'Is this the foundation of a former Hashira? Or is it that miraculous Breathing Style?' He pondered to himself.
Just as Tanjiro's legs trembled, barely able to support his body, and his consciousness began to blur, on the verge of collapsing completely, Sakonji finally stopped.
He turned to the two of them and said, "Now, you will descend the mountain from here and reach my house at the foot of the mountain before dawn."
Before he finished speaking, a cold, viscous mist surged without warning from all directions, instantly engulfing their vision.
Ryoma felt his vision blur, and when he refocused, Sakonji's aura and figure had vanished without a trace.
"Hoo…"
Ryoma didn't rush to act. Instead, he leaned against a relatively flat rock, greedily savoring a moment to catch his breath.
He hadn't rested at all on the way, and the exhaustion of the entire day had almost drained him.
"Ryoma!"
Tanjiro's voice rang out in the fog, accompanied by an irrepressible gasp.
"Let's go together. We must hurry down the mountain."
Although it was easy to get lost in the thick mountain fog, Tanjiro, relying on his keen nose, remembered Sakonji's scent. The kind him wanted to descend the mountain with Ryoma.
"You go first." Ryoma's voice was calm.
"I need a little time. Don't worry, I can get down the mountain by myself."
Ryoma, leaning against the rock and catching his breath, declined Tanjiro's suggestion.
This was not an excuse.
Since dusk, Ryoma had felt a strange change. The invisible shackles from this world that had been restricting the magic power in his body seemed to have loosened slightly, as if he was slowly adapting to the rules of this world.
The magic power that had once been frozen solid was now like a stream thawing in early spring. Though still weak and cold, it had begun to flow slowly.
"Then… alright."
Tanjiro no longer insisted.
Although he was also extremely exhausted, he still needed to make good use of his time.
He no longer hesitated, took a deep breath, and tried to distinguish Sakonji's scent in the fog, rushing in that direction.
Bang!
Crack!
Almost as soon as he took a few steps, the dull thud of a triggered trap and the crisp snap of a taut rope, accompanied by Tanjiro's startled cries, came one after another.
Ryoma shook his head helplessly, no longer paying attention to Tanjiro's situation, and focused all his attention back on himself.
Although he still didn't seem to have any offensive or defensive capabilities, at least he could extend his magic to sense his surroundings.
After a brief rest, his physical strength recovered somewhat.
Ryoma stood up, closed his eyes, and no longer relied purely on his vision.
With a slight thought, his magic power, centered on him, quietly spread out like invisible ripples.
Within tens of meters around him, the thick fog seemed to have been peeled away, and everything appeared in a peculiar "sensory" form.
Taut tripwires, disguised pits, suspended logs...
All the traps lurking in the shadows were exposed.
This test consisted only of dense fog and traps set everywhere, which now posed virtually no difficulty for Ryoma.
After a brief rest, having recovered some physical strength, Ryoma stood up and walked steadily into the fog.
He moved like a phantom, precisely bypassing all dangers. Along the way, he saw broken traps that had been triggered along the way. They were obviously all Tanjiro's "masterpieces".
"This guy..."
A complex scrutiny crossed Ryoma's mind.
"He's truly risking his life to clear the path..."
Not long after, he caught up with the "trap magnet." Tanjiro was struggling to climb out of a deep pit, covered in mud and with scrapes on his face.
Tanjiro noticed Ryoma following him, but to his surprise, Ryoma showed no signs of having fallen into a trap and continued down the mountain without pausing.
"So... so amazing!"
Tanjiro's eyes widened as he watched Ryoma, who was heading down the mountain without triggering any traps.
He exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "No! If... if I keep falling into traps like this, I won't make it down the mountain by dawn!"
Tanjiro stopped, and slapped his cheeks, forcing himself to calm down. Then, he closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing.
Utilizing his keen sense of smell, he identified various traps by distinguishing different scents. Although he couldn't identify and avoid all of them, his speed was significantly faster than before.
Ryoma, on the other hand, clearly knew
where each trap was and could easily avoid them.
By the time he reached the small house at the foot of the mountain, Tanjiro was still struggling on the mountain.
When he pushed open the door and entered, he saw that Sakonji was preparing something by the hearth.
Hearing the door, he paused slightly and slowly turned around. Sakonji looked at Ryoma, a flicker of imperceptible surprise falshing in his eyes.
He hadn't expected Ryoma to descend the mountain so quickly. On top of that, his clothes were tidy and his breathing was incredibly steady.
However, Sakonji did not inquire further about Ryoma's situation. He simply watched him silently for a few seconds, then nodded slightly, signaling him to rest, and then turned back to continue what he was doing.
Afterward, Sakonji continued to prepare food, occasionally looking out the window to see if Tanjiro would also pass this
test.
Time passed in silence, with only the crackling of burning firewood and the gentle simmering of soup in the pot.
It wasn't until the latter half of the night that a few stumbling footsteps sounded outside the house.
Creak!
The door was laboriously pushed open by a
mud-stained hand.
Tanjiro, filthy all over and covered in scrapes, gasped at the doorway for a long while. His vision was already blurred, yet he used his last bit of will to utter the words. "I... I... I'm back!"
With that, he could no longer hold on, leaning against the doorframe and about to collapse.
Ryoma immediately stood up and stepped forward, steadily supporting Tanjiro's almost unconscious body, helping him into the house.
Tanjiro didn't even manage to drink a sip of hot soup before falling into a deep sleep.
Sakonji watched Tanjiro, who, despite being covered in injuries and utterly exhausted, still persevered until he completed his trial before collapsing. This made him take the letter from Giyu seriously and earned his approval for the young boy.
The next morning.
Sakonji immediately began training Ryoma and Tanjiro to become Demon Slayers, explaining knowledge about demons and the selection criteria for becoming an official Demon Slayer.
He started their physical training, various trap-detection training, and the most basic sword-swinging practice.
In the days that followed, Ryoma experienced the harshness of the training on Mount Sagiri.
Daily physical training seemed to wring out their last ounce of strength.
Monotonous, repetitive sword-swinging practice made their arms swollen and numb, until they lost all sensation, only to recover briefly before facing a new round of torment.
Traversing the trap-filled mountain forest with Tanjiro tested their alertness and reactions, not just refining their bodies but also tempering their wills.
Once their fundamentals met Sakonji's requirements, he began to teach them basic sword techniques.
Sakonji would also occasionally have the two of them spar against him in unwinnable matches to test their mastery.
However, even with swords in hand, there was little difference. They were still no match for an unarmed Sakonji.
Tanjiro lost in a single move and Ryoma wasn't any better. Relying on his magic perception, he could occasionally struggle for a moment or two but that was pretty much it.
Both he and Tanjiro couldn't help but marvel at how strong Sakonji was. Even when both of them attacked together, he still seemed to hamdle it with ease.