One-Eyed Monster

Kadi’s surprise was extraordinarily exaggerated; he nearly woke the two who were recovering from their injuries.

Luckily, Joseph only instinctively turned over in his sleep without fully waking up.

Kadi quickly covered his mouth, knowing his surprised yell had caused a commotion. After shouting, he hurriedly clamped his mouth shut again, hoping to mitigate the adverse effects of his reckless outburst. The truth was, he didn’t realize it was merely self-consolation. Once a sound was out, it couldn’t be taken back. Nothing he did afterward would help; he could only console himself, offering his heart a little comfort.

But Kadi felt he couldn’t be entirely blamed. Igor’s plan was utterly crazy, unbelievably so. Moreover, that guy had brazenly stated what he intended to do as preparation for that plan. His tone was as casual as discussing eating, drinking tea, or resting—so natural it couldn’t be more so, as if the things he mentioned posed no difficulty at all. Seriously, this was the World Setting Technique! There were so many monsters on the entire mountain, and only Kuren had mastered a fraction of it; the rest of the monsters hadn’t even scratched the surface. This Igor actually had the audacity to claim he would learn the World Setting Technique! Was he joking or just spouting nonsense?!

Seeing that there wasn’t much reaction from Joseph and Kuren, Kadi felt a bit more settled. However, the storm raging in his heart hadn’t subsided. The impact of Igor’s words was too great; he had to keep rubbing his chest just to find a sliver of peace.

Learn the World Setting Technique! Igor sure made it sound simple. He should take a good look at himself—just a youngster who’d barely grown up. How could he possibly learn the World Setting Technique in such a short time?!

Regardless, Kadi didn’t believe it.

However, Kadi couldn’t question Igor so easily. He hadn’t spent much time with Igor and couldn’t quite grasp his abilities. This Igor always managed to make crucial changes at critical moments, and each change would drastically alter the current situation. The transformations Igor underwent always simplified complex matters, dispersed the surrounding fog, and made hazy things instantly clear. And these transformations often stemmed from his spur-of-the-moment decisions.

Kadi had a vague feeling that Igor was a miracle-worker, and these miracles always happened imperceptibly, like a thunderbolt striking from a clear sky, completely without warning.

Therefore, Kadi’s surprised loss of composure was understandable. After all, being with someone like him, one was bound to experience such storms and sudden shifts.

Igor looked at the astonished Kadi, feeling quite puzzled. He didn’t understand what was wrong with his statement to make Kadi so shocked, even forgetting Joseph and Kuren resting nearby.

Igor replayed his words in his mind. There was nothing special about them, just a normal expression, a normal line of thought.

So, Igor scratched his head and asked, ”What’s wrong?”

Looking at Igor’s bewildered face, Kadi almost wanted to laugh. This Igor was truly too naive and innocent. How could he not understand such a simple principle?

”Do you think you can learn anything just by wanting to?” Kadi said faintly. Something like this didn’t even need to be asked. How could the world possibly bend to your will, letting you do whatever you wanted?

”Uh, let me think,” Igor said, scratching his head as he fell into deep thought.

Does this even require thinking?! Kadi thought Igor’s head was truly made of wood; he couldn’t even see something so obvious. The answer was plain: if you wanted to learn to fly like a bird, could you? Clearly impossible! What was there to even consider about such a thing?!

He really didn’t know what on earth Igor was thinking.

Igor rested his chin on one hand, his eyes squinting as he gazed up at the sky. It was as if nothing around him mattered, as if he alone were the center of the universe, floating in mid-air, looking down upon and disdaining everything. ”I suppose,” he said, ”over all these years, it seems I really have learned whatever I set my mind to.”

Kadi almost shouted out again. If he had been sitting on a chair at that moment, he would have definitely fallen off. If he had been drinking water, he would have absolutely sprayed it from his mouth. The feeling was like suddenly falling into a hidden trap while walking—caught completely off guard, helpless, and in immense distress.

Seriously, in all his life, this was the first time Kadi had ever heard someone claim they could learn anything they wanted. And the one who said it had done so with such nonchalance, as if it were the most ordinary, common thing, completely disregarding the listener’s feelings.

”What’s with that expression? Don’t you believe me?” Igor himself was actually surprised too, but his surprise stemmed from Kadi’s reaction. Kadi’s behavior was unexpected, making Igor feel a complete lack of trust. He felt Kadi’s expression was one of mockery, as if Kadi utterly disbelieved his words.

”I... I think... I’m... I’m dreaming!” Kadi stammered, his words barely coherent, for his mind was still in turmoil. It was truly impossible to understand this Igor. Such a thing could probably only happen in a dream.

”Why?” Igor asked, very puzzled. ”Why do you feel like you’re in a dream? We are clearly not dreaming. Could it be that you also fell under the spell of that time technique from before?”

Kadi disdainfully looked at Igor. He felt he was about to lose the ability to communicate with Igor altogether.

”Well, tell me then, if you wanted to learn to fly from the birds, could you learn that too?”

”I don’t want to learn that!”

Igor’s answer left Kadi on the verge of collapse again.

”Then tell me, what things did you want to learn, and what did you actually learn?” Kadi, feeling utterly defeated, asked quietly. He felt like nothing mattered anymore; now he just wanted to see how Igor would explain this ’learning whatever he wanted’ business.

”Heh, that’s a long story.” Igor grinned, showing his white teeth. He was quite willing to share these long-buried memories.

He used to think chefs were very cool. Back when he gathered firewood daily, watching those cooks expertly wield large spatulas over the stove seemed incredibly dashing to him. So, he pestered a chef into teaching him for a few days, and sure enough, the dishes he made were actually well-received.

The chef’s particularity about ingredients then piqued his interest in them, and his research gradually led him to hunting. Although he was still a bit green when it came to setting traps, he became quite skilled in a Hunter’s wilderness survival and hunting methods.

Chef, hunter, even tailor—Igor had learned them all. While not a master in these trades, it was undeniable that he had truly learned these skills.

Cooking, hunting, tailoring, carpentry, bricklaying, painting, rowing… Igor listed many such learning experiences in one breath.

This time, Igor’s lengthy account once again left Kadi wide-eyed and open-mouthed.