The Laziest System: Sign-Up System

I watch as Ibaraki charges at me, rage burning in her eyes. Her attacks come fast and furious, but I block each one, making sure she doesn't destroy our base where the others are resting. She swings again, and I parry her strike before kicking her away.

She stares at me for a few seconds, her flames slowly dying down. I let out a sigh and ask,

"Are you done?"

She shakes her head.

"No. I'm still pissed. You said you would accompany me and become a member of my new clan!"

"I never said that. You forced that title on me. Besides, I can't stay here. I need to return. My people need me, and I have to prepare for the upcoming war against the gods to defend Yggdrasil."

She glares at me, then turns and slams her fist into a nearby boulder, reducing it to dust. I sigh again.

"I know you're angry, but I'm sorry. I have to go back."

"Then take me with you."

I blink. "What?"

She grins and steps closer.

"Take me with you. Let me join your fight against the gods. You have a ridiculous amount of mana inside you—it should be more than enough to sustain me indefinitely."

"That's… actually a good idea. But I need to ask Zelretch first. He knows more about interdimensional travel than I do."

Before I can even process her words, a voice speaks up right next to me.

"You can't take her. At least, not the way you're thinking."

"Holy shit!"

I instinctively jump to the side, and even Ibaraki takes a battle stance, her eyes locked on the old vampire who appeared out of nowhere. I exhale sharply.

"Can you not do that? One of these days, I'm going to accidentally kill you when I'm in combat mode."

At least the old man has the decency to look a little sheepish.

"Right, right. My apologies." Then, he clears his throat. "But as I was saying, you can't take her. Not in the way you're imagining. Unlike normal humans, she's tied to this world. If I force her to leave now, Gaia will not be pleased. And believe me, you don't want that kind of wrath coming down on you."

I frown. "Even with Gaia's blessing?"

"Even then. You'll still get in trouble if you take her away before she fulfills her duty here."

Ibaraki scowls. "Then how the hell am I supposed to enter his world?!"

Zelretch gives her an amused look. "Re-summoning. You have to complete your duty here first—defeating Tiamat. Once she's taken care of, then he can summon you to his world."

She crosses her arms. "I don't have to be the one to defeat her?"

"No. As long as Tiamat is defeated, that's enough. And don't worry—I'll make sure you retain your memories of him."

She growls in frustration, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Fine! I'll do my damn job. But I refuse to follow that stupid king's orders."

"You don't have to," Zelretch replies. "As long as Tiamat is taken care of, he can summon you."

"Good."

Ibaraki turns back to me, pointing a finger in my direction.

"Make sure you summon me once this is over, Ryan!"

I nod. "I promise."

"Good! Now, get lost. I have work to do. Someone has to teach those weaklings how to handle demonic beasts properly."

I smile one last time before stepping through the portal Zelretch creates.

Instead of arriving in Kyoto, I find myself floating in the air—hovering over a battlefield. Below me, two factions are waging war. I immediately recognize one of the combatants.

Cao Cao.

I narrow my eyes. "Why did you bring me here?"

Zelretch casually floats beside me, watching the chaos unfold. "I need to retrieve a Sacred Gear that's about to be released."

I glance at him. "That means someone's about to die, doesn't it?"

He nods. "Yeah. Reddy already foresaw their death. My job is to make sure the Sacred Gear doesn't enter the reincarnation cycle."

I cross my arms. "Which Sacred Gear?"

"Dreamlike Curse."

I frown. "What does it do?"

Zelretch hums as he watches the battle.

"It was originally a Sacred Gear related to dreams—capable of creating an illusionary realm based on the user's subconscious. But Reddy… doesn't like anyone having a domain similar to his. So, he mutated it."

I raise an eyebrow. "Mutated? How bad is it?"

"Not bad at all. Actually, it's stronger now." Zelretch smirks. "Reddy completely altered its function. Instead of being a dream-based Sacred Gear, it now falls under the realm of space and time."

I blink. "…What?"

The old vampire chuckles. "Reddy takes his domain very seriously. Rather than letting anyone have an ability connected to dreams, he'd rather rewrite a Sacred Gear's properties entirely—even if it means making it far stronger than before."

I shake my head. That sounds exactly like something Great Red would do. He's infamous for annihilating any entity that tries to claim dreams as their domain. I read once that after his rampage, no gods, demigods, or any supernatural beings dared to associate themselves with dreams. The only exception was Morpheus, who had the good sense to abandon dreams altogether and take sleep as his domain instead.

I exhale. "So, what exactly does this new Sacred Gear do now?"

"It creates a pocket dimension that the user can fully control and modify. Theoretically, they could trap someone inside forever."

I raise an eyebrow. "Forever?"

"Well, not literally. It depends on their power. Maintaining the dimension requires a ton of energy. That means they either have to kill their target quickly in that space… or break them mentally until they surrender."

"That's… terrifying."

Zelretch grins. "It is a powerful tool. But it's only as dangerous as the one wielding it."

I glance at him. "And what do you plan to do with it?"

"I want to experiment on it. Maybe even give it to a student of mine."

I smirk. "Rin?"

"Rin, yes."

We watch the battle for a few more minutes before Zelretch finally moves. He raises his Jeweled Sword, pointing it at the sky. The blade glows, and I hear him muttering something under his breath.

A few moments later, the light fades, and a box of energy materializes in his hand.

"Got it." He turns to me. "Let's go home. I need to prepare for the next attack, and you have a certain fox lady to visit."

I nod. "Yeah, I need to deliver that card to Yasaka."

He grins. "Then let's not waste time."

With that, we step through the portal—returning to Kyoto.