One-Eyed Monster

Kadi and the Spirit Book were utterly perplexed, wondering where Igor’s sudden burst of excitement had come from.

Especially Kadi, who had been lost in a daze for what felt like a long time, still struggling to gain any clarity.

The Spirit Book trembled, dreading being questioned by Igor again. It had truly exhausted all its Spirit Power searching for information for Igor, but alas, its experience was still too limited to comprehend deeper matters. It could only interpret literal meanings and couldn’t provide Igor with strong theoretical support.

However, Igor, this somewhat foolish-looking young man, always possessed an extraordinary understanding, one that was invariably different from others.

Once again, Igor seemed to have it all figured out.

As long as I can find the intersection point, I can find the breakthrough. Igor continued his self-absorbed excitement, completely disregarding the stunned Kadi and Spirit Book beside him.

Kadi was genuinely frustrated. He didn’t know what he should be doing. Ever since Ghost Wind Valley, Igor had been running a one-man show, leaving Kadi completely on the sidelines, sometimes feeling like he wasn’t even useful enough to do odd jobs.

Kadi desperately wanted to help Igor, but he simply didn’t know where to start. It seemed all he could do was wait obediently.

Igor glanced left and right. After nightfall, the light grew dim, making many areas difficult to see clearly. Watching him, Kadi wondered what on earth Igor was up to.

Perhaps it’s a crack, or maybe a cave... The intersection point could be anything... Igor muttered to himself, still ignoring Kadi and the Spirit Book.

”I say, Igo—” Kadi swallowed nervously and stammered. He wanted to get Igor’s attention by speaking, but the words wouldn’t come.

Igor suddenly turned his head, scrutinizing Kadi from top to bottom as if Kadi possessed something special.

”Tell me,” Igor said, turning to the Spirit Book after staring at Kadi in the dim light for a while, a sudden thought seeming to strike him. ”Can the point of coincidence for timelines—or rather, the intersection of two timelines—be a Living Being?” His tone was gentle, without a trace of menace.

”This...” The Spirit Book was once again stumped by Igor’s question.

”Is it possible?” Igor pressed, not giving the Spirit Book any room to breathe.

The Spirit Book had no choice but to draw upon its limited experience and Spirit Power to ponder the question. The answer remained ambiguous: ”In theory, anything is possible. A rift formed by colliding timelines could manifest as anything.”

”HEHEHE,” Igor chuckled happily, then turned to look at Kadi. ”Now, I think I need to take another gamble.”

”What?” Kadi was clueless, still helplessly lost in a state of perpetual confusion.

”Kadi, things might get a bit rough for you,” Igor said with an apologetic smile.

If we want our timelines to converge, the most effective method is to make a Time Leap, Igor continued, talking to himself.

”But how can we make a Time Leap? We can’t see or touch time,” Kadi finally managed to interject, feeling greatly relieved to get a word in.

”Hmm, let’s put it this way: for your timeline and my timeline to synchronize, there must be an intersection point. Only when we reach this intersection point can our timelines possibly synchronize.”

”Uh...” Lost in the fog of confusion, Kadi was speechless again.

”This is a very abstract matter, difficult to explain quickly. In any case, I believe you are the key to the intersection point between our timeline and the other party’s.”

”Me?!” Kadi still couldn’t comprehend.

Based on the Spirit Book’s organization and analysis, Igor had gained a preliminary understanding and made some judgments about Time Leaps. Of course, he couldn’t be entirely sure his ideas were correct; these were things he would still need to slowly verify.

Thus, just as when he had crossed Moonflow Stream and traversed the White Swamp, Igor once again entrusted his fate to luck.

A gamble, by its nature, must be decisive and swift. Hesitation and indecisiveness were not an option.

Igor believed that for two different timelines to overlap, they needed either a common endpoint or an intersection point. A common endpoint was easy to understand: he and Kadi shared a common destination, so their timelines had overlapped.

Indeed, Igor understood a timeline as a path one walks. Encounters and stops along this path were what caused timelines to overlap and collide.

Both he and Kadi were searching for Guru Guru, the Monster King near Moonflow Stream. They had a common endpoint, so their timelines overlapped. However, the entity that had pulled them into the Time Leap certainly wouldn’t share their endpoint (it was more likely the opposite). Therefore, Igor felt there had to be another reason for their timelines to overlap or collide.

The other possibility Igor considered was an intersection point—meaning an encounter and collision during their respective journeys.

What could cause two strangers to meet and collide?

Most of the time, it would be a coincidence, but there were a few exceptions.

These exceptional situations often occurred when the two parties on different timelines shared a commonality or similarity...

Unsurprisingly, Igor’s thoughts turned to Kadi beside him.

”You mentioned before that the voice warning us belonged to a minor leader among your kind of monsters. This means he knows you and must have had a timeline intersect with yours before.”

”Uh-huh.” Kadi tried hard to feign understanding.

”He doesn’t want us to find Guru Guru, while we *do* want to find Guru Guru. His ability to collide with my timeline creates an intersection point, and Kadi, you are the key to this intersection!”

”Hmm...” Kadi furrowed his brows, feeling somewhat overwhelmed and flattered. For the first time, he had become the key to the entire situation.

”Master, he doesn’t seem to understand,” the Spirit Book eagerly chimed in to Igor. ”I can explain it to him.”

”No need. Time is leaping right now. I must quickly find the one who controls this Time Leap.”

”Uh...” The Spirit Book was speechless. It could never keep up with Igor’s pace; its eager attempts to help were often met with a cold shoulder.

”The key is, how are you going to find them?” Kadi asked, utterly confused and unsure what to do.

”You’re the breakthrough. So, I’m afraid I’ll have to inconvenience you.” After saying this, Igor pounced towards Kadi.

”What are you doing?!” Kadi yelped, startled, but he dodged Igor with surprisingly quick reflexes.

”In my observation, the three biggest differences between you and humans like me are your eyes, skin, and tail. If we focus on these three aspects, we’ll definitely find the breakthrough!” After saying this, Igor lunged towards Kadi again.