2- Making Peace And Quests

Kill...?

Nade's eyes flitted to the axe at his side, immediatly retching and puking a bit as he pictured himself slitting the throat of the girl or the boy, or worse. Hacking at their still living body to end their suffering.

"No way. No way. No way..." Repeating himself, Nade chuckled weirdly as he wiped his lips.

It seems the game was rigged from the start. For what? Make his despair even more exquisite for the entertainment of some sadistic abomination?

Even if it was not for his morals, this quest was impossible. He was supposed to kill the half demon Nezuko and the hard headed Tanjirou under the gaze of a pillar? With his pitiful strength?

Something dark in the back of his mind whispered that if he outrighted accepted the modification on the maximum level, maybe he would have a chance to survive the ordeal, accomplish the quest and reap the bountiful rewards.

But he knew that it was merely his irrational side talking, the one fuelled by fear.

"Caught between a rock and a hard place, eh?" Nade laughed even more loudly and hysterically.

"FUCK!" Suddenly punching the tree besides him with all his strength, Nade gritted his teeth.

Leaning his back against the tree and slowly letting himself fall to the ground, he repeated more softly. "Fuck."

The hashira of water was already there anyway. And both Tanjiro and Giyu probably knew he was here. He wasn't that far from the conflict after all.

So what could he do but accept for his psyche to be changed permanently?

Everything had a price right? A better chance at survival in exchange for aggressivity and... lust ... wasn't that bad of a deal.

This was what Nade told himself halfheartedly as he watched with a sense of detachment the moving scene of a brother giving his all to protect his sister. Even going as far to begging and offering his own body to spare her.

Simply gazing at it all, Nade waited for the matter to end.

And without suspence, after a few minutes, it did.

[Quest: {Unnamed} has been failed!]

[Applying penalty!]

[Penalty applied... Modifier of {Physical Supremacy} taken to the maximum. Multiplying every positive effects of the perk by 2!]

Strangely, Nade didn't feel any different. Maybe it would take a couple of days before the changes were noticeable. A short solace doing very little for his somber mood.

"You there, sitting against the tree. How does it feel to simply stand and watch as another human being fight with his all to protect his only remaining family?"

Lifting his head, Nade came face to face with the pillar of water himself.

Past caring the fact a fictional character was speaking to him. Nade lazily replied. "Are you insinuating I should have intervened?"

The stoic water hashira looked slightly disaproving. "No, I'm saying either you should have gone your way or assisted me or the boy. Not stand there and sit on the fence."

"My choices are my own. And why do you even care in the first place?" Nade really wasn't in the mood to be sermoned, and such answered carelessly.

...

"You shouldn't travel through the wilderness alone, it's not safe." Staying silent for a bit, Giyu simply replied and blurred out of existence without another word.

"Yeah, I don't think anywhere's safe under the Lady's 'protection'." Standing up, Nade packed his meagre belongings and began walking to where Tanjirou and Nezuko had gone to.

There was no use moping around, this was his life now. If he didn't want it, he'd be better oofing himself right now, feed the lady and be done with it.

But no, he wouldn't give that monster the satisfaction of him giving in.

He would not make it more entertaining for her by joining the evil side.

In anyway, between being a demon slayer or a demon. The former was a bit less shit job, you also didn't get a hunger for human flesh. Besides, breathing styles looked pretty compatible with his perk. Giyu probably didn't approve of him after that conversation. But who cared? He would make it work, somehow.

"That's more like it." Smiling, Nade concluded that's exactly what he would uses to make it work.

[Multiple daily and progression quests has been issued!]

Daily quest~ strength: Do 100 push ups and 100 Sit ups!

Reward: +1 STR

Daily quest~ dexterity: Climb 3 meters up a tree 10 times and do 100 side to side jumps!

Reward: +1 DEX

Daily quest~ Resilience: Punch a tree with full strength 50 times with both fists and hit yourself with a stick with full strength on every major muscle groups of your body!

Reward: +1 RES

1-Baby steps: You have decided to join the demon slayer camp! Every aspiring younglin have to start somewhere. Kill one lower rank demon! 0/1

Reward: 1 level, hand wrappings

2- Before talking, better learn how to breathes: Every demon slayer has to painstakingly learn a breathing style before hoping to properly fights against demons. Learn any breathing technique to the lowest level neccessary to be registered as a skill!

Reward: 2 Levels, low level adjustable weights

3- If you can't best them, join them, and then make them eats your dust: Follow the protagonist on his journey to learn water breathing, and then crush him in every aspects of his training.

Warning: With a rival, the protagonist may very well end up training harder, possibly upping the difficulty of this quest above the reward depending on the approach taken for this quest.

Reward: 3 Levels, {Enhanced smell} skill, light weight clothings]

These daily quests were absolutely insane for someone of his fitness level. He would never be able to the STR and DEX ones right now. He'd be dead tired before finishing either of them. The only one he could reasonably aims for was the RES one, but it would leave him bloody and sore the next day. And hurts like hell, of course.

"Well, no pain..." Nade picked up a random stick on the ground and gritted his teeth.

*CRACK*

"ARGH! MOTHERFUCKER! I FORGOT I WAS 5 TIMES STRONGER!"

He was also five times as resistant, but that was merely a detail.

But then, that also meant he perhaps could do the STR and DEX quest.

—————

Retracing the steps of the sibling, Nade stopped and began to wait when a house entered his field of view.

No matter how fucked up and dreadful a situation he was in, he wouldn't disturb someone digging graves for his recently diceased family members.

Thinking about family, Nade face's twisted sourly.

He had no idea how they were or even how the situation was back home. He wasn't some orphan or abused fatherless child like so much others in his circumstances seems to be.

He had a loving mother, a dumb but goofy father, a baby sister and plenty of close cousins.

Clenching his at his heart with his less bruised hand, Nade sniffled, refusing to let his tears fall out of defiance to whoever was watching.

He wasn't even dead, dying or anything of the sort when he was brought to 'that' place. He's just been randomly kidnapped during his sleep, without any meaning or warning.

It was truly as the edgy hashira said, the strong did whatever they wanted while the weaks prayed and lamented.

Suddenly finding the situation of crying not at physical pain after literally mutilating himself but from grief strangely moralisating, Nade chuckled.

"I hope I'll always keep my priorities straight." He hadn't much confidence for that. But a man could dream.

Seeing Tanjirou and Nezuko coming back this way. Nade wiped his eyes and arranged his appearance the best he could.

Now how to go about it?

"Hey, I know it's not very polite. But I kinda was around when that scary guy spoke to you about becoming a demon slayer. Can I tag along with you? Wherever you're heading is probably my best shot for becoming one." When the sibling arrived at a suitable distance, Nade stepped forward and straightforwardly introduced himself and subsequently asked.

"Eh? You wants to comes with us? You're not afraid of my sister?" Tanjiro replied, unsure.

"You mean the fact that she is a demon? No, not really. Even in her giant demon form from earlier, she's far from the scariest thing around." Throwing a short looks at Nezuko doll like form and blank gaze. Nade reassured Tanjiro.

"Really? If that's the case, then I have no problem with you as a travelling companion. Not only will it be less boring, but it'll also be safer for all of us." Looking pleased at his answer, the scarred face boy happily agreed.

A bit stunned from being accepted so easily, Nade shrugged and matched the walking pace of the sibbling as Tanjiro made signs for him to come.

In the future, it'd be wise for him to remember that no matter how grim and dark the times were. Not everything was out to get him.

In fact, the only one truly thirsting for his tears and blood was probably but a single, very hungry Lady.