I Hate Systems

Zaira then helped the remaining four Magic Beasts, turning them all into humans as she didn\'t speak but transmitted a thought through Mental Energy.

[Repeat what I said!]

"Repeat what I said!" All six replied spontaneously, surprised at the voice that resounded in their minds.

[I\'ve changed your physique completely. So, you\'ll have to take your time to adjust and adapt to the changes. You only look human in terms of appearance alone.]

She then stared at them, announcing solemnly.

[You\'re like my children. There\'s this mysterious energy called Mental Energy that\'s produced through thoughts. Your current physical bodies are just shells to hold this mass of energy, since its nature ensures it can only exist in the mind. Therefore, it cannot exist on its own. But…]

She continued with a smile, grinning in response.

[When your physical body dies, you\'ll return to me. And, I\'ll be able to put you in another body without any issues.]

Hovering in the sky was Magister, having sensed the changes already, gazing at Zaira in shock to see that the Tiara he had created was now no more, turned into her power, \'I never expected something like this to happen.\'

His plan was to use Zaira to strengthen the Tiara that he would later use as a weapon to steal from Immortal. But, what he had never expected was for it to be absorbed by the individual he chose, and that too within two days since she was bestowed with it.

"Hmph, I\'ll extract it and find someone else then." He snorted, disliking when his plans went awry. After all, Zaira was deviating from the path he had set for her.

With that thought in mind, his figure appeared behind her, thrusting his hand into her heart, crushing it instantly to kill her.

But suddenly, Zaira\'s body crumbled into mana and dissipated, shocking Magister, "I…was fooled?"

Even the six Magic Beasts crumbled into mana and disappeared as for the first time in his life, Magister lacked a solution, expanding his senses throughout the world as he was strangely…unable to locate Zaira.

"How is this possible?" He frowned, wondering what was happening.

In the meantime, Zaira and the six Magic Beasts appeared in one of the worlds under Mystique, the world where people prayed to the statues of deities to gain power.

"Zaira, what…do you wish to do?" Yela asked, surprised when they hopped worlds all of a sudden. From thinking that there only existed one world to realising that there were other worlds out there, Yela was unable to curb her excitement, causing her to condense a parchment over which she wrote in a flurry, inscribing all her thoughts and emotions that she was experiencing.

"This is the only world where Mental Energy can be harnessed naturally. And, I wish to gain a monopoly over it." Zaira expressed her ambition, "Think of it as a desire fuelled by greed. I just…"

"Wish to see what that level is." She spoke, staring at everyone, asking, "Are you with me on this?"

"Definitely!" Yela was the first to express her interest, her hands not pausing for a moment, "This is hype!"

"This desire in me…" In contrast, Yifa stared at her human hands, asking Zaira, "Is that actually mine?"

"No, it\'s not." Zaira shook her head, "Mental Energy is generated by thoughts. And, as we consume it, we\'re shaped accordingly. So, depending on the type of Mental Energy we consume, our mentality changes accordingly. It\'s like consuming poison or medicine. We react and adapt accordingly."

"It means it\'s still mine, but I\'m only being influenced by what I consume." Yifa nodded, landing above a statue as she placed her hand on it, shocking the people kneeling before it.

Boom!

A subtle Mental Energy fluctuation rippled out of her hand before the Mental Energy within the statue churned in response, surging into her as a torrent, entirely devoured by her.

"I\'m…still feeling hungry." Yifa expressed her surprise as she licked her lips, opening her mouth as she unleashed a vortex, sucking in the statue and all the people in the place, digesting them instantly.

She sensed that her powers grew in potency, staring at Zaira as she said, "This urge in me is growing strong. I am wanting more and more Mental Energy."

"An urge, huh." Zaira nodded, staring at Yela to see the girl still writing as usual.

She then looked at a man, a Pseudo-Saint Minotaur wielding the powers of a Formation Specialist. Now, as a Magic Beast that had taken on a human form thanks to Zaira, he was able to extract energy from the world itself and convert it into Mental Energy.

Staring at him, Zaira said, "What\'s your take on this, Zodhar?"

With his extraction powers no different to plunder, Zodhar had a strong ability as he observed Yifa happily devouring the Mental Energy from the various statues. He then stared at the ground, landing on it as he placed his hand on it, gradually pulling it back like he was pulling a bow strong.

Forming a line, a mystical energy flowed out of the ground, thin but dense, hundreds of times denser than everything Yifa had devoured until now.

He pulled the energy like a string and caused it to flow into Zaira, "I\'ve lost my family, my friends, my comrades, and my sense of self. Now, you\'re the one that gave me an identity, of one that plunders everything from others, which is exactly what I\'ll do."

"It\'s a pretty singular motive, but I don\'t care beyond that." He then observed Zaira absorb the energy, asking, "How is it? That\'s the essence of this world."

"Impressive indeed." Zaira nodded, continuing to absorb it as she was able to feel the space in her mind stabilise further, allowing her to feel a stronger connection to the six Tamed Beasts.

As this was the world where Mental Energy was harnessed naturally, the essence of the world was beneficial for her development, allowing Zaira to grow enormously as she was able to harness her powers better.

As she was absorbing the essence of the world, Zaira muttered while staring at her six Tamed Beasts, each unique and unkillable in their own right, "It feels wrong to call them mere Magic Beasts."

She then looked at her hand, nodding as her eyes lit up, "Right, a more appropriate term would be…"

"Golden Finger!"