Kapitel 4: Training
Restored to his peak state, Ryou once again started practicing his breathing style from the first form. Like last time, a strand of natural energy seeped into his body as soon as he completed the nine forms.
The natural energy broke into tiny fragments and coursed through every part of his body, strengthening his flesh, bones, and blood vessels.
When Ryou considered practicing again, he felt a slight pain in his lungs. 'My body is still not strong enough to perform the Nature Breathing style continuously!'
Realizing he had done enough for the day, he exercised his body and stretched for a while before proceeding to excavate more iron ores. After all, he depended on them for food and clothing.
Ryou then descended the mountain and walked toward Uncle Daishi's home. Upon reaching his house, he knocked on the door.
After a minute, Daishi opened the door and welcomed him inside. "Ryou, place the ores over there. I need your help with something."
"Sure, Uncle Daishi." Both of them walked to the backyard where Daishi usually did his blacksmithing work.
Uncle Daishi was capable of creating a variety of weapons, but he mainly focused on producing special iron used for making weapons and selling it.
He only forged a weapon upon special request. Right now, he was making a sword for a friend. The process had reached the second stage: purifying the steel.
In this stage, they needed to heat and bend the steel countless times to remove impurities, which was a crucial step. Since Ryou had great muscle strength, he assisted Uncle Daishi in this process. Day turned to night as Daishi and Ryou finished the hammering process.
As a reward, Daishi cooked and provided Ryou with a sumptuous dinner. "As always, your food tastes great, Uncle Daishi. Instead of blacksmithing, I think you should open a restaurant,"
Ryou commented, finishing the last bowl of rice.
"You brat, you've changed a lot recently. You're brimming with vitality and strength. Looks like you weren't joking when you said that!" Uncle Daishi sighed.
"No," Ryou replied.
"Sigh... Demons have been ravaging this land for thousands of years. Countless people have lost their families and lives at their hands. If not for Demon Slayers, this land would have turned into hell long ago.
I heard that only sunlight and a special sword can kill a demon. If we somehow obtain the ore used to make that special sword, I can at least help you forge a weapon that can kill demons."
"I am currently searching for that ore. Once I find it, you'll be the first person I come to," Ryou promised.
"Haha! If you can find that ore, I will use everything I've learned in my life to create the perfect sword for you."
"Good!" Ryou responded.
--
Early Morning,
After running up and down the mountain for two hours, Ryou came to his usual spot to exercise and stretch his body. Completing them, he walked before a medium-sized boulder.
Grabbing the rope that bounds the boulder, Ryou placed the rope over his shoulder and used every ounce of his strength to pull it.
To his surprise, he was able to drag them with half of his strength. He immediately understood his strength had grown because of the Natural energy.
'It's time to switch to a larger one!'
Ryou then switched his training to stone-throwing. Holding a stone that weighs around 30 Kg, he did some simple movements mimicking his sword moves and threw them over his head.
He repeated the process twenty times before coming to a stop. Till noon, he did all kinds of exercises that would improve his arm and leg strength with some Yoga techniques for flexibility.
Drawing out his sword, Ryou walked to a nearby tree and slashed. With a single swing of his sword, the tree that had a huge trunk was cut into two.
'My skills are still there,' He thought and set his sight on the boulder that he uses for practice.
Inhaling a breath of air, Ryou gripped his word tightly and sprinted forward before slashing at the huge boulder.
He failed to hack the boulder into two in a single strike! His sword had cut one-third of the boulder, but it was not enough as this boulder was much smaller than the one Tanjiro cut after his two-year training.
Ryou set a small goal. 'The day I cut the boulder larger than Tanjiro did, is the day I set out to hunt for the demons!'
--
Days passed into weeks, weeks passed into months,
Six months passed by as Ryou kept on training his body, breathing method, his sword skills, and Nature breathing style.
[~ Name: Ryou
Race: Ordinary Human
Skill: Nature Breathing - Unranked [4/5]
Demon Points: 0 ~]
He was just 'one' point away from reaching the 'Basic' level in his Nature Breathing style. But, he couldn't break past the limit no matter how much he trained.
Ryou has grasped the Nature breathing method but he's still far away from mastering it to the level where he can constantly maintain the breathing state during the morning, noon, and night, and even while sleeping.
It's too difficult and needs constant practice.
Apart from that, the major change came from his physique. He has grown tall, reaching 6'3 feet in height while his black hair has grown past his shoulder. His entire body brimmed with strength and vitality.
With his current strength, it won't be a problem for him to fight against some ordinary demons.
He also completed his small goal a month back, cutting a huge boulder with a single sword strike. The reason why he hadn't left yet, is because he was waiting for Uncle Daishi to finish something.
Since he doesn't have the Nirchirin sword, it won't be easy to kill the demons. His only option is to fight the demon till sunrise or contain them with something.
He asked Uncle Daishi to make things that would help him arrest the demon until Sunrise. And, the things he asked for were finished last night so he plans to set out today!
Cleaning himself, Ryou wore the new dark blue long-sleeved shirt and black pants that he bought a few days ago. He also cut his long hair to shoulder length.
"It's time to go!"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein