Chương 36: A Lucky Charm and a Skill That Must Never Be Exposed

[Status] Name: Tanjiro Kamado Level: Lv. 1 Basic Abilities Strength: D 517 Endurance: E 443 Dexterity: D 538 Agility: E 401 Magic: H 104 Development Abilities: None Magic: None Skills: Wisdom in Desperation - Greatly increases the chance of finding the right path in desperate situations. - Greatly increases emergency judgment during a crisis. - Temporarily grants all companions the Development Ability Luck during a crisis. Skills: Gentle Soul - Greatly increases empathy toward those around him.

- Greatly increases the chance of reaching an enemy's heart. - Greatly heals the emotional wounds of companions. Skills: Heaven-Sent Sense of Smell - Greatly increases the chance of seeing through an enemy's weakness. - Greatly increases perception of abnormal scents. Skills: Swordsmanship Proficiency - Slightly increases the ability to learn sword techniques. - Moderately strengthens the power of sword techniques. Sword Skill: Water Breathing - Moderately strengthens all physical abilities.

- Grants water-element Magic reinforcement when using sword techniques. Sword Skill: Hinokami Kagura (Sun Breathing) - Temporarily and greatly strengthens all physical abilities. - Grants sun-element Magic reinforcement when using sword techniques. - Grants purification against corrupted auras when using sword techniques.

"What kind of protagonist Skills are these? The whole team gets Luck, he can talk enemies into changing their hearts, and he heals his companions' trauma?" Cael held Tanjiro's Status parchment and stared at it with a baffled look. Then he looked at Tanjiro's gentle, honest smile, reached out, and pressed a hand on the boy's head. Tanjiro immediately stiffened and gave an awkward, earnest smile.

"So you were a lucky charm all along. Does that mean if I bring you along, I can walk into a pile of monsters and still come out without a scratch?"

"Mr. Cael, please do not think about anything that dangerous." Tanjiro panicked at once.

"Even with Skills like that, looking for danger on purpose will still get people hurt."

"Call me Captain, dummy."

"Captain."

"These values are so flashy they make me jealous," Cael said with a click of his tongue.

"Your values are even flashier, Captain." Tanjiro smiled honestly, but inside he thought that some of Cael's Skills were impossible to understand, which meant they had to be extremely powerful.

"Hahaha! Kamado really is strong. You will become even stronger from here. Keep going!" Rengoku clapped Tanjiro on the shoulder and encouraged him in his bright, ringing voice.

"Yes. I will do my best."

"Hehe. Everyone is getting along so well." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Hestia sat on a fallen Roman pillar in the ruined church, swinging her bare little feet. She had not stopped smiling while she watched the warm scene unfold, and her cheeks were round and rosy. Three heroic talents who might only appear once in a hundred million people, just like Cael. She was almost too lucky. Still, she absolutely had to keep their Skills secret.

Every one of those Skills was rare enough to make gods drool. Some of them might even be the first of their kind. If other gods saw them, trouble would come knocking immediately.

"Lady Hestia, there is one more thing." Rengoku turned toward Hestia, who currently looked nothing like a solemn goddess, and spoke with deep respect.

"I have many friends. May I ask whether they can also join Hestia Familia?" If his friends could receive Falna too, casualties in the fight against demons would surely decrease. Once everyone became stronger, even slaying Muzan Kibutsuji would become far easier.

"Many friends! Are they as strong as you, Kyojuro?" Hestia's eyes started shining.

"Yes. I believe some of them may be stronger than I am." Rengoku nodded with a smile.

"Bring as many as you can. Please make sure your friends join Hestia Familia." Hestia waved her hand grandly and puffed out her chest.

"Thank you very much, Lady Hestia. I would like to understand this place more, but I still have important matters to report to the Demon Slayer Corps, so please allow me to take my leave for now." Rengoku bowed ninety degrees and spoke with his usual full-throated energy.

"I also have my sister to take care of, so I must take my leave for now too, Lady Hestia." Tanjiro bowed deeply. Nezuko was still back where they had fought the Upper Rank demon, and he could not stop worrying about her. And Zenitsu would surely be running around in a panic if he could not find them.

"Uh, me too," Inosuke said, pounding his chest.

"Then let us all keep doing our best." Hestia lifted her fist with bright energy.

"Let's do our best!" Everyone shouted together.

"Right. Rengoku, take this." A golden key appeared in Cael's hand. He passed it to Rengoku while opening the World Gate. It was a small key formed from his ability, World Gate Key. With Cael's permission, it could temporarily summon the World Gate.

"This is the key that opens the golden door?" Rengoku accepted the key, looked toward the sacred golden gate, and understood. He gave a brilliant smile and bowed with his usual powerful voice.

"Thank you again, Captain. Before I realized it, I had already accepted far too much kindness from you. I will remember it forever."

"The same goes for me. I will never forget your kindness, Captain," Tanjiro said with another bow.

"Me too."

"What are you saying all that for? We are already members of the same Familia, aren't we? Helping you is helping myself. Say any more and you will start making this feel distant." Cael patted Rengoku's shoulder. This man really was almost painfully admirable. It was impossible not to respect him.

"Then, Lady Hestia, Captain, we will take our leave for now." Rengoku and the others bowed once more, then stepped through the World Gate. Hestia, however, had frozen the moment the golden door appeared. Her mouth hung open as if she had seen something that should have been impossible. Then she suddenly jumped up, grabbed Cael's head with both hands, stared straight into his eyes, and cried out.

"Cael! That was the World Gate, wasn't it? You can summon the World Gate?" In the next instant, realization struck her. Right. It had to be that Magic. The Magic even the Falna system woven by the gods could not identify. World Gate Key. Gate-opening Magic. Summons the World Gate. At first she had not understood what that meant. Now she did. Summoning the World Gate meant literally summoning the World Gate. That was beyond abnormal. It completely surpassed the ordinary limits of mortal potential.

Even gods in Heaven could not summon something like the World Gate. The children of the lower world really did possess unknown potential that could make even gods marvel.

"I just suddenly became able to use this Magic. I still do not understand much else about it." Cael spoke with a perfectly serious face. He was not lying. Aside from knowing he could summon the World Gate, he truly had not figured everything out yet.

"Then Kyojuro and Tanjiro are children from a realm beyond the lower world. No wonder they felt a little strange when I first saw them."

"Are you worried about who they are, Lady Hestia?" Cael asked quietly.

"A little, but I know they are kind children. They are already children of Hestia Familia, so of course I will accept them." Hestia smiled with gentle tolerance. A moment later, her expression turned serious.

"But Cael, you absolutely cannot use that Magic in front of people you do not trust. If you do..." Any god who saw that Skill would do whatever it took to force him into their Familia. It was too abnormal. Cael was almost reaching the limit of what human heroes should be able to possess. At this rate, the eyes of the gods would fall on him sooner or later. And when that happened... A trace of unease appeared in Hestia's heart.