A Level Two Sorcerer and a Freshman [Bonus Chapter 0.5]

The early spring night still carried a slight chill. Under the dim yellow light of the streetlights, a battle with no suspense ended swiftly. Aside from a few stray cats, only the assistant supervisor, who had rushed to the scene after receiving the news, witnessed the entire event.

After dealing with the strange thing that had taken over his territory, Tsurumi Kawaru, as expected, found that it, like the enlarged fly he had encountered before, quickly dissipated into the air.

He shook his hand, and the sticky, slippery feeling seemed to linger on his skin.

At this moment, the assistant director also came to his senses, pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, hesitated for a second, stepped forward and said: "Hello, I am the assistant director in charge of this area in Tokyo, Naomoto Yamashita."

As he got closer, Yamashita Naomoto finally saw the other person's face clearly. It was an extremely unfamiliar face, one that he was certain he would never forget if he had seen it before.

Because the black-haired boy had an outstanding face, and his extraordinary golden eyes shone like flowing liquid gold in the night, bright and dazzling. At first glance, Yamashita Naomoto was completely captivated, as if his soul had been drawn to him.

Tsurumi Kawakuri had sensed Yamashita Naomoto's presence the moment he appeared. After Yamashita introduced himself, Tsurumi Kawakuri belatedly realized what was happening, blinked politely, and said, "Oh, my name is Tsurumi Kawakuri."

Yamashita Naomoto repeated the name in his mind, but it still felt very unfamiliar, judging from Tsurumi River's actions in exorcising the cursed spirit and the fact that no tent was set up.

The assistant supervisor quickly labeled him as a rookie sorcerer in his mind.

Because of the scarcity of sorcerers, the sorcery community has always tried to recruit untrained sorcerers who are not from a family line. Sometimes, assistant supervisors will visit untrained sorcerers to explain the workings of the sorcery community, helping them understand and quickly join it.

A while ago, Yamashita Naomoto heard from a colleague that a wild sorcerer with extremely strong potential in manipulating spirits was visiting him to explain things about the sorcery world.

Following procedure, Yamashita Naomoto first took out his phone to report the situation here and the discovery of the wild sorcerer to his superiors.

Then, the assistant director, who looked like a young office worker, pushed up his glasses and began to explain the matter of spells to Tsurumi Ryu.

"...That was a level two cursed spirit. Ordinary people cannot see cursed spirits unless they are near death. Cursed spirits are born from negative human emotions, and sorcerers are people who possess curse power and spells to see and exorcise cursed spirits."

Perhaps out of consideration for the untrained sorcerer who wasn't from a family line, Yamashita Naomoto's words were very straightforward and concise. At least Tsurumi Kawakami understood; he suddenly realized that the strange thing he had just encountered was called a cursed spirit.

"...The world of sorcery currently has two sorcery schools, one in Kyoto and one in Tokyo."

Hearing this, Tsurumi Kawakami looked somewhat bewildered and had to interrupt Yamashita Naomoto: "Wait, do you mean I have to go to school?"

Naomoto Yamashita has received a text message from his superiors. A wild sorcerer was able to exorcise a level-two cursed spirit on his own, which means that Tsurumi Kawakami's spells have great potential. Such wild sorcerers are rare.

"Hmm. A spellcaster who has awakened their spells is a different existence from an ordinary person in terms of spell spirits. For safety's sake and for the future development of your own spells, I suggest you enroll in a spellcasting academy."

Tsurumi Kawakami was stunned for a few seconds, then subconsciously said, "But I don't have any money."

Yamashita Naomoto paused, then said, "The higher-ups in the sorcery world can provide you with financial assistance."

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked, hesitated, and asked, "Does the school provide room and board?"

Naomoto Yamashita: "...Hmm."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Tsurumi Kawakami's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "Then I have no problem with that. When do I go to school?"

-

Kyoto.

The black car drove up the mountain road and finally stopped in front of a simple and solemn Japanese garden halfway up the mountain. Tsurumi Kawakami got out of the car with the assistant director, stood in front of the black gate of the garden, and looked around in amazement.

The courtyard was heavily guarded and decorated in a very ancient and solemn style, with a heavy, dark color scheme that gave it an oppressive and gloomy feel. After passing through seven or eight wooden corridors, they finally arrived at the deepest part of the courtyard and stopped in front of a sliding red wooden door.

"You can go in now." The assistant supervisor stood in the corridor and turned to Tsurumi Kawaru.

Tsurumi Kawaru looked up at the red wooden door, nodded to him, and walked over.

Two maids pushed open the wooden door, and Tsurumi Kawaru stood in the doorway. The inside was pitch black except for a few candles lit in the middle. A gust of wind blew in as the wooden door was opened, causing the flames to flicker.

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked, stepped inside, and sat down on the chair next to the candle.

After he sat down and his eyes adjusted to the environment, he saw that there were screens all around him, and the faint firelight flickered on the screens, making it possible to vaguely see people sitting behind them.

"You are Tsurumi Kawakuri," a slightly dignified and aged voice came from behind the screen.

