Chapter 97: Spirit Time Chamber, Super Earthling Two!
Inside Miko's dream, Luke looked at the dreamscape that had become completely normal and withdrew all his power in relief.
He turned back to look at Miko and noticed the dagger in her hand, which had been shining brightly earlier. It was the exorcism tool he had bought from Kasumizuki before.
Now, Miko could be considered capable of drawing out this exorcism tool's power fairly well.
"You can now bring out the exorcism tool's power to a certain extent," Luke told her.
"What?"
Miko, who was still dazed, made a confused sound. She did not quite understand what he meant.
"Oh, didn't I keep having you train with evil spirits before?"
Luke explained it to her.
"That was a way to help you grasp spiritual power. Now, because of that cultist evil spirit, you've mastered this power ahead of time. It counts as a blessing in disguise."
Although a exorcism tool that carried an evil spirit's power could still be used normally, if a person could sense the power within it, they could use far more of that power.
So the way Miko had been chased around by evil spirits before really had been a form of training.
Although it would not greatly increase her spiritual power, it was enough to let her sense spiritual power through experiencing the presence of evil spirits.
Still, even without this fear evil spirit forcing Miko to fully sense the power inside the exorcism tool, Luke estimated that it would not have taken much longer.
With the unique traits of Yin-Yang Eyes, she would have been able to use the exorcism tool soon anyway.
Miko lightly nodded at his words. Her incredibly clear senses could indeed feel the power on the dagger.
She carefully tried withdrawing the dagger's power.
As if moving her own arm, the dagger returned to its normal state according to her will, and the spells on it no longer gave off that beautiful glow.
Miko happily held the dagger and played with it, repeatedly releasing and withdrawing its power.
She had turned a perfectly good dagger exorcism tool into a flashlight.
With their spirits tangled together, Luke sensed her joy and hurriedly reminded her, "Still, when you eliminate evil spirits by yourself in the future, you must pay attention to safety."
"Sensei, I will! I'll be careful! Even if I encounter those powerful evil spirits, I'll perfectly pretend I can't see them!"
When Miko heard his instruction to stay safe, she spoke confidently.
…
Miko, your confidence seems to be pointing in the wrong direction.
He fell silent for a moment.
"Ah, that isn't what I meant. Most evil spirits can't do anything to you anymore…"
"I mean, don't casually wave a dagger around in front of ordinary people. It's easy to get reported."
A lesson from experience.
After Luke finished speaking, he let out a discouraged sigh.
"Damn Sword and Firearms Control Law."
"Uh… ah?"
Miko's smile stiffened. She fell silent, not knowing what to say.
Because… it seemed she had already destroyed the evil spirit in the school bathroom and been discovered by a teacher, though she had managed to brush it off by saying it was a protective charm.
Miko also grew a little discouraged.
"I see, Sensei. I'll be careful…"
"There are bad people hidden among the masses. In short, be extremely careful."
Luke wandered through the dream once more and confirmed that nothing else was wrong.
He was also ready to return to reality and claim his reward.
"That's it for today. That evil spirit should be completely destroyed. Rest well. This time can be considered a blessing in disguise too."
"Mm."
Miko's tone was slightly cheerful. Habitually brushing the hair by her ear aside, she looked at Sensei and asked, "Then, Sensei, will you come tomorrow? I reserved a restaurant and wanted to treat you to a meal."
Sensei had helped her once again.
She would first invite him to a meal as part of her thanks, then slowly repay the rest.
Miko pressed her lips together, making plans in her heart.
However, she had heard from the miko that Sensei had two beautiful maids. She did not know whether that was true.
"When did you reserve it?"
Luke froze for a moment.
After waking up.
Miko silently answered in her heart.
He thought for a moment, then replied, "I won't go. Tomorrow, I'll probably need to handle some cultist-related matters with Kasumizuki and the others."
"Also, since you can now use a exorcism tool, unless you run into something too troublesome in the future, you'll probably have to solve things yourself."
"…"
Miko's body stiffened.
All her previous thoughts froze. Lowering her head, she rubbed her fingers together and did not know what to say.
Then she heard him continue.
"But tomorrow, Kasumizuki will probably call you and that little Niguredo kid out too. After all, this incident was neither too big nor too small. There will probably be quite a few people together tomorrow. See you then."
"Eh? Together with other exorcists…?"
Miko froze.
In that case… maybe… that was fine too.
