One-Eyed Monster

At this moment, Wizard Reed had no choice but to pause and ponder these questions. Of course, he was adept at concealing his thoughts, making it difficult for others to discern.

He might not be confident in other aspects of the Power of Darkness, but when it came to hiding in darkness, he was supremely confident.

Dark hues are naturally camouflaging. Coupled with their special Dark Arts concealment spells, his presence was hard to detect, even amidst the brilliant white snow of a winter’s night.

Even if he stood before you, it would be incredibly difficult to see him. Such is the power of their concealment in darkness.

This concealment spell allowed Wizard Reed to maintain the initiative. He was like a shadowy assassin lurking in the darkness during a war, whose arrival and departure left no trace, becoming a great headache for the attacking team.

Wizard Reed now had to carefully analyze the reasons for his failure. He had already ruled out external factors. A true powerhouse wouldn’t blame defeat on the opponent’s strength or external circumstances. Instead, a true powerhouse faces their failure, openly accepts the enemy’s blows, and acknowledges their own shortcomings.

I’m not sure if I’m one of those top-tier powerhouses, Wizard Reed thought, but I at least know that after a failure, it’s crucial to focus on my own shortcomings.

This failure wasn’t very apparent, just an unsuccessful attack, after all.

But Dark Wizards demand perfection from themselves. They do not permit any mistakes, as the Power of Darkness is supremely precious to them. Each use depletes it, and gathering more requires great effort.

Because this world operates on the principle of Equivalent Exchange.

Many people criticize the Dark Arts as a shortcut to power, but they rarely consider the price paid by those who take these shortcuts. If these critics, who only know how to comment, understood the cost, they would no longer use the word ’shortcut.’

Equivalent Exchange is fair to everyone. What you receive corresponds to what you give. How you give—that is the real question.

Wizard Reed’s thoughts had strayed. I’m supposed to be analyzing the reasons for my failure, he refocused.

This failure... it stems from my own shortcomings.

I feel I was too impulsive, he mused. I didn’t think things through when I released the Dark Energy to summon the creature. That put me at a disadvantage as soon as it appeared.

Imagine, when the creature first emerged, it was completely bewildered. And I even complained about its slow movements...

This was all because I didn’t understand the creature. This ignorance allowed it to slowly learn about this world after appearing, but that process took far too much time.

What’s most important in combat? Isn’t it time? Every Gudu Time has always been a life-or-death struggle...

The creature’s familiarization process created an opening that the Golden Seats of the Alchemy Workshop and the Blue Blood League Guard of the Kayne Empire capitalized on. They knew speed in attack was key to victory. So, at that moment, I could only watch helplessly as those two launched wave after wave of attacks on the creature.

If that creature had been one of my Soul Puppets, it probably would have been blasted into dust and hacked to pieces...

Fortunately, this creature’s strength was formidable enough. It was undaunted by those attacks and gradually turned the unfavorable situation around...

And I was just watching the whole time...

So, a major reason for my failure this time was ignorance: ignorance about this creature, ignorance about this spell, and ignorance about this Dark Force.

Ignorance ruined everything. Only now do I realize how important the fundamentals are.

If I had understood these Dark Forces better, I wouldn’t have summoned a creature I was unfamiliar with.

Secondly, my own reactions weren’t fast enough.

In the Dark Arts, when summoning entities from an Alternate World, the Summoner acts as a Guide. They must use their own flesh and blood to help the Summoned Creatures adapt to this world.

And yet, I failed to do this.

It’s hard for me to believe I actually forgot to guide the creature after summoning it! If the creature hadn’t constantly prodded my nerves, I might have completely forgotten that crucial step.

Slow reactions—that was another reason for my failure. So much time was wasted.

If I had guided the creature properly from the start, wouldn’t the subsequent attacks have been much easier? And the creature wouldn’t have been so battered by their assaults!

Just think how many times Kevin slashed it, how many times Milo bombarded it...

I truly can’t believe I forgot something so important at such a critical moment! What on earth was I doing then?

My inadequate guidance directly resulted in a poor connection with the creature. By the time I was finally able to issue commands, it had already decided to retreat...

That was the most fatal part. These creatures aren’t Exchange Beasts or Soul Puppets that completely obey your commands. They seem to have their own consciousness and sometimes act independently...

Thinking of this, Wizard Reed suddenly felt deeply ashamed. This creature, since I summoned it, has spent most of its time acting on its own, hasn’t it?

It attacked on its own, defended on its own, and even its escape was its own decision.

As its Guide, I was utterly incompetent.

Wizard Reed sighed. He had identified the reasons for his failure and the shortcomings he needed to address. He would be more cautious in future attacks.

Ignorance, arrogance, slow reactions, carelessness, and distraction... those were most likely the main reasons for my previous failure.

Now, hidden in the shadows, he analyzed his failure and observed those people. There was still much for him to do.

I came to this mountain to retrieve an item for Boss Willem—an ancient scroll said to contain records of ancient powers.

It’s just that this mission has hit a small snag. I need to overcome this setback and continue.

No matter the means, I must complete this mission.

Even if it means exhausting all the reserves I’ve accumulated over the years, I won’t hesitate.

The Black Crow has been lurking on this continent for so long; it’s time for us to emerge and make our presence felt, he believed. And for us to do that, everyone on this continent must know that the Black Crow has the strength to contend with the other prominent organizations.

The Black Crow will change the course of this world. We intend to make it a bit darker.

We want darkness to reign supreme...

This was Wizard Reed’s grand aspiration. And what I must do now is complete my mission.

He had paused his advance to ascertain the cause of his failure in the recent attack. Now that he had found the reasons, he also knew what he needed to be wary of next.

So, his brief pause was about to end.

Next, he was about to stir up another storm.