The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 44

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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’s Return After 1000 Years — Episode 44
The ascent from 1-Star Rank to 2-Star Rank typically takes two years.
Even Cassius, his second son, who was said to inherit his talents brilliantly, required a year and a half.
‘But in merely three months?’
To be precise, it had been two and a half months.
That was when he’d awakened his Aura.
Alton, who found it utterly impossible to believe, pressed further.
“You’re certain? You’ve truly reached 2-Star Rank?”
―Yes, sir. Why would I lie about something like that?
“I mean, do you feel the two stars of Aura in your chest?”
The pressing question met with a brief silence.
―I feel them. I’m not so foolish as to fail to distinguish that much. I can sense the heightened power of my Aura throughout my entire body.
“……I see.”
My son has become 2-Star Rank.
Alton swallowed the surge of emotion and drew a deep breath.
“Congratulations.”
That was all he had to say to his son.
Well, there was one more thing.
“I’ll be heading your way soon.”
―Understood, sir. Please let me know when you arrive.
After ending the communication, Alton let out a laugh.
“Heh, kehehe…… hahaha!”
All this time, he’d thought his son lacked talent.
For his eldest, who was destined to inherit the family, the absence of the Blessing of the Sword had been a fatal weakness.
Yet Alton had never given up hope.
He’d believed without doubt that one day his son would awaken his Aura.
But to awaken it only months ago and then reach 2-Star Rank in record time?
‘He truly is my son.’
This was the moment his son’s dormant talent had finally revealed itself.
But there had to have been someone’s guidance behind it all.
His teacher, Cain Asel.
Without his instruction, such rapid progress would have been impossible.
‘I’m curious. How exactly did he teach him?’
Alton too had a teacher once called the Sword Saint.
Without his guidance, he would never have risen to become the second-highest in the Empire.
Recognizing anew the importance of a master, Alton made a decision.
He would absolutely recommend Cain to the Imperial Knights Order.

