Chapter 582: In the end, I’m still too poor
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
They finally defeated the werewolf monster.
Seiji suddenly felt his body heating up. A warmth spread throughout his entire body… this sensation was quite similar to when he was strengthened after signing a Spirit-branded Retainer contract with Natsuya!
"My strength… my Spiritual Power has increased," Seiji stated what he noticed out loud as he glanced towards Shika.
"My power went up as well," Shika said as she met his gaze.
Both of them then looked at Kazuko.
Kazuko blinked. "I don't know about this… This isn't under my control."
"You don't know?"
"I don't. As I mentioned, I don't know the exact powers of my own Domain."
Seiji didn't know what to say.
After eliminating all the demons, his power increased—this was quite similar to the specialty of the Inner World where "defeating all the powerful monsters there would allow the person summoned there to increase in power level"!
Was this so-called Domain also an Inner World?
Was Kazuko Ooike's Domain ability the power to open up a portal to and control an Inner World?
Just as he was thinking about this, his system suddenly gave him a notification as words appeared before him...
[You have been rewarded for cleansing an Inner World for the first time. Soul World – Spirit House is now available.]
"Spirit House?"
This new term caught Seiji's attention.
He really wanted to immediately check the explanation. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time, so he could only put it off until later.
Although, the term [cleansing an Inner World for the first time] was confirmation from his dating sim system that it recognized the Domain as an Inner World.
In that case, since Kazuko was able to open up and control an Inner World, didn't that make her just like a game master who was capable of freely opening up and controlling an excellent cultivation ground!?
Seiji's eyes instantly lit up when he came to this conclusion.
If he could obtain Kazuko's assistance, it would become much safer for his friends to practice cultivation.
Going to a Spirit World would entail unknown risks. There might be powerful and terrifying monsters, clashes against other Spiritual Ability users, or they might get accidentally dragged into a dangerous Inner World.
However, Kazuko's Domain could control the degree of risk. It would also be possible to leave immediately if one was injured?
However, the demons present here might be related to Hell. Would they bring a negative influence for the Awakened?
Seiji cooled his passion as he thought about this potential problem.
No matter what, he should finish what he came to do first.
The next area was the final destination of their little excursion—the place where Kazufuru Ooike resided.
Seiji and Shika left the auditorium and walked downstairs to open the final door. As expected, the final area was the student council room.
The student council secretary had a half translucent body and was wearing the Genhana High School boys' uniform as he floated in midair and slept.
Kazuko was unable to enter Kazufuru's area, which was why she didn't fly here. If she was present and flying next to him, they would basically be like identical twin ghosts.
Seiji walked over and called out to him, "Ooike-san, it's time for you to wake up."
Kazufuru didn't react.
"Wake up! Kazufuru Ooike!!" Seiji increased his volume.
Kazufuru twitched slightly. However, he still didn't open his eyes.
"Student council secretary Kazufuru Ooike! Don't sleep in the student council room!! Hurry and get up!!!"
Kazufuru twitched again and had an expression of discomfort as he slowly opened his eyes.
"…Harano-san?"
"Yep, it's me. You've finally woken up." Seiji smiled.
"I… What exactly…" Kazufuru had a confused expression as if he was still unclear what was going on.
"We went to great trouble to arrive here and wake you up. So, don't be going back to sleep." Seiji looked directly at him. "If you can't recall what happened, just take your time slowly. The most important thing right now is to maintain your consciousness."
Kazufuru blinked. "Was I… saved… by you again?"
"No, not me. All I did was wake you up. Someone else is responsible for saving you."
"Someone else… who?"
"You should be able to remember. You signed a contract with her."
"Contract…" Kazufuru furrowed his eyebrows.
"Sign the contract…" This sentence suddenly appeared from deep within his mind.
He then realized what was going on.
Seiji saw the light of understanding enter Kazufuru's eyes. Then, Seiji's vision darkened as he felt himself spinning. Soon, he returned to the spellcasting room.
Kazuko appeared in front of him with a red flash.
She retracted her hand, causing the portal to the Domain to close and the crack in the ground to disappear.
"I would like to have a private discussion with Kazufuru Ooike. Could you please arrange a quiet location for me?"
Seiji looked towards Natsuya, while Natsuya looked towards Mai. Mai simply smiled.
"Please follow me, Miss Ooike."
Kazuko then followed Mai out of the room.
"How were things?" Natsuya asked out of concern.
"The process was a little dangerous. But as you can see, none of us are injured," Seiji replied.
"That's good, then. You've both worked hard. Have a rest here."
"Yeah."
---------
As he rested in the guest room, Seiji opened up his dating sim system and inspected the new [Spirit House] option under the [Soul World] category.
The system's explanation was "A spiritual house which has all sorts of functions. 33 points are required to open the door to this house each time. You may remain inside for six hours at a time. If you go over the time limit, an additional payment will be required."
This simple explanation caused Seiji to widen his eyes.
This was just like a personal dimensional space! Was it an ability similar to Kazuko's Domain…?
No Mana or Soul Energy was required to open the door to the Spirit House. Rather than calling it an ability, it was more like an "item."
Seiji chose the [Spirit House] option to see that there were two options under it called [Living Room] and [Dojo].
The explanation said that the [Living Room] required a payment of 233 points to construct. This would allow any person who had a favorability and connectivity rating of over 70 with him to enter the [Spirit House] together with him. Each additional person entering would require another 23 points as the entry fee.
The [Dojo] required a fee of 666 points to construct. This location would allow the user to practice cultivation. There would be an hourly charge of 16 points for each person practicing cultivation. Those who spent less than an hour's worth of time would still be charged the full price per hour.
Damn it, this was a true gold sink!!
Seiji's eyes started twitching.
Previously, his system had introduced the brand-new [Character Reward Card] random draw system which was an obvious attempt to lure him into spending money! He had been so conflicted and pained as he finally managed to restrain himself from wasting his own carefully hard-earned points.
He'd never expected that it would be such a short time before this damned system introduced yet another new product in an attempt to make him spend his points!
"An extravagant personal space where I can cultivate safely and efficiently at any time, even together with my friends. You only need a first installment of 899…" Seiji felt as if he was hearing such an advertisement.
Dating sim system: "Heehee, I'm not afraid of you not spending points."
Seiji was feeling too helpless to even imagine his system as a fairy that he could vent upon.
This [Spirit House] was truly expensive! But when considering the future, he felt that it was definitely necessary to buy it.
It was an entire personal dimensional space! So many main characters in so many stories relied on this for great convenience! Pricing such a function at only 899 seemed actually quite cheap?
No, no, wait!
He forced himself to change his way of thinking.
Upon closer consideration, did he really need this [Spirit House]? He could go to a Spirit World to cultivate or ask for Kazuko's assistance. Was this really necessary?
But, the Spirit World was dangerous, while the demons in Kazuko's domain were problematic. Plus, it wasn't a sure thing if she would be willing to help.
Besides, all things the system had provided to him so far had been quite valuable. It could even be said that they were worth far more than their price tag. Perhaps this [Dojo] in the [Spirit House] would help him to cultivate with extreme efficiency, or give him access to even more powerful functions in the future…
Seiji thought about that as he checked his current points count before sighing.
"In the end, I'm still too poor."