I Hate Systems

On the outskirts of Tentuna City, Stencil was accompanied by Aronaut and Gehera as they made their way towards the mansion that led into the secret dimension Slayer had created.

Horan was already out of the loop as there was too much that he wasn't privy about. Hence, Stencil didn't bother telling him anything, leaving the place with Aronaut immediately. Gehera was a System Slayer that had yet to awaken her powers, so Aronaut brought her with him too.

"Wait, where's the house?" He frowned in surprise upon seeing a desolate landscape in the location where a mansion used to exist for at least a couple of centuries in his memory.

It was obvious that Slayer had relocated the entrance, for it served no use anymore, as all the System Slayers that he had been nurturing were now part of Aero Society. Hence, he had to take steps to prevent their retaliation.

"Was that Demon…Slayer?" Stencil asked as she stared at the desolate region, clenching her hand into a fist.

"I don't think he is." Aronaut said, "I didn't sense any aura of a System or a System Slayer there. It was the power of a Conjurer, someone beyond an Apostle though, that's why I was shocked."

"Then, what's his connection to Slayer?" Stencil asked.

"There were traces of Slayer's aura mixed in his, and based on the signs, it seemed the two had fought only minutes before this. So, Slayer should be aware of his identity." Aronaut said before frowning in response, "But it seems it'll be hard to meet with him now. He has blocked off all means of contact."

Aronaut then asked her, "But wait, just what exactly were the two of you up to here? And…"

He stared at Gehera, "Who's this child? She's pretty strange."

Stencil focused for a few seconds, orienting her thoughts before sending a Mental Energy stream to Aronaut, allowing him to understand everything through the contents in it.

Gehera's history, the plans of the Talon Secret Organisation, and Slayer's involvement in both. And when he came to know that the birth of the Systems seemed to originate in this world, Aronaut was shocked, "Wait, where did you hear that from?"

"My dad could feel that the answer lies in this world. But, we've yet to find it." Stencil said.

"Thankfully, you said this to me." Aronaut tapped his chin, nodding after a while, "We have two choices now."

He raised his index finger, "The first is to tail the Talon Secret Organisation and disrupt their plans enough until Slayer makes an appearance before us. But, that means I'll have to face his angry self, which I'm not confident in doing so at the moment."

He then raised his middle finger, pointing at Gehera, "The second option is safer."

"You mean…?" Stencil's eyes widened in surprise as she removed the choker on Gehera, causing the other party to cough vehemently and collapse to the ground, fainting in response.

"Yeah, remember the Ruin of Amagoth? Since Slayer isn't trapped in one location, it means that as his strength is siphoned by it, the resultant Magic Beasts created by that power should be stored in another dimension." Aronaut said, "Therefore, if we were to enter that dimension, we'll be able to gain control over one of his weaknesses."

"That will give us the initiate in dealing with him." He said, "Slayer is a cautious individual. So, he won't take chances, especially since the stakes are high in fighting against Aero Society now."

"So, the key lies in Gehera's awakening…" Stencil figured out his plan and asked him, "Can you create something similar to the Ruin of Amagoth?"

"You mean something like a secret dimension of treasures?" Aronaut nodded, "Of course, I can. But why do you ask?"

"To farm Mental Energy, of course." Stencil said as a matter of fact, "Against whatever this enemy is, I need a lot of Mental Energy to fight. So, the only option is to farm for it in excess. And a Secret Realm always does the trick."

"The production costs are high though." Aronaut said, "We'll have to spend a terrifying sum of Mental Energy to make it, not to mention the time required to do all that. Before we make enough, it'll be years."

"If we proceed conventionally, then yeah." Stencil said as her eyes shone with a cunning glint, sending him a Mental Energy stream highlighting her thoughts.

[But, the System World has been cut off from this world. That means…]

[The Systems between levels 30 and 50 are the perfect food for us. You're a Level 99 System Slayer, right? They should be a cakewalk to capture for you.]

"Are you capable of extracting their Mental Energy?" Aronaut asked in surprise.

"Once they are captured…" Stencil flashed her choker, "I can put them under my control and even become them when necessary. This means all their powers would fall under my disposal."

"Hahaha!" Aronaut burst into laughter at her words as he grinned in excitement, "Then, what are we waiting for?"

"Let's start the hunt, shall we?"

…

"Shit…shit…SHIT!" A boy, aged fifteen cursed in anger as he ran through a forest, feeling his head spin as blood oozed out of the dozens of wounds covering his body. As he rushed past the trees, mysterious bird-like creatures, ethereal in nature slammed through them, shattering their trunks while blazing past.

The boy soon arrived at a cliff, gasping in shock as he stared at the endless fall beyond, hidden by a layer of mist beyond a certain depth, watching a pebble fall through it, one that was kicked by him in mistake.

The pebble took more than five seconds to fall into the layer of mist, displaying the sheer height of the place.

Bang!

The boy gulped in shock, slowly retracing his steps when an iron nail slammed into the ground, barely missing his feet as a mysterious bird-like entity flew in the air, metallic in nature, sporting an overgrown body that was a mix of multiple creatures, a horrid mass.

"Pilkan, return the Human Invoker Crystal. That's your only option of survival." A man bearing a bird-shaped tattoo on his forehead said, walking towards the boy addressed as Pilkan.

"You wish, fucking bastard." Pilkan gritted his teeth, taking out a mysterious gem as he bellowed, throwing it into his mouth, "Since you didn't leave me a way out, I'll take it with me to the afterlife!"

"No!" The man shouted in alarm as he sent the metallic bird after the falling Pilkan who pointed his hand upward and conjured an injured bird that slammed into it, stopping it.

By the time the metallic bird could break free, he was no more, having already fallen into the misty layer.