One-Eyed Monster

The days of old were like this piece of gold being scorched in the flame; no matter how much energy you put into intensifying the fire, it could not be truly refined.

Kuyi Tulan spoke as if discussing a very ordinary matter. The winter weather was still cold, and the CRACKLING flames in the fireplace failed to provide much warmth to the tavern.

The weather was cold, but the atmosphere within the tavern was even colder.

It seemed as if Kuyi Tulan’s storytelling held some enchanting power, drawing everyone in the tavern to listen attentively.

No one knew why. Even Carmello, Hector, and others from the Alchemy Workshop were fully alert, all desperate to hear about the Chief’s unique past.

”The emergence of Adventurers with Class changed everything in the world, and these changes occurred all too swiftly. Many feel this world has gone mad. But I know that’s not the case. It’s simply that we have failed to keep up with the world’s pace,” Kuyi Tulan wasn’t in a hurry to recount his past. He spoke with his characteristic persuasiveness, as if a mere movement of his lips could make everyone in the tavern understand his painstaking efforts.

”Chief Kuyi Tulan, we follow in your footsteps, ready to obey your orders anytime, anywhere,” Carmello was the first to pledge his loyalty, a staunch follower of Chief Kuyi Tulan.

”That’s right, Sir. We have benefited immensely from following you,” Hector also chimed in with flattery.

Dastan, captive in his cage, allowed a faint smile to touch his lips. He had long grown tired of verbal spars with these people. Now that he was their prisoner, no momentary victory in words could alter his impending fate.

He knew he would be used by Kuyi Tulan as a test subject, subjected to endless experimentation; soon, he wouldn’t be himself anymore.

Dastan couldn’t help but reminisce about that night more than a decade ago when they too had been caged.

Only, that cage hadn’t been golden; it had been pitch-black.

Dastan could never forget that night. His spirit had been broken then, and he had entertained thoughts of giving up.

I had transformed into a monstrous figure, unable to return to my original appearance. Going out meant risking pursuit and attack. Even if my abilities were enhanced, what good would it do? I could no longer walk the streets freely as before. No one would recognize me; they would only see me as a monster.

At first, he too had trusted Kuyi Tulan. He had believed that he and his family were too insular, too resistant to new things, and that this was why he lacked strength.

So, he had immediately joined Kuyi Tulan’s plan. The Alchemy Workshop’s pact had seemed like a new world, revealing a swift path to enhance his power.

There are no shortcuts in this world. Shortcuts are merely patterns discerned after countless trials; without sacrifice, there is no reward.

But at that time, he lacked his current understanding. His sole intention then had been to rapidly improve himself, to contribute to the revival of his family.

He hadn’t expected Kuyi Tulan’s techniques to be Forbidden Spells, utterly impossible to truly realize.

Melding, absorbing, crossing, exchanging... These, I believed, were the principles of the pact. I even felt that since the Alchemy Workshop could create the Exchange Beast, they could surely fulfill the pact’s terms. After all, Alchemy was the most wondrous art on this continent, more mystical even than the Spellcraft of Wizards. Because Alchemy could create. This art relied on Equivalent Exchange, making it possible to create new things. To outsiders, these new things seemed as if conjured from nothing.

”Creation can forge anything; miracles are often born from unknown creation!”

Dastan faintly remembered the Alchemy Workshop’s slogan from that time. Thinking back now, that slogan must have been Kuyi Tulan’s own creation. Only he could devise such words.

Dastan chuckled bitterly. How could I have been so foolish then, so recklessly believing those words? And there were so many others just as foolish. What were they all after? How did we let ourselves be duped by Kuyi Tulan’s pronouncements?

They had unhesitatingly participated in Kuyi Tulan’s plan. In the Alchemy Workshop’s laboratories, they suffered unbearable pain and endured unimaginable experiences, until they lost consciousness.

The premise had been clear: if they could create an Exchange Beast, then they could also create fearless Soldiers—Fighters, Hunters, or even hybrids of the two classes!

The past seemed to play out before his eyes. Kuyi Tulan’s plan hadn’t stalled despite the controversy. The Empire’s thirst for power was insatiable; as long as there was even a sliver of a chance to obtain powerful individuals, such opportunities would not be dismissed.

Even if these plans were controversial, teetering on the edge of darkness.

From a certain perspective, Kuyi Tulan hadn’t broken his word. He had indeed made Dastan stronger: his Bomb Jump was enhanced, his burrowing ability strengthened, and his elusive movement technique could be used repeatedly...

He had completely fulfilled what was written in the agreement.

However, Dastan lost his human appearance.

He turned into a monster resembling a rabbit!

It was something difficult to comprehend.

Perhaps this was Equivalent Exchange: to gain one thing, you must inevitably lose another. The choice of what to sacrifice... perhaps that is the eternal question of Equivalent Exchange.

When Kuyi Tulan unwrapped the bandages from Dastan’s body, Dastan initially felt nothing out of the ordinary. But upon seeing his reflection in the mirror, he erupted in uncontrollable fury. Unable to restrain his rage, he instantly seized Kuyi Tulan by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

His fury then was potent enough to kill Kuyi Tulan; even with the numerous Alchemy Servants and apprentices in the laboratory, nothing could have stopped him.

But Kuyi Tulan, pinned against the wall, showed no trace of fear. Dastan vividly remembered the smile on Kuyi Tulan’s lips then.

That smile still sent shivers down his spine.

And then came the words after the smile—words he would never forget as long as he lived.

”You are my creation. How could I allow you to run riot before me?”

Kuyi Tulan had planted his Marker in each of them. To this day, Dastan still didn’t know what that Marker was, but he could clearly recall the distinct agony that Marker inflicted.

He also didn’t know what method Kuyi Tulan had used. All he knew was a sudden, overwhelming ache coursing through him, then his body went limp, and he collapsed, utterly drained of strength.

Never would I have imagined that I, a proud member of the Sol Family, would become a puppet, a monster controlled by another!

Heartbroken and in despair, he began to refuse food, resolved to end his wretched life in that pitch-black cage.

It was at this time that the Great Mentor once again appeared before him.

Just as on the battlefield that first time, the Great Mentor appeared before him, radiating light.

That night was the night of his rebirth.

That night, he became Dastan once more.