I Hate Systems

'Should I devour master's powers?' Arnark seriously considered the possibility. He wasn't worried about Slayer's life, for he was only planning to steal his power.

And once he evolves, he could easily make Slayer even stronger than before. 'Moreover, Master is gradually losing his edge by being assimilated with the collective consciousness of all the worlds under him. This is just a repeat of the case with Conjurer.'

At one point in time, the Saint of Calamity was one of the most terrifying individuals to exist. He was so terrifying that despite not even reaching the peak of his world, he dared to scheme against Magister, the Genre Representative of all the magic worlds, and even won.

His schemes were by far the greatest. After all, it was because of him that the System Genre came to exist in the first place.

But, what happened after that?

The Saint of Calamity gained control of the Conjurer Profession and branched out from the Fantasy World to conjure worlds of his own to become a Genre Representative. That was where the problem lay.

For, the moment he connected with the first world he created, he lost his edge immediately. The minds of every single creature in that world combined to become a collective consciousness that merged into him, diluting his sharpness.

It had to be noted that the majority of the living beings in that world were animals, birds, fishes, and insects. None were sentient. The only sentient race was the humans that were few in number—as compared to the other living beings.

Therefore, the resultant collective consciousness was just a barely sentient entity, which was what Conjurer had become.

Following that, he went ahead and created more worlds. Following that, his development stagnated.

After all, that was how Genre Representatives were. They never pursued any active development but just passively managed things.

For the major Genre Representatives like Immortal and Magister, millions of worlds naturally fell under them. Or rather, they were birthed by such worlds.

But for Conjurer who had to create his worlds, there was no scope for external development. Every single world to strengthen him had to be created by himself. This means, as a Genre Representative, he never actively pursued that.

This was why in the span of time that the Systems took to go from being mere dregs to one of the greatest forces of the multiverse, Conjurer only managed to create a dozen underdeveloped worlds with marginal fate.

That was his sad fate, of a star that wholly lost its shine.

And now, Arnark had observed the same in Slayer too. Yes, the current Slayer was infinitely stronger than before. But, he had lost his edge too.

It had become apparent in their abyssal rate of development. Despite possessing the same powers as Zaira, Slayer hadn't even developed the elemental beings that he had planned before.

Currently, in the universe of the Fantasy World, there were now around two hundred worlds, all created by Slayer using his newfound powers. But what was the use?

They didn't amount to anything beyond strengthening the foundation of the Fantasy World further, since they were all connected to the professions.

But the side effect was Slayer becoming dull in response, just an overpowered one-dimensional entity.

So, Arnark harboured the thought of stealing the power of Systems from Slayer. 'But one good news is that this power had already diverged from Zaira's. It has already been assimilated with our world's power system and strengthened it further.'

He sighed a little in the end, shaking his head upon staring at a figure beside Slayer, 'No, this is better. Master has lost his edge and can no longer scheme against our enemies. But, he needs all his strength to be the guardian of our home.'

"Dad!" Suddenly, an excited shout resounded as a figure jumped into his embrace.

Instantly, Arnark's frown eased up, replaced by a smile as he hugged the figure and spun around, "Have you been eating well?"

"Of course!" Came the reply from a boy, barely a decade old, sporting facial features similar to Arnark.

"How did it go, Arnark?" Balveta arrived, holding another boy with a similar appearance. She was the mother of the pair of twins, Arnark's children.

"I didn't become Grade 2." Arnark sighed as he spoke, ruffling the hairs of his two kids as he stared at them, nudging them, "Go, play around now. We'll talk later."

"Okay!" His children said and ran away, playing around as they shot fireballs at each other.

If anyone else were to see them, their jaws would drop to the ground. After all, the pair of twins were already Pseudo-Saints. Moreover, they were Pseudo-Saints of every single profession that existed in the Fantasy World.

It was not to mention the fact that from time to time, faint shadows manifested around them in a protective embrace. They were the professions of the Fantasy World, recreated by splitting a part of Slayer's mind and power.

The existence of the pair of twins defied fate. Of course, they were the Main Character's children, after all. So, they were born with heaven-defying privileges.

"How…is that possible?" Balveta uttered in shock, "Then, what will we do now? You said you'll have to face Compass soon."

"Yeah," Arnark nodded, a bit sullen as he said, "The Invader System would be invading Compass's world soon. But, even with full preparation, it's apparent,"

"It'll die." He sighed, "And it seems it too is aware of that. So, its goal would be to wound him as severely as possible. Once I became whole, I realised that Zaira has planned to ensure that I would fight Compass right after that. But, without attaining Grade 2,"

He let out a breath of exhaustion, "I'm not entirely confident."

"You're…not confident?" Balveta's expression turned into one of despair, "But how? You've gained all of his power, not to mention the eleven Core Skills in your possession. After being worn down by the Invader System, how can you lose against him?"

"Lose? No, I'm not worried about that." Arnark shook his head, "You're not giving the Invader System enough credit. It'll be going at Compass with everything it got. So, even if he wins, Compass would be at the end of his line. And, I'm confident."

"If he manages to survive, I'll kill him. There's no doubt in that." Arnark said in confidence, clenching his hand into a fist, "I'm that strong after all."