Chapter 114: Lower Moon? You Mean an XP Bag!
"My little brother, Taichi... he was four years younger than me."
"That night, my parents had gone to the neighboring village to help with the
harvest. It was just the two of us at home."
Masachika stared at the distant peaks, his eyes unfocused as if looking through
time.
"Everything was fine. I was teaching him the characters I'd learned at school
that day. He was listening so intently... and then the window just shattered."
"That was the first time I saw a demon."
The boy paused, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.
"Before that, I thought they were just bedtime stories adults used to keep kids
from wandering off at night."
The memories of that night flooded back, and Masachika's face darkened with a
heavy gloom. A demon had appeared out of nowhere, breaking into their ordinary
life the moment the adults were gone. Its body was grotesquely muscled, its eyes
were blood-red like a beast's, and the aura it radiated was pure terror.
The young Masachika had been paralyzed with fear.
But his brother was behind him.
That thought alone allowed him to claw back a sliver of sanity. He grabbed his
father's wood-chopping axe from the corner and stood between his brother and the
monster.
His body was shaking uncontrollably. But he wanted to protect him.
"Looking back, it was so stupid," Masachika muttered, a bitter smile tugging at
his lips. "A child with a rusty axe... I never stood a chance."
"But you stood your ground," Natsuya noted.
"Yeah. I stood my ground."
Masachika let out a hollow laugh. "The thing swatted me aside like a fly. I hit
the wall so hard two of my ribs snapped. I couldn't move. I just had to lie
there and watch as it walked toward Taichi."
"Taichi was crying. And then... there was no 'after' for him."
The mountain wind blew past, carrying the chill of late autumn.
"By the time I could crawl again, the sun was almost up."
Natsuya looked thoughtful. "The demon... it only took your brother?"
"Yes. It came specifically for Taichi. He... he was likely a Marechi (Rare
Blood)."
Masachika gripped his practice sword. "It carried him off. We eventually found
what was left of his... remains... in the deep woods nearby."
It was only after he came to train under Master Kazami that he learned about
Marechi—blood that is exceptionally nutritious and 'delicious' to demons. Far
more valuable than a 'useless' brother like him.
That was why the demon had ignored him like a piece of trash after wounding him.
He had spent countless nights wondering: If I had been the one with the Rare
Blood instead of Taichi, maybe he'd still be here.
When his parents returned at dawn, exhausted and dusty, they were met with a
blood-stained wreck of a home, a crippled son, and a missing child. His mother
had fainted on the spot and remained bedridden for weeks. His father, eyes
bloodshot, had carried Masachika on his back, sprinting all the way to the
nearest clinic.
The brother died. The protector survived.
Natsuya rubbed his chin. This "honest kid" had parents who were still alive, yet
he chose this suicide-mission of a career. That was rare in the Corps.
"They didn't blame me. Not once."
"When my mother finally woke up, she just hugged me and cried, saying: 'Thank
goodness you lived.' "
The boy's voice began to crack. "But I don't want that 'thank goodness.' I would
have given anything... anything..."
Natsuya handed him a water canteen. Masachika took a few large gulps, coughing
as the water went down the wrong way.
"Later, I asked around. It took a long time, but I eventually found out the
Demon Slayer Corps existed."
He wiped his face, his gaze focusing again as he looked at Natsuya. "I want to
get strong. As strong as you, Aniki."
"Strong enough that next time, I won't freeze. I won't fall down."
"Strong enough to stand in front of someone, instead of lying behind them and
watching."
"And then," the boy said, his voice dropping into a heavy, resonant tone, "I'm
going to find the demon from that night. I'll find it, and I'll cut it down."
"For Taichi. And for... the me that couldn't save him."
Natsuya stood up, brushing the grass off his pants.
"In that case, stop talking and start training until you die."
His tone was blunt and direct as he looked at his "Cheap Junior."
"With your current stats, forget revenge. If you're 'lucky' enough to run into
that same demon today..."
Natsuya didn't finish, but the implication was clear. A demon that knew the
value of Marechi and had successfully consumed it wouldn't be weak. At the very
least, it would have mastered a Blood Demon Art by now. With Masachika's current
skill level, he'd just be another delivery meal.
Masachika bit his lip. Despite the sting, he couldn't argue with Natsuya's
logic.
"So, starting tomorrow, we're doubling the daily training volume."
Masachika: "?"
