I Hate Systems

"Yes, Madam Spirit, please leave everything to me." The Bandit Boss said while bowing, sporting a subservient expression.

"That's great," The lady disguised by Compass Carburetor nodded, "Once everything is rounded up, I want your people to manage all the assets the underground had. The orphan children in the city know a lot. So, you can recruit them into your fold. We plan to expand the Secret Society throughout the Heroica Empire."

"Complete this first. I'll tell you the remainder of your role after a couple of days." Saying his piece, Compass Carburetor left, sensing through the Mental Energy stream from the Bandit Boss that he was willing to execute all the plans to the best of his abilities.

'Since he has maintained a bandit stronghold outside the city all along while neither being part of the underground nor the city, it shows his intelligence. So, he'll do a great job at managing all the assets of the underground.' Thinking as such, he smirked once, returning to their inn while accompanying Fealta and Caithy.

Once they arrived there, they removed their disguise and then ate like hungry monsters. Since they had expended a lot of Darlac each, they needed to replenish everything. So, for that, they had to eat enough food.

Once they finished eating, they returned to the inn as Compass Carburetor said, detailing his next plan, "There's a Level 1 Dungeon near this city. It hasn't ever been raided, so it has tremendous value. And, the three of us would be raiding it."

"It would be difficult, if not impossible." Caithy frowned, "You'll need an army of Warriors and Puppeteers to successfully raid a Level 1 Dungeon. And even then, there is no guarantee of success. Proceeding with only three people is a fool's errand."

"This is an infiltration mission," Compass Carburetor smiled, "We'll first probe through the dungeon. And, once I determine the feasibility of my plan, we'll execute it."

"Fine" Caithy nodded, sighing in return. If she hadn't seen just what Compass Carburetor was capable of, she would have refused adamantly. But, the way in which he manipulated people, affected their thoughts and emotions with a couple of actions made her understand that he was smart, rather smart at that.

And, he was knowledgeable of the human psyche, able to take advantage of it through a variety of means. So, when Compass Carburetor said that he had a plan, they decided to follow it. After all, he only told them the bare minimum.

The success of the plan hinged on his two System Fragments. So, he didn't wish to tell his secrets to anyone, even his allies. Even though Fealta and Caithy were his allies now, they were only following him due to Ephemella's orders.

The moment she no longer had the patience to wait for General Artica would be the time she would retract her support. The moment that happened, Fealta and Caithy would turn from allies to neutral parties.

Moreover, it didn't end once he killed the Slave Harem System. He still had to look for other System Users and hunt them down. All in all, he needed enough support to do whatever he needed. And for that to fruition, he needed the resources available in the Level 1 Dungeon.

"We'll rest for tonight and set off towards the Dungeon tomorrow evening. Try to replenish as much of your Darlac reserves as you can in the meantime." Compass Carburetor said, returning to train some more while Fealta and Caithy rested.

He had already thrown his gun to the rooftop of a random house to recharge itself. This way, he'll have enough bullets to shoot while roaming the dungeon. And now, he focused, meditating as he noticed the changes in his Mental Energy Form, realizing that he was close to upgrading his Skills.

The Mental Energy influx was steadily increasing in amount, causing him to be glad. After all, the symbol he had carved in the walls of every underground building was connected to him. And through that, the Mental Energy stream of anyone that thought while looking at them fell on him.

This way, he was able to sense if there were any remnants of the underground that had survived. And the moment he sensed any Mental Energy streams filled with hatred, he headed to the roof of his inn, using the height to see from where the Mental Energy stream arrived, relaying the details to a bandit that had been posted on watch next to the inn.

From there, the information was passed through the bandit network as they silently dealt with the remnants.

It was an uneventful night after that as Compass Carburetor focused on training himself, finally sighing in relief, "My Darlac has now reached 50."

In the evening of the next day, Compass Carburetor, Fealta, and Caithy exited the inn, slugging a bag each as they boarded a horse carriage and exited the city. They got down at a discrete location and motioned for the carriage to return. As the driver was one of the bandits, he silently complied.

"From here onwards, we'll be entering the territory of the Grogar." Compass Carburetor muttered, cautious as he observed all the Mental Energy streams incident on him, focusing further as he worked in not sensing them.

After all, there were too many Mental Energy streams on him, preventing him from noticing if anything new landed on him. So, to avoid that, he had to first stop sensing the other Mental Energy streams. It wasn't hard since it only meant blocking part of his senses. And, as it involved the body of the Money-Making System in him, it was easy to switch it on or off.

Soon, he didn't perceive any Mental Energy streams. Now, the moment a new Mental Energy stream landed on him, he'll be able to sense it immediately.

"Let's head in now." Compass Carburetor said, stepping foot in the forest terrain, immediately making eye contact with each other as they plucked many leaves from the area, slinging them into a fabric they had prepared for this expedition, creating a cloak that camouflaged them in the forest terrain.

This way, noticing them would be harder than had they sauntered in normally.