[That's simple. It's because you need aggro.]
Fang Ning blinked. Of course he was familiar with aggro; he played way too many games for his own good, and that was a pretty common mechanism. The player would need to have full aggro before an ulti could be deployed.
So, did this mean that this Martial-Arts-Type System had the same mechanism?
"Oh, so you're saying that once you've accumulated enough aggro, you would be able to use your ulti? That this is exactly like in the games?" Fang Ning finally understood.
"That's exactly it." The System affirmed.
"Still, was there a need for that now? It's not like we've faced any tough opponents, right?" It was a rare occurrence for Fang Ning to actually care about the progress of the System. After all, he'd been in it for almost 2 months, and to be honest, he was feeling quite guilty about it. God knows how many people there were out there, and how many of them would want to come out and test their mettle?
"The System is now at Level 10. Based on the farming scheme you proposed, we still need to accumulate quite an amount of EXP in order to complete the celestial weapon in progress. However, at the moment of completion, there will be a strange sight, which has a high probability of attracting very strong opponents. The current level and skills that the System possesses is not sufficient." The System explained, confirming Fang Ning's fear. The latter felt a weird sense of excitement, though.
He was happy because the System, oh sweet diligent Sir System, managed to get to Level 10 without any worrying and chewing on Fang Ning's part. That progress was relentless, and Fang Ning knew what a feat that was after he learned how difficult it was to actually gain a level. He could not even bear to look at the EXP requirement and the difficulty. The System was so quick, that even his legendary history in leveling up his characters during his past life was almost like child's play.
That was emphasized by how the System needed to run all around and actively search for its prey to farm! If it were Fang Ning, a notoriously weak-willed individual, he would have given up after Level 3 or 4. He might feel the initial rush and ride it in order to show off, but the tedious process would probably wear him out instantly.
A diligent person would only manage till Level 5 or 6. No one else could farm 24/7 like how Sir System did…
The thing that scared Fang Ning was that even Sir System, farming maniac extraordinaire, was scared. It actually said that there might be opponents that it wasn't able to handle?
"So what you're saying is, you need to rely on aggro to use your ulti, and that you're planning to take them out all in one shot?" Fang Ning finally grasped the situation.
"That's correct. The System is now Level 10, and can spend some of the EXP to learn Esoteric Skills or upgrade ordinary martial arts skills to become Esoteric Martial Arts. However, aggro is spent for each use of an Esoteric Skill. When the opponent is stronger, a wider variety of Esoteric Skills would be needed in order to defeat them. The skills can help in our escape should the situation turn sour, too."
"Aggro can only be obtained from humans. You can generate your own aggro, or you could piss people off for aggro. The System can collect all of the aggro linked to you, and accumulate them to unlock the Aggro Bar. One bar is unlocked by default, but an additional Aggro Bar would be given every 5 Levels the System gains. Every Esoteric Skill will exhaust at least one Aggro Bar. Currently, there are 3 Aggro Bars, and the first level Aggro Bar is already 70% full."
'Oh, great! Even though the System was just a tad dumb, I knew that it would never do anything useless.' Fang Ning now understood how valuable aggro was. Frankly, they were almost like hidden trump cards - having aggro would allow him to execute Esoterics, break through defenses, or quickly make an escape. No matter what, both of their fates were tied together, and the worst that could happen was that they would both GG, and reincarnate together...
After he had managed to clear up those things, Fang Ning thought about Zhao Ying, who was actively flirting with his vigilante identity. Even though he had liked this beautiful woman, one who couldn't stop teasing him - well, she was extremely easy on the eyes - he held up on any plans to go into a relationship with her.
One of the many reasons was that he knew that Zhao Ying had a history of going after the rich ones. Besides, he was actually rich now, all thanks to Sir System, and some unspeakable ideas that have been dormant within him had started to stir.
All things aside, he needed to teach this b*tch a small lesson today so that firstly, she would stop toying with him like he was some stupid rich kid and thus causing him to feel all hot and bothered after, and secondly, he would help the System to save up some potentially life-saving dosh. He was aiming for two birds with one stone.