"If you aren't high-intensity leveling, how do you expect to get strong?"
"Don't worry. With your Aniki personally 'modding' your routine, your leveling
speed will be leagues ahead of the Old Fossil's."
How high is the Master's teaching level? Natsuya thought. He clearly doesn't
know the meta of [Mentorship LV.3].
"Once you finish the basic drills, or once you pass the Selection, I'll give you
some private lessons on advanced mechanics."
"Input reading, combat logic, and a custom 'Patch' for your Breathing Style."
"Honestly, in our Wind lineage, almost no one makes a name for themselves using
the standard 'Vanilla' build. It just goes to show how bad the Old Man's
curriculum is—"
Masachika: "..." (Is it really okay to talk trash about Master that openly?)
Natsuya, meanwhile, was staring at his HUD. Based on Masachika's current growth
rate, if they kept up the grind, the boy might actually be able to trade blows
with a Lower Moon eventually.
Hm? My [Gathering], [Pharmacy], and [Fist Theory] all leveled up over the last
two days?
Natsuya suddenly remembered the "Avenger" background he had rolled during
character creation. The text was simple: "Sister killed by a demon."
Just like almost every other Slayer in the game. It was a thin, generic
background asset.
But looking at Masachika's battered but determined face, Natsuya realized the
truth. Behind those few lines of text on his HUD were thousands of real,
blood-soaked nights experienced by people who laughed and cried.
"Man," Natsuya whispered to himself, a small smirk playing on his lips. "The
devs actually put some effort into the immersion."
The day the crow arrived with a new mission, Natsuya was in the forest behind
the dojo with Masachika, grinding skills.
Specifically: Chopping wood.
Even though Master Kazami had politely mentioned that the woodshed was already
overflowing, Natsuya continued to drag his Junior into the hills every other day
under the guise of "Cultivation."
For Masachika, it wasn't just a chore. He noticed that just by watching the way
Natsuya swung the axe—how the force traveled through his body and the way he
breathed as the blade bit into the trunk—he was gaining "Experience."
Even his wooden sword skills felt sharper after a day of wood-cutting. He'd
asked Natsuya about it once.
Natsuya had naturally taken all the credit, attributing it to his [Mentorship
LV.3].
My teaching style is reaching the realm of enlightenment. The Great Path is
simple, and all roads lead to Rome. Do you understand, Little Masachika?
"CAW! NATSUYA! NEW MISSION! NEW MISSION!"
"SUBJUGATION! SUBJUGATION MISSION! CAW! POTENTIAL LOWER MOON SIGHTING NEAR
NAGOYA! GO! GO! CAW!"
Shiro landed on Masachika's head. While preening its feathers with its beak, it
shrieked the orders at Natsuya.
Natsuya hadn't been interested at first. Farming regular demons—even Blood Demon
Art users—didn't offer a great ROI (Return on Investment) for his current level.
But the words [LOWER MOON] changed everything.
The memory of the "flavor" of Lower Moon Five, Mukago, and that massive 1,000+
XP dump was still fresh.
Mmm. The delicious taste of an Elite Mob.
He looked at Masachika, who was currently wrestling with the crow to get it off
his head.
[Masachika Kumeno (Power Level: 25)] — Wind Breathing LV.1
This kid could pass the Selection now if he had to. But with six months until
the next exam, more grinding will make him a much more stable unit.
"Masachika. Nagoya isn't close." Natsuya handed his axe to his Junior. "Don't
let the grind slip while I'm gone."
"Tell the Old Man I've gone to work."
The bean-browed boy hugged the heavy axe to his chest and nodded seriously.
"Yes, Aniki! Safe travels!"
Natsuya's silhouette flickered. Before the boy could even blink, his Senior was
gone—carried away like a breeze through the trees, vanishing into the shadows of
the forest.
I've made so much progress... yet I still can't even track his movement frames?
Masachika took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the axe handle. He looked
at the mountain of split logs beside him.
The kitchen is full, so... am I really going to do what Aniki suggested? Am I
really going to stack these in Master's study?
He recalled Natsuya's "Logical" explanation: "There's only three of us. The Old
Fossil's study is empty space anyway. We're just 'optimizing spatial resource
allocation' by turning it into a secondary woodshed."
"Senior is always right," Masachika muttered.
He raised the axe, aimed for the next log, and swung with everything he had.
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you