Feather X Domination

Dusk.

The group found a relatively safe area, set up a temporary campsite, and began to rest.

After Kevin woke up, he noticed that King and the others looked unusually pale and weak.

I later learned that it was because they had used medication and various methods to help them recover.

They appeared to be normal, but in fact, they were already missing limbs before Kevin woke up.

However, with the intention of preserving it, it was restored using medication.

"We'll need to stay here for quite some time to recover from this condition."

Jin wove a rattan bed from vines, lay on it, gazed at the sky, and murmured something.

After this unexpected attack, everyone among them was in extremely poor condition.

This kind of depletion cannot be recovered from with just a day or two of rest.

Even with restorative potions and food prepared by Men Qi, it would still take about a week to recover.

Excessive use of medication can place a serious burden on the body.

In particular, the Soul-Heart Unity imbues their bodies with the will of the soul.

An attack on the soul is carried on the body, and an attack on the body will also burden the soul.

But the body takes higher priority, right?

This results in very significant and deep damage to the body.

The restoration of time is something that no medicine or external substance can replace.

"It's good to take a break, isn't it? Thanks to the Sand Worm' antics, this area should be safe for at least a short time."

Kevin poked at the fire in front of him with a stick and said.

He transformed his Nen Aura into a dust-like circle, which then spread outwards.

Silence.

From the camp outwards into a vast area, even to the very edge of its perimeter, one can hardly sense any living creatures.

Just then...

Koala and Men Qi returned from afar.

"No, there's no living creature at all. We basically don't see any living prey."

When Men Qi returned, she plopped down on the ground and said helplessly.

At this moment Illumi said, "It seems that even if the Sand Worm itself transforms into Life Force to nourish this area, it still cannot make up for the creatures it has destroyed."

"This previous encounter also caused many creatures in the area to migrate to distant places out of fear."

"From this perspective, although this area won't collapse, it might become very desolate in the short term."

Without fresh prey, Men Qi had no choice but to take out the food she had stored in Ximo's RV and use it.

Any ingredient will taste bad if it's not fresh.

The same applies to nutrition.

While everyone else was resting in the camp and doing their own thing, Kevin sat cross-legged by the fire.

In my hand is that feather.

Kevin held the base of the feather and turned it around, staring intently at it, as if he were looking directly at the eye pattern on the feather.

So what exactly is this thing for?

Kevin had been thinking about this question.

This feather comes from the Sky Overlord.

An absolutely powerful creature.

My previous actions must have helped the Sky Overlord; that's for sure, there's no need to doubt it.

After all, this area is the territory of the Sky Overlord, and Sand Worm are absolute destroyers.

The Sand Worm that he had restrained gave the Sky Overlord the opportunity to defeat his opponent.

So, deliberately leaving this feather behind is clearly some kind of reward or reward.

First and foremost, it must be clear that the Sky Overlord are definitely beings with advanced intelligence.

Therefore, the intention is clear.

But what exactly is the purpose of this thing? There's no explanation given.

Is the main issue the materials?

The fact that it's not the material itself is strange.

If it's not a material, then this feather must have some other use.

There are two ways to find out its uses.

One option is to seek answers from someone who knows the answer.

The first possibility is Machine Lifeform, but Kevin thinks it's unlikely.

The chances of Tuck knowing the usefulness of this thing are extremely low.

Another one that might be known is the Lord's Resentful Eater Snake.

The most powerful Resentful Eater Snake ignored, or even disregarded, the presence of Kevin and his companions in the lair.

I don't care.

Naturally, they wouldn't engage in any so-called communication.

There is another way.

Use your Nen Aura to envelop and activate it, or to conduct a more detailed examination.

Kevin's Nen Aura is capable of doing that.

However, once you activate the package with your Nen Aura, it will definitely trigger something.

If this feather is not an ordinary object.

Essentially, it's about giving energy.

Therefore, such behavior must involve risks.

Kevin's current task is to determine whether this behavior carries a high risk.

He felt it wasn't high.

