In the mountain ranges near Hakone,
a clear volcanic lake lay encircled by forests of green pine and cedar. Under the moonlight, the reflection of Mount Fuji shimmered faintly upon the water.
Lake Ashi.
It was also one of the territories belonging to the Ubuyashiki financial house.
But compared to ordinary scenic landmarks, this place served another purpose as well.
One of the Final Selection sites of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Together with places like Fujikasane Mountain and Kurobe Gorge, it bore the responsibility of recruiting new members into the Corps and serving as the site of their final examination.
"There are a lot more people taking the test this year than usual."
"Isn't that a good thing? The more of us there are, the better we can deal with those damned demons."
"Shh, keep it down. Don't upset Lord Kamigaki."
In front of the torii gate by the lakeshore, several young men with their faces covered in cloth whispered among themselves.
They were the Kakushi.
The Demon Slayer Corps' logistical support unit.
They handled battlefield cleanup, post-battle support, intelligence delivery, and all manner of auxiliary work.
That included maintaining the Final Selection exam site.
Standing before them was a young man with a cold, aloof temperament.
His dark-wood hairpin loosely fastened his hair behind him, a few white strands spilling onto his shoulders. He wore pure white robes and hakama, with a dark purple haori draped over the top.
Kamigaki Kotomori.
A priest of Hakone Shrine, from the Kamigaki family, a house that had for generations been close allies of the Ubuyashiki line.
He was also the cousin of Kamigaki Amane, now Lady Ubuyashiki.
But today, his role was that of the overseer of this Final Selection.
Since ancient times, the Final Selection of the Demon Slayer Corps had generally been presided over personally by an Ubuyashiki or a member of their family.
But now, with the Ubuyashiki family line growing increasingly sparse, this highly ceremonial rite could only be carried out on their behalf by other priestly families close to them.
Kamigaki Kotomori did not particularly like the Ubuyashiki family.
But out of obligation to his own household, and because of his hatred for demons, he still took on the responsibility of standing here and sending a group of young swordsmen—some little more than children, others already grown—into the mountains to risk their lives.
He acted as though he heard none of the Kakushi murmuring behind him.
Instead, he looked out into the night, toward the several wooden boats gradually approaching from afar.
"It seems this is the last group."
As several swordsmen of varying heights stepped off the boats, he narrowed his eyes briefly, then strode forward.
...
"So this is the Final Selection site that bargain-bin Master was talking about?"
The moment he stepped off the boat, Xiaxi looked around with curiosity.
A torii gate, wisteria flowers, a few masked weirdos, and one shrine weirdo...
As for the other candidates nearby—
[Hedao Shota (Power Level: 27)] Flame Breathing Lv.2
[Onitetsu Saburo (Power Level: 31)] Water Breathing Lv.1
[Akimizu Reiko (Power Level: 22)] Water Breathing Lv.1
[Amaha Zan (Power Level: 19)] Thunder Breathing Lv.1
...
Don't be fooled by how each of them looked like they had a tragic backstory and the face of a seasoned expert.
Out of the twenty-something examinees here, fewer than one hand's worth even had power levels above 30.
And the number whose Breathing had reached Lv.2, Moderately Proficient, was only one.
Compared to Xiaxi's own stats, which were already nearing the 40 mark, plus his own Lv.2 Breathing, the other examinees could only be described as complete fodder.
At first, he had not been all that confident.
But now that he looked at his peers, wasn't this practically guaranteed?
As he saw it, if an organization that fought monsters wanted to recruit new blood, then the pass rate for the selection exam had to more or less match the casualty rate.
Only if recruitment roughly matched deaths could the organization avoid rapidly weakening in a high-casualty war.
Xiaxi figured that meant the pass rate was probably above sixty percent.
For a Demon Slayer Corps numbering in the hundreds, if the death rate exceeded half—even after excluding most of the logistics staff—
then the number of rookie swordsmen needing to be replenished each year was probably close to a hundred.
Five selection sites, one round of selection every half-year...
No matter how you looked at it, they'd need around ten passers per site just to barely maintain balance.
Which meant this particular selection would probably eliminate nearly half the candidates.
That was Xiaxi's reasoning.
Using the demon he had encountered a few days earlier as a reference, if two or three of these candidates teamed up, they could probably beat something of that level.
If there were multiple demons at once, then sure, casualties would happen.
He shifted his gaze to the exam staff up ahead.
[Yamanaka (Power Level: 11)] Stone Breathing Lv.0
[Akimichi (Power Level: 18)] Wind Breathing Lv.1
[Nara (Power Level: 9)] Water Breathing Lv.0
[Kamigaki Kotomori (Power Level: 6)]
Even weaker than the sword candidates...
