One-Eyed Monster

Kadi truly couldn’t imagine that Igor knew so many things. He felt it was becoming difficult to view Igor through the lens of a normal person’s mindset and perspective. This was simply inconceivable; Igor was hardly human! After his initial shock, Kadi looked Igor up and down, unable to understand or see through him. Even a container has a limit to what it can hold, but Igor was more like a bottomless pit—a vessel that would never overflow. There was no end in sight; Kadi simply couldn’t fathom him.

”You…” Kadi pointed at Igor, utterly speechless.

”What about me?” Igor asked, still displaying his innocent charm with an adorable expression.

”Uh, I can’t quite put it into words,” Kadi sighed. ”I just feel that you’re different from everyone else. Rather than calling us guys monsters, it’s more accurate to say you’re the monster.”

That’s right, Igor was the real monster—an absolute, out-and-out behemoth. Who could possibly learn something just by wanting to? Who could master so many skills all at once? Who could learn so many skills and still appear as simple as a fool? This was utterly incredible… What was even more infuriating was that this fool actually thought all of this was perfectly normal, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He even turned it around, thinking others were making a fuss over nothing, that *they* were the strange ones. This whole thing was utterly preposterous! It was so preposterous that Kadi felt as if he were living in another world. He suddenly felt out of sync with this world—no, to be precise, it was Igor who seemed utterly incompatible with the world before him.

”Why are you looking at me so strangely? Did I say something wrong? Is there a problem?” Igor, true to his eccentric nature, genuinely believed Kadi’s reaction was abnormal. He felt Kadi and the others should be revolving around him right now. They shouldn’t be doing anything else, or thinking about anything else; they should be entirely at his side, awaiting his arrangements…

Well, one could only say, *heh*, there were many eccentrics in this world, and Igor was merely being one of them at this particular moment…

Still, didn’t Igor have the capital to be so unrestrained? Who else could learn whatever they wished just by thinking about it? Who else could master so many skills and still appear so composed? Humble, simple, and innocent—these were Igor’s traits, and he was now simply magnifying them. It was precisely because he amplified these traits without limit that Kadi found Igor so eccentric.

But none of this mattered anymore. Since Igor had declared he could learn anything he set his mind to, well then, witnessing it firsthand would settle everything. All that was needed was for Igor to learn the World Setting Technique on the spot. There was no need to argue endlessly, wasting breath and bickering to death, just to prove whether Igor was an eccentric or not.

Of course, Igor was completely oblivious to all this. He continued to be himself, looking cheerful and a bit foolish, as if he had stumbled upon some precious treasure. But then again, Igor truly had found a treasure. It was just that the treasure’s true worth was hidden, and Igor himself needed to discern it.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch; everything requires effort to yield a reward. This was a simple principle, and Igor naturally understood it. In a world of Equivalent Exchange, for every gain, there is a corresponding loss. These losses are the currency of the exchange, the sacrifices required to obtain the desired fruit.

After thinking so much, Kadi gradually calmed down. Igor’s various behaviors were indeed out of the ordinary, and that was enough for Kadi to slowly digest. However, none of that was too important. What mattered was the present: how to adapt, how to learn the World Setting Technique, and how to achieve a breakthrough. These small problems, though seemingly insignificant, were very real and lay right before them. They needed to overcome them, to break free from them.

Although Kadi didn’t need to expend too much mental effort or energy—most of this had little to do with him; he just needed to watch quietly. Ultimately, these were all matters for Igor to consider. Kadi was just a minor follower, at best a bystander.

Igor should have been considering all these details, yet he sat on the ground motionless, occasionally furrowing his brow as if pondering something of great importance. His posture, gazing up at the starry sky at a forty-five-degree angle, certainly gave the impression that he was an extraordinary individual.

At least, what he was currently thinking was vastly different from a normal person. A normal person wanting to master the World Setting Technique would undoubtedly ponder deeply, considering the technique’s origins. At such a time, they would certainly use their own Spirit Power to conduct various tests, perhaps even expending Spirit Power to construct an illusory scene for relentless experimentation. This was the most fundamental approach for a normal person learning a technique: continuous meditation, constant experimentation, and finally deducing the result. This process might seem ordinary, but it actually required a great deal of energy and Spirit Power. The repeated, often trial-and-error, experiments would consume considerable Spirit Power, not to mention the construction of an illusory scene.

Igor was different. He skipped excessive experimentation. His deduction process was quite special; he often needed only a few steps to arrive at a conclusion. This conclusion formed his initial impression, and he would then formulate his plans around it. In other words, Igor first formed a conclusion and then sought to verify it—a sequence vastly different from, one might even say directly opposite to, how others operated. This reverse method of thinking was one of the key reasons Igor could learn so many survival skills. The other reasons were also quite simple: Igor was, in fact, a genius. His innate talent surpassed everyone else’s.

At Yonder Travel Academy, instructors of every level wanted Igor as their apprentice. The reason was simple: Igor was brilliant, exceptionally talented, learned everything quickly, and was certain to excel in any profession he chose, becoming a legendary figure.

Of course, Igor himself was completely unaware of all these complicated matters. The only thing occupying his mind right now was the World Setting Technique. He had encountered the World Setting Technique before. This technique deceived a person’s vision, making them feel as if they were truly present in a scene when, in reality, they were merely unconsciously deceiving themselves. People are sometimes like that; they rely on their senses to make judgments. When these senses deceive them, all their judgments subsequently transform into lies and illusions… Becoming unable to extricate oneself from these illusions, trapped within and unable to escape—this seemed to be a characteristic feature of the World Setting Technique.

Igor rubbed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. The World Setting Technique… he felt he was finally grasping some of its intricacies. What remained was verification. As long as the verification was successful, he would be one step closer to mastering a new skill…