After a few minutes, Ryou met two demons, one with long hair and horns, and another with scythe-shaped arms.
They posed no threat to him as he sliced their heads with a swing of his sword and ended their miserable fate.
'+2 Demon Points' After seeing the notification, Ryou summoned the status panel.
[~ Name: Ryou
Physique: Nature [Entry - 60%]
Skill: Nature Breathing - Basic [5/10], Tekkai - Intermediate [2/10], Sharingan[Not upgradeable]
Demon Points: 5 ~]
'Finally!' He added the '5' Demon Points to upgrade his Nature Breathing to the Intermediate level. As he did that, his Nature Breathing skill changed to Intermediate [0/50].
A mysterious feeling rushed into his mind, forcing him into a daze. He was in a dream-like state where he's been practicing the Nature Breathing style for countless years.
At some point, a change happened as his skill and breathing pattern broke through some kind of shackle and advanced to the next level.
After a moment, he came back to his senses. The relentless repetition was fresh in his mind as he pushed himself beyond his previous limitations, shattering the boundaries that once constrained him.
He felt his body and mind in sync, advancing his combat prowess to unprecedented heights. 'What a wonderful feeling!'
As he breathed along the familiar breathing pattern, his entire body brimmed with strength while he felt as light as a feather. Without demon points, it would have taken years of practice to reach this stage.
'My current strength should be close to that of Hashira. With Tekkai, even dealing with the Lower Moon Demons wouldn't be a problem for me.
Finally, I have some strength to protect myself against any danger!'
With a slight exhale, Ryou once again focused his attention on the status panel. 'I need Fifty points to advance to the next level.
It shouldn't be difficult but it takes time. Considering I'm still in the Final Selection, I should accumulate as much as I can! No time to waste! Time to hunt!'
--
After an hour, Ryou's sharp hearing caught the sound of fighting coming from far away. Without hesitation, he took off, flashing into the trees toward the source.
"Someone help me!" He heard a sound after a few seconds of the dash.
Arriving at the scene, Ryou saw a young demon slayer limping on the ground with his leg injured and bleeding.
A little away from him is a Demon, with grayish skin, and a toned yet rugged body wearing torn and tattered clothes.
The demon had a sword impaled through its heart pinning it to a tree. It seems like the Demon Slayer put up a good fight before being injured by the demon.
"Save me," The Demon Slayer noticed Ryou and stretched his hand.
The demon yanked the sword and threw it away. "Ahhh! Do you know how many days since I last feasted on someone?
This place is killing me. I am going kill you all." The demon roared and lunged at the fallen slayer.
With the strength of his legs, Ryou dashed forward and delivered a powerful kick that flung the demon crashing into one of the trees.
"Are you okay?" Ryou asked.
"I am injured." The Demon slayer spoke and punched the ground in frustration, "Why am I so weak? Just a little bit, I would have killed the demon!"
The Demon sprang up and came at Ryou with fury-filled eyes. A swing at lightning-fast decapitated the demon and turned it into ashes.
'+1 Demon Point'
'So fast!' The demon slayer came back to his senses as the demon attacked. He looked at Ryou and spoke through his gritted teeth. "Don't leave any demons alive. Unlike me, you are strong! "
"Yeah!" Ryou could tell the other party is impacted by Demons in some way. Most of the Demon Slayers are.
Picking up the Nichirin sword from the ground, he tossed it to the owner and said, "You can stay beside me for the night. Once the Sun is up, you can leave! Come back stronger for the next trial."
"Don't waste your time on me. I will be a burden with my injured leg. My blood will attract the demons!"
'He has a good heart!' Ryou thought and grinned, "It would be nice if your blood attracted the demons, I wouldn't have to search for them."
'What? He's crazy!' The Demon Slayer thought.
Just like the man said, his blood attracted three more demons towards them but they were easily solved by Ryou. Once Dawn came up, the young Demon Slayer limped toward the exit.
--
With the Sun high up in the sky, the demons hid underground or retreated to a sunless area. Using the time, Ryou found a good spot to take some rest.
After resting for six hours, he woke up and began to practice. With his Breathing Style advanced to the next level, he can speed up the progress of advancing his physique.
After a few hours of practice, his physique grew by 3%. 'With such a rate of improvement, I can advance my physique to the next level within a few days.'
Soon, the sky turned dark with all the stars twinkling beside the silver half-moon. Ryou started another night of hunting. With his formidable strength, he overpowered the demons with a single strike.
Just like that six days passed, but he failed to find the Hand Demon. Today's the last day of the Final Selection.
In the six days, he beheaded countless demons bringing his kill points to '20'. As time passed, the number of demons he encountered diminished sharply.
For instance, yesterday, he encountered only one demon. 'Did the Demons shut themself after finding the decrease in the numbers of the same kind?'
Ryou strolled around the forest, looking for the trace of demons. He scoured thoroughly with enhanced vision by opening Sharingan.
Suddenly, he noticed a Nichirin sword in the distance while some tinges of Blood painted the trees. Following the trace, he found an area that was ravaged by something huge.
There were broken swords and some parts of bodies. He soon discovered a living human leaning against a tree with blood all over his body.
'Is it the hand demon?' Ryou thought and approached the Demon Slayer whose face plastered with fear and blood. "What happened?"
"The Demon's still out there!" The Demon Slayer rasped; his words were out of breath. Ryou noticed he was shaking in fear.
"What did the Demon look like?"
"He's huge with countless hands wrapped around!" The Demon Slayer shivered and sobbed, "It chased after my friend!"
"It's the Hand Demon!" Ryou's eyes narrowed. And before he could go look for him, his feet felt a rumbling sound in the ground as if something heavy moving towards him.