One-Eyed Monster

Joseph was the Peregrine Falcon of Guru Mountain and possessed the ’Eagle Eye’. His sight would usually never err. However, he now felt his eyes were playing tricks on him, because deep down, he was unwilling to believe that Igor could emerge from this cave.

In the eyes of many elders, Igor was merely a youth with slightly above-average talent. Although this young lad could occasionally create remarkable spectacles, they were deeply skeptical that he could break the Safe House spell without any guidance. Thus, when they saw Igor walk out of the cave, they were all equally stunned.

But the truth was undeniable: Igor had indeed walked out right before their eyes.

Joseph couldn’t believe it, Kuren couldn’t believe it, and neither could Estev… Yet, Igor was no longer in the cave—a fact they could not ignore, a harsh reality for them.

”H-how is this possible!” Yuga stammered, his words jumbled. He refused to believe what was happening before his eyes.

”Believe it or not, Igor has indeed left. We don’t know how he did it, but he truly succeeded. This puts us to shame,” Great Mentor Guzan said. Though deep down he still found it hard to believe, he accepted the reality more quickly than the others. This reflected the magnanimity and tolerance expected of a Great Mentor.

”What on earth happened? How did Igor break out without anyone noticing!” Kuren was greatly astonished. He couldn’t believe Igor had managed to break through the Spirit Lock—something even the Great Mentor was somewhat helpless against.

”Spirit... Power... Resonance!” Stan Sol, who had been silent all this time, uttered. His words clearly held more technical insight than the others’ complaints and astonishment.

Stan Sol’s concise statement instantly calmed the nearly frenzied crowd.

Only then did these elders realize what a grave mistake they had just made.

While they were blindly discussing, Igor was investigating, and Stan Sol was observing…

Outwardly, Stan Sol, like Kuruto and Kadi, remained silent and did not participate in the discussions. But unknown to anyone, this member of the Sol Family was not idle at all; he was deep in thought, observing and contemplating simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Igor, whom they had constantly ridiculed, had done something even more incredible: he had actually broken free from the Spirit Lock and walked out of the cave!

Now, these elders finally understood one thing: they had been far too arrogant.

This arrogance stemmed from their vast experience, which made them overlook simple matters and confined them to their established ways. Their experience discouraged them from experimenting, leading them to always debate theoretical possibilities and impossibilities.

This was the greatest difference between them and Igor.

They were somewhat familiar with the Spirit Resonance Stan Sol had detected. Soon enough, their extensive experience would tell them exactly how Igor had managed to get out.

Rhythm. It was still about rhythm.

Igor had found the same rhythmic sense as the Spirit Lock and then, with ease, vibrated it open.

This might seem simple, but achieving it was not so easy. Igor hadn’t discovered this by mere coincidence; his prior efforts and dedication had laid the foundation for his breakthrough. It wasn’t the kind of spiritual sensation one could find just by stamping their foot a few times.

Without experiencing the two baptisms within the Inner World, Igor could not have discovered this synesthetic, interconnected perception. These experiences provided him with the necessary foundation, allowing him to naturally arrive at the crucial insight later on.

Opportunity favors the prepared. While Igor’s success involved a slight element of coincidence, in a way, it was also inevitable.

Everything that appears to be a coincidence is, in fact, inevitable.

It was Igor’s destiny to break through the Spirit Lock here, and also his destiny to unearth other secrets of Guru Mountain.

No sooner said than done, Igor, who had just exited the cave, suddenly darted back in.

”I did it!” Igor exclaimed upon re-entering, waving his arms and jumping with excitement. This was truly thrilling for him; he hadn’t expected to escape the Safe House so easily.

His infectious excitement even roused Kadi and Kuruto, who had been mired in despair. They didn’t know what Igor was so thrilled about, but they weren’t about to miss out on this wave of joy.

”What’s wrong? What happened?” Kadi asked, a puzzled look on his face. He didn’t know what was going on, but Igor’s sheer excitement piqued his curiosity.

”I managed to get out of here!” Igor said with a wide grin.

”Huh?” Kadi scratched his head. ”But aren’t you still here?”

”I just came back in from outside!”

…Kadi was completely baffled. He had no idea what he’d missed, let alone what he’d been doing all this time.

Igor’s excitement put everyone at ease, and the heavy atmosphere that had filled the cave instantly vanished.

The elders were still very curious about how Igor had managed to break through the Spirit Lock.

”Igor, how on earth did you get out of here?” Of course, before the elders had a chance to ask, Kadi blurted out the question.

Igor hadn’t realized that Kadi, who had been lost in thought nearby, was completely unaware of what had just transpired in the cave. So, when answering Kadi’s question, he didn’t elaborate much: ”I just kept stomping my feet, and suddenly I found a rhythm. Then that Blade Array started to dance with me, and as it danced, it collapsed. And just like that, I got out.”

”Blade Array?” Kadi, naturally, didn’t understand a thing.

”So that’s how it is! Kevin’s Spirit Lock is actually a Blade Array,” Yuga exclaimed with sudden understanding.

”Heh, that certainly sounds like Kevin’s style,” Kuren chuckled.

”However, even if we had known the Spirit Lock was a Blade Array, we wouldn’t have had a better way to break through,” the Great Mentor stated, his words always hitting the mark.

Although these elders had learned their lesson, they couldn’t break their habit of debating every matter that arose. And so, they were at it again, chattering animatedly.

Igor didn’t join their discussion. He had a clear grasp of the current situation. Though thrilled to have found a way out, he knew what needed to be done next.

”Elders, we need to think about what to do after we get out of here!” Igor reminded them, even in his excitement.

Everyone fell silent at once. Indeed, time was already short, and they had wasted so much of it on lamentations; it truly was improper.

Fortunately, Igor had reminded them. It now seemed that the miracles Igor brought about were indeed inevitable products of his nature, because this reminder alone showed that Igor was always prepared.