Infernal Entity: Evolving With My Demonic System-Chapter 70: Spending Spree

After the events of the previous day, Saturday arrived quietly.

Today, there were no alarms, no drills, and no important classes dragging students out of bed at dawn. Saturdays at Oval Academy were free days. Days meant for rest, recovery, or preparation. For Axel, it meant none of those. He woke up early, just like he always did. Being a demon had its effects.

The room was dim, curtains half drawn. Rick was still asleep on his bed. Ares was already awake, sitting on his own bed and tightening the straps on his boots.

Axel stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before Aurora’s voice slid into his head.

"All right! It’s a new day. Let’s recap, shall we?" she started. "What do we have today? Infernal Core busted. Demonic Core inactive. No Infernal abilities. No valuable skills. Meaning that if someone sneezes aggressively at you right now, you’d die."

Axel sighed and sat up. "You love exaggerating, don’t you?"

"It’s not exaggeration if it’s true," Aurora replied. "You are currently the weakest version of yourself since you became a demon. Even a stray dog could end your life!"

Axel swung his legs off the bed. "That’s not true. I still have the Godrend sword," he muttered, low enough that Ares couldn’t hear.

Aurora scoffed. "A sword won’t fix a broken core, and that same sword won’t save you if—"

"It’s not just a sword," Axel cut in. "It’s holding energy from three Mythic shards. Three different elements. If someone comes at me, I could hold my own. You should have a little faith in me."

There was a short pause. Aurora didn’t argue immediately, which told Axel she was thinking.

"I’d rather put my faith in a sack of potato," she said at last.

Axel ignored that and pulled up his device balance interface.

<CNT Balance: 1,220>

"That should be enough," he said to himself. "I can buy a few Mythic shards, absorb them, and start fixing the core."

"An acceptable plan," Aurora said. "For once."

Axel nodded and then stopped. Something didn’t feel right. He opened the system this time and navigated to his active mission.

< [Greed Task: Accumulate 100,000 CNT] >

< [Progress: 1,000 / 100,000] >

Axel frowned.

"That’s odd," he muttered.

"What is?" Aurora asked.

"The academy credits five CNT every day," Axel said. "That should have pushed it to at least 1,005."

Aurora went quiet for a second. "Which means?" she prompted.

"It means the allowance doesn’t count," Axel said slowly. "Only money I earn myself."

Aurora hummed. "Correct. The system only recognizes effort-driven gain. It doesn’t want you to be such a lazy ass, I presume."

Axel clenched his jaw. "Will there be any problem if I spend this money? Will it affect my mission?" he asked.

It was a reasonable question. Would his progress decrease if he spent the 1,000 CNT he earned?

"You might lose progress..." Aurora said. "Or maybe you’ll discover that spending does not matter. What matters is that you made the money. There is only one way to know."

Axel sighed. "Figures."

He moved to grab his jacket when a voice stopped him.

"Heading out already?"

Axel turned. Ares was standing now with his arms crossed.

"Yeah," Axel said. "Got something to handle."

Ares’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You’ve been busy lately. Especially with that ice chick. Are you two messing around?" he asked with a smirk.

"No, we’re not doing whatever you think we’re doing. We’re just... helping each other out," Axel said. "Nothing serious."

Ares didn’t look convinced. He glanced at Rick, still asleep.

"I’m worried about him, you know," Ares said.

"He still hasn’t awakened," Ares continued. "Advancement Training is in a few days. If he doesn’t awaken by then, he won’t be allowed to participate."

"I was planning to train him today," Ares added. "I wanna try something different. To see if we can push his body a bit."

He looked back at Axel. "You want to join us?"

For a moment, Axel considered it. He considered helping his friend, but Aurora had other ideas.

"You cannot help him right now!" she said flatly. "But you can help yourself by fixing your core. It comes first."

Axel exhaled slowly as he realized she was right. He had a mission, and he needed to complete it.

"I’ll join you another day," he said to Ares. "There’s something I need to do first."

Ares studied him for a few seconds, then nodded. "All right. Just don’t disappear."

Axel gave a short nod in return and headed for the door. As he stepped out into the hallway, Aurora spoke again.

"Forger’s Bay," she said. "Let’s see if money spent still counts."

Axel exited the dorm complex and made his way to Forger’s Bay without rushing.

The place was already busy even though it was still early.

"Look at that moron staring at a weapon he knows he couldn’t ever afford!" Aurora laughed.

Axel headed straight for the shop Lynn worked in.

She was inside, standing behind the counter, carefully arranging a row of weapons on a rack. When she noticed him, she paused and smiled. "Well, well," she said. "Look who decided to show up today."

Aurora clicked her tongue in Axel’s head. "Have you noticed how many girls smile at you lately? Curious. You’re an idiot, yet somehow a magnet. One of the greatest mysteries I’ve ever come across..."

Axel clenched his jaw but ignored her completely.

"I need a Mythic shard," he went straight to the point. "Lesser beast tier. The one that costs five hundred CNT."

Lynn raised an eyebrow, a bit amused and a bit disappointed. "Straight to business, I see."

Only then did Axel realize how abrupt that sounded. He hesitated for half a second, then decided it was too late to fix it.

"Uh... yeah," he said. "Sorry."

She waved it off. "It’s fine. What kind do you want?"

"Any," Axel replied. "Doesn’t matter."

That answer surprised her. Lynn studied him for a moment, then reached under the counter and brought out a small blue shard that glowed faintly in her palm.

"This one," she said. "Ice-aligned, and it’s a lesser beast core."

Axel barely looked at it before answering.

"Sure," he said. "I’ll take it."

Lynn blinked. "You don’t even want to know what it does?"

"Nope."

She shrugged and placed it on the counter. Axel transferred the CNT immediately.

<-500 CNT>

He didn’t wait. The moment the transaction was done, he pulled up his system interface to see if his purchase had affected his mission progress.

< [Greed Task Progress: 1,000 / 100,000 CNT] >

The number didn’t move. Axel stared at it for a second, then his lips slowly curled into a grin. "So that’s how it works," he muttered.

Aurora caught on instantly. "Spending does not reduce progress. Only earning increases it."

"Good." He looked back up at Lynn with that smile still on his face.

"Actually," he said, "I might need a few more."

She smiled back, already reaching under the counter. "I had a feeling you’d say that."

Inside his head, Axel said only one thing.

"Let’s get spending..."