"Ummphhh!" One of the thugs struggled to break free of the binds restricting him, preventing him from even shouting for help.
"Why are you trying to scream for help now?" The hooded man was Compass Carburettor, watching the two men wriggle their muscles in an effort to tear apart the bindings constricting them but failed to do so.
'Alright, it's stronger than what an adult brute could tear off naturally.' Nodding in response, Compass Carburettor gradually removed the hood, causing the two thugs to stare at his eyes that brimmed with starlight.
The bindings came off as the faces of the thugs turned pale with fright. They felt a primal sense of fear, screaming for help, "No…NO! Please spare us…gwarrgh!"
Their bodies melted and transformed into Mental Fragments that flowed into Compass Carburettor who stored them in his Dreamland. He then covered his face with the hood and walked out of the alleyway and arrived at a nearby restaurant.
Held in his hand was a small pouch filled with money that the thugs had gathered. Taking a seat nearby a window, Compass Carburettor extended forth two coins, staring at the waiter to ask, "A meal for this."
"Sure," The waiter took the two coins and returned with a plate of food soon after, setting it up on the table.
There seemed to be rice, mixed vegetables, and some pickles on the side, nothing special. Compass Carburettor scooped out a mouthful, swallowing it to sense the rice transforming into Mental Fragments of the same nature before being absorbed by his body, 'It seems I can transform anything into Mental Fragments now.'
'And using the same Mental Fragments, I can recreate a bowl of rice in the future.' After finishing his meal, he left the restaurant, walking by the street to chance upon a beggar, snapping his finger as a Mental Fragment leapt out of his body before transforming into a plate of food, the same that he dined in the restaurant just now.
"T-Thank you…" The beggar opened his eyes at the aroma, noticing a plate of food before his feet, thanking the passer-by for he didn't know who the good soul was that gave him food.
He devoured the food happily before falling asleep. There were no issues with him.
'I see, this is plenty useful.' Compass Carburettor smiled. Having absorbed the power of the Spirit Morph Crystal, he obtained a useful ability.
Not only was he able to transform anything he sees into Mental Fragments and absorb them into his body, but he was also able to transform any tool he creates out of Mental Fragments into an item part of reality.
It was just like the place of food from before. It was actual food. It was what he consumed at the restaurant and transformed into Mental Fragments. And now, he reverted those Mental Fragments into the meal.
Surprisingly, the meal retained even its heat, the same as what it had when it was served. This meant that irrespective of the attack directed at him, Compass Carburettor was able to transform them into Mental Fragments and make them his.
And if he didn't need them as Mental Fragments, he could convert them into Mental Energy instead, which was also useful.
Best of all, this power was his, one that would work in all the worlds out there. It wasn't a Personal Fragment, it wasn't a Core Skill like Lore, and it wasn't even a Bullet Template.
But just like the powers of Anthozoa, this too became his innate power—Spirit Morph.
This was the power that the Compass Carburettor fragments had stolen from others, making it the exclusive power of every fragment. And as he had absorbed them all, they became his.
It wasn't just that. But absorbing the over double dozen Ascenders also improved one more aspect of his.
Main Character—Level 4!
He gained three whole levels from this ordeal, attaining level 4 now. Little by little, he was growing stronger.
"But, it won't be enough for the upcoming fight. I have less than two years left." He sighed, staring at the sky as he muttered, "I'm not growing fast enough. So at that time, you'll help me, right?"
"Arnark?"
Ding!
There was a twinkle in the sky, resultant from starlight that only he could perceive. Upon receiving the message, Compass Carburettor broke into a grin, shook his head and exited the town.
His body transformed into the Garuda and took flight, making a beeline towards the archipelago. His first goal of transforming his body into a Mental Fragment counterpart was a success. Stealing all of Fenn's gains was also a success.
Next, he had to break through to become an Ascender.
His current strength had already reached a level beyond what Ascenders could handle. After all, he could channel certain types of thoughts towards an Ascender and rapidly melt their body into Mental Fragments that were shaped according to his thoughts.
He could do the same for their Invoked Spirits too, which made them all weak against him. But he would still need to become an Ascender, for he felt his strength would have an obvious increase as a result.
Kieee!
Sturrala stared at the sky, watching the Garuda land before her, startling her for a moment as the entity spanned a height of ten metres, "Who are you?"
She thought the enemy was an Ascender that disliked her creating a force in this archipelago that had bankrupted countless Clans. Obviously, it was enough reason for someone to target her.
"It's me." Compass Carburettor said, reverting to his human form as Sturrala was startled.
"My Lord, you can transform into Invoked Spirits now?" She was shocked.
"Yep," Compass Carburettor nodded before entering the building constructed for his dwelling, "I'll now break through to the Ascender Stage."
"I congratulate you in advance, my Lord." She bowed in response.
"I don't have much time, so I'll take my leave." Compass Carburettor said, staring at the fate of the world congregating at the region gradually. If he delayed, then a disaster would strike this region soon enough.
Even though it wouldn't be able to kill him, he could still be affected, especially since he would have to concentrate fully. After all, to become an Ascender, one must fuse the entirety of their soul into the Invoked Spirit.
For him, it meant breaking the seal, for only then would the soul trapped there would fuse with the Invoked Spirit. If he didn't do that, he was basically failing the breakthrough. This meant that the moment he becomes an Ascender, he was annulling his Lore automatically.
It was easy, for when it took effect, the Core Skill of Lore was Level 1. In contrast, it was Level 4 now, allowing him to easily do so.
