I Hate Systems

"How are you certain the Evil Spirits are targeting your…man?" Bunuela frowned, gazing at Xuer with a hint of suspicion, trying to ascertain whether or not Xuer could be an Evil Spirit or not.

"I've received Lord Gahrat's tutelage for a day." Xuer said, "And in that time, he told me a lot of information, including the truth about the Evil Spirits."

"The truth about the Evil Spirits?" Bunuela was surprised, "Was Lord Gahrat real? How was he? Was he as mysterious and unfathomable as the rumours said?"

Hearing her string of words, Xuer recalled the time when she met and conversed with Compass Carburettor, saying honestly, "He resembled a mortal. But, even when he was using his abilities, there wasn't even a hint of energy fluctuation or was his presence revealed. He was as mysterious as they came."

"Ah, one thing." Xuer suddenly pointed at Bunuela, "Whatever I'm telling you must remain between us, alright? At most, you can tell it to your grandfather. Anyone without a Heaven Martial Spirit would just die if they know this information. The Evil Spirits are knowledgeable about people to a terrifying extent. They are probably able to read our thoughts just by looking at our faces."

"I promise you. Everything will stay between the two of us. And unless it's necessary, I won't confide about this with my grandfather either." Bunuela said in all seriousness, scanning around using her Origin Essence to determine that there weren't any prying ears nearby.

Seeing how cautious she was being, Xuer smiled, "The Evil Spirits are actually called System Hosts."

"System Hosts? Wait…that term of System feels familiar." Bunuela frowned in thought, "I feel like I've heard of it before."

"Have you read any novels before?" Xuer asked, "Fantasy ones I mean."

"My mother read a few to me when I was young. But, they were mostly boring, so instead, I was practising my sword, instrumental, and painting skills." Bunuela replied.

"Basically, a System is a parasite that enters your body to conveniently solve all your troubles…" Xuer began to explain the basics of Systems and the knowledge related to them.

A few hours passed in such a fashion, at the end of which she concluded, "And at present, they are aiming to devour our Martial Spirits. If all the Martial Spirits are devoured, that'll put our Realm under the mercy of the Systems."

"After that, they could casually make as many System Hosts as they want and slowly suck our foundation dry."

"To think there are countless other worlds out there that don't follow our cultivation paths…" Bunuela's eyes widened in shock, shaking her head as she said, "All this seems impossible. Honestly, I'm finding it very hard to believe all this."

"I was the same too, until I witnessed it first-hand." Xuer sighed, "Lord Gahrat is someone that fights these Systems. And currently, the Systems that have invaded our world are those that control Luck."

"Coincidental Luck System, whose Host chances upon encounters beneficial to them coincidentally, being lucky in every encounter. Destiny Luck System, whose Host is destined to obtain whatever their end goal is…" Xuer slowly iterated the knowledge Compass Carburettor had imparted to her and Ranze over the past three years.

"As they follow a different power mechanic, we aren't able to sense any power from them." Xuer said before whispering, "If you want to know more, you can ask Hazen."

"Who's he?" Bunuela asked.

"He's Lord Gahrat's son." Xuer replied, "I and my man, Ranze have been in contact with him for the past three years."

"These Evil Spirits…" Bunuela was silent for a while, asking once she digested all the information, "How will you find them?"

"You remember all the information in that scroll, right?" Xuer asked, saying as she watched Bunuela nod in response, "There are Hazen's informants everywhere. They'll alert us if there's an Evil Spirit in our vicinity."

"Wait…" She whispered all of a sudden, watching a teenager walk towards their location all of a sudden.

Xuer and Bunuela became alert immediately, intending to retaliate the moment the teenager tried anything funny.

The teenager slowly walked past them, suddenly opening his mouth as he whispered, "The World Decaying Evil Spirit is five kilometres from here."

"Velcorn?" Xuer frowned, noticing the teenager just walk past while ignoring her question. She then patted his shoulder, noticing him turn around in surprise.

"Yes?"

"Nothing…" Xuer let go of her hold, watching the teenager look at the two ladies sheepishly as he seemed intent to talk with them, hesitating to do so. Eventually, he lost confidence and walked away sullenly.

"Did you see that?" Bunuela frowned, "It's like they are different people."

"Yes…" Xuer nodded, her face paling in response, "Is this Hazen's power? But, I only heard him stating that he had established a powerful information network. This…I wasn't aware of it."

"This Hazen guy…can he be trusted?" Bunuela frowned, "No matter what his reasons might be, I don't like his actions. It seems like he's somehow able to convey information through people against their will."

"I don't like this."

'Hazen is just Compass Carburettor's new identity…' Right as she arrived at this line of thought, Xuer felt nervous, 'Wait, why was I trusting his words in the first place anyway? Isn't that because he seemed pretty convincing? What if I and Ranze are just being lead around the hook by him?'

'Wouldn't that mean I'm still as gullible as usual?'

Upon seeing Xuer's changing expressions, Bunuela sighed, patting her shoulder to console her, "Whatever the case might be, our goal remains the same."

As Xuer stared at her in surprise, Bunuela said in all seriousness, "If these Evil Spirits threaten our Gaider Realm, we'll eliminate them. And if this Hazen turns out to be an enemy, we eliminate him too."

"In the end, it's pretty simple, right?" She grinned.

'Indeed, she makes a valid point. Yes, as Compass Carburettor had told me before, I should use all the resources to raise my strength and authority. As long I have enough of both, I'll be able to protect myself and my family from any harm.' Her eyes shone with a cunning glint, 'Isn't that why I've been using our familiar breed of Martial Spirits and status to become close with Bunuela?'

'Then, I should do the same with Hazen too. He's pretty useful.' She then gazed at her bracelet, 'Big sister Lanela too.'

The moment Compass Carburettor's innate luck dropped, Xuer's thoughts were affected as a result, causing her to think about valid reasons that she for some reason hadn't considered in the past three years.