Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Shoko was taken aback by how easy he was to talk to, then smiled and shook her head slightly before turning back to her computer, as there were some documents she needed to review.

On the other side, Yue Ren did not start organizing the data immediately. Instead, he first put on a mask and gloves and began cleaning up the indoor garbage.

That's right, this office is no longer a garbage dump, and it's definitely not clean at all.

To avoid accidentally spilling liquids like coffee while tidying up, he felt he should clean up first, as this would help with his work.

Without further ado, they first removed all "dangerous" items that could potentially damage the data.

He wasn't dissatisfied with the job, not because the person who proposed it was a beauty or anything, but because it was the same old routine: when learning something new, you usually start with the simplest and most boring things, and he had experience with that.

He guessed that the other party probably wanted to "test" his personality or something like that, but he didn't care. Whether it was organizing files or cleaning, he had done much more disgusting jobs in his previous life.

After cleaning up the overflowing cigarette butts in the ashtray and watching the room gradually become cleaner, Yue Ren found that doing this kind of thing occasionally was quite stress-relieving.

At the same time, he also discovered through various details that his new teacher was not a slovenly person, but was just too stressed at work to have time to tidy up. The dark circles under his eyes, the countless cigarette butts and coffee cups, and the spotless cleanliness of the equipment and items he used at work were enough to prove the point.

He didn't rush, but tidied up step by step in an orderly manner. After he cleaned up all the trash, he turned around and saw that Shoko Ieiri had fallen asleep in front of the computer desk at some point.

Yue Ren didn't say anything, but began to move as quietly as possible, and after looking around, he found her coat and gently draped it over his shoulders.

He tidied up all the documents on the table, then sat in the chair he had designed for her and began to look at them one by one.

Upon seeing the contents above, he understood why the beautiful teacher had asked him to do this. The contents were all injury reports, detailing the injuries sustained by sorcerers during this period, their symptoms, and treatments. All the information was clearly written down, and about half of the reports had already been categorized. He just needed to find the commonalities.

Furthermore, if the Yue people could write it down, their theoretical knowledge of wound treatment would likely increase considerably.

Having understood his teacher's "good intentions," Yue Ren began to memorize the information, relying on his current intelligence score of 10.

That's right, the 10 points in intelligence are all thanks to yesterday's "trial".

When he was almost killed by the old man, he tried everything he could to resist the impact that went straight to his soul. At that moment, he used up all his previous savings and barely raised his intelligence to 8. Then he entered a mysterious state of enlightenment. This is why he was able to survive such a trial. Otherwise, how could he have survived such tempering with just his willpower?

The reason it's 10 o'clock now is because it's proof and a reward for his successful completion of the trial.

Of course, there are other things as well, such as several skills, and all attributes except charm have been increased to 8, which can be described as a complete transformation.

But this method still leaves one with lingering fear.

Open the properties panel.

Name: Kawasaki Etsuto (Li Xunhang)

Age: 16

Height: 171 cm

Intelligence: 10 (2/3200)

"Strength: 8" (13/800)

Speed: 8 (17/800)

"Charm: 6" (1/200)

"Constitution: 8" (2/800)

「技能：阅读lv4（2/50），锻造lv6（Max），剑术lv5（2/100），箭术lv3（7/30）」

「特殊技能：生得术式（溯源）lv3（24/30），试刀物lv5（7/100），反转术式lv2（0/15），业之瞳lv1（3/15），焰lv1（2/15），炼铁意志（Max），对魔力（咒力）lv1（0/15），阵地建造lv1（0/15）」

"Energy: Spell Power (100/100)"

Current status: Normal

(Note: The average attribute of a normal human being is 5.)

He suddenly gained five skills, all given to him by the old man. The first three were rewards from the trials, the fourth seemed to have been earned through a beating, and the last one was formed from some related knowledge that the old man passed on to him at the end.

That's not all. The memory invasion during the battle is also a considerable asset. Now he has the forging skills of a master blacksmith in his mind, and his other skills have also been upgraded. It can be said that he has been improved in all aspects.

This is why he dealt with Maki so easily in the morning. The blade that suddenly appeared in his hand was not something he took out of his "backpack," but rather the effect of a level 5 test weapon—a signature skill of a certain "partner of justice," except that the driving energy had been transformed into curse power.

