Demon Slayer: I Level Up Alone

Chapter 28

Akito held Ritoruho and, filled with confusion, descended the mountain and arrived at a small town.

First, he found a inn to stay in. After settling down, he took care of the innkeeper and asked for food.

The food was simple, traditional Japanese cuisine, and a little girl was serving him.

In the previous small town, Akito had acquired a lot of wealth, so he was now a wealthy man.

Of course, having a maid serve him was not purely for comfort; he mainly wanted to understand the situation better.

"What's your name?"

Akito asked.

"Ah... my lord, my name is Sadako. Is there anything you need?"

Sadako said, blushing and flustered.

The guest before her not only had an outstanding appearance but also displayed significant wealth, completely embodying her ideal partner.

"And... that little white fox in his arms looks so cute... I wish I could hold it..."

Sadako cast a flirtatious glance, lowering her head and intently staring at Akito and Ritoruho.

"If this lord were to ask me to do that kind of thing..."

Sadako's face turned red, her delicate appearance resembling a bright peach.

"No... no... Sadako, how can you be so indecent..."

Seeing the woman before him, who kept blushing and shaking her head, Akito was somewhat puzzled by what was going on in her mind.

Although the woman had a decent appearance, that was about it, and besides, he had no such intentions.

However, to understand the situation clearly, Akito suppressed the urge to send her away and softly said, "Do you know anything about the forest on the back mountain, Sadako?"

"The back mountain forest?"

Akito noticed that when he mentioned the back mountain forest, Sadako's pupils seemed to contract slightly, and her breathing became rapid.

"I just arrived here and heard some news that there are monsters in the back mountain forest, so I wanted to find out more."

Akito continued.

"My lord, actually, I don't know much about the back mountain forest either. It's just that recently, rumors have spread about a man-eating monster up there, but I haven't seen it myself. I only heard from the firewood gatherer who supplies our inn that there's a man-eating monster on the mountain."

"He told us not to go up the mountain. At that time, some people didn't believe it and insisted on going up, and they never came back. The firewood gatherer said that person was eaten by the monster and even brought back torn clothes..."

"Since then, the story has been passed down to this day. Those firewood gatherers warn any strangers they see about the monster, telling them not to go up the mountain..."

"I don't know if it's true or not. I think there might be some fierce beast up there that eats people..."

Sadako recounted everything she had heard and seen.

Akito listened, nodded, and then fell silent.

"It seems that the firewood gatherers have something to hide..."

After finishing his meal, Akito planned to stroll around the street, thinking he might discover something. Although he could go up the mountain now to check the truth, he felt he was capable of confronting any challenges.

He just wanted to gather some information about the firewood gatherers.

As soon as he left the inn, Akito noticed two people stealthily following him from behind.

Akito pretended not to see them, wanting to find out who they were and what their intentions were.

He walked slowly, appearing as if he were just shopping, occasionally stopping to examine the goods at small stalls and watching street performers.

Eventually, he felt it was time and walked into an empty alley.

The two who were following him closely pursued him, and upon seeing him enter the deserted alley, exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and quickly approached Akito, brandishing a knife.

"Hey, not planning to hide anymore, are you? Firewood gatherer..."

Akito did not turn around but continued to walk slowly, speaking.

The two behind him were taken aback and then spoke, "Brat, you actually discovered us."

They removed the cloth covering their faces and said fiercely.

"Young man, don't blame us. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for going up the mountain..."

The firewood gatherer Akito had encountered before said.

Akito turned around, a smile on his face, and simply looked at the two of them.

One is the woodsman I encountered on the way up the mountain before, and the other is someone I've never seen before. This person has a deep scar on his face, and his muscles indicate that he is likely also a woodsman.

"You two, since you want me dead, I also want to die understanding. What is really up there on the mountain?" Akito asked.

"Brat, stop trying to pry information from us. We're here to take your life. As for why, you'll have to think about it when you go to hell," the scar-faced man said.

"Let's kill him together!" he said to the woodsman.

"Amano, I think he doesn't seem to know the secret of the mountain. Why don't we just let it go... let's not kill anyone anymore..." the woodsman hesitated.

"Useless! Better to kill an innocent than let one escape. Don't you want wealth and glory?" The scar-faced man kicked the woodsman.

"Sigh... I just... I just don't want to kill anymore..."