So the chief examiner was basically an ordinary person? That meant they weren't planning to handle safety or maintain order in the exam grounds at all?
Just as Xiaxi was muttering internally, the very Kamigaki whom he had judged to be an ordinary person cleared his throat and spoke.
"Young swordsmen, thank you for gathering here tonight."
"You now stand at a crossroads of fate. Ahead of you lies Lake Ashi—your final trial ground."
"Here, I will explain the rules."
"This entire region is enclosed by a barrier of wisteria flowers that bloom year-round. Within it are imprisoned many demons captured alive by Demon Slayer swordsmen."
"But please rest assured: they will never be able to escape this mountain."
"Your task is to survive here for seven days."
"If, after seven days, you can walk out of this place alive, then you will have passed the selection."
Kamigaki Kotomori's gaze swept over the faces of the gathered swordsmen before him.
All of them were young.
The youngest looked to be no more than ten or so.
But no matter their age, not one of them showed any sign of retreat.
"The wisteria flowers are both barrier and prison. The demons cannot escape, and you can only fight them within this land."
"If at any point you feel you cannot endure it, you may withdraw from the selection and return to this torii gate."
"But no matter what you choose, remember this."
"Grip your blade. Guard your heart."
With those words, he stepped half a pace aside, revealing the narrow trail beyond the torii that gradually vanished into darkness.
"Lastly, may fortune be with you all!"
For a moment, silence fell over the entire scene.
Every one of them had undergone at least half a year of grueling training under a trainer, and nearly all of them carried a hatred for man-eating demons that could never coexist under the same sky.
But fear of the unknown and the dark was danger itself, an instinct engraved into human genes.
Especially after the overseer's speech, which had already painted these wisteria-ringed mountains as synonymous with a land of death.
No one was exactly backing out.
But most of them figured they needed at least a few deep breaths and some mental preparation before they dared step inside.
Every swordsman present thought that way.
Except...
"So, nobody going in yet? Then I'll head in first."
Xiaxi pulled out his Nichirin Blade, casually greeted the others, and crossed the torii without a backward glance.
A PvE survival match, not real-person PvP against these swordsmen.
For Xiaxi, there was not even the slightest tension.
If anything, it filled him with impatience to hurry inside and start farming monsters first.
A whole group of demons trapped by wisteria flowers?
This was basically a high-exp event dungeon.
If he didn't rush in now, was he supposed to wait for the other examinees to go inside and start stealing his mobs and EXP?
But after only a few steps, Xiaxi suddenly braked, turned around, and looked at Kamigaki in his priest's robes.
"Oh, right, Examiner—if I kill all the demons in this mountain... you won't try to make me pay damages, will you?"
In his eyes, killing all the demons would basically be the same as destroying all the test materials.
Kamigaki blinked.
Examiner? Was that some kind of local slang?
"If you are capable of doing so, then naturally it would not be a problem."
Though he did not quite understand Xiaxi's word choice, he still gave a slight nod. "These man-eating demons feel no pain. Even if they are all killed, it does not matter."
"Other Demon Slayer swordsmen periodically capture more demons to replenish the stock."
Only then did Xiaxi relax.
Good. That meant he could farm monsters without restraint.
Continuing along the path, his figure was soon swallowed completely by the darkness.
Perhaps it was because Xiaxi's words and actions were too brazen for this era, or because the firmness of his stride into the trial ground was simply too striking.
In any case, the remaining swordsmen exchanged glances, and the tension among them abruptly lessened by more than half.
One after another, they followed him through the torii gate.
After all the swordsmen had gone in, the priest tilted his head toward one of the Kakushi.
"Yamanaka, that first boy—who was he?"
The Kakushi flipped through the roster in his hands.
Then he recalled the handsome youth from just before.
After a moment, he said, "Dark blue-black hair tips, the ornament tied at his waist, and that Nichirin Blade... He should be the swordsman trained by Kazami Sarayoshi."
"Jiuche Xiaxi. Wind Breathing."
"His parents were both killed by mountain bandits. Later, when the younger sister he depended on was attacked and killed by a demon, he was rescued by Master Kazami, who happened to be passing by."
"He has been training under Master Kazami for about a year."
The priest nodded.
A trace of gentleness entered his voice. "Another pitiful child left alone in the world because of demons, is he?"
Because his last remaining family member had been killed by a demon,
he advanced without hesitation even knowing that what lay ahead was hell.
And he had even declared that he would wipe out every demon on the mountain.
Strong, and full of confidence.
"Achoo!"
Just after entering the mountain, Xiaxi suddenly sneezed.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it