Chapter 3 Levels

　　Ye Mo Zheng Dao left with his sobbing junior, in the eyes of three second-year students, who were either speechless, confused, or trying to suppress their laughter.

　　The original idea of entrusting the freshmen to a few people to settle in was completely shattered. Ye Mo Zhengdao had a gloomy face and had used up his remaining patience by sending Kojima Kei to the dormitory.

　　After all, even Rina Kojima's tears couldn't soften his hard heart, let alone the crying boy now.

　　He hates weak boys the most.

　　"Have a good rest today and get your mind in order. Your studies will officially begin tomorrow."

　　Ye Moth Masamichi stood at the door, pushed up his glasses, and stared down at Kojima Kei:

　　"Don't cry, this is not your home, no one will come to comfort you."

　　Kojima Kei's head almost dropped to the ground: "...I'm sorry."

　　"You don't have to apologize to me. If you are sent back, you will be the one who is embarrassed."

　　Ye Moth Zhengdao replied.

　　He thought for a moment, then pulled out a map and a student handbook from his pocket and handed them to Kei Kojima:

　　"I was originally planning to have your two seniors show you around, but in that case, you should just find your way around. At least make sure you know where the cafeteria, classrooms, and dormitories are, so you don't get lost. You don't have any exams for now, so take this spare student ID with you. It allows you to enter various places on campus."

　　"Okay, thank you Teacher Yaga." Kei Kojima took it obediently.

　　Ye Moth Zhengdao finished giving these instructions and was silent for a moment before saying:

　　"You don't have much time to adjust. I hope you can sort yourself out when you come to class tomorrow. This is just the beginning. If you don't want to be embarrassed and sent back, you'd better cheer up as soon as possible. This is not a place for fun."

　　He stared at the fragile boy with a serious look. The boy's eyes were still red from crying, and his face looked exactly the same as before.

　　Ye Moth Zhengdao sighed softly:

　　"Once you step into the world of spells, you could lose your life at any moment. If you don't have such awareness, it's better to go home early."

　　“…I’ll try my best.”

　　"That's better."

　　However, Kei Kojima's mother, Rina Kojima, faced the same situation as him.

　　Even though he insisted on finishing his studies in school and became an independent sorcerer, he was still unable to move forward in front of the corpses of his companions and chose to escape from this hell.

　　You left here so resolutely at the beginning, why did you send your child here again?

　　Ye Mo Zheng Dao shook his head and left the dormitory.

　　After Masamichi Yaga left, Kei Kojima quickly closed the door.

　　No one saw that the young man did not choose to continue crying with his face covered, but quickly wiped the tears from his face and looked around vigilantly.

　　This is a strange place.

　　He first patrolled the room to make sure no one was there, then he closed the door and windows tightly, and confirmed again and again that no one outside could see what was happening inside the room. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

　　At this moment, he would feel at ease only when he was alone.

　　He sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, without even having time to wash his face, and began to sort out the information.

　　Being cowardly is real, but crying is fake.

　　He was too stupid and this was the only way he could think of in a short period of time to avoid standing with Geto Suguru.

　　If I stay any longer, I'm afraid he will run away on the spot out of extreme fear...

　　At least for now, he has no way to face that person directly.

　　The reunion came too suddenly. Kei Kojima was almost not mentally prepared and had no time to organize his expression. His immediate reaction might have aroused Geto Suguru's suspicion.

　　Kei Kojima grew up with him and he knows this man best.

　　——This man has the ability to see through people's hearts.

　　The truth was almost revealed the first time they met. Even if she didn't look at him, Kei Kojima could feel the man's eyes on her.

　　Like a blade, it was trying to cut through his body, leaving his inner self completely exposed to him.

　　…It’s scary just to think about it.

　　Kei Kojima shook his head and threw the images in his mind out.

　　No matter who Geto Suguru is in this world, it is wisest to keep your distance from him.

　　Fortunately, he heard from them that they seemed to have met two months ago. Although he could not remember it at all, he could use this explanation to cover up the matter and pretend that he had a psychological trauma after being attacked by the cursed spirit.

　　This would also explain why his expression changed drastically after seeing them.

　　But... whether or not I can deceive them is another matter.

　　According to Ye Mo Zhengdao, it is inevitable to go to school together. Knowing this earlier is priceless. His mother must have put in a lot of effort to get him enrolled here. If he goes back home, it will only make her sad.

　　And... running away won't solve the problem. Be prepared and don't let them find out anything tomorrow.

　　I don’t know what Geto Suguru experienced here in his previous life that led him to become what he is today.

　　But Kei Kojima knew that being here would make him stronger.

　　At least, when faced with the same scenario, he might be able to find a way to solve it.

　　I won't be bullied like last time.

　　Kei Kojima washed his face with cold water to sober himself up, and spread out the map and student manual that Masamichi Noctua had stuffed into his hands.

　　There is a lot of content in the student handbook. It seems that this school has been established for many years and has a sound system, which solved many of Kei Kojima's doubts.

　　But this school seems to have far fewer students than teachers.

　　According to the student handbook, there are usually theoretical classes in the morning and practical training in the afternoon. Freshmen will not go out in the first month, but starting from the second month, they will go out every week to carry out activities to remove cursed spirits, starting from the lowest level. The sorcerer level assessment will be conducted every six months. Once the assessment is passed, even the lowest-level sorcerer can receive a part of the allowance reward by accepting the task of removing cursed spirits.

