Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

"Hey, your new roommate's got a bit of an artsy vibe," Fingel said as he settled his things and returned to room 303.

Unlike ordinary universities that select students from a large pool of high school applicants based on ranking, Kassel College admits students with unique characteristics, making it impossible to control the number of students. Room 304 is an empty room resulting from the reduction in the number of freshmen this year, and currently only Fingel lives there.

"It's better than having a pig bone under the bed." Lu Mingfei glanced at him.

“I almost forgot, junior brother,” Fingel blinked, “Don’t go back on your promise to treat me to dinner.”

Lu Mingfei took out his student ID card from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "I don't think you'll forget."

On Constantine's first day in dormitory 303, Zone 1 of Kassel College, Fingel used his "S" grade student card to order a lavish meal. The main courses were pan-fried foie gras, herring rolls, and roast goose, served with truffle bread as the main course, and champagne, which goes well with caviar, as the drink.

The cafeteria's delivery service was excellent. A waiter in white pushed a food cart in, set up a table in the dormitory, laid out a snow-white tablecloth, arranged silver cutlery, placed an ice bucket filled with champagne in the center, and placed three frozen glasses with condensation in front of the three people. Finally, he lit a candle and left.

Since Constantine doesn't like drinking, Lu Mingfei ordered him a large bottle of Dr Pepper soda.

Fingel stabbed the crispy, golden-brown skin of the roast goose with a fork, and oil sizzled out. "Wow, this is life! Eating pork knuckles every day is turning me into a pork knuckle!" He had a truffle bread in one hand and a goose leg forked in the other, eating with a ferocious look.

In contrast, Lu Mingfei and Constantine were both slow eaters, but Lu Mingfei's eating speed was clearly not much slower than Finger's.

"Senior, are you familiar with 'A Day of Freedom'? What's the general process like?"

After they had eaten enough, Lu Mingfei got down to business.

Chapter 39 Announcement

“Junior brother, you want to participate in Freedom Day?” Fingel was taken aback. “Then you’d better consider joining either the student council or the Lionheart Society first.”

"Two organizations?" Lu Mingfei only had a superficial understanding of "Freedom Day" and knew it was a student activity on campus, but he never expected that it would involve the power struggles among the young students of Kassel College. "Tell me in detail."

Fingel, still savoring the last piece of herring roll, forked it and pondered for a moment. "Actually, it's not that complicated. Right now, there are two rising stars among the students. Oh, and later we'll have to add you, junior brother, making it three. The student council leader is called 'Caesar,' an A-level, and the Lionheart Society's leader is your alumnus, Chu Zihang, a Super A-level. These two forces are locked in a fierce battle, neither of them can stand the other, and 'Freedom Day' is the day they challenge each other to a fight."

Lu Mingfei had already learned about Caesar and Chu Zihang from Angers, and he was considering how to "teach" them.

Will we win 'One Day of Freedom' directly?

It seems pointless. According to Finger, people are fighting all along, and there is bound to be a loser and a winner. Doing this will only add another loser.

"Junior brother, are you considering which side to join?" Fingel asked when he saw him deep in thought.

“I don’t intend to join either side,” Lu Mingfei shook his head.

He joined Kassel College because it was a major power among hybrids, allowing him to learn about dragons, hybrids, and dragon power. He had no interest in the factionalism and power struggles among the students.

"In what form did they agree to fight?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Aside from the prohibition against using the alchemy equipment in the ice cellar, causing casualties, and bringing strangers from outside the school to visit, there are almost no restrictions." Fingel, who has been here for eight years, is indeed very familiar with the rules, even though he doesn't look like someone who would participate in such activities.

"Hybrids are physically stronger than ordinary people. Even in a brawl between ordinary people, injuries and deaths are unavoidable. How can the second rule be guaranteed? A battle of wits? Two sides setting up a chess stall?" In Lu Mingfei's memory, under the old tree in the neighborhood, the old men would gather around and play chess, which could lead to very fierce battles, but there would indeed be no injuries or deaths.

“No, no, no,” Fingel shook his head. “They use ‘Frigga bullets,’ a kind of alchemical bullet that shatters and vaporizes rapidly upon impact, leaving no wounds, only blood-like marks. It contains a trace amount of anesthetic that will instantly knock someone unconscious, making it usable as a combat tranquilizer.”

"It can simulate life-or-death battles and also has safety features." Lu Mingfei understood.

He had initially thought that hybrids also had ways to resurrect people and engage in competitive battles similar to "Red Spirit Duels." In the borderlands, people from other dimensions or those who possess certain special methods could traverse the world as blood-red spirits to engage in battles or vicious attacks.

In contrast, there are friendly golden spirits, who are the embodiment of friendship across worlds, offering the lonely King a memory of fighting side by side.

