One-Eyed Monster

The so-called language of monsters was actually quite simple. It wasn’t at all what Kadi had described—mere words for monsters to communicate amongst themselves.

After all, on Guru Mountain, apart from Kadi, you couldn’t find a second individual who was naturally born looking like a monster. Everyone else had been transformed into monstrous figures by a plan orchestrated by that fellow Kuyi Tulan from the Alchemy Workshop. Before this, they had all been influential figures.

Igor had heard stories from Guzan, so he naturally knew that the language of monsters couldn’t possibly be an innate one. He had some familiarity with foreign languages, whether it was those of the Mantai Empire’s Mountain Monsters and Dwarves, or the Tree Spirits and Water Spirits of the Vero Realm. Scholars had mastered a thing or two about their languages, and they even appeared in various books. Igor had even studied these peculiar communication methods during his time at Yonder Travel Academy. For instance, the Mountain Monsters’ communication consisted mainly of simple grunts and roars, while the Dwarves’ was more complex, rapid-fire, and polysyllabic. As for the Tree Spirits and Water Spirits, their whispers were somewhat mystical; one truly couldn’t understand them without reaching a certain level of Spirit Power.

Igor was puzzled by Kadi’s description of this monster language. Could this monster language be even more abstruse and difficult to understand than that of the Tree Spirits and Water Spirits? That shouldn’t be possible. Kadi is the only true monster on this mountain; there isn’t a second one. Could these seniors all be linguistic geniuses, capable of learning a monster language more advanced than that of Tree Spirits and Water Spirits in the blink of an eye?

To be honest, Kadi’s explanation plunged Igor into deeper contemplation. He had initially thought it was nothing significant, but Kadi’s explanation had complicated the matter, making Igor suddenly feel ignorant.

Kuren and Joseph naturally noticed Igor’s unease. They exchanged a knowing smile; Igor could be quite naive at times.

Who could blame Igor for being so earnest? It would have been strange if he hadn’t overthought such a matter.

”Igor, Kadi was talking about a secret code among us,” Kuren explained. ”It was created by the Great Mentor after he arrived at Guru Mountain. The purpose was to quickly locate our comrades in a crisis.” His explanation wasn’t as booming as Kadi’s, but it was more detailed. It was like a gentle breeze in early summer, warming Igor and dispelling all the lingering chill of winter.

”However, over the years, this mountain has been entirely under our control. We might have become too complacent, as this secret code has never been used. Now that the situation has become critical, this code will finally serve its purpose.”

Igor himself understood the principle of ’thriving in hardship, perishing in comfort.’ A skill meant for life-or-death struggles would have no place in a peaceful environment, but its true value would emerge in a desperate situation. The monster language was now in such a state; it had never been used, and its first use was to be in such circumstances.

”Since that’s the case, let’s begin.” Realizing the urgency once more, Igor began to urge the seniors to hurry.

After all, time waits for no one. If you hesitated, you could miss out on the entire world. Joseph and Kuren understood this principle too.

They began to busy themselves. Strings of the secret code formed segments of information. These messages were like colorful ribbons, entwined with Kuren’s and Joseph’s Spirit Power. If someone’s synesthesia was visual, like Kadi’s, they would perceive a vibrant world shimmering with countless points of light at that moment.

”Wait!” Igor suddenly interrupted Kuren and Joseph, who were about to release their Spirit Power streams into the Two-way Channel.

Igor’s interruption was timely. Joseph’s arm was already mid-swing, on the verge of flinging out the entire mass of Spirit Power.

”What’s wrong? Is something amiss?” Kuren asked in surprise. For him, this was supposed to be an exciting moment. An abrupt interruption without a good reason would make him very unhappy.

Igor didn’t act without reason. He had interrupted them because he had discovered a serious problem.

”The situation outside is unique. As you seniors mentioned, we don’t know what’s happening out there. Whether those outside are friend or foe, we have no way of knowing. Although you have a secret code, there’s something that doesn’t lie.”

HISS...

Kuren and Joseph both drew in a sharp breath. Igor’s words had served as a stark reminder.

True, a secret code could conceal some things, but Spirit Power could not. The information they needed to transmit was bound to their Spirit Power, and Spirit Power itself wouldn’t lie. Experts could identify Spirit Power and would know whose it was.

So, if Kuren and Joseph were to release this Spirit Power carrying the secret coded message, it would lead to only one result: the adversary would quickly identify who was transmitting this unusual information. Once the sender’s identity was known, deciphering the secret code would only take a little effort and ingenuity. There were many outside who understood the secret code, and these people could be exploited by the enemy. That would indeed be troublesome.

Then, any feedback information received would be impossible to verify as true or false!

So, Igor’s interruption was truly a hair’s breadth escape from disaster! Kuren and Joseph couldn’t help but wipe the beads of sweat from their foreheads.

”We were careless. This is inexcusable,” Joseph and Kuren said, both deeply chagrined. If not for Igor, they might have made a grave error.

”So, what should we do now? Use your Spirit Power to transmit these messages?” Kuren asked. He felt utterly lost, unsure of what to do. His only hope now rested on Igor.

”My Spirit Power is needed to maintain this Two-way Channel. If I also have to bind information to it, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sustain it,” Igor stated honestly.

”Then what do we do?” Joseph was also anxious.

”Kadi’s identity is special. It’s unlikely anyone can recognize his Spirit Power,” Igor said, nodding his chin towards Kadi. His intention was clear: use Kadi’s Spirit Power to bind the information.

”Indeed,” Joseph smiled. ”Even we monsters of Guru Mountain might not be able to fully identify Kadi’s Spirit Power. This fellow only awakened his Spirit Power a few days ago, likely thanks to your efforts.”

”The problem is, we can only bind our messages to our own Spirit Power. Binding them to Kadi’s Spirit Power... that truly is a problem,” Kuren said, highlighting the genuine difficulty.

But Igor didn’t see it that way; he didn’t consider it a problem at all. Therefore, he said confidently, ”You can teach him. His ability to comprehend is so high; he can definitely learn it in a short time.”

”Yes, you can teach me,” Kadi chimed in, now full of confidence himself.