"Countdown: 3:52:41."
Mo Wu had already been swinging his blade for three full hours. The dazzling sunlight overhead had begun to take on the colors of dusk, shifting gradually from bright gold to a deeper orange.
Aside from the first milestone he had triggered by accident at fifty swings, the second one had only unlocked when he reached one thousand.
That miracle had not only erased his fatigue, but had also granted him a second boost to his strength, speed, and stamina.
Having tasted the benefits twice already, Mo Wu immediately threw himself back into training.
In fact, he even had the feeling that if the rewards kept coming, then forget ordinary demons and the Hand Demon—even an Upper Rank demon would get cut down by him.
But dreams were beautiful.
Reality was brutal.
At the two-thousandth swing…
Huh? Why hasn't the milestone unlocked yet? Where's the miracle?
Do I have to reach three thousand?
At the three-thousandth swing…
The milestone still hadn't unlocked.
Mo Wu didn't lose heart. His trembling hands continued forcing the blade through the air.
At the four-thousandth swing…
His mind had gone completely blank. He no longer had the energy to think about anything else.
His clothes were soaked through as if he had been dragged out of the sea. Tiny white grains of dried salt glittered across the fabric on his back under the sunlight. His throat was so dry it felt as though a ball of fire were burning inside it.
But none of that could stop his will to keep swinging.
Because at this moment, only three words remained in his mind—
Survive.
His slightly trembling hands were shaking so badly that even the Nichirin Blade quivered with them. It was a clear sign that he had reached the end of his strength.
And that was exactly the truth.
The milestone still hadn't triggered.
Yet a piercing pain had already spread through his shoulders. His legs had stayed rooted to the same spot for so long that they now felt nailed to the earth. He doubted he could even take another step.
Every swing pulled at the muscles in his abdomen and back. He could feel them tearing.
If I keep going like this… even if the demons don't eat me, I'll die of exhaustion and become a nice hot meal for them instead.
The thought made a bitter smile rise to his lips, but his hands kept repeating the same motion.
He knew it well.
If he stopped swinging now, he really would die in a demon's jaws.
He was a gambler.
A gambler standing on the line between life and death.
Because the moment he passed his two-thousandth swing, there was no turning back. The only thing he could do was bet that his talent would appear in the next moment.
In his current state, worn down to the point of collapse, he couldn't resist even a single demon.
So all he could do now was place his hope on every swing and pray that the talent's judgment would trigger in the next instant.
"4987."
"4992."
"4998."
"5000."
He swung once more.
At that instant, every ounce of strength in Mo Wu's body gave out. A sudden gust of wind blew past, and his legs buckled beneath him. Still clutching the Nichirin Blade in both hands, he collapsed into the sunlight like a broken man.
And yet—
He was smiling.
Not just smiling, but grinning in pure, unrestrained joy, his carefree laughter echoing through the forest.
Because at last, heavenly music rang in his ears.
"At the edge of life and death—five thousand swings."
"Five thousand sword swings completed."
"Milestone unlocking…"
"Ding."
"O nameless soul…"
"Miracle granted: state reset, strength increased, speed increased, stamina increased."
"Miracle granted: Basic Swordsmanship Lv3."
"Miracle granted: Sun Breathing Lv1."
"Continue onward toward the next milestone on the path of Great Feats."
The limp body sprawled beneath the sunlight was instantly flooded with power once more—far more than before. Every breath filled him with rising exhilaration.
For a brief moment, Mo Wu had the absurd feeling that he could punch through the earth itself.
He stayed lying there on the ground. Even though his entire body was overflowing with energy, he didn't want to move a single finger.
Until…
The sun overhead gradually shifted westward. The light that had once illuminated the clearing was blocked off by the trees, leaving only half the open ground still bathed in sunlight.
The heat surrounding Mo Wu slowly faded along with the retreating light.
Then, for some reason, something seemed to trigger him.
The body that had been sprawled on the ground flipped upright in one smooth motion.
In a single breath, he twisted around sharply. Though it was his first time striking at an actual enemy, the muscle memory granted by Basic Swordsmanship guided the blade in his hand into an incredibly smooth backward slash.
