One-Eyed Monster

”Kindness? Deception?” Kadi was bewildered when he heard these two words.

In Kadi’s impression, there was no way to associate that old guy Kevin with the word ”kindness.” The Kevin he remembered was a complete jerk, always beating him and swearing profusely. He couldn’t see any kindness in him at all...

”It’s a long story.” Guru Guru sighed, as if a sorrowful memory coursed through him.

”Every story has a beginning, and every beginning leads to a long journey. Teacher Hadi often told me this, but I never understood.” Igor scratched his head. Guru Guru’s words brought back fleeting memories from Yonder Travel Academy.

”Hadi? You mean Russev Hadi?” Guru Guru looked at Igor.

”Yes, he is our mentor.” Igor, having eaten his fill, looked revitalized and spoke with newfound confidence.

That Hadi fellow actually managed to tame his wild heart and dedicate himself to being a mentor. It seems the world outside has changed quite rapidly, Guru Guru mused to himself.

”Don’t change the subject! You still haven’t explained why you’re the leader of the monsters on this mountain,” Kadi pressed, still fixated on the issue.

”Hehehe, Kadi, your temperament is quite like Kevin’s—always so impatient.” Guru Guru looked at Kadi with kind eyes and spoke slowly.

”Time flies. In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so big, and we’ve grown old. This world will be yours in the future.” People who get sentimental tend to ramble, and Guru Guru was no exception, his words flowing one after another.

”Enough of this useless talk!” Kadi tossed aside the grilled fish in his hand and widened his eyes, still grappling with how Kevin could possibly be kind.

”Hehehe.” Seeing Kadi’s anxiousness, Guru Guru couldn’t help but chuckle.

”Monsters aren’t so scary. There are countless things in this world far more terrifying than monsters.” Guru Guru began to philosophize again.

”Scary or not, you still need to answer Kadi’s question,” Igor said to Guru Guru with a smile, actually quite interested himself.

”As I said, it’s a long story.”

”Quick, tell us, tell us! We don’t mind if it’s long,” Kadi urged, still as impatient as ever.

”It’s a long story. Are you ready for it?”

”Listening to stories is what I do best.” Igor smiled faintly, genuinely interested in all sorts of tales.

”Alright, let’s start from the beginning. However, before we begin, there are some other things you need to understand.” Guru Guru spread his hands, and the stone they had used to grill the fish instantly changed its appearance.

”Is this Alchemy?” Igor’s eyes lit up, his mouth agape.

”Correct, this is Alchemy. This stone is a composite material. Under the influence of an Alchemy Equation, it can transform according to my specific equation.”

”Only a High Rank Alchemist could achieve this, right?”

”High Rank, Low Rank... those are merely standards set by initiates. When your Spirit Power reserves are sufficient and your Spirit Sensing Ability reaches its own limit, everything becomes interconnected. Therefore, many things are illusory.”

Igor didn’t understand what Guru Guru meant and could only scratch his head, puzzled.

”The world we inhabit is changing day by day, and no one can truly comprehend the origin of these changes...”

”Wait, wait, wait!” Igor couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t understand a single word, nor grasp what the old man before him was trying to convey. So, he had to interrupt Guru Guru in this seemingly crude manner, hoping to stop him from speaking such incomprehensible things.

”Hmm?” Guru Guru looked at Igor, a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.

”What you’re saying is too profound. I don’t understand it. Could you perhaps tell the story in a different way?” Igor asked bluntly.

Kadi felt even more lost, as if he’d wandered into a maze. They were supposed to be getting answers to their questions, but suddenly it had turned into storytelling. This isn’t right, he thought, this isn’t what I expected at all!

After hearing Igor’s words, Guru Guru smiled faintly. ”Hehe, I seem to have been a bit too hasty. You are still children. My apologies.”

A brief silence fell. During this pause, the large stone used for grilling fish had already transformed. It became perfectly square, with several distinct sections, resembling a kind of large map table.

”This is...” Igor’s eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at the transformed table.

”Yes, this is a territorial map, a map of the continent we depend on for survival.” Guru Guru reached out and gently stroked the map.

”Why does it look different from what we remember?” Igor glanced around, noticing that many areas were different from the maps he had seen at Yonder Travel Academy.

”This is the entire continent. The maps you’re familiar with likely only show the Three Great Empires,” Guru Guru said softly.

”So you’re saying the maps we usually see are incomplete?” Igor asked.

”Even this territorial map you’re looking at now is incomplete,” Guru Guru replied.

Igor looked up, his face etched with confusion.

”Our understanding of this world has only just begun. The strife among the Three Great Empires has always been the dominant theme of this world. Humanity’s pursuit of power far outweighs its thirst for understanding the world.” The wrinkles on Guru Guru’s face seemed to shift, his ancient countenance fully revealed.

”The Three Great Empires? Power? Thirst?” It was all gibberish to Kadi; he couldn’t understand a word Igor and Guru Guru were saying.

”Yes, Kadi. This continent we depend on for survival is constantly in a state of conflict. Look, this is the Kayne Realm, where we are now.” Seeing Kadi’s confusion, Igor patiently explained. With the map before them, many things were simpler and clearer to describe.

”It’s so small!” Kadi exclaimed, looking at a small circle on the map.

”Guru Mountain is even smaller on this territorial map,” Guru Guru added, also trying to clarify things for Kadi, though his explanation was clearly not as easy to grasp as Igor’s.

”The reason this continent is called the Yowein Continent is also inextricably linked to the Three Great Empires.” Igor stroked his chin, adopting the air of a seasoned lecturer.

”Oh?” Kadi looked up at Igor, puzzled yet expectant. He was eager to know the answer.

Guru Guru wore a similar expression, seemingly just as eager to hear what Igor would say.

”The Three Great Empires each occupy a distinct territory on this continent. Look, the northwestern region is the Ghost Realm, controlled by the Mantai Empire. It’s a land of high mountains and treacherous terrain, full of barbarians. The southeast, on the other hand, is the Vero Realm, occupied by the Wensi Empire. That area has intricate waterways and crisscrossing rivers, and it’s teeming with cunning folk.”

”Hmm, your descriptions of the Mantai Empire and the Wensi Empire certainly carry Russef Hadi’s style.” Guru Guru’s eyes narrowed to slits.

But Igor paid him no mind and continued explaining to Kadi, ”And situated between these two is our own Kayne Realm!”