A Dragonslayer's Peerless Regression - Chapter 217

Chapter 217

Zeke’s sword stopped in mid-air.

“Treasure?”

The lich said hastily,

『Y-yes, yes! It’s a valuable artifact!』

“What would I use a dark magic artifact for? I should just kill you after all…”

『Ah, no! It’s not a dark magic artifact, it’s something that even a knight like you can definitely use!』

The lich said desperately.

Zeke sheathed his blade again.

“Let’s take a look and then decide.”

Zeke adjusted the chains, binding the lich’s hands, mouth, and neck, allowing it to move.

Trembling, the lich slowly stood up.

Then, it went inside the cave.

Zeke, using his Dragon Eyes to survey the surroundings, followed the lich while holding onto the chains.

“If you try anything funny, your head will roll.”

The lich shuddered at Zeke’s sharp voice and opened a hidden passage inside the cave.

Stairs leading down to the underground appeared.

『T-this way.』

After confirming there were no other traps, Zeke followed the lich’s lead and went downstairs.

Going underground, the lich’s laboratory appeared.

Bones of various monsters hung on the walls, and on one side, books that looked like magic tomes were placed on bookshelves.

“For a lich, you live quite tidily.”

『Hehe, thank you, my lord.』

“Where’s the treasure?”

Zeke was openly trying to rob the lich, but the lich had no other choice.

The lich went to one side of the laboratory and placed its hand on a wall disguised with magic.

Then, a hidden vault was revealed.

The lich took out a sealed box from inside the vault.

『H-here it is, my lord.』

“How would I know what’s inside? You open it.”

The lich grumbled inwardly about the terribly picky knight and opened the sealed box.

Zeke was surprised by the artifact inside the sealed box.

“A crown?”

The lich nodded.

『I-isn’t it magnificent? It will surely bring out your lord’s majesty… ugh!』

The lich was terrified as Zeke unsheathed his purification blade again.

“After all, only a perished undead is a good undead.”

『Why, why are you doing this! You said you’d spare me if I gave you the treasure!』

“You call that an artifact? You were trying to trick me.”

『A-an artifact is right! There’s definitely a tremendous magical power hidden inside! I-it’s just that my magical skills are insufficient to figure out what it is!』

Zeke looked back at the crown, ignoring the lich’s desperate excuses.

Then, this time, he carefully examined the crown with his Dragon Eyes.

—Crown Information—

Description: A precious crown made during the Ruben Dynasty.

Unique Abilities: [Shield of Light], [Mace of Light]

Special Note: When used against undead and demonkin, it has a 1.5x effect.

‘Huh, it is an artifact after all.’

It wasn’t just a simple magic item, but a high-grade artifact with offensive and defensive skills.

Despite it being an excellent artifact, Zeke wore the crown on his head with a somewhat displeased expression that it had been in the lich’s possession.

[You can use the skills Shield of Light (B-rank) and Mace of Light (B-rank).]

Zeke confirmed the message and shouted at the lich.

“Mace of Light.”

In an instant, a huge hammer of light appeared and struck the lich.

『Kyahhh!』

Kwakkwakwakwang!

An enormous aura of light filled the laboratory.

With a single strike of the Mace of Light, the lich, a high-level undead, was on the verge of annihilation.

『Ugh… ugh…』

Zeke felt a little sorry for the lich, who had given him the artifact truthfully anyway and was now dying.

At that moment, a system message appeared.

[You have elicited fear from a lich mixed with the bones of a very insignificant dragon]

[You have subjugated a lich mixed with the bones of a very insignificant dragonkin.]

Whoooooosh!

Zeke’s shadow stretched out and entangled the lich’s body.

『Hoo-ck!』

Then, the lich’s appearance began to change.

It was no longer the form of a skeletal undead, but had transformed into a pallid, gloomy man.

However, scales covered his skin, and his eyes had changed like a snake’s, making him look like a snake-human at first glance.

“Hoo?”

The lich, looking at its changed body, wore an expression of disbelief.

“H-how can this be…!”

It had transformed from a lich into a humanoid summon through the power of the dragon.

It immediately knelt before Zeke and bowed deeply.

