Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

When he opened the door, his aunt was picking celery. When the middle-aged woman turned around and saw Lu Mingfei and what he was carrying, her eyes widened like eggs, but she stammered out a weak sentence, "Mingfei, you're back. The vegetables... just put them on the ground. Go back to your room and rest for a while."

“Auntie, I got accepted. It’s an American school, Kassel College. My flight is the day after tomorrow. It’s the same school Chu Zihang went to.” Lu Mingfei said calmly. “I just went for the interview.”

The aunt seemed about to say something after hearing the first part of the sentence, but fell silent when she heard Chu Zihang's name.

When Lu Mingfei returned to his room, he saw a new message on his computer. It was from Nuonuo, but it wasn't a game invitation; instead, it was a dinner invitation.

Chapter 5 The Gift

After his uncle returned, his aunt pulled him into the kitchen to talk, and Lu Mingfei could hear everything clearly through the two walls.

"Look, these are all things Lu Mingfei bought at noon. He also bought a novel illustration for Lu Mingze." The aunt's voice was very low.

"What's wrong with that?" the uncle said. "I told you that Mingfei is a good child. Isn't this a sign that he's sensible?"

"Tsk, let me tell you, you didn't see how he acted when he came back. He told me, with such a nonchalant look, that he got accepted into Chu Zihang's school," Auntie continued.

“That’s good,” the uncle said happily. “It means that the application fee of several hundred dollars we spent wasn’t wasted.”

"How can you not realize this? Don't you think Lu Mingfei has been acting strangely these past few days?" His aunt's tone was grave. "I've heard that some people act like this before committing suicide. Quiet people become passionate and outgoing, low-key and repressed people become reckless and crazy, and they squander money. They never show any warning before committing suicide, and then after the passion fades, they revert to their true nature and kill themselves! Don't you think Mingfei is lying to us? Chu Zihang was last year's top student, and Lu Mingfei got accepted so easily? And I don't see any excitement or joy in him. On the day he goes to school..."

"Hiss—" The uncle remained silent for a long time. "Should I go and test the waters?"

A moment later, there was a knock on Lu Mingfei's door, and his uncle came in. "Mingfei, are you under a lot of academic pressure lately?"

Lu Mingfei was quite helpless and it took him a long time to get rid of him.

He opened the chat software. A few hours earlier, he had declined Nono's invitation to dinner. Nono claimed to be a third-year student at Kassel College, a member of Professor Guderian's admissions team, and introduced herself as a senior student to invite Lu Mingfei to dinner.

Lu Mingfei was planning to find a blacksmith on Earth tomorrow to buy a suitable weapon, so he ruthlessly refused.

At this moment, he opened the chat window and replied, "Senior, I accept the invitation to the banquet. Please help me convey this to Professor Guderian. My family wants to meet the teachers at the university."

He didn't call Professor Guderian; if he had taken out that phone, his aunt would probably have immediately confirmed his theory that he had squandered money and committed suicide.

A moment later, Nono's big-faced cat avatar started moving.

"Let's have a get-together the day after tomorrow. But come to the Regent Hotel tomorrow; someone asked me to bring you a gift."

Lu Mingfei didn't ask any further questions, and simply replied, "Okay."

Seeing the brief reply, Nono, sitting in front of her computer, tried to decipher the psychological profile of the boy on the other side of the internet. However, her ability to profile seemed to encounter an invisible wall. All the previous details told of a sensitive and timid boy, but the boy in reality rejected his senior sister's invitation and repeatedly searched for cold weapon products. It was as if this loser had turned into a killer overnight. She frowned, "Can the awakening of dragon blood change a person so completely?"

On another chat page, a message from someone named "Sonic" interrupted Nono's thoughts: "So? Did the 'S' class accept the gift and invitation?"

"He accepted it without asking why, without saying thank you, and didn't even care what the gift was."

“I don’t need to thank you.” Sonic sent a video. “This is the pinned post on the forum tonight. Someone with such eyes is destined to stand at the same level as me and Chu Zihang. If Chu Zihang lacks weapons, I will give them to him.”

“I’ll go see him tomorrow. His classmates’ interviews are also tomorrow.” Nono had already seen the video. It was a mission record that the head of the news department’s paparazzi had gotten from somewhere, and the perspective was on Ye Sheng. Through the camera, the boy showed his fangs for a few seconds, looking like a cold-blooded king or a demon from hell.

The next day, at the Regent Hotel.

Kassel College, the American university that admitted Chu Zihang, sent a total of 16 interview invitations to Shilan High School. All the popular students from Lu Mingfei's class, such as Chen Wenwen, Su Xiaoqiang, Zhao Menghua, and Liu Miaomiao, were present. These 16 students were practically the most outstanding young people in the entire senior year. Not one of them whispered to each other, partly because they didn't want to leave a bad impression on the examiners on the other side of the wall, and partly because of the girl sitting in the rest area opposite.

