Charles moved through the thickets bordering a great forest.
It was an area filled with wonderful vegetation. Precious herbs, psychedelic plants, resource-rich flowers—everything could be found on the outskirts of the forest.
But it was all a lie.
There was nothing precious here.
Only tonnes and tonnes of rotten trees that cast illusions on every creature that entered their territory.
Charles' senses were also affected by the illusion and he saw a beautiful forest with great flora.
But that was it.
He wasn't swayed by the mental hints that kept popping in his brain.
'Take the flowers.'
'Grab the herbs.'
'Just one sniff.'
'Only a single petal.'
He moved steadily and swiftly. His feet were in the shape of wolf paws. With each kick to the ground, he moved several miles forward.
A figure under a robe followed him from behind.
As he did, the man couldn't help but marvel at the prowess of his young master.
Normally, even peak level 7 would be swayed by the illusions and persuaded by the mental hints.
But Charles was unaffected.
'His morphing entity, Lykos, has a strong mental resistance.' The man nodded to himself.
'He will be a tough opponent to psychics.' That much was certain.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The scenery changed from a green forest to a red-sand desert.
Charles stood on a large sand dune and looked into the distance.
His green eyes turned red and his vision was magnified.
A shining blue area came into view.
It was a huge lake. It appeared serene, with its sky blue water glistening under the sunlight.
A lot of faces Charles was familiar with were discussing things and departing from the area.
"Lake of Illusions," Charles muttered slowly.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sand blew lightly as a group of ten landed behind Charles. They were sent to find Enigma but came back empty-handed.
"Young Master, the tracks we found were a trap." One of the members said in a low voice.
Charles didn't speak.
'Enigma, you kill my brother and think you can get away with it?'
Before knowing it, Charles was clenching his fists.
"Did something happen here?" Charles relaxed his fists and asked in a cold tone.
He was asked to come here by the team. If it wasn't for a good reason, then they'd regret it.
"Young Master, we heard this from our informants. Basically…" A woman from the team explained the situation.
Charles' eyes narrowed and he tapped his chin quietly.
"A strange merman that can use seven divine paths and command other mermen.
A man in disguise in the outer area getting the prize for killing the most mermen."
The woman nodded. "Exactly."
"What do they think?" Charles asked.
'They' meant the most powerful princes. He wouldn't enquire about others' opinions.
Charles' team knew this too and that's why they talked to those princes and princesses already.
"They believe the merman must be a special variety of the devas. The man himself should've found a way to control that merman and used its powers to subjugate other mermen."
The explanation was logical and fit into common sense.
That's why Charles thought it must be false.
'This never happened in the history of the lake of illusions. It's a first. Right after Varian entered. And according to the messengers, the golden room's gate also showed a strange reaction yesterday.'
The more he thought, the more Charles was convinced that his enemy was behind the incidents.
'This is Dreamer we are talking about. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew how to draw out and subjugate this strange man…' Charles' eyes flashed.
'And no surprises if he is the merman himself.'
That was a far-fetched thought, even for Charles. But he couldn't strike it off completely.
'Since he is with Enigma, maybe Varian is also an alien.' Charles saw a new possibility.
'An alien that can use more divine paths than what is believed to be possible.' Perhaps he was indeed an alien.
No one ever verified if Varian was an alien after all.
'But the most important takeaway from this is that Varian had a skill, talent, or ability for a great disguise.
If he was the merman, he could turn into even other species.
If he was the controller, he could create a perfect disguise with no loopholes.
Either way, Charles' objective became clear.
He turned to his team and said. "Disguise Breakers."
"Young Master?" The team looked at each other in confusion.
"We need to find treasures that can break disguise. The stronger the better. The more the better." He said firmly.
The team fell silent.
"You know where they are, right? Go fetch them." He said calmly.
Silence filled the air...until a middle-aged woman stepped forward and said. "We can do that, but what about your next location?"
In their original plan, Charles was supposed to visit two more places. In those places, he needed their assistance.
If they go, what would he do?
"I need to consolidate my level," Charles said lightly.
The team opened their mouth in surprise and then nodded in understanding. Indeed, after advancement, typically, awakeners took a few hours to a few days to consolidate.
It was so different with Charles that they forgot about this.
But then, the newest recruit to the team, Hira asked.
"I think your consolidation will be far faster, just like your advancement."
"…"
Charles looked at her and the woman suddenly felt nervous.
"Yes. It will take only a day at most."
"Then what will you do, young master? We know the places with disguise breaking treasures, but even we need at least two days to get them." A member said in worry.
"And right after two days, we need to start the journey to Ruler's Abode or we won't make it." He added. The travel part worried him a bit.
Charles looked into the sky and took a breath.
"We'll reach there on time and these two days, I will fight."
"Pardon?"
"I need to fight. To get used to my powers." Charles said and pointed to the robed figure. "I'll be fine. Now go do your job."
"Yes."
Whoosh!
The team disappeared in a flash.
Charles stood in the same place for a long time, his gaze fixed on the lake of illusions.
'I will find you.'