Several days later.
Night lay heavy, and the campfire crackled beneath the cliff.
The two had just finished a battle and still wore its bloodstains. They were making the most of the lull to rest and maintain their blades.
After nearly ten demon attacks, Xia Xi's Breathing Style had almost reached the threshold of LV.3.
Besides, he still had plenty of achievement points to spare.
He decided it was time to upgrade his Wind Breathing Style first.
Even wasting thirty percent no longer mattered.
Ignoring the airheaded girl grilling fish across from him, Xia Xi opened his panel.
System, it's time to show you the fruits of my hard work.
Add a point!
One achievement point, containing the distilled essence of Xia Xi's efforts, went into the Wind Breathing panel. It immediately became an invisible rush of warmth, driving the experience bar rapidly upward.
In a single instant.
All his efforts crystallized into tangible growth.
[Wind Breathing LV.2 → LV.3] [Basic proficiency → Well-practiced] [Progress: 13/2000 (+325)] [Power level: 37 → 54] ┣ Body: 17 → 26 ┣ Technique: 9 → 15 ┗ Mind: 11 → 13 [Your mastery of sword forms has improved!] [Character skill unlocked: Total Concentration] [Total Concentration: Forcibly draw a massive amount of oxygen into your lungs, instantly and dramatically enhancing cardiopulmonary function. This floods your blood with oxygen for a short period, unleashing physical capabilities beyond human limits.]
Oh?!
A level-three skill came with a new supplementary ability?
He read the skill description carefully and understood immediately.
It's Gear Second?!
He instantly recognized the classic ability from an old hot-blooded manga, Great Voyage Empire.
At the same time, he formed a theory about the experience required for subsequent upgrades:
Level one took 500 experience, level two took 1,000, and now level three took 2,000.
If the pattern held, the next levels would take four thousand, eight thousand, sixteen thousand... Reaching level ten would require roughly five hundred thousand experience in total.
That was assuming the counter reset to zero after every upgrade.
About... about...
He scribbled a few calculations on the ground with a stick.
Going from level one to level ten would take five hundred thousand experience...
At Wind Breathing Style's point conversion rate.
That meant roughly sixteen hundred points.
Hmm...
And that was just for the Wind Breathing Style alone.
If he trained multiple skills using only daily practice, he probably wouldn't finish leveling them before the test server shut down.
Sure enough, all hard work ultimately led to topping up.
He weighed the cost-effectiveness: level ten needed 1,600 points, level nine needed 800, and level eight needed only 400.
Who knew whether this game had four hundred life skills?
So the right approach was to train a Breathing Style better suited to him.
After all, in the late game, every ten-percent increase in compatibility could save him dozens of achievement points.
If possible, he would also like to train a few other Breathing Styles.
Spending a small number of points to upgrade other Breathing Styles would grant a few attribute increases, too.
Even scraps were worth something.
As for this newly unlocked character skill.
Based on his years of gaming experience, more skills were bound to unlock as his Breathing Style leveled up.
I wonder what they'll do...
While Xia Xi was thinking this over, Seiko quietly offered him a grilled fish from across the fire.
"Kurumaji, I don't understand what you're thinking about, but just now, you seemed to change somehow. Hmm, I think you got stronger?"
After several days of trials, Yukishiro Seiko had grown considerably steadier.
But she still hadn't quite shed her timid demeanor.
"Did these past few days of actual combat improve your Breathing Style and swordsmanship?"
Xia Xi didn't deny it. "That's right. All the fighting and training these past few days helped me level... make a breakthrough."
This NPC has pretty sharp instincts.
Could raising a skill level trigger special hidden dialogue?
"Say, Kurumaji."
"Why did you join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
The girl rested her chin in her hand and tilted her head toward Xia Xi.
The gentle firelight painted a faint blush across her youthful face.
"Huh? Me?"
"Probably to wipe out all the demons? Or kill the strongest one."
