Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 261 What about yesterday?

boom!
The massive warrior's corpse crashed into the dark cellar, raising a cloud of dust. Blood gushed from his headless neck, soaking into the cracks between the stone bricks. The dark green moss was stained red, as if greedily absorbing the corpse's nutrients.

Lu Mingfei flicked his wrist expressionlessly, shaking off the blood from the sword. He then skillfully wiped it clean before sheathing it on his back.

"It's just a low-ranking soldier."

Lu Mingfei muttered to himself as he kicked away the pumpkin head blocking his way.

Lu Mingfei only realized halfway through the fight that this crazed pumpkin-headed soldier, apart from being strong and tall, had absolutely no fighting strategy.

He simply abandoned his usual fighting style and went all out, easily ending the battle.

It was only because the cellar was dark and cramped that he couldn't fully utilize his abilities; otherwise, he was confident he could have won the battle within three minutes.

“Alright,” Lu Mingfei muttered, “now let me see what you’re really guarding.”

He bent down, gripped the door frame with both hands, lowered his center of gravity, and then exerted force suddenly!
*Snap snap!*
The heavy, rusty iron door rubbed against the frame, making an unpleasant sound.

This is an uncommon iron gate shaped like a sluice gate. Due to its age, the mechanism has decayed, making it difficult to open and close.

But this was no challenge for Lu Mingfei.

The door was lifted to its highest point with a crisp "click," completely jammed by the designed mechanism.

Lu Mingfei gripped the hilt of his greatsword warily and peered into the room.

Surprisingly, unlike the dark and damp cellar outside, the interior was a clean and tidy little room, decorated somewhat like Sir Andrew's study.

Scattered on the ground were many long strips of pyroxene, emitting a blue fluorescence that served as a light source to illuminate the entire room.

In the corner, two tall candles stood, with several thick stacks of books scattered below them.

At the far end of the room was a long desk, and in front of it stood a slender woman.

The woman wore a dark blue robe with decorative red stripes along the sides of her shoulders and a necklace around her neck, giving her an air of elegance and mystery.

The most bizarre thing was her head, which was covered by a stone hood with a woman's face carved on the outside and a valuable high-quality pyroxene at the top.

Lu Mingfei recognized the style of this robe.

Although slightly different, they were dressed in the same style as the mages in Seria Town.

"...Oh? A warrior? To get this far, he must be no ordinary person."

The woman didn't seem surprised; instead, she turned her head with interest and looked Lu Mingfei up and down.

Her voice was calm and magnetic, sounding somewhat muffled due to the head covering, yet it was very pleasant to hear.

“My name is Seren,” she continued, “and as you can see, I am a magician… So, what brings you here? Are you here in search of magic, or have you simply gotten lost?”

She appeared calm and composed, as if she were dealing with a guest who had intruded into her study, not a villain.

However, Lu Mingfei's current appearance is truly not flattering.

His armor still bore the bloodstains of the pumpkin-headed soldier, and he held a menacing greatsword of a lost knight in his hand, fully armed.

Lu Mingfei remained vigilant, but the other party did not seem to harbor any hostility.

He lowered the tip of his sword slightly and replied:
"Just an ordinary fader passing by, clearing away some obstacles in my way. Are you a resident here?"

He thought the question was a bit silly; this godforsaken place didn't look like a habitable place at all.

Seren chuckled softly, seemingly finding his reaction amusing.

"Ha, looks like a warrior with a clear purpose. No, I don't live here permanently. It's just that the environment here is relatively quiet, suitable for some undisturbed thinking and research."

She paused, and the luminous stone shield turned slightly, as if she were sizing up Lu Mingfei.

A moment later, she let out a soft "Eh," as if she had discovered something interesting.

"You bear the marks of battle and possess various peculiar auras. You seem to be no ordinary Faded One. Are you interested in magic?"

Lu Mingfei considered his meager intelligence and his current fighting style, which mainly relied on swords and storms, and honestly answered:

"I'm somewhat interested, but I don't know much about it. Besides, this is the main one I use."

He brandished the greatsword in his hand.

"Oh? Then you want to learn the magic of Radiant Stones?"

Serenity's tone held a hint of amusement:
"It seems you possess the most basic aptitude... you're not entirely unable to sense the magic within the radiance stone." "Really?"

Lu Mingfei exclaimed in surprise:
"I have a friend who says I have absolutely no talent."

He recalled the days when he studied magic with Shirou Emiya.

He was helpless against the radiant stones embedded in the knight's sword, had not learned a single combat skill, and could not even cast the most basic "Radiant Stone Magic Shard" spell.

"Humph."

Seren chuckled softly:

"That's because you haven't met me, 'Witch Seren.' Your friend may be very talented in magic, but he only has a superficial understanding of the basics. He only knows how to use it, but doesn't understand its essence."

Lu Mingfei thought about it and realized that Shirou Emiya had indeed said that he was a "gifted" person, and that he could learn many spells simply by reading them.

"Then can you teach me magic?"

Seren's witch hood tilted slightly, and although Lu Mingfei couldn't see her expression, it clearly said, "Who do you think you are?"

Lu Mingfei neither confirmed nor denied it.

Learning more things is never a bad thing, but he was very cautious about taking on a master.

"However, I already have a master."

He said frankly.

"hehe."

The witch Serenity smiled and shook her head:

"On the path of magic, we are all apprentices. There is no real master-apprentice hierarchy here, only teachers who are temporarily walking together and like-minded friends."

Sounds good?

Lu Mingfei thought so.

Serenity seemed to read his mind and continued calmly:
"However, one must choose one's master carefully. I must make it clear beforehand—I was expelled from the Realucaria Academy and am the so-called 'heretic witch' that everyone avoids like the plague."

There was no shame or anger in her tone, only composure and calmness.

"Even so, now that you know my identity, do you still insist on exploring the mysteries of magic?"

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment.

"Heretical witch?"

He didn't seem to react much to the title.

After all, they don't sound as cool as nicknames like "Storm Wings," "Big Horns," "Dauntless," or "Ominous Demon."
In this day and age, everyone has a nickname.

He looked at Seren, who, despite calling himself a heretic, was calm and rational in his demeanor and speech, more like a deviant scholar than a mad cultist.

"Heretical...what exactly does that mean?"

Lu Mingfei did not answer directly, but instead asked a question.

He's a smart person.
Seren's hood twitched slightly, as if satisfied with his question.

"What I seek is the revival of the origins of Radiant Stone Magic. Not the kind of knowledge that is manipulated by the Kalia royal family, has lost its core, and only knows how to show off. What I seek is Radiant Stone Magic that is unrestricted and has a pure spirit of exploration."

This angered those stubborn fools in the academy.

"It sounds like just some academic disputes?"

Lu Mingfei scratched his head. He didn't know much about magic and could only try to understand it from the surface.

"But I killed dozens of academic magicians."

Seren said calmly.

Lu Mingfei nodded slightly, "That's right."

he asked:
"What about yesterday?"

(End of this chapter)