I Hate Systems

It was a map of Mohart Dungeon's Level 3. And, the place marked was situated in a ring of hills, covering a pond within. Just based on its layout, it wasn't a place the lazy Haggons would ever bother to scale up.

So, it was the best place for a meet-up. Regriel looked at the state of the map, judging it to be at least a century old based on its almost tattered state. And, the only thing new in it seemed to be the ink of the red circle marking the meeting spot and the writeup.

"It seems these people from the Secret Society wish to observe us first and understand our abilities before trusting us. But," Regriel sighed, looking up to see Wakuta, "Can you make anything out of this?"

"Either they were observing our actions from the start, or this Domino person was able to sense you thinking about him. If it's the latter, then he can only be a Spirit." Wakuta concluded.

"Have you heard about any Spirit with such an ability?" Regriel asked.

"No," Wakuta shook her head, "But, there could very likely be one. All Spirits closely guard details about our abilities. So, even if such an ability existed, I wouldn't know about it. But, based on this strange feeling I am getting, I can say with a certain level of assurance that this Domino person is indeed a Spirit."

"This naming sense is what we Spirits have, unlike you humans." She concluded.

"What family has the name of Plottopia?" Princess Raecha took the turn to ask, "If we can understand his origins, we might get some idea as to what type of person he is."

"There is no such thing." Wakuta said, "Spirits have a different custom than humans. We choose our own family name, if we want. And for most of the day, all we do is eat and sleep. In my time there, I haven't seen any Spirit do any work."

"That gives us nothing." Regriel sighed, "Let's move towards Level 3 as quickly as possible."

"I would advice against it." Wakuta suddenly interjected, "We shouldn't hurry."

She retracted the energy blade she used to siphon Darlac from the Haggons, "The first two Haggons we killed had 371 and 401 Darlac respectively. And the one we killed now had 806 Darlac."

"That's high." Regriel was surprised. After all, despite using his Body Resurgence Skill that had now reached Level 3, his Darlac reserves barely reached 300. And this was despite the fact that he stuffed his stomach to the brim at least ten times a day while using the Skill to forcefully increase his Darlac reserves.

So, 806 Darlac was a tremendous sum. After all, reaching 1000 Darlac meant Transcendence. But, upon seeing Rikune frown at Wakuta's words, he was confused, "Why? What's the matter?"

"You shouldn't judge it based on our common sense." Rikune sighed, explaining, "If a person has 800 Darlac, then they could very well become a General of a Kingdom. There are strong Generals like Artica that have crossed 900 Darlac. But that's in terms of being a human."

She pointed at the slain Haggon, "As for a Haggon, I read in our records that an average adult Haggon has around 5000-6000 Darlac. So, what Wakuta means is that…"

"The one we killed is just a Haggon child."

"This…is a child?" He was stumped.

"And, the first two Haggons we killed might very well be considered toddlers." Rikune sighed, "So if we rush towards Level 3, we would be doomed. Let's first familiarise ourselves with battling the Haggons. Our goal is the Treasure."

She then whispered, "And, if this Secret Society manages to obtain it first, then it's all the better for us. We can simply slaughter the lot of them and grab it from them. That would be easier than killing the Haggons."

Wakuta replenished the Darlac reserves of everyone while Regriel used the excess amounts to activate his Skill of Minor Healing to heal any damage they had suffered. In the meantime, General Artica fished out the Darble Crystals from the killed Haggons, storing them in her bag, saying, "They have the largest Darble Crystals I have ever seen."

"Once we return, I'll ask my engineer friend to create a Darble Puppet out of them for you." Rikune said, "That way, you'll have a greater chance of reaching the state of Transcendence in the future."

"Thank you." General Artica nodded. Her three Iron Puppets then carried her, Regriel, and Rikune on the ground while Wakuta and Princess Raecha flew using Chikon.

…

Standing atop a hill far away, a Haggon gazed at an insect-type Darble Puppet flying in the air, "Based on Lady Hekatra's orders, we are only to scheme while thinking and looking at the women in the group. Otherwise, our actions would end up in failure."

"To think the day would arrive where I can think freely like this and follow His Majesty's orders once again." He teared up a bit before laughing, "I thank you, Lord Spirit, for allowing us this opportunity to serve our Great Emperor once again."

He then grinned, gazing at Princess Raecha, "It's time to start the first phase of our plan: Splitting up the Hero Party!"

He relayed his thoughts to Hekatra through telepathy while she informed all the other Haggons of Secret Society that were positioned in the area. And finally, she transmitted the message to the Dungeon Boss who gave the order to all the Haggons—that weren't part of the Secret Society—in the area.

"This is going to be fun!" The Haggon at the top of the hill chuckled while he noticed numerous sounds resounding throughout the place.

…

"W-What is happening?" General Artica was flustered upon hearing the hooting sounds of the Haggons resounding like roars from all directions. And, she was able to feel the ground mildly trembling, face paling as she shouted, "Princess Raecha, what is happening?"

But, Princess Raecha didn't respond, rather flying towards them at her maximum speed as she seemed afraid, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Aunt, bring everyone onto Chikon. Hurry!"

But suddenly, flying from within the forest was a tree trunk, slamming into the underside of Chikon as the impact sent Princess Raecha and Wakuta flying.

"Raecha!" Rikune screamed in panic, intending to jump towards her rescue when tens of Haggons rushed out of the forest, bellowing while carrying tree trunks, using them as weapons, throwing them towards the three people on the ground.