I Hate Systems

"Wheeee! Hahaha!" Grisha laughed aloud, carefree, her expression brightening up as she latched onto the figure of Compass Carburettor like a koala bear, watching his wings flap constantly.

They were currently flying in the air, making a beeline towards Mount Craire. Thanks to their aerial advantage, they didn't have to worry about any enemies on the ground.

As for the ones in the air, the moment they targeted Compass Carburettor, he noticed their Mental Energy stream, using Directional Misalignment to throw their aim off.

With that, he quickly evaded their pursuit. Moreover, at times, Grisha used Directional Misalignment to throw off their enemies.

A month ago, her loyalty towards him was around the seventies. It was a natural amount considering how attached she had become towards him. But, she still had some insecurities and hesitation, a reason the loyalty had remained at that amount.

Based on his estimate, Compass Carburettor determined that a couple that had absolute trust in each other had a loyalty of 100 towards one another. This was the extent of loyalty one developed naturally.

And then there was the loyalty that stemmed on the territory of devotion, such as what soldiers had towards their country in the past.

The loyalty in such cases surpassed a hundred, to some extent even reaching 300 in the cases of a cult, which was a shocking amount.

As for Grisha, once she remembered her previous loops, her loyalty towards him exploded like a volcano. He was unable to understand the cause and confronted her, asking for the reason.

And in response, Grisha just stared at him with a peaceful expression. Even for an expert actor like himself, he was unable to judge the emotions behind her expression.

As for the loyalty, it was currently around 270, a whopping sum.

And, when he gave her a choice for the abilities she wished to be Bestowed upon, Grisha picked Secret Society and Directional Misalignment.

The prime reason for picking Secret Society was to obtain a means to gather Mental Energy. As long as Compass Carburettor made her a node, Mental Energy would flow towards her from the other members in this world.

And, she would be able to use that to activate Directional Misalignment. Otherwise, solely relying upon the Mental Energy generated by oneself—through thoughts about self—would make the ability too weak.

Only with enough Mental Energy as fuel would Directional Misalignment be potent enough.

"We're at Mount Craire." Compass Carburettor spoke after some time had passed, gazing at the deathly scenery below, shuddering for a moment as he said, "Can't we arrive here after daybreak?"

"It'll only appear during the middle of the night." Grisha said, "In that loop where I obtained it, I was running through this forest due to a group of insane men that were chasing after me for…you know...obvious reasons during an apocalypse."

She seemed to be recalling her experience, stating after a couple of minutes, "Drop me here and leave this place."

"What? No, I can't do that!" Compass Carburettor shook his head, "That's too risky."

"Only in such a case would it appear. This mutated beast is a freaking coward that only preys upon weaklings, despite its strength." She said, consoling him, "Relax, I know what I'm doing. I won't die. I have Directional Misalignment to use in such cases. That's why I picked it, after all."

"Alright, keep talking to me constantly through telepathy. I'll swoop in to save you the moment the situation turns dangerous." Compass Carburettor said in worry, gently dropping Grisha at the pointed location.

Upon seeing him take off towards the skies, Grisha took in a deep breath, taking out a knife before making cuts all over her body.

Immediately, she felt countless Mental Energy streams gush into her, shuddering for a moment. Even after countless loops, this place still gave her a horrifying feeling. For, it was dominated by a certain species, scary in nature…

Leeches!

Grisha quickly began to run through the forest trail, beginning to put on an act where she was crying in pain.

Within ten seconds, a leech jumped onto her, latching on her leg, sucking in her blood at an alarming pace. It immediately caused her to feel light-headed due to the blood loss.

But, she didn't stop, continuing to run as she relied on her abundant experience, also sensing the position of the various leeches through the Mental Energy streams they generated as she evaded them on time.

Only one leech had landed on her, a calculated risk that she deliberately instigated.

In the silent forest where not even wind blew, there were the sobbing sounds she released, alerting every leech in the vicinity. It was not to mention the scent of blood that they could feel, causing them to slither towards her.

'Where are you?' As she ran through the territory of the leeches, Grisha's eyes constantly darted about, trying to find any familiar traces.

"Noooo! Stop…uwyak!" As she continued to run in such a fashion, her stamina dropped to subpar levels as she panted, her footsteps wobbly, apparent that the blood loss had weakened her severely. And just on time, when it looked like she was really about to faint, something exited the ground, caught onto her leg, and dragged her underground.

And for some reason, the leech sucking blood from her leg automatically let go of its hold, landing on the ground as it danced eerily, gazing at the hole that had formed before it.

"What…just happened?" Grisha looked weakly, flashing the flashlight that she had brought. She had been using that to run through the forest path.

"Kyaaaa!" Immediately after, she gazed at a serpentine figure that lay on the ground before it, with one end of its body around her legs, having partly swallowed it.

The size of the serpentine figure seemed endless as it resembled a rope that was randomly tied in every which way in a room.

"Save me!" Grisha screamed, hitting the creature in a futile attempt as her attacks barely scratched it.

And in response, the creature swallowed until her knees, encroaching further and further when suddenly, its body stopped moving.

Skill—Directional Misalignment (Level 1)!

She then took out Compass Carburettor's Anthozoa that she had brought with her, unloading all bullets on an inconspicuous part of the serpentine creature's body, gasping for breath as she fainted immediately after.