A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression – 324



Episode 324

“We express regret for the damage caused to the ghetto area and the Empire’s peacekeeping forces by the sudden appearance of monsters…”

News of the superficial situation spread like wildfire across the continent.

The announcement was that the large-scale monster outbreak was treated as an abnormal sign causing damage to the ghetto area and the imperial garrison and that many people went missing while trying to stop it.

Among the missing were Morgan Buffon a commander of the Imperial Legion and William Siemens heir to the Abel Drake Siemens family and a knight in the Drake Guardian Order.

After receiving an alliance offer from the Joiners in the Ghetto region Kali Draker decided to formally recognize the independence of the Western Alliance which consists of Joiners and Suiners and support it.

Kali also revealed that she was sending the Knights to subdue monsters and ‘protect’ isolated Imperial garrisons.

And this protection included the Second Prince Leonard Crowley Constantine and Daria Calvi a knight of the Human Archery.

The Empire was demanding the extradition of the two soldiers but due to the current outbreak of the mutant safflower disease the region was under lockdown and outside access and extradition were being refused.

Zick read the entire newsletter and chuckled.

‘Should I say it’s self-inflicted?’

If the Empire had taken over the autonomous region and dealt with Zeke and the Black Sword Knights it would certainly have sent out a similar message.

Zeke passed the newsletter to Daria Calvi who was sitting across from him.

“Cheer up. I brought it to you in the morning.”

In front of Daria was an imperial breakfast of eggs bacon toasted bread and stewed beans.

The fortress occupied by the Imperial Garrison was now under the control of the Black Sword Knights.

Daria Calvi and the second prince Leo were also detained not imprisoned in the fortress.

Daria Calvi said glaring at Zeke.

“How long do you plan to keep us here?”

Zick said taking a sip of the tea he had brewed.

“I told you. I’ll send you the test results for the mutant safflower disease once they’re done.”

At those words Daria Calvi suddenly got up from her seat as if she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Put aside your useless excuses! Do you think you can tie up the great Imperial Army with such nonsense? The atrocities of you Drakers who manipulated the truth with dirty methods will be revealed to the entire continent!”

Zeke said looking at Daria.

“Haven’t we shown you all the evidence that it was the Empire that did it not us? I think the evidence is too clear to deny it.”

Daria was momentarily speechless at Zeke’s words.

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Even she could see that the evidence Zeke had brought clearly showed the atrocities committed by the Empire.

Her heart which had been loyal to the empire for a long time refused to accept it but her head acknowledged that Zeke’s words were true.

Zeke held out a cup of tea in front of Daria.

“Don’t be so excited. Why don’t you have a cup of tea?”

Daria bit her lips and sat down on her seat.

Then he drank the tea that Zeke offered him in one gulp and put the glass down with a bang.

She grabbed her fork and knife and began to eat the prepared breakfast furiously as if she had made up her mind about something.

Zeke said while looking at Daria like that.

“Don’t think too badly of it. If we just send those here to the Empire in the current situation the archons will surely put all the responsibility on you. Daria Calvi you may just be dismissed but the knights of the Inmagung Palace who are commoners could be hanged right away.”

Daria’s hands trembled slightly as she forked over the bacon.

Knowing how the Empire worked she also knew that what Zeke said was entirely possible.

Zig who had finished drinking his tea slowly got up from his seat.

“The prince and you Daria Calvi will be sent to the empire when the time comes. However it will be up to you to decide whether to return or remain here.”

Daria Calvi raised her head and glared at Zeke.

“Are you trying to persuade me to go to Draker’s side?”

“I hope so. Of course your choice is important.”

“If I say I want to return to the Empire you’ll let me go? Even though it’s obvious that I’ll become a force for the Empire again? That’s ridiculous.”

“Becoming the power of the Empire… I wonder if that will really happen. I know you have many enemies within the Empire. Will you be able to maintain your current position when you return? Even if you want to rely on the protection of Duke Craban you are not his official successor. I wonder if the Empire will wait until you reach the level of the Black Knight on your own.”

