The very second Niel entered his house he suddenly dropped the plastic bag that holding his cup ramen, and knelt on the ground. He was sweating profusely as he remembered the face of the Kushisake-onna
'Okay, first I need to calm down and think.'
Niel exhaled and inhaled a few times, and proceeded to head upstairs to get a glass of water. After putting down the plastic bag on the table, he got a glass of water and started drinking. Once he was done he sat on the dining table chair and sighed.
Niel raised his right hand and concentrated on making the sword he used a while ago appear again. When he saw the sword materialize in his hands he once again sighed. Niel poked the tip of the sword with his finger making it bleed.
'So it really was real. Okay then... That means I really did fight a malicious spirit and actually won, and that I'm also truly hearing a voice in my head... A System huh, it's not like I have never read web novels before but to think it could actually happen and to me of all people.'
'Hey System what are you?'
After waiting for a while there was no response. Niel then tried to ask a different question.
'System is there a User interface that I can use?'
[To open up the UI please use the keywords.]
[Inventory]
[Status]
[Ability Cards]
[Skills]
[To close the UI please just think of turning it off.]
Seeing the words floating in front of him, Niel quickly tested them out.
"Status."
A floating screen appeared before Niel which looked like it came from an RPG. On the screen were his name and some other pieces of information.
Name: Niel Kamizaki
Rank: Novice Hunter
Spirituality: 30
SP: 10/10
That was all there was on the status screen. Niel thought there would be things like a strength stat or an agility stat and other such things that you would normally find in an RPG.
'Hey System what is this spirituality, is it something like believing in a deity?'
[Spirituality determines how powerful a spell that's cast by the host. It also determines how powerful your mental strength is. A normal adult will have twenty-six spirituality.]
'Spells?' When Niel heard he would be able to use spells he got a little bit excited.
'Alright then, then what is SP?'
[SP is spiritual power, this determines how many spells you can cast. It will also depend on what kind of spell you are casting. Ordinary spells only require one SP, and for higher-level spells, some of them even require thousands of SP.]
'So how do I get more SP?'
[The host just needs to continue defeating supernatural beings and completing quests, doing so the host's SP will naturally increase.]
'Is there no other way?'
Niel wanted to quickly increase his SP and try using spells like a fireball, he didn't even know where to look for supernatural beings and he didn't know when the System would give him another quest. Unfortunately for him, after asking the question the System became quiet.
'Fine, I guess I'll check the other things first.'
"Inventory"
The Status Screen disappeared and was replaced with the inventory screen. The inventory screen had boxes in which the items were held, and in the background, there seems to be an empty treasury room, that only had one sword and a couple of paper talismans.
Niel tried clicking on the sword and it expanded showing a picture of the sword he had used against the Kushisake-onna and below it was a description of the sword. When he read the description of the sword he was rather surprised.
'The Kampilan of Lam-ang, so that was what that weapon was. I heard about Lam-ang from my mother before. He's supposed to be a legendary hero with extensive knowledge of all things combat-related. If I also remember correctly he's a hero that was gifted with immortality. I guess someone like that should have a weapon capable of fighting spirits.'
After looking at the sword a few more times, Niel clicked on the paper talismans, and like with the sword a picture of it appeared before him with a description below it.
'Paper talismans created by an unknown onmyoji? Really why is it an unknown onmyoji? Also, does this mean it's possible that those guys living in the temple are the real thing?... Well, if systems that give you missions are real, then it's not that farfetched to think that the Alchemists, Onmyojis, and other supernatural things are real as well. Ok, let's see what other things this system can do.'
"Skills."
[Host currently has zero skills]
'Huh, so I don't have a hidden skill or something... Whatever, I guess after I'm done checking out the other things the System has I'll receive the rewards from the previous quest.' Niel shrugged his shoulders.
"Ability Cards."
The screen changed again and this time a list that was filled with blanks except for one appeared, which Niel clicked on.
[Lancelot du Lac: Swordsmanship]
[Upon usage of this ability card the host will gain all of the skill in swordsmanship possessed by the legendary knight of the round table Sir Lancelot du Luc. The skill will last for thirty minutes]
Niel was amazed when he read what the ability card was, even he who wasn't that interested in such things knew who Lancelot of the Lake was. The Legendary knight who was part of the knights of the round table. Based on what he knew, Lancelot was also considered to be the strongest swordsman among the knights of the round table.
'Hey System, what are Ability Cards.'
[Ability Cards are the strongest item the host can use. It grants the host the ability of a legendary figure, from the distant past to an unknown future.]
'So are all the Ability Cards one-time use only?'
[Most Ability Cards are one-time use, but there are some that would grant the host passive abilities that would last permanently.]
When Niel heard the System's answer he got even more excited. To be able to gain the ability of a legendary hero was already something incredible even if it was only one-time use, but to gain a passive ability from a legendary hero, wouldn't he become something like a real-life shounen protagonist.
