I Hate Systems

Chapter 417: First Clash in the Third World

Compass Carburettor began to walk through the desert, beginning his preparations. He first took a pair of armguards that were made using the Darlac energy blade, coated with a layer of Apocalypse Pearl.

He similarly wore a chest plate and a pair of leg guards. As each of them barely weighted 100-200 grams, he didn't even feel a thing. Even his clothes were heavier than them.

Compass Carburettor adjusted his clothes over them, ensuring they weren't revealed. This was why he wore slightly baggy clothes. As his Origin Essence would be sealed soon after, he had to take some measures to protect himself.

He took out two Dust Wave spheres, placing them within a hip pouch that he took out, created especially to house them. This way, the Dust Wave spheres would be shattered if he were to roll on the ground.

They were pretty fragile, due to their nature of use, as he had intended them to be while making. He didn't keep more than two, as indeed, they were fragile. So, having any more than two was an inconvenience while fighting.

After all, at the end of the day, even though they were powerful, he had to throw them. The Dust Wave had high lethality, but that was when he was actively controlling them. But now, they were akin to a smoke bomb.

He wasn't able to control in which direction the Dust Wave would spread. And, they were created to only be harmless to him. Everything and everyone else were fair game to its damage.

He then armed himself with a repeating crossbow for burst fire. He only needed to move its lever up and down to not only load the arrow in place, but also pull the string. This allowed him to lock and load the arrows nonstop while using his other hand, he could aim and launch them repeatedly.

The repeating crossbow was pretty compact and could be worn on himself without it hindering his movements. As for the final preparations, it was a first aid kin that he slung to the back of his hip.

He then wore a backpack which consisted of some food and water. The food mostly consisted of pills. It was the most efficient meant of energy to consume while on travel.

Awwwo!

The Claw Wolf began to whimper as it noticed itself growing weaker by the second.

"It's fine. You'll become even stronger once we leave this place." Compass Carburettor said, watching the Claw Wolf understand the meaning behind his words and continue walking through the desert.

Slowly, the figures of cultivators began to appear before them one after another. Even though they weren't many, a significant crowd indeed seemed to have known about this place.

'There's around two to three thousand people here.' He thought, noticing large rock pillars just out of the ground. There was a faint layer of water covering the ground. Surprisingly, it was crystal clear, shallow in depth, only knee-high.

Moreover, there was no wind in the region, preventing any sand from polluting the waters. There was a layer of stone below the water, preventing any from seeping underground.

The moment he arrived at the place, a faint tremor ran through his body as Compass Carburettor understood that his Origin Essence had been wholly sealed.

He then noticed the cultivators slowly waddling their way through the water before beginning to climb the rock pillars.

The rock pillars grew in size the closer to the centre of the region one got, with the central most rock pillar spanning a height of hundred metres and a radius of thirty metres.

'This will be troublesome.' He thought, noticing how only one cultivator was allowed atop the rock pillar. When a second cultivator tried to climb it, he grunted in pain as it seemed the region itself didn't allow that to happen.

Moreover, Compass Carburettor was able to sense the moment his feet touched the water that his mind seemed to have been opened to his body's senses, allowing him to clearly perceive his attribute of Mind, Frog, and Blood-Vitality-Grass.

This depth of perception was starling, making him understand that just by meditating in this place, his understanding of the three attributes would deepen a lot.

He then took a step forward, noticing a faint increase in the depth of perception. Thinking of something, he approached a nearby rock pillar, grabbing hold of its jutting proportions as he slowly climbed over it.

'This sensation is concentrated further in the rock pillar.' He thought as he felt a mysterious power coursing through his hands that were in contact with the rock pillar.

He probed around the rock pillars, understanding that the deeper he went, the stronger the training effects on the rock pillars.

"Dammit, is this my limit?" Suddenly, a cultivator nearby dropped to his knees, gasping for breath as he failed to understand what had happened. Realisation slowly hit him as he sighed in disappointment, proceeding to begin climbing a nearby rock pillar.

Wondering what was up with the man, Compass Carburettor approached him, "Friend, mind explaining what happened to you here?"

"Why the fuck do you care?" The cultivator snapped back.

"If it's a problem, I might be able to help you." Compass Carburettor said, "I'm a doctor, after all."

"Screw off! I have a weaker aptitude, so what?" The cultivator screamed and continued to climb his rock pillar, "Cocky talented bastard."

"Talent…?" Compass Carburettor was confused, looking around as he noticed people continuing to collapse to their knees one after another while complaining about their talents, potential, aptitude, limits, etc.

'What's even happening?' He was confused, feeling nothing of the sort.

After a while, he decided not to think about it and began to walk straight towards the centre. He would train there for as long as possible before heading off to other locations.

Slowly, he was the only one nearby, only able to hear muffled voices of jealousy from time to time. Soon after, even that vanished as he was the only person in almost a kilometre radius, having approached the centre of the Temperate Refinement Zone.

It was like he was in a constant state of enlightenment as Compass Carburettor was able to understand better ways to use his Origin Arts and raise the efficiency of their usage. Right at this moment of boundless inspiration, his ears twitched as he sighed, muttering, "Who are you?"

"You have some scary ears there, friend." A man with a large built wore a wide grin on his face as he revealed himself from behind the central rock pillar.