I Hate Systems

Even Fenn, his own son had fooled him into drinking a drug in place of medicine. So, Duketace had already accepted his fate, understanding that he had no way to survive.

He was supposed to be a dead man already and had only escaped through luck. But, he was already beyond exhaustion by now, not to mention being captured by this devil-like person that didn't share any character resemblance to Pilkan.

Resigned, he drank the medicine, bracing himself for whatever might happen next. A few seconds turned into a minute but nothing happened as Duketace was surprised, only observing his Mental Strength recovering slowly instead.

He stared at Pilkan in shock, asking, "What did you feed me?"

"A Mental Strength recovery medicine." Compass Carburettor said nonchalantly, drinking the same too as he continued, "Now, begin talking."

"What…do you wish to know?" Duketace sighed, curbing the sense of terror he felt. If the other party simply tortured him, he could at least prepare himself mentally, gaining a sense of the other party's character.

But, Duketace felt that he couldn't see through Compass Carburettor, feeling as if the other party was veiled by thick mist, masking even his surface-level intentions, not to mention his true intentions.

"Start with the treasures you stole and where your family would have gone towards." Compass Carburettor said.

"Fenn took my Gatarakh Clan Servitude Badge. Having that would allow me to enter the Gatarakh Clan of the high plateau region, which means a comfortable life under an Ascender." Duketace said, "Fenn has something else with him, a mysterious crystal. I noticed that it had gone missing when I went to the Lan Clan treasury to steal things. I'm not sure what it's about though."

Upon seeing Compass Carburettor nod, Duketace continued, "All the treasures I brought with me had been swapped out by my wife. But, if she and my daughter separate, I think I can estimate what they might have taken with themselves."

"Kowla would definitely take the Ascender Scroll with her." He said with conviction, "As that's her only goal, she would have let go of everything else to only fight for this. In terms of sheer talent, my wife is inferior to her, so it would have ended up in her hands."

"Ascender Scroll?" Compass Carburettor raised an eyebrow, hearing the term for the first time, "What's that?"

"It's a relic that helps train one's Invoked Spirit to make it suitable to reach the Ascender Stage." Duketace said, "A Scroll is the only external item apart from Mental Fragments that can be brought inside the Dreamland."

"Such an item exists?" Compass Carburettor was surprised.

"Yes," Duketace nodded, "But it's too rare to come across one. Even the Lan Clan barely has a few of them in their treasury. After all, only an Ascender can create a Scroll. And even for them, it takes around a decade to create even one Scroll. So, they're too precious."

"If you stole something that precious, the Lan Clan wouldn't let you off." Compass Carburettor commented.

"I only wanted to take less valuable items first, but I changed my mind in the end." Duketace sighed.

"So, what else is left?" Compass Carburettor asked.

"My wife took an Eagle Basket with her." Duketace explained further, "There are around a hundred eagle eggs in it, enough to raise a nest. And, these eagles would be loyal to the one possessing this Eagle Basket. It's a precious item of the Lan Clan."

'This guy truly didn't hold back, huh.' Compass Carburettor nodded, for a moment praising the other party's greed. He truly would have succeeded if his family didn't stab him in the back.

"There's also the Eagle Invoker Crystals; 120 Inferior, 38 Common, and 4 Superior Grade Eagle Invoker Crystals." He said, bowing his head in response to Compass Carburettor's judgemental gaze.

"So, what's the last item?" Compass Carburettor asked, seeing Duketace hesitate in the end, "I can make out from your expression."

"A…" Duketace muttered inaudibly, "Scroll."

"A Scroll…another one?" Compass Carburettor didn't even know whether to laugh, cry, or beat the other party into a pulp. He didn't just stop at one but stole two scrolls?

"So, what's this Scroll about?"

"It's an Eagle Invoker Crystal Scroll." Duketace finally gave in, blurting out everything, "The one in possession of this Scroll can manufacture the Eagle Invoker Crystals. Without this, it's impossible. There are already three Invokers in the Clan that can manufacture the Eagle Invoker Crystals. So, as they didn't need a fourth one, they stored this Scroll in the treasury which I took…"

"And, it's in your wife's hand now…" Compass Carburettor said, staring at the other party, failing to form any words.

"Yes…" Duketace nodded.

"How's the status of your eagle?" Compass Carburettor asked next, surprising Duketace.

The other party didn't even resist as he brought out his Invoked Spirit, saying, "It's on the verge of death. One more stab, and it'll vanish."

"Hmm…" Compass Carburettor extended his hand and gently touched it, caressing its back as mist gently coursed into its body, trapping it within as he brought out a body part—an item created using Mental Fragments.

He placed the body part in the missing locations, like fitting a piece into a puzzle. Within a minute, he added in multiple pieces, enough to heal most of the eagle's injuries, making it whole the moment Duketace's Mental Strength flowed into it.

That wasn't all, Compass Carburettor even went a step ahead to add a few more traits to the metal eagle, raising the efficiency of its construction. Within a minute, the amount of strength it could exert experienced a twenty percent increase, all because he added in the Mental Fragments sourced from the Eagle Invoked Spirits in his possession.

Duketace stared in shock, unable to believe just what he had witnessed, staring at his Invoked Spirit that wasn't just fully healed but was even better than before. Upon seeing it, a strange sense of giddiness burst out in his heart, almost making it hard for him to control himself.

After all, he now felt hope, seeing a chance to become a Superior Invoker, something he couldn't attain due to the shaky foundation he had made in his Dreamland and Invoked Spirit. In shock, he stared at Compass Carburettor, "C-Can you rectify my problem."

"I only do that to my subordinates, though." Compass Carburettor said nonchalantly, smiling upon seeing Duketace prostrate in submission immediately after.