He didn't know how the main quest would develop later, but action games usually didn't have overly complicated plots.
Xia Xi bit off a piece of fish and chewed.
It wasn't grilled well. It tasted too burnt, with no seasoning or marinade.
If he'd known, he would have cooked it himself and gotten some [Cooking] proficiency out of it.
"Kill... all the demons?" Surprise flickered in her eyes. She lowered her head slightly, her voice tangled with emotion. "That sounds wonderful... A talented swordsman like you might really be able to do it, Kurumaji."
"What about you?" Feeling his hunger meter gradually recover, Xia Xi asked casually, "Why did you join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"You seemed pretty nervous before. Didn't you prepare yourself mentally before coming here?"
The girl's expression slowly dimmed.
"How could I ever be completely ready..."
"It's just that, even if I'm not ready, I have to do something."
"After all, my family... and my little sister were all killed by demons."
"I want revenge."
At the words "little sister," Xia Xi fell silent for a moment.
He remembered his character's background. It seemed to use the same template as hers.
Both were avengers whose entire families had been killed off.
But he immediately realized this might be the most common story in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Surviving a demon attack by sheer luck, risking their lives to train, and charging at monsters with nothing but their human bodies.
An old story, but one that never grew stale.
Xia Xi's gaze softened, and for once, he didn't skip this part of the story.
"Uh, it's Seiko, right... You'll do it."
"You'll kill all the demons and get your revenge."
"Even if you can't, that's all right. Once you fall, wave after wave of swordsmen will keep pressing toward that goal."
"Even if they all fail..."
Xia Xi smiled.
It was a smile of utter confidence, one that made him convincing.
"I'll still do it."
That was Xia Xi's confidence as a player in his ability to clear the game.
Huh?
Seiko raised her head in surprise, scarcely able to believe that this perpetually distracted boy could say something like that.
Emotion welled up inside her, and warmth gathered at the corners of her eyes.
"Th-thank you for the encouragement, Kuru... Xia Xi."
Xia Xi smiled. "Before that, you'll have to work your hardest. It's best to take revenge with your own hands."
"To challenge the gods, Buddhas, and demons on high with nothing but a human body."
"That's humanity's battle song, and a hymn to courage."
The girl nodded solemnly.
"I'll do it."
The boy answered cheerfully.
"I'll look forward to it."
Yukishiro Seiko smiled as well.
The uncertainty and hesitation that had haunted her slowly faded.
Xia Xi really is someone special.
The campfire burned quietly, lighting their two young faces.
Without thinking, she stirred the fire with the stick in her hand, sending sparks dancing upward.
"Once we pass the selection," she said softly, "I want to have a steaming bowl of udon first."
"Preferably with two soft-boiled eggs."
"Want to come with me?"
After considering the taste of udon, Xia Xi shook his head decisively.
"No, let's have grilled meat instead."
If possible, he could learn some cooking techniques along the way.
He had already discovered that the tastier the food he made, the faster his [Cooking] proficiency increased.
Rather than looking disappointed at Xia Xi's refusal.
The girl covered the corner of her mouth with her fingertips and giggled.
"Then we'll have grilled meat first."
"Oh, I'll come if you're paying."
"Sure."
Just as the campfire's warmth slowly drove away the chill, a demon's howl and swordsmen's battle cries suddenly rang out in the distance.
Both fell silent.
They tightened their grips on their swords, their gazes sharpening again.
The girl brushed the dust from her hem and stood. "Looks like our break is over."
Xia Xi rose briskly as well, rolling his shoulders and neck.
"Let's go," he said. "Time to keep farming experience."
Seiko didn't understand the second half.
But she got the gist of what Xia Xi meant and nodded, following him.
"Don't forget our promise."
Xia Xi replied, "If I forget, I'll treat you to udon."
Seiko smiled. "And two soft-boiled eggs!"
(Yukishiro Seiko)
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