I Hate Systems

"Yecha! Heal me!" A large-built man holding a hammer shouted in alarm, coughing out blood as a magic bolt rendered him immobile, riddling him with injuries. His armour almost became torn into shreds as he shouted in alarm, "What the heck are you doing, Gulhirm? Tank it properly!"

"I told you to deal conservative damages, didn't I?" The man addressed as Gulhirm retorted, bashing his kite shield as he endured the blow from a massive beast that was covered by hundreds of horns all over its body, emitting a pungent stench that corroded anything that touched it.

Gulhirm struggled to defend against the mighty blows as he screamed in alarm, "Leader! We need to retreat! This is an S-Class Monster. We can't fight against it."

"Endure!" The leader of the party said as her sword shone with a resplendent hue, condensing a mana blade that expanded in length upon thought, swinging towards the monster as dozens of its horns were severed, causing it to scream in pain.

The monster resembled a ball of yarn, covered by spikes as threads lashed out from time to time, hitting like a spiked whip. And when latched, it never let go as the spikes burrowed into the flesh, corroding everything.

Or otherwise, the monster resembling a ball of yarn would shoot out the spikes covering its body like bullets.

Bolgay, the large-built man with a hammer had been injured by one such attack. He panted a little, watching his injuries slowly heal as a gentle energy washed over him, causing him to sigh in relief, "It was about time, Yecha."

"Bolgay, don't just charge into the monster. I don't have enough mana to heal you all the time." Yecha retorted, sporting a pissed expression as her forehead was covered with sweat.

She was standing far away, out of range of the monster's whips as she healed her party members.

"If he gets injured within the next ten seconds, don't heal him, Yecha." An arrogant voice, containing a hint of laziness resounded as the lady next to her said. She held a staff, chanting a verse before unleashing a bolt of lightning that numbed the monster, allowing the damage dealers to attack better.

'I would be blamed for letting a teammate die once again.' Yecha thought, sighing internally as she observed the arrogance of the lady beside her, 'As a high-levelled Magician, Shokolah is always in demand by the other parties. And, she has a good track record since all she does is complain and attack from safety.'

'But, any deaths in a party would be blamed upon me.' Yecha was irritated, glaring at the large-built figure of Bolgay that charged straight at the monster, 'Retards like these are those that always die. Even if I have infinite mana, it's impossible to save such idiots.'

"Aargh!" Suddenly, one of the damage dealers, a lancer-wielding youth, the youngest of their party, screamed in pain as a whip landed on him, destroying his defences.

The spikes pierced through his skin, corroding through the region as he thrashed about, almost fainting in pain.

"Ferohar!" Yecha was alarmed as she hurled a beam of healing energy at the lancer-wielding youth, impeding the damage he sustained.

In this time, their party leader flashed towards his location, slashing forth to sever the whip as she kicked him in the stomach, sending him skidding towards Yecha, "Take care of his wounds."

Yecha nodded in response as she condensed a pair of hands using mana that grabbed hold of the thorny whip and pulled it out as a corrosive liquid gushed out.

One of the fingers in the projected hands moved as the entirety of the corrosive fluid was drawn towards it, seeping into the finger as it turned black.

The wounds on Ferohar, the lancer-wielding youth were quickly healed as Yecha was gasping for breath by now, having no other choice but to expend her mana nonstop all along.

Even though her current party was strong, their teamplay was messy as everyone just attacked as they pleased without any coordination.

Such an action only placed a burden on Yecha, their only healer, forcing her to heal everyone with no rest.

Just as Ferohar planned to re-join the fight, Yecha held him back, "I only have enough mana for emergency treatment now."

She then gazed at their party leader, "Ruruka, I'm almost out of mana. We need to make a temporary retreat."

"Hmm?" Ruruka slashed with a sword and leaped back, erecting some distance between her and the monster as she looked at Yecha in surprise, "You're out of mana so soon? But how? Aren't you five levels above everyone else?"

Yecha glared at Bolgay in response, not holding back as she said, "If I didn't have to heal someone every ten seconds, I wouldn't have even used up half my mana."

"I guess we'll have to end it here then." Ruruka sighed in disappointment as she signalled their retreat, suddenly condensing a terrifying sword beam that she lashed onto the monster, causing it to scream as it was sent flying.

This bought them a few seconds in time, using which all six party members rushed out of the zone where the boss monster appeared.

Yecha then took out a vial that would replenish her mana, eyeing Ruruka to ask her advice on the matter, for each mana replenishing vial cost a fortune, especially for the mana quality that was needed at her level.

Ruruka subtly shook her head, meaning that she planned to end their exploration at this point itself.

She then looked at the others, signalling their retreat, "The boss monster is only partially injured. It would recover by the time we return to fight it."

"Che, if only our healer was more competent." Bolgay snorted, clutching his hammer in annoyance.

Gulhirm, the Tank of the party nodded in response, gazing at the dents that appeared on his shield, snorting, "Let's return."

"You!" Ferohar the Lancer glared at Bolgay, intending to argue with him when Yecha held him back.

The party began to make their retreat, all while unaware of a mystical creature that was tracing their steps, absorbing something from the region itself.