I Hate Systems

"Kyak!" The woman screamed in shock as she tried her best to evade, but one of the shadow spikes still pierced through her gut. She got up in a hurry and leaped out of the window, rolling on the floor upon landing to cushion the impact as she rushed into the street, vanishing from view.

"Hah…haah…what the heck was that?" The man gasped in shock, tracing his fingers over his neck where a deep imprint of the lady's palms had formed. He was exhausted all over, feeling like he had aged by a year, "She's not human."

He then stared at the shadow spikes in gratitude, watching his shadow get up to form a shadow body, "Thank you for your blessings. I survived because of that, your Lordship."

"Anytime." The shadow body mouthed in response before it collapsed, reverting into his shadow.

The man sighed in relief upon seeing that as he got up and began to make his way out of the house once he gathered his bearings, "That crazy woman should be on the run. I managed to pierce a big enough hole in her gut. I should inform the nearest priest to chase and subdue her. Only then can I feel safe…"

He didn't manage to finish the sentence when a thick wooden stick slammed his head from the back, knocking him unconscious. The lady panted as she dropped the stick and collapsed beside the man, cursing as she clutched her wound, "Bastard, he was a believer of the God of Humanity. I underestimated him too much."

She then grabbed his neck and began to absorb his essence, expending it to treat her wound, watching her muscles squirm and gradually heal. Her expression was foul, "Dammit, I have to spend all the essence from him to heal from this injury. This puts a serious wrench in my plans."

"But anyway," She stared at his body that became no different from a sack of bones, "You truly think you could live after injuring me? The God of Humanity's blessing is potently powerful. But, the moment you calm down, the blessing vanishes. Had you faced a crisis before, you would have known about this defect."

"Unfortunately for you, because of your ignorance, you died and I won." She patted the sack of bones, watching it collapse into a pile of dust that she scooped into a paper flask and dumped into the nearby ditch.

She entered the house and groaned in exhaustion, watching the power of the Devil wane from her body, "Dammit, I cannot ask for another blessing for at least a couple of months since I used all his essence to heal myself."

Without an offering, she would have to wait a long time to be eligible for another blessing. It was unlike the believers of the God of Humanity that would instantly be blessed at the moment of crisis.

She cupped her fists in prayer, "I request you, God of Humanity, please grant me knowledge…"

"Ugh!" She grunted in annoyance upon failing to receive anything. After all, the moment she became the Devil's follower, she wasn't human anymore. After all, a normal human body was unable to store faith in it, no matter how minuscule the amount might be.

Her body had already been modified by the Devil through a blessing, which was how she was able to store faith in her stomach for extended durations.

The lady stared at her reserve of money, calculating, "I have enough to last me the next two months if I were to live a decent life. But, this means I have to save up from scratch once again after taking the next identity."

She sighed dejectedly, for this was why her life was miserable. Even before this, she had found the wrong target who happened to be a priest. As a result, her previous identity was injured severely, causing her to use up even the faith that she had collected until then to tend to her injuries.

To add salt to the injury, her previous identity became a wanted fugitive as believers scoured everywhere. That was why, after being in hiding for two months, the moment she came across the woman—her current identity—in a secluded alley, she targeted her.

She had no other choice. Otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen such a lacking identity. And this time, she once again made a bad choice, targeting someone that believed in the God of Humanity, the most troublesome of believers.

For despite lacking any priests, Spirits, etc. not to mention even a temple, believers of the God of Humanity gained blessings immediately upon asking for one, as long as they gained his favour. And a good fraction of those that prayed to him received a blessing.

Those that were in a crisis gained his blessing immediately, the fastest among all Deities. Hence, they were a troublesome bunch to face. Of course, the lady had ways to take them down, for one of the entities she had taken over in the past happened to be a believer in the God of Humanity.

It was through him did she come to know that the believer only gained a blessing when their heart rate was rapid. Moreover, it vanished once they calmed down. That was why she knew to wait around at the house and target the man once he calmed down enough for the blessing to vanish, instantly knocking him unconscious.

It was also through the believer—of the God of Humanity—that she had absorbed in the past that she gained the knowledge and experience regarding the use of medicine to strengthen and train her body the optimal way.

Of course, she had only targeted the most basic of believers, so she didn't gain much in the form of knowledge and experience. "But one day, I'll replace a powerful individual and become a Spirit successfully."

"That way, I can absorb enough lifeforce to maintain my youth forever and have fun with all genders and walks of life." The lady then began to plot accordingly.

…

Shukagat Town; having finished his talks with Pneua, Pnolli strolled through the town, taking in the sights of the place when he came to a halt, frowning, 'Another believer died right after getting my blessing. It seems the enemy is aware of the restriction of my blessing.'

His expression turned foul as he continued to walk, exiting the town as he carried a small bag of travel supplies and embarked upon a road leading to the nearest town, 'It seems I need to investigate the culprit myself.'

He then muttered, "Considering the distance, I need a ride."

He placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled, watching a deer exit the forest and approach him. Pnolli de-aged himself to a child to reduce the deer's burden as he climbed on its back and patted it, "Let's go."

The deer broke into a sprint immediately. As Pnolli, he couldn't use his power for himself, but that didn't matter, for he had plenty of experience to lure, tame, and ride an animal casually. Even as Pnolli, he was plenty capable.