I Hate Systems

Chapter 13: Watch in Trouble

Followed by a clicking sound, the door was opened from the other side as a guard looked at him, “Is something the matter.”

“Yes,” Compass Carburettor nodded, “The servants from before have taken two of my items that shouldn’t be washed. Can you make sure they aren’t washed?”

Upon seeing the guard continue to stare in confusion, he said with an urging tone, “Or, call them first. I’ll talk to them.”

“Give me a moment,” The guard called another guard to fill in his place as he hurried over.

Compass Carburettor used the chance to take a better look at him, spotting a cylindrical instrument strung to the side of his hip. It was similar in design to the ones used in the training grounds.

‘So, that’s probably the main form of weaponry in this world. How strong and effective are they, though?’ Compass Carburettor wondered as he waited.

Soon after, a servant arrived and made a formal bow towards him, “It seems the servants from before have committed a mistake. We’ll return your items shortly.”

‘They are probably wondering about what the watch is and the material my shoe and clothes are made out of.’ He thought, waving his hands, saying it was fine as he closed the door. He then arrived at the window once again, gazing out to see two soldiers standing a wide distance apart from each other.

Then, a wooden puppet walked from each side, standing next to them. It seemed they were controlling the puppets. And upon their signal, the wooden puppets sprinted, engaging in a fight.

The quality of wood was cheap as they seemed to be created with the intention to spar as training. So soon after, the wooden puppets began to form cracks, showing signs of breaking. They stopped the fight at this point as the two soldiers retreated with their respective puppets.

Soon after, another two soldiers walked out as their respective wooden puppets fought. For some soldiers, their puppets lost energy to fight mid-way, slumping down to the ground. The training instructor punished the respective soldiers, telling them to run two laps around the training ground.

After observing them for some time, Compass Carburettor concluded, ‘It seems everyone here has some form of energy in their body. Some use it to manipulate a puppet to fight for them while others wield it using that cylindrical instrument to create weapons to fight. And, wielding each type requires energy and they can sustain operation only as long as the energy in their bodies last.’

‘Quite an interesting method of operation,’ He nodded in thought, wondering, ‘But, it seems those cylindrical objects function as a handle of sorts while the weapon forms around them. But, is it possible to create guns using that? Or, does the created weapon depend on the type of cylinder used? I still don’t know many things about that.’

He continued to observe them until the evening when he was summoned by the servant. ‘This is probably another probe of sorts I guess.’

Thinking as such, he followed the servant, accompanied by a couple of guards on his front and back. As they held blades, his back felt like it could be pricked upon anytime, so Compass Carburettor was feeling a bit alarmed.

He didn’t have any guarantee that the guards wouldn’t swing their blades at him. Moreover, even while moving, he was still aware of his surroundings, intending to react the moment they proceeded in a direction that seemed less decorated.

Based on the documents and stories he had read, most castles were also equipped with dungeons to cage nobility or the like, sometimes even torture spies and criminals. Depending on the kingdom, the dungeons varied from a lock-up cell to the worst of nightmares.

He hadn’t summoned Anthozoa—his gun—or shown it to anyone yet. He didn’t know if anything like a camera or their equivalent existed in this world. So, he didn’t wish to reveal his trump card to anyone. Besides, summoning it was instantaneous. So, he could instantly condense it in his hand when he wished to shoot someone.

Though, there were only five bullets in it, since he had shot the sixth one at the portal. So, if his enemies were beyond five, he wouldn’t survive.

‘I have to learn this world’s mode of power first.’ Thinking as such, he ensured his face didn’t display any suspicious motions. He walked based on his character setting, following the servants to a door that was relatively normal-looking as compared to the throne room’s sprawling entrance.

Upon arriving at the door, one of the servants gently knocked using the door knocker, a ring-shaped item with the face of a human engraved at the end, forming a small protrusion to make it seem a bit realistic. It was still a miniature carving, so it wasn’t real.

The door parted way as a servant peeked from the inside, scanning the faces of everyone before nodding.

The servants that had accompanied him motioned at the door, “Please enter. Her Majesty is waiting inside.”

“Alright,” Nodding, Compass Carburettor entered inside, internally sighing in relief upon seeing that he hadn’t entered a cell or anything of the sort. It was a lushly decorated room with a table placed on one side, filled with a variety of food.

There seemed to be a dancefloor in the centre, attached to a balcony on the opposite side that overlooked a training ground. The training ground seemed different to the one he saw before. It contained numerous apparatuses to help in training.

The other end of the room was a study, adorned with books on the shelves that were arranged akin to a library. And placed beside it were a couple of chairs overlooking a table. Currently, the Queen was seated on the chair, wearing a monocle to help her read through a massive book with tiny letters filling up the pages.

She seemed to be searching for something. And upon seeing his arrival, she smiled a little, beckoning for him to come and sit before her. Upon seeing her hold his watch, Compass Carburettor smiled wryly.