Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Yue Ren, who was on his way to the classroom in the corridor, heard the noise and found that everyone was on the playground. He put his hands in his pockets and slowly approached.

Looking up at the sky, it was a nice day, but the sun was blocked out, seemingly because it was going to rain. In this special month of June, everyone felt a long-lost coolness.

"Isn't Mr. Gojo here? Is there no class today?"

"Ah, I should say the past week was the unusual one. Usually everyone is either training or taking on missions. Last week was probably just a coincidence that Satoru had some free time."

Panda sat down next to the two and helped answer their questions.

"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about something more important."

As he spoke, the panda wrapped his arms around the Yue man's neck, grinning from ear to ear.

"I heard you and Maki went on a mission yesterday. How was it? How did it go?"

"Well... Maki-nee is very reliable, and her cursed spirit is very powerful. If I didn't have my trump card, things would probably be a bit troublesome."

"Oh, that's reliable. Good review. Keep it up, young man. I have high hopes for you."

The Yue man rolled his eyes. "You're so sure about this? Seriously, you think just anyone can tie the red thread of fate?"

"Maki-neechan is watching, are you sure you want to continue, Panda?"

The panda turned around and saw Maki's murderous expression, instantly turning into a soft and adorable mascot.

"How are you? You must have had a good rest, right?"

Maki glared at the panda and then spoke to the boy normally, but why did her heart feel like it was beating a little fast?

Upon hearing this, Yue Ren's body trembled slightly, and then he forced a smile, still shaken, and said:

"Yeah, although I'm exhausted (I almost got killed), I've had enough sleep, and my injuries have been treated with the Reversal Technique."

"I see, that's good. Come on, let's continue training. You should have seen the difference yesterday. Even if you're not a top-tier, it takes a lot of effort to reach the first tier."

Maki waved her hand, making it clear that she wanted to spar with Echizen.

The Yue man didn't speak, but simply followed.

"Your problem is that your own strength doesn't match the weapon's. You should understand that. Compared to offensive spells, relying solely on unarmed combat and a single offensive method is a fatal flaw. Your spell tools do compensate for this to some extent, but as the saying goes, you need to be strong yourself to forge iron. Powerful physical attack methods are essential. Take our idiot teacher, for example. Although he's called the strongest spellcaster, it doesn't mean his close combat ability is weak. That guy can easily crush us even without spells. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Yue Ren nodded in deep agreement. After all, to truly become "powerful," a well-rounded character with no weaknesses is the right solution, and that's also the principle he's using to allocate skill points now.

It's just that he's a little different today than he was yesterday.

"Of course, so please take care of me."

As he spoke, Yue Ren's magical power flashed, and a katana suddenly materialized in his hand.

What is that...?

Before Maki could recover from the attack, Yueren had already rushed forward, his speed startling Maki.

Instinctively, she used Zangetsu in her hand to block, and the sound of steel clashing together rang out. Only then did Maki realize that the boy's eyes had changed.

Those were eyes that were completely different from before, more aggressive, more piercing.

"Maki-neechan, be careful."

Just as she understood what the boy meant, the next attack arrived. Realizing what was happening, Maki quickly swung her newly adapted Zangetsu sword to deal with it.

boom--

Having successfully defended against the Yue man's knife aimed at her neck, Maki, not content with simply waiting to defend, forcefully pushed the boy away, intending to gather her strength for a counterattack.

Combined with the Moon Slash in his hand, this powerful and heavy strike could have severely injured the cursed spirit from yesterday, but it failed miserably against the young man.

What...?

The scene before her eyes was beyond her imagination; her attack had been deflected.

That's right, the boy managed to deflect Maki's charged attack with a backhand parry after being hit, but the price was that his weapon shattered into dust.

This guy actually destroyed his own weapon to stop himself. What will he do next?

Maki was naturally familiar with this move; it was a technique taught to her by her opponent, a very special move called "Test Sword Item," which uses special skills to launch an attack that exceeds the weapon's limits at the cost of self-destruction.

Maki didn't really like this move because, in her opinion, it was such a waste—she didn't have that many magical artifacts to play with like disposable items!

