Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

The familiar voice made everyone know who it was before they even turned around. Everyone had different expressions, but they all stopped what they were doing and rushed over.

"Oh, everyone's here, that's good. Hmm... Where's Yue Ren? He shouldn't have any missions, right?"

"Yeah, he's been holed up in his workshop all this time, not even going home at night. I haven't seen him for days."

"Oh, never mind, I'll just go find him myself later."

As he spoke, Gojo Satoru casually turned his gaze to Inu-maki beside him.

"There's a specific mission assigned to you. This spirit is perfect for you. Go and perform the exorcism with ease."

"Salmon."

Dog Roll responded casually, clearly indicating this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.

However, Yi Gu, who was standing to the side, had a question.

"name......?"

"Dog Roll is the only Level 2 Spellcaster in the first year and is authorized to act alone."

The panda beside him offered a thoughtful explanation.

"Wow, that's really impressive, just like Brother Yueren?"

"Uh... Yue Ren is a special case; he has Mr. Nanami as his guarantor."

"I see."

"Yuta, you should come along too, to assist Thorn... or rather, to train as an apprentice."

Looking at this student who already had a certain air about him, Gojo Satoru nodded inwardly. As expected of a reliable Yue Ren, he had managed to train Etsu to this extent in such a short time. It seemed that he also had a remarkable talent in education.

"Support..."

"There are many kinds of spells, and almost every spellcaster has different methods for exorcising cursed spirits. Thorn's 'incantation' is a good example; you should study it carefully."

"Um......"

"Oh? You're all here, that's unusual. Is there some kind of arrangement?"

Just as You Tai was about to make up his mind, a voice rang out behind them. The familiar voice made everyone turn around immediately, and the person who came was none other than Yue Ren, who looked puzzled.

Seeing that the person was alright, everyone's mood improved a bit. However, they immediately noticed something was wrong. The boy who appeared was not as clean-cut as usual. He was disheveled and had dark circles under his eyes that were hard to hide. He had the kind of beauty of a homeless person who had not slept for three days and three nights and had done heavy physical labor. The only thing was that his body did not have any strange smell, otherwise everyone would have reacted.

"Oh, what a coincidence! I was just about to go find you. Is this all settled?"

Gojo Satoru asked with a smirk, wondering if the student who had been staying home for the past few days had any surprise in store for them.

"Yes, it's a success. Thanks to Yuta's technique, I've made further progress. Here, take this as a thank you gift."

As he spoke, Yue Ren tossed a katana he was holding to You Tai, who caught it in a panic.

The worry in his heart was abruptly suppressed by this sudden scene, and he also found that Yue Ren seemed to be fine.

It's surprisingly heavy, that was Yuta's first reaction upon receiving it.

He then instinctively drew his sword, and the cold light reflected from the blade made him squint.

He drew the sword completely, and a very elegant and beautiful katana appeared in Otsuko's hand.

"How beautiful... This is... a name... Doji... Kiri Yasutsuna?"

As he gazed at the tachi, Otsuko unconsciously voiced his thoughts, and at the same time, he noticed the name near the tsuba (handguard) and was stunned after reading it aloud.

He couldn't possibly not know this name; isn't this a famous sword from history...?

Subconsciously, I turned my gaze to Yue Ren, only to see him scratching his head in annoyance.

"It was just a random pick, don't worry about it. Although I don't think this one is weaker than that one."

"As for the effects, there are two. One is that under normal conditions, the infusion of magical power enhances the sharpness and attack range, and the blade is coated with positive energy that can restrain magical spirits. With your current strength, you can easily swipe through the body of a level one magical spirit with all your might."

"The other one is set to match your own enormous magical power, which allows you to unleash magical power slashes by injecting a large amount of magical power in a short time. As for the effect, you'll find out for yourself later."

Upon hearing the explanation, Yi Gu subconsciously swung the blade a few times. The crisp, resonant sound produced by the friction between the blade and the air was intoxicating. Even someone like him, who knew nothing about such things, could vaguely sense that this was definitely a treasured sword.

Thanks to his six eyes, Gojo could see more clearly than the others. This item already had the feel of a top-grade cursed artifact. What a wonderful surprise...

"Brother Yue, this is far too valuable..."

