Chapter 162: Zombie (1)

The scorching summer sun had risen high in the sky.

Chirp-chirp.

The birdsong trickled into the room, infusing it with a sense of life. Yet, not a trace of vitality could be found on Elvis’s face, seated on the bed.

How could this be…?

His eyes were sunken, his face gaunt as if he hadn’t slept in days. The dark smudges under his eyes and his unfocused gaze spoke volumes about his state of mind.

What in the world is going on?

Elvis, clutching his head as he sat on the bed, mentally screamed with frustration.

Creak… Creak…

With each small movement, the old wooden bed groaned as if it might fall apart at any moment. The sound made Elvis scan the room.

He took in the worn-out, time-weathered wooden floor and the furniture scattered around the room, each piece looking equally ancient. A deep sigh escaped from Elvis’s lips.

“Haah… I don’t believe this…”

When he first used the hourglass to travel back in time, he had been relieved to find that he had successfully made it to the past. But that happiness didn’t last long, as memories from just a few days ago surfaced in his mind.

Elvis, now back in time, sat up and looked at the unfamiliar ceiling.

”…Where am I?”

He had used his hourglass. Even this miraculous tool that could reverse time had limits. He wished he could go back far enough to prevent the birth of the Mad Dragon, but that was impossible. Instead, Elvis had gone as far back as he could, calculating that the regression point was still before his family’s manor was engulfed by the dragon’s attack—at the very moment when the invasion was just beginning and the effects were starting to reach the Summer Continent.

The Mad Dragon’s assault hasn’t fully begun yet, Elvis thought. If I play my cards right, I can minimize the damage to my clan!

That alone was enough for him.

By then… I should be deep in research on Mana Accumulation Theory for my family.

Therefore, Elvis had expected to find himself somewhere within his family’s estate upon opening his eyes.

But what was this?

When he finally did open them, he was greeted by an old, cobweb-covered ceiling.

And the ceiling wasn’t the only thing that seemed off.

“What’s that smell?!”

A foul odor rose from clothes that had turned yellow with sweat and neglect.

To think he’d actually been wearing such garments?

In all his time living with his family before his regression, he couldn’t recall ever having to don such raiment.

Could it be… that my calculation of the regression point was incorrect?!

This environment made sense if he were in the period after the Mad Dragon’s attacks, when his family had been lost and he’d been roaming the continent.

In that case, he would have been grateful just for clothes to wear and a roof under which to escape the rain.

“No way… My calculations were precise!”

As Elvis stood bewildered, a sound from outside the door caught his attention.

Creak- creak.

Thump- thump.

The sound of a warped wooden board and approaching footsteps. As he heard the approaching person or creature, Elvis’s expression hardened into a glare.

He was in a situation that could best be described as an absence of familiarity. The addition of a noteworthy sound in this setting was cause for suspicion. The chief of the tribe prepared himself to meet the stranger.

As he did, astonishment crept over his face.

…?!

He had been hailed as a prodigy in his youth and had built himself an extremely high energy reserve with the full support of his clan. Though it paled in comparison to his peak, he still had more energy than any of his contemporaries.

Yet his energy reserves…

They’re… gone?!

He couldn’t sense a trace of energy.

At first, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him due to being so accustomed to his immense power before his regression. But no matter how many times he checked—once, twice, several times—he couldn’t sense any attribute power within his body.

What’s going on here?!

While Elvis stood dazed by this sudden turn of events, the door burst open. The loud voice that accompanied it snapped him back to reality.

“The sun’s high in the sky! How long are you going to stay down there?”

As the boy who had entered caught sight of Elvis, his eyes widened like saucers. He muttered hoarsely, as if under a spell:

”…Andrew?”

The door had been flung open by a young boy who appeared to be barely fifteen—yet how could Elvis forget that face? He sprang up and rushed towards the boy, enveloping him in an embrace.

”…It’s Andrew, isn’t it? It must be!”

The boy was his younger brother, who had perished when the ceiling collapsed during the Mad Dragon Clan’s attack on their family.

Elvis was overwhelmed with emotion at the sudden appearance of his brother, whom he thought he’d never see again. However, Andrew was startled by Elvis’s unexpected embrace.

“W-what?! What’s wrong? Why are you acting so creepy?!”

“You…! Oh, right…”

As his brother pushed him away, Elvis finally came back to his senses.

Well, I suppose… Andrew’s death might be in my past, but here it hasn’t happened yet.

This explained Andrew’s reaction, but it only deepened Elvis’s confusion.

Wait… If Andrew is still alive now, doesn’t that mean the Mad Dragon hasn’t arrived on the Summer Continent yet?

In that case, how did this situation come to be?

The bewildered Elvis grabbed Andrew’s shoulder and shook him, his expression grave.

“What on earth happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Where are we? And…why are you dressed like that…?” Elvis’s eyes landed on Andrew’s shabby clothes, which looked just as worn as his own.

“What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“Wh-why are we both wearing such ratty clothes?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? Are you suggesting we go naked instead?”

“What’s wrong with you? Are you feeling okay?”

“Of course I’m fine! Oh, wait—what happened to my father? Where is he?”

“My dad? He went out early this morning to work in the fields.”

“Th-the fields?” Elvis blinked, not sure he’d heard correctly. He urgently pressed for more information.

“W-What did you say he’s doing?”

“He’s out working the fields.”

“Working the fields? You mean the head of the Estephan clan is currently out… farming?”

Andrew’s expression darkened at Elvis’s question.