The reality is that this move caused her to lose the initiative in this sparring match and exposed a weakness, and in top-level combat, such a mistake can be fatal.

Under normal circumstances, Yue Ren should not be able to seize this weakness, or even if he does, it will not have much impact on her, because his strength is not enough.

However, something even more unexpected happened: the boy suddenly channeled magical power back into his hand, and the next moment, a katana identical to the one before reappeared in his hand and was placed against Maki's neck.

Looking at the stunning beauty before him, Yue Ren smiled and spoke.

"Another decisive factor in a sorcerer's battle is intelligence, Maki-nee. I'm completely different today than I was yesterday."

"...Who could possibly know something like that!"

Aside from the Gemini who were also watching in stunned silence.

Not far away, Gojo Satoru, who had just returned, saw this scene and a familiar smile appeared on his face.

"Eh... My magical power, body, and even my soul have undergone earth-shattering changes. In just one day, did I awaken during yesterday's battle?"

"But there don't seem to be any intense clashes. It's so simple, it's enviable."

Although it seemed a bit illogical, Gojo Satoru didn't intend to delve into it. After all, everyone has their own secrets. As long as it wasn't some special method that violated human nature, he wouldn't care if the boy could become stronger so quickly. On the contrary, he would be happy, since he had a feeling that this boy might grow to a level that surpassed his own.

After all, the only defeat he has ever suffered in his life so far was thanks to the cursed artifact.

"However, regardless of the circumstances, congratulations, Kawasaki Koshito. From this moment on, you possess the soul of a true 'strongman.'"

......

The girl, who should have felt bad and left angrily, was stunned as she looked at the boy who held a knife to her neck. She stared at his bright eyes and, for some reason, felt they were so beautiful.

The Yue man sheathed his sword, and the weapon dissipated into energy the instant he released it.

A few seconds later, Maki belatedly came to her senses, looked at the boy, and then thought about her thoughts just now. Feeling extremely ashamed, she chose to stay where she was and sulk.

Yue Ren didn't notice anything wrong with her. Seeing her standing there without saying anything, he assumed she was angry because she had lost to him. Knowing that going up to her would only add fuel to the fire, he chose to run away and try to find the panda, but was stopped by a shout.

"Yue Ren, come here, I'll take you to see the person you want to see."

Turning his head, he saw Gojo Satoru appear at the edge of the playground. Upon seeing this, Yue Ren felt as if he had been granted a pardon. After nodding to the others, he fled as if he were escaping.

"Dog Roll, I have a feeling these two really have a chance."

Looking at the unusually calm Maki in the distance, and the fleeing Yue Ren, Panda leaned to the side and whispered in Dog Roll's ear.

"squid!"

"You figured it out too? Then it must be true. Hey, that's great, should we...?"

......

The two continued their conspiracy, while Echigo and Gojo Satoru arrived at a special place in the school.

"here it is?"

It's no wonder the Yue people felt strange, since there were no buildings in front of them, only a place that looked like it led to an underground passage.

Moreover, the location is very secluded; there are probably not many people passing by in such a place normally.

"The school hospital area, or you can call it the regular health clinic."

"..."

The Yue people were speechless. Who builds a health clinic underground?

Seemingly able to anticipate the Yue people's reaction, Gojo Satoru began to explain.

"Next, I'll introduce you to this person, a 'treasure' level sorcerer in the entire college, and a great beauty at that. Without her, your casualty rate wouldn't be what it is now, so her safety is of paramount importance."

Yue Ren could understand this, but it wouldn't be right to just send someone underground like this.

However, he didn't show it and just followed silently forward. After all, they were not related by blood, and he had no right or obligation to interrupt.

After walking along a long, dimly lit path, the two finally arrived at a door.

Pushing open the door, the view suddenly opened up; the interior was fairly bright, and the environment had a bit of a hospital feel to it.

Finally, the two met the person they were supposed to see in a place that resembled an office.

Sitting at his computer desk, he smoked a cigarette while staring at the intelligence on the screen.

Indeed, just as the Yue people guessed, it was Iori Glass.