　　The approximate range of the salary for each mission level is not indicated above, but the higher the level of the sorcerer, the higher the salary will probably be.

　　Thinking back to that time... Every time Geto Suguru came back, he would buy a lot of things. When asked, he just said it was a scholarship. It seems that it was the reward for the mission to remove the cursed spirit.

　　Kei Kojima looked through the information on the spell levels. There were five levels in total. With his current level... he was probably still a long way from the lowest level four spellcaster.

　　But until now, he has not successfully removed any cursed spirit. Although his mother also studied at the Jujutsu High School, it is obvious that both mother and son are poor students. His mother only has a vague understanding of even the family's techniques, let alone teaching them to Kei Kojima. When Kei Kojima encounters a cursed spirit, he can only run away in fear.

　　It was also for this reason that my mother, who had little ability, found it difficult to make a name for herself in the world of sorcery even though she successfully graduated and became a third-level sorcerer. She could only barely make ends meet and later resigned.

　　I don’t know what level Geto Suguru is. A second-year student... he must be at least a fourth-level sorcerer.

　　But it's definitely more than that, Kei Kojima is well aware of how powerful he is.

　　Maybe level three? Or level two?

　　It shouldn't be level one...

　　My mother told me that there are only a handful of special-grade sorcerers in the entire sorcery world, no more than ten. Below the special grade, becoming a first-grade sorcerer is the end of most sorcerers' lives.

　　Kei Kojima closed his student handbook.

　　It has only been a year since Geto Suguru entered school, and there is only a one-year difference between the two of them. If I work hard, maybe I can surpass... surpass him!

　　Start working hard today! Change your life with your own strength!

　　The young man secretly clenched his fists in the room and vowed to fight.

　　The other side.

　　Gojo Satoru scratched his head:

　　"Ahh! What's wrong with that freshman?! He's acting like it's my fault!"

　　“Hahahaha!”

　　Ieiri Glass couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Gojo-senpai is really amazing, he made the new students cry~~"

　　"Shut up, Nitro!"

　　“Hehe~~”

　　"Wu, you just said that guy's technique was strange. Did he see something?"

　　Asked Geto Suguru who was standing nearby.

　　"Hmm... It's a technique I've never seen before. The flow of cursed energy is very strange. I can't figure out the effect of his technique for now."

　　Gojo Satoru put away his playful expression and looked unusually serious.

　　"It's really rare to see this happen..."

　　Xia Yujie pondered:

　　"But don't you think that this little brother's first reaction when he saw us was strange?"

　　It seemed like he saw something terrible.

　　"Yeah?"

　　Gojo Satoru said indifferently:

　　"I didn't notice. If he had seen us before, it was only once two months ago. Maybe he still remembers us? Forget him, Jay, let's continue training."

　　"Um."

　　What Geto Suguru didn't say was.

　　This freshman named Kei Kojima seemed to be more afraid of him than Gojo Satoru.

　　Kei Kojima's gaze seemed to be fixed only on him.

　　But... this feeling is too subtle and too subjective, it's just his unilateral conjecture.

　　Maybe it's an illusion.

　　Geto put aside his doubts and waved towards Gojo Satoru across from him:

　　"Come on, Satoru."

　　Ieiri Naoko quickly hid aside and acted as a spectator, and the training ground was filled with dust for a while.

　　Although they are only in the first grade, her two classmates have already surpassed most of the sorcerers. In time, they will definitely stand at the top of the sorcerer world.

　　Such was her confidence in both of them.

　　Several people quickly forgot about the freshman.

　　When it was time for dinner, Kei Kojima cleaned the room. He was so hungry that he searched through all his luggage but couldn't find anything edible.

　　He put his ear to the door and listened to the noise outside. The dormitory area was always very quiet, and it seemed that no one lived here except him.

　　I secretly opened the window and took a look at the corridor. There was no one in the entire corridor.

　　Maybe they're outside?

　　Kei Kojima felt relieved, took his keys, put on his coat, and went out with peace of mind.

　　Who wants to step out of the dormitory door, turn the corner, and see three people walking towards him at the other end of the street.

　　"Hey~~ Isn't this the new first grader~~"

　　Gojo Satoru's eyes lit up.

　　Geto Summer Oil raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

　　Kei Kojima, who had been mentally preparing himself for a long time in the room, felt the high wall he had built collapse instantly when this moment came. He stood there in a daze for three seconds, then turned around suddenly and ran away!

　　Ideals are vulnerable in the face of reality.

　　No! The preparations are still not complete! Let’s start over!

　　I underestimated my courage!

　　Woohoo! Mom! I want to go home!

　　"Ah! This guy ran away!"

　　Gojo Satoru rushed over in one leap, covering a distance of dozens of meters, and almost teleported behind Kojima Kei.

　　He reached out and grabbed Kei Kojima by the back of the collar and lifted him up again.

　　The poor boy's limbs were flailing in the air. After running for a long time, he found himself still in the same place. When he turned around, he saw a smiling face:

　　"I caught you, little brother. Long time no see."

　　Kojima Kei: "!!!"

　　I've clearly seen him before! So how did he get here?! Teleport?!

　　"What's wrong? Want to cry again?"

　　The malicious senior smiled slightly:

　　"Teacher Ye Moth is not here now, no one will give you justice~~ Give up~~"

　　Devil!! This guy is a devil!

　　Where on earth did he come from? !

　　Woohoo! Mom! I want to go home!