I Hate Systems

Squee!

A bird's cry resounded as it flew through the air, heading towards a hill that was situated in a field of grass. Also connected to the hill on one side was a small range of hills, with the region they covered bereft of the layer of grass.

And on here, there were signs of human settlements, with the general living quarters being their cars. But, having learnt their lesson, the residents had begun to make wooden constructs higher up the hill, establishing a crude settlement.

After all, the cars forming a ring at the base were pretty wrecked, sporting large claw marks that ripped apart the steel.

It was currently nighttime as the bird arrived above a certain wooden house, landing on its roof before beginning to tap it, making a certain knocking sound.

Kat-Katak-Ka!

Kat-Katak-Ka!

It seemed to be a code as the person within slowly walked out, looking around to ensure there were no prying eyes on him, extending his hands as a chit and a pen were dropped by the bird.

It was Rhizen, his expression mildly worried as he looked through the letter hurriedly, heaving a sigh of relief before writing a reply, "Thank goodness."

"Be a bit more patient, Chenger. I'll be there soon." He muttered before entering his tent, gazing at the two individuals seated there, "It's time we take action."

"Are we finally killing that damn frog?" The teenager—the one that had followed Compass Carburettor—said in relief, "It has grown into such a fearsome foe in the past month."

"Are we finally leaving this damn place?" The other person in the room, a lady in her early thirties spoke, her expression cold.

"Yes, Caithaleya." Rhizen nodded, "I've already relayed the information to my girlfriend. She's making preparations in our villa. It is by far the safest in our present condition, not to mention that it is equipped with everything we need."

"Let's get going then." She spoke, getting up with a start, glancing at the teenager, "What about you, Druvus? Have you become attached to this place?"

"Well…" Druvus, the teenager hesitated, stating, "I was hoping that mysterious man would return at least once."

"Didn't he vanish on the day we arrived here? He could have been killed by a mutated beast." Caithaleya snorted.

"You sure about that?" Druvus retorted, clearly displeased with her attitude, "He's the one that saved all of us and made it look effortless. If not for him, you would have become a Grassmen by now."

"Hmph!" She snorted, turning around, unwilling to argue with him anymore.

"Also," Druvus said in all seriousness, "I've seen him fight. It's not something I am able to replicate even after reaching Stage 2. And he did this on the very day the apocalypse had begun. Moreover, those one-horned mutated beasts that you struggled against before, he killed them all in one hit."

"Let's leave it at that," Rhizen interjected, "There's no use worrying about that now. Staying here is safer, for now. But, we don't know what the future has in store for us. Besides, there's nothing of comfort here, not to mention medicine and other basic needs."

"Fine…" Druvus said, glancing at the side as he commented, "I'm sure our lady actress here would love to get her hands on beauty products more than food and water."

"The products I used before cost more than your family's annual income." Caithaleya mocked, "And, maintaining beauty is different from hygiene. You seem to lack both though."

Upon seeing the two bicker once again, Rhizen controlled his headache before saying, "Let's not waste time. Check your equipment and your bag of pearls. We'll depart in ten minutes."

Saying so, he exited the log house, sighing as he clutched the ice pick in his hands. It was a product of his second ability, ones he stored in excess, serving as his prime means of attack. Moreover, coated on their tips was the poison his scorpion tail produced.

So, it was potent enough to even kill mutated beasts in a single hit. That was how he prevented any wastage and continued to gather more and more pearls. At present, he had a spare of 50 pearls in his hands.

"This should be enough to kill that frog." He muttered, smiling as he could feel the changes in him, "I feel like I am close to attaining it…"

"We're ready," Druvus said as he accompanied Caithaleya, exiting the house, all geared up. They were already wearing all their gear, so all they needed was to make a tally of things so that they could coordinate their attacks in advance.

Under the cover of the night, the trio calmly reached the edge of the settlement before exiting it through a gap in the fence Rhizen had created.

"Stop, boulder ahead. Move diagonally to the left. There's a tree four metres away in that path." Caithaleya constantly directed them the way to move as she had her eyes closed. There wasn't any moonlight today, but she was able to make them move accordingly without trouble.

That cause was the brooch on her chest, an item that she had condensed. It originated from a one-horned bat that she killed. The brooch was dark grey in colour, sporting a design similar to a bat's open mouth, spanning the size of her thumb.

Through it, Caithaleya was emitting waves of the burst element, allowing the generated forcefield to clash with every object along the way and be reflected back at her. It worked similar to a sonar, allowing her to map out her surroundings and guide everyone perfectly.

Soon, they reached the foot of the hill, arriving before a large mound that shielded the view from beyond. Hiding behind it, the trio took in deep breaths as Caithaleya whispered, "The frog's still here, in the same place as usual. Since your poison isn't that effective against it, what do you suggest we do?"

"Bombard it from the air while I engage it in close combat. Use the large flashlight so that I can see and fight without trouble." Rhizen spoke.

"Alright," Druvus nodded before swallowing two pearls, condensing a pair of wings behind him and a hand-canon that he held. Caithaleya latched onto his back like a bear, watching him take off to the air.

"Don't blush in the middle of the battle." She whispered in his ears.

"Then stop using that husky voice on me!" Druvus groaned in protest, soon arriving at a position of twenty metres in the air, following Caithaleya's instructions as he hovered above a frog, firing his attack.