“Master! I knew you were no ordinary person! You have saved me with your great power! Thank you! Thank you! I will serve you until my very soul wears away!”

[Would you like to give a name to the subjugated lich mixed with the bones of a very insignificant dragonkin? A summon that has been given a name can be summoned at any time by the summoner’s call.]

“What was your name?”

“Insignificant names used in my past life are of no importance. Please bestow one upon me, great master.”

Zeke considered it for a moment but found it bothersome, so he named it haphazardly.

“Then let’s call you Richmond.”

“Ah…”

[You have acquired the summon Richmond.]

Richmond, who had gained the name Richmond because he was a lich, regretted not just saying his old name.

Whether Richmond regretted it or not, Zeke held the crown he had worn in his hand and pondered.

‘Hmm, this is good, but do I have to wear it and use the skills every time I’m in battle?’

Just then, as if answering Zeke’s question, a system message appeared.

[You can acquire skills by consuming items with Gluttony.]

‘Hoo?’

He had forgotten that he could consume items since the Gluttony skill had reached the Expert stage.

He used the Gluttony skill on the crown.

Soon, the shadow wriggled and rose, absorbing the crown.

[You have devoured the crown.]

[You have acquired the skills Shield of Light (B-rank) and Mace of Light (B-rank).]

“Hoo, so this is also possible.”

Zeke immediately checked his active skills.

Active Skills: Lightning Strike [A-rank (Beginner)], Flashbang [C-rank (Proficient)], Discord [C-rank (Proficient)], Magic Reflection [A-rank (Beginner)], Area Buff [A-rank (Beginner)], Curse Reflection [A-rank (Beginner)], Stealth [A-rank (Beginner)], Shield of Light [B-rank (Beginner)], Mace of Light [B-rank (Beginner)]

His skills had increased quite a bit compared to the beginning.

Zeke suddenly thought of Agamemnon’s Mask.

‘Should I devour this too and acquire the purification skill?’

He pondered for a long time since it would obviously be useful, but Zeke decided to postpone devouring the mask.

Agamemnon’s Mask was not just a regular artifact but a sacred relic of the Agamemnon family, so it wasn’t something he could dispose of as he pleased.

He was entrusted with the sacred relic because he was the family heir, but it was difficult to consider him the complete owner.

After deciding whether or not to devour the golden mask, he asked Richmond.

“Are the monsters outside the ones you released?”

Then, Richmond nodded.

“Yes, yes. My specialty lies in monsters, you see.”

“That’s strange. I’ve hardly ever seen black mages who specialize in handling monsters.”

Richmond scratched his head and said,

“Even during the time of the Holy Empire where I resided, monster specialization was quite a niche field, so there were hardly any mages who researched it.”

“It’s a peculiar talent indeed. Then, is it possible to gather monsters as well?”

“Those within my sphere of influence are possible.”

“Hoo, is that so?”

If he used Richmond’s abilities well, it seemed like he could gain a large amount of points.

* * *

“Hah… hah…”

Outside Richmond’s cave, the adventurer party was still struggling to fight the monsters.

The black magic controlling the monsters had been released while Zeke was dealing with Richmond, but attacks continued as even wild monsters swarmed in.

The archer had already used up all his arrows, the knight was exhausted, and the mage’s mana was depleted.

But still, monsters around them were emitting a ferocious aura and glaring at them.

The knight said to his companions,

“Damn it, looks like this is the end.”

Then, the young mage next to him looked at the knight and said,

“So, in the end, Rick will die a virgin.”

The female archer next to him nodded.

“I know, right? I should have just taken his virginity myself.”

The female mage opposite them blushed and said,

“C-Claire!”

The young mage grinned and said,

“The romance of Rick the virgin and Arin the virgin will be remembered for generations even after we die.”

Rick chuckled at Jason’s joke even in his final moments.

Then, Rick suddenly drew his sword and rushed forward.

“It was fun being with you all!”

Arin exclaimed in surprise,

“Rick!”

Rick intended to sacrifice himself to create an opportunity for his companions to escape.

“Haaaaaaah!”

Rick’s sword instantly severed the neck of the monster in front of him.

He shouted to his companions,

“Go quickly!”

