One-Eyed Monster

After Granny fell silent, the Little Black Hands struggled to adapt, but thankfully, they were sufficiently calm at the moment.

They had deduced the hidden meaning in Granny’s words: everything was related to Story 6.

All of them were drawn in by the story, influenced by it, and ultimately, they would be saved by it.

After all, hadn’t they been lured to this world by its fascinating stories in the first place?

So engrossed were they in their play that they had forgotten who they were, where they came from, and where they were headed.

Hopefully, the new story would enable them to rediscover themselves.

The Little Black Hands looked expectantly at Igor and his companions, drawing reassurance from Igor’s confidence. They even seemed to derive a vicarious sense of accomplishment from it.

Regardless of the outcome, these youngsters had led them this far. Although they still couldn’t quite understand what they were supposed to do, a strong intuition guided them. This intuition told them it was time to go home, and that everything would go smoothly.

Igor understood that their opponent was a Spirit. From Granny’s words, he also inferred that this Spirit was in a predicament similar to that of the Little Black Hands.

This Spirit seemed to have lost his way, his path even more misguided than that of the Little Black Hands. While the Little Black Hands were merely lost and couldn’t find their bearings, they still occasionally reflected on their identities and avoided straying into the abyss. However, this Spirit had been assimilated by the Dark Force. Having gazed into the abyss for too long, he had thoroughly abandoned himself.

Igor’s deductions were always well-reasoned and evidence-based; he never made wild guesses.

What Igor planned to do next sounded simple, perhaps even a bit unreliable. However, he knew that to save this Spirit, he had to employ Verbal Attacks.

Only reason could persuade someone, and Spirits were no exception.

Yes, the situation in Igor’s mind had transformed—his goal wasn’t to defeat the opponent but to save him...

Igor had never felt as noble as he did at this moment; this must be the mindset of a sage.

Every story has a beginning, but not every story has an ending.

Although Kadi couldn’t directly enter the Inner World to fight alongside Igor, he could certainly advise Igor from the outside.

His advice was always solid, wasn’t it? Besides, he had experience battling with words, and this also wasn’t his first time story-battling...

Still, Kadi was a bit curious: how would Igor begin his attack?

The last time they fought, it was an unexpected battle; the opponent had come to them.

The opponent had come straight into Igor’s world, attempting to Devour Igor completely, taking away everything that made him who he was, and ultimately reducing him to a Puppet.

So they had to defend. In that defensive resistance, Kadi played his part. When it came to story-battling, he believed he wouldn’t lose to anyone.

Seriously, how else did he pass the lonely hours on Guru Mountain? Aside from adventuring, the most effective way was listening to and thinking up stories. So, when it came to story-battling, he had more confidence than Igor. He had always wanted to fight himself, but unfortunately, he couldn’t enter the Inner World. This limitation truly saddened him. To have the will to fight but lack the chance—this was a feeling others couldn’t possibly comprehend.

After sighing with emotion for a moment, Kadi brought his thoughts back to the present. He wanted to see how Igor would initiate an attack, since it was unlikely the enemy would come to them proactively again.

So Kadi was very curious about Igor’s strategy.

Verbal taunts, provocative actions—none of these would work. There was no doubt about that. Kadi had previously suggested these tactics, but they were ineffective. The enemy was unresponsive to these methods, seemingly unaffected even by serious insults.

This made the situation very tricky.

How could you fish without any bait? What good was just a fishing rod? Even if you put a bare hook in the water, the fish wouldn’t bite.

This was indeed a challenging task, at least in Kadi’s opinion.

The anticipation of the Little Black Hands, Kadi’s expectations, and the disdain from some of the elders—all indicated that Igor’s next actions would affect many. Every move he made concerned everyone present...

Yet, Igor remained calm and composed, seemingly having everything under control, looking thoroughly prepared.

This naturally piqued everyone’s curiosity, as not everyone could remain so calm in such a situation.

But Igor felt there was no need for nervousness. He was here to save a Spirit, not to fight, so the atmosphere shouldn’t be as tense as before. That kind of tension felt wrong.

So he faced everything with a relaxed mind, ensuring his mental state was properly adjusted.

In this tense atmosphere, a relaxed Igor was like a breath of fresh air. He sat cross-legged on the ground, like an unshakeable boulder in the darkness.

It felt as if he were about to establish a new Inner World...

However, he didn’t do that. He simply stretched his neck slightly, then began to speak in a resonant voice.

”Once upon a time...”

He spoke very slowly, drawing out the few words, making them last.

The Little Black Hands instantly gathered around him, captivated, almost as if they were about to fetch little stools to sit on...

”Once upon a time, what...”

”Is the story just beginning...”

”Did I miss anything...”

Witnessing this, Kadi couldn’t help but palm his forehead and sigh. Only Igor could have thought of such a method, right?

This truly is bait! It was just cast, and the fish are already hooked. Just look at those Little Black Hands...

Kadi finally understood the truth in the saying: ”Old habits die hard.”

Using their instinctive reactions as a trigger is more effective than any other method...

Kadi just couldn’t understand why he hadn’t thought of this. He was also a story enthusiast! He knew better than anyone what those words, ’once upon a time,’ meant to him. Yet, he hadn’t grasped this simple principle. How could he have missed it!

”Once upon a time, there was a wonderful story,” Igor continued in the same slow tone.

He was whetting their appetite, and Kadi understood Igor’s intent. The allure was indeed quite powerful; even Kadi found it hard to resist. Kadi desperately wanted to ask, ’Once upon a time, what? Hurry up and tell us!’

Story lovers have an innate sensitivity to the phrase ’once upon a time.’ If someone uttered these words, even unintentionally, they would instinctively turn their heads to look. This instinct was as inexplicable as a cat being drawn to the scent of fish—there’s no reasoning with it.

Igor was now using this simple approach as bait. And often, the simplest methods were the most effective.

Kadi’s admiration for Igor grew even stronger.