A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 1

My name is Zeke Draker.

I am a direct descendant of the Draker Household.

This illustrious Dragonslayer family is the most prestigious knightly house on the continent, even untouchable by the Empire’s emperor.

In other words, anyone who fails to become a knight in this family is treated like a worthless bug.

That was me.

The first-ever awakening failure among the direct bloodline of the Draker Household.

I alone failed to awaken aura—a rite of passage considered an absolute certainty for the Draker lineage.

Why? Because I had a Healer class, which had nothing to do with being a Dragonslayer.

A direct descendant of the Dragonslayer family with a Healer class.

It sounded like a terrible joke, but it was an undeniable reality.

Failing to awaken aura despite being a direct descendant, I was treated like garbage within the family.

As a result, I was expelled at the age of fifteen from the family’s academy, a place every Draker bloodline member was required to complete.

Afterward, to survive—and to grow stronger—I wandered the continent and did whatever was necessary.

A certain wise man once said this:

“Those who chase only power will end up with nothing in the end.”

What utter nonsense.

Having power is a million times better than being powerless.

The powerless are ultimately trampled upon by the powerful and robbed of the things they hold dear. That’s the truth of the world.

So I clawed my way forward, striving to surpass my limits and grow stronger.

If not for those damned Imperial hounds, I might have become the strongest on the continent.

After all, I was the one who laid hands on the ancient artifact that the Emperor of the Empire desperately sought.

I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it wasn’t some ordinary object if the Emperor, obsessed with conquering the continent, wanted it so badly.

I went through hell to retrieve it, braving the bone-chilling cold of the Ice Mountain Range. I barely managed to claim the artifact after enduring countless hardships.

But as soon as I stepped out of the dungeon, the Imperial hounds were waiting, encircling me like a net closing in.

For over a week, I ran for my life, but in the end, they caught me just in front of the Ice Barrier.

Those bastards laughed while they cut off both my arms and watched me writhe in agony.

Then they pulled a coin to toss, deciding who would finish me off.

I bit down hard on my teeth, dragged myself across the ground, and grabbed my severed right arm to cast Healing.

The knight who had cut off my arm was too distracted by the coin flipping in the air to notice what I was doing.

In that moment of carelessness, I struck, severing his neck from behind.

They never imagined I’d be able to reattach my arm and get back up in that condition.

I killed every last one of those hounds, but I was far from unscathed.

Swords were embedded in my stomach and back.

No healing magic—no matter how powerful—could fix this.

Collapsing into the snow, I weakly grasped the dark, dragon-shaped statue, the artifact I had fought so hard to obtain.

I couldn’t even uncover the secrets hidden within the ancient relic before I leaned against the frigid Ice Barrier, awaiting my painful death.

Despite spending my life in pursuit of strength, in the end, I never gained the power I truly desired.

“Damn it…”

As I hovered on the brink of death, strange letters appeared before my eyes.

[A powerful will awakens the ancient power.]

[The spirit of the Elder Dragon engraves itself upon the soul of the willing.]

At first, I thought it was some kind of nonsense.

[The system detects the awakening’s peril.]
[Emergency measures are being initiated.]
[Do you consent?]

Emergency measures or whatever—they didn’t matter. I was in too much pain.

[Do you consent?]

Fine. Damn it. Whatever.

Woong, woong, woong, woong! (A resonant hum filled the air.)

[Consent from the awakened has been confirmed.]
[An irreversible, fated power is being activated.]
[Countdown begins.]

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1…]

* * *

“And when I opened my eyes, this is the sight that greeted me.”

Zeke stared at his reflection in the mirror.

The face, once riddled with scars and burn marks, was gone. Instead, a young nobleman with striking black hair, dark eyes, fair skin, and finely chiseled features stared back at him from the mirror.

Zeke, who had been in his thirties, now looked no older than ten.

He glanced around.

“This place looks strangely familiar…”

It didn’t take long for him to realize—it was the very room he had used as a child at The Cradle, the academy of the Draker Household.

“Have I really gone back to the past?”

Zeke looked down at his body.

He could still vividly remember the sensation of the blade that had pierced deep into his abdomen. He examined his hands and legs.

