I Hate Systems

'…She just had to come into contact with probably the sole healer that had entered this Secret Realm. Seriously, that's some insane luck she has there.' Walking far away, staring at the conversing figures of Holla and Fisksher was Ranze, subtly frowning in response.

'Unsurprisingly, they hit it off pretty well.' He sighed, having already stored his weapons. He then gazed at a nearby cultivator, "Thanks for alerting me before. I'll be on my way now."

"Alright." The cultivator nodded before the light in his eyes changed, "We'll contact you if a need arises again."

After that, the cultivator blinked blankly for a couple of seconds before proceeding to walk in a certain direction, heading towards some other location. He was no different from the others now.

'Of course, Hazen is equally terrifying.' He shuddered, recalling the scene where he was competing against a group of people for a treasure when suddenly, all of them stopped abruptly, hearing a mysterious whistling sound.

Their expressions changed as they gazed at him, declaring in unison, "Hazen is in trouble. There's a second System Host in the core of the Temperate Refinement Zone. Hurry there!"

"What the…heck?" Ranze was shocked for a moment before understanding that this was Compass Carburettor's scheme in motion.

'Even he won't be able to face two System Hosts at the same time.' Thinking as such, Ranze began to rush in the appointed direction, eventually reaching the core of the Temperate Refinement Zone.

When he walked past the rock pillars, he suddenly noticed a woman staring at him in silence. And when he gazed at her in curiosity, she nodded, pointing in a certain direction, "The second one's named Holla. We don't know anything beyond that at present."

As he continued to walk, he noticed quite a few cultivators staring at him, creeping the heck out of him. But, all of them silently pointed him in the required direction, prompting him to hurry along.

And from time to time, whistling sounds were exchanged in the region. The whistling sound was high-pitched, carried in a frequency that was almost pushing the boundaries of human hearing.

But somehow, information was transmitted in such a fashion.

Ranze was pretty flabbergasted as he eventually arrived at a position that allowed him to have a clear view of Holla, 'His preparations are scary indeed.'

"Well, I shouldn't slack off either. This is the world that has given meaning to my existence. No way I'm allowing these aliens to wreak havoc any longer." He muttered, firming his vigour as he glared at Holla, observing her actions while planning a way to kill her.

The moment he stared at her, harnessing the intent to destroy her, Holla shuddered instinctively, sensing her luck trembling erratically. This implied that if the two went head-on at one another, there was a high chance of mutual destruction at the very least.

And, a moment's carelessness or underestimation from either side would cause their death.

Holla and Fisksher continued to converse as eventually, they decided to travel as a team. It was because both were confident in themselves, also showcasing staunch pride that prevented them from robbing each other.

They were the type to collide from the front, and not scheme behind the backs of one another. Hence, they decided to use their abilities to obtain greater benefits from the Secret Realm.

'Should I follow them?' Ranze thought for a moment, gazing around as he noticed the number of cultivators in the region thinning out, 'No, it's too risky here. I should at least be here with Xuer to have enough confidence to kill Holla without crippling myself in the process.'

"After all, she's not the sole enemy I will be facing." He muttered, shaking his head as he noticed some cultivators coincidentally going in the same direction as Holla, 'Right, they should be everywhere. The moment a chance presents itself, they'll alert me.'

"I hope Xuer is safe…"

…

"Huff…puff…are you…satisfied?" Xuer gasped for air, panting as she lay on the ground, unable to move.

"…yeah…you're strong." Plastered on the ground next to her was Bunuela, in a similar condition to her. The two of them were resting on a clear patch of grass, actually, the sole intact patch in the region.

Surrounding them was a land that was mostly charred, sporting large pits which were currently filled with water. That wasn't all. There were even the carcasses of countless Origin Beasts scattered amidst the wreckage.

"I thought I would be the sole cultivator with a Heaven Martial Spirit." After some time had passed, Bunuela slowly sat up, ingesting a pill to heal her injuries, "But, I'm glad to have met someone like you. I can wholeheartedly treat you as an equal."

"Haha, I understand where you're coming from." Xuer laughed as she snatched a pill from Bunuela, shamelessly eating it as she sat up, stating in seriousness, "Everything changed around me once I awakened a Heaven Martial Spirit. Honestly, the eyes of people full of respect and greed that were directed at me unnerved me, to be frank."

"Even in the Blazing Sun Clan with a lot of Earth Martial Spirit cultivators, the situation is more or less the same." Bunuela sighed, "So, I'm not surprised with what you faced in the Giant Whale Sect."

"But, if you ever feel like things are suffocating to endure, come find me. I'll help you." Bunuela gently held Xuer's hands, "After all, you have the Ice Crane while I have the Fire Crane. Our Martial Spirits are of the same breed."

"It feels like you're my long-lost sister." Bunuela laughed. "Once we leave the Secret Realm, come to my Clan. There's a lot of fun things there."

"I would love to." Xuer spoke excitedly before turning sullen, "But, I guess that would be impossible for the time being."

"Impossible? Why?" Bunuela frowned, expressing mild anger. "Tell me if something's troubling you. No matter what it is, I'll raze them to the ground."

"The Evil Spirits…" Xuer sighed, noticing Bunuela's expression turn serious all of a sudden.

"They are in the Secret Realm, right?" Xuer said, smiling helplessly, "And, their target is my man."

"So, no matter what, they must first be eradicated. Otherwise, they might destroy the Gaider Realm itself."