One-Eyed Monster

”What are they doing?” Lord Xiso asked Arnold, unable to hide his impatience.

”I don’t know. It looks like they’re dancing,” Arnold answered, looking through the telescope Xiso had given him. He saw Kadi and Igor jumping around—sometimes on one foot, sometimes on both. It was utterly perplexing.

”Dancing?” Xiso was so furious he began to doubt the Great Mentor’s judgment.

What on earth is Igor doing? Earlier, I saw him roasting fish through the telescope. Utterly foolish! Shouldn’t he be trying various ways to cross the swamp? How can he be so relaxed?

Through the telescope, Xiso could observe the details of Igor and his companion. It was undeniably a useful gadget. If this little thing had been used in the National Defense War, it would have saved a lot of the Hunters’ Spirit Power, and the war wouldn’t have been so desperate...

Xiso’s thoughts began to drift. Although he worries day and night about the country, this country has already abandoned him. In his current state, he would be ruthlessly driven out wherever he went. The only thing he can do now, as the Great Mentor said, is to pass on his will and let posterity judge the rights and wrongs.

Naturally, his mood soured when he saw Kadi and Igor unhurriedly engaging in what seemed like irrelevant tasks.

They still have the mood to dance? Was my warning not weighty enough, or are these two fellows naturally weaklings? That young man, he doesn’t know him, so never mind. But Kadi, he is familiar with. In his mind, Kadi is not that kind of idiot. Kadi should be said to be very clever; although sometimes he acts foolishly, overall, he is quite smart. What a pity. These two fellows, it seems they are destined to be eliminated. This can’t be blamed on others; they couldn’t even pass the first trial to meet the Great Mentor. Truly disappointing. It seems the method of passing on their will might have to change. These two young men are not worthy of entrustment.

Xiso was exasperated by Igor and Kadi’s apparent lack of ambition.

”Arnold, I don’t think you need to upgrade your traps anymore. These two little fellows won’t make it over here...”

”This...” Arnold was at a loss for words.

A gust of wind swept over the swamp. The reeds fluttered, rising and falling in patches, accompanied by the surging flames. The scene was breathtakingly spectacular.

Wait, aren’t those unnatural-looking Big Reed Flowers the things those two fellows set up? Now, the ones standing there, plus those burned by the flames, form a picture on this swamp that looks so familiar... Those messy things forming those lines of images, looking at it in reverse, isn’t it exactly left two, front four, back five...? Could it be...

Xiso’s breath hitched. The scene he was witnessing was remarkably similar to something in his mind, but he couldn’t quite recall what it was.

Left two, front four, back five... My heavens! Isn’t this the passage through this swamp! Is this a coincidence? Impossible! This young man actually calculated the passage through this swamp!

This far exceeded Xiso’s imagination. He originally thought Igor’s entire setup was merely to calculate things like the area of this swamp. He never imagined that Igor could calculate the passage through the swamp!

Of course, he didn’t know that Igor wasn’t calculating the passage, but the breathing frequency of the swamp.

Xiso was a scholar. He possessed an extraordinary Numerical Sensing Skill. It was this very skill that caused him to lose his judgment regarding the basic calculations ordinary people had to make. Because the Numerical Sensing Skill directly provided him with answers, he didn’t need to perform calculations himself. He just had to unleash his Spirit Power, observe the swamp, and he could discern its patterns. He didn’t need to calculate, so he had misjudged what Igor was calculating.

Xiso was utterly shocked. His earlier despondency vanished in an instant. Now, he wasn’t just excited; there was also a hint of surprise.

It seems we really underestimated this Igor. On the other hand, the Great Mentor’s judgment is truly astute.

Now, Xiso finally understood what Igor and Kadi were doing, bouncing around like that.

Those two weren’t dancing at all; they were practicing—practicing how to cross the swamp.

”Arnold!” Xiso raised his voice.

”Hmm? Lord Xiso!” Arnold exclaimed, taken aback by Xiso’s reaction.

”Get your traps ready,” Xiso said gravely.

”Hmm?” Arnold paused, stunned.

”They will be here soon,” Xiso explained.

”Ah?” Arnold was still confused. Just moments ago, he had been told not to prepare the traps, and now, in less than an instant, he was being told to prepare them thoroughly.

This left Arnold a little at a loss.

”We underestimated this young man named Igor,” Xiso explained, seeing Arnold’s confused face. ”We need to be more serious next.”

”Yes, Lord Xiso.” Arnold felt a surge of energy. His previous confusion vanished instantly. He began to concentrate his Spirit Power, fully preparing for what was to come.

The sun in the sky continued to shine with a gentle warmth, blanketing everyone on the ground. If you paid close attention, you could even taste the sunshine.

”TSK, TSK,” Igor smacked his lips. It seemed the taste he perceived wasn’t pleasant; even the sunshine on his skin felt cold.

”Jump two squares to the left, jump four squares forward, then back five squares, then forward one square...” Kadi jumped according to Igor’s instructions.

”It seems a bit difficult to jump five or six squares forward,” Kadi said, leisurely looking at the Big Reed Flowers in the swamp.

”Yes, so we need to make our steps consistent. Touch down lightly, then continuously jump forward. That way, we can avoid those flames within a few minutes.” Igor demonstrated for Kadi, tiptoeing and jumping. At first glance, it did look like dancing—specifically, a kind of tiptoe ballet.

”That’s right. We must practice until we’re skilled so that we’ll achieve twice the result with half the effort later. Success in one try!” Igor encouraged Kadi.

”What if we can’t succeed in one try?” Kadi asked. This was indeed a thought-provoking question. Was there a plan B, or perhaps a retreat route?

”Uh... it seems this is the only way to cross this fire-spewing swamp.”

”So if we accidentally make a mistake, won’t we be...”

”No, don’t worry. Have confidence in yourself!” Igor boosted Kadi’s morale once more.

Kadi pursed his lips. These jumping steps were certainly not easy to practice. But Igor currently had no other plans. He could only grit his teeth and continue jumping.

Jumping was the quickest way to cross the swamp. Igor really wanted to explain this to Kadi, but some things require a backup plan or an escape route to truly reassure people.

Unfortunately, Igor hadn’t devised any such alternatives. All he could do was have Kadi continue to practice the jumping steps because, at this moment, it was his one and only option.