A Dragonslayer's Peerless Regression - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Upon hearing Zeke’s words, Liam immediately knelt.

“Master. Zeke, please give me one more chance.”

Zeke slowly approached Liam.

Looking down at him, he said,

“Why should I?”

“I will follow any order you give me, Master Zeke. Please give me one more chance.”

Zeke said to Liam,

“Will you really listen to any order I give you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then cut off your right arm.”

Liam suddenly looked up at Zeke.

Zeke said with a cold expression,

“Didn’t you say you’d follow anything?”

At those words, Liam looked down at his right arm.

Even if he cut it off, he could reattach it if he went to a healer quickly, but healing potions weren’t a cure-all.

Especially with the right arm, in the worst case, even a single nerve being damaged could make it impossible to hold a sword.

Liam’s hands trembled as he picked up the fallen sword.

He gripped the sword, sweat dripping down his face.

Liam looked at Zeke and said,

“If I follow your order, will you take me in?”

“Yes.”

“I understand.”

Suddenly, Liam’s expression changed.

With a hardened face, he gripped the sword with his left hand and struck down at his right arm.

Slice!

An unpleasant sound pierced his ears.

Liam looked at his right arm.

“Huh?”

He had clearly struck his arm with the sword, but it was fine.

He then looked at his sword.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t his arm that was cut, but the sword.

The blade, cut in half, was held in Zeke’s hand.

“You idiot. What were you going to do if I didn’t accept you after you cut off your arm?”

Zeke tossed the severed blade.

The blade embedded itself deep into the hard stone wall.

Such a feat was only possible for a Purple Knight, who could imbue their weapon with aura.

‘Master Zeke has already surpassed the barrier of Purple.’

Zeke said to Liam in a low voice,

“If you do such a foolish thing again, there will be no oath of loyalty or anything. Do you understand?”

Liam, his face flushed, said,

“Th-then, does that mean you’ll accept me?”

“I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“Thank you! Thank you, Master! I will devote my loyalty to you!”

Zeke smiled bitterly as he watched Liam readily bow his head before him.

After returning to the reception room with Liam, he had a servant bring them warm tea.

Sitting on the sofa, he said to Liam,

“So, what is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason why you have to go this far, Liam.”

He looked at Liam with sharp eyes and said,

“Do you have a family member who is unwell?”

Liam was startled and looked at Zeke.

“H-how did you know?”

It was just a deduction based on various circumstances, but even Zeke himself didn’t expect to get it right so quickly.

Zeke nodded.

“I knew it. Valhalla has various benefits. Medical benefits are one of them.”

Valhalla graduates receive the best treatment on the continent.

And not only them, but their families also benefit.

Medical benefits were included among them.

The medical technology of the Draker clan, which owned the largest general hospital in the entire continent, was something that the proud Rom Empire coveted.

Liam lowered his head and said,

“I recently received news that my mother has collapsed.”

“So you wanted to go to Valhalla to receive medical benefits.”

“Yes. My mother raised me all by herself, going through a lot of hardship. Our family has fallen on hard times, so we can’t even afford proper medicine. I want to enter Valhalla and provide her with proper treatment.”

He didn’t know that the future mercenary king was such a devoted son.

However, apart from that, he was quite naive about the ways of the world.

“You idiot. When will you go to Valhalla and treat your mother’s illness?”

He was still a first-year student, so even if he graduated early, it would take two more years before he was eligible to enter Valhalla.

And not just anyone could go to Valhalla just by graduating.

At Zeke’s sharp words, Liam clenched his fists.

“It’s an illness that doesn’t respond to ordinary treatment, so there was nothing I could do. All the healers I called in immediately couldn’t even figure out what the illness was. It seems impossible to treat without the Draker clan’s medical technology, and since it doesn’t seem critical right now, this was the conclusion I came to after much deliberation.”

Zeke’s expression changed subtly as he listened.

“Is this illness by any chance… accompanied by red spots on the body and periodic high fever?”

Liam was surprised by Zeke’s words.

“How did you know?”

‘Hah, this is… Should I call this good luck?’