Hearing the noise, she looked up and her gaze immediately fell on a certain man.

"So, this is the 'genius apprentice' you recommended to me? He's quite the handsome young man, is he really suitable?"

A beautiful woman wearing a white lab coat, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, but with a somewhat aloof personality. After all, even though her face was so disheveled, it still couldn't hide its exquisite beauty.

"Yue-to, let me introduce you. This is Ieiri Shoko, the school doctor and also the most skilled sorcerer in 'Reversal Spells.' Shoko, this is the new student I told you about, Kawasaki Yue-to, a genius who can learn 'Reversal Spells' in minutes."

"Hello, Professor Shoko, I'd like to ask you about treatments and the 'reversal technique.' Please take care of me."

Yue Ren bowed slightly with a serious expression, his heart filled with respect for a doctor and a teacher.

"That's quite rare. Although 'reversal spells' do seem to be a rather advanced technique, this is the first time I've seen a sorcerer who explicitly wants to learn healing. Young man, your idea seems quite unique."

Upon hearing this, Yue Ren understood why Gojo Satoru hadn't told her about yesterday's events. There was no need for too many people to know about such things, and knowing about it might actually put the woman in front of him in danger.

In that case, let's proceed with Plan A.

"A truly strong person shouldn't have any weaknesses. I want to become the strongest, surpassing even Gojo-sensei. So, according to the game's rules, I can't be a glass cannon; I have to be a tanky warrior. Strong recovery ability is a must."

"Besides... mastering this will allow us to provide timely assistance when our companions are injured, won't it?"

She wasn't very interested in the first half of his sentence. She had played games before and could understand what he meant, but she had never been interested in fighting and killing. However, the second half of his sentence caught Shoko's attention. She looked at the boy's serious eyes and smiled slightly.

"That's a good idea. Okay, although it's troublesome, I happen to have a lot of things to do. If you don't mind helping me with some work, I can teach you some things when I have some free time. Is that alright?"

"Of course, no problem, Ms. Shoko!"

"Okay, you can go now. I'll take care of the rest."

Turning her gaze back to the man, Shoko waved him away with an expression that said, "Get rid of this trash already." Gojo Satoru didn't mind and happily waved goodbye.

"Well then, goodbye, Yue Ren. Cherish the time you spend with your beautiful teacher."

"That's absolutely true."

The Yue man grinned, showing off his bright white teeth, and gave a thumbs-up.

"roll!"

A few seconds later, only the two of them remained in the room.

"Alright, that guy said you know 'Reversal Spell,' would you mind letting me try it out?"

She gestured for Yueren to move a stool and sit opposite her, while Xiaozi went to get two glasses of water, even though the table was full of coffee cups.

The Yue people naturally wouldn't mind.

As I took the water glass and said thank you, I raised one hand, and the next moment I was surrounded by a light orange "positive energy".

Normal people can't see it, but it's no problem for glass, which is extremely familiar with this kind of energy.

Seeing this energy, Shoko, who had been expressionless, also showed some doubt and surprise, and even subconsciously reached out to touch Echizen's hand.

"How do you manage to give people such a warm feeling?"

This is definitely the positive energy generated by the "Reversal Technique," but unlike her milky white and cool feeling, his energy gives people a sense of weight, peace of mind, and warmth, instantly giving her the illusion of being in a warm room.

"Well, I'm not really sure. Does being in the sun a lot and dealing with flames count?"

As he spoke, Yue Ren stretched out his other hand in front of him, and the next moment, a bright red-orange flame appeared in his palm. It was so dazzling that it immediately caught Xiao Zi's eye.

"Is this your technique?"

"Yes, it's the ability I awakened."

"......"

After a moment of silence, Shoko reluctantly removed her hands from the flame in Echizen's hands. It was no wonder, because she hadn't felt this "warmth" in a long time.

"Okay, then it seems I can choose an easier method. Let me see what I can do today. Oh, and could you help me organize those materials? I'll make some plans, and we can officially start tomorrow, how about that?"

"No problem, teacher."

Looking at the pile of paper documents on the desk that Shoko pointed to, Eshito nodded and began to work.