Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Chapter 193 Seven Stars, News

There's a very strong sense of déjà vu; this young man is definitely related to Rudeus.

"Hello, my name is Luke Nottos Grellat. Are you 'The Flower Magician | Lord Kawasaki Koshito'?"

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So that's how it is. Someone from the Grerat family? Judging by age, they're from the same generation as Rudeus, but their strength is rather weak.

He has no magic power, so he seems to be a pure warrior, but he also has almost no battle aura. According to the level of this world, he is at most at the intermediate level.

Despite this, Yue Ren still wore a normal smile and said in a calm tone, "Hello, I am Yue Ren."

"As per Lady Ariel's orders, I am delighted by your presence and would like to invite you to come over for a chat. What do you say?"

"Who is Lady Ariel?"

Even the Yue people couldn't help but marvel at how useful titles were in this ancient-like place, as they could trigger special events in such situations.

"Her Highness the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Asura, and the current student council president of Lanoa Magic University. By the way, I am Lady Ariel's knight."

"I see. Then please lead the way."

"please."

I was originally thinking of just letting the princess thing go, but since she's the student council president, it's necessary to meet her. If things go smoothly, she might be able to help me find someone.

By the way, princess, wouldn't you say this is an abuse of power?

However, judging from the guards' lack of reaction, they probably have the corresponding authority, since there are cases of student council members wielding considerable power.

The path leading to the statue of the first principal is a straight one.

The roadside was lined with some kind of tree that had lost all its leaves. After all, it was winter, and the fact that the campus wasn't largely covered in snow was already a testament to the diligence of the cleaners.

Outside the roadside trees stood a brick wall about three meters high. Based on his senses, he felt that these were not ordinary materials and seemed to have a suppressive effect on magic.

It should be a special type of brick called "anti-magic brick".

I've heard that the manufacture and sale of anti-magic bricks are monopolized by the Magic Guild, and even in the largest country, the Kingdom of Asura, they are expensive items that are only used in the capital.

I hadn't seen it in the Holy Kingdom of Milis and the Kingdom of Dragon Kings before, but I've seen it frequently since coming to the three great magical kingdoms. It's even used on the walls of adventurer guilds in various places.

It seems to be something with high technology, but the raw materials are not scarce. Considering the research atmosphere of the three major magic countries, it should be some kind of patent that is being blocked.

After passing through the passage between the brick walls, the two arrived at a fairly spacious square.

The road splits into three lanes here, with a statue of a woman in a long robe in the center.

The statue bears a plaque that reads "First Headmaster, Fura Clotia, the 56th Grand Master of the Magic Guild." This is the first headmaster.

The brick wall ends here.

Ahead of the main road is a huge school complex that resembles a fortress.

There are more than six buildings within sight alone.

At that moment, flames suddenly shot out from what looked like a sports field next to the school building.

Judging from the fact that it didn't cause any disturbance, it was probably during class.

There are several buildings with red roofs on the left.

The buildings were huge, with many windows and balconies. The scene that could be vaguely seen through the windows was probably a student dormitory.

Led by Luke, they arrived at the building with the blue roof.

It doesn't seem to be a student union office; it's more like a place to meet guests, which is quite appropriate.

Pushing open the door, you'll find a room with a sofa and a table, the furnishings of which don't look particularly luxurious.

Across the table from the door, a beautiful girl with long blonde hair, dressed in a school uniform, sat gracefully.

Beside her stood a girl with snow-white hair and wearing a special eye patch, who appeared to be a guard.

After all, the other party's magic power was not weak, so it seems that this princess is not without capable people by her side.

"Nice to meet you. You must be the 'Flower Magician', I am Ariel. Welcome to Lanoa Magic University. Please have a seat."

"Hello, Princess Ariel, thank you for the invitation."

The meeting with the princess was fairly standard, and Yue Ren could probably guess from their conversation that the princess had specifically asked him to come.

It seems they wanted to use the excuse of helping me find someone to meet me, inquire about the situation, and also subtly recruit me.

The former responded calmly, while the latter pretended not to understand, and the other party did not pursue the matter further. Overall, she was a political woman with a great sense of propriety, and if she had grown up, she might have become an empress.

With the help of Ariel, the student council president, he successfully arrived at Seven Stars' workplace.

It's at the very back of the third floor of the college's research building.

It is said that the other party opened up three rooms in that location and converted them into a research lab, where they almost never left.

Arriving at the research lab, I gently knocked on the door.

Please come in.

A brief, irritated reply came from inside the door.

Slowly push the door open.

The research room was filled with scattered books and bundles of paper, magical artifacts of unknown purpose were placed everywhere, and a mountain of magical crystals and magic stones.

There was a person sitting inside, wearing a white mask that I had seen once before.

"It's you... We meet again. Welcome. Alsterd isn't here right now."

"Hmm? No rush, that's why I came here."

As he spoke, Yue Ren took out his research results, and the girl took them with a puzzled look. After flipping through a few pages, her pupils gradually contracted, and then she suddenly looked at Yue Ren.

"This is different from what you said before."

"After all, I've been doing research on this too. Would you mind collaborating? Although the topics are somewhat different, since it's all about teleportation, there should be some common ground."

"certainly!"

"Huff... huff..."

""

A boy runs through the dimly lit town before sunrise.

The breath they exhaled formed white smoke, and a thin layer of frost formed on the road.

Each step forward produces a crisp sound and leaves a comfortable feeling underfoot.

The boy watched the town scenery flow by quickly while focusing intently on continuing to run forward.

"call...

""

He finally stopped after reaching the front of the hostel.

He took deep breaths and listened to the feedback coming from his trembling feet.

After a walk, you must give them a proper massage.

Healing magic cannot be used.