The illness that Liam’s mother had contracted was something that would become a major epidemic in the Central Continent five years from now.

Although the fatality rate wasn’t high, it was highly contagious, causing many people to fall ill, and mainly the elderly and children with weak immune systems lost their lives.

‘It was called Red Flower Disease, wasn’t it?’

It was named after the red rash that appeared on the face.

In his past life, a cure was developed only after many people had died, finally bringing the disease under control.

And luckily, Zeke knew how to make the cure for Red Flower Disease.

Zeke said to Liam,

“Well, that’s none of my business. How long has it been since the symptoms appeared?”

“About a week.”

‘I need to act quickly before it gets any worse and becomes difficult to treat.’

Zeke immediately had Decker gather the necessary medicinal herbs, make the Red Flower Disease treatment, and send it to the Stone clan.

“If she takes the medicine for about two months, she’ll get better.”

It was an illness that other healers had given up on, but Zeke not only knew the symptoms just by hearing about the situation, but also prepared the treatment medicine swiftly.

In Liam’s eyes, Zeke was like a god.

“Thank you! Thank you, Master! I will devote my loyalty to you!”

“Of course you should, since you’ve pledged your loyalty. I’ll abandon you immediately if you get in my way, so do well.”

And so, the future Mercenary King, Liam Stone, became the first subordinate of Zeke Draker.

* * *

“Time’s up. Everyone, hand in your papers.”

The written exam for the Knighthood Culture subject was over.

Theoretical subjects were no problem for Zeke.

The real problem started with the practical exams.

The first practical exam was held outside the academy.

Both special and regular classes were combined, and the exam consisted of entering a test dungeon in pairs to hunt monsters.

Most of the academy cadets gathered in front of the test dungeon had somewhat nervous expressions.

On the other hand, the cadets who received support from their families were more relaxed.

They had already practiced dungeon exploration methods, monster handling methods, and even how to earn extra points with the help of their families.

Among the cadets reacting in various ways, Zeke and Liam also stood in front of the dungeon, waiting their turn.

Just then, someone approached from behind.

“Unexpected. A combination of Zeke Draker and Liam Stone.”

The annoying, petty tone of voice was somewhat familiar.

Looking back, as expected, Jakenn Vardec was standing there with his group.

Zeke ignored Jakenn and concentrated on checking his equipment.

Seeing Zeke like that, Jakenn said,

“Zeke Draker, have you ever even seen a monster before?”

At those words, Zeke looked up and glared at Jakenn.

“Don’t bother me and just go away.”

Jakenn smirked at Zeke’s words.

“They say most people wet their pants when they see a monster for the first time. Zeke, I look forward to seeing how you’ll react.”

Just then, the instructor’s voice rang out.

“Zeke Draker! Liam Stone! Enter!”

The two entered the entrance indicated by the instructor among the dozens of split dungeon entrances.

Other families don’t conduct such dangerous practical training for thirteen-year-olds.

But this was Draker.

Such crazy things were commonplace here, which made it possible.

The dungeon exploration exam lasted for four days.

The goal of this practical exam was not just to hunt monsters, but to safely escape the maze-like dungeon.

Zeke and Liam slowly ventured deeper into the dungeon.

Zeke checked the hidden markings throughout the dungeon and found his way.

Liam was surprised to see Zeke like that.

‘Has Master explored dungeons before?’

Zeke had mostly shown his lacking side in the cradle, so Liam still couldn’t get used to this sudden change.

After walking through the dark cave for several hours, a large open space appeared inside.

Zeke touched the moss on the walls of the open space and the soil on the floor, and even smelled them.

“Let’s take a break here for a while.”

He took out the equipment he had brought from the Dragon Slayer’s tomb and set up a temporary base camp.

He set up a simple tent to block the moisture and stretched wire around the area for vigilance.

Liam, who had been watching Zeke skillfully set up camp, approached awkwardly.

“I-I’ll do it.”

“Never mind. I’ll take care of this, so go gather some appropriately sized stones nearby. Let’s make a fireplace and cook something to eat.”