After testing the UI, Niel had already accepted his current situation with the system. So not only did he have a heavy debt but he had a system that based on its name would later force him to hunt supernatural beings. Still, he was excited by the sudden turn of events. After the string of bad luck that he had from his parents' deaths, gaining their debt, his girlfriend leaving him, and even facing a supernatural being, suddenly gaining the System made him feel better. "Okay then, now let's take a look at the rewards of the Quest. Hey System, can you give me the Quest Rewards now." After Niel spoke the voice of System echoed in his mind. [Recieving Quest Rewards] [Loading] [1%] The loading screen appeared before Niel and the same as before it was quite slow. So while he waited for it to finish loading Niel got one cup ramen to eat. He was halfway from finishing his meal when the System's voice sounded in his mind again. [Received Quest Rewards] [Mask of the Kushisake-onna]
The next day Niel woke up at four in the morning and started preparing for the shop opening. He cleaned the shop checked the cash register, and double-checked the inventory. His father sold many things here from local items to foreign ones, you could find some paper talismans here that were written by some Shinto priest, to holy water that supposedly came from the Vatican itself. After checking everything and knowing everything was in place, Niel went to the altar he set up in the house to honor his parents. At first, he wasn't sure if he should've buried his parents or not, since his mother was a Catholic and his father was not, and there was also the added shock of it all. It took him a bit more time to come to a decision, but in the end, Niel decided to have them cremated and there were now on the altar. Niel looked at the Urns where his parents' ashes were in. "Hey... Heh, I still can't believe you two are gone. I always imagine every time when I wake up in the morning that you
"I want to hear your story, what is bothering you so much that you needed my old man's help?" Niel asked Manami. "..." Manami's body trembled as she tried to speak. It suddenly became so quiet that you could hear the dripping water from the sink, and the moving hands from the clock. "Manami-san I'm here." Niel looked at Manami and showed her a serious look. He didn't know what else to say to make the girl feel safe and he spoke the only thing he could say while nodding his head. Seeing Niel give her that look, Manami sighed before she responded. "Alright, I'll tell you... It all started a few days ago. I wasn't doing anything special and just did everyday things. It was after I was done studying I took a bath watched a few videos and went to sleep... Though I'm not sure if I really was able sleep but I had this dream or I thought it was a dream. There was this shadow that appeared near my bed it had a shape of a person. When I saw it I tried to move but I could not move nor co
Manami called one of her friends and convinced her to tell her parents that she was staying with her. "Wait what?! Why do you need me to lie for you?" "It's complicated, can you just cover for me." "Heh, what are you hiding, can you at least tell me that?... Wait, wait a minute, you're out so late and you have a secret that you can't tell you parents, are you in a guy's house?" There was a moment of silence and after a few seconds the voice of Manami's friend burst out from the other end of the phone. "Are you for real?! Are you really in some guy's house?! Kyaa, if the guys in our school knew that our little empress actually has a boyfriend I bet they'll die from envy, or most likely they'll kill the guy that stole your heart. Anyway, Manami how could you do this to me?!" Manami's friend Yuno became incomparably excited as she spoke at a fast pace. On the other hand, Manami could only sigh as she listened to her friend's excitment. Even if she tried to explain it to Yuno the
After hesitating for a bit Niel held tightly onto his sword and steeled himself. If he were to leave this creature alone without anything it wouldn't solve Manami's problem. Niel knew that he needed to do something right now, or it might be too late. Niel looked at his equipment, he still had four of those immobilization paper talismans and one healing paper talisman. There was also the Kampilan of Lam-ang which was his main weapon. 'Alright, it's now or never.' The banging on the door intensified and Niel unconsciously flinched. Niel then gritted his teeth grasped his sword tightly and opened the door. The moment the door was opened there seemed to be a cold breeze that passed through his body. Niel tensed up his eyes wide open wanting to see this so called shadow, yet no matter how hard he looked he could not see anything unusual. Niel then turned around and looked at Manami she was no longer looking at him and instead had her eyes closed. Niel came closer to the sleeping Ma
Manami was in a state where she was asleep but awake at the same time. She could see what was going on around her but she could not move. Still, she was not panicking like the first time she experienced this as this had been going on for a few days now. In this state, Manami could only move her line of sight and that was it. Manami looked around the room and saw Niel sitting near the door. She was surprised to see that the item in Niel's hands was an actual sword, it wasn't a katana but something else, it was thicker and looked heavier than a regular katana. 'When did he get that? Is that some kind of ritual sword to defeat the Shadow? This guy might actually be the real deal.' Manami was now feeling a lot more confident as she looked at the vigilant Niel. At first, when she met him she was really skeptical about Niel as he didn't have the air of a spiritual master he didn't even look like a professional. Still, since she had no other choice she made a gamble. 'Looking at him no
Tanaka Itsuki was a gloomy high schooler who had no friends, had a family who didn't care and was occasionally bullied. Itsuki was miserable and on several occasions wanted to commit suicide, unfortunately, he was too much of a coward to follow through. Living was hell but death was too scary, he did not know what else to do. As he stopped going to school and got immersed in the land of video games, he earned quite a bit of money from online tournaments. So now instead of going to school he directly gave his parents money to stop bothering him about school. At first, his parents were infuriated by this, but after trying to convince him numerous times his family had fully given up on him. Seeing as he was giving them money like he was paying rent they no longer bothered with him. One day Itsuki heard that there was a limited edition game coming out that could only be bought in a certain shop, so for the first time in a long time, Itsuki went out of the house. It was early morning w
After defeating the evil spirit haunting Manami, the System gave Niel the reward of the sub-quest and it was an increase in strength. It gave Niel a supposed minor boost in strength. Even though it was called a minor boost it didn't feel like one. Niel was already pretty strong before but after gaining the System's reward his strength grew to an unbelievable degree. Right now he could easily lift sixty kilograms with one hand.The minor strength also granted him greater endurance and it even changed his body a bit making him look a tiny bit more muscular. There was also another reward which was Twenty System coins.Aside from the System's reward, Niel received the reward money from Manami. She gave Niel as much as a hundred thousand yen which was obviously not an amount an ordinary high school girl should have. At first, Niel wanted to refuse the money and say something cool like a protagonist of shonen manga, but he desperately needed the money so he took it. When the morning sun sh