[The hunter has entered within a one-kilometer radius of Contract Violator No. 13521. The Tracking function is now activated.]
A small map-like view appeared before Lin Jiu's eyes, indicating his current position and a red dot, clearly marking the location of the Violator.
Toko watched Lin Jiu leave in a certain direction, not saying a word. She was smart and knew she was currently a burden. Facing weaker demons wasn't a problem, but encountering a strong opponent would make her a liability.
From Lin Jiu's serious expression earlier, it was clear that the enemy he was about to face wasn't simple. They couldn't help, and knowing this, Toko had been diligently learning Water Breathing and sword techniques from Tanjiro.
"Red-senpai seems to have sensed a formidable enemy. We'll have to handle things here ourselves," Tanjiro said, gripping the sword in his hand.
Zenitsu finally had the chance to cry out loud, but he couldn't utter a word, looking as if he was on the verge of tears.
"Red-senpai, come back... Staying by your side was so safe..."
Zenitsu no longer minded Lin Jiu hitting him. Compared to facing danger, a light hit was nothing!
"You all stay outside, I'll leave this box here. She will protect you."
Tanjiro said, putting down the box containing Nezuko, and then dragged Zenitsu into the house.
Toko didn't have the strength to kill demons independently and wasn't suited to go inside and cause trouble. However, the siblings beside her didn't understand the situation. Hearing the box making a noise, they got scared and, without waiting for Toko to explain, rushed into the house, thinking it would be safer to follow Tanjiro.
Sighing helplessly, Toko could only pray silently for their safety. The box beside her was still shaking, so she opened it. Inside, Nezuko looked at her with soft pink eyes.
Toko gently patted Nezuko's head, and Nezuko held Toko's hand with both of hers.
Toko smiled and said, "Nezuko, you can come out now."
Tanjiro hadn't let Nezuko out, fearing she might scare the siblings. But Toko had seen Nezuko before and had heard about their experiences from Tanjiro on the way.
Being of similar age and having similar experiences allowed Toko to get along well with Nezuko. Though Nezuko was one or two years older than her, Nezuko's consciousness reverted to a childlike state after becoming a demon and sleeping for two years, making Toko take on the role of an older sister.
...
Lin Jiu raced across the wilderness, quickly approaching a nearby village where the Violator's position was located.
Judging by its number, he should have entered Reincarnation Paradise around the same time as Lin Jiu. Aside from the trial world, they might have experienced one or two other worlds at most. However, this was just a possibility; the numbering might not be calculated that way.
Moreover, Violators couldn't be viewed the same way as regular contractors. While Lin Jiu could kill regular contractors with one or two world experiences, Violator could have strange abilities or might have exploited bugs in the reincarnation paradise to gain vast resources.
No matter the situation, it required careful handling, especially since Lin Jiu was still relatively weak.
...
...
"Please... don't kill me!"
Blood flowed on a village path, indicating that many people had already died. A young villager pleaded with the demon before him.
This demon looked mostly human but had a horn on his forehead, marking his demon identity. This demon was the Violator Lin Jiu was tracking, Contractor No. 13521.
Hearing the young man's plea, the Violator showed a moment of hesitation but eventually chose to kill him. However, unlike other demons, he didn't devour the victims. The bodies of the other villagers lay intact on the ground.
[You have killed a villager from the small village in the Demon Slayer World, gaining 1000 Paradise Coins]
[Warning! Warning...]
"If I hadn't been forced into the demon faction, I wouldn't have had to use the high-priced items I bought and wouldn't need to massacre ordinary people to make up for it! It's all because of the reincarnation paradise, and they have the nerve to warn me!"
The Violator said angrily.
It turned out he could earn Paradise Coins just by killing living beings, unlike regular contractors who had to gain them through treasure chests, mission rewards, or selling items.
If the trial world didn't count, the Demon Slayer world was his second world. He didn't gain much in the trial world, but in the previous world, the Naruto World, he made a fortune amidst the chaos.
After returning to Reincarnation Paradise, he had equipped himself with items, skill scrolls, and gear. Learning he was entering the Demon Slayer world, he had specifically bought relevant items at high prices.
