I Hate Systems

"System? What's…that?" A Master Mage muttered, gasping for breath as he took out a potion, groaning in exhaustion upon seeing that it was broken, its contents empty. He coughed out blood, staring at the gaping wound on his stomach that seemed impossible to cure without the help of a potion.

"I'm an entity that goes against the established system. Hence, I'm the System." A voice resounded in his ear as a set of words flashed before his eyes, visible only to him.

"Can you…save me then?" The Master Mage muttered, noticing that his eyelids felt heavy now as he was gradually losing consciousness, "If you're not something my delirious mind conjured, then save me from this situation."

"As you say…Host." The voice resounded as immediately, the mana of a Birdmen Doctor flowed into his body, causing his wounds to heal gradually.

The Master Mage woke up with a start, noticing that he was in a hut of sorts, sleeping on a wooden cot in a new set of clothes, rough to the touch, somewhat tattered along the sleeves.

He got up with a start, grunting to see that he barely had any strength left to move.

"You shouldn't wake up so soon!" A voice of concern resounded as an old man arrived, checking up his temperature to say, "I found you amid a pile of corpses in the forest. I won't ask what happened, I'm sure you have your reasons. But,"

He retracted his hand after checking up on his pulse, "You must rest first. I've tended to your wounds a little and have bandaged you. Once you regain your strength, you can leave."

"Thank you, sir." The Master Mage cupped his fists at the old man, truly grateful for being saved as he thought, 'So, it was him that saved me. That thing should be something I made up on the verge of death.'

"No, I'm real!" A voice resounded in his ear, startling him as he looked around, failing to spot anyone in his vicinity. The old man was logging some wood outside.

The System said, its voice as if it was pouting, "You know…if I didn't heal you at first, you would have died. The old man's medical skills aren't enough to heal your injuries. He's only a Novice Alchemist."

The Master Mage patted his stomach, feeling the medicine applied there, "Entorphin Felaceuta…indeed, this medicine isn't strong enough to regenerate a punctured internal organ. It can at most heal fleshly wounds."

"Now you see." The System's voice resounded, "I used a Birdmen Doctor's power to regenerate your punctured organs with your remaining mana. Once you replenish some of your mana, I'll be able to heal you back to full health."

"I'm the one that's truly awesome."

"You're right about that." The Master Mage muttered before asking, "But, what exactly are you?"

"I was created in one of the Saint of Calamity's failed experiments. They were transporting my container to another region when the people in charge encountered you. During the battle, my container broke and I had no other choice but to reside within the nearest suitable host." The System spoke, "And that was you."

"You mentioned being able to wield the Birdmen Doctor's power. So, are you from that race?" The Master Mage asked.

"In me exists the powers of a Birdmen Doctor, Ogre Warlock, Lizardmen Pugilist, and a Lizardmen Transformation Specialist." The System said, "Unfortunately, I was a failure because you'll need ten times the mana to use these abilities. And, also a year of your lifespan for every activation."

"Ten times the mana…and one year of my life for every use…" The Master Mage smirked at that, "That's a small price to pay for being able to wield this power. And…"

"As one of the weapons of the Demon Race fell under my hands, I'll use it to take revenge against them." He grinned in response.

…

"The protagonist is a Human Fire Mage?" The Felasi Clan Head frowned in response, "His Clan was razed to the ground by a Demon Elementalist. So, he wishes to seek revenge on the Demon Race, is that it?"

"Yep!" Hyunna smiled, "Against the overwhelming power of the Demon Race, this System is his trump card for revenge."

"Well, I'll be lying if I said I wasn't excited by this story. At least…" The Felasi Clan Head continued, "I'm curious to see how he'll use these new powers brought to him by the System in his quest for revenge. And, considering the price, I'm wondering how long he'll survive before dying as an old man."

"Though, tell me this…" She asked, expressing her curiosity, "Will he only kill every Demon along his path? I feel like that isn't entirely interesting. It gets repetitive after a while, right?"

"Yep, and that's where this segment will come." Hyunna smiled, pointing at a page whose contents caused her to grin in excitement, "The protagonist's sister is actually alive and is serving as the right hand of a Demon Princess as her Tamed Beast. He'll be in for a shock when he…"

"Hahaha!" The Felasi Clan Head laughed at that, "Okay, tell me more."

"There's also this," Hyunna smirked, continuing to speak about another plot point that excited her further.

After arriving at the Felasi Clan, he didn't have anything to do.

But at this time, when he was walking through the corridor, while passing by the Felasi Clan Head, a book fell out of his sleeves—obviously created and dropped by the Thousand-Eyed Beast.

The Felasi Clan Head chanced upon its contents and became curious, which led to this current round of discussion where she began to read through the novel. She was indeed interested in this story, despite it being told through the eyes of a Human Mage.

Right as they were discussing it, the Felasi Clan Head's husband passed by the room, hearing her laughter as he entered, noticing the book as he expressed his curiosity, "What's in it that got you so excited?"

"Look at this story, dear." The Felasi Clan Head smiled as she passed him the book, "I never thought Hyunna had such a talent. I was feeling a tad bored these days from the endless fighting in the theatres, and this book is right up my alley of interest. You should check it out too."

"Really? It's that good?" The man was surprised as he glanced at Hyunna before staring at the cover of the book, reading its title aloud, "The Disastrous Life of Farma?"