"So, junior, are you planning to participate as an individual third-party force?" Fingel sensed Lu Mingfei's intention.

“That’s right, and I also have to defeat Caesar and Chu Zihang at the same time.” Lu Mingfei said nonchalantly, clearly still pondering how to “teach” them. “Do you have any ideas?”

“I think we could open a betting pool…” Fingel muttered blankly, then immediately corrected himself, “No, junior brother, what I mean is, I can help you gather intelligence!”

"Didn't you say before that you were a member of the student council?" Lu Mingfei had heard Fingel mention it before. At that time, he only thought that the "student council" was a student organization that was responsible to the school and club teachers and played the role of organizer and maintainer in group activities. He didn't expect it to be a gang of thugs.

“Oh dear, the president is never as close as his junior brother.” Fingel raised an eyebrow.

......

In the dead of night in the United States, during the peak access period of the Night Watchers forum, tens of thousands of people post and flood various forums, with white real-time messages popping up one after another on the dark screen.

"Breaking news! S-class student Lu Mingfei claims he hasn't awakened his Word of Power after the 3E exam. Could it be that he's been given a high-risk Word of Power that the school is keeping secret?"

"The principal personally conducts admissions guidance, and two generations of 'S'-class students gaze at each other!" The main post included a picture taken by Finger three months ago at the Chicago Union Station platform, showing Lu Mingfei and Angers looking at each other. The golden sunlight streaming through the transparent dome made the two seem to be bathed in a halo, carrying a strong sense of destiny.

Is Lu Mingfei, an 'S' level student, the principal's illegitimate son? It's known that Lu Mingfei and the principal's illegitimate son have never appeared together...

News about Lu Mingfei remains incredibly popular, with students throughout the academy and even teachers using pseudonyms discussing this year's most talked-about figure. While the "S"-level aura certainly plays a role, Fingel, the mastermind behind the Night Watchers discussion forum, is undoubtedly the driving force behind it all.

Some of these stories were about him being exposed as an "S"-level roommate, while others were carefully fabricated by the excellent paparazzi in the news department to promote Lu Mingfei's "useless" persona.

In many posts, Lu Mingfei's publicly available biographical information is not hidden, including his lackluster high school resume. Therefore, most students consider Lu Mingfei a comedic "S" grade, roughly equivalent to the Ig Nobel Prize compared to the Nobel Prize. Some people also used previously leaked video clips of Ye Sheng's mission to refute this, but under Fingel's manipulation, the traffic was pitifully low.

You don't need to convince everyone; it's enough to guide the majority.

Lu Mingfei didn't care about these forums; he preferred to read Norma's database or go to the library. Moreover, because of Angers' promise, Lu Mingfei had missed several recent classes such as "Magic Mechanical Design" and "Introduction to Dragon Family Genealogy." The only first-year courses he planned to attend were "Alchemy Chemistry I" and "Ancient Norse."

Lu Mingfei's absence from class was quickly compiled and summarized by some people and posted on the discussion forum, becoming a strong argument for the "useless son theory" and the "illegitimate child theory". It even gave rise to a more niche "school board family heir theory" because his behavior of not attending class was similar to that of another member of the Gattuso family in the school, "Caesar Gattuso".

All of this was as Fingel had hoped.

With about two weeks to go before "Freedom Day," the topic of Lu Mingfei subsided slightly, while discussions about "Freedom Day" and the two main characters, Caesar and Chu Zihang, became more heated. Under each post, there was a cyber battlefield between student council members and Lionheart Society members, with the debate even reaching the point where some people made plans to have a fight in the practical class before "Freedom Day" even started.

At that moment, a post suddenly appeared at the top of the discussion forum.

"Lu Mingfei, an 'S' level individual, may join the battle for the 'One Day of Freedom' winner as a third-party force!"

Chapter 40 Sword Remains

"An individual? Could it be that the S-rank has been driven mad by the posts of the past two days?"

"Even if he really is S-level, does he really think we're all just sitting around doing nothing?"

"Heh, arrogant."

"Something feels off. Does an S-rank even know they've participated in Freedom Day, Fingel?"

The replies below were mostly skeptical of Lu Mingfei's arrogant behavior, but there was none of the anger that had been felt a few days ago when they were debating the merits of Caesar and Chu Zihang. This was because no one thought Lu Mingfei was serious or that he could actually win. After all, even if he stayed in some corner until the battle was over, it would still count as participating in a day of freedom.

Unfortunately, despite the post receiving thousands of comments, followers never heard from Lu Mingfei, nor did they receive any denials or official announcements.

Conversely, her roommate, "F" class Fingel, who is "S" class, is very active.

"The news is genuine. Lu Mingfei said it himself; he wants to defeat both Caesar and Chu Zihang at the same time." When the time was right, he released another bombshell.

