Dragonslayer’s Class Regression Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Rick spoke with a trembling voice.

“I’m… I’m hesitant?”

Zeke continued speaking while keeping his sword at Rick’s neck.

“Everything about you is hesitant. Honestly, I don’t know how you’ve stayed alive until now. It must have been thanks to help from your other companions.”

Rick’s face hardened, seemingly hurt by Zeke’s words.

But Zeke didn’t stop speaking.

“The swordsmanship you showed earlier was impressive. But that’s it. When and how will you use it? Enemies won’t wait for you to properly display your swordsmanship.”

Rick’s face turned red at Zeke’s words.

“That was just to show you my current skill…!”

“Rick, how fast you can swing a sword isn’t that important in actual combat.”

Zeke slowly lowered his sword.

DRIP!

A drop of blood trickled down Rick’s neck.

That’s when it happened.

WHOOSH!

Zeke suddenly swung his sword again.

CLANG!

Rick hurriedly raised his sword to block Zeke’s.

That’s when Zeke threw a handful of dirt at Rick.

“UGH!”

A startled Rick stepped backward.

Zeke swept Rick’s legs out from under him, knocked him down, and put his sword to his neck.

“You died again, Rick.”

Rick breathed heavily.

“This… this is…”

“Are you going to call throwing dirt cheating?”

At Zeke’s words, Rick trembled and lowered his head.

He too understood what Zeke was saying.

‘Half-baked knight.’

That’s how Rick evaluated himself.

He was neither an adventurer nor a knight.

That’s when Zeke’s voice struck Rick’s ears.

“Rick, if you think you’re a half-baked knight, you’d better throw away that kind of thinking right now.”

Rick looked up at Zeke in surprise.

He sheathed his sword and looked down at Rick as he spoke.

“Honestly Rick, your thoughts are completely transparent. Someone who received high-level knight training became an adventurer thinking that rolling around in actual combat might help break through some stagnation, right?”

Zeke’s observation was so accurate that Rick was left speechless.

He said to Rick.

“You’d better abandon thoughts like knights swing their swords nobly and engage in duels under fair rules. Sure, there are times for that. When having comfortable sparring matches. But when fighting for your life, knights and mercenaries alike have to roll around in the mud and grapple. Fighting elegantly on the battlefield? That’s all nonsense.”

Zeke sat down and continued speaking.

“On the battlefield, those who waste time putting on airs about being knights are the easiest prey. They show off about using aura and end up dead from a few poisoned arrows.”

Rick completely shrank back at Zeke’s rapid-fire words.

It felt like being stripped naked in front of Zeke.

Rick slowly raised his head and spoke to Zeke as if venting his frustrations.

“Sir Zeke, everything you say is right. I’ve always been clumsy. Honestly, I don’t know what I should do to change.”

Looking at Rick, Zeke inwardly clicked his tongue.

Actually, this was quite common among knights from prestigious families in the Central Continent.

If anything, Rick was remarkable for at least trying to become an adventurer to overcome it.

Zeke looked at Rick and said.

“Don’t try to refine your technique, first steady your mind. When your mind wavers, your sword wavers with it.”

Though it seemed like abstract advice, Zeke gave it sincerely, thinking it was what Rick needed most.

After hearing Zeke’s words, Rick remained silent with his head down for a while.

Then, as if having sorted out his thoughts, he eventually nodded and said.

“Thank you. Sir Zeke, that was really helpful.”

Whether it was truly helpful wasn’t certain, but Rick’s expression looked more relieved than before.

When you show your limitations completely and break down, that’s when you can make a new start.

Zeke thought that if Rick didn’t stop here, he could overcome the wall of the Purple Knight and maybe even quickly reach the wall of the Blue Knight.

‘Those with too much talent often struggle more later on. The more Rick struggles with these concerns now, the faster he can grow into a Blue Knight.’

Since Zeke had experienced it himself, he could empathize with Rick’s feelings.

That’s when it happened.

The Dragon warrior outside gave a warning signal.

Zeke drew his sword and said to Rick.

“Rick, wake the others. Something’s approaching.”

Rick rushed into the back of the cave in surprise.

Zeke positioned the Dragon warriors around and assessed the situation by sharing their vision.

Something was approaching from the forest along with fog.

‘What is it?’

WOOF! WOOF!

Soon after, a pack of huge wolves was detected surrounding the cave and trying to enter.

The other party members in the cave hurriedly gathered their equipment and approached Zeke.

From behind the barriers previously set up in front of the cave, Zeke said to his companions.

“A pack of wolves has us surrounded. And something is approaching from the forest.”

Zeke positioned Claire, the archer, behind cover and placed Jason and Arin, the mages, behind her. Then he quickly shared his rough plan.

Zeke and Rick drew their swords and waited for the enemy at the cave entrance.

GRRRR!

Wolf howls were heard from outside the cave.

Zeke raised his hand, signaling to wait.

WOOF! WOOF!

Soon after, wolves rushed into the cave.

At Zeke’s signal, Claire shot her arrow.

THUD!

A wolf hit by Claire’s arrow yelped and collapsed on the ground.

But more than ten other wolves quickly followed.

Zeke signaled to Jason.

Jason used earth magic.

“Stone Edge!”

As the 2nd circle magic Stone Edge activated, pillars shot up from the ground.

The rushing wolves crashed into the pillars and fell.

Arin shot fireballs at the fallen wolves, and Claire rapidly fired arrows.

