It did not take long for Vincent Fox to reach the location on the map.
He pushed the door open and found himself in a simple little drinks shop.
Led by a waiter, Vincent headed upstairs into a private booth.
When he opened the door, he immediately saw a few familiar faces.
Besides the familiar old professor, Charles Joe, and Autumn Summer, there were also a few classmates from their old class.
Vincent only vaguely remembered them. He could not say he knew them well.
"You finally made it. Sit down."
Professor Joe waved him over.
Vincent smiled, nodded, and sat down in the empty seat right next to Autumn.
The professor shot him a mildly amused look, then reached into his bulging backpack and pulled out several thick stacks of documents.
"Here, Vincent, take these. This is all the information for the next few Forbidden Grounds. You are all classmates, but your progress is all over the place. Some of you are only preparing for Forbidden Ground No. 5, while someone has already cleared No. 7. I will go over all of them. Just listen to whatever is useful to you."
Vincent nodded and took the entire stack with both hands.
Inside were dossiers for Forbidden Ground No. 5, No. 7, and No. 8.
"Uh, teacher, why is there nothing about Forbidden Ground No. 6 in here?"
The boy on Vincent's right raised his hand and asked curiously.
"Did you forget to bring it, professor?"
Vincent could not help but chuckle softly at that but kept quiet.
Professor Joe's expression, on the other hand, darkened.
"This is what I mean when I say you do not listen in class. I already explained this earlier. Even the top military experts do not dare to casually enter Forbidden Ground No. 6. Where exactly do you get your confidence from?"
Hearing that, Vincent nodded slightly to himself.
Just like the professor said, forget Jiren from Universe 11, even those werewolves and the rest were far beyond what the students around him could possibly handle.
If any of them entered, they would be cannon fodder at best.
No, not even cannon fodder.
With their level, the world might not even bother selecting them to fight.
And with how little they knew about the Dragon Ball world, they might not even be able to clear the first mission.
At that point, going in would be nothing but a sightseeing trip. They would honestly be better off not going at all.
"You see? Even Vincent is nodding along… If I am not mistaken, you just got back from Forbidden Ground No. 6, right?"
Vincent froze for a moment, not expecting the professor to suddenly toss the topic to him.
He gave a small, noncommittal nod and did not elaborate.
Seeing that reaction, Professor Joe looked even more satisfied.
"Getting the highest evaluation is still very difficult for you at this stage, but I assume you at least completed the basic mission?"
Vincent nodded again.
That much was true. The basic mission he had indeed completed.
"Good, good."
The professor looked genuinely pleased.
Then the lecture began in earnest.
Professor Joe started from Forbidden Ground No. 5. Some students immediately bent over their notebooks, taking detailed notes, while others skipped ahead in the handouts, flipping to later sections.
Vincent glanced sideways at his little girlfriend.
Autumn Summer was completely absorbed in the information on Forbidden Ground No. 8, occasionally jotting down notes in her notebook.
"Autumn, did you already clear Forbidden Ground No. 7?"
Vincent scooted his chair a little closer and whispered.
Autumn nodded, then, noticing that he had opened the dossier for Forbidden Ground No. 7, tore a small slip of paper from her notebook.
She scribbled a few words on it, then quietly slid it over to Vincent.
Vincent got the message, picked it up, and unfolded it.
On the note were a few neat words:
"You have not cleared No. 7 yet?"
Vincent turned his head to look at her and nodded.
Not long after, another little note was pushed over.
"Do not leave after class. This lady has quite a few insights about Forbidden Ground No. 7. I will share them with you for free."
At the end, Autumn had even drawn a tiny, smug chibi face, full of tsundere attitude.
Vincent could not stop a laugh from slipping out, but he still nodded and tucked the note away.
"Ahem."
The professor cleared his throat twice and tapped the table with his fingers.
"We are starting Forbidden Ground No. 7 now. Certain students should pay attention."
Vincent's expression did not change. He calmly turned to the section on Forbidden Ground No. 7.
"In Forbidden Ground No. 7, once you enter, you do not get to choose factions. You can only join the human side."
"As for your enemies, they are similar to the zombies in Forbidden Ground No. 2. If you are attacked by them, there is a high chance you will be converted. The end result is the same: immediate death. You will not be returning to the real world."
"However, Forbidden Ground No. 7 is significantly more dangerous than No. 2, because these 'demons' are not like zombies. They have their own will, and they are very strong."
Vincent listened to the lecture while flipping through the dossier in his hands.
The first page showed a teenage boy with a bright, sunny smile.
He had deep red hair, red eyes, and was known as a "Child of Burning Flame." There was a scar on his forehead, and on his ears hung hanafuda earrings passed down through generations.
On the file were five words Vincent knew all too well.
Tanjiro Kamado.
After about half an hour, Professor Joe's explanation of Forbidden Ground No. 7 came to an end.
By then, Vincent had finished reading the dossier from beginning to end.
He could not be more familiar with the world inside this Forbidden Ground.
It was the story of the Demon Slayer Corps formed by humans, locked in a war against the demons led by Muzan Kibutsuji.
The main storyline followed the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, leading Tanjiro Kamado, the boar headed Inosuke Hashibira, and the cowardly Zenitsu Agatsuma as a three man slayer team on a train.
Their mission: to hunt down the Lower Rank demon Enmu on the Mugen Train.
In Vincent's memory, Upper Rank Three, Akaza, suddenly ambushed them in the end.
Kyojuro Rengoku was killed, and Akaza fled into the depths of the forest, afraid of the coming sunrise.
"If I can, I really want to help big brother Rengoku avoid that ending."
Vincent sighed softly.
In his previous life, Rengoku's death had hit him hard.
In his heart, he had killed the "crocodile" author a thousand times.
That damned writer who loved to toss characters into the fire.
Before long, the lecture wrapped up and everyone was dismissed.
Vincent and Autumn stood at the entrance of the drinks shop, watching the others leave.
"So, Teacher Autumn, when is this one on one tutoring for your student supposed to start?"
Vincent's smile was pure and innocent as he looked at her.
Autumn's lips curved into a faint smile, showing a row of neat, white teeth.
"Right now."
"Perfect."
Vincent nodded, took her hand, and turned to go.
"I thought we were going to have a lesson. Where exactly are you taking me?" Autumn asked, puzzled.
Vincent gave her his most harmless, angelic look.
"It is too noisy here. We should find somewhere quiet if we are going to talk…"
Vincent had not expected Autumn's understanding of Forbidden Ground No. 7 to be this deep.
The "tutoring session" stretched all the way into late night before the two finally dragged their tired bodies home.
Back at his place, Vincent was just about to lie down and rest when his phone buzzed with a new message.
"Autumn? We went over everything already, did we not?"
Puzzled, Vincent opened the text.
On the screen was Autumn's most important reminder to him.
"You must go to Miss Tamayo and ask for the serum. If you get scratched or bitten by a demon, inject it immediately. Do not forget, do not hesitate."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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