Because it would be too easy for the Sky Overlord to harm him; it wouldn't require any complicated schemes.

The only risk comes from one possibility.

The feather bestowed upon him by the Sky Overlord was a reward for himself, but for Kevin it might be an unbearable gift.

A gift bestowed by an overly powerful creature can become a source of harm for a weaker one if it goes too far.

The two sides are on completely different levels.

However, if we think about it this way, it seems to make us think that the Sky Overlord is too ignorant and too weak.

This creates a vicious cycle.

Clutching the feather tightly, Kevin made up his mind.

Try activating it.

To this Sky Overlord, Kevin and his companions were far too weak, mere Chimera Ant that could be crushed at will.

Therefore, the feather given must have a purpose.

Furthermore, as they delved deeper into the Dark Continent, each encounter with an entity related to the Sky Overlord only amplified the opponent's power.

Then all you need to do is believe.

The Nen Aura flows from the hands.

The people around them turned their heads.

They had actually been watching Kevin all along, paying attention to the feather in Kevin's hand.

That thing is very important.

They all know.

But they all understood that they couldn't offer any advice or answers.

They don't know this better than Kevin.

So when Kevin made a move, everyone's eyes turned to him.

When the Nen Aura envelops the feathers.

It's like charging an appliance.

Then.

A certain sensation is stimulating me.

Jin closed his eyes without hesitation.

Without him needing to remind them, everyone who turned to look instinctively closed their eyes; it was their body's intuition telling them this.

Close your eyes.

Do not look directly at it.

Their bodies behaved in this way.

They clearly didn't have that thought.

Only Kevin stared intently at the feather, watching the eye pattern on it light up.

It was as if he had opened his eyes.

Then, everything on the feathers melted into the eye pattern, leaving only the eye pattern floating in front of Kevin.

It is no longer a feather.

It's not an icon.

Kevin didn't understand; he still didn't figure out what this thing was, and there was no feedback whatsoever.

I just know there's no danger.

His intuition gave him no indication of danger.

His eyes darted around.

It floated down.

It landed in the center of Kevin's palm, and then the icon transformed into a stamp, imprinting itself on Kevin's palm and merging with his flesh and blood.

Like a tattoo.

That feeling is gone.

Jin and the others opened their eyes, eager to get started.

They frowned.

However, even under these circumstances, no one made a sound to disturb them.

Kevin had already stood up, looking at the eye tattoo on his palm, frowning and clenching his fist repeatedly.

After a long while, he took a deep breath.

Phew—what a scare!

After making a comment, Kevin finally relaxed and looked at everyone.

A wicked smile curled at the corner of his lips.

Extend your arm straight out, spread your fingers, and let the eye in your palm face the crowd.

Then Kevin flicked his wrist, his palm facing Jin.

Although Kim didn't know what Kevin was up to, he knew it couldn't be anything good, because Kevin's smile didn't suggest he was up to anything.

The moment I move my leg, I try to avoid it.

"Certainly!"

Just as Jin was about to take action, he suddenly felt his muscles tense up, and his body froze in place as if it no longer belonged to him.

"Haha, how about it?"

Jin wasn't alarmed; instead, he rolled his eyes and tried to experience the sensation.

"My body no longer belongs to me. It is my body, I can feel and experience it, but I can no longer control it."

Jin experienced it firsthand, accurately describing her feelings.

Kevin clenched his fist, his eyes covered by his palm.

Jin immediately felt his body return to control, shook himself uncomfortably, and bounced around a bit.

Feeling my body returning to normal.

He rarely experienced the feeling of having his body completely under his control.

"That's amazing! Is that pattern really that powerful? I didn't have any ability to resist at all."

Jin said somewhat awkwardly.

Even when facing Kevin at his peak, King knew he was no match for him, but he shouldn't be in such a helpless situation as he is now.

These are two completely different concepts.

"That's not all, my friend."

Kevin smiled and opened his arms again, but this time he wasn't facing the crowd, but rather the ground beside him.

The earth cracked open, and a tender bud sprouted from it.