That method can indeed relieve muscle soreness, but it cannot cultivate feelings, and the effect will definitely not meet expectations when facing Alice in the future.

"Alright, 100 push-ups, starting with the first set."

Rudius lay on the ground and began to move his upper body slowly but continuously up and down.

The focus of this exercise is not on the number of repetitions, but entirely on training.

To alleviate the pain, he engaged in self-encouragement while performing exercises and muttering incantations like he was comforting a child.

These memories of sharing hardships together will surely transform into feelings and strength between us in the future.

"Phew... Okay, thank you for your hard work. You guys really put in a lot of effort."

Pamper them while massaging and applying ice.

After rinsing off the sweat with hot water, Rudius prayed before the altar set up in the corner of the inn room.

Then, he took the sacred object from the altar, carefully wrapped it in cloth, and put it in his pocket.

Removing sacred objects from the altar was originally an absolutely forbidden act, but given the risk of them being stolen, it was a necessary measure.

After all, keeping valuables with you at all times is a golden rule when staying in a hotel.

"Alright, I hope we get some good clients today."

He muttered to himself, then changed into a long robe and left the inn.

Without a doubt, this is Rudeus, who left the Kingdom of Asura and came to the northern continent to continue his search for his mother.

After parting ways with his partners to help his hometown complete a week-long phase of construction, he once again embarked on a solitary journey.

Along the way, he encountered kind people who helped him, and began to frequent among adventurers under the name "Mud Swamp," hoping that his mother would find out about him.

It's probably because he always used magic like mud and fog under the guise of providing support that this nickname spread at some point.

On the way... they soon encountered adventurers from the same city.

"Mile, thanks to you again last time!"

"You really are reliable!"

"I also considered the timing of when you used support magic..."

His strong abilities, coupled with his easygoing personality, enabled him to take a successful first step.

"No, it was my side that received help. I was just assisting from the sidelines. I think it was precisely because everyone was so capable that we were able to achieve these results."

"You're so modest! If you can perform at that level, most people would be even more arrogant!"

"Or, you could just join our team directly!"

No, that...

'

"Hey, didn't we agree that we couldn't poach your talent?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Haha..."

'

Watching the two arguing over him, Rudeus felt both troubled and secretly pleased. He really was a deeply sinful man.

Because they mostly operate independently, when they encounter teams hesitant about taking on tasks that are a bit difficult for them to handle, they will volunteer to provide support and then follow them like mercenaries, continuously helping them.

The fee is about 10% of the amount that can be obtained from the commission.

Defeating monsters will yield materials and other miscellaneous items; the income from this depends on how much he can carry, with half of it going to him.

Instead of joining other regular teams, he followed them as a mercenary and extorted money from them.

Such behavior is said to be not very well-received by the Adventurers' Guild, but the guild turns a blind eye, believing that it does not violate the rules.

He figured it was probably because the guild knew he had lost his party, but was still desperately searching for his mother.

If we move to another town, we'll definitely have to temporarily join the party.

Just thinking about how everyone had gone their separate ways, he felt inexplicably resistant to the idea of ​​becoming a member of another team.

Alice is constantly growing stronger for him. It is unknown whether Rijrud has achieved his goal. It seems that his older brother has made a name for himself on the continent of Becalit, as a member of DeadEnd|.

So no matter what, he's already part of a team, and he can't betray everyone.

"Anyway, hiring you was definitely the right decision. I'll trouble you again next time."

Treat others with respect and humility, but demonstrate your value in battle.

These efforts may not have been in vain; Rudius Grerat has become quite famous in the town.

"Hey! Mudswamp, it seems the guild sent you a letter specifically addressed to you."

"Yes, thank you..."

Who could it be? Could it be news from Father's side?

With these questions in mind, Rudeus quickened his pace toward the guild.

I greeted the saleswoman with her familiar smile, and she quickly found the letter for me.

Upon seeing that familiar name, Rudius was momentarily struck by a realization.

Oh, it's the eldest brother.

A radiant figure seemed to appear before his eyes. As another god in his heart, Rudeus now wanted to find a secluded place to enshrine this letter.

Suppressing his excitement, Rudius found a quiet place and opened the letter.

The sheer volume of information presented above caused Rudius's pupils to dizzy with shock.

Mother, found? ...S-rank, transferred to the maze? ...Big brother rescued Mother, she's now at...Lanoa Magic University?

Half an hour later, Rudeus, regaining his senses, wiped the cold sweat from his brow and finally learned the whole story from the letter.

As expected of a decisive and efficient eldest brother, simply recounting the events makes it feel like a major battle has unfolded out of thin air.

It's a lengthy piece of writing, but after understanding the mechanics of that maze and the monsters you encounter, even if you just imagine the scene in your mind, you definitely couldn't describe it as casually as the older brother did.

Hahaha, never mind, we'll talk about those things later. Right now, the most important thing is to get to the magic university.

Oh, right, I also need to inform Father first.

As Rudeus was thinking this and preparing to leave the Adventurers' Guild, a familiar face walked in.

It was Sarah, a member of the adventurer party "CounterArrow," whom he had met on the road before even arriving in the city.

A girl of similar age to him had a pretty face and a beautiful figure.

The key reason is that because of some previous collaborations with their team, the two had a fairly good relationship. If he didn't still have feelings for Alice, he probably would have continued to let this relationship develop.

It's just a pity that he would never let Alice down now.

That's right, he intends to remain chaste for Alice, just like Paul did for Senis. After all, the red-haired girl's feelings were too intense, and he didn't want to see her return with a face full of disappointment.

Should I write her a letter? After all, it's been so long since we last saw each other.

Okay, I'll write it down.

"Hmm..."

'

Why does he straighten up the moment I see him? He doesn't seem like the tsundere Alice.