I Hate Systems

Fealta activated her long sword, piercing the Shruuger's neck. She then activated the wide sword, severing it easily.

Controlling her laughter, Caithy dragged Compass Carburettor away from the range of the stink gas, slapping him awake.

"Puah!" Gasping for air, Compass Carburettor inhaled and exhaled in a flurry, finally feeling like he was alive. Upon noticing that he was saved by the servants once again, he sighed, 'I have yet to get accustomed to the feeling of battles. My reflexes almost killed me this time. If they weren't with me, I would have died.'

"Get up, we'll have to leave this place before more Shruugers are lured in by the smell of blood." Fealta pulled him up, pointing at the pillar farther away as she said, "Let's hurry towards that pillar. We'll fight some Shruugers there next."

Compass Carburettor patted himself, regulating his breathing as he followed Fealta, skipping along the footholds on the water as they headed towards the closest pillar. He noticed some Mental Energy streams land on him from behind, 'Some of the Katunas are following us. The moment we stop, we'll be besieged by them.'

Fealta seemed accustomed to the action as her steps were lithe and filled with grace. She barely landed on a foothold before leaping onto the next. As for Compass Carburettor, he wasn't that far behind either. As he continued to jump, he followed Fealta's actions, replicating the same.

Following behind him, Caithy frowned as she noticed his mimicking actions and his real-time improvement, 'Just who is this guy? For what reason is the Queen supporting him so much? Is it to related to General Artica's betrayal?'

Until now, Ephemella hadn't confided any information to the servants. Everything that transpired between her and Compass Carburettor was kept between themselves, keeping everyone else in the dark.

It was also Compass Carburettor's wish since he didn't want anyone else to think about Regriel using the information he had provided. That would simply alert Regriel's system. He didn't want that.

Moreover, every time he talked with Ephemella, he was always careful in directing the conversation with General Artica as the subject. This way, any Mental Energy streams from Ephemella would only fall on General Artica. And of the times he mentioned Regriel, he had done so while shielding himself, preventing any Mental Energy streams from exiting him.

This way, he wished to keep Regriel's System as much in the dark as possible. In the end, this was the first time he was up against a System. So, he didn't know the extent of caution he had to take. And, even though he had thought through many things, he was still bound to make mistakes or neglect some issues.

After all, he was only human.

'I'll just observe him for now.' Caithy thought, following Compass Carburettor as she maintained a constant line of sight on his back.

Upon sensing suspicion, confusion, and wonder in the Mental Energy stream from Caithy, Compass Carburettor frowned for a moment, following Fealta as he soon arrived atop the protrusion peeking out of a pillar.

"Keep up the pace with me. There's a good chance the Shruuger's would try to attack us while we are scaling to the top." Fealta said, running up the flight of stairs created by the protrusions, "Be ready to defend and retaliate when necessary."

"Alright," Compass Carburettor nodded, running through the flight of stairs as he tightened his grip around the two Armaments, soon noticing two Mental Energy streams land on him. The path of the two starlight streams meandered in the air as he prepared himself.

Halfway up the pillar, he saw two Shruugers flying towards him, preparing to attack. The moment they arrived to attack, Fealta and Caithy distanced themselves from him, allowing him enough room to fight.

Moreover, if the Shruugers tried to push him into the water, they planned to jump after him and save him.

Though, Compass Carburettor didn't plan on relying on their help again. He had already been saved twice by them. He wished to think and plan better so that he wouldn't make mistakes due to his preconceived bias of having lived a life of riches without any mortal risks.

It was hard to change himself within a single battle as Compass Carburettor made quite a few mistakes. Though, he managed to handle himself, ramming into a Shruuger with his shield while piercing using the sword alone the sides, targeting the neck.

When the Shruuger's neck elongated in an effort to push him out of bounds, Compass Carburettor bent backwards to the extent his back almost touched the ground. He then placed the Armament on his left under the Shruuger's neck, activating the shield.

The shield expanded, hitting the ground—the protrusion on the pillar's side—on one side. The reaction force caused the Armament to move up while the other side of the shield landed on the Shruuger's neck.

As the shield completely expanded, the force was transmitted into the Shruuger's neck, sending it flying up. It was akin to a powerful hack into its neck, choking it for a moment as Compass Carburettor followed up with repeated hacks using his sword—by activating and deactivating it repeatedly.

He then slashed, severing the Shruuger's neck before kicking its body out of bounds, watching it cause a splash upon falling into the water.

As for the second Shruuger, it flew towards him, intending to crash into him when Compass Carburettor thought of a daring plan, making a short run before leaping towards the Shruuger, activating the shield right before colliding.

The force of the impact pushed him back while at the same time stunning the Shruuger. Compass Carburettor landed on the protrusion, sliding a little as he stopped while colliding lightly into the pillar's sides.

As for the Shruuger, since it had lost most of its momentum, it crashed into the side of the protrusions, screaming in pain as all the air in its lungs gushed out. Compass Carburettor arrived before it, slashing at its face numerous times, also focusing on its legs until it gave out, causing the Shruuger to fall into the water below.

It was then besieged by the Katunas.

Compass Carburettor gazed at the two Darble crystals he had harvested from the recent encounter, remarking, "They are bigger than the previous ones."