I Hate Systems

"What…just happened?" Arnark was in shock, staring at the Orc before him that no longer expressed any animosity towards him.

The Orc stood there for a couple of seconds before turning around to walk away. Similarly, the surviving Tamed Beasts stopped fighting as they moved away, tending to their respective injuries.

Zaira closed her eyes, seeming to be thinking of something.

The moment he saw her, Gilthru felt that things were strange. But, he wasn't able to place a handle on what that was about. All he knew was that Zaira did something to affect Tirb Felera's Tamer powers.

"Gilthru…do you know what was that?" Arnark arrived behind him, whispering all of a sudden.

"I don't," Gilthru replied, noticing that Arnark seemed to be trembling for some reason. "What's up with you now?"

"I just feel afraid all of a sudden." He said before approaching the Elf, intending to inquire about it when he noticed that her face was pale, "What happened?"

"N-Nothing." The Elf didn't say anything and just remained silent.

"So, what shall we do about these…Tamed Beasts?" Lorbordo asked upon seeing that the expressions of every one were turning strange slowly, "Are we leaving them here or are we helping them get back to their homes?"

"Hey…" Zaira approached the Mermen Queen, asking, "What was that power that you were using to turn humans into Magic Beasts?"

"It's a mixture of multiple powers." The Mermen Queen replied, "We first make them ingest a conjured pill that has the powers of a Principal Arbiter to absorb the power of their profession and create a Magic Organ."

"Following that, we divine the required variables and prepare the means to attain all necessary conditions. The subject would then ingest a conjured pill containing a Witch's curse that morphs their body into a monster."

She pointed at the altar they used, "There's a formation inlaid here to oversee everything and induce the necessary changes. After that, we'll make the target ingest some potions related to body strengthening, muscle gain, vitalist boosting, mana boosting, etc."

"Finally, the Bards would sing to initiate the chain reaction while the Polymorphs initiate the transformation ceremony. That's how we managed to create a Magic Beast." She concluded.

"I'll bring you all with me now." Zaira said before looking at Khun, "Will you be able to carry them all?"

"I can help carry any excess." Lorbordo stepped forward, "I can transform into a large creature too."

"Sniff…sniff…" On the altar was Yela, crying, having been transformed into a four-legged creature with a long neck, sporting a mane similar to a horse. The face was somewhat humanoid but possessed more than a hundred eyes, littered all across her face and neck.

At first glance, the hair on her neck seemed to be thick strands. But in truth, they were feelers that could expand and contract in length, capable of acting like hands, and surprisingly dextrous in nature.

Yifa was still weak and hence remained in the place the Orcs had taken her to. So, Zaira first approached the younger sister, Yela, the Cartographer that had now been transformed into such a grotesque monster.

She stared at the primary eyes of the monster, asking solemnly, "Do you wish to tell a tale?"

"Yes!" Yela nodded her head vigorously. Though, she didn't even need to say anything as the hair on her neck expanded in length before ripping out a piece of skin from her body that acted as a parchment to write upon.

There were no signs of a wound on her skin, as if what she had ripped out was an old layer of skin.

Swoosh!

Zaira noticed faint Mental Energy flowing into the words inscribed upon the parchment by Yela. With the passing of every second, her thoughts became more and more complex as she was changing rapidly.

The pain that she felt the day before was reducing over time. Or rather, it seemed like she was adapting to the changes and growing even.

'What exactly is this item?' She wondered, touching the Tiara on her head as it felt cold to the touch.

Lorbordo transformed into a large flying-type Magic Beast as he and Khun transported all the ex-Tamed Beasts to the Hemish Empire.

Seated closer to the Dragon's tail, Zaira stared at her hand, one that had stolen Tirb Felera's Tamer powers. 'How…exactly did it happen?'

She felt guided by a mysterious instinct of sorts and took action by gathering all the thoughts in her mind.

As the Tamed Beasts stared at her, their Mental Energy streams flowed into her. And under her control, they flowed in reverse as Mental Energy gushed out of her in torrents. There was a sea's worth in her mind now as they flowed through the Mental Energy streams, using the connection between the Tamed Beast and their master to enter Tirb Felera's mind.

Following that, she just destroyed the part of his mind that gave out commands, sealing the authority to give commands. This shouldn't have been possible in the first place.

But now that she thought about it, Zaira observed that when she stole control over Tirb Felera's Tamed Beasts, the Mental Energy that did this was generated by the Tamers of the Demon Race.

And mixed in that was Mental Energy by the Minotaur Race of Thieves.

When they took action, the thoughts turned into power and allowed Zaira to steal Tirb Felera's Tamed Beasts for herself. Now, they were actually under her influence.

It wasn't a stretch to say that they were her Tamed Beasts. This was why the Mermen Queen was being so respectful to her.

'Hmm, if I can steal a power and make it mine…' She thought for a moment before her attention fell on the Tiara itself, 'Maybe I can finally know more about this after making it mine. I can feel that it's not exactly mine at the moment.'

She didn't hesitate to take action, using thoughts regarding Minotaur Thieves, Elf Divination Specialists, Human Cartographers, Dwarf Spiritualists, and finally, Orc Devourers. They combined to form a special energy that seeped into the Tiara as it allowed Mental Energy to flow through it.

There wasn't any suspense as the Tiara hummed for a moment before melting into a fluid that stabbed into her head and seeped into her brain.

Zaira experienced an intense headache for a couple of seconds before she felt everything regarding the Tiara make sense, revealing a subtle smile, 'So, that's your true identity, Magister.'

'Whether it was you or even Mystique himself, both have underestimated this power.'