The paper sliding door slid open to one side.
A girl stood outside the threshold, carrying a lacquered wooden tray.
It was the girl with the pink butterfly hair ornament.
She had changed out of her filthy, tattered clothes and into a clean, coarse-cloth kimono.
Her long hair was pinned simply at the back of her head with a wooden hairpin.
Rice balls were piled like a small mountain on the tray, beside a bowl of steaming, rich soup.
The rich aroma of rice mingled with the charred fragrance of grilled fish and drifted into Rokuya's nose.
Rokuya threw off the bedding.
Ignoring the intense pain in his arm muscles, he rolled straight into a sitting position.
He strode to the door and snatched a rice ball from the tray.
He did not chew at all.
He opened his mouth and forced the fist-sized rice ball down his throat.
His Adam's apple bobbed violently.
The dry grains scraped against his esophagus, choking him until the veins bulged along his neck.
Startled by his violent movements, the girl instinctively shrank back half an inch.
She quickly offered him the wooden bowl.
Rokuya seized it and tipped his head back.
Warm soup ran down his chin and dripped onto his collarbone.
He swallowed three huge mouthfuls, forcing the rice ball lodged in his throat down into his stomach.
His hunger did not diminish in the slightest.
Activating Demon Form had squeezed every last bit of energy from his frail body.
He reached out again, grabbed two rice balls, and ate with both hands.
Grains of rice stuck to his cheeks, but he paid them no mind.
In less than a minute, all six rice balls on the tray were gone.
The wooden bowl was empty, too.
Rokuya set down the bowl, his chest heaving.
He stared at the empty tray, harsh breaths rasping from his throat.
"More... more."
The girl picked up the empty tray with both hands and quickly stood.
She turned and ran down the corridor.
Her footsteps thudded against the wooden floor.
A few minutes later, she appeared again.
This time, the tray held ten rice balls and two large pieces of meat grilled golden brown.
Rokuya said nothing and continued swallowing food.
Grease trickled from the corners of his mouth.
The girl knelt before him, her hands folded on her knees.
She quietly watched Rokuya eat, her knuckles turning slightly white from how tightly she clenched her hands.
"Father and Mother... are both dead."
She spoke suddenly, her voice very quiet.
Rokuya paused in tearing at the meat for half a second.
He did not lift his head and kept chewing.
"That one-eyed monster smashed through the courtyard gate."
The girl lowered her head and looked at the fabric over her knees.
"Father picked up the woodcutting axe."
"He told us to run."
A drop struck the back of her hand, breaking into a tiny splash.
"We hid behind the water jar."
"That monster tore Father's arm off, and then..."
She stopped.
Her chest heaved twice. She sniffled and forcibly swallowed the rest of her words.
"We crawled out through the dog hole in the back courtyard."
"We ran all the way to that dead end."
She lifted her head and looked at Rokuya.
Her eyes were red, but no more tears fell.
"You saved us."
"This is our home. Shinobu and I dragged you back here."
"My name is Kanae Kocho."
She gave him her name.
In the shadows of the corridor, half a head peeked around the doorframe.
The girl called Shinobu was hiding behind the door.
She clung tightly to the doorframe, all ten fingers digging into the grain of the wood.
She stared at Rokuya, biting her lower lip without a word.
Rokuya swallowed the last mouthful of grilled meat.
His stomach finally stopped protesting.
The tearing hunger was replaced by a heavy sense of fullness.
He raised the back of his hand and wiped the grease from his mouth.
He looked at Kanae.
"My name is Takanashi Rokuno."
He gave the name from his predecessor's memories in this world.
"No matter who you are, no matter what happened to you."
She looked into Rokuya's eyes.
"You saved Shinobu. You saved me."
"You can stay here as long as you like."
[Ding-intense gratitude detected. Gratitude points gained: 500!] [Current balance: 2,300 points!]
The mechanical voice exploded deep inside his skull.
