Capítulo 31: Hunter [31]: Dawn
"Everyone, I'm glad you passed the assessment. You can now choose your re-forged blade!"
Knowing that the Upper Moon Demon that Shinobu encountered that fought with Lin Jiu was the same one that killed her sister Kanae, Kagaya Ubuyashiki advised Shinobu to take a break for a few days to adjust her mood and avoid taking on any missions.
Shinobu learned that the group that followed them, consisting of eight individuals who participated in the team assessment, managed to clear out the group of small demons in Mount Fujikasane within over twenty hours, completing the assessment. With nothing else to do, she came over to take a look.
"Why is the big guy here?"
The five contractors who passed the assessment were surprised to find Lin Jiu present.
"Ah, you're here too, Red."
Shinobu said with a squinting smile.
"Yes," Lin Jiu nodded, his gaze still fixed on the contractors who had passed. These five contractors included Balone, who had obtained his hunting sword; a lone contractor wielding an axe and shield; a plainly dressed female contractor; a contractor with a gun at his waist; and a tall, thin contractor.
The axe-and-shield contractor, like Balone, was clearly a newcomer nurtured by a certain adventurer group, judging by the substantial investment in them. Passing the assessment was expected.
Lin Jiu remembered that the female contractor and the one with the gun were members of a temporary five-person adventurer group, with the temporary leader being a samurai-like figure. The last tall and thin contractor seemed to have split off from a seven-person adventurer group.
After Giyu returned, he briefly explained the situation. Unable to join the Demon Slayer Corps, to complete their main quest, they could only become demons and stand on the opposing side!
Lin Jiu regretted then not having called two Hashira to directly deal with those who decided to leave, to avoid complications. Previously, it was all theoretical; this was only his second world, and he had easily overlooked things. Now, he would remember this experience.
"What's your name?"
Lin Jiu asked, walking up to the tall, thin contractor.
"Just call me Monkey! I... uh..."
The tall, thin contractor looked at Lin Jiu in shock, his hand trying to cover the cut on his throat, but the sharp blade had already gone two-thirds in. He wasn't a boss-type model; there was no saving him.
The remaining four contractors, including Balone, looked at Lin Jiu in horror. Did they encounter a madman who kills teammates without a word?!
They hurriedly distanced themselves, hiding behind Shinobu. Shinobu, also puzzled, asked, "Why did you kill him?"
"Traitor!"
Lin Jiu said as he sheathed his sword, indicating that only this contractor called Monkey was a traitor. The others were not, and he wouldn't kill indiscriminately.
Leaving a temporary adventurer group required 10,000 Paradise Coins as a penalty. With Lin Jiu barely having 10,000 Paradise Coins left, it was impossible for a contractor, uncertain of survival in the next world, to have 10,000 Paradise Coins for the penalty.
Thus, this contractor was still a member of the temporary adventurer group. Since the other members chose to join the demon faction, this guy's allegiance was highly suspicious!
Maybe someone in their group had some peculiar item to exempt them from mission failure penalties. By offering some benefits, they could ensure an insider in the opposing faction.
Even if members of the temporary adventurer group simply joined different factions, creating an opposition, it still posed a risk. This contractor could easily collude with those teammates, offering mutual benefits. Never doubt the bottom line of contractors aiming to complete their missions!
To protect himself, who would contribute to the Reincarnation Paradise in the future, it was better to eliminate this potential uncertainty!
"Whether you believe it or not, I do!"
Shinobu, unsure how to explain, could only smile slightly at the people behind her. They shuddered and agreed, "We believe you!"
After selecting their ore-forged blades and receiving their crows, the remaining four were sent down the mountain, instructed to leave an address for their Nichirin Blades and missions. Balone and the others exchanged glances; they had no address and had to leave the address of the village where Lin Jiu fought Doma.
Lin Jiu stayed at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, where he was regarded as a Hashira and given special treatment. Conveniently, the headquarters had a spacious training ground for him to use!
"Uzui, are you off on a mission?"
Lin Jiu called out, greeting Uzui.
"Yes... yes! About to depart!"
Uzui quickly dashed off.
Lin Jiu: "..."
Seeing Shinobu Kocho returning from the Butterfly Mansion, Lin Jiu's eyes lit up: "Shinobu..."
"I heard there's a demon near Tsuji... Araa, Mr. Red is practicing his sword again, so diligent!"
Shinobu smiled and greeted Lin Jiu before quickly leaving.
"Hey! I just dealt with that guy; we can relax now! Shinobu, want to watch a play with me?"
