One-Eyed Monster

This is a long story from a time before Igor was born.

The Yowein Continent, as we know it, is primarily composed of three major landmasses: the Ghost Realm, characterized by its numerous mountains; the Vero Realm, crisscrossed by rivers; and the Kayne Realm, abundant in resources. The Mantai Empire, the Wensi Empire, and the Kayne Empire are distributed across these three landmasses, respectively. These three empires are also the most powerful of the Three Great Empires on the Yowein Continent. However, conflicts among them are frequent, with wars often breaking out at their respective borders. Both the Wensi and Mantai Empires covet the territory of the Kayne Empire, as the Kayne Realm is flat, covered in lush vegetation, and filled with abundant resources.

The Ghost Realm is primarily inhabited by the Mantai People, Mountain Monsters, and Dwarf Monsters. This land has never known peace: Mountain Monsters always occupy the mountain ranges, and Dwarf Monsters staunchly defend their burrows, leaving the solitary Mantai People to constantly roam the grasslands. The Mantai People are strong and valiant, exuding an air of savagery. On the battlefield, Mantai warriors are master combatants, often capable of fighting one against a hundred. Every Mantai possesses a mount, which they consider their second life. These mounts enable them to migrate across the grasslands and evade attacks from Mountain Monsters and Dwarf Monsters. The harsh weather of the grasslands and frequent ambushes by Mountain Monsters and Dwarf Monsters keep the Mantai People in a perpetual state of combat. They even sleep clutching their battle-blades, for they could lose their lives overnight and journey to the Eternal Tranquility Realm. This precarious existence keeps the Mantai People vigilant every Gudu Time.

The bravery of the Mantai People had kept the bizarrely shaped Mountain Monsters at bay for many years. However, through numerous conflicts, the Mantai gradually mastered methods to defeat and control the Mountain Monsters, even training them as mounts to ride upon the battlefield. As for the cowardly Dwarf Monsters, they pose little threat to the Mantai People unless they gather in large numbers. However, these repulsive Dwarf Monsters always stubbornly defended their caves, using elaborate deceptions and cunning tricks that often left the Mantai People frustrated and helpless. Yet, these suspicious and fickle Dwarf Monsters also held a strong interest in Kayne’s fertile lands. They quickly reached a ceasefire with the Mantai People and would even occasionally form alliances to launch joint invasions against the Kayne Empire. The Bess Mountains lie between the Mantai Empire and the Kayne Empire. This mountain range hindered the Mantai’s invasions, which in turn prompted cooperation between the Mantai People and the Dwarf Monsters.

To the northwest of the Kayne Empire lies the Mantai Empire, while to its southeast looms another threatening power. This is the Vero Realm, a land crisscrossed by rivers and teeming with peculiar spirits. The Vero Realm consists mainly of numerous rivers and forests. The rivers nurture mysterious Water Spirits, while the forests are home to whimsical and enigmatic Tree Spirits. The Vero People can only eke out an existence in the gaps, avoiding the deep forests and treacherous waters. The Vero People spend their lives interacting with water and forests. They are skilled swimmers and adept at Spirit Connection; each possesses great agility and extremely quick reflexes.

The Water Spirits are exceedingly mysterious, never revealing their true forms to humans. They are the masters of the waters, controlling all rivers and waterways. No matter how skilled the Vero People are at swimming, they cannot contend with these masters of water. Moreover, Water Spirits dislike Alien Species and rarely attack the Vero People, having coexisted peacefully with humans for many years. The Vero People once attempted to capture Water Spirits, but those adventurers never returned; not even their remains were found. Legend says these brave Vero People were imprisoned by the Water Spirits at the bottom of the water, where they could neither truly live nor die, enslaved for eternity. Only at a fixed time each year, with the Water Spirits’ permission, are these undying individuals allowed ashore to glimpse the world they once knew. This legend, known among the Vero People as the ”Curse of the Water Spirits,” taught them a crucial lesson: never provoke the Water Spirits recklessly.

The Vero People, fearing to provoke the Water Spirits, turned their attention to the forests. Having spent half their lives dealing with water, they constantly dreamed of settling on land. Thus, in their quest for more territory and to build more ships, they began to heavily fell the forests. This large-scale deforestation enraged the Tree Spirits who considered the forests their home. These Tree Spirits, masters of ancient natural arts, moved like phantoms, swiftly tormenting the Vero People until they were driven to a state resembling neither human nor ghost. However, the Vero People, with their tenacious character, did not fear death. They engaged the Tree Spirits in a desperate, life-or-death struggle, paying a heavy price in lives. Blood flowed through the vibrant forest, gradually staining its green expanse a dark crimson. The scent of blood threw the Tree Spirits into an unprecedented panic. This battle led to an accord between the Tree Spirits and the Vero People, and it was this very accord that led to the birth of the Wensi Empire on this land.

However, this empire was not entirely controlled by the Vero People. Periodically, the monarch of the Tree Spirits would become the ruler of the empire. This was the agreement reached between the Vero People and the Tree Spirits: they would rule the land in turns. Yet, the thirst for land remained the ultimate ambition of the Vero People. When no more land could be claimed in the Vero Realm, they cast their eyes upon the world beyond. Kayne naturally became their new target.

Like the Mantai Empire, the Wensi Empire’s path to invade Kayne was also blocked by a formidable natural barrier. This barrier was the Star River, which spurred the Vero People of the Wensi Empire to continue felling forests to build ever more ships.

The Kayne Empire, caught between the Mantai and Wensi Empires, appeared from a geographical standpoint like a helpless lamb awaiting slaughter. The Kayne Realm had no Tree Spirits, Mountain Monsters, Dwarf Monsters, or Water Spirits; only ordinary humans lived there. This fertile land was cultivated by the industrious Kayne People, whose diligent hands and intelligent minds created abundant prosperity. The Kayne People were not as fierce as the Mantai People, nor as agile as the Vero People. Physically, they were unremarkable, but their intellect was another matter entirely. While their minds could not compare to the ancient cunning of the Tree Spirits or the crafty schemes of the Dwarf Monsters, the Kayne People were intellectually superior to the single-minded Mantai People and the stubborn Vero People.

Relying on the natural barriers of the Bess Mountains and the Star River, the Kayne People managed to contend with the Vero People and Mantai People for many years. They lacked the formidable physique of the Mantai, but they created armor imbued with the power of sorcery. They lacked the agility of the Vero, but they crafted crossbows enhanced with Spirit Power. This armor and these crossbows allowed the relatively less robust Kayne People to engage the towering Mantai in single combat and to race against the fish-like Vero People on water.

These inventions were the achievements of the Scholars of the Kayne Realm. These Scholars discovered principles unknown to others. They documented these principles, which gradually formed the Kayne Empire’s most powerful intangible weapon. This intangible weapon also had another name: the Six Major Professions!