Just as Yi Gu was about to speak, Yue Ren raised his hand to stop him.

"This is a perk I'm giving to my partners. Maki and the others all have it, so stop with the fuss. If you really want to thank me, use it to make something of yourself and turn it into a true Dojigiri Angan. That would be the best reward for a swordsmith, understand?"

"Yes."

Having already gotten to know the older brother's personality a bit, the boy immediately responded with a serious expression. Unconsciously, he now only wanted to avoid disappointing the person in front of him.

"You're full of energy, that's more like it... Ahhh, I'm exhausted, I need to take a nap, you guys chat."

He turned to leave, but at that moment, Gojo Satoru, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

"Yue Ren, I have a task here that I think is perfect for you, so I've signed you up. I'll send you a briefing later, so please remember to receive it."

"What mission?"

"It's a secret. There's no rush. Just reply before tomorrow. There's a new senior too, so remember to get along well with him. Your nomination as a Level 1 Sorcerer will depend on your performance this time. You don't want to bother Kenji every time, do you?"

"Okay, I'm going to take a nap first, I'll watch it later."

"Okay, then, good luck..."

Away from everyone else, Yue Ren didn't have time to go home and went straight to an empty dormitory at the school.

Although Yue Ren wouldn't be staying here, a room was still reserved for him for convenience. It was rather spacious, but it still had a basic bed. Yue Ren, who wasn't going to be picky, simply lay down and went to sleep.

The next morning, under the sunlight, Yue Ren gradually regained consciousness and recognized his location. With his spirits restored, he stretched vigorously.

He's been exhausted these past two days, but luckily, all his efforts have been worthwhile.

Open the task panel.

"Job placement task"

Difficulty: High

"Quest objective: Forge an epic weapon (1/10)"

Time Limit: None

"Rewards: Attribute/Skill Points, Class Layout"

Yes, he succeeded. The Tongziqie Angang for Yigu was a further achievement, although it did not reach the next level of quality, the "dark gold" that only appeared once. However, he had taken another step closer to his idea. He had a premonition that he was only one piece away from creating something that could truly change this cursed world in essence.

Before that, we need to accumulate experience and wait for the final sprint.

Feeling relaxed, Yue Ren got up, tidied herself up, ordered breakfast at the restaurant, and then opened her phone to read the task briefing sent by her teacher.

He hadn't forgotten what happened when he left yesterday, and now that he had time, he could take a look.

He wasn't paying much attention at first, but after seeing what appeared to be the words "Special Grade Cursed Embryo" hidden in the text, he became interested.

A level one cursed spirit no longer poses much of a threat to him. A special-grade cursed embryo, which he recalls is something about to transform into a special-grade cursed spirit, seems like a worthy opponent and should be able to put enough pressure on him.

He sent the message agreeing to the task, and soon the detailed arrangements were sent to him again. He was stunned when he saw the name on the message.

Person in Charge: Level 1 Sorcerer Mingming

Supporter: Kawasaki Koshito

Thinking back to what Gojo Satoru had said about the Level 1 assessment yesterday, Yue Ren couldn't help but chuckle.

This teacher is really eager to get him to work. I wonder how much this trip cost. But the other party is the head of a big family, so this amount of money should be nothing to him.

Mingming, Gojo Satoru's senior, was the assistant supervisor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School and a first-class jujutsu master.

She is currently a freelance sorcerer, a tall, adult woman with long hair that covers her eyes, and a very powerful money-worshipper who has no interest in anything other than money.

Although she is a first-level sorcerer, she has the ability to deal with special-level cursed spirits. Her most impressive performance was in exorcising Xia Youjie's special-level cursed spirit "Herpes God" in its domain. She is a woman who can be described as doing things for money.

As a senior colleague, she naturally knew Gojo Satoru, so it's not surprising that she appeared on this mission list. It's probably because her teacher launched a "money offensive".

Although sorcerers at the Sorcery Academy receive a sorcerer level evaluation upon enrollment, this evaluation is based on the sorcerer's current strength. Therefore, most students enter the academy as the lowest level four sorcerers, and it is extremely rare for someone like Yi Gu to be a top-level sorcerer from the start.