Then the branches grew, and before everyone could see, it became a small tree, which then blossomed and bore fruit.

Several plump fruits hung on the branches.

They witnessed the entire process with their own eyes, standing right beside the growth.

"I'm really curious now, what kind of ability is this?"

Jin's eyes widened in surprise as he asked.

Because if it's the kind of body control we just discussed, then it can be explained.

But now the seeds on the ground are allowed to grow into trees.

These are two different concepts.

"Domination? I have the right to Domination, and I understand, I basically understand, the situation in this entire region, or rather, the territory of the Sky Overlord."

"Domination ----"

Illumi murmured to herself, savoring the word.

"Can you Domination everything in this area? What are the limitations on the targets of that Domination?"

Jin couldn't help but ask.

Kevin sat back down on the ground and gestured to the crowd to relax.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you slowly. It's really frustrating, all of this."

Kevin sighed and shook his head.

Then he looked at himself and tapped his palm with his left hand.

"This thing is a kind of Ability Seal of the Sky Overlord. I have to say, the name I gave it is really appropriate."

"In this region, the Sky Overlord is the absolute king, the absolute Overlord, and everything here is under his Domination."

"And the Lord I named is also very suitable, because now I have also become Lord. For the Sky Overlord, in his territory, the Lord is not because the other party is really strong, but because the Sky Overlord acknowledges the other party's strength."

"Acknowledging that the other party is powerful and useful to this region is like the Sand Worm, which essentially possesses Lord Level strength but is not recognized by the Sky Overlord. Therefore, you cannot essentially consider it the Lord of this region."

The moment the stamp was placed on his palm, those simple messages were already imprinted in Kevin's mind.

By using this information to deduce the truth, many of my previous confusions were immediately cleared up, and all the questions were connected into a single line.

Everything became clear.

At this point, Kevin shook his head and gave a helpless smile.

"And now I know why we've been through all of this. Like Gon said before, we seem to have been a little too lucky."

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned; it was not a pleasant remark.

They were certainly lucky.

But it can only be attributed to luck.

If it's luck that's Domination by others, then that's rather chilling.

"There's no need to think of it as so tragic. After all, he wants me to be Lord. Demonstrating my abilities is a necessary form of deterrence."

The information emanating from the eye-shaped seal in my hand included some information about the Sky Overlord.

It's clearly telling the creature that becomes the Lord that this is a blessing, and that they should be grateful and not betray it.

"For the Sky Overlord, his territory changes according to his will, and this change of will is very, very subtle, and it is natural."

"Take that Sand Worm, for example. It's bound to cause damage to this territory, but it can also penetrate deep underground, making it impossible for the Sky Overlord to catch it."

After all, the opponent is the Sky Overlord, while the Sand Worm is deep underground.

To some extent, this can be described as elemental counteraction.

"How long has this Sand Worm been ravaging this area? I think at least a thousand years, after all, the Lord the Resentful Eater Snake once encountered it."

"When Lord Level being appears in this territory and seems to pose a threat to the Sand Worm, the fate of this region will begin to shift invisibly."

"Just like the Resentful Eater Snake that came to adulthood before, it encountered Sand Worm not long after leaving its nest, fought them, and ultimately lost."

"It can be said that this is the grudge left over from the conflict between her mother and the other party a thousand years ago, but it can also be understood as the fluctuation of fate in this region."

"Such fluctuations are natural, continuous, and silent, which is why we encountered them."

After Kevin finished speaking, everyone still frowned.

Kiy asked with a grim expression, "So we were actually arranged to be controlled?"

Kevin shook his head.

"Don't think of it that way. It's a very strange concept. It's not simple control. No one is in control. It's just an inevitable trend that has changed."

"That's roughly how it works: don't get stuck on the details, and even using luck as a factor isn't really a problem."

Thinking like this will only lead to endless detours and dead ends.

After thinking it over, Kevin came to a conclusion, and also told everyone not to dwell on such meaningless matters.

"This is the Domination of the Sky Overlord. He's telling me that his Domination allows things to develop in a way that aligns with his will."