“Bro… watch your tongue. If you even breathe a word about Estephan in front of Father, you’ll be getting a ‘stick rub’ before you know it.”

“W-What’s that?”

Andrew patted Elvis’s shoulder, who was flustered and mumbling incoherently.

“Are you feeling sick, bro? Take the morning off and join us for lunch around noon. You don’t look good at all.”

”…”

“I’ll tell Father.”

”…”

“Rest up.”

With these comforting words from his brother, Andrew left the room. Elvis stared blankly at his departing figure.

Having finished his musings, Elvis washed his face.

“Ha…”

On the day of his regression, he had barely regained consciousness before he started gathering information. Now, he sorted it all out in his head.

First, his return to the past was real, and his calculations about the time were accurate.

Second, the current Ainfort Republic didn’t exist; instead, its precursor, the Frenche Kingdom, still held sway. People didn’t even recognize the name “Ainfort.”

Third, although his noble family had once been prominent in the Ainfort Republic, they were now commoners. All that remained was their surname. Surprisingly, even his father hated the name Estephan and despised the thought of passing down a cursed legacy to his children. The bloodline alone could only lead to starvation.*

Over several days, as Elvis gathered this information, he was treated like a madman. And the facts he uncovered were enough to sap the soul from him.

No way… This has to be a dream.

While Elvis was out of his mind, denying reality, the door opened.

Creak.

A boy entered with the rusty hinges.

“What? Still on about that?”

Seeing the boy’s contemptuous expression, Elvis opened his mouth.

“Andrew…”

“What?”

“Just in case… Have the… The Mad Dragon really not appeared?”

“You’re kidding me! Still talking nonsense after all these years.”

“It’s not nonsense… By now, the Mad Dragon should’ve turned the Spring Continent into a wasteland…”

“No, for a man your age, you’re still talking about dragons from fairy tales! Please, snap out of it!”

“…”

“You’d better get out there and plow another row instead of standing around here.”

“But… I… Ughhh…”

A loss for words, Elvis had no response.

He’d gathered information over the past few days, but many of his findings didn’t make sense, including this one:

The Mad Dragon. He should be able to find out more about the dragon and the Spring Continent if he asked around, but not a single person on the Summer Continent had heard of him or the other continent.

When he tried to bring up the Mad Dragon, people assumed he was crazy. It wasn’t just his younger brother either—his parents and everyone else in the village acted the same way.

No one had any idea who the Mad Dragon was, nor did they believe he’d gone anywhere or that there was currently any disturbance in the world.

To Elvis, it was infuriating.

Something is seriously wrong here—this isn’t right!

No matter how he tried to deny it, everything around him insisted that this was reality.

Still, Elvis couldn’t accept it.

If the Mad Dragon hadn’t appeared… why did my comrades have to sacrifice their lives?!

And what was the purpose of his own regression?!

The vast discrepancy between his current situation and what he had experienced before regression made it difficult for Elvis to adjust. That’s why he needed verification.

Yes… I must see it with my own eyes. I need to verify the Mad Dragon and the Spring Continent!

Having made his decision, Elvis rose from his seat.

Seeing his brother move as if to go outside, Andrew asked, “Where are you off to?”

“Andrew, I’m leaving.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I need to figure it out. I want to confirm whether the Mad Dragon truly hasn’t appeared or not. I need to know if the whole world is now peaceful.”

“…”

The sight of his brother’s serious expression left Andrew speechless. Instead, he slowly retreated toward the door, then stood there blocking the way and suddenly shouted:

“Mom! Dad! Elvis is crazy! He’s running away!”

His loud voice echoed down the hall.

“Elvis! It’s you again!”

“Have you still not lost your marbles? How many days has it been?!”

The commotion outside the door disheartened Elvis. He stared emptily at the spiderweb-covered ceiling and let out a deep sigh.

Sigh…

If he wanted to confirm the existence of the Mad Dragon and head to the Spring Continent, his first step would be leaving home. It wouldn’t be easy, but…

High on the slopes of the Mac Mountains lay a serene highland village. This tranquil scene was about to change.

Whoosh!

Louis and the twins appeared out of thin air. Ballooning in midair, they gazed down at the village below.

“Louis, is this the place you were talking about?” one of them asked.

“It’s bigger than I thought.”

Louis realized the truth of this. “You’re right. It used to be much smaller. The village where Lía’s family settled has grown quite a bit in the time I’ve been gone.”

The village had been home to around sixty families last Louis had counted; now there were about a hundred. With two people per household, this meant at least two hundred people lived in this village—and most likely even more than that.

No village this size should exist in such a remote area!

This place was once destroyed by a ogre invasion, but look how it’s grown!

Louis felt a sense of pride seeing how much the village had flourished thanks to his efforts.

As Louis basked in contentment, Kani approached him.

“So…your disciples are over there, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Where? Let’s go quickly!”

“What’s the rush? You can’t rush to meet my disciples.”

“They’re your disciples, but also ours, Louis!”

Her response didn’t make much sense to Louis, but he let it slide. Instead, he led the twins up to Lancia’s house.

Standing in the front yard, Louis scanned his surroundings. The familiar sight of their home, and the small wooden building beside it that he had built for a school, brought a smirk to his face.

It’s still here.

Satisfied with the brief observation, Louis headed toward the house.

I hope they’re inside.

Feeling their presence within, he gently knocked on the door.

Knock, knock…

The sound echoed through the house.

“…Who is it?”

The door opened as the voice spoke.