A Solo Mission and Thoughts on Limitless

The tranquility of Mount Sagiri was once again broken by the urgent cries of a Kasugai Crow. This time, the mission was in a small village called Yukimi Village, deep in the northern mountains. According to the report, livestock in the village had been found drained of blood at night for nearly a month. Their gruesome deaths had left the villagers terrified, and they suspected a demon was responsible. Moyu would carry out this mission alone. Tanjiro and Nezuko would undergo a period of specialized training with Sakonji Urokodaki, mainly to help Nezuko gain better control over her Blood Demon Art and adapt to the pace of battle.

"Be careful out there, Moyu," Tanjiro said earnestly, handing him some prepared rice balls and medicine for wounds. Nezuko also stuck a small hand through a gap in her wooden box and waved, making muffled sounds of farewell.

"Mm, you two as well." Moyu nodded, slung his modest pack over his back, and hung Azure Star at his waist. His figure soon vanished along the winding mountain path.

The journey was long, and even at Moyu's current pace, it took several days. He did not simply hurry along, but treated the journey itself as part of his training. While traveling during the day, he continuously practiced the Mental Strength Meditation Method, tempering his mind, expanding his sea of consciousness, and trying to control every movement of his Breathing Cursed Energy with greater precision. At night, as he rested, he turned the principles of Limitless over in his mind.

Satoru Gojo's Limitless could almost be considered a constant passive ability, with hardly any noticeable fluctuations in cursed energy consumption... Moyu leaned against the branches of an ancient tree, his azure eyes on the starry sky as thoughts surged through his mind. There were only two reasons: first, his innate reserves of cursed energy were so vast as to be virtually inexhaustible, making the cost of maintaining Limitless a drop in the ocean; second, and more importantly, his control over cursed energy had reached the pinnacle of precision. His Cursed Technique operated so efficiently that almost nothing was wasted.

Looking at himself, Moyu clearly recognized the gap. Though his Breathing Cursed Energy had special properties, his total reserves were nowhere near Satoru Gojo's. More important was his precision of control! When he used Limitless, especially when maintaining the Inviolability force field, it was like scooping water with a slotted spoon. Although it could block most attacks, cursed energy constantly leaked away and went to waste in the process. Against intense, sustained attacks, that waste would grow sharply, leaving him severely lacking in endurance.

I have to improve the precision of my control! The thought grew increasingly clear. Increasing his Mental Energy and mana reserves through meditation alone was the foundation, but more important was learning how to conserve mana and put every bit of power where it counted.

He opened the system interface. His coin balance showed a considerable sum. He searched carefully through the intermediate exchange section.

[Host's needs detected. Recommended exchange: Energy Manipulation Proficiency (advanced)]

[Effect: Greatly improves microscopic control over the user's own energy, reduces energy loss during circulation, and improves energy efficiency. Includes techniques for advanced energy compression, form stabilization, and path optimization. Exchange price: 12,000 coins.]

[Compatibility: Highly compatible with the host's Six Eyes perception and Azure Flow Breathing Style. Can significantly reduce the cost of maintaining Limitless and improve the condensation speed and stability of Blue.]

The price was steep, but the description addressed the heart of the problem. Moyu did not hesitate.

"Exchange!"

[Exchange successful: Energy Manipulation Proficiency (advanced). Beginning knowledge transfer and muscle memory implantation...]

A vast stream of information flooded his mind. It was no longer a simple set of formulas, but countless pieces of complex knowledge and bodily instincts concerning how to circulate energy more efficiently on a microscopic level, reduce internal losses, and guide it precisely. Moyu closed his eyes and concentrated on absorbing it all. At the same time, he felt subtle changes begin in the way his Breathing Cursed Energy flowed. It became smoother and more condensed, while several previously imperceptible points of energy leakage corrected themselves.

Several days later, Moyu arrived at Yukimi Village. The small village lay nestled in a mountain hollow. Though the snowy season had yet to arrive, the air already carried the distinctive chill of the north. A gloomy atmosphere hung over the village, and worry showed on the villagers' faces.

Moyu went straight to the village chief and identified himself as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. The chief was an old man with a deeply wrinkled face. Though he had some doubts when he saw how young Moyu was, the remarkable Nichirin Blade and Moyu's calm bearing persuaded him to explain the situation in detail.

The matter was not complicated. The demon causing trouble did not seem strong. It attacked only livestock and moved stealthily, always appearing when the fog or darkness was deepest. After draining its victims' blood, it vanished without a trace. It had never attacked a human, so it had not attracted the attention of the Demon Slayer Corps' higher ranks.

Moyu swept his Six Eyes over the village and soon detected a trace of residual demonic aura near a secluded livestock shed outside it. The aura was extremely faint, yet cold and viscous. The demon itself was not nearby, but the aura... gave off a slimy and weak impression.

