One-Eyed Monster

Stan Sol hadn’t expected to emerge from one state of fear only to be plunged into new uncertainty so quickly. He felt like he was diving headlong into bewilderment... and it was a thoroughly unpleasant sensation.

He didn’t understand why these two youths were so bold. Perhaps this was the proverbial fearlessness born of ignorance.

Sometimes, knowing too much wasn’t necessarily a good thing. The more one knew, the more associations one made; the more associations, the more anxieties. This was one of the reasons he had slowly succumbed to fear...

All of this was quite normal. Youngsters always talked about going on adventures, but only when they truly embarked on the journey would they discover many things weren’t so wonderful. As they grew, a youth’s mettle would gradually fade, replaced by a maturity that demanded careful consideration for every step taken thereafter. This careful consideration often brought fear...

Just as those Little Black Hands had predicted, it started as mere uncertainty about the unknown, then it gradually escalated to aversion, and finally, aversion transformed into simple fear...

Facing the unknown, you never knew where to go. You could only wander endlessly amidst infinite associations, desperately trying to escape, desperately trying to prevent it...

This was the fear Stan Sol felt. This fear had dominated him for a time, leaving him at a loss, because deep within his heart, he had long ago been branded with the conviction that he could never, under any circumstances, defeat the experts of the Dark Cabinet. So when he sensed that his opponent could easily conceal their Spirit Power, he felt he had no room to resist... What a sad story this truly was.

The only thing that surprised Stan Sol was Igor. This youth always seemed to evoke unique feelings in people. For instance, Igor pulling him out of that stupor this time had been completely unexpected.

”Well, I think it’s about time,” Igor said. Seeing Stan Sol’s emotions gradually stabilize, he felt it was time to reveal his plan.

Stan Sol had heard Igor mention the term ”breakthrough” before, and now, hearing Igor speak again, he felt a faint sense of foreboding.

”So, have you engaged in intense combat with the opponent in some environment?” Igor tentatively asked Stan Sol. After all, he considered Stan Sol a rather enigmatic figure who often surprised him with things he’d never encountered before.

Stan Sol gazed blankly at Igor, not knowing what Igor was asking about. He had just been in a predicament, and he was rather embarrassed to mention it.

Yet Igor seemed determined to uncover this secret, which made Stan Sol feel a touch awkward. He wanted to speak, but he didn’t... Fortunately, he had a communication impediment...

”Just get straight to the point; stop dithering and wasting time,” Kadi urged, quite anxious. He was eager to know how Igor planned to find their hidden opponents.

Frankly speaking, Kadi was still intensely curious about these Spirits. Firstly, he was unable to enter the Inner World, and he’d always regretted it when Igor and the others described these Spirits. Secondly, he personally felt that this group of Spirits’ way of doing things was remarkably similar to his own. Therefore, he was very curious about how Igor planned to use Sharkmon to find these Spirits.

Igor hadn’t expected Kadi to be so impatient. He knew ”haste makes waste,” and it was better to be cautious. Besides, Sharkmon was Stan Sol’s creature, after all. They had no idea how to command it, which would undoubtedly require Stan Sol’s assistance. Therefore, he absolutely had to persuade Stan Sol patiently.

”You... what, exactly... do you... want to do?” Stan Sol asked, a little flustered. He had no idea what was going on.

He truly had no clue. When Kadi and Igor were discussing their plan, he was still in a state of self-forgetfulness—though that state wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.

”We don’t want to *do* anything; we just want to ask for a little help.”

?? Stan Sol was growing more confused. What exactly were these boys up to?

”Oh, he just wants to borrow your pet Sharkmon for a bit!” Kadi blurted out, clearly impatient. He couldn’t stand Igor’s hesitant, roundabout way of speaking. ”If you had something to say, wouldn’t it be better to just blurt things out? Why did he have to be like this?”

”Hmm?” Stan Sol was still somewhat perplexed, looking at Igor with wide, surprised eyes.

”Uh...” Igor scratched his head, not sure where to begin. It was always like this; it was always difficult to bring oneself to ask for help.

”Look, he thinks your Sharkmon can accurately locate the Spirit Power of those hidden guys, so he wants to borrow it.” Kadi, it seemed, was better at this, explaining the matter clearly in just a few sentences.

In that moment, Stan Sol understood the intentions of these two youths. They wanted to use Sharkmon to track down their opponents. Although he thought it was highly unlikely to succeed, he still admired the two boys’ courage. That’s right. Stan Sol had already assumed their opponents were elite masters from the Dark Cabinet. Even if Sharkmon could find some trace of them, they would still have no strength to fight back... Nevertheless, Stan Sol greatly admired the courage of these two boys.

So, without further ado, he summoned his cloak, and Sharkmon immediately became animated.

”Wow! Now just do as Igor says, Sol!” Kadi exclaimed, thrilled to see Sharkmon. But he was even more thrilled that Igor would soon be able to find those Spirits using Sharkmon. Just thinking about it made him almost unable to contain his excitement.

Igor, however, was scratching his head. Honestly, he had no idea what to do, and could only stare blankly at Sharkmon without saying a word.

Stan Sol, being the person he was, had long seen that Igor had no idea how to control Sharkmon. So he reluctantly said, ”Just... tell... me... the direction.”

As long as he had a direction, he could make Sharkmon investigate.

Igor instantly understood Stan Sol and quickly pointed at the ground beneath their feet, indicating that their opponents were likely right below them. Actually, this was quite obvious; those Little Black Hands had been constantly tugging at their ankles, never leaving their sight.

However, apart from Igor, no one else believed these opponents would be on the ground. They figured that such masters of concealment definitely wouldn’t expose their true forms in such an obvious location. After all, their opponents were masters of hiding. How could they possibly appear right under their noses? All of this had to be an illusion.