One-Eyed Monster

Resistors—this long-lost title was something Igor hadn’t mentioned for quite some time.

Back in the Border Realm, he had stood shoulder to shoulder with those Resistors, fighting the Soul Devourers together. Though his experience in the Border Realm had been brief, Igor could never forget it. Maybe you can’t clearly recall the moments when joy was shared, maybe the times of simple pleasures blur together, but you will never forget the moment you suffered through hardship with others. Igor and the Resistors endured hardship together, using their own strength to defeat that Soul Devourer Master, allowing many who had been Devoured to finally rest in peace… Those hard days were etched vividly in Igor’s memory. Yet after he emerged from the Inner World, all news of the Resistors vanished. Aside from Sol, their leader, everyone else had disappeared without a trace.

Whether it was Nonoa, who had helped Igor a great deal, Shana with her whip, or the burly Mos Brothers, Igor missed them all.

Sol and the others had spared no effort searching for these Resistors, but they’d gained almost nothing. The world was so vast, and the Border Realm’s existence was like a legend. Even for those who had experienced it firsthand, once they returned and had to face this world alone, they became hesitant, because the starkly different environment always made you feel as if the entire experience had been nothing but a dream.

Sol and the others had once sent out messages about the Resistors. These messages were meant to help the Resistors find their organization again, to make them realize that their memories were real, and that they were all facing a common enemy now. At first, the message caused quite a stir; some people expressed a desire to meet through Crow and the Dusk Market. For stability and safety, Sol and the others accepted Great Mentor Guzan’s suggestion and set the meeting place at Guru Mountain. But after the message went out, everything just faded away. No one knew whether the message had failed to spread, or if those who had intended to come were all just frauds. No one could tell, because the world had become far more complicated than before. Over these more than two years, Sol had never stopped searching for the Resistors, yet there was still no major progress. Instead, forces similar to the Soul Devourers were quietly rising…

Take the Puppet Monster right before them, for example. Its existence had similarities to that of the Soul Devourer Master. In the end, Igor had even communicated with that unseen enemy in the Inner World. Whether it was the Soul Devourer Master or this Puppet Monster, they were all tools of those Invaders, advance scouts sent out to test the way. No one knew when the Invaders would launch a full-scale assault.

Igor felt the road ahead was long and fraught with danger. They truly were fighting as a lone force. If the Resistors could return at this time, it would indeed add a powerful backing to their side.

In any case, the Sol Brothers were working hard, and Igor and the others were also on their way. Everyone was doing what they ought to do…

”What should we do next?” Igor asked curiously. He understood how important this matter was, and he knew he needed to explore it, yet he simply didn’t know how they were supposed to fight this invisible enemy now.

”Luona has Lord Governor’s support and has gradually formed a small-scale group. Everyone knows who they are fighting. Igor, you need to trust Luona’s strength. Don’t always think of yourself as alone. Behind you, there are many friends.”

”Uh…” Igor hadn’t expected Stan Sol to answer his question like that. It left him a bit at a loss. He had already been feeling somewhat confused in that moment, and now everything felt even more tangled.

”You and we are parts of a single whole, Igor. You have to understand that. Once you truly grasp this, you won’t be as conflicted as you are now,” Stan Sol continued to say to Igor. Right then, he was like an older brother comforting his little brother.

Kadi chuckled from the side. ”What’s so hard to understand about that? Look at you. Honestly… Sol’s meaning is obvious: he wants you to just let go and do it. Who cares if there’s a flood raging behind you!”

”But— but what if the flood does rage…” Igor looked at Kadi, puzzled.

”Heh, isn’t Sol and the others there?” Kadi put away his Butterfly Blades and shrugged.

”Uh…” Igor was left speechless in an instant.

”Kadi’s not wrong. That’s exactly the simple point I wanted to make. Maybe I put it too complicatedly!” Stan Sol hurried to say.

”Don’t think this world is yours alone to protect. You’re just one particle in this world. Every connected being is tied to you and me. If I were like you, I probably wouldn’t be able to leave Guru Mountain my entire life!” Kadi went on. He really had to hand it to Igor’s hesitant nature. Fortunately, Igor didn’t lose his head at critical moments; if he did, Kadi would probably go insane.

Igor fell silent. He felt that what Kadi said seemed to make some sense, though the words were so profound it didn’t really sound like Kadi himself.

”Everything we’re doing is for Guru Mountain, for that Luona you speak of. On a bigger scale, it’s for this whole world. But you’re scared of stepping on every little blade of grass, every little tree with each step you take. If you go on like this, how are you ever going to reach the end?” Kadi kept talking, his words also a kind of complaint toward Igor.

Igor looked at Kadi and couldn’t utter a word. This was indeed how he’d been lately—he didn’t even dare walk on main roads, always taking small paths to avoid people.

”Being cautious is good, but sometimes you also have to be bold. You must trust the people behind you. Whoever they are, they’ll support you unconditionally in what you do!” Stan Sol also joined in persuading Igor.

”I don’t really understand what you’re all talking about, but I do think, Igor, you really need to make some changes. There are many things you can’t bear alone. When it’s time to let go, you have to let go. It’s like when I forge iron. Some materials are very good, but they still have to be discarded, because only by giving those up can you forge brighter iron!”

Even Master Lao joined the effort to comfort Igor, which showed just how visibly tangled Igor’s feelings were on his face!

Igor lowered his head in shame. He hadn’t expected his troubles to worry everyone this much, nor had he expected that he was being taken care of to such an extent.

The Adventurer’s path is not an easy one. Behind every Adventurer, there is an extremely solid backing. Igor seemed to have finally found his.