It's somewhat similar to Maki's sister Mai's technique, only much more powerful than her one bullet a day.

The flames that were just shown to Shoko are the effect of the "Flame" skill, which transforms curse power into extremely hot forging fire. So far, it only has the characteristic of high temperature, and we don't know what it will be like after upgrading.

It can be said that the overall strength has undergone another qualitative change.

At the same time, a new task was updated in the taskbar.

"Job placement task"

Difficulty: High

"Quest objective: Forge an epic weapon (0/10)"

Time Limit: None

"Rewards: Attribute/Skill Points, Class Layout"

This time, he wasn't as excited as he was last time; instead, he was more cautious. Yesterday's experience was still fresh in his mind, and the near-fatal incident served as a wake-up call. Even if the power could be obtained step by step, he had to make sure he had the capacity to handle it.

However, he was not afraid. This challenge was indeed difficult, but it was also an opportunity for him to transform rapidly. Since he had already chosen this path, it was not in his nature to stagnate.

As for combat strength, he estimated that with his current level, he should be able to easily deal with a level 2 cursed spirit when he makes a normal move, and a level 1 one would be no problem if he went all out. As long as the opponent does not deploy their domain, even if it is a special-grade one, he estimated that he could kill it with his unique methods.

However, it would probably be weaker against a sorcerer, since the most lethal weapon in their hands is specifically designed to counter cursed spirits.

Once he can create a special spell tool similar to the "Heavenly Reversal Blade" that can break spells, he will probably become a spellcaster killer.

After spending more than an hour organizing and thoroughly understanding the hundreds of medical lists on the table, Yue Ren quietly got up and left the room for the kitchen.

I originally thought I could develop some kind of "medical skill," but it seems I was being too optimistic. How could I possibly learn such a skill just by reading a little bit of information? It looks like it's going to be another time-consuming and laborious project.

Shoko does indeed live here; there's even a kitchen, though it's not very well-equipped, so it seems she doesn't usually cook.

I checked the time—12:40

Yue Ren remained silent, then left the area. He went to the school's private supermarket, bought some things, and then went to the cafeteria to get some steamed buns. Back at the hospital, he used the utensils and the things he had bought to make an oatmeal milk porridge in the kitchen. He added the steamed buns he had just bought, picked them up, and headed towards his office.

When I opened the door, Shoko was already awake.

"Ah, I thought you had already left... It smells so good!"

Before the beautiful doctor could finish speaking, she was drawn to the steaming hot food in the Yue man's hands.

Yue Ren smiled slightly and placed the item in his hand in front of her.

"I went to buy some things. Teacher, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Here, this is specially made for you. Consider it a gift for your apprenticeship. Please don't find it offensive."

Looking at the delicious food placed in front of her, Shoko's throat trembled involuntarily. If she hadn't had enough willpower, she probably would have been completely dominated by it.

She glanced at the Yue people and suddenly smiled slightly.

"Then I won't be polite... Hmm, very good. Ah, a man who can cook, Koshihito-kun, a man like you must be very popular."

"Absolutely! Back in junior high, my shoe cabinet would receive love letters every day."

"Huh? So that means you have a girlfriend? That's a sad fact."

"No, back then my grandfather made me go to the workshop to help out every day, so I simply didn't have the time or energy. By the way, my grandfather was a knife maker."

"I see. I really don't know whether to feel fortunate or regretful."

"Be thankful, after all, what do you know at that age? It was just a moment of impulse... Well then, teacher, I won't disturb your meal any longer. I've finished my work, and tomorrow will still be the same time as today, right?"

Once he confirmed that there was nothing else he needed to do, Yue Ren prepared to leave.

"Well, you don't have to be so rigid. You can come find me anytime. Oh, by the way, here, this is for you. You already know the location, but you can't get in without this if I'm not here."

As she spoke, Shoko took something that looked like a decorative plaque from the drawer and tossed it to Echijin, explaining before he could even show a puzzled expression.

"This place is surrounded by a separate barrier. What you have is the 'key' to entry; if you lose it, you won't be able to get in."

"Understood, I will keep it safe. Well then, Ms. Shoko, enjoy your meal."