Zeke and Rick charged forward with their swords, cutting down the staggering wolves.

CRASH!

Rick swung his shield to strike a wolf’s head and sliced its neck with his sword.

Zeke also swung Bahamut, stabbing and killing the charging wolves in one strike.

Yelp!

The wolves retreated, unable to advance further into the cave against Zeke’s party’s perfectly coordinated attacks.

That’s when it happened.

Fog began seeping in from outside the cave.

[Detected corrupted forest fog.]

[Constitution: All-Poison Immunity neutralizes the fog’s effects.]

After confirming the message, Zeke shouted to his companions.

“Don’t breathe in the fog! It’s poison! Arin! Spread a Fire Wall in front of the barriers!”

At Zeke’s words, Arin cast Fire Wall.

WHOOSH!

As a massive wall of fire appeared, the fog stopped spreading and began condensing at the cave entrance.

As the fog became so thick that visibility was lost, something began entering the cave.

KEKEKEKE!

A bizarre sound that was like both a child’s laughter and a mad old woman’s scream echoed through the cave.

As the sound grew louder, Rick and the others grabbed their heads and staggered.

“UGH.”

Zeke noticed the sound also had some magical effect.

Just then, Claire, who was behind them, collapsed first while covering her ears.

“AAAGH! Please stop! Stop!”

Not just Claire, but Rick’s entire party was suffering from the bizarre laughter.

Zeke realized his “Sturdy Mental Defense” skill was protecting him and quickly spread it as an area buff.

WOONG!

As Sturdy Mental Defense took effect, Rick’s suffering party members gradually regained their senses.

Jason got up while pressing his temples.

“Ugh, what’s this? Suddenly I feel ok.”

While Rick’s party barely recovered, Zeke thoroughly examined the fog with his Dragon Eye.

And he identified what had brought this fog.

‘A tree?’

What was in the fog was none other than a massive tree.

That’s when it happened.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Suddenly tree branches shot up from the ground, trying to ensnare Zeke’s party.

“Wh-what!”

Thanks to Zeke’s area buff, Rick’s party had regained their senses and barely managed to dodge the branches shooting up from the ground.

Zeke cut away the branches trying to ensnare him with Bahamut.

SCREECH!

Red sap shot out like blood from the cut branches.

Jason used earth magic to dig up the ground where the tree branches had emerged.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Dozens of writhing tree branches could be seen churning through the earth below.

Arin immediately launched fireballs at the ground below.

WHOOSH!

The burning tree branches twisted their bodies and screamed.

KIEEEEEK!

It had clearly tried to disturb their minds with fog and sound, then secretly ensnare them with branches to drain their life force.

Zeke shouted to his companions.

“It seems a sorcerer has summoned an evil tree spirit!”

Rick’s party’s faces hardened at the words “tree spirit.”

Tree spirits were among the most troublesome monsters to deal with in the mountains.

And if summoned by a sorcerer, it was likely an ancient spirit that had grown powerful by devouring people for a long time.

Rick stepped forward with sword and shield.

“I’ll hold off the spirit while the rest of you escape outside!”

He meant to create an opening by making himself bait.

Zeke struck Rick’s shield with his sword as he watched Rick trying to throw away his life without hesitation.

CLANG!

Rick looked at Zeke with a startled expression.

Zeke spoke to Rick with a sharp expression.

“Playing hero is fine, but as party leader, you need to develop more cool-headed judgment.”

Becoming bait was the worst plan and should only be chosen as a last resort in unavoidable situations.

While it might seem like a noble sacrifice at first glance, from another perspective it was resignation and escape.

At Zeke’s words, Rick nodded as if realizing something.

“You’re right, Sir Zeke. I was foolish.”

“Even if it’s a spirit, its main body is still a tree. It should be weak to fire, so we can handle it sufficiently using Arin’s magic. Claire, light fires here and prepare fire arrows. Let’s prepare for when Arin runs low on mana.”

Zeke then gave instructions to Jason as well.

“Jason, if we can’t hold off the tree spirit, use magic to collapse the cave entrance. The spirit will have to return to its original place when the sun rises, so we just need to hold out until then.”

At Zeke’s clear instructions, Rick’s party gained confidence they could survive.

RUMBLE!

Just then, Arin’s wall of fire ran its course, and the fog gradually seeped in.

“Arin! Maintain the fire wall to keep the fog out!”

Arin straightened her posture and cast the fire wall again.

Whoosh!

The key was adjusting the intensity just enough to keep out the fog while maintaining it for a long time.

‘An evil tree spirit. With a spirit of that level, the sorcerer must be nearby.’

Of course, if Zeke used his true power, he could eliminate such a spirit quickly.

But Zeke’s aim was to barely hold off the spirit while luring the hidden sorcerer to come out voluntarily.

Zeke continued scanning the surroundings using his Dragon Soldiers while preparing for the spirit’s attacks with Rick’s party.

They maintained complete stealth with minimal personnel, worried the sorcerer might notice the Dragon Soldiers and flee.

KEKEKEKE!

The tree spirit began its bizarre laughter again.

But this time, a much stronger curse power filled the cave.

If not for the Sturdy Mental Defense buff, Rick’s party would surely have already collapsed and died with their life force drained by the tree spirit.

As Arin’s fire wall gradually weakened.

PAPAPAPAK!

Wood fragments flew like arrows from beyond the fog.

THUD!

Zeke and Rick deflected the wood fragments with their swords.

That’s when it happened.

『Foolish ones. You’ll all die today.』