Demon Slayer: I Level Up Alone

Chapter 17

In the following days, Akito practiced his sword strikes as usual while also inquiring with Sakonji Urokodaki about places to learn martial arts.

However, Akito was disappointed to learn that Sakonji Urokodaki had not come across any formidable martial arts schools, only some lesser ones.

Because this world was rapidly developing, firearms and ammunition were increasing, and the era of hand-to-hand combat had passed.

There were, however, quite a few martial arts schools focused on sword techniques.

Akito felt that his swordsmanship had already reached a high level, and learning other sword techniques would likely not significantly enhance his strength.

He could only wait to see what the Universal Mall would offer after the system upgrade.

Finally, on the eighth day after Akito returned to Mount Sagiri, the prompt indicating the system upgrade was complete.

"Ding, system upgrade successful, Level 1 Universal Mall has been opened, please check it out."

"Since this is the host's first system activation, rewards include refreshing ten items of rare quality or above."

Universal Mall Introduction: Items can be purchased with sword strike counts, refreshing once a month, with a chance to refresh to rare, epic, and legendary items.

Character: Nakagawa Akito

Sword Strike Count: 4,357,800

Breathing Technique: Water Breathing (Advanced)

Martial Skills: Swordsmanship (Advanced), Strengthening Technique (Advanced)

Physique: Immortal Physique

Pet: Ritoruho (White Fox: Not Awakened)

Quest 1: Slay the Demon King Kibutsuji Muzan

Description: The Demon King Kibutsuji Muzan is the origin of everything in this world; slaying him will end this source of evil.

Reward: Sword Strike Count * 10,000,000, Designated World Crossing * 1, Mysterious Gift Pack * 1

Status: Incomplete

Quest 2: Pass the Final Trial

Description: Coming from a humble background, showcasing your talent, passing the final trial is what makes a qualified demon hunter.

Reward: New system function, Sword Strike Count 1,000,000, Beast Breathing Technique

Status: Completed

Chain Quest: Slay Evil Demons

Description: After sunset, endless evil demons begin to hunt; you are human, go and slay all evil demons.

Reward: Unknown (depends on completion percentage; the higher the completion, the greater the reward)

Status: 0.3%

In these days, Akito practiced sword strikes daily and gained a considerable number of sword strike counts.

The task of the final trial was also shown as completed, and he randomly received the task rewards.

His sword strike count instantly reached over five million, and a golden Beast Breathing Technique appeared in the system's backpack space.

"So this is the Beast Breathing Technique… Ritoruho… I didn't expect the usage method to be so simple…"

"Ritoruho, come here."

Akito called Ritoruho to his side, then took out the Beast Breathing Technique and gently placed it on Ritoruho's forehead, slowly merging it into Ritoruho's mind.

Ritoruho stared blankly as her master placed a hand on her head, and then a wealth of knowledge suddenly appeared in her mind.

Akito felt Ritoruho's breathing change instantly, a rhythm of breathing similar to that of humans emerged from Ritoruho, yet it was different from human breathing techniques.

"Impressive, my Ritoruho… she succeeded on the first try."

Seeing Ritoruho successfully master the Beast Breathing Technique, Akito smiled with satisfaction. After all, the Beast Breathing Technique had a prerequisite: it could only be used three times; after three uses, regardless of comprehension, it would become ineffective.

"Next is Kuro… but now I have no idea where Kuro has run off to…"

"Not having a contract is really troublesome…"

Akito thought to himself.

"Ding, congratulations, your pet Ritoruho has successfully awakened, please check its attributes."

"Hmm? Has Ritoruho's attribute panel been separated out?"

Akito quickly checked Ritoruho's overall situation.

Name: Ritoruho

Race: White Fox

Divine Value: 0.00000001

Owner: Akito

Technique: Beast Breathing Technique (Beginner) can be upgraded

Awakening: Telekinesis, Charm, Size Control

Description: This was originally just an ordinary white fox, but it has gained a hint of divinity.

"Impressive, impressive, I didn't expect Ritoruho to be so remarkable, not only awakening telekinesis and charm, but most importantly, she has also gained the ability to control her size. This means I can take Ritoruho along on missions in the future."

"I wonder if Kuro would be able to control its size if it also awakened..."

"If that's possible... then wouldn't I have both land and aerial mounts? Going out would be so enjoyable..."

Akito had already started to imagine himself riding Ritoruho on the ground and Kuro in the sky.

After all, every man's dream is to soar into the sky at least once...

"But Ritoruho can actually become stronger with in-game purchases... It's just that it requires me, the owner, to spend money... that's a bit of a scam..."

"It seems I still need to work hard to earn money to support my family in the future..."

Thinking about how he would contract Kuro in the future, with two pets behind him waiting to be fed, he felt a bit overwhelmed...

"How about trying to spend money on Little White..."

"Forget it, let's first take a look at the Universal Mall. If I spend money on Ritoruho and then don't have enough for something I want, that would be terrible..."

Then Akito opened the Universal Mall.

The mall was like a small mall from an online game in his past life, with only 30 stalls, and the first ten were the rare or higher items rewarded by the system.

"There's only one epic item, and the other nine are all rare... this is too disappointing..."

"But there is something I urgently need right now..."

"This one will do, 500,000 is acceptable..."

After clicking to purchase, a large amount of knowledge immediately flooded into Akito's mind.

"Body technique... Wind and Rain nomikomu Technique... Not bad, very good. This will make up for my lack of speed."

Wind and Rain nomikomu Technique: When practised to perfection, speed can be as fast as a nomikomu, and one can walk on the wind.

"This Golden Body Technique is also good. When practised to perfection, it forms a layer of golden membrane on the surface, making me impervious to blades and enhancing my defense. I'll buy it!"

"This Five Tiger Fist is also impressive, an extreme martial art. When practised to perfection, it forms energy to protect the internal organs, allowing one punch to unleash the strength of five tigers."

These rare items only required a single 500,000 blade swings to acquire, but after buying them, additional blade swings were needed for enhancement or personal training.

However, Akito thought, who would actually practise seriously? Isn't it more appealing to spend money...

At this point, the total spent on rare techniques had cost 1.5 million blade swings, and he had already made some progress, with upgrade prompts appearing.

Looking at the remaining 3.8 million blade swings on his panel...

He turned his gaze toward the only epic item...