"Although I don't quite understand why an incomplete world would have these kinds of things, or why just helping him that one time brought me so much trouble..."
"Still, what I'm most worried about right now is this world's parents—have they been badly hurt? I know now isn't the time to be thinking about this, but... I should deal with this sudden, bizarre attack first, then go check on them. Otherwise, they might be in danger too."
Chu Lian forced herself to calm down. After mentally reciting a long list of priorities, she opened the exchange menu to look for something useful.
She had no idea what the Goddess Points were for—the system hadn't unlocked anything for her to use them on, so that was out.
She hadn't completed any tasks, so there were no Skill Points to spend.
Culture Points, Admiration Points, and Dream Points were useless in this situation—and she didn't have many of them anyway.
As for Item Points, she had only 17—nowhere near enough to buy even the cheapest thing.
Which left her with one option: Integrity Points...
She reached for the Integrity Points exchange section, opened it, and saw that her total had risen by just over 100,000, bringing her to nearly 250,000 points. Apparently, the system had counted the video Ayase uploaded as her contribution too. She couldn't tell whether to laugh or cry.
From a previous exchange, she'd learned that Integrity Points could be used to redeem odd or quirky items with special effects. However, none of them were directly helpful in battle or crisis situations.
You could say that Integrity Points only allowed you to redeem gimmicky items with little practical value. But in her view, usefulness was relative. Even seemingly harmless objects could have powerful effects in specific circumstances.
She quickly recalled characters or items from novels, shows, and anime she'd seen—those seemingly useless but surprisingly powerful tools. And she remembered a couple of things she suspected the system might have.
Adjusting the filter settings, she browsed through the high-cost items under the "Touhou" category. After searching for a while, she found the two items she was looking for:
"Special Item: Reimu's Donation Box. Special Ability: Just give me 100,000 and I'll do anything! Exchange Cost: 30,000 points." It was worth a shot. If that was really all it did, it shouldn't cost 30,000 Integrity Points.
Sure enough, once the donation box—identical to the one in front of Hakurei Shrine in Gensokyo—appeared before her, an additional note popped up in the description:
"Reimu's Donation Box: This is the box Reimu uses to sell her integrity. It's said that if you give her 100,000, she'll do anything."
"Effect: Spend 100,000 Integrity Points to accomplish one task within your ability. (Note: Since the cost is paid through a special item, you don't need to earn that same amount of Integrity Points again.)"
A short description, simple effect, and a steep price. Except for the bracketed note at the end, none of this surprised her. The system would never make it easy to exploit loopholes.
Still, it wasn't a bad deal. If used correctly, this box could be a god-tier tool in certain situations. It all depended on whether she could find the right moment to use it.
After obtaining Reimu's Donation Box, her eyes drifted downward to another item she'd wanted: "Remilia-sama's Dignity: The dignity of the noble lady is inviolable. Exchange Cost: 27,000."
She couldn't help but mentally roast the system: Was it really okay to just sell off Remilia like this? But she still redeemed it anyway.
With that, nearly 60,000 of her Integrity Points were gone in an instant. Adding in the 100,000 she needed to reserve for Reimu's box, plus a bit she wanted to save for emergencies, she now had only about 80,000 usable points left.
But once she saw what she got from "Remilia-sama's Dignity," she knew immediately—those 27,000 Integrity Points were absolutely worth it!
"Remilia-sama's Dignity: Once per day, you may invoke the noble lady's aura to stun your opponent for a certain amount of time (duration depends on the difference in strength between the two parties). After the stun wears off, if the enemy is still nearby, you automatically enter an invincible 'defensive crouch' state for 5 seconds."
Still no direct offensive power—it was essentially a passive defensive ability. But five seconds of invincibility per day, used at the right moment? Totally worth it. A life-saving skill like that? No price is too high.
Checking the time, she had just over two minutes left. She hurried to the A Certain Scientific Railgun category and found a worn-out pair of gloves:
"The Gloves Abandoned by the Ladykiller: These gloves were once worn by the infamous Ladykiller, but due to certain reasons, they were damaged soon after. Because they touched so many girls, they now carry a strange aura that may attract certain types of people. Exchange cost: 15,000."
Once redeemed, a new entry appeared in the item description, exactly what she'd hoped to see:
"The Gloves Abandoned by the Ladykiller: Due to being worn for a time by Kamijou Touma, the right glove has absorbed the power of 'Imagine Breaker.'"
"Effect when worn: When using your right hand to block or touch a target, you can nullify their special abilities. Usage limit: 3 times per day. Each activation lasts 3 seconds."
"Note: Use with caution. While the right glove absorbed 'Imagine Breaker,' the left glove also absorbed his misfortune. After use, you will enter a 1-hour 'Lucky E' status (extremely low luck). Glove durability: 10/10. (1% chance to trigger Ladykiller effect, permanently increasing charm and luck by one level with women.)"
Lucky E? That's basically lancer-tier luck, isn't it? Still, being able to nullify powers three times a day—even with drawbacks—was absolutely worth it. No wonder the price was relatively low for something so strong—it had a usage cap.
No time to dwell on it. With her ideal gear now secured, she moved on to redeeming a few miscellaneous items. Maybe they wouldn't be super useful, but they could come in handy in a pinch:
"Takeshi Gouda's Microphone: Corrupted by years of Takeshi Gouda's cursed singing, this mic makes any voice sound just as horrible. Exchange cost: 1."
Then came a few legendary "ordinary" anti-monster tools:
"Sticky Rice for Zombies: Only effective against zombies. Causes minor damage. Exchange cost: 300 points per 500g."
"Talisman for Zombies: Immobilizes a zombie for 10 seconds. Exchange cost: 500 points per charm."
"Silver Utensils: Pure silver tools that deal slight damage to dark creatures. No other effect. Exchange cost: 1,000 points per 500g."
And then, the infamous food-type EX-tier anti-human items:
"Aunt Akiko's Jam: Only those who've tried it know. Exchange cost: 5,000."
"Sanae Furukawa's Bread: Only those who've tried it know. Exchange cost: 5,000."
"Misuzu Kamio's Juice: Only those who've tried it know. Exchange cost: 5,000."
Just to be safe, she exchanged for all three. They were expensive, but definitely worth it.
After all, Ayase still hadn't told her whether her attackers were from the underworld, humans controlled by the underworld, or something else entirely. Better to be overprepared than under.
Just as she finished her preparations, the front door—locked all day—made a faint noise. Someone had arrived, uninvited.
Hiding somewhere on the second floor, Chu Lian narrowed her dark eyes. Even though this was dangerous, a strange thrill surged through her.
What a fascinating world.
But... are you sure you can actually hurt me? Or even catch me? You dared to touch the people around me—don't blame me for striking back.
For the first time, the girl felt a burning desire to protect those she cared about, even if it meant doing something she never dared before...