Tsurumi Kawakuri turned his head and looked precisely at the screen on his right. He stared at the shadow reflected on the screen and nodded. The next second, realizing that the person behind the screen couldn't see his movements, he said, "Yes, I am Tsurumi Kawakuri."

Upon hearing his reply, rustling voices came from behind the screen.

Tsurumi Kawakami sat obediently in the chair, curious about the person behind the screen, but did not turn his head to look around wildly.

He was silent for a moment, then heard someone say: "The higher-ups can sponsor your studies at a higher vocational college, but the reward is that you will be required to monitor Gojo Satoru."

Tsurumi Kawakami scratched his cheek, a hint of confusion in his eyes. He stared at the figure behind the screen and asked, "Who is Gojo Satoru?"

Upon hearing his words, the high-ranking members of the sorcery world sitting behind the screen suddenly realized that this wild sorcerer named Tsurumi Kawakuri had only just entered the world of sorcery and was not familiar with some people and things.

After asking the question, Tsurumi Kawakami heard no answer for a long time, so he asked it again.

"You can go now. Someone will take over from you outside. Just remember that the higher-ups are funding you, but they can also stop the funding at any time."

The red wooden door was pushed open again, letting in the light from outside. Tsurumi Kawaru turned around and saw the assistant supervisor standing outside, realizing that he was the person he was supposed to hand over the work to.

Leaving from here, the black car drove down the mountain road it had come from, entering Kyoto's bustling district and finally stopping in front of an apartment building. Yamashita Naomoto didn't get out; he rolled down the window and handed Tsurumi Nagaru a set of keys.

"Building A, Room 302. You can stay here for the next few days. I'll come over this afternoon."

After giving his instructions, Yamashita Naomoto drove away.

Tsurumi Kawa watched the car leave, then turned and stood outside the apartment building. He looked up for a while, then took his keys and stepped inside.

In the afternoon, Tsurumi Kawakami, who had just woken up from a nap, heard Yamashita Naomoto knocking on the door.

He put on his slippers and went to the entrance hall. He opened the door, and Yamashita Naomoto nodded to him. Then he handed him the file bag in his hand and said, "This is your admission certificate from Tokyo Jujutsu High School. Inside, there is also your Level 2 Jujutsu Master certificate and a bank card."

Upon hearing this, Tsurumi Kawaru curiously opened the file bag and emptied its contents. He glanced at the admission certificate and placed it aside, leaving only a sorcerer's rank certificate and a bank card on the table; the two cards were about the same size.

He picked up the sorcerer's certificate, which only showed his name and the words "Level 2 Sorcerer," with a red stamp in the lower right corner.

Tsurumi Kawakami held the thin card up to the light and twirled it, discovering that a colored mark appeared on the card at the right angle. Intrigued, he held it up to the light a few times, then looked up at Yamashita Naomoto: "What's the use of this?"

Naomoto Yamashita adjusted his glasses and said expressionlessly, "No. If you get promoted later, they'll give you a new one."

Tsurumi Kawakami responded with an "oh" and put the items away.

Naomoto Yamashita was silent for a few seconds before starting to tell him about the new students who enrolled in Tokyo Vocational High School this year: "...There are quite a few new students this year. In addition to Satoru Gojo, who comes from one of the three major families, there are two students who were not recruited from their families."

At this point, Yamashita Naomoto paused, not continuing but directly mentioning Gojo Satoru: "The 'Three Great Families' refers to the families of sorcerers that have continued for over a thousand years. Besides Gojo, there are Zenin and Kamo. Gojo Satoru's techniques are very special; he inherited the ancestral technique of 'no limits,' and also possesses six eyes..."

When Gojo Satoru was mentioned, Yamashita Naomoto carefully considered every word he spoke. But in reality, he knew very little about Gojo Satoru, after all, the Gojo family's divine son was still at the top of the dark web's bounty list.

If it weren't for this, Gojo Satoru would have enrolled in Tokyo Jujutsu High School, and we would probably know even less about him.

Tsurumi Kawakami, unaware of these things, listened intently. When he heard "six-eyed," he paused, interrupting him to ask, "Does 'six-eyed' mean it has six eyes?"

"It shouldn't be... it's probably just a name." Yamashita Naomoto had never met Gojo Satoru, and although he didn't know whether Gojo Satoru actually had six eyes, he figured no one would have six eyes.

After recounting Gojo Satoru's story, Yamashita Naomoto casually mentioned two other new students: "Among the students who enrolled this year, there is one named Natsuyuu, who is in the same situation as you, a wild sorcerer. The other one is rather special; his spell is a very rare reversal spell."

Tsurumi Kawakami nodded. After understanding all this, he thought of the people he had met in the courtyard that morning and asked, "Why were they monitoring Gojo Satoru?"

Naomoto Yamashita was startled by his blunt question and broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't understand the higher-ups' thinking either, but as a junior assistant supervisor, he never questioned the orders of the higher-ups.

