I Hate Systems

"Good," Compass Carburettor smiled, gazing at the leader, "Who are the strongest among the lot of you here?"

"We have around thirty combatants at present. The strongest is…" The leader looked around in surprise, "Eh? Where's Rhizen?"

"Rhizen, Druvus, and Caithaleya are missing." The group of people muttered as the discussions grew in pitch.

"Alright, just forget about that for now," Compass Carburettor said before shouting, "Those who are confident of their strength can come forward."

When he said that, rows and rows of people walked forward. As he had already taught them the means to gain power in the apocalypse, those with healthy physiques formed groups to hunt mutated beasts and eventually gained power.

As it had been around 45 days since they arrived at the hill, quite the number of people had gained power. And among them, five had reached Stage 2. Though, since Rhizen and the group had left, that number fell to two, with the leader being one of them.

"Alright, follow me." Compass Carburettor said, picking some based on the Mental Energy streams he got from them, heading into the house of the leader.

He took a seat, with Grisha standing behind him, having remained silent all along. She sported a cold demeanour, emanating mild killing intent that caused everyone who looked at her to shudder in response.

This was what he told her to do. It was to increase the air of mystery around him.

"Sit here," He pointed at the chair before him, one that was made using a car seat, motioning for the leader to sit on it.

He then took out a small knife, giving it to the leader, also bringing out a tiny pearl-like cylinder, "Now, make a cut on your thumb and paint this with your blood."

"This…" The leader hesitated before gritting his teeth, doing as he was told. He understood that their lives were only going downhill with the passing of days. At least, thankfully for them, none of the populace had unleashed their beastly desires.

But, he didn't have any guarantee of being able to stop that any longer. So, he wished to obtain a means of hope. Moreover, for some reason, he was able to feel that he could trust Compass Carburettor.

Or rather, it was the same emotion that he had felt first, and that was to follow Compass Carburettor. It was the emotion of the commonfolk wishing to follow a charismatic leader.

And, Compass Carburettor indeed had those qualities, having been the head of the largest company on Earth.

"Guh!" The moment he painted the cylindrical object with his blood, the leader grunted as it gushed into his body, immediately pouring a vast stream of information into his mind.

A couple of minutes later, the leader gathered his bearing, flabbergasted as he gazed at Compass Carburettor, "S-Sir, what's…this? Is this…real?"

"Well, what do you think?" Compass Carburettor smiled, staring calmly.

"This…is real…" The leader gazed at the ground, clenching his hand into a fist, "It'll help make our lives vastly better."

He then looked at Compass Carburettor, "Sir, who exactly are you? How…do you know these things?"

"Guess?" Compass Carburettor smiled.

For a moment, the leader was in a trance before getting up as he bowed until his head almost touched the ground, "Whether you are the God or the Devil, I hope you continue to help humanity survive this apocalypse."

All Compass Carburettor did in response was smile, "Now, stand at the back. Once I bestow power upon everyone here, we'll take action."

"Yes, sir!" The leader nodded obediently and retreated to the end of the room, allowing another man to come forward.

He too followed Compass Carburettor's instructions, doing as he was told on another pearl-like object. And once he obtained the External Item, he too was as shocked as the leader, even tearing up in response.

There were a total of nine people among them. The leader obtained the External Item of Fortress. There was also the External Item of Watch Tower, one that would sound an alarm the moment the enemy trespasses into its territory, which spanned a range of a kilometre. It was something that could be customised to recognise allies and enemies.

There was the External Item of Cloth Store, one that would grow into a tree that houses countless bundles formed by a variety of fabric. The material ranged from cotton to even wool. Moreover, its stem grew various spikes that could be used as needles for stitching.

Two people obtained the Vitality Bowl, and for the remaining four, they received the Ballista, an External Item that shot forth an arrow—condensed by the burst element—onto the enemies automatically.

Just like every other External Item, its base too was formed by using the grass. So, it would have to be mounted at one location on the ground where its roots would plunge into the ground and suck up nutrients similar to plants and store up energy.

It would then condense this energy to shoot forth the arrows, had a range of 200 metres and was able to shoot once every ten seconds. It too could be customised to detect enemies, allowing them to target them automatically the moment they enter in range.

Nine people were equipped with the External Items as Compass Carburettor shared details regarding their functions, allowing everyone to tear up. Because, with this, all their immediate necessities were solved.

The Vitality Bowl was able to condense any medicine that they needed in liquid form. The Cloth Store produced cloth materials for them to make dresses, blankets, etc. The Ballista would protect them from enemies to a certain extent, allowing them to save up on pearls.

There was also the Watch Tower to alert them in the case any enemy infiltrated their settlement. And finally, there was the Fortress that would give them a stable place to live inside.

"Let's head towards the peak of this hill and set it up there.." Compass Carburettor exited the house as everyone followed him. He then gazed at the almost three thousand people huddled around, declaring, "Everyone! Watch the spectacle! This is the day your troubles would reduce greatly!"