Even though it was late at night, the comments section was still refreshing rapidly.

"I have a feeling this will become a legendary event on the Night's Watch discussion forum."

"fierce!"

"The S-class dorm is in Zone 1, right? He doesn't come to class, so I've never even seen what this genius looks like."

"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger."

"Fingal, are you trying to sabotage the newcomers?"

Clearly, until Freedom Day, this would be a hot topic of discussion throughout the entire school, and even among the executive members or archaeological team members who had already graduated and gone to various parts of the world. After all, the main characters in the incident included Chu Zihang and Caesar, both of whom had participated in many missions during their internships even before graduating, and were quite capable and famous.

In the lobby of the Norton Building, Caesar reclined on a sofa, while a series of messages flashed rapidly on the projection screen in front of him, almost all of them related to Lu Mingfei. Nono leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

"What do you think he's trying to do? Beat me and Chu Zihang, and then establish a student association under his own leadership at the school?" Caesar asked.

“He doesn’t seem like the type to control others,” Nono said calmly. “But if he really makes a decision, he’s 100% serious.”

"It sounds like we have another enemy, Chu Zihang."

"Chu Zihang is a Super A, and Lu Mingfei is an S," Nuonuo corrected.

"Don't worry, after the 3E exam, his 'S' rank bloodline is at least confirmed. I've never underestimated him." Caesar shrugged.

Nono looked at the comments on the screen. It seemed that some people had begun to accept Lu Mingfei. Most of them were freshmen this year. She glanced at them a few times and then stopped paying attention.

"Okay, I'm off. Susie's probably still waiting for me to come back and turn off the lights." She picked up her backpack.

Caesar watched her leave.

......

The next day, after Lu Mingfei got up and washed up, he glanced at the timetable with a landscape photo of Kassel College as the background. It showed that there was an alchemy chemistry class in the morning.

He packed his textbooks and notes, slung the satchel issued by the executive department over his shoulder, and headed to the lecture hall.

As Lu Mingfei walked along the crimson cobblestone path, weaving through buildings and lawns, he noticed that the students and even teachers along the way were giving him unusually focused stares. Normally, a stranger would only glance at him for a second or two while walking, but these people were scrutinizing him with the same level of focus one would have when watching monkeys at the zoo.

His arrival in the lecture hall caused a stir, with students whispering among themselves and discussing him.

Even the teacher who was organizing documents on the podium and waiting for class to begin was subtly observing him.

Hello, do you know me?

Lu Mingfei chose the seat closest to him and sat down. Next to him was a girl. After receiving a series of stares, Lu Mingfei finally couldn't help but ask.

"Hello, Lu Mingfei, my name is Alexia. It's nice to meet you. Can I get your autograph? By the way, I'll let you in on a little secret: I support you!" The girl seemed to be from Scandinavia, with fair skin, light golden curly hair, and beautiful light blue eyes.

Lu Mingfei nodded.

Alexia handed him a pen and a notebook, while shaking her fist in front of her chest, seemingly a little excited.

After signing the document, Lu Mingfei returned it to her, and asked curiously, "What support do you have for me?"

“Go participate in ‘Freedom Day’! Those upperclassmen all look down on you, but I believe in you. You’re an ‘S’ class!” Alexia said.

Lu Mingfei thought of the attention he had received along the way, "Does everyone know?"

"Probably. Your news has already made headlines on several Night Watch forums." Alexia hesitated for a moment. "Didn't you know?"

Lu Mingfei shook his head.

The school bell rang, everyone stopped talking, and the teacher who taught alchemical chemistry began writing some distorted hieroglyphs on the blackboard.

Alexia glanced at Lu Mingfei, who was intently reading his textbook, and whispered, "Lu Mingfei, why don't you start a club? I think many freshmen would be willing to join, and 'Free Day' is a group activity after all."

"Thank you, but I can do it myself." Lu Mingfei recalled the royal knights who would come in every now and then to report on trivial matters when he was on the throne. They even had to report on the total weight of the fallen leaves of the golden tree over a period of time, which was truly nerve-wracking.

Besides the glory, leaders also have inescapable responsibilities; in a sense, they are responsible to everyone.

But to Alexia, it meant something else entirely, carrying a strong sense of a spirited lone wolf.

However, during the subsequent lessons, Alexia, who was full of the desire to communicate, no longer found an opportunity to talk, because Lu Mingfei listened very attentively, referring to the textbook, the professor's words and the blackboard, taking notes when appropriate, and otherwise just thinking quietly.

On the contrary, Alexia was called on two or three times by the old professor who taught alchemy chemistry.

That night, a new member joined the Night Watchers forum to support Lu Mingfei, engaging in a heated online battle with members of the Student Union and the Lionheart Society.