That night, Moyu concealed himself near the livestock shed without alerting the villagers. He suppressed his entire presence, while his Six Eyes monitored every inch of the surrounding space like the most precise radar.

Around midnight, a thin, fishy-smelling mist spread through the air. Within it, a short, hunched demon with gray-green skin and a long tongue crawled silently toward the livestock shed, clinging close to the ground like a gecko. Its target was a tethered sheep.

It was very weak. As Moyu sensed it, the demon's energy was less potent than that of most ordinary demons on Mount Fujikasane. Its Blood Demon Art seemed to consist of creating this thin mist, which could interfere with sight and the detection of auras, and the special long tongue it used to suck blood.

Just as the demon's tongue was about to touch the sheep's neck—

A flash of azure blade light swept silently past, like lightning tearing through the night.

The demon froze, not even realizing where the attack had come from. The next moment, its head slid from its neck, its face still wearing a greedy expression in anticipation of its meal. Its body quickly turned to ash.

[Low-level demon "Tongue Demon" slain. Coins +400.]

Moyu emerged from the shadows, Azure Star already back in its sheath. Against a demon of this level, he did not even need to use a Breathing Style form. The most basic slash, combined with the weakness revealed by his Six Eyes, had killed it in one strike.

The mission had been completed with ease. Moyu informed the village chief of the outcome and, amid the villagers' profuse thanks, politely declined their offer to stay the night. He decided to rest at a Wisteria House marked on the map, a day's journey from Yukimi Village, and digest the Energy Manipulation Mastery he had just exchanged for.

The northern Wisteria House stood in a sheltered valley. Slightly larger than the one near Mount Sagiri, it was likewise surrounded by blooming Wisteria, quiet and peaceful. A taciturn old woman received him and showed him to a tidy guest room.

Over the next few days, Moyu immersed himself in deepening his understanding and practice of Energy Manipulation Mastery. With the system's implanted knowledge and the microscopic perception of his Six Eyes to assist him, he progressed at an astonishing rate.

He no longer forced his Breathing Cursed Energy crudely into the framework of Limitless as he had before. Instead, he began trying to guide his cursed energy with his Mental Energy as delicately as if he were embroidering, constructing a more refined, more energy-efficient Cursed Technique structure.

He extended one finger and stirred his thoughts. A Limitless force field, almost too thin to see yet incomparably dense and stable in structure, formed before his fingertip. This time, he could clearly feel that maintaining the tiny force field required nearly thirty percent less cursed energy than before! Moreover, the force field had actually become more stable.

As I thought, the key lies in structure and control, not brute force. The realization dawned on Moyu. He began trying all sorts of things: changing the force field's shape from a flat surface to a curved one, then to more complex structures; adjusting its strength gradient; and even trying to make it vibrate at a high frequency to deflect attacks rather than halt them...

Every minute adjustment became clearly visible through the feedback from his Six Eyes. His control over cursed energy grew increasingly deft, and the feeling of energy escaping beyond his control diminished greatly.

At the same time, he began to reexamine how he constructed Blue. Previously, condensing Blue had been like piling sand together at random. Though it could take shape, its structure was loose, and a great deal of cursed energy was wasted maintaining its form, resulting in excessive consumption. Now, he tried using his new control techniques to wind and compress cursed energy in exquisitely precise layers, as though weaving silk, constructing the singularity that represented negative infinity.

The process remained difficult and demanded an extremely high level of concentration, but the results were striking. The Blue prototype that appeared in his palm was smaller, its color deeper and darker, and its edges clearly defined and stable. Yet it consumed about twenty percent less cursed energy and Mental Energy than before! His control over this miniature Blue had also improved, allowing him to guide its flight path and area of release more precisely.

[Mastery of Limitless: Inviolability increased to 35%. Energy consumption reduced by 28%.]

[Mastery of Limitless: Blue (prototype) increased to 15%. Condensation speed and controllability improved.]

[Integration of Energy Manipulation Proficiency (advanced) reached 40%.]

The improvement in his strength was tangible. Although his absolute reserves of power had not increased much, his combat strength, particularly his ability to fight for extended periods and his control over his skills, had made a leap to a new level. If he faced the three Mist Demons' encirclement in Maple Leaf Town again now, he was confident he could end the fight more easily while consuming half as much energy.

After several days of rest, Moyu bid farewell to the old woman at the Wisteria House and set out on the journey back. The northern sky seemed especially high and vast, and the cold wind was biting, but Moyu's heart was calm. On this solo mission, he had not only dealt with the demon plaguing the area, but, more importantly, found the right direction for solving Limitless's endurance problem and taken a solid step forward through practical training.