The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 45

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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 Who Returned After 1000 Years — Episode 45
A sneer played across Erika’s face.
‘Dare to walk into the Magic Tower and propose a deal?’
What manner of place was Estarr’s Magic Tower?
It was the crystallization of the continent’s magical civilization itself, an impregnable fortress where hundreds of mages dwelt permanently.
The fact that someone had willingly stepped through its doors was absurd from the start.
Like a rat entering a poison trap of its own accord.
‘I should report this to my master first.’
Erika withdrew a Crystal Orb and tapped it sharply.
The Tower Master Kasien’s voice emerged from within.
—What is it, Erika?
“Master, I’ve found something.”
—The Poison Pouch, you mean?
“Yes.”
—That was faster than expected.
“However, I cannot yet be certain. The one carrying the Poison Pouch has come here, and I’m about to meet them now to verify.”
—They came to the Magic Tower?
“Yes. They mentioned wanting to arrange a deal, but I’ll need to hear the details in person.”
—Understood. Listen to their terms first, and if the conditions are unreasonable, handle it as you see fit.
“Yes.”
Erika ended the communication with a firm tone.
If they proposed something ridiculous, she was prepared to take it by force.
She was willing to pay any price to complete her research.
Erika swept through the corridors in her robes and soon arrived at the Reception Room.
A man who appeared to be around twenty stood with an easy expression despite the watchful guards surrounding him.
‘Just a boy?’
He looked younger than her—what nerve brought him here?
Either way, there was no need to be cautious against someone like this.
This was the Magic Tower, after all.
“Welcome, Moren.”
“Step back. Is this how we should treat an honored guest?”
As the guards withdrew, Erika smiled as though she had never suggested otherwise.
“I’m Erika, the First Mage of the Magic Tower. And you are?”
“Does my name matter?”
At his curt response, Erika let out an involuntary laugh.
“Well, I suppose not. What matters is the deal. I heard you have something we want, but…”
“Here. Have a look.”
The moment Cain extended the pouch, a pungent odor wafted through the air.
The stench of a deadly venom so potent it needed no proximity to recognize.
Yet this particular smell was one Erika knew well.
‘It can’t be anything else. The Black Dragon’s Poison Pouch.’
She had verified the scent against samples obtained before.
A material essential to her current research.
How had he obtained something so rare?
Had he slain a Black Dragon?
“Where did you get this?”
“Does that matter?”
Of course it didn’t matter.
Once she had the item, that was all that counted.
‘He’s said nothing foolish so far, but something about his bearing rankles.’
Did he have some reason for this confidence?
With that thought, Erika cast her gaze across him—literally.
Mana Scan, a fifth-Circle spell that revealed a target’s magical achievement.
But the rings encircling his heart numbered only one.
‘First Circle? He walked into the Magic Tower as a mere First Circle?’
He possessed a Circle, so he was no Aura Knight.
But what was that black sword hanging from his belt?
‘A mage carrying a sword? Is it decorative?’
Whatever the case, he was clearly mad.
‘I suspected as much when he entered alone, but to be this unbalanced…’
At least she had guts worth commending.
“We should discuss the details elsewhere.”
Erika smiled faintly as she spoke, then glanced at the guards.
“You’re dismissed. Get back to your posts.”
“But the danger—”
The moment Erika’s expression hardened, the guards bowed and retreated.
She led the way forward with a smile, as though nothing had happened.
A 6th Circle mage threatened by a mere 1st Circle? Hardly.
Especially not the disciple of the continent’s greatest mage.
“This way.”
Erika led him to a private chamber that resembled a flower garden.
Watching Cain look around with evident curiosity, Erika spoke.
“Surprised? It’s a space woven from pure magic. The Magic Tower has many like it. Some manifest blizzards, others teem with desert heat.”
“I’m aware. I’ve seen plenty.”
Erika felt a flicker of annoyance at that.
Spatial magic was the Magic Tower’s unique art—yet he claimed to have witnessed it often.
She dismissed it as bluster and settled into a chair in the flower garden.
“Do sit.”
“I’ll stand.”
“Suit yourself.”
Erika swallowed a trace of bitterness and moved to business.
“You mentioned wanting to trade. Make your proposal. I’m willing to hear anything.”
“Fifteen years ago.”
Cain began.
“I heard the Magic Tower obtained a mysterious Jewel Box.”
“…!”
“I want to exchange it.”
Erika fought to keep the tremor from her eyes.
Jewel boxes existed everywhere, but the one the Magic Tower kept was singular.
She understood perfectly what he meant.
‘He came for that?’
In that instant, memory crystallized.
“So it was you. The one who impersonated a Magic Tower mage and threatened the Merchant Guild master.”
“I thought the matter had been contained. Seems I was mistaken.”
Erika’s voice had turned glacial, but Cain remained unflinching.
An oddly composed man, this one.
“Arrogant. To impersonate a Magic Tower mage and walk through these doors of your own accord.”
“It was unavoidable if I wanted to find the Jewel Box.”
Cain had dropped the formal speech, but Erika had no mind for such details.
The Jewel Box the Magic Tower kept was itself a research subject.
“What do you know about that box?”
“That’s not on the trading list.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I already said it. Swap the Poison Pouch for the Jewel Box.”
