Chapter 12: Tactical Suit

"She's really gone..." Looking at the interface where it displayed "Intelligent System Offline," Hachiman Hikigaya smacked his lips. However, after the initial surprise, his expression quickly returned to calm. After all, he was always someone who went with the flow. Once he confirmed that the system had indeed left behind an auto-running framework and then left, Hachiman reopened the system shop to search for any items he could currently use. Suddenly, his gaze stopped on a piece of tactical clothing. [Intelligent Tactical Suit] Functions: Excellent defensive capability; automatically adjusts temperature; equipped with a life-support system that allows survival for several hours in extreme environments such as outer space or undersea; can morph into various outfits. Price: 1000 Spirit Coins Seeing the suit's functions, Hachiman's eyes lit up. Forgive him for first fixating on the last small line. His current school uniform had been mostly burnt to a crisp by the fire tornado earlier — he was only one step away from streaking. To avoid being mistaken for a pervert after leaving the dungeon, even if this suit was expensive, he had to buy it! Without hesitation, Hachiman mentally confirmed the purchase. The tactical suit disappeared from the shop, and a black wristband appeared on his left wrist. "What's this?" Looking at the wristband that had suddenly appeared on his hand, Hachiman curiously tapped it. In the next second, the band began to dissolve and quickly spread over his skin. In less than three seconds, his entire body was covered in a black, form-fitting suit. "I feel like my strength increased?" Clenching his fists experimentally, Hachiman felt his body was significantly enhanced after putting on the suit. He got up from the ground, didn't use any spiritual energy, and punched the ground. "Boom!" A faint boom echoed across the schoolyard. Hachiman widened his eyes at the small crater his punch had left in the ground. Was this the power of the tactical suit? Examining the suit he wore, Hachiman inwardly approved. These 1000 Spirit Coins were well spent. "Oh, right! It should be able to transform!" Suddenly waking from the excitement of the suit's power, Hachiman remembered the original reason he bought the outfit. As he recalled the school uniform he previously wore, the tactical suit automatically transformed into his standard blazer uniform. "Wow." Looking at his brand-new school uniform, Hachiman let out a soft exclamation of amazement. Then, picking up the demon-slaying sword from the ground, he was ready to go look for Miko Yotsuya. But after only taking two steps... Pain! Pain! Pain! The excitement faded, and the pain throughout his body snapped Hachiman back to reality. "Is there a healing potion?" Quickly opening the system shop, Hachiman mentally requested a healing item. The shop automatically listed all applicable items, sorted from lowest to highest price. "125 Spirit Coins for a basic healing potion?" Looking at the first item in the list, Hachiman fell into thought. It just so happened that after buying the tactical suit, he had exactly 125 Spirit Coins left. What a convenient coincidence. Even though he was a bit suspicious, Hachiman still used his last Spirit Coins to buy the basic healing potion. After all, his life was the most important thing. Holding what looked like a functional energy drink in his hand, Hachiman drank it all in one go without hesitation. Afterward, he even smacked his lips, trying to savor the taste of the item that had just emptied his entire wallet. Unfortunately, he couldn't taste anything. The healing potion was like plain water — totally flavorless. If not for the warm sensation of his injuries quickly healing, Hachiman would've suspected the system had scammed him. Soon, as the heat faded, a fully revitalized Hachiman with his trademark dead-fish eyes reappeared on the schoolyard. Stretching a bit to test his recovery, once he confirmed his body was fully healed, Hachiman followed the path where Miko Yotsuya had fled. He believed that, with her intelligence, she wouldn't have gone far. Sure enough, just as he turned into the building where she was hiding, he heard her voice calling for him. Miko then emerged from one of the classrooms. "You... you're okay?" At first, Miko ran over excitedly, but the moment she saw the clean and tidy Hachiman, she slammed on the brakes and stopped several meters away, alert and guarded. Seeing her wariness, Hachiman gave her a mental thumbs-up. But he soon began to worry about how to explain his sudden recovery and change of clothes. After all, the human heart is a complex thing. Even though he had saved Miko before, that didn't guarantee she wouldn't reveal the system's secret. "We first met in the Service Club's classroom." To prove he was truly human, Hachiman began recalling the first place they met. "That doesn't prove your identity. Evil spirits, though they can't attack during the day, can still move around freely..." However, Miko shook her head, saying his evidence was insufficient. "This is tricky..." Hearing her response, Hachiman frowned. He and Miko had only known each other for less than a day, and there was nothing particularly unique he could bring up to prove his identity. "Then how about this?" With a flash of blue light, the demon-slaying sword reappeared in Hachiman's hand. As a weapon that had killed evil spirits multiple times, this should be enough proof of his identity, right? "Looks like you're the real one..." Seeing the sword in Hachiman's hand, Miko let out a sigh of relief. As she walked toward him, she said, "I just ran into someone who looked exactly like you. Thankfully, I asked him a few questions and, when he couldn't answer, I ran away..." "Hm?" Hachiman was stunned by her words. Someone who looked exactly like him? Could that be the final evil spirit's ability? "Get away from her! She's the fake!" At that moment, from the other end of the hallway, a disheveled Miko Yotsuya suddenly ran out. Seeing the other version of herself closing in on Hachiman, she quickly stopped and shouted a warning. "Two Miko Yotsuyas?" Looking at the newly emerged Miko, Hachiman's eyes darted between the two of them, and he quickly stepped back from the first one.