Rengoku walked out from the courtyard, asking as he approached Shinobu.
"I have a mission, Rengoku-san."
Shinobu declined, giving Rengoku a sympathetic look before hurrying off.
"Flame Hashira... I heard that. You're not on a mission right now!"
Hearing this voice, Kyojuro Rengoku's smile froze as he saw Lin Jiu staring at him.
"Mr. Red, ah..."
...
"Oyakata-sama, I won't rest, I need to go kill demons!"
Rengoku hurriedly took on a mission, leaving the headquarters despite his weary body.
Lin Jiu placed his sword beside him, wiping the sweat from his face, feeling that his soul power had significantly increased compared to before. However, he didn't know how much further he needed to reach the requirements of the Reincarnation Disk.
If the required soul strength was based on the data standards shown by the Reincarnation Paradise, then he was still very, very far away. That soul strength was measured in hundreds! Even if his talent was focused in this area, he would need to be at least Tier 4 or higher.
Over the past five days, Lin Jiu had been waiting for his Nichirin Blade to arrive. During this period, besides practicing swordsmanship and studying breathing techniques, he also completed daily missions: randomly challenging one of the Hashira!
Defeating them allowed him to absorb the dissipated soul power, so Lin Jiu naturally fought whoever he could. Among the nine Hashira, he had fought nearly half of them! The Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, truly lived up to his reputation as the strongest Demon Slayer swordsman in three hundred years, giving Lin Jiu the hardest time.
If it weren't for Gyomei Himejima's restraint in not going all out against humans, especially his comrades, Lin Jiu would have found it very difficult to defeat him.
The Hashira rarely got to rest for a while, only to have someone blocking the door at headquarters, picking fights—who could stand that!
Lin Jiu argued that maintaining a combat state and killing demons in a stronger condition was necessary, making it hard for the Hashira to refuse or take it lightly.
Moreover, fighting Lin Jiu was somehow more exhausting than killing ten demons. As a result, the Hashira became busier, preferring to undertake more missions outside rather than getting close to the headquarters.
...
"Oh, are you Tecchin Tecchikawahara?"
Rengoku asked as he saw a short figure with a fiery mask approaching the headquarters.
"Long time no see, Flame Hashira!"
The village chief of the Swordsmith Village, Tecchin Tecchikawahara, naturally recognized Rengoku and responded warmly.
"Great! You're here to deliver the sword to Red, right? Finally!"
Rengoku excitedly shook Tecchin Tecchikawahara's hand, leaving him confused.
"I need to share this good news with everyone..."
Rengoku cheerfully departed.
Tecchin Tecchikawahara: "???"
Due to the urgency of Lin Jiu's sword, the village chief personally stepped in. He arrived just in time, along with the batch that included Tanjiro and his group who passed the test fifteen days ago.
Tecchin found Lin Jiu in the training ground and handed over the Nichirin Blade he had crafted. Lin Jiu opened the box and inside lay a long horizontal katana, identical in form to the Willow Shallow.
"I crafted the Nichirin Blade according to your specifications. Take a look," said Tecchin to Lin Jiu. It was always a point of curiosity for swordsmiths to see what color the Nichirin Blade would turn in the hands of its user.
Lin Jiu picked up the Nichirin Blade from the box, but there was no color change; it remained a black blade with a white edge, just as it was crafted.
"Will not changing color affect demon slaying?"
Lin Jiu asked. He had anticipated no color change, given that he hadn't practiced any breathing techniques.
"It won't affect it, but..."
Tecchin was surprised by this situation but didn't react as intensely as Hotaru Haganezuka did when delivering Tanjiro's sword.
"May this blade assist you in slaying demons smoothly!"
Tecchin knew that the Oyakata-sama of the Demon Slayer Corps had requested the katana urgently, indicating that the user was no ordinary member who passed the test.
Lin Jiu nodded and examined the information of the Nichirin Blade in his hand:
[Dawn]
Origin: Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village
Quality: Green
Durability: 50/50
Attack Power: 12～21 (based on the strength of the slash)
Equipment Requirements: Strength 9 points, Agility 8 points
Rating: 30 (Extreme rating for green weapons, marked as rare, with additional special attributes.)
Equipment Effect: Demon Slaying, Sharpness +3
Attached Attribute: Dawn, can deal damage to creatures that fear the sun.
Description: When happiness is destroyed, the scent of blood fills the air. Even if my body perishes, I will surely slay the evil demon! I will become the dawn, illuminating the earth!
Note: Temporary usage rights, not notarized (can be notarized with 500 contribution points from the Demon Slayer Corps).
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