A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 25

Zeke, upon receiving the message, rushed to Gelion’s forge without delay.

“Gelion!”

As Zeke entered the forge, he saw Gelion looking utterly haggard in front of the magical furnace. Gelion greeted him weakly.

“My lord… you’ve arrived.”

Seeing Gelion, who appeared half-dead, Zeke was taken aback.

When the Sun Blade Gram was forged in his previous life, Gelion hadn’t looked this worn out.

‘Could it be… he failed?’

A sense of unease swept over him.

Suppressing his anxiety, Zeke did his best to remain composed and asked Gelion, “Is the sword completed?”

Gelion nodded, and Zeke let out a sigh of relief.

With great effort, Gelion stood up and fetched something from the back of the forge. He soon placed a wooden box, covered with a cloth, in front of Zeke.

Zeke carefully pulled back the cloth to examine the sword inside.

“Huh?”

The moment Zeke saw the sword, he was momentarily stunned.

It looked entirely different from the Sun Blade Gram he remembered.

The Sun Blade Gram had been a masterpiece with a serpent coiled across its blade as its distinctive motif.

However, the sword before him was vastly different. The hilt and blade were fused together, entirely black in color.

But the most unusual thing was something else entirely.

“Why is the blade not sharpened?”

A sword must have a razor-sharp edge.

Yet the blade before him had no edge at all—it was blunt and rounded.

It looked incapable of cutting anything, not even paper.

Sweating nervously, Gelion explained from the side, “That sword… is meant to be like that.”

Hearing Gelion’s cryptic words, Zeke turned to him and asked, “Are you saying… this form is the one that suits me best?”

Gelion nodded furiously, his expression brimming with admiration.

“As expected…! My lord is different. Had it been any other noble, they would have dragged me out and beaten me on the spot. But… when I peered into what would suit you best, this was the form I saw.”

A plain, blunt, black sword devoid of any ornamentation.

If this sword had been displayed in a weapon shop, no one would have even considered purchasing it.

‘Why is it so different from the Gram of my past life? Is it because the material is made from a dragon’s tooth?’

Gram in his previous life had been forged by combining rare mithril and pure iron.

Zeke, striving to maintain his composure, asked Gelion, “…And what is this sword’s name?”

At this, Gelion shook his head.

“I could not name this sword.”

In his past life, it was Gelion who had named the Sun Blade Gram.

Zeke had no choice but to acknowledge that this sword was entirely different from Gram.

“So, it’s up to me to name this sword.”

“That is correct.”

If this sword was crafted by Gelion, a blacksmith of souls, then it was undoubtedly meant to be this way.

Zeke nodded in understanding, then rolled up his sleeve.

He focused his mana into his fingertips and cut his wrist with deliberate intent, channeling the will of Sever into the motion.

Drip!

A stream of blood flowed from Zeke’s wrist as he forcefully restrained his Healing Factor. The blood trickled down and soaked into the blade.

Gelion, watching Zeke’s actions, was astonished.

‘He knows the ritual of naming a sword? As expected, he’s no ordinary man.’

The sword-naming ritual, or Sword Naming Ceremony, involved bestowing a name upon a weapon. It originated from an ancient dwarven tradition, known only to a select few. Even most blacksmiths were unaware of its existence due to how ancient it was.

After letting his blood flow onto the blade, Zeke placed his hand on the surface of the sword.

Closing his eyes, he descended into the depths of his mind.

He sought to draw forth a name for this new blade, distinct from the Sun Blade Gram, from the depths of his soul.

Amidst the endless stream of names floating in the abyss, one name resonated with him.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Zeke’s heartbeat quickened. He opened his eyes.

“Black Blade Bahamut. I bestow this name upon you.”

Wooooong!

As soon as Zeke named the sword, it vibrated intensely. At the same time, the blood that had stained its blade was absorbed into the sword itself.

Wooooooong!

The emblem engraved on Zeke’s chest resonated with the blade. The sword began to levitate on its own.

Zeke extended his hand and grasped Bahamut’s hilt.

[The Black Blade Bahamut has been registered as an equipped item.]

[You have unlocked the abilities of the Black Blade Bahamut.]

[The abilities of the Black Blade Bahamut are sealed based on the user’s current stats.]

[The Black Blade Bahamut will grow alongside the user’s progression.]

Reading the text before him, Zeke was startled to see that Bahamut could grow.

A growth-type weapon was something he had only heard about in legends.

Even the Sun Blade Gram, though a renowned masterpiece, was not capable of growth.

As Zeke marveled, a detailed status window of Bahamut appeared before his eyes.

― Black Blade Bahamut ―

Description: A sword forged using the hardest fang of the cursed dragon Bahamut, tempered with blue flames by a master artisan with the Eye of Spirit.

Unique Abilities: Indestructible, Aura Conversion.

Special Traits: Sealed state (unseals gradually with the user’s growth).

‘Indestructible as a unique ability?’

Zeke’s mind reeled at the implications of this unprecedented feature.

Although it was crafted from a dragon’s fang, Zeke had not expected that an indestructible sword would be created.

In the past, Gram had occasionally sustained damage during battles, and Zeke would bring it to Gelion for repairs each time.

However, with Bahamut, which possessed the property of indestructibility, there seemed to be no need to worry about it being damaged or broken.

But more than that, Zeke gulped as he witnessed the unique ability of aura conversion.

He roused his ether and focused on Bahamut.

Wooong!

It was a sensation similar to when he had first grasped Gram.

Zeke condensed his ether and converted it into aura.

Swoosh!

The previously invisible ether transformed into a vivid aura.

Gelion, who was watching, was taken aback.

“A-Aura.”

Seeing the distinct aura enveloping Zeke’s sword, Gelion displayed an expression of disbelief.

The fact that Zeke could produce such a vivid aura meant that he was at least at the level of a Purple Knight.

Zeke spoke to Gelion.

“Gelion, may I test the sword?”

“O-Of course, my lord.”

Zeke grabbed a failed sword piled up in one corner of the forge and tossed it into the air.

His sword, imbued with aura, moved swiftly.

Thwack!

In an instant, the sword split into ten pieces and fell to the ground.

Although it was a failed product, it was made of exceptionally durable pure iron.

Witnessing Zeke slice it apart with an unsharpened blade, Gelion’s jaw dropped.

Zeke repeated the process, throwing another broken sword into the air and slicing it apart with Bahamut.

With each strike, he could feel himself becoming more accustomed to Bahamut.

After cutting apart ten swords, Zeke finally lowered his blade.

He gazed at Gelion with newfound admiration.

‘Truly, he’s created an unbelievable sword.’

Each swing of the blade felt as if it adhered perfectly to his grip.

While the Sun Blade Gram was excellent, it could not compare to Bahamut.

Its appearance was as rough as it could be, but it was undoubtedly a peerless masterpiece, a sword unlike any other in the world.

“You’ve worked incredibly hard, Gelion.”

Zeke retrieved some items he had prepared especially for Gelion.

Inside were rare gemstones he had brought from the Dragonslayer’s Tomb.

“M-My lord. Providing the forge alone was more than enough.”

“Just take them. I brought these partly to thank you and partly because I might need your help again later. Don’t feel burdened.”

Compared to the effort Gelion had put into creating a peerless sword, this was nothing.

Tearing up at Zeke’s generosity, Gelion’s eyes glistened with emotion.

Then, as if something had come to mind, Gelion suddenly asked Zeke to wait for a moment. He hurried inside and brought something out.

What Gelion had retrieved was none other than a sword sheath.

“What is this, Gelion?”

“It was made by my master long ago. I wish to give it to you, my lord.”

“Your master?”

In his past life, Zeke had never heard Gelion mention a master.