The girl was dressed casually in running shoes, jeans, a white tank top, and a blue striped shirt, with a baseball cap on her head. Her tall figure was nestled in a leather massage chair, and her bright eyes casually swept over everyone. Even though they were making eye contact, it seemed like she couldn't see anyone.

She's such a proud girl, as proud as the sun.

More importantly, she was also an admissions officer for Kassel College, which made some boys dream of entering Chu Zihang's school, becoming a prominent figure in their class, and going to the United States where there were many tall and beautiful female students. Their future seemed bright and promising.

Just then, Lu Mingfei arrived late. The taxi driver he was in got into an argument with someone trying to stage an accident and almost got taken to the police station to be a witness.

This was Lu Mingfei's second time visiting this luxury hotel. He knew the place well and refused the waitress's directions, taking the elevator to the executive floor.

He first noticed his high school classmates sitting along a row of chairs, and then he saw the red-haired girl waving at him; she must be Nono. Her hair color was unusual, not like it was dyed.

Lu Mingfei thought of the divine incarnation of the goddess Marika—the red-haired Radagan, a golden-haired goddess and a red-haired king who were both companions and one entity.

He and his high school classmate made eye contact across the distance, waved and greeted each other, and then followed Nuonuo to the tea table, which was surrounded by green plants and enclosed a small space.

He naturally didn't see the somewhat dazed expressions of his classmates and their stiff waving gestures.

"Is that Lu Mingfei?"

"Right..."

Sitting opposite Nuonuo, Lu Mingfei also sized up the beautiful yet languid girl. "I'm Lu Mingfei, hello."

"You can call me Nuonuo." Nuonuo's gaze swept back and forth over Lu Mingfei, making him somewhat puzzled.

"Are your eyes uncomfortable?" Lu Mingfei asked bluntly.

Nono pouted and looked away. "I just wanted to see if you have any inverted joints or wings or anything like that."

“I am just an ordinary human being,” Lu Mingfei answered her question, then continued, “Let’s get down to business, senior. You invited me to meet, what do you want to know, or is this part of your investigation? Please begin.”

"Why are you in such a hurry? Can't a senior meet a junior?" Nuonuo wrinkled her delicate nose, but still took out the pure black briefcase that was next to her seat, placed it on the dark glass coffee table, and gently pushed it in front of Lu Mingfei.

The suitcase's combination lock was locked. Lu Mingfei gently flipped the latch, and the suitcase opened with a click. A blast of cold air rushed out in a short moment, but the icy feeling vanished in an instant. As if by illusion, an ancient longsword lay quietly in the center, its sharp blade capable of causing a slight stinging sensation even through the air.

Chapter 6 Classmate

Lu Mingfei gently stroked the blade. It was a Han Dynasty octagonal sword, its center a dark blue-black, the sharp edge a snow-silver color. The hilt was made of an unknown black metal, bearing severe signs of wear. Its scabbard was brand new and modern, a wooden artifact painted black, carved with unpainted reliefs.

“A replica sword, named Crimson Sky,” Nono explained.

"This gift is quite precious for someone I've never met." Lu Mingfei sensed an active power within it, a kind of amplification of the metal, somewhat like the sharpening and weight-enhancing transformation of the whetstone knife back at the border. On Earth, Lu Mingfei didn't know the difficulty of the methods that could "transform" a weapon and imbue it with power, but it certainly wouldn't be something commonplace.

“It’s nothing to the person giving the gift,” Nono said dismissively. “It’s just his way of showing that he appreciates you.”

Lu Mingfei realized what was happening. He closed his suitcase and looked Nuonuo straight in the eye. "So, it was just me who was monitoring me, since we've never met before? How long have you been spying on me? Including my online shopping search history, right?"

“Norma can monitor almost everything in the online world, it’s not specifically targeting you.” Nono shrugged. “This mission is related to you, so they just retrieved your information.”

Lu Mingfei nodded, indicating that he accepted this statement. He continued to ask, "Is there anything else? If you and your friends want to exchange this sword for anything, I will do my best to do so. To be honest, I do need a sword like this."

“I already said it’s because he admires you.” Nono shrugged. “Rather than that, if he were to clash with you in the future, he would hope that you wouldn’t go easy on him because of this gift.”

Lu Mingfei mentally pictured an awkward and immature person, but didn't say much, just said, "Thank him for me."

Those who fade away never refuse to get something for free.

He picked up his briefcase, confirming that Nono's invitation was genuinely just to see him, aside from bringing a gift. He then stood up, turned 360 degrees, and left the small space in the hall.

Nono leaned back on the sofa, gazing up at the ceiling, "That loser really has evolved overnight..."