Yue Ren understood somewhat. This meant that the man acknowledged his status as an apprentice, and on the other hand, it meant that he could use the tools here at will to complete his tasks.

The boy didn't say anything, but simply kept it safe and was grateful.

"Ah, such delicious food should indeed be enjoyed."

After leaving the school hospital, Yue Ren headed towards the cafeteria; he was hungry too.

Unsurprisingly, they ran into the pandas at the restaurant.

"Yue people, come here quickly, come here quickly!"

The Yue man looked puzzled, but still picked up his plate and walked towards their direction.

"Panda, do you need to eat too?"

"I'm Cursed Corpse, why would I eat? I came here with him..."

As he spoke, the panda pointed to the dog roll next to him.

"I see."

"Stop with the nonsense, let's talk about something else, Yueren. I heard from Maki that you can forge magical artifacts for us?"

"Yes, no problem. Feel free to make any requests."

While enjoying his lunch, Yue Ren answered questions without looking up.

"Hehehe, how could I possibly accept that... Um, I'm better at using my fists, do you have any related magical artifacts?"

Tapioca flour!

"Why do you say that? Don't you want it?"

"Bonito flakes".

"..."

The Vietnamese man was full of questions. How did these two manage to communicate so seamlessly? It was truly amazing.

"If it's about your fists, let me think... how about I make you a brass knuckle duster or some boxing gloves?"

He remembered that the panda's main means of attack was its fists, even when it switched to gorilla form it was still using its hands, so making a gauntlet would be appropriate.

"Huh, really? But I remember your family makes swords, right? You can make these things too?"

"That's true, but it is a cold weapon after all. Shouldn't a blacksmith have some knowledge of it?"

"That's true."

Actually, that's not entirely true. The key is that yesterday, Grandpa Muramasa gave him a lot of related knowledge through a "transmission of skills," and he said that he is now a master.

Now, with decades of forging experience and knowledge in his mind, making a brass knuckle duster or a snare can be a piece of cake.

"Then I'll leave it to you. If you need anything in the future, just contact Panda."

"Yes, I will."

Rest for a while after eating to help digestion.

In the afternoon, I intended to go to the workshop, but I heard sounds coming from a training room as I passed by.

"Oh, your movements have become much sharper..."

"Yes, that's it..."

"ha--"

Upon arriving at the door and pushing it open, I encountered a scene that was not commonly seen.

Both of them were people everyone knew: Maki and Gojo Satoru. So, were they... training?

Watching Maki relentlessly attack Gojo Satoru, only to have her attacks easily evaded time and time again, a hint of surprise appeared on Echigo's face.

In his memory, the girl seemed to avoid contact with Gojo Satoru as much as possible, but now she's actually actively pursuing training? Has Maki's desire to become stronger really become this strong? To be honest, he can't help but be surprised.

Yue Ren, who had become interested, simply watched from the sidelines. In any case, what the panda wanted wasn't difficult, and it wouldn't take him much time at the moment; it was still early.

Now, analyzing the fight between the two, he can glean some insights.

Maki is fighting using the "testing techniques" that Echito taught her. Compared to her previous experience, which was only accumulated through actual combat, it is much more ruthless. Her ability to see through the enemy's weaknesses has also been improved. However, without the cheat codes that Echito has, she has obviously reached this point. The new moves have not yet been integrated into her habits, which is why she is being toyed with by the strongest opponent time and time again.

Judging from the current situation, she will inevitably have to put in a lot of hard work to make a breakthrough. However, if she can persevere, she will experience a huge change in strength.

Half an hour later, Maki, who was sweating profusely, was finally exhausted and collapsed on the training field. She finally saw Yue Ren's figure.

In an instant, as if a shameful little secret had been discovered, she was first taken aback, then quickly turned her face away so the other person wouldn't see her expression.

"Oh, Yue Ren, you're back so soon? I thought you'd stay a little longer."

Unlike Maki, Gojo Satoru had already noticed Echito, but he didn't interrupt Echito's teaching of Maki because he didn't have anything urgent to do.

As for Maki's little gestures, the two of them interpreted them as a girl being shy.

She waved the "key" in her hand. "Ms. Shoko is going to teach me formally tomorrow, so that's all for today. But she gave me the key."