Daria couldn’t possibly refute Zeke’s words.

‘How do you know all this?’

Zeke Draker was not only gifted as a knight.

Insight that reads the complex political situation of the empire at a glance and delves deep into its details.

It was very rare to find someone who had this.

Zeke said looking at Daria.

“There’s still plenty of time so take your time and think about it. Knights of the Inmagung Palace. Aren’t they good colleagues who have been with us for a long time?”

As he closed the door and left Daria clenched her fists and trembled.

‘…shit.’

There was nothing wrong with what Zeke said.

If she were to return to the empire now as a defeated general she would certainly be dismissed for failing to protect the prince and the knights of the Inmagung would be executed or imprisoned as an example.

The weakening of the empire’s power was not a factor at all in the power struggles of the consuls.

After all all that mattered to them was maintaining their own private army.

‘Zeke Draker…’

Daria Calvi’s face was filled with depth.

* * *

‘I think I almost got there.’

Zeke would come to Daria every morning and say similar things to her.

Daria who had stubbornly refused at first also became aware of her situation and gradually gave in to Zeke’s words.

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‘Daria Calvi is a strong-willed person who values ​​her comrades. She must be worried because she knows better than anyone that she will not be able to protect them if she returns to the Empire.’

Zeke planned to persuade Daria to create a cavalry archer unit.

The combined force of the archers led by Claire and the mounted archers led by Daria would surely provide solid protection for the rear of the battlefield.

‘I guess I’ll have to wait a bit for now.’

In the afternoon I had to go see Leo the second prince.

Unlike Daria who aimed to persuade others the second prince led the conversation in order to understand the current situation of the empire.

Above all it was necessary to find out the current state of the Emperor.

‘I think there’s more to it than just dismissing him as some old man obsessed with immortality.’

In fact in his previous life the Emperor did not die but continued to hold the throne and devoted all his efforts to finding the Elder Dragon’s relics.

As history changed due to Zeke’s return the Emperor’s situation also seemed to have changed and so it was necessary to examine what results this change brought about.

Zeke returned to his room making sure he had some time left before meeting Leo.

He took out Solomon’s ring from his inventory.

Although he was able to seal away some of the sources of the Blood and Madness Rider’s powers he was unable to use them as he did with the higher-level Mongma version.

‘If it’s not completely sealed can’t I use the power?’

Although there were some regrettable parts in the end sealing the power of the Blood and Madness Riders that gave strength to Siemens and Narak was a huge blow to them.

He put the ring back sat down in his chair and brought up the system window.

“Hmm.”

Zig looked at the system window and was lost in thought.

For several days Zig had been wrestling with the system window.

The reason was because of the reward obtained from the special random box that emerged after absorbing the body of the giant soldier.

‘Skill book. I never thought something like that would come out.’

It was a newly acquired system feature.

The ‘Skill Book’ was something that allowed you to purchase recorded active skills using karma points and also allow you to sell your skills to earn karma points.

Zeke had been staying in the camp for several days racking his brain trying to find new skills and how to combine them.

I wanted to combine skills that could be useful in battle by referring to the combination formulas of the dragon magic brought from Nirvana.

Zig checked his status window which was displayed along with a list of skills.

[Superior Manager Status Window]

Name: Zeek Draker

Class: Immortal (Unique Grade)

Titles: Blessed by the Elder Dragon Heir of Terracan Draker Successor of the Sword Master Knight of the Brilliant Light Blessing of the God of War Conqueror of the Tower Successor of the King of Heroes Glory of the Sea God Grace of the Divine Beast Protection of the Great Mage Blessing of the Fairy

Powers: Dragon Rule Corruption Luck Shadow Rule Charisma Reversal Freeze Chlorine

Constitution: Body of a person who is slow to commit suicide body of a person who is invincible to poison body of a person who is slow to commit suicide …

System functions: Inventory (1000 slots) / Minimap / Portal movement (1 companion) / Advanced quest book / Skill shortcut slot / Potion shortcut slot / Item crafting / Defense mode

