Watching Kasumigaoka Utaha search frantically, Kawashima Toya couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Aki Tomoya had given so much for Kasumigaoka Utaha, sparing no effort to promote her light novels.
Yet, in the end, she couldn't even remember if she had added him as a friend.
"I haven't organized my LINE contacts... there are too many people, it's hard to find."
"Give me ten minutes!"
Utaha seemed a bit flushed with urgency. Her long, slender legs shook nervously as she focused all her efforts on scrolling through her phone.
Seeing her like this, Toya shook his head slightly. "Forget it. I'll check the System Shop first."
A translucent, pale blue screen that only he could see materialized before him.
An array of astronomically priced items filled his vision.
Toya frowned slightly and thought, Filter out all the items I can't afford. Only show me the ones I can buy.
In an instant, the dense list of items vanished, leaving behind only a scarce few.
Although the selection had thinned significantly, there were still plenty of options.
[Item:Eternal Arms Mastery]
[Rank: A+]
[Effect: Martial arts refinement claimed to be peerless in a certain era. It merges mind, body, and technique into perfect unity. Even when suffering from various mental interferences, one can still display powerful combat capabilities.]
[Price: 3,000 Source Points.]
[Note:Extreme danger detected in the current world. A massive discount is applied for the first purchase.]
"A discount for the first purchase?"
"Purchase Eternal Arms Mastery!"
Toya was instantly tempted and chose to buy it without hesitation.
What he lacked most right now was personal combat ability and resistance to the fear induced by eldritch horrors.
Every entity from the Cthulhu Mythos was hideously ugly and chaotic; merely seeing them could easily impact one's psychology. Eternal Arms Mastery would allow his combat prowess to remain at its peak at all times, unaffected by the mental influence of these abominations.
The moment the purchase was complete, Toya felt countless years of combat experience and knowledge flooding into his mind.
Experience in fighting humans, beasts, and all manner of existences became ingrained in him. It felt as though he could utilize these skills at any moment, without any unfamiliarity.
"Next, let's raise my physical capabilities to the peak of human potential."
[Deducting 1,000 Source Points. Elevating physical fitness to the human peak.]
A warm current of energy emerged from nowhere, rapidly strengthening Toya's body.
In just a few moments, his flat stomach transformed into eight distinct, chiseled abs.
His muscles became firm and compact. He didn't look like a bulky bodybuilder, but rather possessed the perfect physique—slim in clothes, muscular when undressed.
Toya looked at the remaining 6,000 Source Points in the System Shop with interest. Contacting eldritch horrors is a bit dangerous, but the rewards are rich.
Just completing the commission to save Kasumigaoka Utaha had yielded a full 10,000 Source Points.
With his previous system, a single mission would only grant 100 points. The difference was astronomical.
He didn't even care for the ordinary human skills available in the shop anymore.
"I'll save the rest for now. I'll use them when the right opportunity arises."
He planned to hoard some Source Points. Once he had enough, he intended to exchange them for a special item.
A sharp glint flashed in Toya's eyes.
"Shishou's teachings..."
"I wonder what kind of surprise that will bring!"
[Item:Tutelage of the Shadow Land's Queen]
Price: 30,000 Source Points]
[Effect: Upon purchase, the user will be transported to the Land of Shadows, one of the Celtic fairylands, to receive instruction from the Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scáthach.]
[Note:Any rewards obtained during the process will be brought back without any cost.]
A few minutes later, just as Toya was bored enough to doze off, Utaha suddenly let out a surprised cry.
"Found it!"
Toya instantly snapped to attention. "Can you locate that otaku's position?"
"I want to investigate right now."
When it came to grotesque anomalies, he naturally couldn't leave them be.
Every minute they remained was a massive instability factor.
"It's not far from us." Utaha showed the location of the otaku on her phone to Toya.
The distance was short; he could get there very quickly.
Toya glanced indifferently at the location of the user named "TAKI-kun" on the screen. "I'll go to his house and settle this."
"You shouldn't go out."
"If a dangerous situation arises that you absolutely cannot handle alone, run next door and find that blonde girl."
"As long as you stick with her, I trust that no anomaly will be able to trouble you."
With that, Toya picked up the wooden sword he had set aside and walked straight out the door.
Left alone in the living room, Kasumigaoka Utaha puffed up her exquisite, quiet cheeks in dissatisfaction. "That hateful guy. Does he just toss people aside after using them?"
"Even though I put in so much effort..."
Although she appeared annoyed on the surface, she knew very well that if she rashly followed Toya with her ordinary human abilities, she wouldn't be of any help. Instead, she would only put him in danger.
Rather than tagging along, it was better to wait at home.