Li Mo now roughly understood what it felt like to lose a sense of purpose.
Some things, if you haven't experienced them, you won't truly appreciate them. Some emotions, if you haven't felt them, you can't genuinely empathize.
In the past, Li Mo had never imagined that one day he would find himself staring blankly at a computer screen… There were so many games, yet he had no desire to open any of them. Why was that?
Was it digital impotence?
He didn't want that.
But even as he said that, he still felt bored. He felt like he had no motivation to do anything. In the demon-slaying world, everything he did was for the sake of killing demons. His goal back then was to make Muzan bask in the sun.
But now that he was back, what was he supposed to do?
"I have no idea…"
Everything at home felt so unfamiliar, and a sense of loneliness washed over him. Li Mo suddenly thought that being at school was better than being at home—at least he could bicker with Yukinoshita in the front row.
"Then I'll just study," he thought, recalling Yukinoshita's performance during lunch break. He felt he couldn't keep going like this. How could he let someone waste their breath on him for no reason?
After studying for a while, staring at the web pages filled with search results for various questions, he suddenly realized that studying was even harder than killing demons…
Looking at the extra attribute points he had gained from leveling up, Li Mo wondered if he should allocate them to intelligence to see what would happen.
Li Mo shifted his focus to the system. There was no beginner's guide, and everything had to be figured out on his own. Even after three years, he still had a lot of questions.
For example, when would the next dungeon open? What if it opened while he was in class? Although time was almost frozen when he went to a dungeon, what if, like when he went to the demon-slaying world, he returned with a gaping hole in his stomach? What would he do then?
And another thing… what would the time flow be like between this world and the demon-slaying world after he returned?
"I really want to dismantle this stupid system. But unfortunately, I can't."
It wasn't that he shouldn't dismantle it, but that he couldn't. It was purely a matter of ability.
Li Mo closed his eyes and thought about his skills. 「Secret Sword: Swallow Reversal」 was undoubtedly a high-level sword technique. After learning it, Li Mo could use it… but he probably couldn't even cut down a swallow.
It was too slow.
Even if he could slash three times in an instant, it would take dozens of seconds—by then, it would be too late.
"I still need to practice diligently."
The system did a good job in this regard. Skills only improved with diligent use. That was how he had quickly mastered 「Total Concentration: Constant」.
As for unlocking 「Scarlet Blade」, that was purely due to his talent. As for the Demon Slayer Mark… Li Mo touched his forehead. There was no scar-like mark there yet.
It might take some more time.
...
...
Even though he had aged three years, Li Mo still didn't stand out much among the students. His appearance hadn't changed much, and most people weren't familiar with him.
The one who attracted everyone's attention was still someone like Hayama, the sunny boy.
When the school bell rang, the previously quiet classroom became noisy. Li Mo stretched and poked the back of his classmate in front of him: "Yukinoshita-san, shall we go together?"
"Must you use your hands to talk? Can't you just speak?"
"It's like our English teacher's hands—when he talks, he has to move them around. It feels weird if he doesn't," Li Mo said seriously.
The English teacher for Class 2-J was a foreigner, and during class, his hands were always moving around, giving the impression that if you held his hands, he wouldn't be able to speak.
Yukinoshita sighed. "Your ears are truly useless."
"No, Yukinoshita-san, my ears are too useful. They automatically filter out unnecessary sentences. In reality, ears are just receivers. The real filtering is done by my brain…"
Li Mo continued to babble as he followed Yukinoshita to the Service Club. Along the way, Yukinoshita looked at him with a gaze that seemed to say, "I'm dealing with an idiot."
Even Yukinoshita Yukino felt helpless. As for harsh words, she had said them too, but the other person was shameless—he took no shame in it and even seemed proud.
She should have disliked such a person, but in reality, Yukinoshita didn't hate him that much. Why was that?
"Did you buy snacks today?" Hearing the boy's endless chatter, Yukinoshita changed the topic as they entered the clubroom.
"Yes, I bought them this morning and left them in the clubroom."
"Oh."
"By the way, Yukinoshita-san, can we continue with the problem from lunch?"
"Your attitude toward studying has changed a lot."
"Well, can't I suddenly become motivated?"
Yukinoshita ignored Li Mo's antics and began brewing tea.
Li Mo took out the pastries he had brought in the morning. They were from a coffee shop he had passed by. He heard the pastry chef there was very skilled and, incidentally, a legal loli.
As for the taste… Li Mo hadn't tried them, so he couldn't judge, but the online reviews were positive. They should be good, right?
"Is that… a manga?"
"Yes, *Demon Slayer*. I'll read it later. I even bought the fan guidebook."
"Oh."
They then continued with the problem from lunch. In a few minutes, the remaining questions were resolved.
Li Mo sipped his tea and said, "Yukinoshita-san, do you remember what I said yesterday? When I was traveling through worlds, I met someone whose voice sounded a lot like yours. Well… there were differences, but the overall vibe was similar."
"Really?" Yukinoshita said.
She held her light novel and spoke softly.
"But unlike Yukinoshita-san, that girl had a super short temper. Nothing like Yukinoshita-san's subtlety… Yukinoshita-san, are you really this cold?"
Yukinoshita didn't believe in time travel. "That was just your subconscious using my voice as a reference to create something in your dream.
Dreams are just the subconscious piecing together fragments of what you've seen and heard during the day."
If people remembered their dreams, they would realize that the elements in them were all things they already knew. Unfortunately, most people forget their dreams shortly after waking up.
"Yukinoshita-san is right!"
Yukinoshita picked up a pastry, took a bite, and slowly savored it with her tea. Her slender hands flipped through the light novel in her hands as she enjoyed this rare moment of relaxation.
—Until the third member of the Service Club, Hikigaya Hachiman, arrived.
"Yo, Hikigaya's here. Come have some afternoon tea. Did you bring a cup today? Oh, is that girl behind you your classmate?"
Li Mo greeted Hikigaya. Behind him was a girl with a pink bun hairstyle.