Passive Skills: Healing Factor / Unbreakable Will / Infinite Stamina / Sense of Dedication / Limit Break

Special Skills: Elemental Sword [SS-Rank (Expert)] / Infinite Sword [SS-Rank (Beginner)] / Soul Sealing Technique [A-Rank (Beginner)] / Holy Spirit Technique [S-Rank (Expert)] / Holy Light Technique [S-Rank+ (Beginner)] / Giant Hunting Technique [A-Rank (Expert)]

Active Skills: Lightning [Class A (Beginner)] Deathstroke [Class A (Expert)] Magic Reflection [Class A (Expert)] / Area Buff [Class A (Expert)] / Stealth [Class A (Beginner)] / Curse Reflection [Class A (Expert)] / Blade of Purification [Class A (Expert)] / Communion [Class A (Beginner)] / Bloodshot Eyes [Class S (Expert)] / Amphibious [Class B (Beginner)]

Dragon Skills (4 levels unlocked): Absorption (Beginner) / Spirituality (Expert) / Dragon Breath (Expert) / Dragon Warrior (Expert+) / Dragon Wings (Beginner) / Dragon Summon (Beginner)

Karma Points Held: 27856

I could see that I had gained a lot of abilities compared to when I first opened the status window.

‘You’re saying that you’ve gained a lot of karma from hunting large-scale demons?’

Zigg used this karma to organize his active skills and decide whether to create a new skill combination or to first open the 5th level of the Dragon Clan skills.

‘If you unlock stage 5 you need 8000 points so even if you reduce it by 20% due to the effect of the dragon body you’ll still need 6400 points. And to unlock the skill you’ll need to use up almost all of your karma….’

Dragon skills were not lacking in power as they required a lot of karma points.

The problem was the amount of spiritual power required for the Dragon Clan skill.

As the amount of spiritual power required increased from stage 3 and above even Zigg who had the heart of a dragon was having a hard time handling it.

In the case of the dragon summon obtained in stage 4 the amount of spiritual power consumed to maintain the summon was so great that it could not be used properly.

‘At first I tried to summon the Tyrant with this skill but I just couldn’t handle it.’

These were skills that were difficult to fully use unless Bahamut’s Heart was completely opened.

Even if you unlock the 5th level of dragon skills if you can’t use them properly it’s no different than not having them at all.

After much thought Zeke decided to use his Karma Points to combine active skills.

I decided to prepare for one-on-one combat by organizing unnecessary skills and only using skills that are useful in battle.

If the Imperial Army were to move in earnest as in the ghetto situation it would likely have to deal with more knights and wizards.

Zig took care of the amphibious skills that he rarely used first.

‘This can be easily solved with a potion so let’s sell it.’

I got 1500 points by processing the amphibious skill to figure out the approximate trading price.

When comparing the contents of the skill book unlike items the difference between the purchase price and the selling price of skills was not that big.

‘Only bloodline abilities and ancient artifacts can absorb skills but since there are no low-level attack magics left in the artifacts it was impossible to create linked skills.’

After visiting Nirvana Zeke tried absorbing regular magic items and realized that simply absorbing an item with magic in it did not register it as a skill.

Skills could only be absorbed through ancient artifacts and there were few artifacts that had the low-circle magic required for link combinations.

However since the skill book also contained skills that had effects similar to basic magic it was possible to create linked combinations.

Zeke referred to the list of linked skills he had received from Zeros and created a linked combination that matched the lightning skills he had.

“Okay.”

It was a combination of water magic that went well with lightning magic.

‘If you link the Water Bomb that creates a Waterball effect the Confusion effect that creates a Confusion effect the Friction Reduction effect that creates a Grease effect and the Lightning skill you will be able to create the effect of the Dragon Spell magic that Zeros showed before.’

It was then that Zeke finished organizing everything and purchased the skills with karma points.

A new message window popped up.

[You have successfully purchased a skill from the skill book.]

[A new category ‘Linked Skills’ is opened.]

[You can save slots by configuring skill combinations of up to 5 items allowing you to use linked skills with just a command.]