I Hate Systems

Chapter 72: Beginnings of the Secret Society (10)

The cloak covered by the forest leaves helped them camouflage in the forest terrain, allowing them to move in stealth to a certain extent. The forest wasn’t just filled with trees, but also had shrubs of various sizes and shapes. It was a dense overgrowth of a jungle, making even walking difficult.

But, since there were just the three of them, they were able to walk somehow by slipping through the gaps between the trees. And since they had to tread through such terrain, they were light on their clothes, wearing a simple cloth that gave them basic protection against insects and thorns.

That was all they wished to obtain since their priority was evasion. So, their clothes consisted of a whole fabric that covered them from head to toe, only keeping their eyes exposed. And, they wore a simple pair of spectacles atop it as protection, allowing them to move unhindered without fear of insects crawling into their clothes and giving them hell.

Forest insects were numerous and troublesome as heck. Hence, they took precautions against it first. As for the Grogar, they weren’t judged to be as dangerous as the insects. After all, the moment a Grogar sensed them, Compass Carburettor would be able to notice the Mental Energy stream from them, sensing their position immediately.

As for insects, it wasn’t guaranteed since the level of their thoughts wasn’t complex enough to generate a consistent Mental Energy stream. Compass Carburettor extended his index finger, watching an ant climb atop it and move over it for some time before climbing down naturally.

All along, it hadn’t emitted a Mental Energy stream. After all, to it, he was a colossal mountain of flesh that was beyond its scale of comprehension. So, it didn’t even think of him as a whole, a reason it didn’t generate any Mental Energy streams.

‘So, this isn’t an omnipotent ability. It does have its fair share of limitations.’ Compass Carburettor nodded, beginning to move through the forest terrain as he held an Armament in both hands. There were a couple more Armaments slung on his hip like keychains.

He wished to be prepared for any situation. And, since the underground had a couple of interesting energy blades, he took them with him, intending to use them accordingly. Primarily for attack and defence, he had the two Armaments—each with three States—gifted by Ephemella.

Other than that, he had three other Armaments, each of which had one State each. They were useful for a variety of situations. So, he brought them with him. Fealta and Caithy too brought three more Armaments each from the arsenal of the underground.

There was no reason not to use helpful tools for their mission.

After they travelled for around thirty minutes, Compass Carburettor suddenly raised his hand, crouching low as he pointed at a certain distance, muttering, “There’s a Grogar hiding behind that tree. It has noticed us. As for its head, it is at the top of the branch, silently staring at us through a gap between some leaves.”

For a moment, Fealta shuddered in fear, for the scene was just too scary. After all, the Grogar’s body was hidden behind the tree while its neck scaled up the tree’s stem and rested its head on a branch, hidden from view. Moreover, this branch was at a height of five metres from the ground.

This sense of disconnect and the way in which she was unable to spot the Grogar’s head despite Compass Carburettor pointing at the location scared her. After all, it meant the Grogars were experts in camouflages.

“What shall we do now?” Caithy whispered, feeling mild fear as she said, “Its head is positioned beyond the range of my long sword. I can’t hit it from here.”

“We’ll wait for some time,” Compass Carburettor said, “If we suddenly kill it, the other Grogars in the vicinity might be alerted. Considering the level of intelligence they possess, it is fair to assume this Grogar is a guard posted here. So, there should be another Grogar watching its position just in case of an ambush.”

“We’ll wait it out,” He continued, “Act like bushes. This is a game of patience. If we move haphazardly, we’ll be detected.”

From the start, they had moved slowly, cautiously in preparation for such situations. So, that’s why the Grogar hadn’t attacked them despite noticing something amiss.

Following his words, Fealta and Caithy positioned themselves comfortably, slowly moving to arrive at the position. Beyond that, they waited in silence, watching the figure of Compass Carburettor slowly become still until his presence assimilated with the surroundings.

It was appalling because even though they knew he was within the bush before them, they were unable to realise it while staring at him normally, as if there was a bush naturally positioned before them.

‘How did he do this?’ Caithy frowned, noticing many layers of mystery on Compass Carburettor. Fealta too wasn’t any different. At the start, they had just assumed him to be a spoiled prince from a distant kingdom. But the more they observed his actions, the greater the veil of mystery around him thickened.

‘Compass Carburettor, just who exactly are you?’

As for the person in question, he patiently observed the Grogar, staring at its head all along as time passed. One hour, two hours, three hours, time continued to tick past while he remained still, observing the Grogar, ‘They have the trait similar to snakes in that they can remain absolutely still. No wonder the Heroica Empire never bothered to hunt them. In this forested terrain, they are too dangerous.’

Slowly as time passed, the Grogar in question suddenly turned around, walking deeper into the forest as it seemed its shift time was up.

Compass Carburettor signalled the two servants, moving immediately as they trailed after the Grogar, knowing very well that it was heading towards its home, which might very well be located within the Dungeon or at least in the deeper parts of the forest nearby the Dungeon entrance.

This way, they needn’t waste time roaming the forest in search of the Dungeon. As the Grogar had completed its shift and was heading home, it walked at a slow pace.

But, Compass Carburettor shuddered, noticing that even when it walked, it appeared to be perfectly still in his eyes, as if it wasn’t moving.

‘This is difficult.’

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