remained unanswered.
‘Since both Valecius and I can extend our lifespans, there must be some connection.’
Once he returned, he would have to ask his mother about it.
Where had she obtained the heirloom?
‘And I must recover the family treasure I lost when I was five.’
The heirloom his mother had sold off, driven by her single will to feed her child.
He would find it.
As his thoughts drew to a close, Valecius’s movement ceased.
“Master. Did you see?”
Twenty monster heads lay scattered around Valecius as he turned with a bright smile.
‘The Forest of Demonic Beasts truly does have an effect.’
At this rate, he might break through to 2-Star Rank in less than half a year.
“Your skill has improved considerably. There’s no point in you hunting Tendra any longer.”
“Pardon? Then…….”
Without a word, Cain walked past Valecius and stood before the Tendra.
Shriek!
The Tendra, having lost its clone, let out a furious howl that shook the air.
Valecius clapped his hands over his ears at that bone-chilling roar, but Cain simply looked up at the creature and rested his hand on the Sword.
Sensing the threat, the Tendra’s tentacles, which had been moving like a serpent’s, lunged toward Cain in unison.
Before the tentacles could touch him, a brilliant flash erupted.
Cain emerged through the split body of the Tendra.
“We move to the next training ground.”
Valecius stared at the sight with eyes wide in shock.

* * *
He could not train Valecius forever.
His own growth demanded attention as well.
For that reason, Cain left the Forest of Demonic Beasts.
Valecius could not help but feel bewildered.
“Master, where are we going?”
“What do you think of dragons?”
At Cain’s sudden question, Valecius tilted his head in confusion.
“I’m not sure…… what do you mean, sir?”
“Just answer.”
“Truth be told, I’ve given it no particular thought.”
It was not a lie.
He knew the Drake Family stood at the heart of dragon-worshiping factions, but that was merely the family’s doctrine.
It had never dictated Valecius’s personal convictions.
“Dragons are the enemy of mankind. But do you truly understand why people say that so universally?”
“Well…… I’ve never really thought about it so deeply…….”
A short click of his tongue was visible.
“You’ll come to understand soon enough. For now, just follow me in silence.”
Cain’s cryptic words began to make sense when they arrived at a village.
“Oh?”
“A knight!”
“What brings a knight to this place……?”
The people of the quiet rural village watched with curious eyes.
Indeed, there was no reason for a knight to frequent such a remote village, and the unfamiliar clinking Armor alone was enough to draw attention.
As the crowd swarmed around them like clouds, it was difficult to move.
The Village Chief, hearing the commotion, stepped out and asked in bewilderment.
“What brings a knight to this humble place……?”
“I received a report that a dragon lives nearby.”
At Cain’s words, the Village Chief’s eyes wavered.
“And that the village has been suffering its damage.”
“…….”
“I would like to hear the detailed circumstances.”
“……Let us speak inside.”
Cain and Valecius followed the Village Chief inside.

* * *
It was when Cain was sixty years old.
He had slain his first Hatchling and was wandering in search of another dragon.
He had discovered a village making offerings, much like the one where he had grown up.
‘It was a White Dragon named Glaciose.’
That dragon, eight hundred years old at the time, embodied the savagery of the White Dragon Clan and was a vicious beast that devoured humans as a delicacy each year.
This place, Harzan, was suffering from that dragon’s predation.
‘The current Village Chief is a different person from that one back then.’
The Village Chief of Harzan laid bare his despair, his eyes hollow with hopelessness.
“That white dragon comes for tribute every year around this time. It demands only children—but if we don’t offer a child, it asks for three grown men instead.”
“And so… you gave it a child?”
Valecius asked with an expression graver than the Village Chief’s own, which struck Cain as curious.
‘The eldest son of a dragon-worshipping faction showing concern. How ironic.’
The Village Chief shook his head, his gaze making it clear the question was absurd.
“We would never surrender a child. Instead, we had to offer three strong men as tribute.”
“By the gods…”
“Did you never think to report this to the Knight Order?”
At Cain’s question, the Village Chief shook his head again.
“At first, I sent messengers to the Knight Order many times. But all that came back was silence… And then the dragon issued a warning: if we spoke of this again, it wouldn’t be three men who paid the price—the entire village would be destroyed.”
“How many tributes have you paid?”
“…Just the once.”
“Once?”
“This year was the first. We lost three men half a year ago.”
A heavy silence descended.
Then a young man entered Cain’s field of vision.
“Father! I heard knights have come!”
The Village Chief scolded the youth sharply for bursting in without knocking.
“Yan! Are we not in conversation with honored guests?”
“Did you ask the knights? Whether they can slay the dragon?”
The youth called Yan asked Valecius without waiting for his father’s answer.
“Sir Knight! You came to slay the dragon, didn’t you? Is it possible?”
“Well… that is…”
Cain felt amusement stir within him at the sight.
This impetuous youth was certainly the man who would become the Village Chief in time.
‘So the son inherited the position from the father.’
Arriving forty years earlier than when he’d first met him was, in a way, a stroke of fortune.
It would allow them to minimize the damage.
“Yan! Cease your interference and leave at once!”
“Knights, you came to slay the dragon, didn’t you? You knew what you were coming for.”
“Yan!!”
“Please, just say it—that the Knight Order will send more reinforcements. Say something, anything.”
At the desperation in that voice, Valecius sealed his lips.
He had not heard that Cain had brought the Knight Order with him.
“I’m sorry. We alone cannot…”
“Ah…”
Yan then turned to face Cain.
His eyes asked again, silently.
Whether truly no more would come.
Cain said nothing in return.
He simply looked away, letting that gesture speak for him.
“Damn it… damn it all!”
Yan clenched his fists, kicked open the door, and bolted from the room.
“Yan! You disrespectful brat!”
The Village Chief exhaled heavily and turned to face the knights.
“Forgive me, Sir Knight. Please excuse his rudeness. I shall discipline him severely later.”
“No need. It is we who should apologize for being unable to help.”
With those words, Cain rose from his seat.
He had sought out the Village Chief for one purpose: to verify the information.
He needed to confirm it matched his memories from before the Regression, then act accordingly.
“Let us go.”
“Yes, Master.”
Valecius offered no objection.
After all, he had been told that defeating a dragon with only two of them was an impossible task.
Only the Village Chief who remained behind tilted his head in confusion at the title ‘Master.’

* * *
As he watched Cain climb the steep mountain range, Valecius finally let his pent-up question spill out.
“Why take such a treacherous path? We could simply turn back.”
“To see the dragon, there’s no choice but to head this way.”
“What? A dragon?”
Valecius’s surprise faded, replaced by a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
“Then why did you say earlier that you wouldn’t catch the dragon?”
“No intention of catching it. Just looking.”
“So why would you even—”
Leaving his disciple behind with that bewildered gaze, Cain climbed the mountain.
Soon Glaciose’s lair came into view.
‘I only need to confirm he’s inside. The killing can wait.’
After all, everything he did would be reported to Alton.
‘I can’t butcher a dragon in front of Alton’s son.’
But plans rarely unfolded as intended.
“Come out! You damned lizard!”
Yan was standing before the lair, farm tool in hand, bellowing at the top of his lungs.

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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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