Chương 8: 08. My Status And A Chance to Get Stronger
Inosuke got up acrobatically before gazing in my direction.
"Hey, didn't you hear our talk? He is protecting an oni."
"Even so, that thing has its owner. If you're a demon slayer, you shouldn't attack Zenitsu as you please. He's protecting the box considering the owner might be a good guy. And you should interrogate the owner first. Why did he bring an oni with him even though he's a demon slayer? If his answer doesn't satisfy you, then you can kill that oni, don't you think so?"
I might be a hypocrite by saying that. But for convenience's sake, I had to tell him by the logic.
After I said that, Inosuke looked at me in confusion as if he didn't understand what I said.
"Uh, oh. It's confusing and I don't care. As long as it's an oni, then I should kill it. But, if you want to get in the way, I'll cut you alongside the oni."
He didn't consider my words at all as he suddenly dashed at me. However, I could tell that his strength was at Tanjiro's level. I could see the direction of his slash. And since I could move faster, I sidestepped to avoid the slash by a hair breath before slapping his hands with my fists, intending to make him lose his grip over his swords.
However, I heard cracking sounds from his hands before my fists took a hit.
I was surprised that he could react as if he had an Observation Haki. Well, I didn't really hit him with full power either. Because of that, the damage dealt was minimal.
Before he launched another attack, I said, "You know what? Brandishing your sword against a fellow demon slayer is taboo, you know?"
"So that's how it is. I'm sorry. In that case, I'll use my bare hands." Inosuke nodded in understanding before stabbing his swords to the ground.
"This idiot!!"
Inosuke charged at me, unleashing a relentless series of attacks that seamlessly flowed from one to another, utilizing both his hands and feet.
Despite the barrage, I effortlessly parried each strike, navigating through his wild and unorthodox fighting style. It pays off that I picked up hand-to-hand combat skills in my past life, and with my heightened senses now, it was child's play.
As his blows nearly connected, I smoothly adjusted my stance and countered, targeting his vulnerable spots. The exchanges happened so swiftly that I lost count of the number of counters I executed. Unfortunately, Inosuke's instincts proved sharp enough to evade my precise strikes. Realizing he had no edge, he skillfully leaped backward, maintaining a safe distance.
"You better cut this crap right now, or things won't turn out pretty! Seriously, dude, you better heed my advice," I warned Inosuke, urging him to reconsider his actions. But...
"Hoho, that's more like it. Bring it on if you've got the balls!"
"I don't have any damn balls, you idiot!"
"..."
A moment of silence ensued. What could I say? His words pissed me off, given that I didn't have any gender. More importantly, I couldn't play the role of a man who could sweep a beauty off her feet anymore.
Sure, I shouldn't complain about getting a second life as a slime, even if gender was a thing of the past for me. But the remark about having no balls struck a nerve somehow.
Unconsciously, I unleashed something within me, and suddenly, I noticed Inosuke's face turning pale in response to whatever had been unleashed.
Then, a notification popped up inside my head.
[Spiritual pressure evoked. Extra Skill, [Haki], successfully acquired]
'Huh? I acquired a skill just like that? An Extra Skill, no less? More importantly, since when have I been able to evoke something like spiritual pressure?'
Internally puzzled, a memory surfaced—back when I was on the verge of death as a human. At that critical moment, I had held off monsters within the gate, compelling my guildmates to escape.
I didn't really understand what happened at that time, but I vividly recall the monsters being somewhat afraid of me, much like the current Inosuke. This fear allowed me to easily slaughter most of those monsters before I eventually exhausted all my strength and met my demise.
If you're wondering why I remember that particular moment, it's because it left a clear impression on my deathbed—a memory that I'll never forget.
Acquiring [Haki] seemed to grant me the ability to release spiritual pressure to others effortlessly, like flipping a switch to turn on a light or something.
With that in mind, I kept activating my [Haki] to pressure Inosuke in front of me. Considering his bravery in challenging a Hashira in the anime, I expected him to attack me, but oddly, he didn't seem to move a muscle after feeling my pressure.
I discreetly created a thread and swiftly dashed at Inosuke, tying him up to prevent any further trouble.
"Done!" I declared, brushing the dust off my palms.
It was only after he realized what I had done that Inosuke began to struggle, attempting to tear my thread. However, it was virtually impossible for him to break free unless he was significantly more powerful than me.
