Watching the demon collapse under his blade and begin to fade away, Natsuo replayed the fight in his head.
Honestly, the game's art was top tier.
There were no reused character assets.
Every enemy he ran into had its own model, several unique attack templates and behavior rules.
Some even had different dialogue patterns.
In most other games, only named bosses and elite enemies got that kind of treatment.
As for ordinary trash mobs?
Forget dialogue. If they had a recolor or a different texture, that already counted as generous.
So were the three demons he met all elite enemies?
No. Absolutely not.
There was no way the first three enemies after the tutorial were meant to be story elites when each of them got deleted in one hit.
If he ignored the visuals and judged the combat as a whole, it was a mixed bag.
The good part: realistic physics, great impact feel, and the assist system smoothed out a lot of the usual annoyances.
The bad part: the numbers felt like they were filled in at random, and the monsters had zero interesting mechanics beyond basic swipes.
Sure, their stats were high, and they had percentage-based healing.
So you could not just stand there and trade hits.
But what kind of enemy unit has nothing except inflated stats, not a single special move?
All they did was roar and charge.
In other games, that level of play would not survive ranked, and even casual players would beat it down without effort.
At best, it was mid-tier training dummy AI.
A hardcore roleplaying action game, but the enemies were designed like a grindy stats game.
While Natsuo was grumbling internally, a shaky voice came from the side.
"Um, sir"
He turned.
Seiko (Power Level: 25) Water Breathing Level 1
Low stats, low skill level, basic Water Breathing.
Oh. A friendly trash-tier NPC.
She did not seem to notice the way he was looking at her. She spoke awkwardly, almost timidly.
"Can I stay with you for a while?"
"This place is more dangerous than I expected."
"If we move together, we can watch each other's backs. It'll be much safer!"
Then she hurriedly added, stumbling over her words.
"It's definitely not because you're strong!"
Seiko was the name she chose after she decided to join the Demon Slayer Corps.
A vow to force herself to overcome her fear of those monsters, and a reminder to never forget the hatred of what happened to her family.
She had trained under her instructor for over half a year.
Her Breathing was considered a basic entry level, and she had learned about half the forms.
Even her body was stronger than she ever imagined her old self could be.
She thought she would not be afraid anymore once she faced a demon again, but, but
"Sure."
The boy across from her, who might have been younger than she was, agreed without hesitation. Like he was casually sharing a rice ball from his lunch.
Final Selection was supposed to be serious.
She had already braced herself for rejection.
"Huh?" Seiko's hands, already tense, suddenly had nowhere to go. "Th-thank you! Really!"
Natsuo said, "Having another teammate to pull aggro, I mean, to draw attention is not bad. I'm Natsuo. What should I call you?"
The girl exhaled in relief and walked up to travel at his side.
"My name is Seiko. I use Water Breathing. But compared to you, I'm so far behind. I saw how you fought that demon just now, it was incredible. Wind Breathing, right? Like a storm, you just wiped them out"
Maybe because she finally had a teammate, her nerves loosened.
Once she started talking, she poured it all out at once.
"Draw your sword."
"Huh?"
"A fighter should look like a fighter. You never know when something will spawn."
Natsuo glanced at the Nichirin Blade still hanging at her waist.
"You keep it sheathed. How are you supposed to react in time?"
"Unless Water Breathing's specialty is quick-draw?"
Seiko blushed and fumbled to draw her sword.
They chatted as they moved deeper into the forest.
Natsuo figured the center of the area would have a higher chance of spawns.
And Seiko, even if she looked timid, had a backbone when it came to killing demons. She lived up to her name.
For a while, there was not much sound.
Other than distant, faint shouting from another ridge now and then, most of what they heard was their clothes brushing against branches.
Maybe because they were in a pair, or maybe the demons had been drawn elsewhere.
For a long time, they did not run into a single new demon.
Instead
After chopping another branch out of the way, Natsuo checked his panel.
Woodcutting Level 1 (1/500)
Another life skill unlocked. That put his achievement points at 7.
If his Wind Breathing compatibility were not a bit low, he would have pushed it to Level 3 already.
The conversion loss was close to a third.
That honestly hurt.
Maybe once his experience was high enough, he would splurge, eat the waste, and bump the level anyway just to enjoy it.
Yeah. The plan to learn other Breathing Styles needed to move up.
"Seiko, how long does it usually take to learn Water Breathing?"
Caught off guard, she blinked. "Almost a year for me, but my instructor said my talent is average."
"I think the talented swordsmen can get the basics in a few months?"
Natsuo thought for a moment. "Show me a set of Water Breathing forms."
"Huh?" She froze. "Here?"
She looked around uneasily.
A bright moon, thin stars, and shadowy trees everywhere. There could be a demon, or a person, watching from the darkness.
"That doesn't feel safe."
Even so, she found a small open patch and obediently began.
She took a deep breath. The shyness and anxiety on her face gradually faded.
A pale mist flowed from her lips.
Water Breathing
First Form: Water Surface Slash
In a blur, the cold edge of her Nichirin Blade seemed to gather a thin film of water, spreading into a clean, disciplined arc.
Second Form: Water Wheel
She surged forward, kicked off a tree trunk, flipped, and carved a rounded wheel of slashing force.
One form after another.
Seiko displayed everything she had learned in the past year.
Water Breathing.
Soft and resilient like flowing water, endless like rolling waves.
Compared to Natsuo's Wind Breathing, it had less raw aggression, more calm and control.
Overall, a gentler style.
But the one using it was still unrefined.
Her forms were not tight enough. She left openings. Transitions between moves were stiff.
Natsuo rubbed his chin, thinking.
Too bad there was no system learning prompt yet.
"Natsuo, that's the Water Breathing I know." Seiko breathed lightly. "Compared to your Wind Breathing, I'm barely at the starting line."
Natsuo said, "True. Can you show it again?"
"I feel like your Breathing is a little different from other people's."
She looked confused, but she still performed it again.
This time, Natsuo's system finally reacted.
Observed: Water Breathing, Water Breathing forms
You have partially learned Water Breathing
Minor insight gained. Learning progress +1
Water Breathing (Not Mastered) 1/100
So there was a success rate. Good. Now it made sense.
Only then did Natsuo smile.
For some reason, it made Seiko's cheeks heat up.
Just like his training with his instructor.
By watching and practicing a Breathing Style and its forms, you built "learning progress."
Once it hit 100, the system would evaluate it as the first step of mastery.
That meant unlocking the skill at Level 0.
Then he could use the upgrade preview to check compatibility.
In a good mood, Natsuo's voice softened too.
"Seiko-chan, you've got potential. Show it one more time."
The sudden closeness and praise made her blush harder.
"Natsuo, I'm really not that"
Her words cut off.
Her eyes widened.
Because behind Natsuo, a bloodthirsty shadow was rushing in.
"Behind you!"
Water Breathing
First Form: Water Surface
Her blade was only halfway through the swing when the demon was swallowed by the storm from Natsuo's sword.
Sixth Form: Black Wind, Smoky Haze
Wind Breathing Level 2 (401/1000) +24
Natsuo sheathed his Nichirin Blade and spoke calmly.
"It's fine. Seiko-chan, keep going."
The girl stood there, stunned.
Watching from afar was one thing.
Seeing it from this close was something else entirely.
"So strong"
(End of Chapter)
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