Chapter 39 Four Skills
Aoki, wearing a straw hat, walked along a country road, letting the sunlight stream in.
He discovered another effect of "Demon Devourer," and the slight enhancement to "Space Travel" was a pleasant surprise, but other aspects were rather lacking.
"Only 150 experience points? What a disgrace to the Lower Moon!"
Aoki shook his head as he looked at the system notification.
Kyōkai had the title of Lower Moon, but his strength was far from that of a true Lower Moon.
Fortunately, he had hunted a few demons on his way to find the Drum House, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to level up.
The only saving grace was that, although he was a fake Lower Moon, the system still recognized the title.
[Name: Aoki]
[Strength: 14]
[Constitution: 13]
[Intelligence: 13]
[Agility: 13]
[Occupation: Hunter, White Walkers]
[Free Attribute Points: 2]
...
[White Walkers]
Quality: ★★
Level: lv8 (54/800)
Skills: Demon Blood III, Space Travel, Transparent World (not yet learned), Demon Devourer
Quest: The End of the Lower Moon (2/3)
Free Skill Points: 3
Aoki allocated 2 free attribute points to Intelligence and Agility, leaving Constitution for last as usual.
Aoki's gaze fell on the number after "Free Skill Points," a sense of 感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, including nostalgia and regret) in his heart.
From leaving Fujikasane until now, after traveling to many places, he had finally accumulated 3 skill points.
"Learn Level 4 'Demon Blood'!"
There was no need to hesitate, because only "Demon Blood" could improve his abilities.
[All attributes +1.]
Boom!
A surge of heat rose within his body, and Aoki's aura increased dramatically.
[Name: Aoki]
[Strength: 15]
[Constitution: 14]
[Intelligence: 15]
[Agility: 15]
[Occupation: Hunter, White Walkers]
...
[White Walkers]
Quality: ★★
Level: lv8 (800/2400)
Skills: Demon Blood IV, Space Travel, Transparent World (not yet learned), Demon Devourer
Quest: The End of the Lower Moon (3/3)
"My average attributes are close to 15 points. Now, even without 'Space Travel,' I should be able to easily defeat Rui."
Aoki nodded in satisfaction.
With his current strength, 1 point of attribute can bring a visible improvement to his power.
And now, compared to his fight with Rui, all four dimensions have increased by two points.
This is enough to completely elevate his strength to the next level.
His joy didn't last long before the smile on Aoki's face disappeared, his brow furrowed, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
The bad news was that the requirements for upgrading "Demon Blood" had increased again; learning level 5 "Demon Blood" required 4 skill points.
The good news was that "Transparent World" could be learned, also requiring 4 skill points.
"I can feel that my bloodline has reached a certain limit. If I improve it further, I will break through that limit and reach a new realm... Hmm... Is it immortality after being beheaded?"
Aoki felt a surge of anticipation.
If he gained the ability to survive decapitation, combined with "Space Travel," the Demon Slayer Corps would pose no threat to him.
"The Transparent World" is equally impressive.
If he mastered "The Transparent World," even without gaining a single point of any further attribute, his strength would definitely reach that of an Upper Moon.
"Four plus four equals eight, eight divided by one equals eight, eight times eight equals sixty-four, four times seven equals twenty-eight..."
Aoki calculated in his mind, his lips twitching slightly.
Without quests that reward skill points, he would need to reach level 16 to acquire both skills.
A seemingly endless wait!
He had thought the lack of skill points could be solved through quests.
But now, thinking about it, he was too naive.
Quests were scarce, and not all of them rewarded skill points.
Since obtaining the system, the most difficult and dangerous quest he had received was "Escape from Death," which only rewarded one skill point.
Even a quest of "Lower Moon's Doomsday" didn't reward one.
Aoki stared at the system panel, suddenly stunned.
[Learning "Space Travel II"... Sorry, insufficient skill points.]
[Learning "Demon Devourer II"... Sorry, insufficient skill points.] Hiss!
Aoki gasped.
Could these two skills be upgraded further?
That makes sense.
"Demon Blood" was definitely at least level 5; there was no reason for the other skills to only be level 1.
Aoki studied it carefully and finally understood their situation.
The level 2 "Space Travel" effect allows the creation of a "Spatial Mark," enabling direct teleportation to the mark's location without distance limitations and with minimal cost.
This addresses, to some extent, the limitation of "Space Travel" in its inability to travel long distances.
While the level 2 "Space Travel" effect is quite good, the level 2 "Demon Devourer" is even more surprising.
Level 1 "Demon Devourer" only grants attributes, while level 2 not only significantly enhances the devouring ability but also grants skill points!
"So this is the real solution to the skill point crisis,"
Aoki sighed.
This also resolved another concern.
In his previous battle with Rui, he discovered that "Demon Devourer" wasn't ideal against demons with strong regeneration and stamina.
With the right method, these demons could greatly weaken "Demon Devourer's" ability to counter regeneration.
It might be sufficient in the battle against the Lower Moon demons.
But what about facing the Upper Moon demons?
Or Muzan Kibutsuji?
Wouldn't it lead to a situation where neither side can kill the other?
Level 2 "Demon Devourer" devours demons faster, has a wider range of influence, and deals more damage to demons. Even Upper Moon demons and Muzan Kibutsuji cannot be underestimated.
However,
learning Level 2 "Demon Devourer" and Level 2 "Space Travel" also requires 4 skill points.
All four skills can be upgraded, requiring a total of 16 skill points.
Aoki took a deep breath.
All the skills are good, but he can only learn them one by one.
The first one to learn is undoubtedly "Demon Devourer II."
This kind of skill, which brings additional growth benefits, is better learned as early as possible.
Moreover,
after learning "Demon Devourer II," his suppression of demons will increase again, allowing him to kill demons better and faster.
However,
even learning only "Demon Devourer II" requires a full four skill points!
With normal development, he reached Level 12.
"Actually, it's not that far. As long as I find another Lower Moon, as long as it's not a fake Lower Moon like Kyōkai, the experience from the Lower Moon itself plus the reward from 'The End of the Lower Moon' will be enough for me to level up twice and reach level 10.
Once I'm at level 10, level 11 isn't far off, right? After level 11, it's level 12. If I get a quest that rewards skill points in between, the progress will be even faster!
Thinking about it this way, 'Demon Devourer II' is practically within reach! Haha, haha, haha."
Aoki chuckled dryly.
He knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
Putting everything else aside, just the first step—finding the third Lower Moon—was a long way off.
There were originally six Lower Moons. Lower Moon Six died, Lower Moon Five died, and it was unknown whether Lower Moon Four would be replaced. In other words, there might only be three Lower Moons left in the world.
How easy would it be to find them in the vast sea of people?
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(End of Chapter)