Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 242 Aragorn and the Swordsmanship Teacher

"Gandalf, I don't think that half-elf you're talking about, named Wayne, is any good person."

In a secluded room in Rivendell, Saruman tapped the table to draw everyone's attention before continuing:

"True righteous people never care about rewards."

"He actually wants to take a third of the Lone Dwarf's treasure all by himself. We all know how huge that is. Many kingdoms cannot accumulate that much gold in hundreds of years. This is enough to prove his greed."

"And people like this, just like the former human kings, are easily tempted by Zoro even without the Nine Commandments, and are very likely to join the forces of darkness in the future."

"We've already learned that lesson once."

"I think we should take some measures to prevent this half-elf named Wayne. It might reduce a lot of losses in the future."

After listening to Saruman's speech, the Elf Queen Galadriel did not speak, but instead turned her gaze to Gandalf. Most of them were hearing about the half-elf's deeds for the first time and had no knowledge of them, so only Gandalf was the most qualified to speak.

As for Saruman, after spending a lot of time with him, the Elf Queen had probably figured out the white-robed mage's personality. She didn't take his many extreme remarks to heart, and just listened to them.

As the owners of the Three Rings of the Elven race, Gandalf, King Elrond, and Queen Galadriel have always been staunch allies with the highest level of trust. In most matters, the Elven Queen generally agrees with Gandalf's opinions.

King Elrond had actually inquired indirectly about his daughter Arwen's opinion of Wayne, but the king was of a rather composed nature and would not reveal these opinions to others in order to influence their judgment.

The grey-robed wizard stroked his white beard, wrapped his arms around his withered wooden staff, and a thoughtful look flashed in his bright eyes. After a long silence, he finally spoke:

"I can't say too much about this half-elf, after all, I only spent a little over a month with him on our journey."

"However, Bilbo in the party spoke highly of him. The Wayne Manor he built in the Shire provided many jobs for the local hobbits and made life better for the surrounding commoners."

"We have basically not heard of any bad deeds by this adventurer, and we cannot smear a person's character based on our own speculation."

"Moreover, Wayne's strength is beyond doubt. Whether it's fighting the evil Orcs or those twisted and dark monsters, perhaps he really can fulfill his promise and kill the evil dragon Smaug."

"If that's the case, what's wrong with making him king, let alone a third of the Lonely Mountain treasure?"

After Gandalf finished speaking, the others fell into thought and remained silent.

The brown-robed wizard Radagast scratched his bird-dropping-covered hair and said with some surprise:

"What are you all talking about?"

"Isn't it great to have someone like that? If we ever need his help with anything, we can just pay him. What use are things like gold to us?"

Radagast also prompted the others to ponder, and after a long while, Queen Galadriel, the most powerful among them, finally spoke:

"Perhaps we're overthinking it, but it's never a bad thing to plan ahead, and people's future isn't predetermined."

"What we need to do is guide people toward the light, not toward depravity and corruption, and let the forces of darkness spread in people's hearts."

The Elven Queen looked at Gandalf and her son-in-law, King Elrond, with her divine eyes and said:

"Whatever path this half-elf chooses in the future, your job is to guide him, help him, and make him one of us."

"Friends, I can sense that dark forces are brewing in the shadows. We must remain vigilant and be prepared for any battles that may come in the future."

………………

That morning, Wayne and Alvin went fishing by the river. Rivendell was a particularly beautiful place, blessed by the Ring of Air from the Three Rings of the Elves, and had not been contaminated by any filth.

In this secluded valley, everything, from fruits and vegetables to fish and poultry, tastes exceptionally delicious.

Rough men like dwarves might not appreciate the nuances, but as a top chef, Wayne was pleasantly surprised by the ingredients. He already had plans to collect a batch of them and bring them back to the wizarding world for his friends to enjoy.

After breakfast, Wayne, carrying an artistically carved jujube wood fishing rod crafted by the elves, strolled along the riverbank with Princess Arwen, searching for a fishing spot.

As they strolled around, the elf girl suddenly mentioned that she wanted to meet his pet, Deathclaw Robin.

It turns out that recently, Alwen had overheard her fellow knights discussing this terrifying behemoth, and they were quite interested in the ferocity and power of the Deathclaw.

As an elf, she was born with a deep aversion to evil. Her mother was saddened by the abuse she suffered at the hands of orcs and chose to cross westward hundreds of years ago, leaving the Middle-earth and her family behind. They have been separated ever since, and it has been difficult for them to meet again.

Therefore, this Valley Princess naturally harbors a certain fondness for any warrior who can defeat orcs, which may be one of the reasons why she was willing to become Wayne's guide in the first place.

Lord Wayne rarely refused the beautiful young woman's requests. Moreover, thanks to the princess's careful instruction, he had learned Sindarin quite well, and he had already put some simple phrases into practice.

He still held some affection for this little elf girl who was over two thousand years old.

The two walked along the river for half a day, but before they reached Robin's area, they suddenly heard a childish shout. The voice was not loud, but it was very energetic.

Following the sound, one could see a cute little boy with short black hair, wearing a linen shirt and holding a wooden stick, practicing basic swordsmanship in a meticulous manner.

The chopping, slashing, stabbing, and thrusting movements, combined with forward, backward, and left-right lateral movements, actually looked quite impressive.

What caught Wayne's attention was that the young boy didn't have the long ears of an elf, but instead had a human appearance.

