A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 57

"M-Medicine?"

Aster was startled by Sieg's words, but soon after, he shook his head with a dejected expression.

"Phew, thanks for saying so, but no thanks. I've tried all sorts of so-called good medicines, but they never worked."

Seeing Aster looking even more morose, Sieg grinned.

"Alright, follow me."

Sieg dragged Aster to a grassy area nearby. Sieg pulled something out from his pocket in a more secluded spot—a small pouch that fit perfectly in his palm.

"Aster, how many hours do you want to sleep?"

"Huh? Well, if I could, it would be nice to sleep soundly for even two hours."

Sieg opened the pouch and held it under Aster's nose.

"Those things don't work no matter how much you try..."

Aster spoke but didn't finish his sentence before he collapsed onto the grass.

Sieg nodded, watching Aster snoring peacefully.

"This is the Sandman's sleep sand. Its effects are tremendous."

Now that he was a intermediate administrator, the range of items he could purchase had expanded greatly, with all sorts of strange items available.

There were items to cure insomnia, remedies for depression, and even aphrodisiacs. Sieg hadn't thought he'd find a use for these things, which he used to find fascinating, but the effects were better than he'd expected.

Leaving Aster sleeping on the grass, Sieg went about his business and returned two hours later. Aster was still fast asleep, so Sieg shook him awake.

"...no."

Aster continued the sentence he had been saying as he awoke, sensing something was off around him.

The dull headache that had been pricking at his head was gone. Aster looked at Sieg with a disbelief.

"Did I actually fall asleep?"

"You slept very well. The medicine worked effectively."

Having been unable to sleep for a week, Aster felt refreshed as if he'd had a full night's sleep, even though it was only two hours. He grabbed Sieg's hands and spoke.

"My goodness, thank you so much! This is unbelievable... This world is such a beautiful place!"

Aster was overjoyed, jumping up and down excitedly. Then, he turned to Sieg.

"Is there any way I can buy that medicine? Can you let me know?"

Sieg shook his head.

"I got it from someone I know, and it's a secret recipe, so you can't buy it yourself."

Aster drooped again in disappointment at Sieg's words. Then Sieg said to Aster.

"There is one way to get this medicine, though."

Aster brightened and approached Sieg eagerly.

"Wh-what is it?"

"Have you decided what you'll do after graduation?"

Aster shook his head.

"No, not yet. I plan to look around after graduation, but if my insomnia gets worse, I won't be able to live normally, so I'm not sure."

Sieg grinned and pulled out a contract he had prepared from inside his clothes.

"If you sign a contract with me, I'll provide the medicine regularly. Enough for you to sleep soundly every three days."

Aster was astonished by Sieg's offer.

"Really? All I have to do is sign the contract?"

Aster was about to sign without properly reading the contract. However, Sieg stopped him.

"Hey. You should at least read the terms thoroughly before signing. You might end up selling yourself to a bad place."

Despite Sieg's warning, Aster signed the contract hastily without a second thought.

"If I can just sleep well, I can do anything."

Sieg watched Aster and inwardly clicked his tongue.

'Could it be that in his past life, he was just sold off to the Empire like this?'

He had easily acquired one of the Star Knights more quickly than he'd expected.

Satisfied, Sieg took the signed contract, handed Aster a month's supply of the sleep sand.

"This is for a month. If you use too much at once, you could fall asleep forever, so only use the amount I tell you."

"Ah, okay."

While Aster might have had good skills, he seemed a bit loose in the head, a fact that disconcerted Sieg.

'Diego, too, seemed a bit lacking. All these Star Knights seem somehow deficient.'

Among the ones he had seen, rayna seemed the most decent. However, Sieg quickly shook his head dismissively.

'Get a grip. I shouldn't get caught up in these Drake thoughts.'

"Aster."

"Hmm?"

"From now on, call me Master."

"Oh, sorry. Master."

"Let's see your skills before heading to Delfoa."

