I Hate Systems

"That was a great harvest, dad." Kowla smiled giddily, having gotten her hands on a Scroll and a bunch of medicines.

They had purchased three Scrolls in total, not to mention a variety of Invoker Crystals and tools created by Human Invoked Spirits.

Typically, the tools sold in auction houses were those created by Human Invokers that had died. If such tools remained outside the Dreamland, there were cases in which they didn't vanish, though rare.

In such cases, it was because of the absorbed part of the Invoker's Dreamland and soul, capable of maintaining themselves in a self-sufficient manner. Such tools were almost priceless and went for a premium, because they were the best weapons an Invoker could ever ask for.

After all, such tools had a variety of powers in them, as intended by their creators. Even Human Invokers had at most one or two tools, for creating one that was harmonious with their Dreamland was incredibly difficult.

So, having more than one tool was rare and only the most talented among Human Invokers had more than one tool.

This made them rare. The Forbidden Tale too was considered an ancient tool of a powerful Human Invoker. And its effect was to harmonise the Dreamland and Invoked Spirit. That was why it was contested for heavily.

Having sold the four Forbidden Tales, Duketace and Kowla made so much money that they had never seen it in their lives, despite hailing from the main family of the Lan Clan. After all, the money transacted here hailed from powers that could casually trump the Lan Clan.

Of course, that also meant they had to spend a lot to get the items they wished for, thanks to the insane competition.

With two tools, three Scrolls, and some medicine; the father and daughter duo practically spent all the money they earned. Among them, Kowla purchased a whistle, a tool that amplified the produced sound.

It was something useful for her to control the eagles from afar, and hence why she bought it. The Scroll she bought was called the Senses Scroll, one that allowed her to train and synchronise her senses to her Invoked Spirit.

This way, she would be able to see using the eyes of her eagle in the future, which was one of the primary reasons she bought this. Of course, it was damn expensive, causing her to beg for some money from her father.

Duketace bought a tool that resembled an incense stick, its only function was to influence the thoughts of everyone in its vicinity and calm them a little. It was all he could afford after buying the Suppression Scroll, a Scroll that allowed him to imbue in his Invoked Spirit a feeling of bloodthirstiness and power, bringing out the essence of the Mental Fragments forming its body.

This way, the moment anyone faces his eagle, they would feel fear. To bring this out naturally was only possible for the best of geniuses that exhibited the potential to become Ascenders by birth. But for those like Duketace that didn't have the capability, using the Suppression Scroll was the best bet to bridge that gap.

The final item they purchased was a Human Invoker Crystal Scroll, one that cost as much as two Forbidden Tales, allowing them to understand just how expensive it was.

After all, every major Clan in the plateau developed at least two forms of Invoked Spirits. And having a Human Invoked Spirit Scroll meant they could produce Human Invoker Crystals. So a lot of the Clans competed for it, which is why the price ballooned out of control.

Immediately after obtaining their auction items, Duketace and Kowla made a break for it, rapidly escaping from the spies sent by the major Clans to scout them out.

After all, with two Superior Eagle Invokers, it was hard to capture them unless an Ascender took action. But as the duo escaped before the auction ended, their chasers were caught off guard. And before they could send someone to form a team, the duo had vanished.

Kowla flew for an entire day straight before Duketace took charge, doing the same for another day, during which she rested while consuming medicines. And as they alternated the roles, they remained on flight nonstop, which prevented the chasing parties from even nearing them.

'We're here.' Kowla thought, smiling upon connecting to the sight of her eagle, using its eyesight to spot the ship docked next to the island, smiling upon staring at the massive group of eagles roaming there.

She was excited to see what Pilkan planned next, intending to make another errand like this to sell another batch of Forbidden Tales in a foreign land. This way, she would be able to buy another Scroll or two and grow even stronger.

She had grown in the past month equivalent to a year's growth thanks to the massive amount of money she could splurge on training.

Through her eagle, she spotted the figure of Pilkan standing on the deck, protected by a cage as he seemed to be staring at the sea. Upon focusing on his expression, her heart thumped in nervousness. After all, Pilkan's current expression was one of…

Tension!

He didn't seem to have noticed their approach, constantly staring into the sea with focus.

"Dad, wake up. We're here. Something seems to be the problem." She shook the sleeping Duketace who got up in a hurry, having been alert during the days of travel.

Even though he couldn't see Pilkan's expression from afar, his daughter's solemn tone alarmed him. After all, there couldn't have been many reasons for a resourceful Ascender like Pilkan to be solemn about.

"My Lord, what happened…" Kowla said after arriving near the ship, intending to land on the deck when suddenly, Pilkan jerked in alarm, erecting a wall that pushed Duketace and Kowla to the side while he flew in the other direction…

"My Lord!" Duketace shouted in alarm as a flash of blue appeared and severed the ship in two. And unfortunately, Pilkan's legs were in the line of the blue flash, getting severed as a result.

Chirp!

All the eagles were alarmed as they took off to the skies while Pilkan grunted in pain, clutching his bleeding legs, watching something churn within the seas and peak out gradually, revealing a ten-metre-tall humanoid protected by a film of water on the shoulder of which sat a woman, one that stared at Pilkan to state coldly, "You…"

"You're not my younger brother, huh."