Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Dog Roll nodded in agreement.

"Hey, where's Gojo? Shouldn't he be in class?"

After looking around, Maki turned to look at the panda and was puzzled when she didn't see anyone else. After all, the panda was still there when she left in the morning. Using the excuse that she needed to go to class, the panda sent her to pick up the newcomer. Maki was furious no matter how she thought about it.

"I was called away halfway through; something must have happened."

Panda shrugged. This kind of thing is nothing new. That guy is a genuinely busy person. It wouldn't be surprising if he disappeared at any time.

Maki nodded, then looked at Yueren.

"That's perfect. Let's go, newbie. Didn't you promise me before that you'd show us what you're capable of on the playground?"

"Oh...interesting, looks like there's going to be some fun. Let's go, Dog Roll."

"Salmon."

And so, a moment later on the playground.

Dog Roll and Panda watched with great interest. Panda even took out some snacks from somewhere and handed them to Dog Roll, who accepted them without hesitation.

Not far from them, Yue Ren and Maki faced each other, holding wooden swords.

"Come on, attack! Let me see what you're capable of."

Maki looked completely casual, even holding the wooden sword on her shoulder; clearly, she didn't consider Yueren a worthy opponent.

Yue Ren wasn't annoyed; he simply nodded. The next moment, he used all his skills to the fullest, unleashing a slash that spanned several meters straight at the girl's face.

Maki instantly became alert, her relaxed expression vanishing as she raised her weapon to block.

Success!

"Oh, wow... this newcomer is quite something."

Panda and Dog Curl both slightly widened their eyes, clearly acknowledging the boy's speed.

These movements clearly indicate combat experience. Instead of admiring Maki's humiliation of the newcomers, their eyes sharpened as they engaged in real combat.

As expected of someone with extensive experience, Maki slightly shifted the angle of her weapon after a few seconds of confrontation, deflecting the force in Yue Ren's hand and throwing him aside.

After taking the opportunity to bypass him, he formally adjusted his posture and movements.

"Not bad, then I won't stand on ceremony!"

With a face full of excitement, Maki rushed out the moment she finished speaking, and Yue Ren felt as if she had instantly transformed from an old-fashioned car into a high-speed vehicle.

With her physical abilities alone, she had already surpassed the limits of human speed.

Yue Ren was startled. Was this a curse from heaven? Even without awakening, he already displayed such extraordinary abilities...?

The first thing felt was the wind pressure; the powerful and extremely fast strike meant that the Yue people, whose physical abilities were inferior, could only rely on their skills to cope.

The Yue people narrowly avoided attacks thanks to the conditioned reflexes they had developed from being beaten.

Back and forth they went, Yue Ren searching for weaknesses in his opponent's movements, but his stats weren't as high as Maki's, so even if he found a weakness, he couldn't deliver a fatal blow with his wooden sword.

Maki doesn't have the exquisite senses and swordsmanship of Koujin, but her stats make up for it. Even if she's caught off guard, she can withstand a few attacks and then retaliate with an even more devastating blow.

If a Yue person were to be hit like that, they would have to kneel down immediately, so he could only wait it out.

This made him feel the charm of "numbers". No matter what kind of strange tricks you use, I can defeat them with my own strength. When the gap between the two sides is too large, this is an unquestionable truth.

The people of Yue are feeling incredibly miserable right now.

The two people around them watched the two on the field exchanging blows with the force of the wind, which was much more exciting than watching those martial arts movies.

Ultimately, the duel ended with the Yue man exhausting his stamina prematurely, sacrificing his wooden sword to inflict a fatal blow on Maki, only to be knocked to the ground by a counterattack.

Only then did the two realize that they were both drenched in sweat, and Yue Ren was almost completely exhausted, not to mention the churning sensation in his stomach from the kick.

Is this a curse from heaven? Their physical abilities are truly unreasonable to the extreme; what will they be like at their complete form...?

Yue Ren lay on the ground in a sorry state, not wanting to move at all. Even Maki, who was only a first-year student, couldn't defeat him. It was really true that he could be instantly killed by any level one cursed spirit.

