Chapter 76: The Enigmatic Rapier and a Peculiar Encounter

Yalin turned his head, only to find himself looking at a young girl.

Due to her diminutive stature, he had utterly failed to notice her presence.

The girl was clad in the uniform of the Magic Sword Academy, her short, pale purple hair simply gathered into a single side ponytail that cascaded over her shoulder.

While such a hairstyle typically lent girls a lively and charming air, she presented a stark contrast. Her face was devoid of expression, her violet eyes perpetually downcast, and her demeanor exuded a constant languor, as if she might drift off to sleep at any given moment.

Yalin’s gaze drifted involuntarily downward, where the girl wore a pair of small black leather shoes and pristine white over-the-knee socks that accentuated the delicate, though not particularly long, lines of her legs.

These details, however, were not the focal point; what truly captured Yalin’s attention was the rapier sheathed at her waist.

It was a rapier of pristine white, its design remarkably unassuming; indeed, its very ordinariness lent it an unexpected distinctiveness.

The rapier was utterly devoid of superfluous ornamentation, composed solely of its blade and hilt, presenting a picture of stark simplicity.

A slender line of runes was etched into the blade, while the pommel of the hilt cradled a small, grey magic crystal that pulsed with a faint, ethereal glow.

Yalin was intimately familiar with this particular blade.

After all, he himself was the one who had crafted it.

To be precise, that assertion was somewhat inaccurate; more accurately, he had personally completed the enchantment upon the blade.

Without exception, the armaments wielded by magic swordsmen were all specially crafted.

While an ordinary sword was merely an extension of steel, capable only of crude slashes and thrusts, enchantment imbued them with an entirely new significance. With a mere infusion of magic, they transformed into conduits for casting intricate spell formations.

Indeed, to call them magical artifacts would be far more apt than mere weaponry.

“It has been a long time, Yalin.”

The doll-like girl spoke with a faint, detached tone, her voice chillingly devoid of emotion, as if she were merely reciting lines from a text.

“Ah, it has been a long time, um…”

Yalin pondered for a moment, then awkwardly scratched his head. “Um, what was your name again?”

Though he had indeed crossed paths with the girl in the past, that encounter had occurred a considerable time ago.

Furthermore, she was of the taciturn sort, and the two had scarcely exchanged more than a few words. Thus, Yalin’s lapse in remembering her name was, in a sense, understandable…

Still, he conceded, it was rather impolite.

“Lumi.”

The girl, seemingly unperturbed by Yalin’s lapse in memory, spoke to remind him.

“My name is Lumi.”

“My apologies, Miss Lumi. It has indeed been quite some time,” Yalin said, inclining his head slightly in a gesture of apology.

“It is quite alright.”

Lumi offered a slight shake of her head, her expression remaining as impassive as ever.

“Are you studying Runes?”

“Yes, I’ve developed a certain interest in Runes due to recent events,” Yalin replied with a smile. “Thank you for earlier, for taking the trouble to remind me. Are you particularly skilled in Runic language?”

“Yes, tolerably so.”

Lumi paused, a flicker of thought seemingly crossing her mind.

She lowered her gaze, then drew the rapier from her waist, laying it horizontally across her palm.

Even in the dimness of night, the blade reflected a cool, silvery-white luminescence.

“Thank you for the enchantment. The sword serves its purpose well.”

“If it serves you well, that’s thanks enough. There’s no need for further gratitude, as you did, after all, compensate me for it.”

Yalin dismissed her words with a casual wave of his hand.

“Indeed.”

Lumi offered a soft assent, then silently sheathed her rapier and lapsed into silence once more.

She had always been an enigma, a person difficult to decipher.

Yalin found his thoughts drifting to their previous encounter.

Their initial meeting, he recalled, had been undeniably peculiar.

At that time, Yalin was still enrolled in the Arcane Arts faculty, yet having already decided to transfer departments, he spent the bulk of his time immersed in the Alchemy faculty, diligently cramming all relevant knowledge.

One evening at dusk, as he emerged from the library and strolled down a secluded path, he unexpectedly stumbled upon a startling scene—

Lumi was cornered by three towering students; beneath their elongated shadows, her diminutive figure resembled a small squirrel with no path of retreat, appearing utterly isolated and helpless.

Even then, of course, her face remained utterly devoid of expression.

Students admitted to the academy were either exceptionally gifted or hailed from distinguished backgrounds; at the very least, they were outwardly considered elites, possessing a fundamental level of decorum.

Nevertheless, among their ranks were not a few who delighted in tormenting others for amusement.

Lumi, quite clearly, had become one such unfortunate target.

“Hahaha, you pipsqueak! What right do you have to be at the Magic Sword Academy? What a pathetic joke!”

“Just look at that pathetic excuse for a sword! I reckon I could snap it with my bare hands! Aren’t you ashamed to even wear it?”

“And an archaeologist, you say? Dream on, little girl!”

“Hey, why don’t you utter a single word?! Who exactly are you putting on that perpetually sour face for?”

One of the students bellowed furiously at Lumi, yet she remained utterly impassive.

“Tsk, this one must have a screw loose. Neither laughing nor crying—how utterly dull.”

“Heh heh, well then, shall we try now and see if there’s any way to make her shed some tears?”

Recognizing it as a common instance of campus bullying, Yalin resolutely chose to ignore it.

After all, he was no champion of justice; why should he waste his precious time meddling in such affairs?

In truth, he was already an utter pariah within the academy, reviled by most. Were it not for Celeste, who, despite her own disdain, occasionally offered him protection out of lingering sentiment, he would likely be the one currently pinned in that corner.

Yet, his rational thoughts were one thing, and his body’s visceral reaction proved to be quite another.

At that moment, Yalin found himself utterly unable to control his impulses. The instant he witnessed a fragile girl being bullied, his ‘Lover’s Instinct’ immediately surged forth.

And then, he unleashed a booming declaration.

“In broad daylight, you dare to torment an unarmed girl?! Are you truly men?! If you possess any shred of courage, then come at me!”

What followed were the sort of melodramatic, chuunibyou-esque pronouncements one might expect from a hot-blooded anime protagonist.

Yalin, in that moment, was utterly mortified.

It was crucial to remember that back then, he possessed no convenient abilities such as ‘Conceptualize Deity’.

He commanded no magic, possessed little physical strength, and his combat prowess could frankly be described as utterly negligible—a mere child could have easily slapped him about.

When gazing at the burly men, each with a sword at their waist and towering several heads above him, Yalin’s lips involuntarily twitched.

‘Hmph, could a reconciliation still be possible?’

‘Likely not, considering the bold challenge he had just issued: ‘If you possess any shred of courage, then come at me!”

‘Very well, it seemed a thorough beating was now inevitable.’

With a sigh of resignation, Yalin closed his eyes, bracing himself for the anticipated blows. To his utter bewilderment, the three bullies inexplicably recoiled a step, a flicker of apprehension even crossing their faces.

“…Where did this peculiar fellow spring from?”

“A lunatic. Never mind, let’s just ignore him.”

Uttering a few dismissive, inconsequential remarks, they abruptly turned and departed.

Initially, Yalin was utterly perplexed. How had this group of arrogant bullies so abruptly cowered away?

It was only later that the realization dawned upon him: these individuals were, in essence, classic bullies, preying on the weak and recoiling from the strong.

After all, the academy was a veritable den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers; one could never truly know if a seemingly unremarkable individual encountered on the pathway might, in fact, be a formidable, hidden master.

Faced with an unpredictable individual like himself suddenly appearing, and with no knowledge of his true background, they naturally dared not take the gamble.