A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 103

"The Sword King, Vernas."

Sieg was startled to see Vernas suddenly appear.

Even in his past life, he had heard of the reputation of the Sword King, Vernas. Vernas' personal appearance here was astonishing since he ranked among the most powerful and influential figures on the continent.

When Vernas attempted to take Carus with him, Abel, sweating nervously, asked, "Sir Vernas. Where are you taking the prince?"

Vernas glanced at Abel and replied briefly, "It's none of your concern."

That one sentence from Vernas silenced Abel. Such was the majesty of Draker's Black Knight. Even if all the knights present there charged him, none could defeat Vernas alone.

Carus glanced at Sieg, his eyes questioning him on what was happening. However, Sieg had no more answers than he did.

Then, Kali Draker unsheathed her sword and stepped back.

"The Platinum Knights will follow Sir Vernas' command."

Seeing Kali retreat first, Sieg was convinced that Vernas was not an adversary. He nodded to Carus, who then spoke to Vernas with a relieved heart.

"Sir Vernas, I am Carus Nerva Constantinus, the 4th prince of the Rom Empire. Please guide me safely."

Vernas gave Carus a sidelong look before gesturing with his hand.

"Follow me."

Carus lightly bid farewell to Sieg and trailed after Vernas. Until the Sword King leisurely exited the terminal, no one dared move from their spot.

Abel bit his teeth tightly, then turned his head toward Sieg.

"Capture that man from the Squad, now!"

It seemed Abel thought of capturing Sieg to uncover those behind him. Kali also shouted, "Following the family orders, seize the suspect!"

Both sides' knights clashed with Sieg caught in the middle.

Crack!

In the midst of it, Abel and Kali collided with their swords.

"Dame Kali! Do not obstruct lawful reprisal!"

"Are you planning to defy your family's orders?"

Amid the chaos, Sieg exploited an opening.

He once again employed Flash and Dissonance.

Zeeeee!

A tremendous flash enveloped the entire terminal.

Perhaps because they were experiencing it for the second time, Abel and the Squad members quickly regained their senses and pursued Sieg.

Yet Sieg was nowhere to be found.

Having escaped the terminal using his Invisibility skill, Sieg summoned Buchephalus and took to the skies.

"Before I leave, here's a gift."

He commanded Buchephalus to unleash a lightning strike on the terminal.

Zap! Zap!

Dozens of lightning bolts rained down on the terminal.

The knights and soldiers guarding the area were electrocuted and foamed at the mouth as they fell.

Satisfaction spread across Sieg's face as he steered Buchephalus toward Duke Graham's castle.

***

"Sieg!"

Having sorted out the terminal incident, Kali entered Duke Graham's estate, searching for Sieg.

Sieg was concealed in a secluded corner of the tower where Angelina had once been confined.

"Big sis Kali."

As Sieg attempted to rise, Kali stopped him.

"That's enough. Just lie down."

Thanks to his Healing Factor, he wasn't particularly hurt, but the journey had exhausted him, so he listened to Kali and lay back down.

Sieg asked Kali, "I didn't expect the Sword King to suddenly appear. Is Carus alright?"

Kali grinned and said, "You can ask him yourself."

Suddenly, someone burst into the room.

"Sieg!"

To Sieg's surprise, Carus entered.

"Carus?"

Stunned, Sieg looked at Kali for answers.

"Sir Vernas is actually my teacher."

"What?!"

The fact that the Sword King, Vernas, was Kali Draker's mentor was something unknown even in his past life.

Kali laughed, "My teacher is quite shy, you see, and dislikes revealing himself."

The words 'Sword King' and 'shy' hardly fit together, but that wasn't what mattered.

Sieg nodded, relieved to see Carus unharmed.

"Well, at least that's one less worry."

"Indeed. It's all thanks to you."

"You managed to contact Feynon? I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."

"The Zayed side contacted Feynon and informed him, and I immediately set sail on a battleship to welcome him."