“You impersonated us and dare think you’ll walk out of here alive?”
“That’s my line.”
“What?”
“That box is mine to begin with. You stole what wasn’t yours—what’s your complaint?”
“It’s yours?”
Erika didn’t know who the box’s true owner was.
It had simply come through a fence; there was no reason to trace its origins.
‘That’s not what matters now.’
Even if he were the rightful owner, the box couldn’t be surrendered.
It was a mysterious artifact the Magic Tower had analyzed for fifteen years, and if its value matched that of a Poison Pouch…
‘It absolutely cannot leave.’
Her master, devoted to research, wouldn’t want it either.
“Do you know what that box is? What it contains?”
“No reason to tell you. I’m here to trade, nothing more.”
“That box is important to our research. We can’t hand it over.”
“I’ve brought a Poison Pouch. What’s the problem? That box is useless to you anyway, isn’t it?”
That’s the truth.
I’ve tried every conceivable research method, but I can’t identify what this thing is.
‘But how does this man know about it?’
For someone who’s barely 1st Circle to claim ownership of the Jewel Box, to have obtained the Black Dragon’s Poison Pouch—none of it made sense.
I decided to shelve my questions for now.
I needed the Poison Pouch, and he wouldn’t negotiate.
That left only one option.
“Sorry, but we’re not making a deal. I’ll take the Poison Pouch as a gift, though.”
Before the words were even out of my mouth, Erika began weaving a Spell Incantation.
Ice Lance—a 4th Circle spell.
For someone of Erika’s 6th Circle caliber, there was no need to deploy higher magic.
That much would be enough to subdue a mere 1st Circle.
Or so she thought.
Crack!
Just before Erika’s Spell Incantation reached completion, Cain’s hand sliced through the air—and the magical formation shattered into pieces.
“…What?”
What shocked her wasn’t that the spell had been broken, but how.
Dispel.
A high-level technique that required complete comprehension of Spell Incantation structure and the ability to sever it through Mana interference—something only those who had achieved true mastery of magic could perform.
And since it demanded perfect timing to strike before the caster, even Erika—hailed as a prodigy—had never attempted it.
Yet he’d just done it.
Without breaking a sweat.
‘A 1st Circle using Dispel?’
Impossible as it seemed, Erika began weaving another Spell Incantation.
Frost Chain—a 5th Circle spell.
But the moment the Spell Incantation was complete, Mana stirred in Cain’s hand once more.
Crack!
The chain scattered before it could even take solid form.
‘Up to 5th Circle…!’
Gritting her teeth, Erika wove Spell Incantations in rapid succession.
Once. Twice. Three times.
All the same.
All shattered just before completion.
‘This can’t be real…!’
Cold sweat beaded down Erika’s spine.
She had never lost to a mage of her own Circle.
Against any peer, she’d always been confident.
Yet her magic was being nullified, again and again.
By a man dressed as a swordsman. A fraud.
“Are you really a 1st Circle?”
“I never said I was 1st Circle.”
Sensing something off, Erika deployed Mana Scan once more.
This time, six rings registered—unlike before.
6th Circle.
‘The same rank as me?’
Moments ago, she’d clearly read only one.
How was this possible?
‘It makes no sense.’
Erika snapped her fingers, jaw clenched.
Magical chains erupted from the chairs in the Flower Garden, surging toward Cain.
Whoosh!
Hidden Binding Magic.
It was a pity he hadn’t remained seated, but at this distance, it would suffice.
Or so she’d thought.
Whip!
As though he’d anticipated it, Cain leaped lightly and slipped through the chains with ease.
The movement was impossible for any mage.
‘That’s an Aura Knight’s mobility…!’
6th Circle mastery of magic paired with the swordsmanship of a seasoned blade-user?
What on earth was this man’s true identity?
Erika moved to prepare another spell, but the attempt was short-lived.
“The games are over.”
Cain, now standing behind her, pressed the cold blade of his sword against her throat.
“Take me to where the Jewel Box is. Unless you’d prefer to die.”

* * *
In truth, the outcome of the fight had been decided from the start.
‘With the Seer’s Eye, I couldn’t lose.’
Since reaching the Sixth Circle recently, his ability to perceive the future had extended to eight seconds.
With his Aura Knight power on top of that, she stood no chance whatsoever.
‘A mage can try whatever she wants, but I simply counter with the appropriate magic. That’s all.’
He knew in advance which spells she would cast and along what trajectory.
In a duel between mages where speed and timing were everything, no weakness could be more fatal.
He was the mage’s natural predator.
‘I originally planned to disguise myself as a First Circle mage with the Seer’s Bracelet to lower her guard, but……’
There had been no need for that.
His opponent was merely a Sixth Circle mage.
With his Magic Amplification Necklace allowing him to channel power up to the Seventh Circle, he could toy with her on raw magical ability alone.
‘Still, she has decent skill.’
Erika gritted her teeth and staggered to her feet.
“……I’ll take you there.”
Cain followed close behind her, his thoughts racing.
‘The Jewel Box. At last.’
Fifteen years ago, his mother had sold the family heirloom for nothing more than a few loaves of bread.
Inside it lay something his father had hidden away in secret.
‘Once I have it in my hands……’
The path to saving his mother would open before him.

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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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