Chapter 146 – Great Questions (I)

Chapter 146

Great Questions (I)

System is a prick; I decided on that much at least.

The same way it can give me a reward that grants another person a unique freakin’ physique, it could have given me a reward that does that to me. But it chose not to.

Because it’s a prick.

Okay, maybe not. It’s pretty much clear by now that the system’s job, as far as I go, is just to ‘maintain me’. It will help me here and there, but only so much that I can keep up with the disciples in terms of art making.

Its first and foremost purpose is to give me tools to raise monsters–and then, somewhere down the line, it’s to make me stronger. Though I’ve felt for a while that the only way I’d get strong is to, you know, literally do it myself, I still feel… peeved, at least a bit.

It’s sort of like child support, in a slightly selfish way, as Yas’s sis, Erica, used to describe it: Of course, she’d say, the kids need the money, and they’re my priority number one! But, and there was always a ‘but’ with these statements, you just know it. Why can’t I take just a few bucks and buy myself something nice? If I’m happy, I take better care of the kids…

Yas chewed her out so hard that day that the woman left our apartment in tears. And yes, she was getting alimony.

Some people, though…

Anyway, it’s sort of like that, but not really. Rather than taking away from kids, I’d just wish the system gave me some nice stuff too.

In fairness it actually did–that damn tortoise sitting in my robes has saved my ass, and it had even upgraded my cultivation by a minor realm. Not the tortoise, I mean, but the system.

Haah. It’s hard, you know? Before I know it, these kids will shoot past me, and, despite my very aged maturity, it’ll… sting.

“Give me.”

“AAAAH!!!” A ghost scared me a bit as I jumped; looking over, I saw Long Tao sighing, and I near flung my fist at his face… but stopped myself just at the last second. “Do you have to use the art?! Are you trying to kill me?!”

“I’m practicing.”

“Practice elsewhere! The world is so big!”

“It’s most fun here.” He was having fun; I just know it. And that’s fine–great, even… just not that it’s at my expense.

“What do you want?” I groaned.

“Give me the art you ‘found’ for her.”

“… why?”

“I’m curious.”

“Wait–how’d you even know I cr–found her an art?!”

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“Didn’t you have me beat her black and blue to figure out what art she could use?”

“…” yeah.

I kind of want to kick his butt, to be honest.