The moment Slayer snaped the straw doll in half, the vicious creatures that swarmed him exploded in a pool of blood. Their blood formed a tidal wave that streamed into the straw doll, turning it crimson.
The straw doll seemed alive now as it stared at Aronaut, opening its mouth to unleash a baleful scream.
"Gah!" The whites of his eyes were displayed as Aronaut almost lost consciousness. The screech of a baleful spirit resounded as the crimson doll appeared in his mind, rampaging around as it devoured any memories it came across.
But immediately after, Aronaut calmed down, regaining consciousness as mystical chains wrapped around the crimson doll, corroding it as all the devoured memories returned to his mind.
Aronaut had transformed into a Witch himself, erecting countless mirror-like barriers around himself to protect against Witchcraft.
"You've truly absorbed everything I've imparted to you, Aronaut." Slayer smirked in response, watching Aronaut fare against him pretty well, "You've been mastering multiple professions just as I taught you."
"Why…why are you doing this?" Aronaut was still unable to digest this fact, "You've taught me all the ins and outs of being a System Slayer, allowing me to gain multiple Personal Fragments and Core Skills. Was that all for vain?"
"It wasn't in vain, you see." Slayer said, sighing a little as he shook his head, "We were planning to talk to you regarding it after this session with the Slayers ended. Had we talked, you would have been convinced into joining us."
"Unfortunately, that didn't happen." He shook his head.
"Then let's talk now," Aronaut said, keeping his guard up, but unwilling to fight the other party. Even though he was faring well until now, he didn't have the confidence in winning against Slayer.
After all, the sole System Slayer to date that had killed and refined a Grade 2 System was Slayer.
Though, he didn't actually kill a Grade 2 System, for their true bodies always remained in the System World.
Instead, Slayer went through with a roundabout method, killing all the Grade 1 Systems of a genre before steadily raising all their Core Skills to Level 99. Following that, he allowed them to reform in his mind and fuse together, resulting in all the Core Skills combining to become a Grade 2 System.
Slayer immediately destroyed its mind, absorbing it into his Relic, following which he gained possession over a Grade 2 Core Skill.
It was through it that Slayer was able to create Systems of his own. Of course, he had to capture some weak Systems first before he modified them into the type of Systems he needed. He couldn't control the Coordinates like the Main Character.
The reason Aronaut was able to have more than ten Core Skills, a System Slayer's limit, was thanks to Slayer. And, he was aware that as the oldest System Slayer, the majority of Slayer's Core Skills were at level 99.
This was not to mention his Grade 2 Core Skill which was on a whole other level. If that was used, then Aronaut would die instantly. Hence, he wished to talk, as much as possible and hope to avoid this conflict.
"Why are those other five on your side? Aren't they the same as me?" Aronaut said.
"Well yeah, they are the same as you, Aronaut." Slayer nodded, thinking for a good couple of minutes before he spoke. During this duration, there was still silence as all System Slayers gulped nervously, hearing the sounds of their hearts thumping in their chests.
"Let's start from here…" Slayer muttered before staring at Aronaut, asking, "You know the fact that any System Slayer that reaches level 50 has a chance of becoming the Main Character, right?"
"Yes," Aronaut nodded, "When I reached level 50, there was already a Main Character. Hence, I didn't become one and remained a System Slayer."
"Then, what about when that Main Character died? Shouldn't your qualifications automatically turn you into the Main Character?" Slayer asked, staring with a smile, "Why are you still a System Slayer then?"
"This…" Aronaut turned silent. He had wondered about it many times but only thought that he didn't have all the qualifications to become the Main Character. After all, when he learned about what the previous Main Characters had done, he realised that he wasn't even the least similar to them nor as flashy.
"That's where you're wrong." Slayer seemed to have predicted what Aronaut was thinking, saying in all seriousness, "As long as you have a Main Character System fragment in your body, it means you have the qualifications already. Only those with the traits of the Main Character obtain a Main Character System fragment."
"It just doesn't make sense." Aronaut frowned, "I have three Personal Fragments, dozens of Core Skills, and almost a hundred System Fragments. Why haven't I become the Main Character despite all that?"
He then stared at Slayer, "And most of all, you've existed since the start. Why didn't you become the Main Character?"
"Because my story wasn't interesting," Slayer said casually, confusing everyone that was hearing him.
"What the…?" Aronaut stared incredulously, "What the heck does that mean?"
"There are four actual qualifications necessary to become the Main Character." Slayer said, raising his index finger as he said, "First is to possess a Main Character fragment."
"Second is to be aware of the trap created by the Systems in System Slayers. This is something you must figure out on your own. If it was told to you by someone else, you lose the qualifications immediately." He raised his middle finger.
"That's it…" The eyes of all the System Slayers here widened in surprise, for those that were at Level 50 and beyond now, Slayer had informed them in the past about the trap laid out by the Systems. Thanks to that, they lost the qualifications to become the Main Character.
Slayer then raised the ring finger, "This is something no one ever thinks about. But, they should have been the protagonists of their world."
"But, haven't we all been that?" Aronaut frowned.
"Not without a System, that is." Slayer smirked, "Without it, most of you would have been nothing."
"Then, how did Compass Carburettor become the Main Character?" Aronaut retorted, "We've all seen his growth. As a System Host, he was nothing much. His character was average even among the rest of us trashes that relied upon a System."
"Then how?"
"How did he become the Main Character?"