"Right… Rest well. Contact me if anything happens."
Luke's figure vanished instantly, leaving Miko's dream and returning to reality.
"I didn't expect Kasumizuki to be that accurate. Once those guys saw me enter Miko's dream, they really did impatiently go all in. They've got guts."
Luke loosened his grip on the exorcism tool he had been holding.
At this moment, the guandao had already lost its color. It no longer had the dazzling brilliance it had held in the dream and had become like a plastic toy.
It probably would not recover without a month or more.
Luke handed it to Mikasa, who had been watching over him nearby.
"Help me send this back to the shrine. This thing is too big. Keeping it at home isn't practical."
"Mm."
Mikasa, who had been watching him, the little girl, and a toad beside the bed the entire time, answered calmly. Taking the guandao, she walked out of the room.
Ever since he had entered the dream, she had been watching the Mirror of the Soul. During the period when she saw Luke fall into weakness, she had wanted to kill her way into the spiritual world and slash that toad twice.
But…
As long as everything was fine.
Luke put away Kasumizuki's Mirror of the Soul, then opened his system and looked at his missions.
He had two missions related to the evil god.
The career mission had asked him to resolve an evil god, while the life mission went one step further and asked him to resolve an evil god alone.
So right now, he had only completed the career mission, not the life mission.
After all, Kasumizuki had acted too, so this did not count as him solving the evil god alone.
Still, being able to resolve a so-called evil god this easily was already satisfying enough.
Only, he thought to himself: if he insisted on calling an evil spirit an evil god before killing it, would that count as completing the mission?
He would find a chance to try.
Having made up his mind, Luke claimed the reward for killing the evil god.
[12h Spirit Time Chamber Experience Card]: A space with physical rules basically identical to the real world, containing sufficient food, water, and survival resources. Its time-flow ratio with the real world is one year to one day. After entering this space, all of the user's injuries will be restored. Entry countdown: 10s.
Hm?
Spirit Time Chamber.
He had only just seen the contents of this reward.
Also, a ten-second countdown?
[Notice]: Reward: 12h Spirit Time Chamber Experience Card countdown begins: 10, 9, 8…
"Eh? Wait…"
7, 6, 5…
"Hold on! I'm warning you…"
4, 3, 2…
"Let me bring something!"
1…
Whoosh.
Luke frantically grabbed a phone, and then his entire figure vanished from the room.
...
The sun was high, birds sang, and flowers were fragrant.
Reality was wonderful…
After spending half a year inside the Spirit Time Chamber, Luke, who had finally come out and seen the light of day again, stared at the scenery outside the window in a daze.
Clearly, only one night had passed in the real world, yet he already felt as if a lifetime had gone by.
If he ever had a chance to obtain this item again, he would absolutely not claim it.
Being alone inside the Spirit Time Chamber was true suffering.
No one to talk to.
No books to read.
No phone to play with.
No maids to accompany him.
There were no entertainment activities at all.
Although he had barely managed to reach his phone within the countdown and bring it inside, there was nowhere to charge it.
Even after turning on ultra power-saving mode, the phone still only lasted two days before running out of battery.
For the remaining days, all he could do was train, sleep, meditate, train…
An endless loop that never stopped.
Although he had never been to prison, he estimated that prison was probably no more than this.
Truly suffering.
However, it was not as though he had gained nothing.
It had made him settle down and start training seriously.
He looked at his current stats without item bonuses.
Strength: 16.
Agility: 15.
Constitution: 15.
Spirit: 19.
Mm.
He had already reached Super Earthling Two.
He could try challenging Mikasa now.
At the same time, he had also completed his student career mission.
[Notice]:
[Career Mission (Student)]: The body is the capital of learning. Raise Constitution by 5 points (14/14). Completed.
You have received the reward: Item · A Maiden's Prayer.
[A Maiden's Prayer]: Complete a girl's hidden wish to add one gemstone to this necklace item and awaken one trait related to that girl. Current: 1.
[Notice]:
You have received a new mission [Career Mission (Student)]: Improving grades starts with your weaknesses. In one exam, raise your English score to the average deviation value: 0/1.
Raise his English score?
That was harder than cutting down an evil god.
Luke gave up and closed the system. Then he looked at the necklace that had appeared in his hand.
It had a pink gemstone with a regular shape and smooth, bright edges.