"Has Liu Miaomiao arrived?" Ye Sheng pushed open the conference room door, still wearing that dark green uniform.

"Here!" Liu Miaomiao stood up, her expression tense.

"Please come in for the interview." Ye Sheng smiled gently.

Liu Miaomiao entered the conference room, and Ye Sheng closed the door from the outside. The remaining 15 people all stared at Ye Sheng, so much so that no one paid attention to Lu Mingfei, who reappeared carrying a black briefcase.

"Junior," Ye Sheng waved and greeted, "If you're free this afternoon, stay here. Professor Guderian said he hopes to see you as soon as he gets off the plane."

Lu Mingfei initially wanted to refuse, but then he looked at the acquaintances with different expressions and thought for a moment.

He is currently in a state of idleness and cannot gain access to the true secrets of the Kassel College until he signs a written document and a confidentiality agreement with Professor Guderian.

As for cultivation, he had tried to familiarize himself with the power within his body during this time, only to find that while this power was strong, it could only strengthen his physical body and could not be channeled into any form of magic or prayer that could affect reality. In the Borderlands, any use of prayer, magic, or even law required strong mental power. He speculated that there was a problem with his mental power, which was related to the power of Earth, a place that was like a furnace but not quite. He could only analyze and investigate further after entering Kassel College.

So before going to Kassel College, all he had to do was find a weapon, and now he had a suitable one.

When they were at the border, Lu Mingfei, as a faded one, also had some free time. Usually, after defeating a powerful enemy or traveling a long distance, he would camp near the warm blessed light with a girl named Melina. After Melina died, Lu Mingfei rarely rested.

At that moment, a shadowy figure lingering near the Church of Elden—the starting point of the King of Elden's journey—suddenly appeared in Lu Mingfei's mind. Perhaps, he could take a break for the next couple of days.

“Okay, as long as it won’t interfere with your interview.” Lu Mingfei nodded in agreement.

He and Ye Sheng entered the conference room and sat on a chair on one side.

Every interviewee seemed distracted by Lu Mingfei, especially Liu Miaomiao. She was already on the verge of a breakdown because of the interviewer Jiu Deyaji's bizarre questions, and was wondering if he was deliberately messing with her by asking about aliens and superpowers.

He then saw Lu Mingfei come in with another interviewer and sit down to listen.

This must be a dream...

Liu Miaomiao gave up completely and raised her hand to indicate that she was abstaining.

Lu Mingfei carefully observed each classmate. He had spent almost half of his world here, and the other half in that host family.

After everyone had finished their interviews, Shudeya was organizing the interviewees' information when Nono pushed open the door and entered.

“Hey, 'S' class, it seems some of your classmates are waiting for you.” She pointed to the door.

"Okay." Lu Mingfei stood up and walked towards the door.

As she passed Nono, she said quietly, "You still have a chance before you sign the confidentiality agreement."

Lu Mingfei frowned, but Nuonuo walked past him without turning her head, her sterling silver four-leaf clover pendant swaying slightly.

Pushing open the door, Chen Wenwen, Zhao Menghua, and Su Xiaoqiang were not there; they were all members of the literary society.

"Lu Mingfei!" Su Xiaoqiang called out, her gaze sweeping over Lu Mingfei as if she were observing a monster.

"Are you waiting for me?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Of course, Lu Mingfei, do you know anyone at Kassel College?" Zhao Menghua was unwilling to believe that Lu Mingfei had been admitted to Chu Zihang's school, so his question implied that Lu Mingfei had gotten in through irregular channels.

"I guess so." Lu Mingfei nodded, thinking of the principal who might have been monitoring him all along.

"So, have you been accepted?" Chen Wenwen asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

"Tickets for the day after tomorrow," Lu Mingfei said succinctly.

The three fell silent for a moment before Chen Wenwen spoke first, "We're planning our final literary club activity tomorrow, kind of like a farewell party. Do you have time to come?"

"Just let me know when and where you have the time and place," Lu Mingfei said with a smile.

The three fell silent again. They all felt that the boy in front of them was somewhat unfamiliar. He was imposing, gentle, and polite. He was not like an ordinary high school student, much less like the frivolous boy he was just two days ago. He was practically a carbon copy of Chu Zihang, the shadow that loomed over all the elites of Shilan High School.

Is Kassel College some kind of monster school that specifically trains people like Chu Zihang? Even a good-for-nothing who got in through connections can become an elite overnight.

Next, Lu Mingfei politely said that he had something else to do, and after saying goodbye in a hurry, the three classmates left the Regent Hotel.

Lu Mingfei turned around and saw Nuonuo leaning against the open door, looking at him expressionlessly.

Chapter 7 Movie

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Professor Guderian arrived at the Regent Hotel. He pushed open the door, looking travel-worn, and his eyes immediately locked onto Lu Mingfei.