I Hate Systems

"Ouch, that darned leader of Secret Society poisoned me before death. Curse you, Domino!" A middle-aged lady that looked like she was in her late twenties cursed in rage, "I should have tortured you before killing you!"

"Don't lose your cool! Treat yourself first." The Bandit Boss said with a mild fluster, "You are the only one among us that knows how to implant a Warble. So, we can't afford for anything to happen to you."

"Fine," The middle-aged lady calmed herself, suddenly gritting her teeth before saying, "But, ensure that Regriel is killed. It seems Domino has gifted him something. If he survives, our plan might go awry."

"Relax, the Warble is already in our hands." The Bandit Boss laughed, "So, we don't need to worry about anything. And this place is surrounded by our men and the Haggons never venture here. So, it's an impregnable fortress."

"I sure hope so…"

'So, that's how it is.' The Slave Harem System thought, hearing the contents relayed through the Mental Energy stream. As the two were conversing about Regriel, everything they spoke of was relayed through to the Slave Harem System.

After all, the mind had to first generate the thought before the mouth articulated them into words perceivable by one's olfactory senses. And thoughts were what generated Mental Energy. Moreover, a System was able to completely perceive the thoughts, unlike a System Slayer that was only able to perceive the emotions behind the said thoughts.

That was one of the differences between the two entities.

But, the Slave Harem System didn't simply decide based on the thoughts of two people. It also scanned through all the Mental Energy streams related to this incident, concluding, 'It seems she's the sole person with the means to implant Warble into a person. If I get her, I won't have to waste any more Mental Energy to buy the respective knowledge, teach it to one of the harem members, and then use them to implant the Warble on Regriel. Bringing her into the harem is the fastest and most efficient method.'

It then calculated the risks, deciding, 'Alright, even though the Mental Energy expenditure would be higher to transport one more person, it's cheaper and less time-consuming. After all, once Regriel has Warble, I won't have to waste any Mental Energy trying to save him. If he dies, he dies. The harem members would revive him shortly after anyway.'

It then generated a Quest, transmitting it to Regriel right as he arrived in the midst of the Bandit den, positioned in a pose where he had expected his death, also shouting accordingly.

<Ding!>

[Quest: Enslave the bandit mastermind]

[Quest Details: The mastermind is a peerless beauty and the only person with the knowledge to implant the Warble into you, the ultimate treasure of the Great Megwest Empire, the treasure that allows one to revive without limits.]

[Rewards: Successful implantation of the Warble]

As they were short on time, the quest details were directly transmitted into Regriel's mind instead of showing it before his face like usual, allowing him to understand the contents instantly and swerve his head to look at the duo before him.

There was a small platform situated beside a cave's entrance. Positioned atop it was a large wooden chair, and seated on it was a middle-aged man that seemed to be gaining in on age. He had a sharp aura to him that seemed odd for a bandit to have.

But at a second glance, it was apparent that only such an individual would dare to plot against a hidden organisation like Secret Society.

Seated on a stool beside him was a middle-aged woman, having bandaged her right arm and left thigh, seemingly having been injured. But, their mild twitching dictated that she had been poisoned and had yet to recover, being unable to move for the time being.

The moment Regriel laid eyes on her, time seemed to have slowed down for him as his senses became incomparably sharp. And, his heartbeat began to accelerate when a thought popped up in his mind, 'How could someone be this beautiful? Is this level of beauty realistically attainable?'

In an instant, he was enamoured by the middle-aged lady when the thought popped into his head, 'Wait, isn't she the target that I have to enslave? Wow, amazing! Does that mean…I can…with someone like her? Dayum!'

<Ding!>

[Activating Overdrive]

The System notification brought him to his senses as Regriel could feel intense power welling up from within him. He used Minor Healing to see that his wounds healed within a second, watching the two people before him become startled at his presence.

He quickly observed a Darble Horn carefully held by the middle-aged man like it was dear to him, understanding that it was the treasure he was supposed to obtain, opening his mouth to utter, "That's my treasure you have in your hands!"

"Fuck! From where did this bastard pop out from?" The middle-aged man bellowed, "Bastards! There's an intruder here! Kill him!"

In an instant, numerous energy blades popped out from the nearby bushes, as if the people were ready to attack all along.

Even though he was startled, Regriel heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing all the energy blades being blocked by the spherical barrier that he had instinctively erected around him, thinking, 'I see, so if I become a Transcendent, my Warrior ability is to create spherical energy blades. That's pretty amazing!'

The energy blades impacted him one after another as the force behind their expansion tried to send him flying in various directions. But, since most of them originated from behind him, they sent him flying towards the middle-aged man instead, startling the other party.

'Yes!' The Slave Harem System rejoiced, having already activated Coincidental Luck, noticing it begin to take effect, 'This spatial jump cost me 53 Mental Energy. And now, the longer Regriel wastes time, the more Mental Energy I have to expend. Alas, I don't have anything else to do. Simply pressuring him would only cause him to cave in. At least, the target's beauty already captured him. So, he's bound to finish his job perfectly.'

[Mental Energy: 144]

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