The fire burned quietly in the hearth.
Its gentle, hazy light gradually softened everyone's expressions.
Their conversation slowly drifted from the finer points of slaying demons to lighthearted everyday matters.
They talked about fascinating sights beyond the mountain, amusing stories from within the Demon Slayer Corps, and even a few interesting things from Xia Xi's own life outside the game.
Although Sabito and Giyu often understood only half of what they heard,
they still listened with keen interest.
And they came to a new understanding of Xia Xi.
Our senior really knows a lot.
Later, somehow, the conversation turned to Giyu.
They discussed his excessive shyness and his difficulty expressing himself.
At one point, Xia Xi eagerly declared that he would personally give Giyu a few "social skills lessons."
But after hearing several examples from Xia Xi that could only serve as lessons in what not to do,
Sabito smiled and shook his head, politely but firmly.
The pink-haired boy thought, In a sense, Senior Xia Xi and Giyu have a similar knack for saying things that leave people speechless.
Please don't lead Giyu astray.
Only that day did Xia Xi learn that Giyu had once been even more withdrawn.
So much so that even Sakonji Urokodaki had struggled to reach him.
If not for Sabito's patient encouragement, and the slap he had delivered when his patience finally ran out, Giyu would probably have been even harder to communicate with now.
Yes, Sabito had once used the slap-based teaching method on Giyu.
It was because Giyu had been so despondent back then, constantly saying, "I should just die."
Finally, one day, Sabito had slapped some sense into him.
The pink-haired boy had been utterly serious, staring into Giyu's eyes as he said, word by word, "Your sister gave her life to save yours."
"You have no right to throw it away. If you keep this up, we're through."
With his past laid bare, Giyu silently turned his head away.
He even muttered under his breath, "Sabito... you're awful."
Xia Xi, meanwhile, perked up as he listened.
Slap-based education.
Now that's something I know.
First slap: Giyu Tomioka, are you thinking straight?!
Second slap: What's with that look? What's with those tears?
That's exactly the right vibe.
Xia Xi's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Giyu's cheeks, which still retained a little baby fat. His fingers twitched slightly, as though he were considering where a slap would best demonstrate his teaching abilities.
Realizing what was happening, Sabito hurriedly stepped between them and changed the subject with abrupt haste.
Both Sabito and Giyu
had lost everything they treasured to the claws of fate and experienced immense suffering.
But Sabito had been adopted by Urokodaki early on and found a place of refuge.
Giyu, however, had only met the old man in the Tengu Mask after suffering two devastating blows in succession.
His sister had been the person closest to him, the one he depended on and who depended on him.
On the night before her wedding, at the very moment her life was about to turn toward happiness,
she had died at a demon's hands to protect Giyu.
Xia Xi had long since noticed the red haori Giyu wore, which was clearly the wrong size for him.
Xia Xi asked softly, "That haori... his sister left it behind, didn't she?"
The haori was far too small. At the very least, another piece of fabric would have to be added before it could even pass for a proper fit.
Sabito nodded solemnly.
Giyu did not answer. He simply hugged the bright red keepsake in his arms a little tighter.
Then Sabito turned toward Xia Xi, his gaze filled with the same sorrow and understanding.
"Senior, you... you're like us too, aren't you?"
"The way you train without any regard for your life..."
"I imagine... the wounds in your heart are still bleeding too?"
Losing their families, having their peaceful lives torn apart by demons-
they understood that pain and confusion all too well.
Looking at the two youngsters, whose expressions practically overflowed with [It's all right. We understand. Our hearts ache for you],
Xia Xi slowly typed a single symbol in his mind: *?*
Beside him, Giyu hugged his haori and curled up a little by the fire, murmuring, "Your little sister..."
But Sabito immediately silenced him with a look.
That is a wound Senior Xia Xi will never get over. How could you touch it so carelessly?
Sabito hurriedly apologized to Xia Xi for Giyu's thoughtlessness.
Xia Xi: ...
Oh no. Am I supposed to play along with this gloomy atmosphere?
Little sister?
Right, I did have a little sister in my backstory.
Sorry, "Kurumaji's little sister," whom I've never met. I'll remember to avenge you.
"It's all right."
Xia Xi lowered his eyes, letting his expression sink into just the right degree of darkness.
As though he were reaching through time to touch a wound that would never heal.
"Giyu isn't the one at fault."
"And I'm no longer someone who can be crushed by the past."
"As for the demon that killed my sister..."
He raised his eyes, the flames of vengeance seeming to burn quietly within them.
"I'll make it understand what it means to repay violence with violence-a thousand times over."
For a moment, no one spoke.
The air in the room, so warm and lively just moments before, suddenly seemed thin and oppressive.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the little house.
It seemed Sakonji Urokodaki had finally returned from shopping down the mountain.
The wooden door was gently pushed open. The old man in the Tengu Mask quietly surveyed the three inside, taking in all their unspoken words and emotions.
"It's late. Get some rest, all of you."
"Tomorrow's training won't be easy."
The pink-haired boy and the Uchiha both answered.
Xia Xi nodded too.
That old man Urokodaki had clearly been listening outside for ages, yet he chose this exact moment to come in.
Was that considerate of him, or cunning?
The next day.