Seeing that the woodsman had no desire to act, the scar-faced man took it upon himself to swing his knife at Akito.

The scar-faced man thought to himself that with such a delicate-looking guy, who seemed weak, he wondered if this one blow would kill him.

As the knife was about to strike Akito, the woodsman turned his head away, unable to bear to watch.

"Clang!"

The woodsman didn't hear Akito's scream but instead heard the sound of the knife hitting the ground.

Turning his head to look, the scar-faced man was lying on the ground, while Akito was unharmed and smiling.

"You... you... what did you do to Amano..." The woodsman looked at the scar-faced man lying on the ground, breathless, and said in horror.

"Don't worry, I just knocked him out. Now, if you don't want to die, tell me the truth, heh..." Akito's smile grew even brighter.

Seeing the terrifying smile on Akito's face, the woodsman felt a chill in his heart and, disregarding the fallen scar-faced man, tried to get up and run away.

But he was no match for Akito.

Akito leaped up and blocked his path, shaking his head in regret, "You don't cherish such a great opportunity and want to run away? I have to show you my methods..."

Akito smiled at him.

The woodsman was so frightened by this scene that his legs trembled, and he collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Akito noticed that the woodsman had actually urinated!

That's right, Akito hadn't even made a move, and the woodsman was so scared that he wet himself!

Akito felt a bit disgusted and took a step back. "You speak, I'm listening!"

Thus, the woodsman confessed everything and begged for mercy, saying that if Akito let him go, he would immediately turn himself in.

The woodsman recounted the events.

It turned out that while the woodsman and others were on the mountain, they accidentally discovered a gold mine. At that time, several people were present, and most expressed a desire to monopolise it, but some disagreed. After some pushing and shoving, someone was accidentally killed.

At that time, they were very scared. Some wanted to turn themselves in, but a few were overtaken by greed.

Thus, those who wanted to confess were also killed.

Losing their lives for no reason would definitely cause panic, so the remaining woodsmen came up with a plan.

First, they buried the bodies in a very concealed place, then they injured themselves to escape back to the town.

Then they spread the rumor that the missing people were attacked by monsters on the mountain.

Naturally, this attracted the police from the town, who went up the mountain to investigate. However, the police were also afraid, and since the woodsman had somehow obtained stones that could create fog, when the police arrived and ignited the stones, a thick fog enveloped the area, which was even scarier, and within the fog, the woodsman's accomplices made chewing sounds.

Thus, the rumor spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. The entire town came to believe that there were monsters on the mountain, while these woodsmen continued to mine for gold and kept watch for anyone trying to go up.

Once someone brave enough to ascend the mountain appeared, another life would be taken by these woodsmen.

Over time, no one dared to go up the mountain again. Until Akito showed up.

The woodsman thought Akito had truly come down from the mountain and might have discovered their secret, so to avoid exposure, they wanted to silence him.

That's how this situation arose.

"You guys are quite clever..."

I have to say, these woodcutters' plans are quite good, but unfortunately, they've encountered someone like me who knows martial arts.

Akito speculated that the stone that just emerged from the fog was probably dry ice, and there was quite a bit of it.

Akito sighed; no matter the time, greed always drives people to do crazy things.

"Alright, you should turn yourself in. Otherwise, if you fall into my hands, it will be even more painful than turning yourself in."

As he spoke, Akito's expression turned cold, and with one kick, he broke the scarred man's hand.

Then, he used that chopping knife to sever one of the scarred man's fingers.

Bright red filled the woodcutter's vision.

The woodcutter was terrified! The sound was clearly that of a bone breaking, and a finger had been severed, yet Da Da remained completely still. What did this signify? It meant that the boy in front of him had seen blood...

Thinking of this, the woodcutter decided to seek refuge at the police station as soon as possible, to distance himself from this devil disguised in a gentle and refined exterior.

Afterward, the woodcutter turned himself in, not only recounting the entire incident but also identifying the location of the buried body.

Of course, the gold mine also came to the attention of the officials, but it was uncertain whose hands it would fall into.

Akito had no particular thoughts about the gold mine, after all, he didn't need that much money.

"The woodcutter surrendered so easily, probably because he has been in a state of mental tension and guilt after killing someone..."

"The human heart..."

"Sometimes it's scarier than a Demon..."

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Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.