I Hate Systems

"Your Core Skill is the coordinate that is linked to your body fragments scattered in the minds of everyone." Compass Carburettor said, "And, since it is just a coordinate and not something tangible, it cannot be destroyed. And, as long as the Core Skill exists, Systems can revive easily."

"This is why you don't fear death, since you cannot experience it. And," He thought for a moment before saying, "If enough thoughts of something occurs in the minds of the people, it'll eventually turn into a concept, similar to the Yokai of the Japanese folklore. I assume the System World intervenes at this moment."

Watching the expressions of the various Systems that had appeared around him by now, Compass Carburettor said, "The System World would incubate this concept and condense a coordinate that becomes the Core Skill. The moment this Core Skill is formed, the thoughts related to this concept in the minds of every living creature in the universe would automatically turn into parts of this System's body."

"So, in that line of thought, a simple conclusion can be derived upon." He smiled, "A System dies if all the living beings that have thought of it dies too."

"Good luck killing everyone then." The Money-Making System smiled, "And, don't forget to kill yourself too. After all, whatever you're trying to kill is already within you."

"You're right about that. But," He grinned, "I don't plan on genocide. I'm not an unscrupulous merchant."

"Systems cannot be killed. This is the logical conclusion one derives upon after learning the truth about them, right?" Compass Carburettor casually ignored the words of the Money-Making System, "But then, the way the Systems act wouldn't make sense, if they were really omnipotent and omniscient."

"No, Systems have a glaring weakness." He smiled, "Otherwise, why wouldn't you just purchase tens to hundreds of Skills from other Systems through the Astral Network? The greater the Skills of other Systems you possess, the greater the damage you sustain. That's why, the stronger you get, the less inclined you're willing to buy other Skills."

"I feel possessing foreign Skills would slowly damage your coordinate and cause your body fragments in other living beings to return to being normal thoughts. This is the surest way to kill you. And the second…"

He grinned, "Is for a System from the same Genre to devour you. What it'll do is assimilate your coordinates into itself. This way, all your body fragments would slowly become its body fragments instead. I think this will take a fair enough time, so the process isn't instant."

"Humph, despite everything, how will you kill us? You don't possess our Core Skills." The Money-Making System laughed, "You're great at theorising. But, you're still falling short, Compass Carburettor."

"No, you're wrong. I've already been shown the method once." Compass Carburettor said, "That monster from the other universe had shown it against Permanence, the correct way to deal with Systems."

He then shouted, "Permanence!"

Even after his shout, nothing changed in the surroundings as the Systems were startled. A System that he had called forth didn't actually come. Does this mean…

"Yes, it seems that individual, Phantom had used the coordinates to kill the Permanence System. Mind Path, that was what he addressed it as." Compass Carburettor said, gazing around at the Systems, "And, that seems to be the answer, don't you say?"

"Since you're creatures of the mind, all I need to do is obtain a power that is related to the mind. But before that," He gazed at the sky, thinking of something as four stars manifested in the air, causing him to smile, "Indeed, you're here."

The moment the four stars appeared, the Directional Misalignment System, Slave Harem System, Reality Marble System, and Info Scanner System were startled.

"I too can use Mental Energy." He spoke, causing his Darble World to blink erratically in response before turning jet black, with glitters blinking all over it. It unleashed a pair of jet-black energy blades shaped into arms that grabbed hold of a star and pulled it down, slamming it into the four swirling clouds of smoke before him.

The four swirling clouds of smoke began to eat into a star as Compass Carburettor immediately felt a sense of loss.

"Hahaha, you fool! That would just end up ejecting your Core Skill." The Money-Making System laughed. "What you are hoping for wouldn't happen. The more you fight the Systems, the more they grow in your mind before taking over you eventually. That's your fate. Accept it."

"You see, there is one more thing that I hadn't mentioned before." Compass Carburettor spoke, causing it to shut up as the Money-Making System glared at him, "Why are the Core Skills I possess capped at level 10? Why can't they level up even though they are my powers? And why…do I need to kill you to become a True System Slayer?"

"Aren't I a fragment of the Main Character System? Why would I need to devour you to become a True System Slayer?" He spoke slowly, "When you think about it, that doesn't make sense."

"Systems are concepts that are birthed through the mind, propagate through the mind, and also survive in the mind. And, if that were the case, then there should have been countless people who had hoped to eradicate you before. Surely, I'm not the first one with a fairly decent brain, right?" Compass Carburettor muttered.

"And that's when a certain entity had been birthed." He slowly walked, muttering, "There have been such cases in history, certain people that have shouldered fates beyond their sense of self. Either it was pushed onto them or they chose it voluntarily. Regardless, they shoulder that, being part of something grand, either to resist the tides or shape the tides. And since time immemorial, they were addressed with a certain word…"

"The Main Character."

"I'm not a System Slayer. Slaying a System is just what I'm doing. That doesn't dictate my identity." He spoke, causing the Apocalypse World to whir in response before unleashing the power of System Punishment, destroying the star.

In the same manner, the remaining three stars too were brought down, eaten by the swirling smokes before being destroyed by the System Punishment. The moment he decided to let them go, even though the feeling of loss intensified in him, Compass Carburettor felt as if a major burden was shed from his mind.

First were the four stars representing the four Core Skills he had, followed by it were the four clouds of smoke—the four Systems he had hunted just now. And finally, there were the figures of all the Systems he had ever known about, all of them were destroyed.

"The powers of the Systems I hunt can be used differently. The path of a Slayer is a trap created by the Systems." He smiled, feeling free, watching everything in his mind space explode, "That's why they were saying a System Slayer's end is horrible. They were placing a mental cue in me to further make me proceed in the path of a Slayer just to prove them wrong."

"So, this is why the Systems refuse the birth of us." Compass Carburettor muttered as he gazed at the three planets hovering before him, "This is the power that I must wield to truly rescue my daughter…"

"The power of a protagonist."

Volume 2: Main Character—The End!