One-Eyed Monster

At the foot of the mountain, Elder Rostellum stared in surprise. He couldn’t comprehend how things had turned out this way.

However, Elder Rostellum was still a Politician, possessing the necessary skills of an Adventurer with Class.

He knew that the ceaseless flow of rotting corpses and skeletons rushing towards Guru Mountain were being manipulated—and by Dark Arts, no less.

Elder Rostellum’s feelings at this moment were complex. The once slightly mysterious Guru Mountain was now to be utterly annihilated. Regardless of whatever resided there, these puppets controlled by dark forces would undoubtedly destroy everything on the mountain.

The instincts of an Adventurer with Class told him that a grand battle would soon erupt atop Guru Mountain, and they, the bystanders at the foot of the mountain, would be powerless to intervene.

The hidden side of Guru Mountain was about to be revealed, like a secret finally rising to the surface.

Elder Rostellum had never imagined he would witness the Empire’s experts battling in this remote place. Their confrontation might well engulf them, yet they were powerless to change anything. They were as insignificant as ants; their survival or extermination wouldn’t affect the plans of these important figures.

The only regret was the loss of the gold coins and other such valuables that Guru Mountain had bestowed – they were gone, and they would never come again…

This thought made Elder Rostellum’s heart ache uncontrollably, yet he was powerless to change the situation. He could only suppress his fear, discard his astonishment, and quietly resign himself to helplessness.

Let others be surprised. There weren’t many people left here anyway; most had already followed Kuyi Tulan up the mountain.

Elder Rostellum turned, refusing to look at the rotting corpses and skeletons any longer. He knew this place was no longer under his control.

He walked back leisurely to Lubin Tavern, his nerves so steeled that even a raging flood outside wouldn’t faze him now.

Inside the tavern, the captive Scholar Manjia was leisurely sipping an inferior wine, a look of satisfied intoxication on his face.

What could possibly be good about this inferior wine? Elder Rostellum couldn’t help but wonder. He had previously taken a sip and found its taste overpowering; he’d considered it utterly undrinkable.

However, now, with nothing left to hope for, the loss of the gold coins was, to him, a form of destruction. Before total ruin, why not give this inferior wine another try? Perhaps, amidst the sorrow, he might find some small measure of enjoyment.

So, Elder Rostellum took the wine bottle from before Scholar Manjia and poured himself a cup.

The liquid was murky. This was the nature of such inferior wine: thick, opaque, and impenetrable, unlike the clear, aromatic wine of Imperial Capital Xinbal, which shimmered like a ruby.

Elder Rostellum took a slow sip. The inferior wine’s harshness was still potent, but after the initial kick came a faint fruit fragrance, reminiscent of an apple’s crispness, a grape’s sweetness…

Who would have thought this kind of inferior wine could possess such a flavor? It was as if a door in Elder Rostellum’s heart had swung open, revealing an entirely different vista.

The sorrow on his face gradually yielded to this newfound taste; his weathered features relaxed, his expression softening, becoming less cold.

So, this is where their enjoyment lies! Elder Rostellum couldn’t help but exclaim.

”You finally appreciate its flavor,” Scholar Manjia said. ”How is it? Different, isn’t it? It has a certain unique charm.”

”You’re right, old sir, it truly does have a unique charm,” Elder Rostellum replied.

At this moment, Elder Rostellum had long stopped worrying about the troubles outside. He truly admired this Scholar Manjia before him. Even though his freedom was curtailed, the scholar had maintained such a remarkably positive state of mind. He himself couldn’t achieve the same. When hope was lost and he couldn’t see the path ahead, he could only resort to distractions to pass the time. Drinking this inferior wine now, for instance, wasn’t his original intention. But it was a fortunate coincidence that this very wine had surprisingly opened another door for him.

”Sometimes, we truly cannot see through this world,” Scholar Manjia remarked, picking up the fruit wine. He poured himself another cup and then refilled Elder Rostellum’s.

”Aren’t you surprised by what’s happening outside?” Elder Rostellum asked, somewhat taken aback by Scholar Manjia’s composure. After tasting the inferior wine, he was even more curious about what others truly thought.

”I am a scholar. With my unique abilities, I can predict the future. This is a form of deduction; as an Adventurer with Class, you should understand what this entails.”

”I understand, but the future is ultimately unknowable. We are merely ants.”

”No, the future is always knowable. Take your current situation, for example. Isn’t it precisely because you foresaw a bleak future that you came here to try this ’boring’ inferior wine? If you had seen a bright future, would you even consider trying it?”

Scholar Manjia’s words struck Elder Rostellum with great shock. Indeed, he held no expectations for the future, his entire being filled with pessimism, even a sense of giving up on himself.

”We always know what the future holds. Ultimately, we will all enter the Eternal Tranquility Realm, and this world will become more beautiful,” Scholar Manjia declared, his eyes gleaming. For him, predicting and deducing the future wasn’t overly difficult. There might be ten thousand possibilities of a future filled with destruction, but there were also a hundred possibilities of an explosive, burgeoning future. All futures would unfold before them in surprising ways, and regardless of how they perceived it, they could know what they would ultimately become.

Whether you will live out your days in obscurity or have a life of brilliance—these things can actually be foreseen. It’s just that sometimes, you are too self-deprecating, always evading the future that should rightfully be yours. Scholar Manjia continued to speak of the future, utterly unconcerned that the world outside had descended into chaos.

”My future is hopeless. That’s why I’m here, stagnating in despair,” Elder Rostellum said. He had no expectations left for the future. The gold coins had vanished, the mystery was gone, and this place would forever remain desolate…

”The reason this inferior wine possesses its own particular enjoyment,” Scholar Manjia began, seemingly lost in thought, ”is because, from the very beginning, it knows it does not belong among the high-and-mighty.”

Many people meet their downfall due to excessive talkativeness; no one wants to listen to something too rambling. Elder Rostellum felt that Scholar Manjia was becoming a bit verbose, as his words seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever.

Elder Rostellum had long since stopped caring whether the situation outside was improving or deteriorating.

”Although it knows it doesn’t belong among the high-and-mighty,” Scholar Manjia continued, ”its heart has always yearned to be noble. So, it impacts the world with its own unique character.”

Elder Rostellum once again drained the cup of inferior wine before him. He no longer wished to listen to Scholar Manjia’s rambling discourse; he only wanted to savor the wine’s taste.

”The clash between the new and the old is inevitable. Whether the future belongs to the new forces or the old will depend on the entire process of this collision.”