The bell chimed at 4 AM, familiar and insistent.
Roy opened his eyes, already back at Kukuroo Mountain. His consciousness felt unbearably exhausted. The aftereffects of ten thousand sword swings didn't manifest in his body but weighed heavily on his mind. This was the first time this had happened since he awakened his Nen ability.
Normally, Nen users must follow the Ten → Zetsu → Ren → Hatsu progression in their cultivation. Only upon reaching the Hatsu stage could they develop a Nen ability fitting their personality and internal needs.
But Roy was different. Due to his transmigration, the day he opened his aura nodes, the status panel automatically granted him [Gate of Recognition]. He was like certain Specialist Nen users who, due to special factors or environments, skipped the Ten, Zetsu, and Ren stages entirely, directly awakening Hatsu.
Neon Nostrade's "Lovely Ghostwriter" was one such example.
'So if I'm injured in the cognitive world, will I also bring "negative status" into the real world?' Roy rubbed his brow, unusually lying in bed an extra five minutes.
These five minutes led him to recognize a principle running through the entire Nen ability cultivation system—"Rules" and "Price," namely, "Limitations" and "Vows." Establish rules, swear to uphold them. The more difficult, the stronger the power unleashed.
In other words, since he enjoyed benefits from the Gate of Recognition, he naturally must bear risks experienced within it.
Roy had an epiphany, his heart alert. He quietly imposed a rule on himself—whether in the real world or cognitive world, he couldn't let himself fall into absolutely dangerous situations.
At 4:05 AM, the lingering fatigue in his mind finally dissipated. Roy felt better. Turning over to sit up, he didn't run first but reached for Yukigakure on the sword rack. He wanted to see if, after receiving Sakonji Urokodaki's corrections to his slashing, Sun Breathing showed any progress.
A sword cry rang out as Roy unsheathed Yukigakure. He one-handedly flourished the blade, adapting to its weight, adjusting his stance, and began practicing Sun Breathing.
At this time, a certain hollow-eyed brother was en route to Heaven's Arena. A certain chubby child just starting hellish training hadn't yet recovered from daytime electric therapy, with a butler beside him applying medicine and massaging his body. In a second-floor bedroom, a certain woman threw things while ranting that when someone returned, she'd make them pay—at least keep them bedridden for three days.
Hearing her complaints, in that dim yellow room on the first floor, a certain old man rocked his chair while watching cartoons, chuckling to himself. Just then, his ears seemed to suddenly grow larger. After listening carefully for a while, he turned over, mumbling something unclear.
"This brat's swordsmanship looks sharper than before."
Then his head tilted, and his ears returned to normal.
"Dance," "Clear Blue Sky," "Raging Sun," "Flame Dance." Blade light flashed in the bedroom. A complete set of Sun Breathing quickly ended.
Roy controlled the extent, carefully savoring it, and truly detected differences from before. First, his blade forms were sharper. Second, his action transitions were smoother than before. Having spent a night on ten thousand basic swings using the training sword Sakonji Urokodaki gave him, when handling Yukigakure again, he felt somewhat unfamiliar for a moment.
However, these were minor issues. Most importantly, the "concentration" time lengthened. The resulting benefit was that after a day's practice, Roy's constitution increased by 0.2—0.1 points more than yesterday.
Correspondingly, [Shadow Step: 99/100 (Proficient) transformed to → 1/1000 (Mastery)]. And Limb Bending and Snake Awakens both improved with his constitution's enhancement. Even Snake Awakens broke through "Beginner" and directly transformed to "Proficient" realm.
This counted as a pleasant surprise within expectations.
Roy sheathed his sword, face calm as he closed the status panel. Glancing sideways at the wall clock on the south wall, less than five days remained until Father Silva's test.
Gotoh mentioned Silva had gone to the Azian Continent. A round trip would take at least a week, but considering his strength, most time would likely be spent traveling. Even if late, he wouldn't be very late.
Perfect—this gave Roy more time for self-improvement.
'How about setting a small goal: within five days, upgrade "ten thousand basic swings" to "double ten thousand basic swings."' Since Master Urokodaki instructed adding two thousand, why not simply add two thousand daily?
Roy casually tossed Yukigakure to Gotoh, turned to push open the training room door, and walked toward his bedroom.
Sunset descended. Compared to the snow country in Demon Slayer, Kukuroo Mountain's sunset was clearly more brilliant. The young man wearing sun and mountain earrings strolled through corridors filled with the scent of years. Rounding a corner, he suddenly stopped.
Ahead, a hunched figure approached with hands behind his back. White hair, white beard, with eight large characters on his chest: "Kill One Person A Day, Lifelong Active Duty." Seeing Roy, he also stopped.
"Grandfather." Roy bowed.
Zeno grunted, looking him up and down. Seeing he'd grown more robust, he frowned. "Go back and tell your butler to alter your clothes. Your training outfit is too short—what kind of appearance is this?"
A young man in his growth years shooting up quickly was understandable, but a butler failing to notice ill-fitting clothes was inexcusable.
Actually, Gotoh had mentioned earlier wanting to custom-make several new outfits for Roy. But Roy found it troublesome and refused. Now that Zeno mentioned it, Roy naturally wouldn't shift his own fault onto Gotoh.
"I was unwilling to change. I'll have Gotoh alter them tomorrow." Roy explained simply.
Zeno said nothing, turning toward the window to gaze at the sunset, seemingly having no intention of continuing this topic. Seeing this, Roy nodded slightly and walked straight past him. Just as they were about to pass each other, Zeno suddenly called out.
This former Zoldyck family head, world-class assassin, appreciating the reddened skyline, asked, "Since you've opened 'Nen' and formally begun your training, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"
Roy froze. Recalling that night conversing with Tanjuro across a paper window, he smiled. "Freedom."
"Grandfather, I want to earn freedom. I want to climb step by step to the summit, to do what should be done, without fear."