I Hate Systems

Warble!

It was an item/power wherein the user condensed their entire existence into an unbreakable Darble form. Even if their physical body dies for whatever reason, as long as the Warble was placed on the forehead of a living being, by consuming the target's body, the user would return.

The user would be able to control the age of their physical body during their return. As a result, it was a perfect disguise.

Eugene was a middle-aged man. But if he so desired, he could place his Warble on the forehead of some cattle and be reborn. While doing so, he could fix his age, whether it be to appear as a middle-aged man, an old man nearing the end of his lifespan, a teenager, or even a child.

He could appear at any point in his lifespan. Just the fact that he could revive through Warble opened the doors to all sorts of possibilities, with eternal life being just one of them.

"This is absurdly great but also terrifying." Sighing as such, he closed his eyes and sensed a mysterious platform. It was a hazy environment where people walked to and fro, resembling a marketplace.

The fifth core power of Secret Society—Darble Network!

It was a replica of the Astral Network. In the Darble Network, they could buy and sell information, items, Transcendent Skills, etc.

Eugene had the Transcendent Skill of condensing a sword with its unique capabilities, something he had trained and refined all his life. If he wanted, he could sell it.

As long as others purchase it, they would be able to replicate the same feats as him themselves. Similarly, Eugene could purchase other Transcendent Skills to raise his battle strength. Of course, since the Darble Network had just been established in this world, none were selling anything.

They were just exploring the place like Eugene.

Just like how Mental Energy was the currency used in the Astral Network, the Darble Network used Darble as currency. It was where the last core power of Secret Society came into effect, one to maintain the economy and cohesive functioning of Secret Society.

Darble Dungeon!

Eugene felt a tiny space in his body, a mysterious dimension that was empty at present. It was a space meant for his development. He could store foreign objects within it and take them with him while traversing to other worlds.

But its primary use was to store Darble. Eugene observed himself, tallying once his stamina was completely consumed to generate Darlac.

While having lunch, he made a note that he had over three thousand Darlac. It was impressively high, but when considering the fact that he was one of the strongest in this world, it wasn't much.

Even so, this was just a display of his stamina.

Eugene consumed a thousand Darlac and condensed it in his Darble Dungeon, creating a fist-sized crystal.

It was one Darble.

The Darble hovered in the Darble Dungeon's void. Eugene then consumed another thousand Darlac. But this time, he didn't condense it into a rock form but layered it at the bottom of his dungeon, creating a thin floor.

Over time, he would be able to accumulate more and more Darble within the Darble Dungeon to create an entire landscape, full of mountains. And as its foundation continues to increase, the volume of the Darble Dungeon itself would continue to increase.

The size to which he could grow his Darble Dungeon was entirely limited to himself. And by bringing in external items like water, animals, insects, soil, etc. Eugene would be able to create a functioning environment.

But the Darble Dungeon's core function was economics. By focusing on it, Eugene activated his Puppeteer ability, condensing a puppet form of himself within the Darble Dungeon.

The puppet picked up the fist-sized Darble and began to hammer it. Darble was a resource with plenty of use, especially in terms of engineering to create a variety of Artifacts.

And in the Darble Network, one could sell the manufactured Artifacts for a variety of purposes. It allowed the Secret Society members to be equipped to deal with a variety of scenarios, making them as versatile as possible.

Telepathy, Darlac Transcendence, Haggon Form, Warble, Darble Network, and Darble Dungeon; combining all six core abilities allowed the Secret Society to function seamlessly, as, despite their differences, their loyalty towards the goals of Secret Society was absolute—as Compass Carburettor dictated.

Days turned into months as all members became familiar with all functions of Secret Society. As they were all elites of their world, they wielded significant power and authority.

With that, they began to investigate into individuals that changed overnight, gained powerful abilities, became overpowered, etc. Soon, by cross-reference, they made a list of individuals and then dispatched their subordinates to test these individuals.

[Name: Ryutaro]

[Characteristics: Lacks defining characteristic traits but is a chick magnet. His growth is exceptional, as within two months of appearance, he has climbed all the way to become an S-Rank Adventurer.]

[Details: God-Sword System, level 31]

[Skills: Octagonal Slash, Flying Sword, Hidden Stab, and 200 more…]

"More than 200 Skills…" Eugene muttered as he stopped running on a treadmill—an Artifact that functioned by consuming his Darlac—that was whirring at speeds surpassing 400 kilometres per hour.

To improve his stamina, Eugene ran on the treadmill for a few hours daily. He also performed other activities while eating copious sums of food, most of which were produced in his Darble Dungeon.

The space currently spanned a cubic kilometre in volume, planted with trees that had a high yield of fruits. Two puppets were in charge of farming and preparing food.

One puppet was in charge of creating Artifacts, one puppet researched Darble Circuits, and one puppet researched data collated about System Hosts.

Five puppets were working constantly in the Darble Dungeon. The final puppet was shaped like a housefly as it roamed the outside world and spied on the people to gather more data. By now, Eugene had gotten used to controlling all six puppets at the same time while also moving his body.

All Secret Society members were researching various methods to raise their Darlac reserves faster by cooperating to produce Artifacts that could stimulate their stamina better. It was the same for training their mind too.

Thanks to their voluminous stamina, none were tired even after working for a month nonstop. Once they swallowed a truckload of food in their Haggon Forms and returned to human forms, Darlac was constantly produced in their body, enough to sustain a life without rest.

Darlac: 4421!

"Hmm…" Eugene considered for a minute as he stared at his body, thinking as he replied in the Darble Network.

[I'll take care of Ryutaro. I need two assistants to finish the task smoothly.]

Immediately after his comment, two replies arrived spontaneously.

[I'm in the area, I'll assist.]

[I'm the one who researched Ryutaro. So of course, I'll also participate.]

[Great, I'll be there in an hour.]

Saying so, Eugene disconnected from the Darble Network as he completed his preparations. He then brought in a cow and stared at it before yanking out his Warble. He placed it on its forehead and fainted as his body began to rot.

The cow grunted once before losing consciousness as Eugene took over its mind. Its body morphed and shed excess fat as a human male, aged 12, emerged.

Inspecting his appearance, Eugene muttered, "Great, I don't look even the least threatening."

After taking a bath, he wore a set of clothes and connected to the Darble Network. His figure vanished and reappeared next to a Secret Society member hundreds of kilometres away.

They couldn't travel to other worlds as Systems did through the Astral Network, but the Darble Network allowed them to travel to fellow members within their world.