The most important thing in dungeon exploration was stamina management.

Of course, Zeke had the Infinite Stamina skill, but anything could happen in a dungeon, so he couldn’t let his guard down.

When Liam brought the stones, Zeke arranged them and installed a magic tool that emitted heat inside.

Perhaps because it was an ancient item, its performance was excellent.

Zeke took out the instant food he had stored in his inventory and heated it on the fireplace.

“Here, try it.”

Liam drank the soup Zeke handed him.

It was so delicious that he couldn’t believe it was made in a dungeon.

“It’s incredibly delicious, Master.”

It was possible because it was an instant meal made by specially ordering soup from the Platinum Lounge, freezing it immediately, and storing it in his inventory.

Since food stored in the inventory was preserved as it was, he could simply heat it up and enjoy the soup’s original flavor.

Zeke and Liam ate a proper meal and took a short rest in the base camp they had set up.

They took turns keeping watch and guarding the surroundings, recovering their stamina, and then explored deeper into the dungeon.

Zeke turned on the minimap to check if the markings and paths indicated in the cave matched.

And at some point, Zeke noticed something strange and tilted his head.

‘The direction the other cadets are going and the direction we’re going are completely opposite.’

The minimap also showed the locations of the other cadets, and the red dots marking them were clustered on the left path.

However, the path Zeke and Liam were on was marked to continue only to the right.

Zeke sensed something was amiss.

‘Could it be that those guys are already making their move?’

Growl!

Just then, a strange sound suddenly came from deep within the cave.

Sensing it, Zeke said to Liam,

“Liam, put out the fire.”

Despite being in a dark cave, Liam didn’t question Zeke’s order to extinguish the fire and immediately did so.

Zeke, with the fire out, focused on his sense of smell.

‘This smell is…? The smell of sulfur?’

Zeke had experienced more than enough monster hunting due to his missions.

‘Why is there a trace of a Hellhound in a test dungeon?’

The Hellhound, also known as the Infernal Hound, was classified as a very dangerous monster even among adventurers.

They had excellent senses, moved in packs, and relentlessly chased their prey until they succeeded in hunting, making it difficult to escape.

‘Don’t tell me they put a Hellhound in as a test monster?’

Even for a crazy clan like the Drakers, that was going too far.

Just then, something caught Zeke’s senses.

“Liam, be on guard.”

Zeke warned Liam in a low voice.

He took his sword and walked forward, leading the way.

Screech!

Just then, a Gremlin hiding behind a rock jumped out.

Whoosh!

Zeke swung his sword and immediately split the Gremlin’s body in half.

Thud!

The severed body of the Gremlin fell to the floor.

Liam also blocked and dealt with the Gremlins popping out from other places without panicking, using his sword.

As long as they didn’t panic, they could handle Gremlins of that level with their skills.

But then it happened.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Another sound came from deep within the cave.

Zeke realized that the Gremlins were running away from the monster that was making this sound.

At the same time, something black darted out towards Zeke.

Clang!

As Zeke expected, a Hellhound appeared and suddenly charged at him.

Liam was startled and tried to approach and help Zeke.

But Zeke’s sword struck down on the Hellhound’s head.

Slice!

With a powerful blow, the Hellhound’s head was immediately separated from its body.

At the same time, letters appeared before Zeke’s eyes.

[You have defeated a Hellhound. You have earned 15 Karma Points.]

“Liam, turn on the light.”

At Zeke’s command, Liam immediately turned on the magic lamp.

A fairly large Hellhound lay collapsed with its head severed.

Just then, Zeke discovered something on the Hellhound.

“This is….”

“What’s wrong, Master?”

Zeke pointed at the Hellhound’s belly.

There were marks as if something had gnawed at it.

“No wonder it was a bit slow.”

Kookookookookook!

The tremors resonated once more.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Something massive, shaking the entire cave, approached.

Seeing its true form, Liam was utterly shocked.

“A-a Troll?”

A representative of mid-sized monsters with a gigantic physique and outstanding regenerative abilities.

A high-risk monster that could easily make a snack out of a Hellhound appeared before them.

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