Sieg marveled at Kali's swift decision-making.

Feynon crossed over on Kali's battleship, explained everything, and swiftly moved to her territory.

Kali sent knights to the Dortha Republic to find Sieg, but by then, he had already departed for the south.

The break in contact left her anxiously waiting until she heard Abel was heading to Panstas, prompting her to follow swiftly.

In the meantime, her meticulous preparations included requesting Vernas intervene on her behalf.

Kali sighed, "Unfortunately, the recorded footage Feynon brought was too damaged to serve as evidence."

"I see. The storage device was inherently fragile..."

While they missed the chance to oust Abel from Draker, they had successfully rescued Carus, marking their mission as a success.

"But how did the Abel's side know I came to Panstas? We used Ishtar's portal to get here."

Kali's expression turned grave as she replied, "There are two possibilities. One is that Abel's side has a spy within Ishtar. The other is that there's a spy on your side, Sieg."

Sieg pondered Kali's words carefully.

'Could Simon or Boris be spies?'

However, contextually, neither had the opportunity to inform Abel secretly about their destination.

A deep crease appeared on Sieg's forehead.

'Perhaps there's another way. I should investigate further.'

Given that Zimmens, a strategist, was involved, it was possible they discovered Sieg's whereabouts by some unconventional means.

Then Carus, beside him, spoke to Sieg, "Sieg, I intend to stay in Lady Kali's territory for a while. I will never forget your kindness for protecting me."

Sieg patted Carus on the shoulder.

"Carus. So long as you're in my sister's territory, assassins won't dare approach. Stay alive, no matter what."

Throughout numerous hardships, they had grown quite fond of each other.

With tears in his eyes, Carus left the room and prepared to head to Kali's estate.

Sieg asked Kali, "Are you leaving right away?"

"Yes. If Abel or the Empire learns of Carus' whereabouts, they will attempt assassination by any means. It's best to get him to a safe place as soon as possible."

Traveling with a direct escort from the Knight of Platinum might minimize at least the worry of attacks.

She stepped closer to Sieg and said, "You did really well, Sieg. You'll be rewarded adequately for the mission."

"I'll look forward to it, big sis."

With everyone, including Kali, gone, Sieg finally had some time to rest comfortably.

"Ugh. What a long journey it was."

While transporting Carus, Sieg had turned eighteen as another year passed.

He lay in bed, sorting his inventory and checking his karma points.

『Owned Karma Points: 2710』

Sieg contemplated his karma points.

"Hm, it might be time to unlock the third level of the Draconian Skills."

The reason Sieg focused on Draconian Skills was because of the still-locked 'Word Magic'.

The Soul Resonance he learned in his past life was incomplete as a human.

However, considering what Caesar once mentioned, unlocking the Draconian Skill of Word Magic might enable him to master the Soul Resonance perfectly.

Unlocking the level 3 Draconian Skill required a thousand karma points.

"A thousand points are quite a burden, but if I can unlock the Word Magic..."

It would add another secret weapon alongside the Elemental Sword.

Sieg spent a thousand points to unlock the level 3 Draconian Skill.

『Unlocking Level 3 Draconian Skill.』

『You have reached level 3 Draconian Skill, gaining the "Dragonborn" qualification.』

『A mark of the Dragonborn appears in your eye.』

『The seal on Bahamut's heart is partially lifted due to the Dragonborn qualification. Current compression binding 75%.』

『Dragon Eyes and Dragon's Majesty skills are improved.』

『Dragon Eyes and Dragon's Majesty skills have advanced to expert level.』

『The previously locked Word Magic skill is now unlocked.』

Seeing the messages appear, Sieg couldn't help but shout for joy.

"Word Magic! It's finally unlocked!"

He immediately checked the status of the Draconian Skills.

