Ever since the car accident, a strange system has appeared in Hikigaya's mind.
Not only that, he has often been able to see hideous things that the system refers to as "evil spirits."
He originally thought he was the only one who could see them.
That is, until one day three months later, a girl named Miko Yotsuya appeared within his field of vision—and she looked terrified while staring at the evil spirit behind him...
From that moment on, the truth of the world began to reveal itself to him!
Chiba City, in the classroom of Class 2-F at Sobu High School.
Hikigaya Hachiman rested his right hand on his chin as he scanned the classmates around him, then stopped his gaze on a certain trembling translucent shadow.
Ever since the day school started three months ago—when he was hospitalized after getting into a car accident saving a dog that was crossing the road—he discovered that a system had appeared in his mind.
The full name of the system was the "Exorcist System," as the name suggests, it aimed to train the host into an exorcist.
However, at the beginning, Hikigaya Hachiman simply thought his brain had been damaged in the accident, and what he was experiencing were just hallucinations.
After all, where in the real world are there such things as ghosts?
"Ding! Detected a low-level evil spirit nearby. Mark it?"
Just as Hikigaya Hachiman was lost in thought, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
Blinking his eyes, Hikigaya silently responded in his heart.
"Marking successful!"
After a few seconds of silence, the mechanical voice appeared again in his mind, and a light screen that only he could see appeared in his vision.
Displayed on the screen was Sobu High School, where he currently was.
A green dot represented him at the center of the map, and a red dot right next to him indicated the low-level evil spirit that had just been marked.
Looking at the light screen, Hikigaya Hachiman willed it to switch to his personal status panel.
Name: Hikigaya Hachiman Age: Seventeen Occupation: Low-level Exorcist Spiritual Power: 100/100 Abilities: None Weapon: Beginner's Demon-Slaying Blade Spirit Coins: 150
Looking at a panel barely better than a blank slate, Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't help but sigh.
Low-level spirits were not only rare, but they also yielded very few spirit coins.
On top of that, he had been lying in the hospital for three months and had only recently been discharged.
As a result, although he'd had the system for three months, he was still only a beginner-level exorcist, with the default weapon provided by the system: a beginner's demon-slaying blade.
"But if I take out this ghost tonight, I'll finally have the 200 spirit coins I need. Then I can exchange for a spell."
At that thought, Hikigaya's eyes sparkled.
Once he had an offensive spell, he could challenge mid-level evil spirits.
An exorcist's level advancement was entirely determined by the highest level of evil spirit they had defeated.
If a host successfully exorcised a higher-level spirit, they would be automatically promoted, and the system would unlock more weapons and spells...
"Why does this feel like I'm playing a game?"
Thinking of this, Hikigaya couldn't help but mutter to himself.
Just then, a twisted, hate-filled, ugly mouth suddenly lunged at him—it turned out that the low-level spirit had unknowingly floated up to his face.
Hikigaya Hachiman broke into a cold sweat in an instant.
He stood up with a start, covered his right hand with spiritual energy, and slapped the spirit.
That's for scaring me!
The evil spirit was sent flying with a smack, spinning several times in the air before it wobbled and looked completely dazed.
Who was it? Where was it? What just happened?
Meanwhile, in the classroom, everyone turned their eyes to Hikigaya because of his sudden outburst.
After all, this student who only came to school three months after it started was already shrouded in mystery and antisocial vibes in their eyes.
Noticing the attention, Hikigaya casually sat back down and returned to his usual slacker appearance, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this, the class buzzed again.
"What the heck? He just suddenly stood up and did that, then acted like nothing happened..."
At the back of the class, Miura Yumiko, with her voluptuous figure and long golden hair, glared unhappily at Hikigaya's back.
She had just been chatting with someone about after-school plans when Hikigaya's sudden move interrupted her.
As the queen of the class, Miura Yumiko wasn't about to let it go.
"Well, maybe he had something going on?"
Hayama Hayato quickly stepped in to calm Yumiko down.
Hikigaya was already ostracized enough by the class.
If Yumiko started targeting him too, it would be too pitiful.
"Yeah, yeah... maybe something's bothering Hikigaya-kun..."
Yuigahama Yui, who had an even more enviable figure than Miura Yumiko, quickly nodded in agreement with Hayama.
"You actually know his name?"
But her concern slipped out too naturally, and Miura Yumiko immediately grew suspicious.
Besides Yuigahama, none of the other six in their group had remembered Hikigaya Hachiman's name!
"Ah, well... it's normal to remember your classmates' names, right?"
Under Miura's scrutiny, Yuigahama panicked and scrambled for an excuse.
Fortunately, Yumiko didn't dwell on it too long and quickly shifted her attention back to her after-school plans.
"I heard a new bubble tea shop opened near the station. Let's go there after school?"
As for the drama at the back of the classroom, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't pay it any mind—it had nothing to do with him anyway.
Right now, though his gaze seemed vacant, he was in fact closely watching the evil spirit that had just startled him.
He couldn't wait to finish it off!
The final period of the afternoon was math.
Ranked third in the grade for liberal arts, but near last for science, Hikigaya painfully endured the incomprehensible math class until the dismissal bell finally rang.
As he packed up, he monitored the spirit's location through the light screen.
But what surprised him was that the marked spirit, after wandering around the school, had returned to him—and was now clinging to his clothes!
Clearly, the spirit had chosen Hikigaya as its prey for the night.
But to Hikigaya, that was great news—and he grinned from ear to ear.
However, just as he reached the shoe locker in front of the school building to change shoes and head home, a cold iron grip emerged from the void behind him and grabbed his collar, lifting him up.
Caught completely off guard, Hikigaya was still confused when a terrifying voice came from beside his ear.
"Hikigaya, where do you think you're going?"
Hikigaya answered reflexively. It was after school—if he wasn't going home, was he supposed to go to Hiratsuka-sensei's house?
"Did you forget what I told you yesterday?"
At his response, veins popped on Hiratsuka Shizuka's forehead.
If she hadn't had the foresight to check the club room, she might have actually let Hikigaya slip away.
Hearing her knuckles crack threateningly, Hikigaya suddenly remembered what he had forgotten.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he gave her a fawning smile and said, "How could I forget? Actually, I was lying just now. I was just about to head to the club room..."
Faced with such a terrible lie, Hiratsuka didn't bother exposing him—she just snorted coldly.
Then she grabbed Hikigaya's hand and dragged him in the direction opposite the school gate.
"Um, Sensei, can you let go of my hand?"
As they walked through the hallway, Hikigaya finally couldn't bear the curious stares of the passing students.
"Not until I've delivered you to the club room!"
Hiratsuka rejected him flatly without even turning her head.
Seeing this, Hikigaya helplessly shrugged.
Since Hiratsuka didn't care, what was there for him to worry about?