Chapter 304: Stage 2 - Demon Slayer
Time flew by, flapping its wings in the foggy winter.
Once again, after many months, Kai found himself sitting in the white hall on a chair, facing a giant white screen. However, unlike the last time, he was the sole Candidate here, surrounded by the plain whiteness and silence.
Kai put his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned back, waiting for the Systems to brief him about the upcoming 2nd Stage and the personalized world. A bubble of anticipation glistened in his heart, sensing the arrival of the Bleach World where he should've been sent for his Initiation Mission, to begin with.
The voices originated from Kai's surroundings, and the same words appeared on the giant screen as well.
[[Suppressing all memories related to the Demon Slayer Random World and its many timelines]]
'Huh?!' Kai had just processed the sentence, his eyebrows raised when a drilling pain made him fall to his knees.
The headache from the maturation of Golduck's mind jewel had been already making his life miserable. This sudden pain shook his body to its core. Now, Kai could bear the pain, if he truly wanted to. Over two years of slaughter and walking on the demonic path had taught him that, at the least. But this pain that he was feeling right now wasn't truly physical. Not to mention, there was no defense against it. Its origin lay in Kai's spirituality, in his soul. Yet, knowing this didn't ease his pain. The only one who had been making this pain bearable was Selene, using her Skill, Soul Chill.
Crack!
Something shattered within him, and it was over. When Kai regained access to his faculties, he had already forgotten the reason for his fall and the excruciating pain in his head.
'Fuck!' Kai cursed, massaging his temples and returning to the chair. 'Did I black out or something? It didn't happen before. Tch!'
The voices returned as if it was the first time they were revealing themselves to Kai, and the screen reflected the words as they echoed around him.
[[
The Systems welcome Candidate, Kai Stormborn, to the 2nd Stage of ?#?!?###? Tournament of Worth.
The 2nd Stage, as communicated before, is personalized to match each Candidate's capabilities based upon their stats, experiences, and analyzed-growth. As the location of this stage is a particular timeline of an entire Random World, the Candidate will be given a Main Mission with a Time Limit.
To clear the 2nd Stage, the Candidate must survive the Random World for the said Time Limit in addition to completing the Mission Objective.
For all sense and purposes, the Candidate can observe this 2nd Stage as another Random World teleportation with a mission. However, the Candidate must not forget that he is not required to spread imbalance or balance in this case.
Adhering to the last instructions, a visual feed of the Candidate's actions will be available to all Contestants who will pay to access it. The facial features of the Candidate will be blurred in the same sense.
The Main Mission is as follows:
]]
Kai winced away the pain, straightened his spine, and brought his focus to the screen. If it wasn't for the word "personalized", he might not have been giving it much thought.
Now, though, circumstances seemed to have changed. One moment of loose focus and incaution would cause his death, Kai knew.
But the moment words appeared on the screen, the bubble of anticipation, which had been trembling in excitement till now, burst with a furious pop.
[[
Survival Mission: What is Demon?
Survival World: Demon Slayer
Survival Mission Summary: You have obtained the Package. Both Demon and Demon Slayer factions desire the same Package and will come after the Candidate to obtain it. As a Candidate, you must ensure the safety of the Package for the entire Time Limit, keeping it close to yourself.
The Package must not leave a radius of 10 meters from the Candidate for over 10 minutes. An HP bar will be assigned to the Package as well. The Candidate must ensure that the Package's HP will not drop over 90% of its value ever.
Survival Mission Objective: Find the answer
Survival Mission Time Limit: 1 month
Survival Mission Difficulty: D+
Survival Mission Hint: Ask
Note:
1. The collective threat level of the Survival Mission is equivalent to a top-level 6th-floor Contestant. The threat level of individual Characters within the world will vary as per the norm, reaching as high as a top-level 5th-floor or a freshly advanced 6th-floor Contestant.
2. Inventory will be inaccessible to the Candidate once teleported. Please take out the objects of your choice here only.
3. Basic info on the Survival World is now available for the Candidate. Please collect it from the table.
]]
Following the notification, a table sprang up with a Tablet placed neatly over it.
Yet, Kai didn't move. His face was hideously contorted, with displeasure trickling off his bloodshot eyes. Dissatisfaction and betrayal were the words that could barely hope to describe the state of his feelings.
Demon Slayer? He had never heard of it. For even Item-M to not mention this world meant that this World wasn't known as well among Contestants as the likes of Bleach, Naruto, and Harry Potter. Given the ancient history of the Primordial Tower, that was saying something in itself. Where was Bleach? He wanted to see it. He wanted to experience it, live it, and, if possible, enjoy it.
Then there was the matter of Mission Difficulty.
D+ was the grade assigned to his current Mission. And that was only because he had compressed three floors' worth of mission into one. Otherwise, if he had gone with it all as an ordinary Contestant, then he wouldn't have to face a D+ grade mission before reaching the 6th floor.
There was no mystery about it, Kai observed. The fucking Systems had given Kai a mission that was normal for a 6th-floor Contestant, not a 4th-floor one. If he wasn't wrong, then Kai strongly believed it was a direct outcome of him having a Glitch.
Kai took a deep breath, deeper than the normal ones, and stood up. He went to the table, snatched the tablet off it, and returned to the chair.
As he pressed his thumb to its back, the screen came alive with basic info on the Random World. It briefly introduced him to the Demons, the Demon Slayers, and the unforgivable rivalry between the two factions.
Suddenly, contrary to Kai's expectations, he found some things that brightened up his mood.
'So, this world does have swords and sword-related Abilities,' Kai thought, smiling. 'If I am not mistaken, then I will play the part of a demon. Well, no need to put extra effort there. Haha!'
One more thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning. Hmm, he wondered, pressing his eyebrows, would I be able to devour these Demons?
Once he was done with it, Kai put the Tablet back on the table, which disappeared inside the floor.
All things that needed to be told, had been told to him. But Kai knew it wasn't the time to leave yet, for the time that he had been looking forward to the most had finally arrived.
And sure enough, the voices returned, along with the words on the screen.
[[
Candidate Kai Stormborn, based on your 1st Stage performance, many Contestants have contacted Chaos to become your sponsor.
Do you want to avail such a privilege?
]]
The sly grin on Kai's face came naturally to him now.
*********
AN: An event is coming related to the Demon Slayer Mini Arc. The details of the event will be shared with "Readers" on Discord Channel in a few days. Enjoy!!!
PS: The average word count of Mini Arc is ~1800. So if some chapters feel short, you might get a bigger one next time.
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