Moreover, he had recently heard some rumors and knew what Gojo Satoru meant to the world of jutsu, but after glancing at Tsurumi Ryuu's expectant face, he ultimately did not tell him these things.

-

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's April, the start of the new school year for universities and colleges.

Tsurumi Kawakami pulled a silver suitcase along the mountain path, looking at his phone's location as he walked under the blazing sun.

Just then, a voice came from behind, "Are you also a freshman in vocational college this year?"

Tsurumi Kawa was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw a black-haired boy wearing a white T-shirt and wide-leg pants, carrying a bag, about seven or eight meters away.

The blinding sunlight forced him to squint, and as the other person approached, Tsurumi Kawakami finally got a clear look at their face. Upon seeing them, he froze, completely stunned.

The other person had a pair of exceptionally beautiful phoenix eyes, long and narrow with slightly upturned corners, their gaze bright and sparkling. Paired with his slender eyebrows and auspicious ears, he looked like a dignified and benevolent bodhisattva.

Tsurumi Kawakami paused for a few seconds, then glanced at him a few more times before noticing his distinctive bangs.

Xia Youjie frowned and looked the boy up and down. He paused for a moment, focusing on Tsurumi Kawaru's still slightly chubby cheeks and innocent eyes. Taking advantage of his height, he took a step forward.

Tsurumi Kawakuri slightly raised his head, looking somewhat dazed, and said, "Oh, yes. My name is Tsurumi Kawakuri, and I'm a freshman."

Xia Youjie glanced at him and mentally labeled Tsurumi Kawa as a bookworm, not very smart, and a goody-two-shoes.

He then took a step back, a perfectly timed smile on his lips, and said politely, "My name is Xia Youjie, and I'm also a freshman."

Upon hearing this, Tsurumi Kawakami nodded, matching the person in front of him with the one Yamashita Naomoto had mentioned: "I know you, you're also a wild sorcerer."

Upon hearing the mention of a wild sorcerer in his words, Xia Youjie raised an eyebrow, realizing that this Tsurumi Kawakyu guy was just like him.

"Do you know who else is in this year's freshman class?" Xia Youjie asked tentatively, sensing the implication in his words.

Tsurumi Kawakami walked beside him, pulling his suitcase. "There are two other people, one is named Gojo Satoru, and the other is a girl named Ieiri Shoko."

Xia Youjie paused, then glanced at him sideways for no apparent reason.

The two walked together, each carrying their own luggage, under the blazing sun for about twenty minutes, until they finally saw the silhouette of the school buildings.

Tokyo Jujutsu High School is nominally a religious school, so the school buildings are quite ancient and imposing.

A girl, the only freshman, had already arrived at the gate and was standing against the wall with a large suitcase beside her. Upon seeing them, she raised her hand and waved.

"You're a freshman too," a girl with shoulder-length short hair said casually, glancing at their luggage.

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked and walked over to her to cool off. He greeted her politely and then introduced himself.

The brown-haired, brown-eyed girl nodded in acknowledgment and replied, "I am Iori Shoko."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Xia Youjie next to her, her gaze lingering for a second on his peculiar bangs.

Xia Youjie paused, lifted his eyelids to look back at her, and said with a half-smile, "Xia Youjie."

Tsurumi looked around, then turned back to look into the school through the open gate, asking in confusion, "Are we waiting for everyone to arrive?"

Ieiri Glass waved her hand: "No, not at all."

Tsurumi Kawaru responded with an "oh," and, pulling his suitcase, seemed inclined to go inside first. He turned to look at Xia Youjie, wanting to ask for his opinion.

Before they could speak, a black car drove up the mountain road and stopped in front of them. The back window rolled down, and a white head popped out.

"Oh, so everyone's here to welcome me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the car door opened, and a person with bright white hair and round sunglasses got out of the car.

Gojo Satoru strode up to them, his undisguised gaze sweeping over them one by one, before pausing for a second on Tsurumi Kawaru, who stood between Natsuyuki and Ieiri Shoko.

“Does Tokyo College now accept junior high school students?” After saying that, he turned his gaze to Xia Youjie next to him, “He even has a weird squinty-eyed fringe.”

The only one not mentioned, Ieiri Shoko: "..."

Tsurumi Kawakami tilted his head slightly, stared at the white-haired, sunglasses-wearing man in front of him for a few seconds, and suddenly asked, "Are you Gojo Satoru, the Six-Eyed One? Do you really have six eyes?"

He was somewhat curious, especially when he saw that Gojo Satoru was wearing sunglasses and his eyes were not visible.

Xia Youjie, who was standing to the side, had been looking at Gojo Satoru with a forced smile. But when he heard Tsurumi Kawaru's words, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Then he became curious and wanted to see what was going on behind Gojo Satoru's sunglasses.

Wu Tiao Wu choked, turning his gaze away from Xia Youjie and looking at the short man in the middle. He adjusted his sunglasses, revealing the eyes behind the lenses—a pair of divine blue eyes.

Gojo Satoru: "Ha, did you see that clearly? That's six eyes. What do you mean, six eyes?"

The white-haired boy complained with a hint of grievance.

————————