He turned his head slightly to look at Alvin and asked:

"Do you know whose child this is, Alvin?"

The elf princess, who had been somewhat lost in thought, tilted her head and pondered for a moment after hearing Wayne's question. Suddenly, she smiled gently and said:

"I remember now, this is an adopted son my father adopted a few years ago, named Aragorn, and he seems to be ten years old this year."

"But at that time, I was living in Los Lorien, where my grandmother lived, and that was the first time I met him."

Seeing Wayne nod in understanding, Alvin added:

"He is the sixteenth chieftain of the Dunedan people, the son of Alason. According to the tradition of the Dunedan people, the son of each chieftain is raised and educated by my father. The Dunedan people are different from ordinary humans. They can generally live to be over two hundred years old, which is considered a very long-lived human race."

Upon hearing the name Aragorn, Wayne immediately recognized him. Wasn't he the future King of Men from the Fellowship of the Ring?

When this human emperor was mentioned, another question immediately came to mind. The elven princess beside him at this moment seemed to be the future wife of this human emperor. It seems that later, Arwen gave up her elven identity for love and became a human. She gave up immortality and died with this human emperor Aragorn more than two hundred years later, which can be considered a peaceful death.

Thinking about this, Wayne felt quite emotional, as if he were witnessing history.

So, with a touch of wicked amusement, he and Arwen walked up to Aragorn.

When this future human emperor stopped his training and looked at the two of them with some curiosity.

Wayne reached into his spatial bracelet and took out two finely crafted wooden swords. He tossed one to Aragorn, then picked up the other and stood before him, saying:

"Little friend, I can see you really like swordsmanship."

"Here you go, this wooden sword. Come on, pick it up. Today, your uncle and aunt will teach you some real swordsmanship."

Aragorn was still a child at this time. His father had died in an attack by orcs when he was two years old, so he was precocious and had a much greater desire for revenge and power than ordinary human children.

He glanced at the rough wooden stick in his hand, then at the exquisite wooden sword Wayne had stuck in front of him. Without hesitation or fear, he immediately threw away the stick, picked up the sword, stood in front of Wayne, assumed a proper swordsmanship stance, and said:

"Thank you, sir, I am ready."

Without hesitation, Wayne shouted "Watch out!" and swiftly slashed at Aragorn's forearm with his wooden sword. The blow struck the boy's muscle with a sharp crack, causing the boy's mouth to twitch slightly, clearly in considerable pain, and even his grip on the sword became somewhat distorted.

Wayne smiled slightly, then explained in a few simple and easy-to-understand sentences how to defend against such an attack and how to make a move, before starting another sparring session where he was basically beating up novices.

Over the next hour, Wayne, without any malicious intent to mislead, gave Aragorn a serious swordsmanship lesson, using the same method he used to teach a Witcher apprentice.

From the most basic grip and swing of the sword to the subsequent dodging and parrying, he showed no mercy, each strike landing squarely on Aragorn's body, leaving a deep impression on him.

Pain and sweat are the best teachers. An hour of instruction allowed this future emperor to thoroughly enjoy the professional training from a master-level swordsmanship instructor. While the instructor left the future emperor with bruises and swelling, he also benefited greatly from it.

Thanks to his talent and the system's support, Wayne's swordsmanship, in terms of skill alone, is basically at the pinnacle of humanity. Aragorn, as one of the future protagonists, also has excellent talent. The two of them, one teaching with ease and the other learning diligently, are quite in sync.

Only after Aragorn collapsed to the ground, exhausted, did Wayne finally let out a satisfied smile and put away his wooden sword.

Opportunities to beat up a future protagonist like this and still make him grateful are rare. A sensible child like Aragorn is much more comforting than those troublesome brats.

"Alright, that's enough for now. You can keep the wooden sword as a gift. I have other things to do. Hope we meet again someday!"

After saying that, Wayne prepared to take Alwen, who always had a smile on her face, to continue their search for the Deathclaw.

To everyone's surprise, Aragorn, who had been sitting on the ground, immediately struggled to his feet when he saw Wayne about to leave. He bowed respectfully to Wayne's retreating figure and said loudly:

"Sir Elf, my name is Aragorn, son of Arason, and the future chieftain of the Dúnedan. Your swordsmanship is superb, and I greatly admire it."

"Could you please tell me your name? I would like to invite you to be my swordsmanship teacher and teach me true swordsmanship."

"If you are willing to accept this request, I will remember it."

As Aragorn finished speaking, Wayne, who was about to leave, suddenly heard a system notification in his ear.

Ding! Quest triggered: Special quest "Aragorn's Swordsmanship Teacher". Accept?

Ding! This task will reward you according to the degree of completion, with the highest reward being Master level.

Wayne paused, a sudden shock washing over him. It was a special mission that could potentially reach the Master level.

He turned to look at Aragorn, whose face was bruised and swollen, but whose expression was exceptionally sincere. After considering for a few seconds, and then, with the thought that "might as well do it," he nodded and said:

"Alright, Aragorn."

"You can call me Mr. Wayne. From now on, I will teach you swordsmanship for two hours every day at this time. However, I will not stay in Rivendell for long. How much you learn before I leave will depend on your comprehension and diligence."

After saying that, he left amidst Aragorn's delighted cheers and Alwyn's somewhat surprised gaze.

(End of this chapter)