One-Eyed Monster

Igor never felt the sense of disgrace that people depicted him with.

He neither became antisocial due to others’ alienation, nor did he ever get angry over their mockery. Sometimes, he seemed like a stranger living in a different universe, untouched and unaffected by anything happening around him. At other times, he was reminiscent of the numerous creatures that exist in the world, inseparable from his surroundings.

In the eyes of others, Igor was an outsider, and worse, a shameless one. He never felt embarrassed about his reckless and ignorant actions, and would often repeat them, unabashedly.

As one of the teachers at Yonder Travel Academy put it, ”I have never seen such a brazenly shameless person.”

The teacher who made this comment had been tormented by Igor’s persistence. Igor constantly disrupted his class, each time being ejected for asking irrelevant questions. However, in no time at all, the young troublemaker would sneak back in, once again posing the same pointless questions.

For instance, when teaching a group of unruly children about steam railway tracks, the boy outrageously asked why the wheels beneath the locomotive were round rather than square... There was no need to answer such a profoundly ignorant question!

Such an ostensibly simple question led to two full days of perturbation. His unanticipated interruptions left teachers unprepared. Apart from repeatedly expelling the impertinent child, they had no other method to vent their irritation. However, the boy’s audacity seemed limitless, and he would reappear, grinning from ear to ear.

This misfit should be expelled from Yonder Travel Academy!

Many teachers suggested this to the principal.

Yet the principal always seemed to be drowsy, and his responses were always one of two things: either ”Yonder Travel Academy can change your fate,” or ”Yonder Travel Academy refuses no one.”

This particular statement, ”Yonder Travel Academy refuses no one,” allowed Igor to continue causing chaos at the academy.

The teachers were naturally exasperated but had to obey the principal’s decision. After all, Yonder Travel Academy had the support of the Luona City Administrative Office. This meant that Igor was not the only eccentric character in the academy.

As the saying goes, like attracts like. Although many found Igor’s audacity strange, there were others who admired him, including Head Chef Stephen and Russef Hadi.

Russef Hadi was one of the infamous eccentrics at Yonder Travel Academy. To put it another way, he was unequivocally a weirdo. However, due to his position as a teacher and his outstanding abilities, most people dared not label him as such, whether to his face or behind his back. It was clear that sometimes, power could indeed influence what people dared to say.

The eccentrics at Yonder Travel Academy mostly tended to be independent, never gathering in groups.

Some said that these eccentrics feared nothing, so they weren’t afraid of being solitary. Only those filled with fear needed to gather in groups to mask their inherent dread.

Only eccentrics could understand an eccentric’s world. To others, the words of these eccentrics sounded like utter nonsense. However, to their kin, the same words seemed profoundly wise.

Russef Hadi had pitifully few apprentices because he was an eccentric. His way of doing things was whimsical and lacked principle. Many ambitious young people, after attending only one or two of his classes, left in disappointment. These ambitious youngsters thought the eccentric was just spouting nonsense. They learned nothing and believed that continuing to listen would be a complete waste of time, hindering the realization of their great ambitions.

Russef Hadi was a teacher guiding Adventurers at Yonder Travel Academy. Few apprentices were interested in the profession of Adventurer, possibly largely because of his eccentricity. Many questioned how an eccentric could become a teacher and, moreover, how a few students could still attend his classes. This was something that many couldn’t comprehend.

In many people’s eyes, the existence of Russef Hadi and his classes was utterly unreasonable. Yet, this perceived irrationality existed, grandly and without a hint of embarrassment.

This level of shamelessness had truly crossed a certain line.

Igor was one of the few apprentices under Russef Hadi. Despised by many teachers, the child was nonetheless deeply admired by Russef. Russef found the boy extraordinarily focused. Igor would throw himself passionately into anything new. Moreover, the child noticed every minute detail and had an exceptional memory for all these minutiae, setting him apart from the ordinary.

However, Igor’s strong focus and memory were not the main reasons Russef Hadi was fond of him.

Teacher Russef Hadi mainly thought the boy was tenacious. This child would investigate every matter to its root, tracing it back to the source. This spirit of exploration was a rare gift, and people possessing it were increasingly scarce.

Russef once asked Igor, ”Why don’t you follow your father in chopping and selling wood, instead of always running to the academy to cause trouble?”

Igor replied that his father felt the academy could change a person’s fate and asked him to give it a shot. He, too, wanted to know what this ”fate” thing was and what it meant to ”change” it.

”So, have you found out what fate is?” Russef asked.

”Not yet. After attending a few classes at the academy, I just feel like I’ve become smaller. There are so many things I don’t know, so many things I’ve never seen. These things, like fate, have me completely trapped. I need to find a way out...”

”How can you get out?”

”Probably by chasing the light, I can get out.”

”By chasing the light, one could break free.” This sentence echoed in Russef’s ears. It had been a long time since he had heard such clear and resonant words. The phrase filled him with a long-absent feeling, like sipping cool spring water on an Extreme Summer day; the refreshing coolness lingered, savored for a long time.

By following the light, one could break free.

Igor was just such a peculiar person, an explorer chasing the light, always seeking answers in the unknown, fearless.

Therefore, Igor didn’t fly into a rage like Kadi did.

There’s always a way.

There will always be a way out.

Igor even comforted Kadi from time to time.

This Ghost Wind Valley was indeed mysterious, but it wasn’t necessarily a dead end. Every maze has an exit.

The exit in Igor’s eyes might still look foolish, but it was the most powerful.

Kadi’s eyes widened; he seemed unable to believe what Igor had just said.

”By following the light, one could break free.”

That’s what Igor had said.