One-Eyed Monster

Kuren was left speechless...

He had wanted Igor to get straight to the point, but he hadn’t expected Igor to still be circling back to their previous complications.

Is this the legendary tactic of relentless pestering?

Kuren couldn’t understand it. He felt this was going too far.

But now, he had no patience. Igor controlled what was said, and Kuren couldn’t predict what might come out of his mouth. Even if everything Igor uttered was nonsense, Kuren was powerless. If he insisted on having things his way, they wouldn’t necessarily develop as he imagined.

Just as he had thought before, if he got too entangled with Igor on one issue, it was likely to lead to other problems. The current issue had been dragging on for so long without a sliver of light. If other issues were introduced, Kuren didn’t know how much longer it would all take. Moreover, the current problems surrounding the World Setting Technique were already making Kuren’s head spin, almost to the point of exploding. If new issues arose, Kuren seriously doubted he could keep his head on his shoulders.

Frankly, Kuren was already at his wit’s end with these explosive matters. He truly had no more energy to spare for anything else.

So, Kuren gave up at that moment. He decided to leave everything to Igor.

This surrender on Kuren’s part was half due to powerlessness and half due to a certain degree of trust in Igor. His feelings were complicated: filled with a measure of despair, yet also a measure of hope; conflicted, yet also somewhat resolute.

Kuren sighed. Since he was no longer in control of the situation, he decided to let things take their course. There were too many uncertainties; a pleasant surprise might well be just around the corner.

If Igor can achieve full control within the Inner World, he probably wouldn’t fare too badly with other problems, right? This was Kuren’s speculation, though tinged with a hint of helplessness.

”I must start from these original intentions, Senior Kuren. I have no choice. Otherwise, I can’t even convince myself. Really, Senior, you have to believe me,” Igor said with heartfelt sincerity. Deep down, he truly respected Kuren.

Kuren could sense this respect from Igor. Faced with such a naive young man, he genuinely didn’t know what to do.

It was supposed to be guidance, but it had turned into a confrontation. And he couldn’t even understand the outcome of this confrontation. Logically, Igor had completely outmaneuvered him, yet Kuren couldn’t fathom what Igor truly wanted. It seemed Igor was eager to learn the World Setting Technique, but his purpose remained unclear. Kuren still couldn’t figure out whether Igor wanted to learn the technique to acquire some power or to explore this unknown. Judging by Igor’s dedication to the technique, the naive young man seemed more invested in exploring the unknown.

Kuren couldn’t help but shake his head. It seems, after all this, we really do have to go back to the original intentions. Look, even I’m now wondering why Igor wants to learn this World Setting Technique.

This is truly a bit uncanny.

And how could it not be uncanny? One only had to consider Igor’s special aura. Even if it seemed far-fetched, the aura’s effect would ensure everything proceeded according to Igor’s wishes. Yes, it truly defied all logic.

The only thing Kuren could do was accept this reality and watch Igor’s performance.

Of course, Igor’s performance was not dazzling; rather, it had a tedious quality. Igor had the potential to be a chatterbox but lacked the eloquence. His words, though possessing a certain logic, were quite awkward and sounded incredibly stiff—like eating a pot of undercooked rice that was hard to swallow, let alone digest.

But Kuren had no choice. He could only brace himself to chew on this undercooked rice, letting these raw ideas run rampant in his mind once more.

It’s already a total mess anyway, so a little more chaos won’t hurt. That was Kuren’s current thinking.

”Igor, you’re in control here now. Everything is up to you. Whatever you want to say or do, I won’t interfere. Honestly, I don’t think I have the ability to interfere even if I wanted to,” Kuren finally replied to Igor after a long period of reflection.

Sincere and heartfelt, Kuren’s words moved Igor so deeply that he was almost on the verge of tears.

Since Senior Kuren had given him free rein, he had no more reason to hide anything. Moreover, he had to give Senior Kuren a satisfactory answer, no matter what. Although he was still somewhat puzzled about the conclusion of the whole matter and hadn’t completely unraveled it, he was undoubtedly certain about the overall conclusion: the technique could indeed advance, and it could also accumulate Spirit Power to form Living Entities.

Some of the details in between required verification and substantiation, all of which demanded careful observation.

”Since you trust me so much, Senior, I don’t have many doubts left. But there’s one thing I must inform you about, Senior. Of course, this is also somewhat related to the extension of the technique, though you might not be very interested in this topic.”

Kuren understood perfectly. He knew Igor was about to reveal his original motivation for learning the World Setting Technique. Contrary to what Igor had said, Kuren was now intensely interested in why Igor wanted to learn it. He wished Igor would tell him in detail right away. So he replied, ”No, Igor, I am now interested in your original intention for learning the World Setting Technique. You don’t need to worry about what I said before.”

”Really?” Igor found it a little hard to believe.

”Really. Go on, run free. I’m waiting for the final answer.”

”Alright, Senior. It’s rather embarrassing to say, but my purpose for learning the World Setting Technique is simply to break it.” Igor blinked his eyes. This truly was his reason for wanting to learn the technique.

”Oh, that’s certainly different. So, I suppose what you’re going to say next is why you want to break this technique.” Kuren mused, then looked up at Igor. He wanted to see if his judgment was correct and eagerly awaited Igor’s answer.

”Senior, your deduction is correct. I am about to explain why I want to break the World Setting Technique.”

”Then what exactly was your original intention for learning the World Setting Technique?” Kuren pressed on.

”My original intention, well, it’s actually quite simple: to escape from here.”

”Hmm?”

”I think I used the wrong word. It shouldn’t be ’flee from here’; it should be ’break free.’ No, that’s not right either... How should I put it? It’s about walking out of this confinement, so we too can go to the frontlines and do our part.” Igor fumbled for words, getting tangled up as he often did at critical moments. It couldn’t be helped.

However, even with such a muddled answer, Kuren understood.