Just then, a minotaur wielding an axe the size of a person charged at Rick.

Uwoooooooo!

Rick, resolved to die, charged towards the minotaur.

Kwaddeudeuk!

With a single blow from the minotaur’s axe, Rick lost his grip on his sword.

Kueoooooo!

The minotaur raised its axe again.

Rick froze, seeing death approaching right before his eyes.

It was the moment the axe was about to fall on Rick’s head.

Swoosh!

Along with a flash of light, the minotaur was split in half.

“Huh?”

Rick, who was at the very front, wore a blank expression at the unbelievable sight.

Before they knew it, a mage with a gloomy face had appeared beside them.

The youth who had split the minotaur in one go said to him,

“Richmond, do a good job. If you don’t, you’re as good as gone.”

“D-don’t worry, Master!”

As the mage raised his staff and chanted a spell, for some reason, not only the nearby monsters but even those far away began to swarm towards them.

Rick’s group exclaimed in surprise,

“M-more monsters…! W-we have to run!”

But the youth did not retreat upon seeing the monsters. He held a black sword that looked unfinished and dashed forward again.

Then, at a speed invisible to the eye, he began to cut down all the monsters.

Swoosh—

Thwack—

Shwaaaaaak!

Seeing dozens of monsters instantly turn into mincemeat and be annihilated, Rick’s group turned pale.

Zeke, having dealt with all the monsters, said to Richmond behind him,

“Not bad. Richmond, summon them again.”

Richmond chanted a spell again and drew in more monsters.

After summoning and defeating hordes of monsters ten times in that way, Zeke was able to gain over 2,000 points.

* * *

Having dealt with all the monsters, Zeke camped with Rick’s group.

It was to obtain information about the Giant Mountains from the adventurer party.

“Thank you so much for saving our lives.”

Rick’s group had witnessed Zeke’s incredible martial prowess, so they treated him cautiously.

Although he looked young, they were certain he was a knight from a prestigious family.

Zeke looked at Rick and said,

“You’re welcome. More importantly, the four of you seem to have been adventurers for quite a while despite your youth. The synergy of your party was impressive.”

At those words, Jason stepped forward.

“Well, you see, our party has a pure virgin guy and a pure virgin girl, so the harmony is… Mmph!”

Rick and Arin hurriedly covered Jason’s mouth.

Zeke smiled at the cheerful party.

Claire, the archer, looked at Zeke and said,

“Sir Knight, may I ask which affiliation you belong to?”

Zeke shook his head and denied it.

“A knight? Nonsense. I’m an adventurer myself.”

Zeke showed them his adventurer’s identification card.

Rick was surprised when he saw the ID.

“Ah, no. Then how did you learn such incredible swordsmanship? I naturally assumed you were a knight from a prestigious family.”

“I’m from the north. I associated with rangers and mercenaries since I was young, so I was able to learn various swordsmanship styles by watching them.”

It was too strong to say he learned it by watching, but since he said so himself, they couldn’t ask further and just accepted it.

Arin nodded and changed the subject, pointing at Richmond behind them.

“By the way, is it alright to just leave that person like that?”

Richmond couldn’t come near the fire and was huddled in a corner of the cave.

Zeke nodded.

“Yes. Don’t mind that friend. He has social anxiety and is afraid of crowded places.”

Jason nodded at those words.

There were quite a few people among mages who had mental issues.

As the stew boiled, Zeke scooped a bowl for each member of Rick’s group and handed it to them.

Rick’s group was very surprised by the excellent taste, considering it was camp food.

“Wow, this is incredibly delicious.”

It was a taste possible only because it was cooked with ingredients freshly preserved in his inventory.

While eating the soup, Zeke asked Rick’s group,

“By the way, why did you all come all the way here?”

Then, Rick carefully opened his mouth.

“How could we not tell our benefactor? We actually came here under the request of Duke Graham.”

At Rick’s words, Zeke was surprised.

‘Huh? Could these people be…?’

Rick continued speaking.

“We’re trying to find the sorcerer who cast a wicked spell on Lady Angelina.”

We appreciate you reading! If you loved this chapter, don't forget to bookmark us or share with your friends!