"Dammit!" Duketace grunted in annoyance, gasping for air as he looked around before slumping at the trunk of a tree, gazing at his hands to see blisters forming on his palms, bleeding in response.
His shoes were now in tatters, resulting in prickling injury to his feet. Duketace rested for a few minutes before groaning as he got up and slowly made his way forward, leaving the forest as he stared at the valley before him.
"As long as I cross this valley, I'll go beyond the Lan Clan's influence." He muttered, stopping as he couldn't help but rest once again. He had never travelled so much on foot before, not once in his life.
He had always relied upon a carriage, or at least a horse.
Before, when he stared at Fowma, he thought that he was done for. But, never in his wild experience did he expect to just be knocked out and not be killed.
When he regained consciousness, he was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. But, when he turned around, he noticed a layer of mist behind him, startling him as it was the same mist that he had seen in the Bottomless Mist Valley.
Remembering what happened to his subordinates, he dared not approach it, turning tail to run away immediately. He amounted the mist to the reason he had survived.
It was then that he recalled the existence of Pilkan, startled for a moment, "How did he…survive?"
But, he no longer bothered to care about it, only intending to save his own skin first. After resting enough, he took in a deep breath, not having any access to food to stave off his hunger as he entered the valley.
The valley was a narrow pass, only enough for two people to walk side by side, barely enough for a horse to run through. But at times, the ground wasn't smooth enough, the slopes making it easier for the horse to lose balance and fall while running.
So, it was hard to traverse fast through this region, which also made this the perfect place for ambushes.
There existed a mountain range that separated this stretch of plains from the plateau beyond, which was where bigger cities were located, controlled by strong Clans.
In Wakttark City, a powerful Clan only had one Ascender. And at times, they had none but a group of Superior Invokers managing everything.
But beyond the mountain range, called The Divide, things were different as the Clans there had more than one Ascender managing things. And among the largest cities, even the legendary Conjurer might make a public appearance.
The plateau was where the true dragons and tigers lay in wait. So, Duketace was somewhat nervous at first, for he was a mere Common Invoker. His strength wouldn't amount to much beyond The Divide, at least to the extent he was hoping for.
But, as he didn't have an option, Duketace began to traverse through the valley, passing through the narrow pass that went through The Divide.
Present next to a tree, seated on the shoulder of a four-metre-tall Human Invoked Spirit was Compass Carburettor, staring through a pair of binoculars as he observed Duketace's actions.
The frame of the binocular seemed to be made using the neck of an eagle while its lenses seemed to belong to an eagle's eye. The pair of binoculars wasn't a biological product, but sported the appearance of one.
That was because it was created using Mental Fragments, sourced from Eagle Invoked Spirits. Using them, Compass Carburettor created a pair of binoculars that he relied upon to see now.
Each Invoked Spirit had its respective trait. The trait of Eagle Invoked Spirits was their ability to fly at tremendous speeds, dive and snatch up their prey, and perform whatever aerobics the Invoker wished in the skies.
And depending on the Mental Fragments used to create the Dreamland and train the Eagle Invoked Spirit, its abilities diversified.
But, this was where the true strength of Human Invoked Spirits lay, the reason they were feared to be the strongest among the same Stage.
The trait of Human Invoked Spirits was the creation of tools. Each Human Invoked Spirit was capable of using Mental Fragments to create a tool and wield them. Only they were able to do so, hence why Human Invoked Spirits were so dangerous. They were basically humans without any humane limits, capable of executing anything within the thinking limits of their respective Invokers.
Though, it took an Invoker anywhere from months to years to create and firm a tool that was harmonious to the nature of the Invoked Spirit and Dreamland—which depended on the Mental Fragments used in all three, akin to a lego puzzle.
But, Compass Carburettor didn't need that much time, for his mind had been reinforced, used to, adapted, acclimated, and evolved to multiple Core Skills, especially those of the Young Master System and Reality Marble System.
Moreover, Gahrat currently possessed the power of creation, capable of building entire spaces as she pleased. Hazen, on the other hand, was able to summon things from his past and create constructs of the mind.
Before his Lore came into effect, they were all him. And those experiences were still in him, the related inputs having trained his mind. And hence, with a thought, his mind was akin to a supercomputer that processed through all the variables and instantly clubbed the Mental Fragments of his choosing to create what he desired.
So, thanks to this advantage, Compass Carburettor was able to create any item of his choosing in an instant, given he had all required Mental Fragments in the Dreamland already. Therefore, the greater the quantity of Mental Fragments he amassed, the more versatile he became.
And now, upon staring at the figure of Duketace walking through the valley, Compass Carburettor frowned, falling deep in thought before he let go of his original plans, "I see, so this was Pilkan's influence."
As part of Pilkan's soul was used in the construction of the Nascent Soul forming his body, not to mention that he currently inhabited Pilkan's body and used his brain to think, Compass Carburettor had invariably proceeded in Pilkan's train of thought process. That was why his plans weren't at the level he had expected them to be usually.
"That was dangerous. I almost killed Duketace." He sighed before controlling himself vigilantly, "Of course, as a merchant, I must take advantage of this situation."
"There are benefits to be obtained here."