Curious, he carefully examined the sword sheath Gelion handed over.

The sheath bore an inscription written in Dwarven script.

“Golyn Jorber? If it’s Golyn… could it be that Golyn?”

Zeke was shocked to realize that Gelion’s master was none other than the famous dwarven blacksmith, Golyn. At the same time, Gelion was surprised that Zeke could read Dwarven.

Looking at Gelion nodding in confirmation, Zeke spoke.

“Are you sure you want to give me something this valuable?”

“Of course, my lord. It’s nothing compared to the kindness you’ve shown me….”

The dwarven blacksmith Golyn was renowned for creating marvels using intricate mechanical designs. Among collectors, anything crafted by Golyn could sell for tens of thousands of gold.

“This is an extraordinary gift.”

“I’m glad it pleases you, my lord. Allow me to explain how to use the sheath.”

“There’s a specific way to use the sheath? Ah, well, if it was made by Golyn, that’s no surprise.”

Gelion held the sheath and swiftly turned a dial attached to its side.

Suddenly, the sheath unfolded and transformed into a shield large enough to cover half of one’s body.

“Good heavens.”

Zeke was astonished at the sight of the sheath transforming into a shield.

Unlike standard shields, it wasn’t particularly heavy.

“It’s made using mithril, wyvern bones, and basilisk leather. While lightweight, its durability far exceeds that of a shield made from steel.”

When Gelion turned the dial again, the shield returned to its original form as a sword sheath.

Though Zeke didn’t fully understand the mechanism, it was undoubtedly something that would prove immensely useful in battle.

“Thank you, Gelion.”

Zeke sheathed Bahamut into the sheath he had received from Gelion.

The claymore form of Bahamut fit perfectly into it.

Gelion, beaming with pride, looked at Zeke, who now carried Bahamut, his greatest masterpiece.

* * *

Leaving Gelion’s forge, Zeke returned to his personal training ground to continue settling the points he had left unfinished.

First, Zeke decided to open the random boxes he had been rewarded.

He retrieved the two random boxes from his inventory and placed them on the training ground floor.

The random boxes resembled the sealed boxes found in dungeons.

“Let’s see what’s inside.”

Muttering cheerfully, Zeke opened the random box on the left first.

“What’s this?”

Inside the box was a gauntlet.

Zeke used Dragon’s Eye to examine the gauntlet’s information.

―Gauntlet Information―

Description: A gauntlet crafted using durable yet lightweight meteoric iron.
Unique Ability: None.
Special Note: When the full meteoric iron set is equipped, a unique ability will activate.

Zeke put the gauntlet on.

Its light weight and solid build made it seem highly practical.

“This isn’t a bad start.”

He then opened the random box on the right.

Surprisingly, the second box contained a single sheet of paper.

“What’s this?”

Zeke picked up the paper from the box.

Immediately, the system activated.

[You have discovered a map containing traces of Grandmaster Kysir.]
[The system will analyze and automatically restore the damaged portions of the map.]
[The location of an ancient ruin has been confirmed.]

Zeke, startled by the text appearing automatically, muttered under his breath.

“Grandmaster Kysir? Could it be the legendary Hero King Kysir?”

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

[The location confirmation is complete.]

The highlighted area on the map was near the Giant Mountain Range.

Zeke frowned as he recognized the location.

‘That’s within the territory of the Barbarians.’

In his previous life, Zeke had practically lived in the Giant Mountain Range at one point.

The Barbarian tribes, who lived isolated from other nations while preserving their unique culture, were notoriously difficult to deal with.

At that moment, another message window popped up before Zeke.

[The tutorial is now complete based on the user’s level.]
[The achievement quest will now begin.]

―Achievement Quest Mission―

[In the ruins bearing traces of Grandmaster Kysir, obtain the vision left behind by Grandmaster Kysir. (No time limit)]

[Quest Mission Reward: Promotion to System Administrator privileges.]

Zeke gaped at the text that had appeared.