Demon Slayer: I Level Up Alone

Chapter 7

The next day

After a night of applying medicine, Ritoruho's previously injured and festering leg miraculously began to scab over.

Early in the morning, he started to bounce around.

"Mr. Sakonoji Urokodaki, good morning."

Akito greeted Sakonoji Urokodaki enthusiastically.

"Hmm."

Sakonoji Urokodaki responded calmly.

"Mr. Sakonoji Urokodaki, does the assessment start now?" Akito asked, looking at the serious Sakonoji Urokodaki.

"You'll know after dark tonight."

After saying that, he returned to the house to start preparing food.

Akito felt a bit helpless, knowing that he would definitely be taken up the mountain after dark and then have to come down before dawn. However, the way down would be an assessment, filled with countless traps. In his previous life, while watching anime, he saw Tanjiro avoid traps using his keen sense of smell, but he was also covered in injuries. One can imagine how difficult the assessment would be.

"Since I've come this far, I might as well accept it. Since I've chosen this path, I must grit my teeth and move forward. So today, I'll practice swinging my sword. A little practice is better than none. First, I'll activate the system. I have a feeling that when the system is activated, there might be unexpected surprises…"

So, Akito picked up his wooden sword and began practicing his sword swings.

"Heave Ho~"

"Heave Ho~"

Inside the house, Sakonoji Urokodaki watched Akito swinging his sword, and the eyes behind his mask turned slightly.

"Perhaps this boy is really different…"

He recalled the content of the letter sent by Giyu Tomioka regarding this guy:

"Your Excellency Sakonoji Urokodaki,

There is a boy who wants to become a demon slayer. I have sent him to you. He has enough courage to confront demons with an ordinary weapon and even knows that demons cannot be killed. He binds their limbs instead. His family was harmed by demons, and his recovery ability is unusual. I suspect it is the rare blood type you mentioned before. This boy also has a basic understanding of wielding a sword. Perhaps he can break through and inherit the legacy. I sincerely request you to train him. I know this may be difficult for you, and I hope you understand. Please take care of yourself.

Giyu Tomioka"

Soon, the sun was about to set.

So, Sakonoji Urokodaki said to Akito, "Follow me…"

The sun set quickly.

At the same time, the foggy mountains began to show why they were called Mount Sagiri.

Thick fog enveloped the entire mountain area, and the deeper one went into the mountain, the thinner the air became.

Even Akito, with his physique, felt a bit of difficulty in breathing.

Akito closely followed Sakonoji Urokodaki, carefully noting the route they took.

Strangely, Akito found that this body seemed to have an exceptionally good memory; he clearly remembered the route they had just taken.

"Perhaps it's due to the system's modification…"

Akito thought.

Before long, Sakonoji Urokodaki stopped and turned to Akito, saying, "From here back to the house at the foot of the mountain, I won't wait for you until dawn. If you return to the wooden house before dawn, then you will pass the assessment…"

Akito wanted to ask something, but suddenly a thick fog appeared before him, and Sakonoji Urokodaki's figure disappeared.

"Hey, he walks really fast, and this is exactly like what I heard Tanjiro say in the anime from my previous life…"

"Only I don't have Tanjiro's keen sense of smell…"

Akito sighed softly, then immediately became serious, looking at the dense fog that obscured the path. He closed his eyes, and the route appeared in his mind.

"I have the route now; now I just need to avoid the traps!"

"This really tests my agility and speed…"

...

Back at the wooden house, Sakonoji Urokodaki began to change Ritoruho's medicine again.

Ritoruho whimpered softly.

Sakonoji Urokodaki stroked Ritoruho's fur and said, "He is on his way back. If he doesn't return here before dawn, it means he is not qualified. This is actually a good thing for him."

Ritoruho seemed not to understand Sakonoji Urokodaki's meaning and bounced around happily.

On the other hand, Akito was having a tough time.

He fell into deep pits, got hit by large wooden blocks, and was struck by bamboo poles.

His clothes were tattered and covered in dirt, and his face bore fresh blood stains from broken skin.

His head, face, and body were covered in various injuries.

"No, if this continues, even if it gets light, I won't be able to get down the mountain, and I'll definitely be covered in bruises…"

"Calm down! I need to calm down…"

"Ha hu~"

Akito stood still, taking deep breaths of the thin air to slowly calm his increasingly agitated emotions.

With each rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, Akito seemed to enter a wondrous state, his blood flowing faster, and his heartbeat quickening.

"What's going on? Where is this continuous power coming from..."

In confusion, the frequency of breathing interrupted, and the power vanished instantly.

"Something's not right. This is the power brought by breathing. Did I unintentionally reach some kind of realm?"

Akito thought to himself.

"This might be the only way for me to pass the assessment smoothly..."

With that, he quickly repeated the breathing from before. Having the experience from the first time, he obviously entered that state much faster the second time.

"Ha hu~"

"Ha hu~"

At this moment, Akito could only hear his own breathing and heartbeat in his head.

Then he took off.

Akito ran out quickly, and his speed actually reached twice what it was before, dodging all the traps that fell behind him one by one.

However, even so, Akito was still caught off guard by a few very fast traps.

...

That night, the old man and Ritoruho did not sleep, waiting for the boy to open the door of the wooden house...

They didn't know how long it had been, long enough that Akito was about to collapse, his body covered in injuries, feeling as if his bones were about to fall apart.

But the faint red light coming from the thick fog became Akito's only source of belief.

"Almost there, just a bit more..."

Clenching his teeth, Akito used his last bit of strength to open the door of the wooden house and smiled, saying:

"Mr. Sakonoji, I did it..."

Then he collapsed onto the ground.

At the same time, a light appeared in the distance; it was dawn, seemingly heralding a new life.