I Hate Systems
chapter-139

"This is pretty great," Compass Carburettor said in wonder as they walked through the tunnel-shaped energy blade, now arriving at a depth of 200 metres below water, soon taking the flight of stairs proceeding upward.

There was only one entrance into the cage shaped like a regular household door. It was only enough for two people to walk side by side. It wasn't wide enough for the Zekken to enter through, even if it were unguarded.

Though, as it was created using an energy blade, the moment a Zekken tried to enter it, the caster could simply dissipate the tunnel, causing the Zekken to drown in the water. its body would soak up the water and burst soon after.

Soon, they arrived within the cage as Hekatra turned solemn, saying as she motioned for everyone to remain silent, "I'll take the lead in capturing our targets. Everyone else can just focus on any Zekken that tries to attack us."

They immediately formed an encirclement around Compass Carburettor and Duchess, shielding them from harm as they tiptoed through the place, entering the fortress.

The first layer of defence against the Kuvert Dungeon was a fort, with the Dungeon Gate located in its centre. The entire layout was created to be as cramped as possible to prevent the Zekkens from trying to weasel their way out.

"This place has an eerie feel to it…" Duchess muttered casually, feeling like she was at home once again.

"A lot of people died here during the collapse," Hekatra said, not going into any detail about the incident. It was apparent that none of them wished to talk about their Great Empire's fall.

But since Compass Carburettor was already aware of all the details thanks to Meharb, he didn't say anything, looking around as he gazed into the doors to the castle that were left ajar, filled with a layer of dust.

As they cautiously entered it, they could hear countless slithering sounds echoing through the corridors, making him feel as if his skin would start crawling out of control the longer he listened to the sounds.

He then noticed that everyone else were calm and collected, sighing as he thought, 'I still need a lot of training.'

"Let's wait here for a couple of minutes," Hekatra said as she took out a small bag that she had been carrying, spilling out its contents. They were snake Puppets, designed to be no different to the ones used by the Zekkens.

'This way, they won't be alerted of our presence.' Compass Carburettor thought as he watched the ten Haggons take control of five snake Puppets each, causing them to slither through the corridors before branching out into each section, vanishing from view.

A couple of minutes later, Hekatra and her subordinates nodded at each other before she said to Compass Carburettor, "Let's get going now. Since there has been no prey here for a century, there are no traces of a Zekken having exited the Dungeon Gate for at least a couple of years. Since they are territorial creatures, they have only been scouting through this place out of boredom while some are trying to break the cage."

"What if a hundred Zekkens charge out? Would they be able to break the cage?" Compass Carburettor asked.

"If they were Haggons, easily, since they can use their tough bodies to constantly pummel into the cage without any care of the injury they sustain. But for the Zekkens, it's not possible. They aren't built to brute force through things. So even if a group unleash energy blades into a point, we have tested it before. They can't damage it fast enough since their lightweight bodies also fly away due to the recoil from the impact." Hekatra smirked.

The group then paced through the corridors, using their snake Puppets at times to distract the enemy snake Puppets into heading elsewhere. This way, they reached the Dungeon Gate soon enough, scouting the inside before entering it.

"I…hadn't fathomed such a place could exist." Compass Carburettor said in surprise, watching rock pillars spiral into the sky until they poked into the clouds. And for all he could see, there were only such spirals.

Each spiral boasted a diameter of around 300-400 metres. Moreover, they weren't proper spirals. They sometimes arched or even zigzagged, often times joining into other rock pillars to create a vast rock forest that covered the skies.

And on the ground was thick vegetation, completely covering the ground with a layer of flora.

"What do these Zekkens eat?" Duchess looked around, noticing that there were a lot of fruit-bearing trees. But, upon seeing the ground covered by the squashed remains of them, she understood that none of them was being eaten.

"There are plenty of monsters other than the Zekkens living here. Though, there aren't any herbivores here, so this forest is almost empty." Hekatra smiled, "This was our plan to ensure there was a large barrier between the Dungeon Monsters and us. Moreover, this forest was our fruit reserve. It might not look like it, but we have installed many tunnels underground that leads into the depths of this forest at many locations."

"It spans for around 300 kilometres from here."

"Does that mean there won't be any…" Compass Carburettor trailed off, wondering where the Zekkens that controlled the snake Puppets to be located at when he gazed at the sky, noticing the clouds move.

The clouds formed a low ceiling at the place, having formed a blanket at a height 300 metres from the ground. Slowly, the clouds swirled, darkening before numerous creatures poured down from above.

Even before they arrived, Compass Carburettor noticed a massive stream of Mental Energy gush into him. But, was he afraid of the horde? Obviously not!

After all, accompanying him were creatures capable of going against a horde singlehandedly. Moreover, the act of their enemies coming straight at them made their tasks easier.

'Moreover, I am getting enough Mental Energy to condense symbols without rest.' But, he suddenly shouted, noticing something amiss, "Wait, don't attack them!"

Hekatra and others were surprised at his order. But upon sensing the Mental Energy streams through the ability of Secret Society in her, Hekatra understood the cause. It was because the emotion behind the streams wasn't of hunger, killing intent or anything of the sort.

Rather, it was one of joy, the feeling similar to one being liberated from hell after so long.

Author's note: December month's mass release quota:

Golden Ticket: 1 bonus chappie for every 12 GT

Magic Castle: 2 extra bonus chappies for every Magic Castle

Spacecraft: 5 extra bonus chappies for every Spacecraft

Read 8 chappies in advance in Privilege