Aside from Xia Xi, both Sabito and Giyu stood on the training ground with bruised, swollen faces.
Those were superficial injuries from the previous day's sparring.
It had been almost dark the night before, making them hard to see.
Under today's bright sunlight, they were certainly much more obvious.
Even Xia Xi felt a little embarrassed.
Facing those two strong-willed young swordsmen, he really had gotten carried away, indulging his craving for a good fight.
It was PvP, after all, and he was stomping weaker players.
The gaming experience had been absolutely top-notch.
But seeing them
like this, even he was too embarrassed to ask them to keep sparring.
He quietly returned to the house and took out the medicinal ointment Persimmon had sent.
Following the first-aid procedures he remembered from military training, he massaged their muscles to improve circulation, applied ointment, and bandaged them. He only stopped once both boys had grown embarrassed.
[Medicine Lv. 0 (10/250)] NEW
Oh?!
The little pang of guilt he had just felt vanished instantly.
"Giyu, Sabito, extra practice tonight! We'll keep doing combat training."
Sabito perked up. "Yes, Senior!"
Giyu, however, vaguely caught a flash of ill intent in Xia Xi's eyes.
He had a bad feeling about this.
Meanwhile, Xia Xi was already calculating which parts of Mount Sagiri had the most medicinal herbs.
Then another thought occurred to him.
If I'm going to grind [Medicine] proficiency, I can't just keep milking these two kids for "experience points."
If I push them too far, won't Urokodaki and Master Kazami twist my head off?
Then again, nobody said "medicine" could only be used on humans, right?
His gaze drifted toward a wild boar that briefly appeared in the distant woods.
How could medicine be such a limiting thing?
Over the next few days, the Water Breathing trio clearly noticed that Xia Xi's enthusiasm for cooking and running had cooled abruptly.
Instead, he frequently vanished into Mount Sagiri for no apparent reason between training sessions.
Then, before dinner, he would occasionally return with strange medicinal herbs and ointments.
Giyu did notice that the animals in the mountain seemed to have been moving around unusually often lately.
But since he saw nothing else out of the ordinary, he said little about it.
And so,
thanks to the many creatures of Mount Sagiri and their "selfless contributions" to the medical field,
Xia Xi successfully acquired four new life skills.
[Dissection Lv. 0 (79/250)] NEW [Medicine Lv. 1 (141/500)] NEW [Poison-Making Lv. 1 (23/500)] NEW [Pharmaceutical Crafting Lv. 0 (130/250)] NEW Remaining achievement points: 10
Because the success rate of his "treatments" was so abysmal, a single "experiment" often required repeated "medical care" before an animal could become lively and energetic again.
As a result, his Medicine experience rose faster than his Dissection experience.
Likewise, Xia Xi discovered that making poison from herbs and minerals was much easier than making medicine.
The reason he had temporarily put aside training in cooking, fitness, and his other life skills
was that he had realized life skills also entered a slow experience grind at higher levels.
Rather than spend months raising a single skill to level four or five, it was more efficient to unlock several new skills in a short time and quickly raise them to level one.
Today, however, he decided to suspend all life skill practice.
Because...
[Water Breathing (not mastered) 99/100] [Practiced: Water Breathing Style, Water Breathing sword forms] [Through studying the complete Water Breathing style,] [you gained insight. Learning progress +3] [Combat skill activated: Water Breathing]
At that very moment, the contents of another panel also changed.
The side quest was complete.
[Side quest completed: First encounter! A new Breathing Style!] [Reward: 500 adaptive Breathing Style proficiency experience (automatically allocated according to the newly mastered Breathing Style)]
Almost as soon as Water Breathing reached Lv. 0, a massive amount of experience rushed in.
In an instant, it pushed his Water Breathing into the next realm.
The insight from his breakthrough flowed through his entire body like a clear stream, and took the form of simple numerical values, imprinting itself into every part of Xia Xi's body.
[Energy level: 59 → 63] 92 → 82: Body ┣ 91 → 71: Technique ┣ 51 → 41: Mind ┗
Compared with the attribute changes when Wind Breathing improved, Water Breathing seemed to place more emphasis on increasing [Technique].
Xia Xi looked at his skill list. The second combat skill icon had lit up.
Unlike Wind Breathing's emerald-green vortex.
The new icon looked more like a crystalline, fathomless blue, like a pool of still water frozen in place.
[Water Breathing] ┣ LV.1: Basic proficiency ┣ Progress: 252/500 ┗ Sword forms mastered: 4/10: [First Form: Water Surface Slash] [Third Form: Flowing Dance] [Seventh Form: ...]
Because he had spent relatively little time training, he had only mastered four forms.
But that did not matter. Whether he practiced them gradually later or relied on his own hard work to add points, he could improve his mastery of all the sword forms.
Time to check the compatibility.
He clicked the plus sign next to Water Breathing.
The achievement points instantly became a bright preview segment on the progress bar.
[Experience +285] [Please note: Current Breathing Style compatibility: 57%] [Achievement point conversion loss: 43%]
Huh?
Isn't that even lower than my Wind Breathing?
This trash Water Breathing isn't worth learning!
Xia Xi flying into a rage out of embarrassment.jpg
Before you continue