One-Eyed Monster

”Yes, the flames you’re seeing follow a certain pattern,” Igor patiently explained to Kadi.

”Pattern?” Kadi was always astounded by Igor’s explanations. To him, Igor’s explanations were like reprimands from that old fellow Kevin—things he could only listen to. Kadi would usually let it go in one ear and out the other, forgetting it immediately.

”Yes, a pattern. The kind where, by observing what’s happening now, we can predict what comes next.”

”Oh, so that’s how it is.” Kadi chuckled. He had grown accustomed to Igor’s lengthy lectures.

”Next, I’m going to calculate the frequency of this swamp’s ’breathing’,” Igor announced, clapping his hands, which were still greasy from the grilled fish.

”Oh, do you need any help from me?” Kadi hastily asked, afraid he would miss something. Truth be told, despite not having missed anything so far, he hadn’t actually contributed to the progress of matters at all.

Kadi felt guilty about this. It was precisely this guilt that made him so obedient to Igor’s orders, a sort of internal compensation.

”Err, I need quiet while I’m calculating, Kadi,” Igor said reluctantly. But he had overthought it; Kadi hadn’t caught the implied meaning of his words at all.

”No need? Then what should I do?” After devouring the last tough chunk of grilled fish, Kadi’s mouth was dry. He picked up a nearby water pouch and, GULP GULP, poured water into his wide mouth.

”Er...” It was only then Igor realized Kadi hadn’t grasped the meaning of his earlier words. To ensure he could concentrate on his calculations, Igor decided to find something to keep Kadi occupied.

”How about you count how many jets of flame there are?” Igor suggested, blinking. He estimated there were at least two hundred intermittent jets of flame. Given Kadi’s habits, it would take him at least an hour to count them all. Kadi always had trouble counting moving objects. Igor had noticed this when he’d asked Kadi to count birds flying in the sky. Kadi always struggled to count birds flying in formation; he would count them over and over, always having to start again from the beginning.

In his heart, Igor was grateful for these birds in the sky and the fish in the water. The birds often swooped down into the swamp to feed, completely unaffected by the erupting flames. More importantly, these birds seemed to anticipate the flames, miraculously evading them without a single feather being singed. As for the fish, their sacrifice not only filled Igor and Kadi’s stomachs but also those of the birds... Only with full stomachs could they muster the strength to think about other matters.

After sending Kadi away, Igor picked up a stick and started drawing on the ground again.

If only I were a Scholar, I wouldn’t have to do this, Igor thought. Scholars can perceive these patterns directly; it’s their Numerical Sensing Skill, something ordinary people don’t possess.

The stones Kadi had thrown earlier had already helped Igor determine the characteristics of these strange flames. Igor had Kadi throw stones in specified directions; he’d have Kadi toss several stones to one spot in a particular direction, then repeat for other spots. Based on his previous probability calculations, he concluded that these Flame Eruptions were natural and not triggered by external objects.

Understanding this, Igor became more certain that the Flame Eruptions in the swamp followed a regular pattern.

Afterward, he had Kadi start throwing sticks and reed poles. Without exception, these sticks and poles were all bound with large tufts of reed catkins. When Kadi threw them to the designated locations, the large tufts of reed catkins on them stood upright, fluttering nicely in the wind, making them easy to spot.

Once these Markers were tossed to their designated locations, Igor’s overall setup was complete.

Moreover, this round of throwing also helped Igor confirm one more crucial point: he could now determine which parts of the seemingly endless White Swamp were treacherous marsh and which were solid ground.

Where it was marshy, the Markers with reed catkins immediately sank. Conversely, on solid ground, they stood firm and fluttered in the breeze. However, one thing surprised Igor: the Markers that stood firm were always near a fire jet. This meant that all the solid ground in this swamp was next to a fire jet. Walking on that solid ground carelessly could result in burns, or even death in severe cases.

It had to be said, collecting those reed poles and tree branches, and gathering reed catkins consumed the most time. The small trees near the cave were nearly all stripped bare; not a single one was spared. Every branch and reed pole also had a rope tied to it, anchoring a small stone or piece of wood. No matter how one looked at it, preparing all these things clearly required considerable effort.

Igor’s hands still ached faintly. It was no wonder they ached; rubbing so many ropes in such a short time would make anyone’s hands sore. Considering this, it was no wonder they had devoured the terrible-tasting grilled fish, leaving not even bones.

If someone were to look down from a high point, they would be astonished; Igor and Kadi had indeed created a spectacle. From above, the swamp appeared partitioned section by section by Igor and Kadi’s large Big Reed Flowers. The ropes, with their attached stones, were pulled taut into straight lines by the force of Kadi’s throws (this was largely due to Kadi’s ability; his control over his strength was nearly perfect). These lines crisscrossed, dividing the swamp into various squares, rectangles, and triangles.

”Left two, forward four, retreat five, advance one. So this is how the swamp ’breathes’,” Igor nodded, apparently having figured out what he wanted to know.

Kadi had only counted to fifteen by this time. Of course, the intermittent Flame Eruptions had forced him to start over three times.

”Hey, Kadi!” Igor quickly called out to Kadi, who was still counting.

”Huh?” Kadi turned his head. ”You interrupted me. I just got to sixteen. See, now I have to start my count all over again.”

”No need to count anymore. There are a total of one hundred and ninety-four fire jets. The flames erupt approximately every three hundred to four hundred Gudu Times,” Igor explained incessantly, not caring whether Kadi understood or not.

”Huh?” Kadi’s eyes widened.

”Now we need to start practicing,” Igor said, stretching his neck.

”Huh?” A confused Kadi didn’t understand.

”Do you see this big map on the ground?”

Kadi looked in the direction Igor pointed and saw a moderately sized diagram Igor had drawn on the ground. It was a large square with many smaller squares and triangles inside.

”This swamp seems to be sick, continuously breathing out fire. We’ve marked every fire jet. These fire-snakes rise and fall, and I’ve calculated the interval between each eruption, which I just told you.”

”Er, what does this have to do with us?”

”We need to cross this swamp, which means we must walk right next to these flames. What we need to practice next is our footwork. Special, rhythmic, jumping steps.”