“Were my hands always this small?”

What struck him the most was the lack of scars on his hands. Having wandered across the entire continent, there hadn’t been a single place on his body unscathed.

Now, he was staring at smooth, unblemished skin.

Zeke clutched his head, trying to make sense of everything.

“What in the world is going on?”

Suddenly, a memory resurfaced—a voice he had heard while teetering on the brink of death.

“What did it say… Emergency measures? Fated power?”

The exact meaning eluded him.

“And to think I’ve returned to this cursed household…”

Zeke had fled the Draker Household at fifteen after being expelled from the academy.

This was the

Draker Household, the family of Dragonslayers, founded by the descendants of Terakan Draker, the hero who had slain the evil dragon Bahamut and saved the continent a thousand years ago.

It was one of the Three Great Transcendent Households on the continent, where every bloodline member received the blessing of aura and became an aura user.

Zeke was born as a direct descendant of this renowned house.

“A Dragonslayer family, they say? It’s just a madhouse.”

The memories of his past experiences in the Draker Household made him shudder.

Why he had been thrown back into this horrifying past was beyond his understanding.

“Sigh… I have no idea what’s going on.”

At that moment:

[The management system is rebooting.]
[Verifying the soul of the awakened.]
[Soul match confirmed at 100%.]
[The spirit of the Elder Dragon fully merges with the soul of the chosen awakened.]
[Partial authority over the system has been granted.]
[Status Window access is now enabled.]

“What is this?”

Words appeared in rapid succession before Zeke’s eyes.

[Opening Status Window.]

Suddenly, translucent text materialized before him.

[Low-Rank Administrator Status Window]
Name: Zeke Draker
Class: Healer (Rare)
Title: The One Who Received the Blessing of the Ancient Dragon

Class Skills:
– Healing
– Composed Mind
– Vigor Recovery
– Heightened Senses

Active Skills:
– Precise Stab [Rank-E (Beginner)]
– Slash [Rank-E (Beginner)]
– Critical Strike [Rank-D (Beginner)]

Draconian Skills:
– (Unavailable – Requires 10 Karma Points for Unlock)

Current Karma Points: 0

Zeke scrutinized the letters that hovered in front of him.

It seemed untouchable, like a magical projection rather than a physical object.

Zeke read through the contents of the status window.

“A Healer class?”

He recalled ancient knowledge imparted to him long ago by his mentor.

The mentor had once explained that the ancients classified their potential into specific classes and developed skills accordingly.

“Judging by the mention of classes and skills, this must be connected to that ancient artifact.”

Zeke’s gaze landed on the word “Healing” under his class skills. With a mix of curiosity and disbelief, he called out.

“Healing.”

In an instant, his hand began to glow with a white light.

Zeke’s eyes widened in shock.

“I’ve already awakened my abilities?”

Before his regression, he hadn’t awakened his healing ability until he was well over twenty.

Now, seeing that his healing ability was intact, Zeke realized that the powers he had before his regression remained.

“If I’ve awakened Healing… could it be?”

Closing his eyes, Zeke focused his energy. Soon, he felt mana stirring near his solar plexus.

His eyes snapped open.

“My middle dantian is unlocked.”

The Draker Household’s ultimate technique, the Dragonslaying Art, required aura awakening to open the lower dantian, a prerequisite for mastering the art.

Zeke, who had failed to awaken aura, couldn’t open his lower dantian and thus had been unable to learn the true Dragonslaying Art.

However, gifted with the talents of a Healer but unable to wield aura, Zeke had learned to open his middle dantian to control mana under the guidance of his mentor.

“Learning that almost killed me.”

As Zeke circulated mana through his body, he moved instinctively.

Swoosh!

His body wavered, the balance off-kilter. The movements didn’t flow naturally—his current childlike physique couldn’t yet move as his past self had.

“With training, I’ll improve gradually.”

At the very least, his situation was far more advantageous than it had been before his regression.

He turned his gaze back to the status window.

“Skills… What’s this?”

Curious, Zeke touched “Composed Mind” with his finger.

The page shifted, and new text appeared.

―Skill Description―
Composed Mind: Allows the user to maintain a calm and stable mental state, regardless of external circumstances.

