CH. 34: "What was that all about?"

The setting sun cast long shadows across the training ground as Kenshi finished his training session with Mitsuri. She had pushed him hard, her whip-like sword movements a blur as he struggled to keep up with her the entire time.

"Well done, Kenshi. " Mitsuri said with a warm smile, sheathing her blade. "Your swordsmanship has improved a lot since the last time we met. How did Shinobu train you so fast?"

Kenshi nodded, sweaty strands of hair plastered to his forehead. "I'm sorry I just dragged you into that training. Really, thank you."

"It's okay, and I think you're really a fast learner." Her gaze drifted to the two swords at his hip. "Even if you beat Lady Shinobu in three days, I wouldn't be surprised."

A pleased grin tugged at Kenshi's lips. "I've still got a long way to go, but I'll keep training hard."

"That's what I like to hear!" Mitsuri said cheerfully. "Well, I should get going before it gets too dark. You rest up now, okay?"

Kenshi watched the Love Hashira's slender form disappear from view before turning to head back to his quarters. His muscles ached delightfully from the day's exertion.

After bathing to wash away the grime and sweat, Kenshi ate his dinner and came back to his room.

Stifling a yawn, he prepared for bed, putting out the candles with a wave of his hand. The moment his head hit the pillow, he felt himself pulled into the Mindspace.

Kenshi blinked, finding himself standing in a vast, featureless grey void. A large semi-transparent screen materialized in front of him, lines of data crawling across it.

[Since the host wants to get strong, the System has issued a mission for the host.]

"A mission?" Kenshi narrowed his eyes, intrigued. "What is it this time?"

[Mission: Master the Transparent World in Three Days]

[Reward: Two hundred system points.]

Kenshi's brows shot up. "The Transparent World? You're talking about that technique where a demon slayer can see through a person's skin and observe their body parts. But that's an incredibly advanced technique. Even the Hashira struggled with it in the manga."

[While the difficulty is indeed high, it is not impossible to learn it in three days with the System's training.]

The system replied impassively.

[The System's simulation training program will allow you to learn it at an accelerated rate. Do you accept?]

Enhanced speed would be an incredible boon, especially with how quick demons could be. And if the system's training worked as promised...

"Alright, I accept."

"Then let us proceed."

The screen disappeared as the void around them shifted. The floor solidified into a vast rocky plain, the sky overhead awash with stars.

A human-shaped shadow appeared out of nowhere in front of Kenshi, its form indistinct and featureless as it held a menacing black katana in its hand.

[This shadow will engage you in combat. Your only objective is to evade its attacks without being cut. Do not attempt to strike back; focus solely on dodging and reading its movements.]

Without giving Kenshi any time to think, the shadowy figure rushed forward with blinding speed, sword slashing in a wide arc. Kenshi yelped and stumbled back, the blade passing mere inches from his face.

[You should heighten all of your senses to detect the shadow's slightest movements. Breathe deeply and find your center.]

Nodding slightly, Kenshi inhaled deeply and slipped into a defensive stance, hands hovering over his sword hilts. His eyes locked onto the figure, searching for any subtle shifts that might give away its next attack.

Since his old hyper-sense skill was already mastered by him, it became more of a passive skill that he wouldn't need to activate or deactivate every time.

The shadow attacked again, this time thrusting its blade straight at his heart. Kenshi sidestepped sharply, the sword whistling past him. Another blindingly fast series of slashes and he was forced to bend nearly in half to avoid being cleaved in two.

[Good evasion, but do not simply react to the attacks. You must predict them before they happen, even before your hyper-senses can detect them.] The system kept giving instructions as he dodged the attacks.

As he kept participating in the predicting game, the shadow suddenly stopped a few meters in front of Kenshi as he used his hyper-senses to predict its next move.

Slice

"Huh?"

Kenshi suddenly felt his head separate from his neck. He felt like screaming as the feeling seemed so horrifying that he felt he was dead.

But then,

Haaaaah.

Kenshi suddenly felt his head coming back. He felt like he had just come back to life.

"SYSTEM, what the fuck was that?" He shouted.

[Learning a skill like the Transparent World inside the Mindspace is not easy, so the System tried to make the simulation as realistic as possible, so that the host can grasp the nuances of the technique. Even death and pain will feel as realistic as possible.]

"Realistic? Damn, that almost stopped my heart. However, I can't say that didn't teach me anything. Death is a horrifying sensation. Maybe that's why all the Hashira awakened this skill when they were close to death."

"Well, if this is how I'm going to learn the skill, then I think I can learn it pretty fast. I mean, people can't virtually die like me. Let's continue!"

[The host is beginning to perceive the true movements of the shadow. Now apply that awareness to your full body.]

For what felt like hours, Kenshi danced around the shadow's relentless onslaught. It varied its attacks, chopping horizontally, stabbing viciously, spinning with whirling slashes. Every fiber of his being became hyperfocused on reading the subtle cues, the merest twitches that portended each strike.

He took a shallow cut to his calf when he failed to dodge fully, the sting of it lancing through him like a hot brand. The system was not exaggerating; this training was as real as could be.

But Kenshi could feel his instincts heightening, his eyes and ears perceiving things they never could before. It was as if the world around him had become crystal clear, every sight and sound amplified tenfold.

The shadowy figure came at him again, and Kenshi reacted without conscious thought, his body blurring out of its path as if anticipating the attack before it even happened. The sword passed through the space he'd previously occupied, meeting no resistance.

[By raising your senses and predictive faculties to the utmost limit, you can perceive the ephemeral flow of combat. Everything, from the slightest shift in weight to the barest tensing of muscle, creates minuscule discrepancies that presage action. With focus and training, you can detect these and thus foresee what shall happen before it unfolds. This will improve even more after you see the organs of the creatures you're fighting.]

The shadowy figure vanished, leaving Kenshi alone on the rocky expanse.

[This first part of rhe mission is complete. We will continue at dawn.]

Kenshi exhaled slowly, sweat drenching his body. He didn't feel especially worn physically, though. Instead, he felt oddly revitalized, like a veil had been lifted from his senses.

As the void around him dissipated, he found himself back in his room. His body was still in the same position he had fallen asleep in.

The dim lights of pre-dawn were just peeking over the horizon. Kenshi rose and stepped outside, filling his lungs with the crisp mountain air.

After a few moments of silent meditation, he could feel that heightened clarity and awareness return to him. It still felt somewhat tenuous, but there, simmering just beneath his consciousness.

Deciding to experiment, Kenshi drew his blade, giving it a few practice swings. As the black steel cut through the air, his eyes were able to trace each minute wavering of the blade with perfect clarity.

A smile tugged at his lips. If he could apply this to actual combat...

He went back to his room as as usual, he tried to contact the spirit in his sword, but he was unsuccessful. He even asked the system, and it didn't give him any important information other than what he already knew about the sword.

When he was checking out the sword, he heard a knock on his door. He stood up and went to see who it was.

When he opened his door, he saw Kanao waiting for him outside. He didn't see her yesterday because Shinobu said that Kanao was still resting. looking at her with a smile and asked, "Kanao, what makes you come to me this early morning?"

Kanao looked at him with nervous eyes as she looked around like she was hiding something. Then she opened her mouth.

"That- I... Big Sister- I." She started fidgeting in between and suddenly paused. She turned around and quickly ran away.

Kenshi, seeing this, felt confused.

"Uh, what the hell just happened? What was that all about?"