Training complete: Attribute points +30

"Um?"

Does this work?

The disappointment of being defeated vanished instantly, and now he really wanted to regain his strength and try again.

"Are you alright?"

Maki walked over with an embarrassed look on her face. She wanted to apologize, but she felt a little too ashamed. Who could understand the idiotic move of wanting to guide a junior but being shocked in return and having to use all her strength to forcefully suppress the newcomer?

Now that she's realized how stupid she's done, she feels too ashamed to face anyone.

Holding Maki's hand, as she pulled him up, Koshito said excitedly:

"Ah, that's wonderful, Maki-senpai. Please take care of me from now on."

One sentence made Maki tremble instantly, and her face turned red the next moment.

"What did you say...?"

"Shh—oh, a newbie like you knows so much? Maki, looks like your chance has come..."

"You little panda!"

Seeing Maki's ashamed and indignant expression, Eshito touched his head sheepishly.

"Huh? Did I say something wrong? Sorry, what I meant was, please continue this kind of training, Maki-senpai. I'm always available to be your sparring partner, so please train me hard."

"..."

The scene fell silent instantly. Everyone stared at the boy in shock, while Panda whispered something to Dog Roll.

"Is this newbie really okay? Did Maki beat her senseless?"

"squid!"

"Hey, you two!"

After giving a verbal reprimand to the two classmates who were enjoying the show, Maki turned to look at Echito with a face full of disdain.

"What did you mean by that just now? Why do I need to train with you all the time? Are you a masochist?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Ren's face darkened. What kind of masochistic fetish is this...? To protect his reputation, he quickly explained.

"When I sparred with you, Maki-senpai, I found that I could see my problems more clearly. I want to become stronger as soon as possible so that I can have the power to protect my sister. So, I hope you won't find it troublesome, Maki-senpai."

Upon hearing this, the three of them were immediately impressed. It was rare to see a junior with such a clear goal and such a firm will.

Perhaps seeing a reflection of herself in the boy, Maki touched her head sheepishly.

"Really? Okay, I'm usually training anyway, so you can call me anytime. The same goes for the two over there; it's not good to be too idle all the time."

The two people being pointed at also gave a thumbs up in agreement. How could seniors bear not to help juniors who want to become stronger?

"By the way, I forgot to ask earlier, what's with your swordsmanship? What style is it? It looks very exquisite."

That's right! That final blow that pulled her arm probably broke her bones. If she hadn't already experienced life-or-death battles, she probably would have been crippled from that pain and wouldn't have been able to launch a counterattack and defeat him.

At this moment, Yue Ren, feeling sore all over, managed a weak smile.

"I guess so. It's called 'Testing the Sword,' a technique blacksmiths use to test the performance of swords. It incorporates some techniques and experience, mainly focusing on finding weaknesses and delivering a fatal blow. If you'd like to learn, senior, I can teach you."

Maki was about to refuse, but what came out of her mouth was: "Really? This kind of thing could become a core secret of a school of thought, right?"

Born into a large family, she naturally understood this perfectly well. The truly good things were controlled by a small group of people at the top of power and bloodline, and it was a sin for others to even have the thought of wanting to possess them.

Yue Ren looked indifferent, after all, Grandpa Muramasa had never said that he couldn't teach others.

"Anyway, now that it's in my hands, nobody cares. I can pass it on to whoever I want. Besides, with your martial arts talent, it won't be a waste to learn it. When I officially enter the school and start training, I'll explain it to you. That's settled."

He didn't give Maki a chance to refuse, after all, he also wanted to see if the other party could really learn this move.

After a few words, he successfully increased the group's goodwill towards him. They naturally liked this junior who had such a good personality and was so generous, and they quickly started chatting together.

Just as they were chatting about everyday things, a man with a nonchalant look appeared out of nowhere again.

No one was surprised.

"Oh, everyone seems to be getting along well. That's great! Yue Ren, what do you think? The vocational high school is pretty good, right? Want to come?"

The Yue man nodded.

"Yes, I've decided. I'm going to come here to get stronger. But, Gojo-sensei, I'd like to have my own workshop at the school, is that okay?"