Rokuya watched Kanae's retreating figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
He turned to look at the doorframe.
Shinobu was still standing there.
"Monster."
She muttered the word, then turned and ran away.
The instant her voice faded.
Dark blue motes of light began gathering before his retinas.
The motes swiftly rearranged themselves into a translucent floating panel.
A screen of light only he could see.
[Heavenly Lord Gratitude Value System] [Host: Takanashi Rokuno (Lin Ye)] [Current Gratitude Points balance: 2,300 points]
Rokuya stared at the number on the screen.
He had obtained these from the sisters after killing the two demons in the dead-end alley.
His gaze shifted downward.
Below were detailed attributes and a skill tree.
[Four core attributes] (Maximum: 30) Strength: 8 (The standard for an ordinary adult male was 10) Agility: 11 Constitution: 6 Spirit: 22
Rokuya looked at the single digit in the constitution field.
No wonder activating Demon Form had left him so utterly drained.
This fourteen-year-old body had suffered prolonged malnutrition and simply could not withstand the violent output of Arcana Power.
If he did not improve his constitution, the next time he activated Demon Form, his own power might burst his body apart first.
He continued reading.
[Core passive: Single-Target Critical Strike Rule] Status: Activated. Effect description: When only one enemy target is within range of the host's basic attack or skill, damage dealt is forcibly increased by 50%. There is also a chance to trigger a double-damage critical strike that ignores defense.
Rokuya clenched his fists.
As a nationally ranked Kai player in his previous life, this was the mechanic he knew best.
In this world overrun with demons, this passive meant he had the absolute means to kill opponents above his level.
As long as he could create a one-on-one situation, he could unleash devastating single-target burst damage.
[Magic Path Skill Tree] [Skill 1: Returning Blade] Status: Unlocked. Effect: Throws the Arcana Blade, dealing physical damage to enemies in its path and applying a 30% slow. When the Arcana Blade returns, it restores a small amount of the host's stamina. [Skill 2: Blade Tempest] Status: Locked. Effect: Performs two powerful forward slashes. The second slash knocks the target airborne. [Skill 3: Invincible Might] Status: Not fully mastered (on cooldown). Effect: Summons Demon Form to envelop the host, greatly increasing all attributes and granting substantial damage reduction. Side effects: After the duration ends, the host enters a state of extreme weakness and hunger. Current constitution is too low; forced activation is life-threatening.
Rokuya's gaze lingered on the "Gratitude Points balance."
An exchange list popped up on the right side of the panel.
[Attribute exchange rate: 100 gratitude points = 1 freely assignable attribute point]
There was no hesitation.
Rokuya issued a command in his mind.
"Spend 1,000 gratitude points to gain 10 constitution points."
The balance on the panel instantly changed to 800 points.
His constitution jumped from 6 to 16.
The next second.
A scorching current pumped out from deep within his heart.
It surged through his blood vessels, charging savagely into every part of his body.
Rokuya abruptly clenched his teeth.
He gripped the edges of the tatami with both hands, his nails gouging ten deep grooves into the straw mat.
His bones crackled in rapid succession.
His once-shriveled muscle fibers began to writhe and swell.
The blood vessels beneath his skin bulged like tangled roots, a dim blue sheen flickering within them.
Heat radiated from his body, and his tattered shirt was instantly soaked with sweat.
Rokuya leaned against the wall.
The transformation lasted a full five minutes. The scorching current gradually subsided.
Rokuya unclenched his teeth and exhaled a long, stale breath.
He released his grip on the tatami.
He had torn two holes in the straw mat.
He lowered his head to look at his arms.
Firm contours of muscle now covered his once-bony arms.
Though not exaggerated, they brimmed with a sense of explosive power.
The weakness that had made his body feel ready to fall apart at any moment was swept away.
Abundant energy took its place.
He clenched his fists.
His knuckles gave crisp cracks.
A constitution of 16 already far exceeded the limits of an ordinary adult man.
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