Feeling irritated by his incessant noise, I decided to quiet him down by using another [Sticky Thread] to gag his mouth after removing his mask. Just to clarify, it wasn't like I had an interest in S&M or bondage play, okay? Just making that clear.
I was genuinely puzzled upon seeing his face. How could I not be? His features were so feminine, okay? This wasn't an anime, and if I didn't know about the anime and he wasn't bare-chested, I might have easily mistaken him for a tomboyish girl.
After tying him up, I realized I might be too late to absorb the oni inside the house, considering Tanjiro likely already confronted it. So, I attempted a trick to swiftly conclude this mission, pulling out my trusty metal bat.
Activating [Strengthen] and [Infusion], I increased the power of both my body and weapon simultaneously before delivering a powerful blow to the house.
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
With just a few swings of my bat, the old wooden house was reduced to pieces, debris flying into the air. Tanjiro stood there stunned, and the oni in front of him froze due to sudden exposure to sunlight before burning into ashes.
Noticing a kid not far from them, I swiftly grabbed the child, as well as Tanjiro, before the debris could fall on them.
As the debris settled, I turned away and observed the less-than-pleased expressions on Zenitsu and Inosuke's faces. Zenitsu might have recalled my threat during the final selection, but this was the first time Inosuke witnessed my strength. He seemed dumbfounded after witnessing how I effortlessly demolished the house in just three moves. Perhaps he realized he had chosen the wrong opponent.
Due to that, I opted to remove his gag, assuming he wouldn't blurt out nonsense. However, my assumption proved wrong as he started speaking after a brief pause, accompanied by a slight stutter.
"Haha, hahaha. I c-can do that too. D-do you think t-this Great Inosuke i-is afraid of you if you show off like that?"
Your voice and expression already told me that. Can't you refrain from acting tough? Nevertheless, I chose to disregard him, knowing he'd only get louder if I engaged. Unfortunately, he persisted in challenging and mocking me, acting as if I were too timid. In the end, I simply struck his neck, causing him to pass out.
❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉
Name: Mahavira Arjun
Alias: Aruna, Runa
Race: Slime
Tier: High 8-C, Large Building Level
Abilities:
Ultimate Skills
▶Blessing of Azathoth ▼
▷▷▷Condition Infinitum
▷▷▷Predator
▷▷▷World Travel
▶Blessing of Nyarlathotep ▼
▷▷▷Spiritual Attack Resistance
▷▷▷Abnormal Condition Resistance
▷▷▷Pain Resistance
▷▷▷All of Creation
Intrinsic Skills
▶Absorb
▶Dissolve
Unique Skills
▶Condition Infinitum
▶Predator ▼
▷▷▷Predation
▷▷▷Analysis
▷▷▷Stomach
▷▷▷Mimicry
▷▷▷Isolation
▶World Travel ▼
▷▷▷Demon Slayer World
▶Shapeshifter ▼
▷▷▷Synthesis
▷▷▷Separation
Extra Skills
▶All of Creation
▶Camouflage
▶Magic Manipulation
▶Haki
Common Skills
▶Area Perception
▶Ground Digger
▶Exoskeleton Armour
▶Vibration Sense
▶Sticky Thread
▶Danger Sense
▶Water Jet
▶Water Current Control
▶Ultrasonic Wave
▶High-Speed Regeneration
▶Apply Abnormal Condition
▶Strengthen
▶Electric Conductivity
▶Ignition
Tolerance
▶Spiritual Attack Resistance
▶Abnormal Condition Resistance
▶Pain Resistance
▶Elemental Resistance
Arts
▶Illusion Strike
▶Infusion
▶Bonk Style ▼
▶Breathing Technique ▼
▶Flash Step
Magic
❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉❉
My power has barely increased in the past two weeks or more. Despite consuming numerous onis, they were all weak, and I had to absorb them rather than kill to boost my strength. It seems the more powerful I become, the harder it is to get even stronger.
There's been no significant change in my status, except for a slight increase in some abilities. [Bonk Style] was created on a whim for a meme. Meanwhile, [Breathing Technique] was learned in the last two weeks by mimicking Zenitsu and Tanjiro's breathing styles.
Regarding my [Flash Step], I acquired it after consistently using the Thunder Breathing Technique to enhance my footwork. This skill proves useful as it bears similarities to the one in the anime.