Fang Ning was not an idiotic System, that only knew how to obtain aggro using wildly unpolished methods. To him, anything he could think of was better than that.
"Sir System, show me the network we have as the disguised vigilante." Fang Ning requested.
Anything remotely related to increasing his overall abilities would always receive the quickest response from the System. Soon, a relationship network diagram of Vigilante A was sent to the computer that Fang Ning was playing on.
Fang Ning scanned the diagram, and an idea popped up almost immediately. It was guaranteed that the System would get loads of aggro from this.
"Sir System, the three options you provided previously were not efficient enough. Let me take the wheel instead!"
///
Zhao Ying fully expected the Prince Charming to smile after she went to initiate the conversation.
He was quite cordial, nodding as a sign that he did remember her. Just when she wanted to take another step and grow closer to him after a long friendly conversation, she heard a woman's voice from behind her.
"Hubby, who's this? Do you know her?"
Which b*tch dared to call her Mr. Right 'hubby'? Zhao Ying turned to look, only to find before her a gorgeous lady, elegant, even without any makeup. She walked towards them, donned in a dress white as snow. Her curves filled in just the right places, and her overall outfit would cost at least RMB 10000. She swayed with her stride but she was not unsteady, and her smile was soft. Her entire being screamed of her wealth; she must've come from a big family.
Zhao Ying's rage burned stronger.
System notification: [Zhao Ying's aggro is rising.]
"Oh, she's just someone who I saved offhandedly. I don't really remember much, but she seemed to work here as a waiter. Yan-er, I've ordered for us. The food will be here soon. This place is quite decent."
"You're the best to me, hubby," said the gorgeous woman as she leaned in to peck on the handsome vigilante's face. They shared an intimate moment, and Zhao Ying's face twisted at the public display of affection. She felt like a real waitress, standing there just like that.
"Hey, waitress, don't just stand there doing nothing! Go and fetch us some drinks. Well, we can't expect much from a shop this small, you probably haven't even went for any good training programmes! But, you shouldn't give up on yourself; a class or two outside of work would help, and you should really learn how to speak proper English as it would immediately boost your career. You might end up in some multinational hotel! My family has a few under us, and I might be able to recommend you to one or two," said the lady, her voice soft and her eyes kind.
"Yeah, I thank you on behalf of my family and all my dead ancestors for your reference," hissed Zhao Ying internally. She forced a wide smile to stop herself from losing composure in front of her Mr. Right.
System notification: [Zhao Ying's aggro has reached critical levels. Aggro can now be extracted.]
At the same time, a waiter delivered the food to the table.
"They don't look like anything special though? It's not as pretty as the ones prepared by
"Why are the portions so massive? I never had a big appetite. Eat more for me, hubby."
"Alright."
The both of them ate out of one plate, their chopsticks dancing around each other as they savored the delicacy that Zhao Ying specially told the chef to pay more attention to.
System notification: [Zhao Ying's aggro has reached its maximum. Commencing Extraction. Aggro Bar 1 increases by 10%, now at 80%.]
Zhao Ying used every shred of willpower she'd had in her life to stop herself from exploding on the spot. Instead, she stomped her way back to the front of the lobby and sunk on a chair, after which she never stopped glaring at the two lovebirds.
'Hahaha, who told you to be a b*tch and play with the feelings of others?' Fang Ning was extremely satisfied with the outcome as he chided Zhao Ying in the System Space. He thrilled when he saw Zhao Ying's face.
Sir System was satisfied too. How did it not think of doing this? Alas, humans were the ones who truly understood themselves.
The handsome vigilante left, the gorgeous lady in his arms after they finished their meal. A heartbroken Zhao Ying stood in his wake. Throughout the rest of the day, the restaurant would maintain a 3-mile exclusion zone from the 'Breakfast Beauty' as her rage oozed out of her like magma. Now, even a means to vent was taken away from her.