Then he lowered his head and looked at the Dream Necklace and Magical Cat Pendant on his chest.
Thankfully, this was not a real game system with only one accessory slot.
Otherwise, he would only be able to wear one necklace.
Maybe his future nickname should be—
Necklace King.
"Are you eating now?"
Annie stood at the doorway and softly reminded her master, who had been standing by the window in a daze the entire time.
"Eating."
Luke put the necklace back into the system inventory, plugged his phone in to charge, and quickly answered.
Aside from his breakthrough in stats, the other improvement he had gained was in cooking.
He could not be compared to a chef, but at least he had reached the level of an ordinary person.
Even so, he still missed Annie's cooking more.
"Oh. It'll be ready soon."
Annie was tying her hair behind her head. She asked him in confusion, "When I came to wake you up for morning training today, I found that you weren't in your room. Did you get up that early?"
"Mm. I trained a little longer."
Mm.
A little longer for half a year.
Luke walked over and gently wrapped his arms around Annie from behind.
"What's wrong?"
Annie leaned her head back, while also feeling a little confused.
"I just wanted to hug you."
Annie did not speak again and simply let him hold her in his arms.
However, her head was not behaving. Not believing it, she leaned back again, only to discover that it did not feel as comfortable as before.
"Did you get taller? Your hair is a bit longer too."
Annie sensed something wrong.
"Hm? Did I?"
He asked uncertainly.
There had been no mirror in that place, so he had only been able to use his phone screen and cut his hair by feeling. He also had not observed his own height.
"Of course. How could I remember wrong?"
Annie said calmly.
"Before, I could rest the back of my head perfectly on your shoulder. Now I can't."
"Ah. If that's the case, then I probably did."
No wonder after coming out, the scenery outside the window had felt slightly off.
"Your height before was clearly perfect."
Annie said that with some regret.
Before, she could perfectly bury her head against his shoulder, no matter when.
But now, she could not.
"It's all the same. With this height difference, if you stand on your tiptoes a little, I can kiss your forehead. Isn't that good too?"
He lowered his head. His nose gently approached Annie's dazzling golden hair, and he could easily smell her scent.
That long-missed yet familiar scent clearly had nothing special about it, but it still made both his mood and body relax.
Annie gently held his hands, which still had not let go, and her fingers lightly rubbed them. Her exposed legs, since she was only wearing hot pants at home, also brushed against his.
"Do you not want to eat anymore? Or do you want to do something that can only be done at night…"
"Forget it."
Luke let go of his hands.
"Looks like I still need to go find Kasumizuki today."
He went to the plug beside the bed and gently pressed his phone's power button.
Mm. It lit up.
Although it stuttered and struggled, the phone successfully turned on in the end.
This phone's vitality really was strong. He had thought that after half a year without use, it would no longer work.
Luke looked at the messages from Kasumizuki that lit up just as expected and hurriedly replied.
At the same time, he glanced at Annie standing beside him.
"What's wrong?"
Annie did not speak. Her eyes only stared tightly at him, who had changed greatly overnight. She placed both hands on his shoulders, lightly stood on tiptoe, and brought her forehead before him.
"Heh."
Understanding what she meant, Luke used his hand to brush aside her bangs, then lightly kissed her forehead.
"Good now?"
"Mm."
The corners of Annie's mouth rose in satisfaction.
Verified.
Being a little taller was not that bad either.
"Right, where's Mikasa?"
Luke hurriedly asked.
"She's trimming the greenery at the entrance. Why?"
Luke rolled up his sleeves.
"Before eating, I'll exercise a little."
Annie looked at her master, who was moving his wrists and preparing to go find trouble for himself, and hesitated.
"Don't worry."
Seeing Annie's small expression, he spoke.
Although even at his strongest before, he had never made Mikasa use her full strength, the current him was no longer the him of the past.
He had completely surpassed his former self.
So even if his opponent was the undefeated Mikasa Ackerman, it would be a little troublesome, but he…
"Will win."
Ten minutes later.
Annie placed all the breakfast on the table and saw her dusty, disheveled master.
Luke sat speechlessly in the chair, somewhat unable to understand what kind of maid he had summoned.
How was it that even with the Book of Strength and the Cat Pendant added, he still could not beat a youthful girl like Mikasa?
He had never seen an exorcist this capable of fighting.
Wasn't this power system a little wrong?
Could those manga authors please respect the laws of the world?
Seriously.
…
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