I Hate Systems

The gravitational flux continued to change as he added in other energy layers, eventually creating a barrier of flux that completely blocked all Mental Energy he generated.

'Hmm, that lady is cute.' He thought upon staring at a receptionist, watching his thought generate a stream of Mental Energy that flowed out of his head and intended to travel towards her. But, the stream slammed into the energy flux and dissipated.

Upon seeing that it worked, Earth Star continued to experiment for a few more hours before he conceptualised the ability, 'Now, I don't need to worry about the Contained Villain learning about my plans by reading my thoughts.'

But just as he was about to move out, he came across a guest that wished to use the services of the Hero Association.

It was a middle-aged billionaire who donned a pair of reflective sunglasses, sauntering before him as he passed by. But at that moment, Earth Star was stunned upon seeing his expression reflected by the pair of sunglasses.

There was a tinge of excitement there, subtle enough that most wouldn't notice but an expert actor would easily see through him. 'I almost committed a big mistake. The Contained Villain is a master actor. He would be able to see through my intentions based on my facial expression, body language, or even the mere breathing rate.'

"This isn't good." He sighed, "I had intended to overestimate his capability to avoid any slipups, but it seems even that is an underestimation of his actual capabilities."

"Are you getting the cold feet?" The dragon plushie sneered from the side.

"Shut up," Earth Star said once he calmed down, "Anyway, you should vanish for a while. He'll be able to notice some information from you too."

"I know," The dragon plushie said as it teleported him to the city-state of Nampur before disappearing, "Rest well for a few days. I'll come to pick you up the moment there are too many Invaders to deal with."

"I understand," Earth Star muttered as he entered the local Hero Association branch and approached the counter, displaying his ID to say, "I need accommodation for a couple of weeks."

"S-Sure," The staff was shocked upon staring at his ID card, observing that he was part of the Ranger Troupe, a legendary group of Heroes that were elites even when compared to the other S-Class Heroes, those that formed the top of their power order.

She punched the keyboard in a hurry before taking out a key, "Thankfully, one of our highest suites is vacant. Please stay there."

"No, just get me one that's like a normal household." Earth Star said, "I don't have time to leisure around in luxury."

"Gimme a second," Saying so, she hurriedly surfed through their database before asking, "We have a few apartments to our name in the residential district. Are they fine for you?"

"Perfect," Earth Star nodded, received the appropriate key, and exited the Hero Association Branch.

"Is he…?" The rest of the staff immediately converged around the staff, asking while staring at his back.

"Yes, that's Earth Star." The staff nodded, still feeling surreal.

"Kya! He always appears with a mask. I never knew he was this handsome underneath."

"His muscles…oh my god!"

There was a ruckus in the counter area as everyone began to discuss the visit. But, just when one of them was about to take a picture of Earth Star, the others hurriedly stopped him.

"What the heck? Do you want to lose your job?" Most of the staff glared at the individual, "We aren't supposed to do anything that might breach the confidentiality clause. Did you forget?"

"I'm sorry," The scolded staff slumped in response, "It is just that I've always looked up to Earth Star. He's my age but has accomplished wonders."

"Well, I don't blame you." Another staff sighed, "I was summoning all my willpower to not ask for a selfie. Alas, we can't do that."

Forming a sharp contrast to their enthusiasm, Earth Star was completely oblivious to everything he caused, the entirety of his focus on himself as he continued to think, 'How will I steal it? I probably won't have many chances to come into contact with him. If I intrude into his life suddenly, I would just alert him. So, how?'

He then stared at the flux barrier around him, 'Even though this is working, I'm using my power. The Contained Villain might not sense my thoughts anymore, but he would see my blatant use of power to shield myself.'

The more he thought about it, the more the number of faults he detected in his approach, realising just how viciously steep this mission was. The slightest mistake would cause him to fail.

And if that happened, he would lose probably the sole method to grow strong enough to face the Systems.

After all, based on what Stencil said, the wristwatch was the sole material available that could be transformed into one of the greatest weapons.

'It's something created using collective Consciousness that Hazen had discovered. And by being in this world, it has drunk our energy signature, not to mention being amplified by the Contained Villain's power.' He thought, sighing in the end, 'I had never expected that the foundation this world works on was stolen from the Contained Villain. Even our Hero Suits are manufactured from a device created out of the Contain Villain's fragment.'

Reality was often hard to swallow. But here, it was akin to a massive boulder that couldn't be swallowed by humane means. Despite everything, since he had prepared himself, Earth Star was resolved to see through this.

'After all, our world was about to fall under the grasp of the Systems anyway. The world would only have shifted to another power path but might continue to function the same, well unless, of course, the one to target us happens to be the Apocalypse System. But still,' He inhaled a deep breath before smiling as he stared at the sky to focus on the 24 Rings, 'The current setup is better. We share an intrinsic relationship with our creator who actually cares about our wellbeing.'

He hummed a tune before entering the apartment allotted to him, a normal two-bedroom house with minimal furnishing. He drank a glass of water when suddenly, his eyes widened in response, sparkling with an idea as he stared at the fluid within the glass.