Hot breath escaped his mouth as his body instinctively adjusted its breathing.
The cut felt like slicing through jelly.
Slash!
A red flash streaked through the air.
A grotesque head, its face frozen in disbelief, shot skyward and landed in a patch of sunlight not far away, where it instantly burned to ash.
Even at the moment of death, its owner still couldn't understand it.
Just moments ago, the prey had been weak and powerless.
So how had it suddenly turned around and started killing demons?
"I've been waiting for you."
A chill filled Mo Wu's expression.
Although it was his first time killing… killing a demon, there was no guilt in his heart, nor any nausea.
Because earlier, while endlessly swinging his blade on that tightrope stretched over life and death, he had already understood something.
If a person is killed, they die.
He was afraid of being killed.
He wanted to live.
So—
He kicked the demon's body, which had been watching him for so long, into the sunlight, speeding up the rate at which it burned away.
There was only one thing left for him to do.
He had to kill every last one of the creatures coveting his life.
Not a single one could be left alive.
"To be born a hero among men!"
"To slaughter every demon under heaven!"
"Demon Slayer achieved."
"Milestone unlocking…"
"Ding."
"O nameless demon slayer…"
"Miracle granted: strength increased."
"Miracle granted: Demon Sense Lv1."
"Miracle granted: Nichirin Blade Enhancement +1."
"Continue onward toward the next milestone on the path of Great Feats."
His strength…
Had risen again.
Even though he could feel all the eyes watching him from the surrounding forest vanish at once, Mo Wu still tightened his grip on the Nichirin Blade.
In this cold forest, only this weapon brought him even the slightest warmth.
Calling up the panel in his mind, Mo Wu wanted to see what level of power he had reached.
Mo Wu
Occupation: Dreamer
Combat Power: First Tier
(Barely enough to protect yourself in this world. One of Paradise's small fry.)
Dream Points: 0
Talent: Great Feat
Skills: Pseudo-Omniscient Insight, Sun Breathing Lv1, Basic Swordsmanship Lv3, Demon Sense Lv1
Equipment: Nichirin Blade +1
Sun Breathing.
The original breathing style.
Remembering that slash from earlier, Mo Wu nodded.
It was undeniably effective against demons.
As for…
Demon Sense?
What kind of skill was that?
Demon Sense Lv1
Effect: You can detect the location of demons through your five senses.
What a great skill.
A flicker of surprise appeared in Mo Wu's eyes. If he could sense nearby demons, that meant he could avoid them. In a survival mission, that was practically a divine ability.
He closed the skill description. But when he looked again at the rest of the panel, his brow furrowed.
He already understood his talent, Great Feat, fairly well by now.
But this unknown Paradise, these Dream Points, and the identity of a Dreamer still left him thoroughly confused.
Damn it.
Thinking back to the impassioned voice from the beginning, the one that had called this a single-player dungeon, Mo Wu felt his head start to ache again.
If there was a single-player mode, then there had to be multiplayer too, right?
Following the usual logic, shouldn't a newbie like him have been grouped together with others, with some kind of beginner guide thrown in?
So why had he been dropped into a solo instance instead?
Did this Paradise really have that little need for people?
Mo Wu tightened his grip on the Nichirin Blade.
That was not good news.
Of course, there was another possibility.
Maybe the talents Paradise handed out were all like his.
Or maybe even stronger.
If that were the case, then a so-called single-player dungeon might really be considered easy.
"…Sigh."
Letting out a long breath, Mo Wu looked up at the sun as it sank ever farther toward the west.
"Countdown: 3:36:41."
A small goal, then.
Another five thousand swings in three hours.
He exhaled slowly, and beneath the sunlight, his blade began to move once more.
And behind him, deep within the darkest part of the forest, one demon… or perhaps two… watched him in silence.
"Grrr!"
"Does this brat never get tired?"
"Hungry, hungry, hungry!"
"So fragrant, so fragrant! I want to eat him, I want to eat him!"
Dense clusters of red eyes lit up in the darkness, and low growls filled the woods.
Every single one of them belonged to twisted, distorted demons with eyes overflowing with desire.