Oh right. The previous [Apply Poison] was changed to [Apply Abnormal Condition] after my frequent encounters with venomous animals, insects, or arachnids, which I consumed. As the name implies, [Apply Abnormal Condition] is a skill to administer a poisonous substance through injection. The effect could range from paralysis to freezing blood or something similar. Despite being quite deadly, it's still a slow-acting poison. So, anyone with an antidote could save themselves.
Anyway, the talking crow led us to a certain place for lodging after the mission had finished. Let's just not mention how noisy Inosuke was on our way.
After arriving at the lodging place, we had a doctor check us out. The result was that only Tanjiro had an internal injury. If I remember correctly in the anime, Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and Inosuke should have sustained serious injuries at this time. However, that didn't happen because of me.
After the doctor left, Inosuke started to provoke me to fight, though I ignored him. He had completely forgotten about Nezuko inside the box.
At that moment, Zenitsu opened his mouth, "Tanjiro. I want to ask you something since nobody has asked you yet. What are you lugging around an oni for?"
With that question, everyone glanced at Tanjiro reflexively. Tanjiro looked at me and Zenitsu for a while before replying with a smile, "So, you two knew it all along while protecting the box? You're really good people. Thank you."
Zenitsu was embarrassed, being praised as a good person by Tanjiro. Then, Tanjiro added while looking at me, "My nose is very sharp. I can differentiate between an oni and a human. Strangely enough, your scent is different from those two, I wonder why. But, I knew that you're a good person and very strong. This also applies to Zenitsu."
"No, I'm not strong. Can you not joke around!? This isn't funny!" Zenitsu retorted in annoyance.
"It's better if you tell us the reason why you bring an oni with you despite becoming a demon slayer." This time, I reminded him.
But, just before Tanjiro said something, the wooden box with an oni inside started to shake. Zenitsu creeped out by this while Inosuke looked at it without doing anything.
A moment later, a cute lolita figure appeared from the box before that cute figure altered her body size, becoming a young girl around 150 cm in height.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro called her.
From this point, I could see how dumbfounded Zenitsu was. As for Inosuke, he took off the mask, then rubbed his eyes before putting the mask back on. In the end, Inosuke decided to lay his body on the mattress as if he wanted to throw away his hallucination.
Well, what would they expect? Normally, an oni would attack when it saw any human. But, it didn't seem to be the case for Nezuko.
As Tanjiro wanted to introduce his sister, Nezuko, to everyone, Zenitsu shot him with bloodshot eyes.
"YOU'RE SO LUCKY!"
"Eh?"
"SO, YOU WERE ALWAYS CARRYING SUCH A CUTE GIRL WITH YOU! YOU WERE CARRYING SUCH A CUTE GIRL WITH YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND GOING ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY WITH JOY…" Zenitsu couldn't help but pent up his frustration toward Tanjiro.
He added, "AND DON'T FORGET, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO PREVENTED ME FROM GETTING A GIRL TO MARRY!"
"Zenitsu, please calm down," Tanjiro said, baffled by Zenitsu's sudden outburst.
But then, Zenitsu grabbed his Nichirin Sword, declaring, "GUYS LIKE YOU NEED TO BE EXTERMINATED IMMEDIATELY!"
And Zenitsu's hollering continued all the way until dawn.
✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂✂
On the day Tanjiro was about to recover, we received an emergency mission, instructing us to go to Natagumo Mountain without delay.
I was certain that this mission involved encountering the spider oni. It was my opportunity to increase my power, and I couldn't afford to miss it. This could potentially elevate me to an 8-B level, considering that the enemy this time was one of the Twelve-something.
By the way, it had been a month since I arrived in this world. Despite my current level, if I were to return to my world, I still wouldn't be able to accomplish much. It was a dilemma. In my world, the monsters were initially weak, and the gate was classified as an E rank. However, over the years, the monsters became increasingly powerful, and even a peak B rank gate appeared before my death.
I'm afraid that an A rank gate or above has already appeared in my world. If that's the case, I can only hope that my strength is sufficient to confront an A rank or S rank monster before I return. However, I don't know the scale of an A rank or S rank monster.
I shook my head. My thinking was out of place. It might be better if I just discarded that thought and focused on increasing my strength to survive in this world, especially since I didn't know precisely how strong Muzan was.
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