Post-Apocalyptic Dispatch Society

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 in 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.

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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 in a place where they wouldn't survive mentally.

Assassins were trained by locking them up in caves to make them accustom 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.

Yurtale was actually the head of the Starwing Auction House. But he never revealed himself, always letting the remaining two Ascenders of the Auction House make public appearances.

The reason he did this was to keep his identity hidden and mingle among the common populace as an auction enthusiast that was in the field for more than a decade. And he truly maintained that track record religiously, a reason people believed him in the first place.

After all, if someone ran a background check against him, they truly would come to find out that he had indeed visited every auction in the past decade, a man truly owning up to his stated experiences.

And it was only thanks to his hands-on experience meeting everyone that he always managed to convince the tourists to sell their items through the Starwing Auction House. He had an entire team to stage whatever play he wanted, just as he fooled Duketace.

This was how he maintained the Starwing Auction House's status as being the best in Cajjan City. Moreover, all auction houses typically took a cut of ten percent income from the item bid, giving the customer the remaining ninety percent.

But, Yurtale played the entire setup, making Duketace sign a contract that only gave him seventy percent of the item bid. He casually tripled their earnings. The reason he had done so was simple: The Forbidden Tale would rake in the dough.

It would probably break the records on multiple levels, especially since there were four of them. It was only after he appraised them did Yurtale signal his underlings to change the contract terms.

And as Duketace only wished to dump this, he should have been glad at the offer.

Of course, what Yurtale was unaware of was the fact that Duketace too had fooled him a little. Money was secondary to them, an added bonus.

After all, they had given away one Forbidden Tale in the plains for free. So, even making a single penny for it meant a profit, for Compass Carburettor hadn't asked for any in the first place.

Therefore, getting seventy percent of the item bid was an enormous sum, especially since the risks involved in dispersing the four Forbidden Tales was nil now, at least for him and his daughter. The Starwing Auction House would bear everything.

Duketace only proposed one condition, which was to auction the Forbidden Tale on different days. This way, the news would travel far and bring in more powers from foreign lands.

Though, in order to obtain the greatest profit, the Starwing Auction House would indeed disseminate the information to all reigning powers. That way, the auction truly would be a grand spectacle.

In this way, it was a win-win situation for both parties as Duketace observed decorated carriages proceeding towards the Starwing Auction House one after another.

Some were directly riding their Invoked Spirits to make the trip, surprised as he muttered, "They already informed the various Clans about this?"

"It seems we truly underestimated the Starwing Auction House, dad." Kowla said, her eyes glinting as she asked, "Say, Lord Pilkan didn't ask for any money. So, with the money we get from auctioning these, buy me a scroll, will you?"

"We'll set aside the profits from two Forbidden Tales for Lord Pilkan." Duketace said, "You can spend the profit of one on whatever you want. I'll be doing the same myself. I don't know when we'll return here after this, so let's buy whatever we need."

He clenched his hand into a fist, "What once seemed to be impossible is now within my reach."

His gaze turned sharp as Duketace muttered, "I'll become an Ascender."

"I'll be the first to become one, though." Kowla said, taking a bath as she changed into a pair of luxurious clothes, fit to visit the auction house.

"Dad, we'll be meeting a lot of people from the high society. Dress appropriately, will you?" Kowla said in disdain as she stared at the clothes he picked, "Pick a good one."

"You'll understand the value of money if you ever earn it…" Duketace spoke in a chiding tone, only observing his daughter roll her eyes in response and ignore him after that.

An hour later, a carriage arrived from the Starwing Auction House, bringing them to the location while they sneakily took charge of the four Forbidden Tales, casually bringing it within the carriage itself, treating as if there wasn't any treasure being transported.

With how calm they were acting, Duketace was shocked, understanding that they were used to this, especially since everyone in charge were just regular people.

Without any Invokers to guards the carriage, it caused none to pay heed to their carriage. And that's how the treasure was being transported through the created blind spot of the influential people who would later bid for the same.

The Starwing Auction House spanned a height of forty metres, a massive hall with an internal balcony where the VIP seats existed, each an enclosed room.

On the ground were the regular seats for the rich among the common populace to be seated at.

The seat Duketace and Kowla obtained was one of the lowest cadres among the VIP section, a small room with a cushioned sofa and a table before.

"It's pretty comfortable." Duketace muttered, watching with bated breath as he heard the discussion around him. His skin felt pricked as he felt gazes from people in power, causing him to feel like a rat being stared by a group of cats.

As for Kowla, she remained oblivious of everything, staring at the stage far away with rapt attention while muttering a chant, "Scrolls…Scrolls…Scrolls…"

The spectators continued to stream in one after another as soon after, the auction house was packed to the limit. Duketace became nervous upon staring at a known face from the Gatarakh Clan, "Even he's here?"

He gulped audibly as Kowla asked him, "Who's he, dad? Do you know him?"

"An Ascender that I came across before you were born. It was by saving him that I gained favour from the Gatarakh Clan. He's Zaja Gatarakh, a renowned Ascender even in the plateau region."

"How did you save someone like that?" Kowla was shocked, staring at her father in a new light.

"It just…happened." Duketace sighed, patting the back of her head as he watched a lady walk on the stage, whispering, "Alright, be quiet. It's starting."