[Teleportation beginning...]
With Endspace's notification, Gusion felt himself entering that familiar tunnel of white light again—everything was hazy, except the clear voice of Endspace in his ear.
[Locating world...]
[Location successful—target derivative world: Demon Slayer]
[This world will have 36 explorers entering]
[Detected Pioneer has already mastered the common language of this world—no need to learn again]
[This is a faction confrontation world; please choose your starting faction identity]
A menu appeared before Gusion. The top two major factions were "Demon Slayer Corps" and "Muzan's Faction."
Below were selectable identities.
[Note: The available identities are calculated by the Endspace based on suitability for each explorer. Options differ for everyone.]
Gusion understood the note. Simply put, the Endspace would judge each person's strength, personality, etc., and wouldn't assign an identity that was too out-of-character.
"Faction choice, huh..."
Gusion pondered. If you asked a normal, right-minded person which faction they preferred in this anime, the answer's obvious: few would like Muzan—they'd side with the Demon Slayer Corps.
But unfortunately, in this place, there are no normal people, and values don't dictate explorer choices. The number one rule is survival—they'll pick whichever side is easier to live on.
So, which side is safer? The answer is obvious: Muzan's Faction.
Muzan may be a lousy boss, but explorers are strong to begin with, and with plot knowledge, can do well in the task world.
Also, joining Muzan's side guarantees the demon bloodline—despite the sunlight weakness, the stat boosts and super regeneration are extremely powerful, making it a highly sought-after bloodline among low-tier explorers.
And demons aren't necessarily weak to sunlight—originally, Tanjiro and Nezuko overcame this, so the weakness is easily fixed back in the Endspace.
At that point, the demon bloodline becomes a high-stat, super-regenerating, quality bloodline beloved by low-tier explorers.
He'd heard other explorers chatting about Demon Slayer world before—they were eager to enter, calling it a treasure world.
As long as you're willing to kneel to Muzan, you get a top-tier bloodline—where else can you find a deal like that?
As for danger? What danger? Demon Slayer Corps?
Remember, explorers already have high stats, and as demons, they're even more overpowered. With plot knowledge and some caution, survival is easy.
As long as they aren't erased for failing the mission, even a minor penalty is worth it if they return with a demon bloodline.
Even stronger explorers mostly pick Muzan's side, not just for the bloodline but because his faction is, in fact, the stronger one.
Yes, Muzan lost in the manga, but only because of his incompetence and bad intel. If explorers intervene, there'd be no traps or poison, and the upper moons wouldn't be taken down one by one.
In a head-on fight, the Demon Slayer Corps can't beat Muzan's faction.
And for growth ceiling? That's even more obvious. Manga logic says demons have higher potential; their natural stat cap is higher than humans in Demon Slayer.
Kokushibo's overwhelming strength is an exception, but even as a demon, you can keep honing your skills, and even use Breathing Techniques.
So, in all aspects, picking Muzan's side is the rational choice.
But Gusion isn't always rational. He only wants to act with a clear conscience.
Besides, he thinks demon bloodlines turn people ugly, so he picked the Demon Slayer Corps.
Actually, not all time periods favor Muzan's side. In the Sengoku era, Muzan was hunted by the Demon Slayer Corps and didn't dare show himself. If it was that period, joining Muzan wouldn't be an advantage.
But Gusion was sure they'd be dropping into the main storyline because he saw the available Demon Slayer identities.
Selectable Identity 1: Water Inheritance
Details: You are the disciple of Sakonji Urokodaki, the former Water Pillar. This identity allows you to learn Water Breathing.
Difficulty: A+
Minimum overall rating: S-
He checked the notes: "difficulty" is the risk of the identity; "minimum overall rating" is the score he needs to achieve by the end, or he'll be penalized.
Just from the first option, Gusion could tell roughly when the story was set, and more could be inferred from the other options.
Selectable Identity 2: Flower Inheritance
Details: You are the disciple of Shinobu Kocho, the current Insect Pillar. This identity allows you to learn either Insect or Flower Breathing.
Difficulty: B
Minimum overall rating: A-
He skipped this one—he didn't feel suited to Flower Breathing, and the lower difficulty suggested he'd spend a lot of time doing logistics in Butterfly House.
But what puzzled Gusion was—wasn't Butterfly House supposed to be all girls? Endspace, what do you mean? Why can I pick this?
He skipped through, finding even more breathing techniques than expected—there were many obscure ones not mentioned in the manga, all evolved from the original breathing styles.
Demon Slayer Corps members trained in all sorts of breathing techniques, and not everyone was lucky enough to have a former Pillar as a teacher.
A good teacher really does make a difference.
After reviewing all the identities, Gusion made his choice.
Selectable Identity 7: Thunder Inheritance
Details: You are the disciple of Jigoro Kuwajima, the former Thunder Pillar. This identity allows you to learn Thunder Breathing.
Difficulty: A+
Minimum overall rating: S-
Same difficulty as Water Inheritance—probably because both would lead to frequent encounters with the main characters, and thus more run-ins with strong demons.
Gusion was interested in the breathing techniques; not only did they boost physical stats, but they unlocked powerful combat skills—perfect for adding to his skill set.
If possible, he actually wanted to learn Sun Breathing, but in the current Demon Slayer world, there was no orthodox Sun Breathing inheritance, and Endspace couldn't exactly make him Tanjiro's relative.
Even Tanjiro himself only vaguely understood Sun Breathing before the finale, so teaching it would be hard.
All considered, Gusion felt the high-speed, violent Thunder Breathing suited him best, so he picked that identity.
After confirming, he heard the system notification:
[Deploying...]
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