Chapter 89: I No Longer Lack Anything
The Master... thinks that highly of the Kokonoe kid?!
Shinjuro was the first to be truly shaken. Others might not have understood the
weight of that white jade tablet, but as a veteran who had served three
generations of the Ubuyashiki family, he knew it all too well.
That was the Master's Crest, a token held only by the Master's immediate kin.
Currently, only Kagaya and his wife, Amane, possessed them. Not even the infant
heir or the extended branch families held such a mark.
To see the Crest was to see the Master himself. Holding that jade gave one the
authority to exercise the majority of the Ubuyashiki family's power.
Shinjuro couldn't help but wonder... I've never heard of an outsider being
brought into the clan's inner circle like this. Is he being groomed for
something beyond the Hashira?
Natsuya, meanwhile, had stars in his eyes.
Special Quest Item GET! And it triggered a Hidden Quest chain!
[Side Quest: The Dawn of Reform! Part I]
- Objective: Clear the five Final Selection grounds of all demons whose Power
Levels far exceed the examinees.
- Reward: 1,000 Breathing Style XP (Adaptive Proficiency).
- Note: Subsequent missions in this chain will be affected by your completion
performance.
Meeting the Faction Leader at the Rengoku estate during a specific time-window,
having saved Lady Ruka, and having my stats hit the required threshold...
Did I need to stack all those flags just to trigger this? Natsuya mused. No,
wait. It probably required my specific 'Reform' dialogue choices too.
It looks like a massive Faction-wide chain quest...
He noticed another detail: the quest parameters were generated based on his
actual suggestions to Kagaya. The level of detail in the game's dynamic quest
system was staggering.
Am I about to shift the game from an Action RPG to a City-Sim/Management game?
Wait... if my 'First Step' suggestion had been 'Go kill the Demon King right
now,' would it have broken the quest chain or just set the difficulty to
Impossible?
I'm genuinely curious.
The rewards were massive. 1,000 XP was just the first part of the chain—equal to
nearly half a year of manual grinding for a standard Breathing Style.
But more importantly, the quest itself was pure profit.
"Clear the Final Selection grounds"? That's just a fancy way of saying "Go to
the areas with the highest mob density and farm Elites."
The hardest part of this quest isn't the killing, Natsuya realized. It's the
restraint. If I get over-excited and wipe the whole map, I might 'over-clear'
the area and break the quest line for future generations of Slayers.
As for the follow-ups? If the Master lets me design the new system, I'm going to
have 'Three-Year Plans' and 'Five-Year Reforms' popping up in my HUD.
While Natsuya was deep in "Gamer Brain," the three juniors in the yard were
reeling from the scene.
They had only caught fragments of the conversation, but Natsuya had sat as an
equal with the Master, made the Master apologize to him, and received a relic of
absolute authority.
Shinobu's initial shock turned to worry. Natsuya wasn't a Hashira. If word got
out that a Rank 3 Slayer held that much influence, it would breed jealousy,
prejudice, and secret hostility from the veterans.
Kyojuro's thoughts were much simpler. Natsuya-aniki is incredible! He healed my
mother, inspired my father, and the Master respects him! My soul is on fire! I
have to train ten times harder to catch up!
As for Senjuro? He just clutched his broom, staring at Natsuya with pure,
wide-eyed worship.
Kagaya departed shortly after.
As the Master of the Corps, he couldn't stay away from HQ for long. Now that
Lady Ruka's condition was stable and Shinjuro was returning to his senses, he
had a mountain of administrative work waiting for him.
He left in a high mood. The results of this trip had far exceeded his
expectations. All thanks to the boy named Kokonoe Natsuya.
Three days after the Master's departure.
Natsuya finally mastered the final element: Flame Breathing.
Twilight in the Rengoku dojo. Although it was deep winter, the air in the room
felt thick with a humid heat and the faint scent of charred cedar.
Natsuya didn't move. He stood in the center of the hall, eyes closed. His aura
wasn't a roar; it was like a pile of white-hot coals, pulsing with silent,
staggering heat.
He opened his HUD.
The final icon had manifested in his Skill Panel: a roaring sphere of crimson
and orange flame, shining brighter than all the rest.
[Flame Breathing]
- LV.0 Unpolished Gem
- Proficiency: 2/250
- Forms Mastered (4/9):
- First Form: Unknowing Fire
- Third Form: Blazing Universe
- Seventh Form...
From Wind to Water and Stone. Then the high-compatible Thunder and the
derivative Storm. And finally, through his own bitter manual labor: Flame.
The Five Basic Styles were now assembled.
For the first time in the millennium-long history of the Demon Slayer Corps, a
single swordsman possessed all five origins.
First in history. Probably the last, too.
"I no longer lack anything," Natsuya whispered.
There was no wild excitement in his eyes—only a bottomless, chilling clarity.
As expected. For a 'Pro Gamer' of my caliber, the System is actually just a pair
of training wheels holding me back. If I didn't have these menus, I'd probably
have reached the 'Primordial Void State' by now.
Natsuya's breathing shifted.
His weight dropped. He became the Stone—majestic, heavy, unshakeable. Then, a
supple energy coiled around him like a river rising from a rocky base. Power
began to circulate and stack—the Water. Suddenly, explosive momentum detonated
as lightning tore through the moisture. Blue-white static hissed and crackled
around his limbs—the Thunder. The friction ignited his heart. The rising heat of
the Flame turned the water to steam and used the stone as fuel. Finally, the
freedom of the Wind arrived.
It guided the forces, making them rotate, mesh, and resonate.
Natsuya clicked the [+] next to Flame Breathing.
[Compatibility: 71%]
One Achievement Point \approx 355 Proficiency.
The Rengoku lineage's version of Flame was significantly better than the "Cheap
Master's" Wind. Not quite as high as Nikaido's Thunder, but it didn't matter.
The flickering glow of the icons told him what his "Supreme Wisdom" had already
deduced. Collecting the set would trigger a special event.
System... I've been feeding you for months just for this moment.
[ALLOCATE POINTS!]
[ consumed 5 Points ] [Flame Breathing] LV.0 (17/250) \rightarrow LV.3 (42/2000)
[Your Total Concentration effect has reached Maximum Value.] [Total
Concentration has evolved: TRUE TOTAL CONCENTRATION] [Flame Breathing Bonus:
Power Level +6, +10, +15]
[Detected: All Five Basic Breathing Styles have met level requirements.]
[UNLOCKING SPECIAL CINEMATIC...]
For the first time, a manual level-up triggered a wall of notifications. But to
Natsuya, it was all going according to plan. The sheer physical density he felt
in his muscles gave him the illusion that he was already invincible.
[Kokonoe Natsuya] [The Scepter] [The Chariot] [The Star]
[Power Level: 240]
- Body: 104
- Tech: 69
- Mind: 67
LV.4: Thunder Breathing (+) LV.3: Wind, Water, Stone, Flame (+) LV.0: Storm
Breathing
"Heh... hehehe... HAHAHA! WRYYYYYYYYYY! I'm peaking! I'M ABSOLUTELY PEAKING
RIGHT NOW!!"
Natsuya finally lost his composure and let out a manic, joyous laugh that echoed
through the entire estate.
☆☆☆
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