One-Eyed Monster

The cape Stan Sol wore wasn’t a real cape; it was a Sharkmon, a very special ancient species that fed on Spirit Power.

Igor didn’t know much about this species, but he had seen Stan Sol use it and heard him talk about it before. So, he was certain this Sharkmon could play a key role at this moment.

Having thought of a countermeasure, Igor was so excited he was almost speechless, unsure how to express his joy.

Kadi, still struggling to figure out how to contact their intangible opponents, didn’t notice the subtle changes in Igor’s expression.

”Do you think it’s possible that these Spirits are just... the hands themselves?” Kadi asked Igor for confirmation. ”I mean, that there’s no one behind them—the hands *are* Nothingness!” He knew his idea was rather outlandish, but it wasn’t entirely impossible, especially since Igor also didn’t know what these Spirits actually looked like.

Igor, not paying much attention to Kadi’s words, replied casually, ”Possibly.”

Slightly annoyed by this perfunctory response, Kadi retorted, ”Hey, hey, hey! Can you be a bit more serious? If we can’t count on you to be reliable, can’t you at least try to be serious? Don’t you want to see the other wonders of Guru Mountain? We can’t stay trapped here forever; we won’t see anything if we do.”

Igor was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Kadi to be so assertive when annoyed, so he quickly suppressed his inner delight.

Sharing this burst of joy is what matters right now!

”I’ve thought of a great idea, Kadi! I think we’re getting closer to the right answer,” Igor said, his excitement infectious.

Kadi was swayed by this infectious energy, suddenly feeling that Igor seemed reliable again...

Kadi’s thoughts were truly hard to predict, prone to many changes in a single day. Well, that couldn’t be helped; he was inherently different, a unique creature of Guru Mountain, not like ordinary people at all.

”What is it? What is it? Hurry up and tell me,” Kadi urged, a little impatient.

”I’ve found someone who can find these guys,” Igor chuckled.

”Who? Who’s that capable?” Kadi found it hard to believe.

”Well, right in front of your eyes.” Igor gestured towards Stan Sol with his chin.

”Sol? But he’s been in an abnormal state this whole time. What could he know?” Kadi was skeptical, especially since Stan Sol was essentially ’offline.’

”Of course. He has a magical artifact on him, one that might be able to find those guys easily.”

”I don’t believe it.”

”Do you remember that cape he wears, the one that can change at will?” Igor asked, thinking Kadi’s memory couldn’t be so poor as to have forgotten the Sharkmon already.

”You mean that Sharkmon?” Kadi’s memory, it turned out, was quite sharp, dispelling Igor’s concern.

”Yes. Since our opponents are Spirits, the Sharkmon, which feeds on Spirit Power, might be able to find them.”

”Forget it!” Kadi once again found Igor unreliable for not considering something so basic. ”We can’t even sense a hint of Spirit Power from these guys. The idea of the Sharkmon capturing their Spirit Power to feed on is just a joke.”

”We can’t sense anything, but it’s a Sharkmon we’re talking about! It perceives Spirit Power differently than we do. You mustn’t underestimate it,” Igor reminded Kadi. ”Besides, we’ve never been able to sense the Sharkmon’s own Spirit Power, have we? Can you say it doesn’t have any?”

Igor’s reminder made Kadi suddenly feel that what he’d just said was a joke. He had been analyzing things entirely from his own perspective, forgetting his own limitations. It was as if he thought he was the center of the world, and anything he couldn’t perceive simply didn’t exist!

Even though he couldn’t sense any Spirit Power from these Little Black Hands, that didn’t mean they didn’t have any. It could also be that his own cultivation level wasn’t high enough to perceive their presence.

Thinking about this, Kadi blushed slightly, though it was unnoticeable under his blue skin.

”Well, even so, the Sharkmon has to be summoned first, right? And we have no way to do that,” Kadi said, quickly changing the subject, not wanting Igor to see his awkward predicament.

”We can’t, but Sol can,” Igor stated nonchalantly.

”But...” Kadi’s meaning was clear: Stan Sol was currently in an unknown, unresponsive state; how could he possibly participate?

”I know. We’re supposed to help each other, aren’t we? He’s in trouble now, so we help him. In return, he’ll help us.” Igor’s casual demeanor grew even more pronounced, as if he could effortlessly bring Stan Sol back...

Kadi furrowed his single eyebrow, half-believing, half-doubting.

However, what happened next was both within and beyond Kadi’s expectations.

Igor indeed managed to awaken Stan Sol without much effort. The awakened Stan Sol was gasping for breath, as if he had just woken from a nightmare.

A trace of fear still lingered in Stan Sol’s eyes...

Kadi had expected Igor to awaken Stan Sol, but he hadn’t expected it to be done so easily.

”What did you use...”

”Inner World!” Igor interjected before Kadi could finish his question, leaving Kadi stunned.

Moreover, the Inner World was a domain Kadi couldn’t participate in. After hearing those two words, he fell silent. He just muttered an ”Oh” and didn’t press further.

It was a realm he couldn’t enter, so pursuing it would yield nothing.

Stan Sol looked at Kadi, then at Igor, wondering why these two seemed completely unaffected. He had just experienced immense fear, a fear caused by the unknown. He didn’t know why, but as he had pondered, he’d fallen into it, and once engulfed by that fear, he couldn’t get out. Thankfully, Igor had called him back... Although he was still a bit dazed, wondering how Igor had pulled him from that abyss of fear, the memory of Igor inexplicably bursting free from the vast ocean before made him stop dwelling on the details.

”Catch your breath first. Then we’ll discuss how to break this deadlock,” Igor said calmly, still very confident in Stan Sol.

Stan Sol looked at Igor in disbelief. Break the deadlock? We can’t even sense the opponent’s Spirit Power; how are we supposed to break anything? Our opponents are masters capable of concealing their Spirit Power at will. What chance do a few greenhorns like us have of even getting close to them? It’s a dream!