Sieg planned to thoroughly educate him on hierarchy later, but for now, he took Aster to the training ground.

In his past life, Sieg had heard many rumors about the Illusion Knight, but he'd never faced him in battle, so he needed to assess his skills properly.

When Sieg brandished his Bahamut, Aster began assembling something from the bag he carried. Soon, he had crafted a rather long spear.

"It's been a while since I've seen a spear-wielder."

"Ah, it's my family's spear technique. I mean, it's my family's spear technique, master."

Aster took his position in front of Sieg, wielding the spear. Until moments ago, Aster was trudging along wearily, but with the spear in his hands, his aura transformed immediately.

'Oh, impressive.'

Sieg said to Aster.

"You may use your aura freely."

Aster hesitated slightly at that.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Give it your all."

Aster deliberated before nodding and pointing his spear at Sieg.

Wooong!

As Aster infused his aura into the spear, energy emanated from it like shimmering heat waves.

Sieg also readied himself with Bahamut in hand, facing Aster. Aster poised himself, keeping his weight backward. He seemed prepared to charge forward due to the length of the spear, but surprisingly, it was a defensive technique.

Sieg charged at Aster first.

Whooosh!

Sieg faced Aster's spear with basic dragon-slaying moves.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Aster swung his long spear to maintain distance, skillfully blocking Sieg's sword. The sheer reach of the spear made it difficult to approach Aster.

'In that case.'

Utilizing illusionary footwork, Sieg dived into Aster's interior range. Just then, Aster's spear split apart, transforming from a long spear into short sections.

Striking Sieg's sword with a blow from the spear haft in his left hand, Aster thrust the spear in his right hand into a gap in Sieg's defense.

Whoosh!

Using both hands for spear technique maintained a perfect balance of offense and defense. When Sieg retreated, Aster reassembled the spear into its long form.

'It's a fascinating technique.'

Switching between long and short forms according to the opponent's distance created unpredictable tactics— enough to topple a typical knight before they could display their prowess.

However, Sieg was adept at countering such unpredictable techniques. In an instant, Sieg drew a dagger and hurled it at Aster.

Aster promptly reacted by deflecting the dagger but hesitated due to the unexpected force behind it.

Sieg seized the opportunity, moving into the low angle to target Aster's legs.

Whoosh!

Aster retreated to dodge Sieg's sword. But Sieg didn't let up with just that attack.

Anticipating Aster's disruption in balance, Sieg swiftly rose, implementing a dragon-slaying move.

Dragonslaying Art - True Dragon Sword Art

2nd Chapter, 1st Verse,

Earth Slash

The simplest yet assuredly powerful move.

Faced with Sieg's Earth Slash, Aster quickly split the spear haft, pulling in his energy.

Alladof-style Spear Technique

Counter Technique

Reverse Slash

Aster's spinning spear aimed to twist the power from Sieg's blade. However, Sieg's Earth Slash was too strong to be countered.

Instead, Aster's spear was drawn along with Sieg's attack.

"Urgh!"

Aster struggled to maintain balance, but it was futile. Failing to deflect the attack, Aster was struck squarely by the Earth Slash.

Crash!

The impact sent Aster flying, embedding him in the wall of the training ground.

"Ugh!"

The pain that rippled through his body rendered Aster unable to gather his thoughts.

"Urgh!"

Sieg approached Aster, extending a solution he'd mixed from a low-grade healing potion.

"Drink this."

The healing potion bought from the system store was potent enough that even diluted, it was better than a regular potion.

Aster drank the potion, finally catching his breath.

"Ugh. Master, are you a monster?"

"It's not that I'm a monster; it's just that you've been too complacent in your training."

Hearing this, Aster was left agape. Having lived his life as a genius, this was his first time hearing such a blatant statement about his lack of skill.

"It seems you'll need some training before the mission."

The sinister grin from Sieg sent chills down Aster's spine, but he couldn't argue back.

