I Hate Systems

"Hazen? Why are you...here?" A shocked voice resounded from within Conjurer. It was from Arnark that had conversed with Hazen before.

Obviously, it was because out of all the Main Characters, Hazen embodied the most fearsome power that Compass Carburettor had ever cultivated—sovereignty over the mind!

Therefore, when Hazen made an appearance at the location, both Immortal and Arnark were shocked, never expecting him to do so. It had to be noted that until now, Hazen never expressed support towards Compass Carburettor, not even once.

He only seemed intent on defending his birthplace, nothing else. But surprisingly, it was him that arrived to save Compass Carburettor at the moment his situation was dire.

A hazy figure manifested behind Conjurer before vanishing. A moment later, the figure of a youth appeared next to Compass Carburettor, accompanied by a truck driver.

It was Truck-Kun that brought Hazen to the place.

The moment he sensed Hazen's presence, Compass Carburettor was startled, "Where are the Main Character System fragments in your body?"

"Arnark absorbed them all." Hazen said, "Even I cannot stop them, since they were originally his. But it doesn't matter, since by using them, I already attained what I desired all along."

In an instant, Hazen transmitted all the necessary information to Compass Carburettor. It stated that, since Arnark was the first to become the Main Character System, even after the death of his physical body, his imprint remained in the Main Character System.

And these fragments constantly searched for potential hosts to turn into Main Characters. Though, with the trap laid by the Systems, the majority of them became System Slayers. But once in a while, the Main Character emerged.

And when they were killed, the Main Character System fragments in their body absorbed their Main Character traits, becoming empowered using them. It was Arnark actively evolving the Main Character System by absorbing those traits.

Moreover, it had to be noted that a majority of the Main Characters were killed by Slayer. Initially, it seemed that it was his attempt to maintain a hazy position and not incur Zaira's wrath.

After all, in Zaira's perspective, every time they had to kill the Main Character, too many Systems were killed as a result, crippling her foundation every single time. Therefore, if Slayer was willing to kill them just to appease her, she didn't mind leaving him alive for a bit longer.

This was how Slayer managed to survive despite possessing part of her power. As he never actively used that power and even took the initiative to kill the Main Characters, he was left alone, for he holed up in the Fantasy World for the majority of his life.

And he always expressed intense hatred towards the Main Character, being pretty vocal about his hate and inferiority towards Arnark.

But it seemed everything was just a ruse, one that had been maintained for millions of years, just for this moment.

Fool your allies from the beginning and for a long enough time that even your enemy would believe the same to be the case.

And it paid off large dividends here as Arnark absorbed all the Main Character System fragments from Compass Carburettor.

Even if Compass Carburettor had been the Main Character, the fragments of the Main Character System weren't truly his. Or rather, his imprint on them hadn't reached a sufficient enough depth yet.

If he remained the Main Character for one more decade or so, then all the Main Character Systems in him would entirely become his. That was why Arnark took action before that happened. This was also why every other Main Character died prematurely.

It was because Slayer killed them before their imprint on the fragments became strong enough to overrule Arnark's imprint, using their corpses to fuel the Fantasy World's growth. This was why Arnark was the highest levelled Main Character to date, reaching level 92.

Main Character—Compass Carburettor (Level 4)!

"This signals our end as the Main Character," Hazen concluded, unleashing a mystical power through his body to prevent the power of the Personal Fragments from being stolen. The Main Character System fragment forming them vanished, but the bare essence of their abilities remained and was absorbed by Compass Carburettor.

"You still retain the powers that have entirely become yours," Hazen said, coughing out a mouthful of blood, feeling the backlash of losing the Main Character System fragment in him.

As for Compass Carburettor, he was a puddle on the ground, unable to form his body as everything that he had worked on to build had gone up in smoke, stolen by Arnark.

"That doesn't matter much." Extending from the puddle was a human throat that vibrated to produce a raspy voice, "It's only power. I've lost it multiple times already. I can rebuild myself from scratch. But…"

A skull formed around the throat as it stared at the figure of Stencil, "My daughter takes priority. Can you help me save her?"

"What about that other lady beside her?" Hazen asked.

"Her too," Compass Carburettor said after a moment's hesitation, "It seems my daughter has grown close to her. So, if possible, save her too. But my daughter takes priority."

"Fair enough," Hazen nodded to ask, "Can you rebuild your body?"

"Give me a few minutes." Compass Carburettor said, "I need to integrate Domino's and Gahrat's essence completely. After that, I can reform my body."

"Take your time," Hazen said as he stared at the void, focusing on Conjurer, "Arnark's birth needs time too. And until it completes, we wouldn't be able to break past that fate barrier."

Following that, Hazen stared at Immortal, not saying anything. The stare lasted for less than two seconds, but it was enough for Immortal to know.

"I'm still alive and retain my power. If you want my help to save your genre, become my ally. This is your only chance."

"Thank you for coming to my help." Compass Carburettor said, hurriedly digesting his gains as the wriggly mass in the void began to gradually reshape itself into a humanoid figure. The power he obtained from Conjurer's world was still with him, retained as it had become part of his body, similar to Anthozoa.

That was why he still retained those powers. Though, if not for Hazen's interference, he might have lost everything as Arnark would wish to absorb his entirety.

"We're part of the parcel. So, the moment I noticed the problem, I called Truck-Kun and rushed here." Hazen sighed, "Though, it seems I was a tad late as Domino and Gahrat were destroyed, same for the Relic too."

He then patted the wriggling sphere, "Be ready once you're done stabilising your body. Remain in this blob-like form to fool the other. And when I give the signal, take action to save your daughter. We'll only get a small window of opportunity. Can you still wield Mental Energy?"

"I can," Replied Compass Carburettor as the blob forming his body continued to squirm while the attention of everyone was directed at Conjurer who was gradually getting erased and, in his place, Arnark was gaining control.

Slayer endured Zaira's fierce attacks while somehow protecting Arnark from the Grade 3 Systems too, burning up all the power reserves of his world. After he lost his status as the Main Character, no one paid heed to Compass Carburettor, one that seemed to have broken past all limits to break into the very genre that was labelled terrifying by even Systems.