One-Eyed Monster

Kadi’s proposal made Igor shudder involuntarily.

Bold, avant-garde, fearless, regardless of consequences… These were the thoughts that rushed into Igor’s mind.

Igor had never expected Kadi to have such a daring idea; it truly caught him off guard. At the same time, Igor felt constrained. He especially felt his mind was not as free as Kadi’s.

He’d never even considered expanding the Ant Connection Spell! To think I was focused on other things! How could I be so foolish? I overlooked the simplest solution! Kadi might not be able to enter the Inner World, but they could share Spirit Vision! How could I not think of such a simple solution? This isn’t like me at all.

Igor sighed briefly, deeply dissatisfied with himself. How could I overlook something so simple? It’s unforgivable!

Although he was in the Inner World, he was still connected to Kadi by the Ant Connection Spell. With just a little Spirit Power Feedback, he could show Kadi the sights within the Inner World. How could I have missed that and wasted time and energy trying to use Spirit Communication instead?

”What are you waiting for?!” Kadi sounded a little impatient; he was eager to show off his skills.

Of course, a deeper, stronger desire in Kadi’s heart was something else: to see the sea.

When he heard Igor say the word ’sea,’ the little rabbit in his heart nearly leaped out. How could he not look forward to something he had never seen? Though he grew up on Guru Mountain and had never left it, the monsters there came from all sorts of places. During his formative years, monsters like Kevin had told him countless tales and lessons. Many of these tales and lessons were about the sea, filling him with a profound longing for it.

Now that such an opportunity had arisen, he definitely wouldn’t miss it. So, no matter what, he had to pester Igor into using this method to show him the sea.

”Ah, right...” Igor finally understood. His hesitation at that moment had wasted precious time. Sometimes it’s like that, he mused. The more you feel you need time, the more it slips away inadvertently, right through your fingers. It’s all a blur, and sometimes you don’t even realize how it happened, but the time is just… gone.

The more one laments, the faster time seems to flee.

Igor quickly realized this and immediately refocused. His task was to let Kadi get a good look at the vast ocean via the Ant Connection Spell, and then have Kadi figure out a way to disturb this sea.

Igor projected his visual experience from the Inner World onto his Spirit Power. He then slowly transmitted it to Kadi through the Ant Connection Spell. Soon, a warm current would flow through Kadi’s body, reaching his eyes and allowing him to see the vista as if he were truly there.

The ocean! The vast, boundless ocean!

Kadi finally saw the scenery he had longed for.

Shocked! Amazed! Speechless!

Those were Kadi’s feelings when he first saw the vast sea. At that moment, Kadi felt as if the sunrises and sunsets over the mountain peaks were born from the sea’s embrace. The dazzling stars strewn across the sky seemed to emerge solely from its depths. He sensed that the sea encompassed everything, that perhaps the entire world could dissolve into this immense ocean…

Seeing Kadi silent for so long, Igor knew something was amiss. He’s probably captivated by something again…

”Kadi, Kadi?” Igor called out a couple of times through Spirit Communication.

There was no response from Kadi.

”What are you doing, Kadi? Are you thinking about how to cause trouble?” Igor asked several more questions.

Still, there was no response from Kadi.

This isn’t good, Igor thought with a sinking feeling. Kadi must be completely mesmerized by something.

Fortunately, Igor knew how to deal with Kadi. He had plenty of ways to snap Kadi out of his reverie. The most effective method right now was to cut off the vision entirely. Therefore, Igor stopped projecting the sights of the Inner World onto his Spirit Power!

”HUH?!” Kadi exclaimed mentally as he was plunged back into darkness. His consciousness leaped, though thankfully it was only a mental jolt. In reality, his physical body twitched slightly but was quickly steadied by Joseph. However, his awareness—the part of his consciousness linked with Igor through Spirit Communication—was incredibly agitated.

Even though it was pitch black for Kadi, Igor could still sense him mentally bouncing, jumping, and throwing a tantrum...

”Why’d you do that?! You can’t just cut it off when you said you’d show me!”

”I was just getting into it! The wind was soughing, and my whole spirit was soaring with the sea!”

”To have it suddenly go black like this—it’s such a buzzkill!”

”You’re so annoying!”

Igor let Kadi complain. He knew Kadi wouldn’t listen to anything he said right now, so it was better to wait for him to vent his frustration before speaking.

Just as Igor expected, Kadi quieted down after complaining for a while. Perhaps he was tired, or maybe he’d run out of things to say. It was also possible he realized that no amount of complaining would make Igor show him the sea again.

”Finished?” Igor asked, his tone probing.

”Ugh, I guess the sea was just too magnificent. I was completely spellbound.”

”Well, the sea is vast, yes, but that black sea you saw was hideous. Help me out, and I’ll take you to see a real, beautiful sea later!” Igor knew temptation always worked, especially on someone like Kadi.

”Okay!” Kadi’s excitement flared up again. After all, in his imagination, the sea had always been blue. The ocean Igor had shown him, though boundless, was black and somewhat oppressive.

”So, how do you plan to cause trouble?”

Kadi chuckled, still full of confidence. ”Trouble for the sea? Of course, I have a way.”

”What are you planning to do? Throw something into the sea?” Igor asked, curious about Kadi’s idea.

”You said before that you can do whatever you want in the Inner World, right?”

”Er, you could say that, yes.”

”Exactly! So why bother just throwing something into the sea? Your methods of harassment are too small-minded. Boring!”

Kadi’s words left Igor completely bewildered.

”Since you can already do whatever you want, why not make it bigger?”

”Huh?” Igor was still confused.

”Think bigger! He can manifest an entire ocean, and you’re still messing around with rocks, seabirds, and fishing boats? What’s the point of that?” Kadi’s voice dripped with a hint of mockery.

”If you’re going to play, play big! Think bigger! If he can be an ocean, why can’t I be something even grander?”