Zeke tilted his head slightly.

“I didn’t know I had a skill like this apart from Healing.”

Since the concepts of “class” and “skills” were long forgotten in the current era, he had never been aware of the abilities tied to his class.

“Perhaps it’s thanks to Composed Mind that I’m handling this absurd situation without losing my sanity.”

Even after experiencing such a gruesome death and regressing, Zeke remained surprisingly composed.

He decided to test out the descriptions of his other skills as well.

―Class Skills―

– Healing: Generates a restorative light that heals wounds.
– Composed Mind: Keeps the user’s mental state calm and unshaken in any situation.
– Vigor Recovery: Restores depleted stamina and reduces fatigue.
– Heightened Senses: Momentarily heightens senses, increasing perception speed.

As Zeke read through the list of skills, he decided to try out Heightened Senses.

It felt as if time had slowed down, sharpening all his senses.

He nodded in understanding.

“This sensation feels familiar. I might have used this unconsciously during battles.”

With the class skills reviewed, Zeke moved on to the active skills section.

―Active Skills―

– Precise Stab (E-Rank): Enhances the accuracy of attacks aimed at an opponent’s vital points, increasing lethality.
– Slash (E-Rank): Executes rapid slashing attacks while disorienting the opponent’s vision.
– Critical Strike (D-Rank): Delivers a devastating attack to the enemy. However, if the attack fails, there is a risk of a counterattack.

Zeke pondered the descriptions.

“A finishing move? Or maybe some kind of trump card?”

Finally, he turned his attention to the Draconian Skills section and tapped on it. However, instead of a description, a message appeared:

[Draconian Skills are currently unavailable. Unlocking them requires 10 Karma Points.]

“Karma Points?”

It was a term he had never heard before. Even his mentor, who was well-versed in ancient knowledge, had never mentioned it.

Just as Zeke was about to explore the topic further, a knock interrupted his thoughts.

Knock, knock.

Instinctively, Zeke thought about closing the status window, and the text in front of him vanished.

“Come in,” he said.

The door opened, revealing a broad-shouldered old man with neatly combed white hair, a well-kept beard, and a monocle.

Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Decker?”

Decker was a butler dispatched from the Draker Household’s main estate.

The older man fixed his sharp gaze on Zeke and spoke.

“Still not ready? What are you thinking, young master?”

Decker’s stern tone made Zeke flinch involuntarily.

In the past, Zeke had always felt an unconscious fear of Decker.

But now, things were different. He was no ordinary child anymore.

At that moment, something flashed in front of Zeke’s eyes.

[Composed Mind skill has been activated.]

The skill seemed automatically triggered based on the situation, just as Zeke had guessed.

Zeke, having regained his composure, looked Decker in the eye and spoke.

“Preparation? What are you talking about?”

In response, Decker adjusted his monocle and replied.

“Surely you haven’t forgotten about today’s evaluation exam, have you?”

Zeke was startled by Decker’s words.

‘Evaluation exam…?’

Decker glanced at Zeke and continued.

“You must prepare quickly. If you’re late for the evaluation exam, you’ll lose points…”

At that moment, Zeke raised his head and asked Decker.

“Decker, what day is it today? No—what year, month, and day is it?”

Decker stared at Zeke for a moment, then adjusted his monocle again. In a dry voice, he replied.

“It’s October 14th, Year 1035 of the Liberation Calendar.”

Zeke calculated the date in his head.

‘Year 1035… That’s exactly 20 years before I died in 1055. So I’m twelve years old. And October 14th… that would mean…’

Having sorted out his thoughts, Zeke looked at Decker and said.

“Right. Around this time, The Cradle always held its year-end evaluations.”

Decker, looking down at Zeke, responded.

“As I’ve mentioned before, if you continue to avoid reality like this, it’ll be difficult to survive in the Draker Household, Young Master.”

His tone was as neutral as possible, but the sincerity behind his words was unmistakable.

Zeke looked up at Decker and spoke.

“Avoid? Me?”

He clenched his fist, causing his knuckles to crack.

“I’ve barely managed to return. Why would I avoid anything?”

Zeke’s gaze sharpened.

“There are plenty of people I need to settle debts with.”