Upon entering the system shop interface, the items displayed in the topmost discount section appeared before An Xora.
[Angel • Zafkiel] (30% off): 5,600 points
[Ability to Manipulate Time to a Certain Degree] (60% off): 20,000 points
[Azure Orb] (50% off): 4,000 points
Looking at the refreshed items, An Xora rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Angel • Zafkiel came from Date A Live, the ability of the Third Spirit, Tokisaki Kurumi. Its manifested form was a gigantic clock, with the long and short hands transformed into a pair of flintlock pistols. By firing different bullets from these guns, it could produce a variety of effects.
For example, the First Bullet accelerated time, the Second Bullet slowed time, the Fourth Bullet reversed time, the Seventh Bullet stopped time, and so on.
At the same time, the flintlock pistols' ordinary bullets were no slouches in terms of lethality either. Compared to Zafkiel's various conceptual abilities they seemed underwhelming—but placed in the JOJO world?
Here's a fun fact: in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, aside from DIO and Kars, almost every final boss could theoretically be killed by an ordinary handgun ambush—including Enrico Pucci, the priest who created a new world.
All the way up to Part 8, which An Xora had read in his previous life, firearms were still legitimately deadly weapons in Stand battles. With the exception of a few Stands capable of directly protecting their users, most Stand users would be seriously injured—or outright killed—after taking a few shots.
Yes, that's how absurd the JoJo world is. Even with powers like accelerating the universe to its end to create a new world, causality-looping Golden Experience Requiem, or the near-limitless "golden rotation" of Tusk Act 4—Stand users themselves could still theoretically be riddled with bullets and die.
Stands were weird like that.
Next was the Ability to Manipulate Time to a Certain Degree, originating from Touhou Project, also known as Gensokyo. Its user was Sakuya Izayoi, head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
The ability itself was simple in description: manipulating time—literally. However, because Touhou had countless secondary and tertiary interpretations, it wasn't clear which version this "time manipulation" came from.
That said, even at a 60% discount it still cost 20,000 points, which meant it was almost certainly not a weak version. Of course, it wouldn't be absurdly overpowered either—some outrageous fan interpretations would be worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of points.
An Xora still vividly remembered when he'd first encountered the Touhou IP in his previous life—how a certain "eighteen-year-old grandmother" fluctuated wildly in power across works, from being beaten senseless by modern military forces to casually reaching multiversal levels.
As for the final item, the Azure Orb, it originated from the Pokémon world. In its original setting, it allowed Kyogre, the god of the sea, to enter its Primal Reversion—essentially restoring its true power. However, the discounted Azure Orb here was different.
This version came from a heavily modified Pokémon game. According to its description, when held, it granted a Pokémon an additional ability—Primordial Sea—and boosted the power of all Water-type moves. Translated into reality, this meant granting the bearer a portion of the Sea God's authority.
Honestly, it wasn't particularly useful—but it was still worth buying.
An Xora purchased all three discounted items.
To be frank, if Lappland hadn't just contributed fifty thousand points earlier, An Xora—who had been nearly wiped clean by Sakura last month—wouldn't have been able to afford this haul. At the very least, the 20,000-point time manipulation ability would have been out of reach.
"Now then… which character should I manifest as my new avatar?"
With Zafkiel and time manipulation in hand, An Xora had two clear candidates: Tokisaki Kurumi and Izayoi Sakuya.
Choosing between the two was honestly difficult—so An Xora simply decided to have both.
However, since the original purpose of manifesting a new avatar this time was to create a workhorse to handle tasks for him, he chose to manifest Tokisaki Kurumi first.
"System, manifest avatar."
As a burst of white light flared, a figure slowly took shape before An Xora.
Long, glossy black hair; a Gothic-style dress dominated by black tones; a crimson right eye; overly long bangs that nearly covered the left half of her face; beneath those bangs, a left eye shaped like a golden clock with constantly ticking hands. Her exposed skin was pale and smooth like polished pearl. Slender, elegant legs clad in black stockings, feet stepping into chocolate-smooth-looking Japanese leather shoes.
"Oh my—how unexpected. To think I'd be the first to be manifested… Could this mean that, in your heart, Master, you favor me just a little more?"
Freshly summoned and not yet in her Spirit Dress, Tokisaki Kurumi covered her mouth lightly, speaking in a refined, ladylike tone, as though pleasantly surprised.
But An Xora knew better.
The avatar's personality was identical to the original character. And since avatars shared his memories, Kurumi knew perfectly well what he'd been thinking before manifesting her.
Unfortunately, she was summoned first not out of affection—but because she was meant to be a workhorse.
"Stand Arrows, the Beetle Arrow. If possible, also see if there are any Stone Masks or Pillar Men the original story might've missed. And while you're at it, take out a few Stand users and earn some points to help cover household expenses."
An Xora tossed the prewritten "shopping list" into Kurumi's hands, patted her shoulder, and flashed an encouraging smile.
"Do your best. I believe in you. Your master here is going to enjoy life for a bit, so I'll have to entrust all these hard jobs to you. I'll be supporting and cheering you on from the rear."
"Oh, and remember to come back tonight to warm the bed. Or you could just use your ability to make a few clones—that works too."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "..."
At that moment, Kurumi gained a deeper understanding of a certain phrase:
The original body only needs to lie flat and wait for the beautiful avatar to spoon-feed it—avatars like me have to think about far more things.
To be honest, this was the first time since An Xora's transmigration that he'd made such a direct demand of a newly manifested avatar—asking her to serve him in bed on the very first day.
Kurumi couldn't quite decide whether she should feel pleased… or utterly speechless.
Meanwhile, An Xora had already resumed operating the system interface.
"Are you planning to manifest another companion, Master?" Kurumi asked.
"That's right," An Xora nodded.
"System—manifest avatar."
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