The level of a sorcerer can naturally be upgraded, but the method is indeed somewhat troublesome. First, one must have sufficient strength and achievements, then be recommended by two senior sorcerers, and finally pass the assessment to advance. One of these two senior sorcerers cannot be one's own teacher. Therefore, if a person wants to become a level one sorcerer, he needs at least two other level one sorcerers to recommend him, and then he can succeed after passing the assessment task.

It seems that his teacher, Gojo Satoru, had already made arrangements. Both Nanami Kento and the current Meimei are first-level sorcerers with whom he has a good relationship. He arranged for him to carry out missions with them, gain their recognition, and then recommend them together. It was perfect.

Having figured it out, the Yue man smiled helplessly.

While the man's dedication was indeed admirable, his ingenious attempt to find someone to take the blame was truly laughable.

Well, becoming a Level 1 Sorcerer should make things much easier later on, so let's just upgrade.

The upcoming Night Parade of One Hundred Demons is unlikely to be something he can participate in given his current status as a Level 4 Spellcaster. He vaguely remembers that besides Eto, who was considered an unstable factor, Maki was the only one left at the High School. This is probably related to the fact that she is only a Level 4 Spellcaster. After all, Panda and Dog Roll both participated. As for protecting Eto, having a Level 4 Spellcaster protect a Special Grade Spellcaster... no one would be so stupid as to suggest that.

Therefore, even just to be on the safe side, we still need to seize this opportunity. As the top combat force below the special level, a first-level sorcerer still has a lot of power and can provide him with a lot of convenience.

Moreover, with his current strength, only the four top-tier curse spirits, such as the Louhu, could pose a life threat to him. He can easily live up to the title of a first-level curse master.

Before setting off, make preparations. Although you are confident in your abilities, you still need to do the necessary preparations and safeguards, because no one can predict what will happen in the future.

Fate can sometimes do the most unexpected and cruel things, which is not surprising at all. For example, even if you were suddenly given a special level here, you would have no choice but to complain and be confused. Especially in this damn world that is shrouded in curses, you can never have too much protection.

He changed into the black school uniform of the Spellcasting Academy. As a blacksmith, this outfit was not suitable for what he was doing at school, so he asked someone to design a workshop outfit for him. He wore the workshop uniform more often at school, but now that he was going out to exorcise cursed spirits, he naturally had to change his clothes.

After changing his clothes, he went to the workshop and hid the specially made magic knife he had forged over the past few days in his cuffs and inside his belt. After checking it again to make sure everything was in order, he left the high school.

In June, Tokyo is not only extremely hot, but also experiences endless rain. The rainy season and high temperatures make the city feel like it's being soaked in a steamer.

The clouds hung low, and the rain fell intermittently. The streets were always wet as I walked by, and the pedestrians hurried past with umbrellas, making the leisurely pace of the Yue people seem somewhat out of place.

The air was filled with the smells of moisture from the asphalt road, the aroma of food from the convenience store, and the mixed scents of the subway station.

The city appeared somewhat blurred in the rain and fog, with only the crowds at Shibuya Crossing still moving rhythmically between the changing traffic lights, and neon lights lighting up early in the evening, reflected on the flooded road.

The preordained meeting place was a rooftop café in a high-end office building in Shibuya, Tokyo.

When the Yue people arrived, they could see that conspicuous figure through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

A beautiful, mature white-haired woman was elegantly reclining on a leather sofa, holding a coffee cup in one hand and scrolling through a tablet screen with the other. Unlike her battle attire, she had not braided her beautiful long hair into a ponytail to obstruct her view; instead, she let it hang loose.

However, her thick hair still unintentionally covered her left eye, making it impossible for people to see her eyes, which were gleaming in the morning light.

"Miss Mingming, right?" Yue Ren walked to the table and nodded slightly.

Mingming raised her eyes, sized him up for a few seconds, and then a professional smile appeared on her lips: "Kawasaki Echito-kun? You're younger than I expected. Please have a seat."

The Yue man sat down beside her.

"What would you like to drink? In this weather, I recommend this hot latte. It's a specialty of this place, and it might help with what we're about to do."

Does that mean she's going to treat us to a meal? That's unprecedented!

"Thank you, senior."

"It's okay, after all, some people are very generous. As someone who gets paid to do things, the job should at least make the client happy, right?"