One-Eyed Monster

Igor was absolutely amazed.

The invisible opponent summoned from the floating black wheel hub in the sky had already thrown many powerful punches at them. Although the punches didn’t have great force, they were very distressing because they couldn’t locate the enemy.

What surprised Igor was why Kadi would seek his help at this time; his own condition wasn’t much better than the others.

But Igor also felt a surge of pride. My teammates trust me so much at such a critical moment... he thought, then immediately chided himself. Of course, this could just be my vanity acting up.

Regardless, the floating black wheel hub in the sky temporarily controlled them, preventing them from fighting back. However, Igor noticed something strange: the enemy in the sky didn’t attack the Little Black Hands at all. Logically, this creature’s abilities should be on par with the Little Black Hands, as Igor could perceive all this through his Spirit Sensing.

This could have been due to its fear of these Spirits, or perhaps it was an attempt to test them. Regardless, the floating opponent was very cautious. Its approach was also cruel, leading with Blood-Sucking Worms and Vampire Bats—Strange Beasts capable of killing people in the most gruesome manner, such as sucking blood and drilling into bone marrow.

Facing such a strong opponent, Igor really didn’t know what to do. The Scale of Faith on him was tilting, and the old lady on it kept rambling on with stories. He wasn’t in a position to fight back right now. The visible enemy floated high in the sky, out of his reach, while the lively creature pummeling him by his side was invisible.

This truly is a sorrowful situation... Igor mused. He suddenly felt a wave of inadequacy. Despite my pride, I might not be able to meet Kadi’s expectations, he thought.

BOOM! BOOM! A few more punches rained down. Igor and Kadi had grown so accustomed to their force that, aside from the nausea, it seemed to have little other effect.

Wizard Reed, floating in mid-air, wasn’t worried at all. Firstly, he was summoning his ultimate power. Secondly, while his Invisible Monster had a monotonous attack pattern, it was not useless.

The Invisible Monster’s attacks seemed random, but there was a non-random aspect: its fists wouldn’t pummel them endlessly. The command Wizard Reed had given it was clear: punch 421 times for a reward of meat; otherwise, it would eat dirt.

Although the monster didn’t know what the number 421 signified, it knew it couldn’t be one punch more or one punch less; it had to be exact.

This was actually another of Wizard Reed’s spells. There’s a vast difference between Dark Wizards and regular Wizards. Dark Wizards study all kinds of spells, unlike orthodox Wizards who only focus on their own faction’s arts. Consequently, orthodox Wizards were often very specialized: a Water Type user would absolutely not use fire, and a fire user would definitely not understand water.

Dark Wizards, however, were different; they knew a little about everything. While their knowledge wasn’t profound, it was enough for them to hold their own in a fight. Wizard Reed was having the Invisible Monster strike 421 times merely to prepare for a proper Water Type Spell.

Wizard Reed had discovered that there were quite a few Flame Controllers among his opponents, so he planned to use a Water Type Spell to suppress these flames.

This was indeed a difficult task. Previously, the snowman Wizard Reed had summoned was also Water Type, but the Battle Pet Fiery Blaze had been entangled with those Water Folk for a very long time without a clear victor. Now, for Wizard Reed to try and suppress these flames with an ordinary Water Type Spell, it was doubtful he could achieve his desired effect.

All Wizard spells require time to cast, which is why High-Rank Fighters don’t fear Wizards. The casting time inevitably provides High-Rank Fighters an opening to attack, an opening that could very well decide the outcome.

After all, not all Wizards possessed the formidable physique of Fighters, who could withstand impacts and remain unharmed.

Although Igor and the others knew this, they still had no way of fighting back. They didn’t even know their opponent was preparing a Water Type Spell, intending to engulf them.

Wizard Reed had initially wanted to eliminate these ”flies” quickly, but he hadn’t made any significant progress. In a way, he was genuinely surprised, and now, a little anxious.

Kadi, of course, was even more anxious. He was being pummeled relentlessly, unable to retaliate. He was used to being the one toying with others; he’d never experienced being toyed with himself. This made Kadi deeply resentful. He pinned his hopes on Igor, but Igor also seemed helpless.

Igor even asked him if the Little Black Hands could devise a solution. Unfortunately, the Little Black Hands clearly indicated they couldn’t help with matters unrelated to Spirit Power.

Kadi thought, Are we really going to be pummeled like this indefinitely? He thought about it and still felt indignant. This is so unfair...

”Why isn’t that guy being hammered?” Kadi pointed at Hustace, who was enveloped in Flame Armor. He was very surprised and also felt the world was deeply unfair.

Igor, who had just been struck by another punch, didn’t know what to say. But when he heard Kadi mention Hustace, a flicker of hope ignited in his heart. If Hustace were conscious right now, could he see things we can’t? He felt there was a strong possibility.

But then the problem arose: how exactly could they awaken Hustace?

Previously, Hustace had once been scared to the point of unconsciousness. It was Senior Yuga’s assistance that had awoken him. Now that Senior Yuga wasn’t here, who had the ability to help Hustace recover?

Could the Little Black Hands do it? Igor had a sudden idea. Since we don’t have any good methods to deal with this invisible fellow anyway, trying this wouldn’t hurt, he reasoned.

So Igor shared this idea.

After being hammered a few more times, Kadi replied; currently, Kadi was the only one who could communicate fluently with the Little Black Hands.

Kadi said the Little Black Hands could awaken Hustace. Because they had planted the ”root” of his fear, they were very familiar with its workings.

Dispelling fear wasn’t difficult for the Little Black Hands. They could even create fear, so what was so hard about dispelling it?

The Spirit among the Little Black Hands that controlled sound gently floated into Hustace’s ear and let out a long, drawn-out call—

Shortly after, Hustace’s previously lifeless eyes suddenly regained their color, and then he woke up.

”Hustace, you’re awake,” Igor said, not expecting the Little Black Hands to be so swift.

Hustace looked at Igor and scratched his head. He sensed something strange. Everything around him was dark, so why was there light just around him?

Hustace looked down. Holy crap, what is this?! he thought, then realized with horror, I’m on fire!

”Fire!” Hustace shrieked, then immediately fell silent again, completely stunned.

What the actual hell! Igor thought, exasperated.