One-Eyed Monster

Kadi didn’t know if being an Adventurer was an inconspicuous profession.

All Kadi knew was that Igor didn’t look well right now.

As a monster, Kadi had many traits different from ordinary people, his eyesight being one of them. While his night vision wasn’t perfectly equivalent to daylight, it wasn’t far off.

Kadi saw Igor’s face turning pale, then green, as if under some terrible strain; his complexion looked awful.

”Is your stomach bothering you?” Kadi cautiously asked Igor.

”Huh?” Igor was puzzled by Kadi’s question, not understanding why he’d ask.

”I saw your complexion was very poor, so I thought you had a stomachache.”

”Uh, it’s not my stomach. It’s just that what you said about the Monster Association and the Association of Adventurers made me think of some things, and those things have left me a bit bewildered.”

”What’s there to be bewildered about? At least you know where you’re going. At least you have the Association of Adventurers to pursue. At least you have something worth concerning yourself with. Unlike me, I don’t even know where to go, and I can’t find any of my own kind...” Kadi’s voice grew softer, as if something had struck a painful chord.

”No, it can’t be like that. If the Association of Adventurers is really as you’ve analyzed, I’d rather not go.”

In Igor’s mind, being an Adventurer was an extraordinary profession. It was different from Fighters and Hunters who single-mindedly pursued power to earn others’ respect. It was also different from Wizards and Alchemists who relied on studying ores and plants to obtain gold coins. And it was certainly different from Scholars and Politicians who could achieve high status merely with their words. Adventurers were true practitioners, a noble profession. This profession lacked the vulgarity associated with the others; it didn’t seek fame or fortune. Adventurers were always on the move.

However, in reality, being an Adventurer was a solitary profession; it offered its master no returns. When a person put in effort but didn’t receive corresponding rewards, they would feel an imbalance. On the Yowein Continent, which revered Equivalent Exchange, if such imbalances appeared on a large scale, it would incite widespread discontent. This discontent, in minor cases, could lead to regional resistance, and in major cases, national turmoil, making it very difficult to control. Therefore, throughout the Yowein Continent, no monarch of any Empire would endorse this profession that could potentially lead to imbalance. Thus, to this day, the Yowein Continent only promotes the six major professions. The Adventurer profession could only lie forgotten in a corner, touched by a mere scattering of people.

This sparse contact, however, lent the profession a unique charm. The very few practitioners quickly shrouded it in an aura of mystery, which naturally attracted individuals like Igor.

But now, Igor suddenly found that the Adventurer profession was different from what he had imagined. Instead, it was becoming more like the rumors said: a profession with no rewards, rife with imbalance.

Kadi watched Igor, who was resting his chin on his hand with a furrowed brow, deep in thought. Kadi decided not to disturb the pensive man and turned his attention back to the campfire.

ACHOO!

A loud sneeze suddenly echoed from mid-air. It was surprisingly powerful, making Kadi’s ears ache faintly.

Kadi leaped up. ”Who’s there?!”

Igor was also startled out of his myriad thoughts. That sneeze had been very sudden, and it seemed to have come from his own body...

ACHOO! ACHOO! ACHOO! Three more sneezes followed in quick succession.

Kadi stared blankly as Igor frantically patted down his clothes. This time, Kadi was certain the sneezes came from Igor.

Could Igor be cursed?

Or has this guy been parasitized by some new Parasite?

Kadi had never seen anything like this sudden sound production...

Igor was also flustered. He clearly felt the sneezes came from his own body, but no matter how he looked, he couldn’t find anything amiss.

”Damn it!” Igor plopped onto the ground, giving up the search.

”You’re the ghost! ACHOO—!” Before Igor’s bottom had even settled, the voice sounded again.

This caught Igor completely off guard, and he fell backward onto the ground.

”You brat, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten this great one! I am the renowned Spirit Book! The masterpiece of Yoweien’s greatest Wizard and Adventurer, Lord Soron himself! All of you should be prostrating yourselves at my feet! ACHOO...”

The familiar nagging instantly reminded Igor that there was a book in his knapsack.

That was the book the Great Witch of Gaga County had given him. He had almost forgotten about it these past few days.

Igor couldn’t be blamed. The Spirit Book had been silent and out of contact for so long that anyone would have forgotten it by now.

Igor climbed up from the ground and pulled the book from his knapsack. Due to the earlier fall into the water, the book was now completely soaked!

”You are all truly despicable! How dare you treat this great one like this! How could you drop me in the water? If I were a book handwritten on parchment, I’d be a blurry mess by now! You should thank your lucky stars I’m a Spirit Book! Water and fire can’t make me lose my records... Honestly...”

Before the chattering Spirit Book could finish, it suddenly felt a wave of heat all over, followed by a burning sensation, and then pain...

The saying, ’a sparrow may be small, but it has all its vital organs,’ was perfectly illustrated here. The little Spirit Book, despite being a book, could grimace and shout ”OW, OW, OW!” just like a person.

”So this book is truly amazing!” Kadi’s eyes widened as he held the grimacing book over the campfire to dry it.

”It won’t burn like this!” Igor was equally shocked. When Kadi had snatched the book from his hand, he hadn’t yet realized it was soaked from the water.

”You... you... AH, IT HURTS!” the Spirit Book shrieked, grimacing.

”There,” Kadi said, clapping his hands with a smile. ”Now you’re not wet anymore. All dried out.”

”OW, OW…”

”You should thank me. I got rid of all the dampness on you.”

”Wh-what kind of way is this to dry someone!” the Spirit Book gasped, out of breath.

”I don’t see anything wrong with it. Besides, you said yourself you’re not afraid of fire or water, didn’t you?” Kadi blinked his large eyes.

”You...” The Spirit Book was suddenly speechless. Then, as if remembering something terribly important, it abruptly raised its voice and asked, ”After all this, who are you anyway?”

”Me? Heh, hello. My name is Kadi.”