Chapter 48: Worth Millions, Yet Still a Pauper

"Roar!" Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya momentarily stunned, the previously panicked Arm-Spirit suddenly changed its expression like a Sichuan opera mask performance, revealing a face full of sharp fangs as it lunged toward Hachiman's head. "Definitely quite intelligent..." Without changing his expression, Hachiman summoned the Demon-Slaying Blade and used its body to block the spirit's jaws. From his superior position, he began observing the spirit more closely. Upon closer inspection, this spirit—able to communicate with humans—was indeed quite different from the others he had encountered before. Aside from the Spider Spirit, most previous spirits maintained a roughly humanoid appearance. But this one? Everywhere you looked—arms. Only arms. "So basically a mutated monster?" Rubbing his chin in thought for a moment, Hachiman ultimately decided to end the Arm-Spirit with a single slash. Although he wanted to extract some information from it, he had no way of verifying the truthfulness of what it might say. Given that, it was better not to risk clouding his thoughts with potentially misleading intel. "Successfully eliminated one Intermediate Evil Spirit. Gained 200 Spirit Coins." The system notification rang out, and his balance increased from 3050 to 3250. "So... what should I buy?" Because he had given the bracelet to Komachi, Hachiman planned to browse for a defensive item in the shop. He had personally experienced the benefits of defensive gear when he fought that High-grade Evil Spirit. "If only there was one designed for men..." Thinking of the red ponytail bracelet's functionality, Hachiman let out a sigh. That bracelet was great in every way—except for the fact that any man who used it would be turned into a woman. If not for that, it would've stayed with Hachiman for a long time. Still, he wasn't too disheartened. After all, he had experienced the bracelet's combat prowess firsthand. With Komachi wearing it, even if she were attacked by an evil spirit, she could at least hold out until he arrived. Though frankly, Hachiman suspected the more likely outcome was that Komachi would beat the spirit to death before he even got there. Realizing his thoughts were wandering, Hachiman quickly pulled himself back and focused on the shop interface. Soon, something caught his eye—something that suited him perfectly: "Basic Exorcist Cultivation Method" User Restriction: Exorcists of Special-grade or higher only Effect: Gradually increases the user's maximum spirit energy through training. On top of this basic method, it could later be upgraded to Intermediate Cultivation, allowing for even faster breakthroughs. "This is seriously starting to feel like a video game..." Reading the product description, Hachiman commented with a blank expression. Right now, he felt like a controllable character in a life-simulation game. His mission: defeat low-tier evil spirits to collect Spirit Coins, exchange them for better weapons, challenge stronger spirits, level up, rinse and repeat—until he stood at the top of humanity. "Whatever, don't think too much..." With a sigh, he cast out the strange thought from his mind. He was a living, breathing human being. The system only appeared due to a car accident—pure coincidence. No one could possibly be controlling his life. "Price: 2000 Spirit Coins?" After glancing at the cost, Hachiman decisively made the purchase. His current spirit energy cap was only 100. If he faced a situation like last night again—three evil spirits at once—five Spirit Stream attacks obviously wouldn't be enough. 2000 coins were instantly deducted. At the same time, a flood of knowledge suddenly surged into Hachiman's mind. The overwhelming data caused a wave of dizziness. Fortunately, the sensation only lasted for about three seconds. Now crouching in the bathroom, Hachiman gasped heavily for air. He now fully understood how to cultivate! "Next up, defensive items..." He'd already been gone from class for quite a while. While hurrying back, he continued browsing defensive items in the shop. But to his disappointment, aside from the Intelligent Tactical Suit he had already bought (priced at 1000 coins), every other defensive item was priced above 5000. No choice—Hachiman had to abandon the idea of buying defense gear and instead shifted focus to combat skill items. As they say: the best defense is a good offense. As long as you kill the enemy before they land a hit, you don't need to defend. For a broke guy like Hachiman, this principle resonated deeply. Right now, he had a mid-grade Ghost-Slaying Blade for melee, Spirit Stream for ranged attacks, and with the cultivation method, his spirit energy cap would soon rise significantly. Considering how that Samurai Spirit nearly sliced him in half with its expert technique, Hachiman felt a strong need to fix his own lack of skill. That said, he also understood that store-bought techniques could never match self-trained ones in fluidity or efficiency. So he leaned more toward buying a single powerful ultimate move, then training hard on overall combat technique in his free time. As he thought about what kind of move he wanted, the system shop automatically filtered and presented relevant items. The first one that popped up had a ridiculously flashy name: Name: Nine-Headed Dragon Flash Target: Multiple Basic Description: Rapidly unleashes nine consecutive slashes at high speed. Mhm. Definitely a strong skill. Hachiman estimated that among all the evil spirits he had fought, none would be able to withstand nine of his sword strikes. And on top of that, it was a group-attack move! If he had this skill, he could just open with his ultimate whenever spirits appeared—clean sweep, then go home. He looked at the price with hopeful eyes. 90,000 Spirit Coins. Never mind. He silently closed the window and kept browsing. It was only now that Hachiman truly realized: even though his total wealth was in the millions—he was still, fundamentally, a broke guy. Soon, Hachiman returned to the classroom. Thanks to the presence of Hiratsuka Shizuka, his classmates were more restrained. But when they saw his expressionless face, some couldn't help but chuckle under their breath. After all, what had just happened wasn't the kind of event you'd see often in a student's life. Unless something else even more ridiculous happened, Hachiman's embarrassing moment would likely fuel their casual conversations for days to come. But Hachiman had no reaction at all to his classmates' laughter. Because just now, after some more searching in the store—he had found another skill that suited him perfectly, and best of all—the price was acceptable!