One-Eyed Monster

When Igor emerged from the Inner World, his feelings were rather complicated.

He hadn’t gained much advice; his Spirit had been unable to offer any useful suggestions. Instead, Igor found himself providing considerable consolation to the Spirit.

The Spirit in the Inner World was excessively worried about his friends and stuttered when he spoke. Igor couldn’t pressure him too much; he knew only gentle persuasion would help the Spirit return to normal.

In reality, however, the Spirit didn’t stammer from excessive concern for his friends. His hesitation stemmed entirely from Igor’s own aura of uncertainty. Under such an oppressive aura, the Spirit’s speech became unclear.

Igor often interpreted others based on his own thoughts. Failing to consider a problem from another’s perspective could often be counterproductive.

It was unclear what exactly was going on with Igor—was it sheer stubbornness, or something else?

Regardless, he had now emerged from the Inner World. The troubling situation hadn’t abated in the slightest; it was still as nauseating as ever...

Kadi, on the other hand, had been waiting very anxiously. He had been eagerly anticipating Igor’s return, but now that Igor was back, Kadi found himself unsure what to say.

Stan Sol, meanwhile, was gradually sinking into a state of fear from which there seemed no escape...

Kadi was stunned for a moment, then finally remembered what he was supposed to do.

After all, Kadi was the one who had suggested Igor visit the Inner World, and now he was eager to know what had transpired there.

”Did you sort it out?” Kadi asked, his tone somewhat impatient.

”Sigh!” Igor let out a sigh. It would be inaccurate to say he’d gained nothing from entering the Inner World, but the extent of those gains was unclear.

Igor had no idea how to convey this to Kadi. Seeing Kadi’s expectant face always made him feel a bit guilty, and he couldn’t bear to deceive him.

”What’s wrong? Wasn’t it as we predicted?” Kadi pressed, determined to get an answer.

Torn between deceiving Kadi and letting him down, Igor eventually had to face reality; short-term pain was better than long-term suffering. It was best to be honest with Kadi.

Speaking the truth always demonstrates sincerity, Igor firmly believed, so Kadi wouldn’t blame him for anything...

Sure enough, upon learning the situation, Kadi remained calm and fell into deep thought—a reaction quite unusual for him. It seemed sincerity could indeed make a person rational...

Normally, Kadi would grow impatient when faced with such complex issues. This time, however, he exhibited great patience. It appeared he was treating the current dilemma as a difficult problem to solve and was taking it quite seriously.

Kadi’s earnestness made even Igor feel ashamed.

Seeing Kadi’s current seriousness, Igor felt he couldn’t just stand idly by. He needed to carefully observe these small hands gripping them. He had learned in the Inner World that the beings holding them were Spirits...

”No wonder I couldn’t touch them,” Kadi mumbled to himself, quickly getting into character.

”They are Spirits, supposedly illusory, yet they can manifest tangible forms...” Igor struggled to relay the information he had acquired in the Inner World. Although he hadn’t fully understood it all, he managed to recount it faithfully.

”So, what should we do now? These Spirits don’t seem to have any malicious intent. They’re like kidnapped children, forced to do things against their will.” Kadi’s analogy was quite vivid.

Igor was genuinely impressed. He truly admired Kadi’s metaphor. Why hadn’t I thought of something so comprehensive back in the Inner World...?

”Then what do you think we should do? Just keep watching them and wait for a miracle?” Igor asked directly. He felt Kadi was currently in an unpredictable state—who knew, he might just bring them a surprise.

Kadi’s current state was indeed hard to define. Even though he couldn’t enter the Inner World himself, he had still grasped the connection. With Kadi so fired up, it was hard to say whether he might indeed bring Igor a surprise.

”I think we must establish contact with those Spirits!” Kadi declared, hitting the nail on the head. This was indeed the most crucial aspect of their current predicament.

If they could establish contact with the Spirits, many questions would naturally be answered.

Of course, Igor had also considered this method—establishing contact. It sounded simple, but actually doing it... Needless to say, it would be extremely difficult.

”We have to try every possible method. We’ll surely find a breakthrough!” Kadi said, sounding quite excited.

Igor silently watched Kadi. Try every single method... Kadi’s sheer determination for such an enormous task was almost too much for Igor to take in.

Every single method... Just hearing him say it, one could imagine how incredibly complex the entire process would be...

However, Kadi’s suggestion wasn’t entirely without merit.

Because, aside from such a painstaking approach, what other viable options were there to solve the problem at hand?

There really didn’t seem to be any. Even this painstaking approach was Kadi’s idea. At this moment, I feel like a useless block of wood, having contributed nothing, Igor thought.

It seems breaking this deadlock will depend entirely on Kadi, from start to finish, Igor mused.

By the light of his Battle Pet Fiery Blaze, Kadi began to draw circles on the ground. It looked like he genuinely intended to try every single method.

”First, we can’t touch them. Physical contact is only one-sided—they can touch us, but we can’t touch them. So, that avenue can be completely ruled out.”

”MHM, MHM, YES.” Igor nodded repeatedly. He had no grounds to refute Kadi’s analysis; this time, Kadi was truly in control.

Sometimes, that’s just how it was. When it seemed there was no way forward, mustering the courage to try anyway could forge a new path. This principle wasn’t particularly profound, yet many people were unwilling to consider it. The reason was simple: most believed that complex problems couldn’t possibly have such simple solutions. Others, out of pride, deemed such straightforward methods unworthy of their attempt...

At that moment, Igor likely embodied both these tendencies...

Fortunately, he had Kadi by his side. This fellow, who usually seemed unreliable, was proving exceptionally competent at this moment.

It’s truly good to have Kadi around, Igor couldn’t help but think. At that moment, he gained a new understanding of, and a new perspective on, his one-eyed companion.

Nevertheless, Igor wasn’t one to sit idle. He too began actively trying every possible method, alongside Kadi...