I Hate Systems

"Dammit, I'll kill them!" The Hunter System grunted in anger as its humanoid self lifted a claymore, causing it to brim with mana when suddenly, Apocalypse arrived beside it, prompting it to stop.

"Don't waste your reserves uselessly." Apocalypse said, "There's Immortal with them now. They'll have an endless reserve of energy to rely upon. So, if you were to exhaust yourself first, you'll become Arnark's prey. Don't forget what happened to the Dragon System just recently."

"Then, what am I supposed to do?" The Hunter System said in regret, "The most I'm able to do is disrupt Magister's attacks. I'm facing more difficulties against Arnark thanks to Domino Plottopia's actions."

"Do what a Grade 2 System does best." Apocalypse said, expressing a primal vicious need for consumption, "Create a race of Hunters and raid this Realm. As long as the power you steal from them is greater than your losses, you'll kill them eventually."

"But…" The Hunter System hesitated, "What about Immortal? The lead I gain would be nothing in comparison to his foundation. It's what we've been trying to do for so long and still have yet to succeed."

"Don't bother with him," Apocalypse let out a subtle smile, "I and Regression have a plan for it already."

"Immortal will die by the end of this battle."

…

After its conversation with the Apocalypse System, the Hunter System landed a certain distance away from the Realm and erected a city of its own, grabbing hold of the basic apocalyptic monsters produced in the apocalyptic setting.

Following that, it inserted fragments of itself in them and turned them into Hunters.

Groarrr!

An apocalyptic monster roared in pain before morphing into a human, an armour-donned hulk of a middle-aged man with a dusty appearance and untrimmed beard. The stench of sweat, alcohol and piss seemed to have saturated on him, due to his prolonged stay in the apocalypse.

Holding his kite shield and war axe, the middle-aged hunter took out a badge and crushed it, vanishing from the spot as he appeared within the Realm.

There was a large meadow on one side and sandy shores bordering a sea on the opposite. Situated at the back was a gigantic mountain, reaching a height of twelve kilometres, with its peak surrounded by clouds.

There was a mysterious formation of sorts protecting the mountain, with the entire way up laden with traps. At the peak was a hidden palace where a truck remained in stillness, with the people inside working at full speed to treat Immortal.

The middle-aged hunter cracked his joints before jogging towards the mountain, breaking into a sprint soon after as he slammed into the barrier, grunting as the armour protecting him began to melt away.

Boom!

Just when the barrier was about to melt him too, another tank-like hunter slammed into the barrier, straining it. One after another, more and more hunters arrived at the scene, gradually passing through the barrier while suffering minor injuries.

The barrier constantly regenerated itself, but despite that, hunters began to pass through one after another, their defences terrifying.

Grrr!

Suddenly, thousands of wolves rushed out of the forest layering the mountain, created by Gehera.

The wolf at the lead drooled saliva that sizzled the ground, roaring before it rushed at the middle-aged hunter.

"Enemy inbound. All tanks, brace for impact." The middle-aged hunter said before propping his shield, grunting as the wolf slammed into it, causing his feet to slide back a few centimetres.

Immediately after, the muscles on his right bulged as he hacked using the war axe, plunging the bladed end halfway into the wolf's spine.

Aieee!

The wolf winced in pain as the axe of the middle-aged hunter shone with starlight, causing a fragment of the Hunter System to seep into its body to Host it instantly. Following that, the middle-aged hunter brought down the war axe, cleaving its body into two.

Instantly, the Hunter System fragment in the wolf's body absorbed the entirety of its essence, carrying it out as it flowed into the middle-aged hunter's body. This was how Grade 2 Systems stole power.

"Be on guard, and advance…" The middle-aged hunter had just spoken when suddenly, he raised his shield up in alarm, grunting as his hands trembled.

Pata-Pata-Pat!

The sounds akin to rain resounded as bullets slammed into the shield, gradually denting it due to the sheer number. Moreover, after the impact, the bullets vaporised instantly, allowing the subsequent volley of bullets to impact the shield without any hindrances.

Taking shelter amid the branches were humans holding a gun in each hand, condensing bullets by absorbing air to unleash a volley at the enemies.

That wasn't all, there were earthworms drilling underground, ones that exited from under the feet of the hunters to glare at their targets.

Spirit Morph!

"Shit!" The middle-aged hunter evaded in a hurry, sensing a mystical power slam into the corner of his shoulder armour, causing it to wriggle in response before transforming into a serpent. "Get lost!"

Mana burst out of his body as he cut off the infected part of the armour, slamming it into the ground to see it break down into multiple serpents that rushed at them.

Heavenly shield!

The middle-aged hunter slammed his kite shield into the ground, erecting an energy shield that stopped the serpents and the volley of bullets. He then extended his hand, using telekinesis to crush the serpents before burning them using fire.

Through the fire, he sent a Hunter System fragment into a serpent, noticing the fragment facing resistance for a couple of seconds before hosting it. He killed it after that and absorbed its essence through the fragment.

"Ugh…argh…Noooo!" Suddenly, a hunter among their group screamed in horror as his face convulsed before hundreds of serpents drilled out in horror, rapidly transforming his entirety into a sea of serpents that rapidly joined to create a human who flashed an angry grin to morph his hand into a canon each, shooting out shells that sent two hunters flying from the impact.

Both sides tore into each other, stealing the foundation of the defeated.

"Thank you." Suddenly, the middle-aged hunter was alarmed to hear a whisper, noticing a totem pole stabbed into the ground before him. Alarmed, he turned around, staring at the misty figure of a woman touching him on the cheek before vanishing.

Instantly, he collapsed to the ground, weak, losing all his power as the sheer weight of his armour shattered his bones. It just took a second for Gehera to steal the entirety of a hunter's power as using a totem, she transformed into mist and flashed around the battlefield, stealing the powers of the hunters nonstop.

Soon after, she brought the respective Magic Beasts—hunters—out of her Ruin of Amagoth, forming an army of hunters that rushed at the enemy hunters.

Final way of surviving an apocalypse—Raise a replenishing army!