On an island in the southern seas was a ship, on the deck of which sat Compass Carburettor in a meditative pose, ignoring the incessant chirps in his surroundings.
The eagles on the island were all over the ship now, perched everywhere there was a vacant spot. Beyond that, a sizeable population were devouring the pile of fishes that were there.
Moreover, every hour, another pile would arrive as the eagles relished them. As they no longer needed to hunt for food, the eagles were pretty happy, especially since there was more than enough food for their entire needs.
Compass Carburettor didn't just pile them on the deck. He first created a container using Mental Fragments into which he poured in the caught fish. And as the quantity within increased, he raised the height of the container. Moreover, he also created enough spots to perch within the container where the eagles stood to eat their fill before taking off.
The smell in the area was nauseating, mixed with the stench of the blood and flesh of the fishes, not to mention the smell of the eagles, all mixed in the saline smell of the sea.
Compass Carburettor didn't seem to mind that, casually fishing for more fishes, watching a stream of eagles fly towards the ship from afar.
This intense stench of fish was the bait to lure them in first. After all, it was time for the eagles of the Lan Clan to arrive and lay down eggs here.
For that to go successfully, he planned to increase their population as much as possible first, hence luring the eagles native to the island first. As all the eagles were on the ship, the newcomers too were lured here first.
The four sailors were huddled in one of the rooms, staring in fear at the sheer number of eagles on the ship. Considering the ravenous feast they were having, any living being apart from an eagle would be considered prey there.
"Are his balls made of steel or something?" One of the sailors stared at Compass Carburettor in shock, failing to believe what he was seeing.
Compass Carburettor was seated on the deck, amidst the eagles, neither protected nor influencing the eagles. He was seated there unguarded as some of the eagles even perched on his head and shoulders.
He seemed to have lost himself, forgetting the passage of time as he wholeheartedly focused on his Invoked Spirit that swam through the waters while catching fishes that it then threw into the cage on the deck.
Every time this happened, the eagles took off to the skies in alarm before returning to their spots in a matter of seconds.
Even in this cacophony, he was calm, meditating as he was training his Mental Strength. After all, how was Mental Strength trained the most? It was by subjecting a vulnerable person to a place where they wouldn't survive mentally.
Assassins were trained by locking them up in caves to accustom them to the darkness and insects.
Compass Carburettor had a pretty hardened mind, but that was mostly thanks to external influences ranging from Skills to other abilities. Therefore, even though he was strong, he had his fair share of weaknesses.
And now, in this world where Mental Strength was supreme, it made for the perfect training ground to train his mind further. And as Pilkan, he was vulnerable, with Pilkan's brain allowing him to face things with a vulnerable mindset.
Every second, he was under mountainous pressure, wishing to just scream his lungs out and jump into the sea to escape from the eagles. But he forcefully controlled himself, refraining from such an action.
And the longer he persisted, the more mentally drained he felt. But as long as he continued the same, his Mental Strength would grow by leaps and bounds.
Moreover, he didn't just stop at enduring this situation passively. He controlled his Invoked Spirit to catch fish before retracting it into his Dreamland where it worked on creating the Ascender Scroll.
A normal human would have to give it his all just to endure the situation where the eagles would rip apart his flesh in a matter of seconds the moment he reacted accordingly. But Compass Carburettor took it a step further, continuing to train even under that.
And honestly, it strengthened his mind, allowing his Mental Strength to grow by leaps and bounds. Even though his work efficiency was lowered, his gains spiked in response.
Chirp!
An Eagle pecked his hand, drawing out blood as Compass Carburettor flinched in pain. But, he didn't react strongly, controlling his body's reflexes through sheer willpower, taking out a strip of gauge that he wound around the injury.
Upon noticing his reaction, the eagle was confused for a moment before pecking a nearby spot on the hand. After all, having been seated on the deck for so long, he was starting to smell like fish too, the prey of the eagles.
That was why they began to target him. Unfortunately, ten minutes into it, Compass Carburettor had no other choice but to erect a cage around him, gasping in exhaustion as he collapsed to the floor, staring at the angry flapping of the eagles around him that slammed into the cage.
His figure was bloody all over. It might result in his life being threatened if he didn't treat himself. After resting for a few minutes, Compass Carburettor extended a rod within the cage for him to hold on to, adding a set of wheels at the bottom as he began to push it.
Thereby, he pushed the cage towards the cabin door, preventing the eagles from attacking him, shouting at the sailors, "Open the door!"
One of the sailors hurried as Compass Carburettor retracted the cage into his Dreamland and leapt through the door, watching it close shut behind him as around five eagles entered the cabin.
Of course, they died in a matter of seconds as he brought out a sword and slashed them dead. "Haah…that was scary."
He then stared at the nearby tank, watching the few electric eels swimming slowly within it, asking as he stared at the sailors, "How's their condition?"
"Good enough to kill you easily, my Lord." The sailors said, staring at Pilkan as if he were a masochist, "Is this really necessary, my Lord? Do you have to subject yourself to such torture?"
"That's the only way forward." Saying so, Compass Carburettor dipped his hand through the water tank, truly regretting his choice.
