One-Eyed Monster

The vibrations Igor felt originated from that shadow, right at the cave’s entrance.

When he had ventured to explore this shadow earlier, he experienced an intense force pushing him away. Now, the vibrations he perceived felt similar to that force. No, not just similar—they were exactly the same!

”Igor makes a good point. We’ve been overly focused on theory. Sometimes, we really need to emphasize practice,” Kuren nodded, agreeing with Igor. They had indeed been lost in thought for too long, neglecting practical application.

”Indeed, practice supersedes all. Our young friend Igor has given us another reminder,” the Great Mentor Guzan added from the side.

”Practice reveals Absolute Truth; we seem to have grown more muddled with time,” they lamented.

”Yes, instead of racking our brains here, we’d be better off going over there to see for ourselves.”

As the chatter continued, Igor was once again sidelined, with no one paying attention to what he was actually doing.

Such was the way with these seniors. They often became engrossed in a topic, delving deeper and deeper until they couldn’t extricate themselves—a bad habit, yet one they thoroughly enjoyed, finding nothing amiss.

This was the misleading nature of experience. Sometimes, abundant experience could extinguish the impulse for practical application. This illusion plagued many, as experience could, at times, be deceptive.

Such experiences can sometimes become a flaw, leading to arrogance, laziness, and inflexibility.

Yet, at other times, experience is indispensable—a double-edged sword that must be wielded wisely.

Being deceived by experience is a common occurrence. Abundant experience can make individuals overly skeptical and cause them to overlook many other things.

For instance, the seniors were currently overlooking Igor’s actions. Igor, however, seized upon his own experience and stomped his foot once more.

Through this stomping, he began to comprehend the power hidden at the cave entrance, leading him to a new insight.

THUD, THUD. Igor stomped first with his left foot, then with his right. He then stroked his chin, pondering deeply, completely immersed in his own world.

The seniors, meanwhile, were still passionately discussing the relationship between theory and practice, having completely disregarded Igor’s actions.

Igor tried to sense the force again. He reached out to touch the shadowy area, and a powerful force shoved him backward. Initially, this power felt like a push, but then it seemed less like a push and more like a repulsive force. This repulsion didn’t feel like an external power but rather a mental retreat, as if he were recoiling from a dangerous sight he himself had perceived.

What exactly did I see? This was the question Igor needed to consider.

To figure out what he had seen, Igor continued to stomp his feet rhythmically.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

”Look, Igor’s so agitated he’s stomping his feet.”

”Yes, he’s completely exasperated, heh heh heh.”

”Hey, we shouldn’t laugh at him like that. After all, it’s our fault, heh heh heh.”

The seniors, whom Igor respected, were cheerfully discussing his actions but paid no real attention to what he was actually doing.

Meanwhile, Igor continued to stomp—left foot, then right foot. He was exploring, experimenting.

What kind of sensation would make me retreat?

Igor hoped to understand this sensation through his stomping.

His previous experience in the Inner World was proving immensely helpful. At this moment, he mastered synaesthesia as if it were second nature; that past experience had truly been invaluable to him.

The cave now presented a scene of stark contrasts. Leaving aside Kadi Kuruto, who seemed bent on self-sabotage, even the two groups of experienced individuals were acting differently. One group, driven by their experience, overlooked the most fundamental aspects, while Igor seized the opportunity to apply his. These contrasts might not appear significant on the surface, but they would inevitably lead to different outcomes, which in turn would surely elicit different reactions.

Lost in thought, Igor continued stomping his foot alone, constantly shifting his synaesthetic perceptions, trying to pinpoint the nature of the sensation from the force that instinctively made him retreat by process of elimination.

Firstly, Igor was certain it wasn’t an external physical force. A physical force wouldn’t impact his mind in such a way, nor would it allow him to have Spirit Sensing.

He deduced that this retreating force worked similarly to the World Setting Technique; however, if the World Setting Technique’s Outer World was a visual trap, then what he currently experienced was a synaesthetic trap. He didn’t know why he couldn’t forcibly break through, but he understood that his mind was directing his body.

His mind wasn’t making a conscious decision; rather, it instinctively chose to retreat. Even when he forced himself forward, upon reaching the cave entrance, his mind would go blank, and he would naturally recoil.

This must be an instinctive fear, Igor thought. But what could possibly frighten me? Did I see something, or hear something?

Igor was back at square one, though this time with a slightly deeper understanding: he now knew that this synaesthetic reaction was primarily driven by fear.

Fear made him retreat. Now, he just needed to uncover the source of this fear.

Igor forced himself forward again, still stomping his feet. His instincts made him retreat once more, but through the process of stomping, he had a new Spirit Sensing.

It’s pain...

Pain induced fear, compelling him to retreat. As he carefully savored this pain, his synaesthetic perception revealed another sensation: the pain of a knife cut.

A knife cut... Igor stomped again. He seemed to be grasping the rhythm of this synaesthesia—left, then right. Gradually, he gained insight into another type of synaesthetic perception.

This synaesthetic perception was visual.

Igor saw an enormous Blade Array positioned at the cave entrance, its dazzling blades glistening with a cold light. From any angle, the Blade Array’s defense looked as solid as a mountain.

Moreover, these cold, sharp blades were constantly moving, like guardians patrolling relentlessly.

This revelation brought clarity to Igor. So, it’s this mountain of blades that invoked my fear. The continuous contact with the blade edges caused pain, the pain sparked fear, and the fear made me retreat.

Igor knew he wasn’t the type to shrink back from a little pain. Therefore, he decided to test it again, to ascertain exactly what kind of pain the Blade Array would inflict.

This time, having seen what was hidden at the cave entrance, he was mentally prepared as he forced himself forward.

The blade mountain formed by the Blade Array whirled with a SWISH, seemingly ready to welcome his approach.