His experiment had succeeded.
Arthur was in high spirits.
The corner of his lips curved upward as he stood, returned to the master bedroom upstairs, fetched pajamas from the wardrobe, and went into the bathroom for a bath.
After soaking, he turned off the lights and went straight to bed.
Because of that Claw Wraith, he hadn't slept in two days.
Though awakening the Seven Authorities had greatly strengthened both his body and spirit, sweeping away fatigue—
He simply wanted to sleep.
Night passed in the blink of an eye.
The next morning, just past nine.
Sunlight slipped through the slats of the blinds, scattering across the room.
Arthur's eyes opened slowly on the bed.
A hazy look lingered within them.
Blinking, he sat up and got off the bed.
He walked to the window and pressed the controller.
The blinds rose with a gentle hum.
The view outside unfolded before him.
"Looks like a hopeful day."
Fingers interlaced, Arthur stretched lazily, squinting with a satisfied murmur.
He had slept until he naturally woke.
The sense of ease was unparalleled.
Leaving the window half-open for fresh air, he chose his outfit from the wardrobe, then went to wash up again.
He already had a plan for today.
To go shopping.
And hopefully open more pages in the Compendium.
With luck, maybe run into some more evil spirits.
The Claw Wraith was gone—
But now, he had developed a killing intent toward all others.
In his eyes, no evil spirit was a good thing.
Otherwise, why were they called evil spirits, and not benevolent ones?
Not guardian spirits.
Once an evil spirit, forever an evil spirit.
Only dead ones were good ones.
Half an hour later.
Arthur stepped out the door.
Carrying only the "three plus one":
Phone, keys, wallet—
And Bluetooth earphones.
He left his home, chose a random direction, and strolled down the street at an unhurried pace.
Secretly, he stirred his aura.
Letting out a trace of life energy.
Aura, mana, magic—different names, but all manifestations of life force.
And evil spirits were drawn to those with strong life force.
So he was baiting them, fishing with his own vitality.
But he didn't dare to leak too much.
If the life energy was too intense, it might scare off weaker ones instead.
Time drifted like a breeze through a passerby's hair.
Half an hour slipped by.
At last, his bait worked—
A spirit hidden in a narrow alley stirred.
Releasing his spiritual perception, Arthur measured it.
Its strength was about one-fifth of the Claw Wraith.
Clearly a low-tier spirit.
Its appearance was more human-like.
Hollow sockets in place of eyes.
Wrinkled, blackened skin like a dried corpse.
And clad in a business suit.
No doubt the remnant of some overworked corporate drone.
Through his senses, Arthur could feel its malice, and its hunger for his life energy.
He didn't rush to reel it in.
Instead, he shifted locations casually.
The "corporate spirit" followed closely, mumbling over and over:
"Customer, can you see me?"
"Can you see me, customer?"
Arthur ignored it, his expression calm.
Unnoticed, the morning passed.
When noon arrived, he finally decided it was time.
He led the spirit to the outskirts of Ōzuka City in Saitama Prefecture, into a forested area.
By then, no less than thirteen evil spirits had gathered around him.
Unfortunately, they were all low-tier.
Stopping at a suitable spot, Arthur turned slowly.
Hands slid casually into his pockets.
"You should all be reborn now."
"…?"
The spirits froze.
Then, as realization dawned that their "prey" could see them, their bodies erupted with dark mist, faces twisting into hideous snarls.
They lunged—ready to tear Arthur apart.
The temperature surged.
The power of the Red King flared.
Flames blossomed from nothingness.
Like meteors, they streaked toward the thirteen spirits.
"Ah—"
Screams were cut short as fire engulfed them, reducing them to wisps of black smoke.
Snap.
Arthur snapped his fingers.
The flames winked out at once.
Seeing the spirits annihilated, he opened the Compendium.
Thirteen new entries lit up.
He skimmed them—every single one was White Rank.
And the rewards were all energy.
But not medium units—just small ones.
Still, "meat is meat, even from mosquitoes."
Arthur claimed all the purified energy and fused it.
But then his brows drew together slightly.
His aura had only grown by about one-tenth of what it had before.
Which meant these things were about one-tenth the worth of the Claw Wraith.
"Tch. Weaklings…"
He curled his lip in disdain.
Glancing once at the empty space where they had been, he turned and left without hesitation.
This morning had borne fruit, but hardly much.
One word: disappointing.
For a moment, he even thought—
If only the evil spirits here were as plentiful as in Mieruko-chan.
Leaving the forest behind, Arthur restrained his life energy to an ordinary human level.
No more baiting.
From here, it was up to chance.
Half an hour later.
In Itabashi District, passing through a quiet residential street, a commotion caught his ear.
"Let go! Let it go already!"
"Damn it, how dare you steal my favorite melon bread!"
"You're just a dog—"
Following the noise, Arthur's expression shifted.
Not far ahead, a red-haired girl with black bat-shaped hair clips was wrestling with a dog.
Yes—wrestling with a dog.
Over bread.
And, surprisingly, the contest looked evenly matched.
"This scene… why does it feel familiar?"
Narrowing his eyes, Arthur searched his memory.
His enhanced mind spun rapidly.
And then—he remembered.
Kurumizawa Satanichia McDowell.
That was the girl's name.
From Gabriel DropOut.
Don't be fooled by her current struggle with a fluffy Samoyed.
She wasn't human.
She was a demon.
If she actually used her demonic powers, never mind the dog—she could probably punch a truck into scrap with ease.
"Demons and angels…"
Realizing her identity, Arthur's understanding of this composite world deepened.
There were demons, and a demon realm.
There were angels, and a heaven.
Any setting with mythological elements tended not to be weak.
He suddenly thought of Gabriel's elder sister—Gabriel Tenma White.
He didn't know much about her.
But he'd heard she had the terrifying power to destroy a world with a flick of her finger.
Undoubtedly strong.
Still, despite the high power levels in Gabriel DropOut, Arthur wasn't worried about safety.
Gabriel herself always blustered about blowing the trumpet of the Apocalypse—
But she never actually would.
And even if she tried, Arthur figured her elder sister would drag her off for a "lesson" first.
Rather than worry about Gabriel, it was better to worry about evil spirits.
Not that they concerned him anymore either.
Before he had his golden finger, evil spirits were a nightmare.
Now?
Evil spirits?
Heh—no more threatening than stray dogs by the roadside.