I Hate Systems
chapter-252

"Guh!" Compass Carburettor grunted as he wielded a knife, slashing at the burly man's thigh, barely managing to make a nick when a punch slammed into his stomach, sending him skidding back.

The burly man's punches were heavy, possessing enough power to shatter houses. As for Compass Carburettor, he wasn't exactly inferior either, possessing the Skill of Strength at Level 10.

The only reason he was disadvantaged was that the Skill of Strength was a Passive Skill. And, though impressive, Passive Skills were weaker than Active Skills of the same level. It was because they had an inherent limit.

Moreover, Active Skills were as powerful as the supplied Mental Energy or other forms of energy. They had many variations and could be combined with other abilities to initiate interesting results.

Compass Carburettor and the burly man constantly flashed through the shattered house's interior, exchanging countless attacks when he pulled out his Armament, activating its energy blade to pierce through the burly man's stomach.

"Hahaha, interesting. So, you have other cards other than your strength." The burly man laughed, ignoring the wound as he used the chance to grab hold of Compass Carburettor's extended right hand, slamming a punch into its elbow.

And right at the point of contact, a yellow light flashed as Compass Carburettor's eyes reddened immediately, letting out a guttural roar as the bones in his right arm, all the way till his shoulder blades were destroyed.

They weren't just broken, but the bones had been bent like steel, causing some of the rib bones to pierce into his lungs.

…

Grisha flinched at his roar, noticing the teenager standing atop the wall bordering the lawn, gazing at the fight with a frown. He had jumped aside before the explosion had happened.

Upon seeing her approach, he became alarmed, entering a stance, "Are you here to fight?"

"I would love to mop the grass with your arrogant face, but I'll save it for later." She snorted, saying, "I've only come to relay my Lord's words."

"Aren't you going to help him? From the looks of it, he looks like he would die anytime soon." The teenager said with a frown.

"He's not that weak," Grisha turned around and began to walk away, leaving behind a set of words…

"Rhizen possesses the Devil Killer. That's all I've been told to inform you."

She then rushed off to somewhere else while the teenager frowned, 'There are a lot of puzzling things here.'

He racked his head, sighing, 'I need time to investigate this properly.'

He then gazed at the ongoing fight, noticing the flustered expression of Compass Carburettor, 'Even though that woman said otherwise, it doesn't seem like Compass Carburettor can win against this enemy. He knows a lot of things, so it'll be a loss to see him die here.'

'Besides, this enemy had attacked at a rather convenient time, as he wishes to hinder my investigation. Whether it's a Devil or a System, I'll solve the root cause of the issue.' Sighing for a moment, the teenager condensed a short sword in his hand, directing it at the burly man and activated it.

Being enveloped by the burst element, the short sword blasted off like a bullet and slammed into the burly man's shoulder, piercing through completely, stopping the other party in his tracks.

"You should stop for now." The teenager leapt, landing three metres away from the burly man.

"Who the fuck are you?" The burly man was clearly displeased about getting interrupted. And right when he noticed the teenager was about to speak, Compass Carburettor slammed a punch into his face, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Ah, that felt satisfying." He groaned, flinching as the pain was too much to handle.

"Weren't you pretty confident before?" The teenager looked in surprise, noticing that Compass Carburettor's wounds were harsher than what he had imagined while gazing from afar. A normal human would be writhing on the ground by now, on the verge of death unless operated on immediately. Even then, the chances of survival weren't high.

"I still am," Compass Carburettor spat out some blood in his mouth, "But, I have no way to determine this dude's abilities. So, injuries are bound to happen."

"Heh, are the both of you accomplices?" The burly man got up and dusted himself. He then condensed a choker, one that shone with mild light before beginning to heal his injuries.

This healing ability wasn't like Grisha's though. All it did was accelerate his body's natural recovery process, allowing him to get up as his flesh wounds formed scabs within a couple of seconds. He then pulled out the short sword lodged in his shoulder, glaring at the teenager.

His figure flashed before the teenager, activating his Skill as his hand shone with a yellow radiance. But, just as the teenager evaded the blow with superhuman reflexes, the yellow radiance expanded in range like a wave, slamming over a wide area, sending the teenager flying away.

The teenager condensed a sword while in the air and sent it flying towards the burly man, lodging it into his thigh, expressing anger upon being attacked.

Without any hesitation, Compass Carburettor jumped into the mix, using his energy blade to cut off a couple of the burly man's fingers, flashing away when the other party tried to retaliate.

…

In the Astral Network, within a certain private group, there was a flurry of activity.

[Power Punch (Level 4): Freaking dumbass, what the heck are you doing? Tell your damn Host to stop!]

[Conspiracy Slayer (Level 8): Refined idiot, as if you can understand my situation. I've barely managed to keep my Host's suspicions in check. I've warned you to not attack at this time, but you just couldn't listen, huh?]

[Power Punch (Level 4): Why the heck is it my fault? We had decided on a time to act and I had created a Quest for my Host accordingly. If I change it now, wouldn't my credibility as a System fall? He wouldn't perform my Quests wholeheartedly in the future if I change the contents as I please.]

[Conspiracy Slayer (Level 8): You could have added an Emergency Quest. That's the basic of basics as a System. Freaking fool. Just return to the System World and stop hindering my mission.]

[Power Punch (Level 4): Return to the System World? Look at this idiot…I don't have enough Mental Energy for that. Why don't you return? Huh? My Host would be able to kill that System Slayer on his own.]

[Conspiracy Slayer (Level 8): Just die if you're that poor!]