Restored to his peak state, Ryou once again started practicing his breathing style from the first form. Like last time, a strand of natural energy seeped into his body as soon as he completed the nine forms.
The natural energy broke into tiny fragments and coursed through every part of his body, strengthening his flesh, bones, and blood vessels.
Just as he considered practicing for another round, a sharp pain struck his lungs.
'My body still isn't strong enough to perform the Nature Breathing style continuously!' Ryou figured.
Knowing he had done enough for the day, he shifted to light exercise and stretching before proceeding to excavate more iron ore. After all, he depended on them for food and clothing.
Ryou then descended the mountain and headed to Uncle Daishi's house. Upon reaching his house, he knocked on the door.
After a minute, Daishi opened the door and welcomed him inside. "Ryou, place the ores over there. I need your help with something."
"Sure, Uncle Daishi." Both of them walked to the backyard where Daishi typically worked on his blacksmithing.
Uncle Daishi was skilled in crafting all kinds of weapons, but he mainly focused on producing special iron used for making weapons and selling it.
He only forged weapons upon special request. Right now, he was making a sword for a friend. The process had reached the second stage: purifying the steel.
In this stage, they needed to heat and fold the steel countless times to remove impurities, which was a crucial step. Since Ryou had great muscle strength, he assisted Uncle Daishi in this process. Day turned to night as Daishi and Ryou finished the hammering process.
As a reward, Daishi cooked and provided Ryou with a sumptuous dinner. "As always, your food tastes great, Uncle Daishi. Instead of blacksmithing, I think you should open a restaurant." Ryou joked, emptying the last bowl of rice.
"You brat, you've changed a lot recently. You're brimming with energy and strength. Looks like you weren't joking when you said that!" Uncle Daishi sighed.
"I wasn't," Ryou replied.
"Sigh... Demons have been ravaging this land for thousands of years. Countless people have lost their families and lives at their hands. If not for the Demon Slayers, this land would have turned into hell long ago.
I heard that only sunlight and a special sword can kill a demon. If we somehow obtain the ore used to make that special sword, I can at least help you forge a weapon that can kill demons."
"I am currently searching for that ore. Once I find it, you'll be the first person I come to," Ryou promised.
"Haha! If you can find that ore, I will use everything I've learned in my life to create the perfect sword for you."
"Good!" Ryou responded.
--
Early Morning,
After running up and down the mountain for two hours, Ryou came to his usual spot to exercise and stretch his body. Completing them, he walked to a medium-sized boulder.
Grabbing the rope that bounds the boulder, Ryou placed the rope over his shoulder and used every ounce of his strength to pull it.
To his surprise, he was able to drag them with half of his strength. He immediately understood his strength had grown because of the Natural energy.
'It's time to switch to a larger one!'
Ryou then switched his training to stone-throwing. Holding a stone that weighs around 30 Kg, he did some simple movements mimicking his sword moves and threw them over his head.
He repeated the process twenty times before coming to a stop. Till noon, he did all kinds of exercises that would improve his arm and leg strength with some Yoga techniques for flexibility.
Drawing out his sword, Ryou walked to a nearby tree and slashed. With a single swing of his sword, the tree that had a huge trunk was neatly cut into two.
'My skills are still there,' He thought and set his sight on the boulder that he uses for practice.
Inhaling a breath of air, Ryou gripped his sword tightly and sprinted forward before slashing at the huge boulder.
He failed to cleave it in one strike! The blade carved a deep cut, slicing through one-third of it. Yet it wasn't enough. This boulder was even smaller than the one Tanjiro had cut after his two-year training.
He set a goal for himself. 'The day I slice through a boulder larger than Tanjiro's is the day I begin my hunt for demons.'
--
Time Passed
Days became weeks. Weeks became months.
Six months flew by as Ryou relentlessly trained his body, swordsmanship, and Nature Breathing.
[~ Name: Ryou
Race: Ordinary Human
Skill: Nature Breathing - Unranked [4/5]
Demon Points: 0 ~]
He was just one point away from reaching the 'Basic' level in his Nature Breathing style. But no matter how hard he trained, he couldn't break through the last step.
Though he had fully grasped the fundamentals of the Nature Breathing method, he was still far away from mastering it to the level where he could constantly maintain the breathing state during the morning, noon, night, or even in his sleep.
It's too difficult and needs constant practice.
Apart from that, the major change came from his physique. He has grown tall, reaching 6'3" in height, while his once-short black hair has grown past his shoulders. His entire body brimmed with vitality and strength.
With his current strength, it won't be a problem for him to fight against some ordinary demons.
He also completed his small goal a month back, splitting a huge boulder with a single sword strike. The reason why he hadn't left yet was because he was waiting for Uncle Daishi to finish something.
Since he doesn't have the Nirchirin sword, it won't be easy to kill the demons. His only option is to fight the demon till sunrise or contain them with something.
He asked Uncle Daishi to make things that would help him restrain a demon until Sunrise. And, the things he asked for were finished last night, so he plans to set out today!
After cleaning himself up, Ryou donned a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and black pants he had bought a few days ago. He also trimmed his hair back to shoulder length.
"It's time to go!"