* * *

Leaving a shell-shocked Aster, Sieg returned to the mansion in high spirits. Sieg felt a slight thrill as he devised a training schedule to torment Aster.

At that moment, Decker approached Sieg to relay a message.

"Master, you have a visitor."

In the reception room, Gelion awaited.

"It's been a while, Gelion."

"How have you been, my lord?"

"How's the blacksmithing going?"

Sieg asked, and Gelion replied lightly embarrassed.

"Thanks to you, my lord, I've been making satisfying weapons. I've even started to get a few customers coming from afar now, though it feels embarrassing to admit."

Gelion had been known as the Blacksmith of Soul in his past life. Now, with a magic furnace, his reputation was quickly spreading.

'I should bring him over once he gains more experience when I establish my base.'

Sieg planned on enlisting Gelion as his exclusive blacksmith in time.

"But, my lord, what do you need from me? Is something wrong with Bahamut?"

Sieg shook his head.

"There's nothing wrong with Bahamut. I called you for something else. Come this way."

He led Gelion to his private training grounds. Sieg then turned to Gelion.

"Gelion, you must never disclose what you see today to anyone."

Gelion nodded.

"Of course, my lord."

Backing away from Gelion a bit, Sieg activated his chest armor, transforming it.

Swish!

Hersion wrapped around Sieg's entire body, morphing into a full-plate armor.

"My, goodness!"

Gelion stood awestruck at the sight of Sieg adorned in Hersion.

Sieg approached Gelion.

"Do you know anything about this armor? I couldn't find any information on it."

Though he registered it with his system, even Insight could not disclose details about this armor.

Sieg had called Gelion, hoping to solve the mystery of the armor's identity, which might lead to unraveling the mystery of Cain, who once wore it.

With a serious expression, Gelion meticulously examined every corner of Hersion.

After a moment, as if he had realized something, Gelion gasped softly.

"Do you know anything?"

Upon being asked, Gelion nodded and began to speak.

"This is the first time I've seen anything like it. The structure and the material—there's nothing within my knowledge."

Sieg was taken aback by Gelion's words.

If Gelion, an apprentice of the renowned dwarven master Golinn, didn't know, who could possibly know about this armor?

Surprised by the unexpected response, Sieg grew serious. Then, Gelion corrected himself.

"Ah, my lord. What I meant to say was it's beyond what I've been taught. From that, there are parts I can infer about this armor."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I learned everything known after the golden age from my master."

Sieg looked at Gelion and said,

"You mean this armor was created prior to the golden age?"

"I believe so. Given the wholly unfamiliar structural techniques, distinctly unfamiliar material, and design—for these reasons, it couldn't have been created with modern methods. Perhaps it's from a bygone era—a civilization so ancient that only myths remember."

"Is there much of a difference from the Empire's version of Hersion?"

Gelion nodded.

"It's incomparable. I once assisted Master in creating the Hersion, and the craftsmanship of this armor is unparalleled—it's on a different level."

"Incredible. Even the Empire's Hersion is worth hundreds of thousands of gold, yet this surpasses it."

Sieg's curiosity about Cain, who had possessed such armor, intensified.

Gelion asked Sieg,

"The material of the armor is quite unique... it's neither mithril nor dragon bone, yet it possesses such strength and flexibility. Is there anything you can tell me?"

At that question, Sieg seemed to recall something and told Gelion,

"Oh, now that you mention it, this armor deflected an aura blade once."

Gelion was shocked by Sieg's words.

"I-is that true?"

"It deflected the aura blade I created."

"G-goodness."

Sieg didn't understand why Gelion was so shocked.

"Why is that, Gelion? Is it such an incredible feat?"

Gelion's voice trembled as he spoke.

"My lord, there is only one metal in the world that can deflect an aura blade."

With an excited expression, Gelion exclaimed,

"It's called god's metal, orichalcum!"