* * *
After traversing the mountains for a full day, the border of Esthar came into view.
“We rest here.”
At Cain’s words, the bandits collapsed to the ground as if they’d been waiting for nothing else.
Over five hours of marching was an ordeal far too grueling for ordinary men to endure.
The fact that even Walter, a 5-Star Rank Aura wielder, was drenched in sweat spoke volumes.
“…….”
Though hunger made Walter want to gnaw on bark, he fixed his gaze instead on Cain.
His eyes brimming with resentment.
“Don’t look at me that way. Your subordinates were already as good as dead anyway.”
“…….”
Walter was secretly horrified.
He’d begun to suspect the man had eyes in the back of his head.
“And besides, when you think about it, you’re hardly in a position to glare at me like that.”
When Cain turned to face him, Walter flinched.
“Who drew a blade first, trying to kill me to silence me?”
“……That was me.”
“And who was the henchman playing bandit leader, robbing people blind?”
“……I was.”
“Then there’s your answer.”
“But this is going too far……!”
Walter’s cry died in his throat the moment he saw the chill in Cain’s eyes.
He regretted it immediately.
What nerve had he shown, talking back to a Sword Saint who’d handled a dragon alone?
“I know you’ve got complaints, but you just do as I say. Understood?”
……
“No answer?”
“Yes, I understand……”
“Now let’s go. We’ve reached our destination.”
Cain and Walter, along with the three bandits, crossed the border and approached the gates of Esthar.
“Halt. Where are you from, and who are you?”
The guard questioned them with a wary eye, and Walter turned to look at Cain.
Cain stepped forward and calmly raised his palm.
And then.
Whoosh!
A small flame flickered to life in his hand.
The guards’ demeanor changed instantly.
“A mage, then? My apologies!”
“I have business at the Magic Tower. Let us through.”
“And these people……?”
Cain’s gaze grew sharp.
“Must I explain that as well?”
The guard said nothing more.
He hadn’t the nerve to pick a quarrel with a mage from the Magic Tower.
“……Please, enter.”
Having passed through inspection, Cain stepped into the kingdom without further obstruction.
The landscape beyond the gates was entirely different from what lay outside.
Magic Circles were inscribed on lampposts lining the streets, and Crystal Orbs floated overhead, casting a soft glow across the city.
The clothing of the passersby was striking as well.
Robed figures were not uncommon, and magical conveyances moved through the streets in place of carts.
‘Still at this level, then.’
Compared to a thousand years hence, it was modest indeed.
Yet by this era’s standards, it was more than impressive.
The bandits wandered about slack-jawed, their eyes wide.
Surely they’d never seen anything like it in their lives.
But Walter, his eyes equally round, seemed to think that wasn’t the real problem.
“Lord Cain…… how did you manage that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you just cast a spell?”
“Magic? That was nothing but a simple trick.”
Brushing it off casually, Walter had no choice but to accept the explanation.
Common sense dictated that an Aura knight wielding magic was impossible, after all.
“Do you know where I might find Aracadin’s pawn shop?”
“Aracadin? Go around that corner over there, and you’ll find it.”
After asking a passing stranger for directions, Cain soon spotted it.
A shabby shop with a worn sign reading “Aracadin’s Antique Shop.”
A middle-aged man stood in front of the door, accosting passersby.
“Come now, we’ve got all sorts of fascinating wares in here! Browsing costs nothing, so do step inside if you’re curious!”
Cain, drawn by the chatter, approached the man.
“Ah, a customer! What might you be looking for?”
“I’m searching for a Jewel Box.”
The middle-aged man’s expression froze in an instant.
“A Jewel Box……you say?”
“That’s right. Fifteen years ago, the Carvan Merchant Guild passed one to you—I heard it directly.”
The man forced a smile, but he couldn’t hide the tremor in his eyes.
“Ah, that……wait just a moment. Let me check……”
Before he could finish his sentence.
The man bolted without so much as a glance behind him.
His speed disappearing into the alley was remarkably swift for a merchant.
Walter stared at Cain as if baffled.
Cain felt the same way.
“Why is he running?”
“Precisely.”
Cain was in no hurry.
One step, two steps, moving at an unhurried pace—then he simply vanished.
Or rather, he appeared to vanish.
At the mouth of the alley, a middle-aged man catching his breath suddenly found Cain standing before him.
“Heading somewhere in such a rush?”
“Eek!”
The man collapsed to his knees.
“Please… don’t ask me about the Jewel Box again! I truly know nothing!”
From his reaction, Cain could infer the truth.
In this city, there was only one person a fence would be this terrified of.
‘The Magic Tower is involved.’
Cain sighed.
“Relax—I’m not from the Magic Tower.”
“…Are you truly not?”
“If I belonged to the Magic Tower, would I be going around asking questions like this?”
The middle-aged man looked up at Cain with trembling eyes.
After a long pause, he slowly began to speak.
“What do you want from me?”
“I want to know where the Jewel Box is.”
“The Jewel Box is… at the Magic Tower.”
“The Magic Tower?”
The man nodded repeatedly.
“It came from the Carvan Merchant Guild, mixed in with other goods. Then one day, someone from the Magic Tower came and took the Jewel Box.”
“And you just handed it over?”
“They said they’d destroy the shop if I didn’t. What choice did I have?”
The man exhaled heavily.
“And that wasn’t all. They told me that if anyone asked about this item, I was to report it to the Magic Tower immediately—or else they wouldn’t let me live in peace.”
“So you ran.”
“I didn’t want to get tangled up in it. If I reported you, you’d be arrested; if I didn’t, they’d come after me…”
Cain slowly got to his feet.
The Jewel Box was at the Magic Tower.
And the Magic Tower had anticipated that someone would come looking for it.
‘They’re quite fixated on this.’
They must have recognized it as no ordinary object.
“One more thing. Do you know who came from the Magic Tower?”
“I don’t know their name, but they wore a crimson robe. From the atmosphere, I could tell they held a high position in the Tower.”
Cain nodded.
“That’s all. You can go.”
“You’re… truly letting me go?”
“I have no reason to keep you.”
The middle-aged man scrambled to his feet and fled.
Walter, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.
“Is it wise to let him go? If he reports to the Magic Tower…”
“Would a man in such a panic bother reporting anything?”
“…That’s true enough.”
“Besides, I was planning to find them anyway.”
“Sir?”
Cain withdrew a small pouch from inside his garment.
A Venom Pouch bound in dark crimson leather.
This should serve as my calling card.
“Surely you don’t intend to go to the Magic Tower directly?”
“That’s exactly what I intend. You and the others stay here.”
Walter’s face grew taut.
“Do you understand what the Magic Tower is? In Esthar, the Magic Tower stands as equal to the Crown itself. The Tower Master’s authority is virtually on par with the king’s, and whatever transpires within its walls remains unknown to the outside world.”
“And?”
“If you go in alone, you may never come out.”
Cain let out a quiet laugh.
“Are you worried about me?”
“…I was merely stating the facts.”
“I appreciate it, but I don’t need it.”
Walter didn’t try to stop him again.
He already knew this wasn’t the kind of man who could be held back.
Cain moved forward.
In the distance, a tower rose sharply at the heart of the city.
The Magic Tower entrance.
Two guards stationed at the Magic Tower blocked his path.
“No one may enter the Magic Tower without permission.”
Cain answered by raising the Venom Pouch.
He loosened the leather cord that bound it, and a sickly miasma seeped out slowly from within.
The guards’ faces paled.
“Go and tell them. I’ve brought what you’re looking for.”

* * *
The topmost floor of the Magic Tower.
Erika Moren had returned empty-handed.
Black Dragon Venom.
The crucial material the Magic Tower had been researching for decades.
She had spent two months tracking the whereabouts of the Venom Pouch that contained it.
She’d scattered money across merchant guilds throughout the continent, deployed informants, and sometimes applied direct pressure, gathering intelligence from every angle.
Yet all her efforts had yielded nothing.
The memories of those two months flashed through her mind.
A merchant guild in the west claimed they’d never even seen the Venom Pouch, while an information broker in the south had wasted her time with false leads.
Three guild masters she’d visited in person and pressured.
One of them had been so terrified he’d fled in the middle of the night.
Still, the object’s whereabouts remained a mystery.
She’d given the Carvan Merchant Guild a ten-day deadline, though even that seemed a futile hope.
“…….”
She suppressed her impatience and gazed out the window.
The streets of Esthar spread below the tower in perfect peace.
Those people down there had no idea.
What research was continuing within these walls.
‘I must obtain it, no matter what.’
Without the Black Dragon Venom, the research cannot be completed.
If it isn’t completed, then decades of work will have been for nothing.
She could not bring such a result to her master.
Then the door opened.
“Erika.”
“What is it?”
“A man has arrived at the entrance. He’s carrying a pouch containing venom and wishes to negotiate…….”
Erika’s eyes narrowed.
“A pouch containing venom?”
“Yes. When the cord was loosened, the venom leaked out, they said. The guards have never seen anything like it…….”
Her fingers tightened against the window frame.
“Bring him at once.”
The object she had searched for so desperately had walked through the gates on its own.

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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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