After a few minutes, Ryou met two demons, one with long hair and horns, and another with scythe-shaped arms.
They posed no threat to him as he sliced their heads with a swing of his sword and ended their miserable fate.
'+2 Demon Points' After seeing the notification, Ryou summoned the status panel.
[~ Name: Ryou
Physique: Nature [Entry - 60%]
Skill: Nature Breathing - Basic [5/10], Tekkai - Intermediate [2/10], Sharingan[Not upgradeable]
Demon Points: 5 ~]
'Finally!' He added the '5' Demon Points to upgrade his Nature Breathing to the Intermediate level. As he did that, his Nature Breathing skill changed to Intermediate [0/50].
A mysterious feeling rushed into his mind, forcing him into a daze. He was in a dream-like state where he had been practicing the Nature Breathing style for countless years.
At some point, a change happened as his skill and breathing pattern broke through some kind of shackle and advanced to the next level.
After a moment, he came back to his senses. The relentless repetition was fresh in his mind as he pushed himself beyond his previous limitations, shattering the boundaries that once constrained him.
He felt his body and mind in sync, advancing his combat prowess to unprecedented heights. 'What a wonderful feeling!'
As he breathed along the familiar breathing pattern, his entire body brimmed with strength while he felt as light as a feather. Without demon points, it would have taken years of practice to reach this stage.
'My current strength should be close to that of Hashira. With Tekkai, even dealing with the Lower Moon Demons wouldn't be a problem for me.
Finally, I have some strength to protect myself against any danger!'
With a slight exhale, Ryou once again focused his attention on the status panel. 'I need fifty points to advance to the next level.
It shouldn't be difficult, but it takes time. Considering I'm still in the Final Selection, I should accumulate as much as I can! No time to waste! Time to hunt!'
--
After an hour, Ryou's sharp hearing caught the sound of fighting coming from far away. Without hesitation, he took off, dashing into the trees toward the source.
"Someone help me!" He heard a sound after a few seconds of the dash.
Arriving at the scene, Ryou saw a young demon slayer limping on the ground with his leg torn and bleeding.
Nearby stood a gray-skinned demon, rugged and muscular, dressed in ragged clothes. A Nichirin sword was embedded in its chest, pinning it to a tree. It looked like the young slayer had put up a good fight before being injured by the demon.
"Save me…" the Demon Slayer gasped, reaching out upon seeing Ryou.
The demon yanked the sword from its chest and tossed it aside. "Ahhh! Do you know how many days it has been since I last feasted on someone?
This place is killing me. I am going to kill you all." The demon snarled and lunged at the fallen slayer.
With the strength of his legs, Ryou dashed forward and delivered a powerful kick that flung the demon crashing into one of the trees.
"Are you okay?" Ryou asked.
"I am injured," The Demon Slayer spoke and punched his fist into the dirt. "Why am I so weak? Just a bit more, I could have killed the demon!"
The Demon sprang up and charged at Ryou with fury-filled eyes. A swing at lightning-fast decapitated the demon and turned it into ashes.
'+1 Demon Point'
'So fast!' The demon slayer came back to his senses as the demon attacked. He looked at Ryou and spoke through his gritted teeth. "Don't leave any demons alive. Unlike me, you are strong! "
"Yeah!" Ryou could tell the other party is affected by demons in some way. Most of the Demon Slayers are.
Picking up the Nichirin sword from the ground, he tossed it to the owner and said, "You can stay beside me for the night. Once the Sun is up, you can leave! Come back stronger for the next trial."
"Don't waste your time on me. I will be a burden with my injured leg. My blood will attract the demons!"
'He has a good heart!' Ryou thought and grinned, "It would be nice if your blood attracted the demons, I wouldn't have to search for them."
'What? He's crazy!' The Demon Slayer thought.
Just like the slayer said, the scent of blood drew three more demons to them. All three fell easily to Ryou's blade. Once Dawn came up, the young Demon Slayer limped toward the exit.
--
With the sun high in the sky, the demons retreated underground or into the shadows. Ryou took the opportunity to rest, finding a quiet spot.
After resting for six hours, he woke up and began to practice. With his Breathing Style advanced to the next level, he can speed up the progress of advancing his physique.
After a few hours of practice, his physique grew by 3%. 'With such a rate of improvement, I can advance my physique to the next level within a few days.'
As night fell, stars sparkled across the sky beside the silver half-moon. Ryou started another night of hunting. With his formidable strength, he overpowered the demons with a single strike.
Six days passed in the blink of an eye. Despite hunting nonstop, Ryou never encountered the Hand Demon. This was the final day of the Final Selection.
In the six days, he beheaded countless demons, bringing his kill points to '20'. As time passed, the number of demons he encountered diminished sharply.
For instance, yesterday, he encountered only one demon. 'Did the Demons shut themself after finding the decrease in the numbers of the same kind?'
Ryou strolled around the forest, looking for the traces of demons. He scoured thoroughly with enhanced vision by opening Sharingan.
Suddenly, he spotted a Nichirin sword lying in the distance, with streaks of blood staining the nearby trees. Following the trail, he came upon a devastated area—trees torn apart, shattered blades, and severed body parts strewn across the ground.
He soon discovered a lone Demon Slayer slumped against a tree, his body drenched in blood, barely clinging to consciousness.
'Is it the Hand Demon's work?' Ryou thought and approached the Demon Slayer, whose face was plastered with fear and blood. "What happened?"
"The demon's still out there!" the injured slayer rasped, his voice weak and trembling. Ryou could see the fear etched across his face.
"What did it look like?"
"He was huge... with so many hands wrapped around his body!" the slayer sobbed, shaking uncontrollably. "He chased after my friend…"
"It's the Hand Demon!" Ryou's eyes narrowed. And before he could go look for him, his feet felt a rumbling sound in the ground as if something heavy was moving towards him.