He hadn't been transported with Lin Jiu and the others. He had already planned to join the Demon Slayer Corps, but suddenly there were only five slots left. It must have been the work of some contractor, and by the time he arrived, those contractors had likely already taken the slots.
He was forced to become a demon. Fortunately, he had enough items, including those for purifying blood, escaping Muzan Kibutsuji's control, and eliminating the weakness of sunlight.
Using these items on himself, although he retained the characteristic of demons only being killable by Nichirin Blades, he was no longer afraid of sunlight. The power in his blood also increased his strength, agility, and stamina attributes by two to three points each!
Though he now had demon traits, they only added some attribute points without causing much change.
In order not to become a monster that fears sunlight, he spent half of his fortune on items. To make up for the loss, he could only continue hunting living beings. How many ordinary people could he kill in the time it takes to compare one strong person?
The effort was less than the gain.
The Violator focused on hunting these ordinary people, as it allowed him to accumulate Paradise Coins the fastest.
Very soon, this small village was completely massacred. He muttered, "Blame the ones who forced me to become a demon."
Lin Jiu, who intercepted Contract Violator No. 13521 at the exit, heard his muttering. Could he shift the blame onto him?
Lin Jiu didn't hesitate to spend 800 Paradise Coins to activate the temporary detection skill. Previously, he only faced some cannon fodder that wasn't even Upper Moon demons, so there was no need to activate the detection skill. But when facing a Violator, it was better to be overly cautious.
Upon activation, Lin Jiu immediately used the basic detection skill on the guy in front of him.
[10 mana points consumed, basic detection activated, obtaining the following information.]
Contractor: No. 13521
Strength: 15 (5)
Agility: 13 (7)
Stamina: 15 (6)
Intelligence: 13 (5)
Charisma: 6
Note: The values in parentheses are the contractor's base stats without equipment.
Skill 1: Vertical Slash. Charges up to deal 200% damage to the opponent and cause a knockback effect (cooldown 10 minutes, forced use will weaken power).
Skill 2: Fatal Combo. Executes three consecutive horizontal sweeps, with power increasing by 30% each time. The third hit has a 5% chance to ignore defense (cooldown 20 minutes).
Skill 3: Sword Energy Residue. After using the skill, moves to a specified location and becomes invisible, leaving a clone in the original position. If the clone is defeated or after 5 seconds, the next attack's power is increased by 100% (cooldown 1 hour).
Skill 4: Demon Blood. Increases Strength, Stamina, and Agility by 2 each.
Skill 5: ???
...
Lin Jiu noted that the equipment on this guy wasn't simple. If the values in parentheses were the base stats, then it was more than just not simple. Besides the 6 attribute points from Skill 4 Demon Blood, the equipment provided nearly 30 additional attribute points!
Don't tell him this guy is wearing a full set of blue-quality equipment.
"Hey hey, so you're a contractor who joined the Demon Slayer Corps! How dare you show up in front of me, die!"
The Violator, seeing Lin Jiu in the Demon Slayer Corps uniform, roared in anger and swung his greatsword at him.
The movements were stiff, the sword-holding posture was wrong, and he charged purely with brute force!
This was Lin Jiu's first impression of the Violator in front of him. He had no combat experience and no combat talent. Although his physical attributes surpassed Lin Jiu's, he still had a fighting chance.
Lin Jiu also charged at him, turning aside and drawing his sword towards the opponent's neck as he got close.
Clang~
Although the opponent didn't react in time, an invisible shield suddenly appeared around his body, blocking Lin Jiu's sword.
"Just as I thought... A whole set of luxurious equipment, but no experience fighting strong enemies!"
Lin Jiu smiled instead of getting angry when he saw his attack blocked by the opponent's equipment skill.
The Violator didn't expect his attack to be dodged so easily. His face turned ugly as he gripped his sword and formed a stance.
Lin Jiu didn't hesitate, closing in on the Violator and stabbing his sword towards the hand holding the sword. In the next moment, The Violator had to abandon the force he was gathering and dodge. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth!
If Lin Jiu had aimed directly at his vital points, the Violator would certainly have had defensive skills to block it. After blocking Lin Jiu's attack, the force he had gathered would have struck Lin Jiu!