I Hate Systems

"Is one drop enough?" Larna asked, using a needle to prick her index finger before dropping it on the egg, watching the egg absorb it instantly.

"Yep," Fenn nodded, closing his eyes as he focused on the egg, observing the changes before he nodded, "Alright, it's done."

He then approached the middle-aged man that he captured the latest, inspecting his body once, "Alright, he is not only healthy but also seems to have the most experience among the group of captives."

He pressed at the joints of the middle-aged man's lower jaw, forcing it open before stuffing the thumb-sized egg into his mouth. Following that, he gagged the opponent, preventing him from spitting the egg out.

Due to the egg's size, it couldn't be swallowed, hence it could only remain within the mouth. But, that was what Fen needed too, after all, the Mental Fragments originated from the head. Keeping the egg in his mouth was the best bet for that.

"What…are you doing now?" Larna asked in curiosity.

"You see, Invokers need what is known as an Invoker Crystal Scroll to create Invoker Crystals. And only with the help of Invoker Crystals could one become an Invoker. But, I've figured out a different method." He grinned, "The treasure I mentioned is called the Spirit Morph Crystal. It has the properties of modifying one's Invoked Spirit without any limitation."

"There, I modified it to possess three powers." He raised three fingers, saying, "First is the traits of an eagle: superior flight, agility, sharp talons, and eyesight that rivals all birds. Second is the traits of a human: humanoid, dextrous, versatile, and the ability to create tools. Finally, the third is a parasite."

"Parasite?" Larna's eyes lit up in surprise as she stared at the middle-aged man, "Does that egg then…?"

"Yep, it'll hatch in his body." Fenn nodded, watching Larna pale in response as he continued, "Through the combination of both the human and eagle traits of my Invoked Spirit, it can create a tool that is an egg. And, there's an embryo of the Invoked Spirit inside."

He pointed at the middle-aged man, "When I placed the egg in his body, the egg begins to influence him, gradually manifesting his Dreamland."

"Don't you need an Invoker Crystal to do that? Even I can understand that much." Larna failed to rein in her shock.

"Yep, but there is one fact that most Invokers misunderstand." Fenn smiled as he said, "Every human is born with a Dreamland. And not to mention humans, every living creature has a Dreamland. But, it's always in a dormant state, gradually built using the dreams they experience through life. Somehow, humans of the past chanced upon something that acted like an Invoker Crystal. And that's how the first Invoker was born. The rest is history."

"So, it's because a human became an Invoker by chance that there are Invokers among humans all over the world now." Larna nodded, "If the one that became an Invoker was an animal, instead of a human…"

"The world would have been different now." Fenn nodded, "Anyway, that's how things are. An Invoker Crystal consumes part of your soul to activate your Dreamland and creates a Nascent Soul there, allowing you to access your Dreamland. Without it, you cannot access it."

"This is where the parasitic trait of my Invoked Spirit comes into play. It latches onto this Dreamland and absorbs its essence, including all his Mental Fragments gradually." Fenn's lips curled up into a smile, "And when it finishes absorbing both is when this host would die."

"We'll be repeating this with numerous hosts until it hatches." Fenn hugged Larna, "And since I've bonded it to you using your blood, once it hatches, it'll automatically reinforce your Dreamland and awaken you as an Invoker. Best of all, it automatically becomes your Invoked Spirit and doesn't have any limitations."

"Theoretically, as long as you don't make any mistakes, you should reach the Superior Invoker Stage without trouble as everyone with this method can." Fenn concluded, "This is basically the path I've chosen. When your Invoked Spirit becomes a Superior Invoked Spirit, it too would be able to create an egg of its own."

Larna stared at Fenn with an incredulous gaze before suddenly, she stared at him sharply, "So, what's the price?"

"What?" Fenn was surprised.

"I mean, if it was possible to produce these eggs endlessly, you would have brought all your wives and not just me alone," Larna said, watching Fenn break into a wry smile at that.

"As expected, you're damn smart." Fenn sighed before saying truthfully, "It consumes part of my soul to create an egg. Even if I hit the peak of the Invoker Stage, I can at most create four eggs. For you and the rest, the limit is two at the Superior Invoker Stage."

"It's impossible to create anymore, unless I cripple myself and use the entirety of my soul."

"So, it takes time, huh." Larna nodded, staring at Fenn to say, "So that's why you picked me alone."

"Yes, I've seen plenty of Invokers in my life. Through my experience, I can say with a guarantee that you'll reach the peak with me. And, you even have a shot at becoming an Ascender as long as I guide you properly. I think the limit increases drastically once we become Ascenders."

"I also feel that I can only fuse completely with the Spirit Morph Crystal once I become an Ascender."

"Gahh!" As they continued to speak, the middle-aged man suddenly frothed at the mouth as his eyes shot open, revealing his bloody pupils that burst under the strain. Like a lifeless doll whose strings were cut, the middle-aged man lost all signs of life.

"That took a while. Seems his foundation was better than I expected." Nodding in praise, Fenn fished out the egg from his mouth, noticing it glow a little as he planted it in the mouth of a woman who he thought had the next highest level of experience among the captives.

In such a manner, they spent the entire day, at the end of which the egg was fully nurtured, causing Larna to stare in shock at the row of corpses, "It took almost a hundred people…"

"Yes, it's expensive, since it goes against the norm." Fenn nodded, watching the last of the host die as a cracking sound resounded before which the eggshell cracked.