"Of course, no problem. I'll talk to the principal. Do you want to stay at the school or go home?"

Gojo Satoru looked completely at ease, as if he would have done it even if the other person hadn't told him to, since it was this boy's specialty.

Yue Ren nodded slightly upon receiving an affirmative answer.

"My sister is still at home, and I'm a little worried about leaving her alone, so I'll let her commute to school. It's not far anyway, and it'll be good exercise."

"Okay, then you can start school tomorrow. I'll take care of everything else for you."

Yue Ren expressed his approval, not doubting his abilities. After all, he was the head of the Gojo family, one of the three great families, and such matters could be handled quickly once the order was given.

"By the way, Mr. Gojo, do you have any books or teaching materials? I'd like to go back and do some pre-reading, is that alright?"

Upon hearing this, the group was stunned, their expressions one of utter shock, as if they were mediocre students meeting academic geniuses.

Is this the mindset of a good student? Previewing material? How come they can't even think of something like that...?

"Teacher Gojo?"

"Haha, yes, of course! I'll go get it from the principal for you. Ah, so having a good student is such a touching thing for a teacher?"

As he walked, he actually started crying miserably.

The few students who were automatically categorized as "bad students" watching his back all gave him a "go to hell" gesture.

A moment later, watching Kawasaki Koshito leave with Gojo Satoru, Panda finally asked the question that had been bothering him all along.

"Maki, what do you mean by the workshop that Koshito mentioned?"

"Oh, you guys don't know yet? That's true, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

The two exchanged a glance, and while they were both taken aback, they nodded. As partners, they naturally knew each other's personalities; Maki wouldn't be so serious unless it was something important.

Maki nodded in satisfaction at their attitude and said directly:

"That guy is a promising blacksmith. He forged his first blacksmith tool after only one month of using blacksmithing. You should understand now."

"Wow, that's amazing! No wonder Gojo was so excited."

The two were initially surprised, then nodded in agreement. Indeed, this was a secret that needed to be kept very well.

Thinking back to the battle they had just fought, the two smiled slightly. It seemed that a remarkable junior had arrived; things were about to get interesting.

On the other side, the Yue man, who was soon sent home, looked at the booklet in his hand and smiled.

Everything went as he expected, no, even better. The unexpected surprise was the duel with Maki. He had actually found another way to quickly become stronger in this way. How interesting!

Although this method is equally difficult, it is nothing to the Yue people.

The next day, the sun shone brightly as usual.

Upon arriving at the vocational college, the first things Yue Ren received were his student ID and school uniform.

The dark blue school uniforms are made by a tailor shop that supplies items for the magic world. They are made of materials that are more resistant to magic than ordinary clothes and are basically divided into summer and winter uniforms.

Due to the nature of their work, so wearing too little clothing can easily lead to injury. Therefore, summer and winter clothes look the same, the difference being the degree of breathability.

Of course, if there is a need, you can make an application and the school will help make specific styles of clothing. For example, in the original work, Gojo Satoru made a hooded uniform for Itadori, or a long-necked uniform for Inu-maki. Koshito didn't have anything special to pay attention to, and he didn't make any requests, so he received a regular uniform.

Wearing this out in this season is practically the same as me wanting to hug the sun.

Thanks to the protective barrier at the vocational college, the damage from the sun was reduced to some extent, which also saved the fashion designers some trouble.

The other item was a student ID card, similar to the one Maki had seen before. Seeing the same "four" marked on it, Yueren didn't find it strange.

I am quite satisfied with the result.

Unlike other sorcerers who wanted to level up for various reasons, Yue Ren didn't have such a need from the beginning.

Generally, sorcerers want to level up either to prove their strength or to take on higher-level quests to earn money.

Yue Ren had neither need nor desire. As a blacksmith, he was not short of money, and at the same time, he had no intention of showing off his strength in front of anyone.

Power is your own, whether it is acknowledged or not. Having great power means you won't be betrayed when others say you are weak. But if you have no strength but are given a false level, you will one day suffer the consequences.