One-Eyed Monster

The extension of a Technique is a very rare occurrence.

Generally speaking, Techniques are static; they serve people. They are simply methods and skills, fixed and unchanging.

Techniques are a way for Adventurers with Class to exhibit their Spirit Sensing. They use this method to project their power, manifesting it through Spirit Power. More often than not, the higher the rank of the Technique, the more it reflects the level of the Adventurer with Class. Hence, Techniques are tiered. However, this tiering is reflected in their diversity, just like the Stealth Ability of Hunters. A lower-level Stealth Ability is known as the Concealment Technique, typically cultivated by ordinary Hunters. In contrast, a deeper-level Stealth Ability, often cultivated by High Rank Hunters, is known as the Concealment Spell. The most basic Stealth Ability thus has two methods, and these two methods do not belong to the same branch of Techniques. It cannot be summarily stated that the Concealment Spell is an advanced form of the Concealment Technique. They have no necessary connection; they simply manifest similar outcomes for ease of categorization by Scholars. Both the Concealment Technique and the Concealment Spell are forms of Stealth Ability, yet they are unconnected and independent. Although they distinguish High Rank Hunters, neither is an essential step in the Cultivation of High Rank Hunters. A Hunter can fully skip the Concealment Technique and directly cultivate the Concealment Spell; there is no connection between them.

Overall, a Technique is a Technique; it will not transform into another Technique. Unlike Adventurers with Class, Techniques don’t have the opportunity for rebirth; they are unlikely to change much.

Therefore, in the world of Adventurers with Class, it is common for Adventurers with Class to advance, but it is unheard of for a Technique itself to progress.

Therefore, what Kuren was facing now was utterly unknown. People often experience various emotions in the face of the unknown, and the more complex the emotions, the more they reveal fear.

This fear leads to a complete loss of control.

This was precisely a reflection of Kuren’s recent comportment.

Fear controls people’s thinking and can send anyone into madness. This madness can make even a rational person lose their original calm and gradually sink into irretrievable ruin.

So Kuren was now slightly thankful towards Igor, because Igor’s timely halt immediately brought him back to reality, giving him the opportunity to analyze the recent events.

Guidance? No, it should be called a confrontation. Kuren had thoroughly lost the confrontation with Igor, with no chance for a comeback.

Failure isn’t terrifying; what’s terrifying is failing without knowing why. Kuren was relieved that at that moment, he, not the Slaughterer, was in charge of his mind. If it had been the Slaughterer, the madness would definitely have continued, and Igor would likely have suffered misfortune due to his generosity.

Kuren looked at Igor. His sincere apologies, innocent eyes, and naive earnestness all showed from beginning to end that this person was a child not yet fully mature. If this Igor, as he appears now, is still intentionally trying to deceive, then this Igor must be a demon. If any such ruthless performer with extraordinary acting talent had existed, then the failure of Guru Mountain would have been inevitable, because the opponent would have been impossibly powerful.

Luckily, an Igor like that does not exist.

Igor looked at Kuren, momentarily speechless. He was genuinely innocent, not putting on an act, and he also apologized sincerely. Often, he could not control his yearning for knowledge, and this desire always made him unconsciously capture many things he did not fully understand.

Fortunately, he is simple-minded. If his mind were ever so slightly more complex, the secrets and rules that he inadvertently peered into would be enough to drive him mad and turn him into an imbecile. This is not an exaggeration; long periods of researching Techniques can permeate one’s very bones. People with complex minds, like Kuren just then, are easily controlled by their emotions. They enter a world they cannot even understand, getting stuck and sinking deeper and deeper.

He really should thank Igor.

That was what Kuren was thinking at the moment.

Despite being caught in a dire situation, Kuren had still managed to glean quite a bit from the chaotic memories and perceptions just now.

These insights included answers to questions that had been troubling him and fresh revelations that had cropped up out of nowhere. Regardless of whether past questions were answered or current phenomena were resolved, they all shared a common characteristic.

That is to say, in the Inner World of this World Setting Technique, he—or more precisely, they—had made new discoveries.

These new discoveries, in other words, meant that the World Setting Technique had evolved from its previous foundations—a realization like a bolt from the blue, shaking people to their core.

This evolution of the Technique, these new discoveries within it, are enough for Scholars to mull over for quite some time. Moreover, if these discoveries had been made in the Wizard Alliance or the Alchemy Workshop, it would be enough for these organizations to boast for a good while.

Firstly, Kuren figured out a simple fact: Igor was much better than him at maneuvering within the Inner World. There was no doubt that Igor’s imagination far surpassed his own.

Then, he understood that the dominant position in the Inner World Spell could be completely taken over by one person. Kuren hadn’t encountered this before. After entering the Inner World previously, he had always been in control. To be more precise, according to the new findings, he had previously always occupied the dominant position. But this time, the dominant position had been taken by Igor.

This discovery seemed obscure when expressed in words. If expressed in numerical values, a favorite of Scholars, it would appear more intuitive. Previously, when Kuren entered the Inner World Spell, his share of control might have been 54%, leaving the other party with only 46%. The dominant position had naturally belonged to Kuren. However, since the difference between 54% and 46% was not huge, their shared perception had been mutual; that is, each could sense what the other was thinking, and this shared perception was relatively balanced. But when he entered the Inner World with Igor, Kuren’s share of control had unknowingly dropped to barely 20%. The 80% to 20% gap was quite considerable. Hence, it was natural for Kuren not to sense what Igor was thinking.

Moreover, Igor’s 80% share was continuously expanding. When Kuren was hysterical and about to go mad, Igor’s share of control had almost reached 95%...

This is a terrifying thing. The dominant position in the Inner World Spell could be entirely occupied by someone.

Just like now, he is fully in control of the Inner World Spell because Igor has handed over his control completely. To Kuren, this was an absurd thing, as he had never encountered such a situation before.