Draconian Skills (Level 3 Unlocked): Dragon Eyes (Expert) / Dragon's Majesty (Expert) / Devour (Expert) / Word Magic (Novice) / Dragonscale Armor (Proficient) / Dragon Claw (Proficient)

All level 1 skills had advanced to expert, and it was clear the Word Magic was now unlocked.

"But what are Dragonborn qualification and the mark of the Dragonborn?"

Suddenly, an unusual sensation arose in Sieg's left eye.

"Ugh!"

He clutched his eye, staggering as if another eyeball was growing within it.

"Ahhhh!"

Even his Healing Factor couldn't alleviate this pain.

Fortunately, the discomfort soon ceased.

Drenched in sweat, Sieg went to the mirror to check his eye.

"What is this?"

His left eye glowed with a golden hue, transformed into something akin to a reptile's eye.

Sieg realized what the mark of the Dragonborn meant.

'My God. My eye has transformed into a dragon's.'

With his Dragon Eyes, he could see things usually invisible. It allowed him to view temperatures and even see through obstructions.

It was akin to activating the Dragon Eyes skill constantly.

'The information overload makes my head ache. I'll need practice.'

As soon as he thought that, his eye reverted to its original state.

It seemed he could control the transformation to Dragon Eyes at will.

He could utilize the Dragon Eyes' abilities seamlessly without having to activate the skill separately.

'Great. Once I get used to it, it should be incredibly useful.'

Deciding to get accustomed to the mark of the Dragonborn later, Sieg first decided to try out Word Magic.

"Cut."

Unleashing Soul Resonance and Word Magic combined, Sieg harnessed the power.

A sharp energy emanated from Sieg's hand.

Slice!

He swung his hand toward a table, cleaving it with a precision far beyond that of a sword.

Seeing the flawlessly divided table, Sieg let out a bemused laugh.

"It succeeded so easily..."

The perfect Soul Resonance his master had shown in his past life had never been fully replicated before, yet Word Magic bridged the missing piece.

Even when using different words consecutively, he experienced no side effects.

With a mixed expression of disbelief and contentment, Sieg laughed.

"Using single spells is no problem at all. If I can master double spells as well..."

He raised his hand, taking a slow breath to unleash the Soul Resonances.

"Clash."

Zzzzzz!

A tearing sound reverberated in Sieg's ear.

"Ugh!"

The excruciating pain forced Sieg to collapse.

Pushing his limits caused immediate spiritual backlash due to the nature of Soul Resonance.

Since the Healing Factor couldn't restore damage to his soul, Sieg crawled back to his bed, panting.

"D-damn... I'm still far from mastering double spells."

His master in the past had been able to perform trisyllabic spells.

Casting trisyllabic spell Soul Resonances had rendered his master virtually invincible.

No demonic beast could last ten seconds before him.

"Perhaps that monstrous master is still in the forest."

Meeting them in this life was something Sieg wanted to avoid at all costs.

Lying in bed, Sieg opened the status window for his unlocked level 3 Draconian Skills.

―Level 3 Draconian Skills―

Dragon Sense (Locked) / Dragon's Breath (Locked)

Unlock level 4 by spending 3,000 karma points

Level 4, demanding a leap in karma point requirement to 3,000, seemed a distant goal.

'Level 4 will have to wait quite some time.'

Sieg read through the description of the newly unlocked skills.

―Level 3 Draconian Skills Description―

Dragon Sense: With refined dragon senses, it allows the perception to transcend space-time, peering beyond the realm of existence. (Unlock Requirement: 500 Points)

Dragon's Breath: Harnesses and compresses nature's energy to exhale a powerful breath, sweeping away enemies in one go. (Unlock Requirement: 800 Points)

Examining the description, Sieg pondered.

Holding 1,710 points, unlocking both Dragon Sense and Dragon's Breath would leave him with only 410 points remaining.

"Hmm. Both skills seem valuable. How should I proceed?"

Among the Draconian Skills, none were deemed useless.

Finally, Sieg stood up, making his decision.

"Alright. I've made up my mind."