One-Eyed Monster

Igor was completely confused. He felt the real protagonist right now should be Stan Sol, shouldn’t it? At most he was just here to play a minor background role, hardly worth mentioning at all.

And it was originally Stan Sol who was supposed to meet his brother Tobin Sol, so why was everyone staring at him, as if he had some crucial role to play?

Seeing all those expectant looks from the others, Igor was a bit dazed. This was way beyond what he could understand.

”I know you definitely have no idea what to do right now, but don’t get nervous. Everyone has to go through this period. It’s a painful process,” Perkins said. As someone who’d been through it, he felt he ought to give Igor a bit of useful advice; otherwise it wasn’t good for Igor to keep wearing that expression.

”I—I can endure hardship, that’s fine, that’s not the problem. The point is, what am I supposed to do? I don’t have a clue. You guys won’t explain anything, and I’m this dumb, there’s no way I can guess it!” Igor said with a smile. Of course, that smile was a bitter one, with a hint of self‑mockery.

”Well, you’ll understand in a bit, naturally. We’ll all wait for you,” Perkins chuckled. He felt this moment existed entirely for Igor.

Teacher Hadi didn’t say anything. He glanced at Igor, then closed his eyes.

This immediately threw Igor off. Weren’t they just talking about healing his injuries or something? How come he suddenly started meditating on his own?

The contrast left Igor a little disappointed. He really didn’t understand why Teacher Hadi kept doing such odd things.

But before Igor could even sigh about it, his heart began to churn, and a familiar voice sounded by his ear.

Could it be that unreliable Spirit Book woke up again? Igor thought in surprise; but before he could react, that voice directly denied his guess.

”I am most definitely not that Spirit Book of yours. Speaking of which, you actually have a Spirit Book on you?”

”Who’s there? Where am I?” Igor felt his whole body go soft, as if he were floating.

Everything around him was soft and fluffy, like being in a cloud. It felt great, but Igor knew this wasn’t real.

This feeling was déjà vu. He was all too familiar with it.

The voice didn’t answer the question, but Igor understood anyway, because this was the Inner World, a technique he’d been using quite often not long ago.

He hadn’t expected that with Teacher Hadi, he’d enter an Inner World again.

Igor originally wanted to ask whose Inner World this was, but now he felt there was no need.

Because he knew that in the Inner World, everyone was equal, and who actually controlled things depended on whose Spirit Power was stronger.

Right now he knew he was not the one in control.

”Why’d you stop asking questions?” The voice floated out again, a little old, yet somehow full of energy.

”No need. I know where this is, and I know who you are.”

”Oh? Then tell me, who am I?”

”You’re Teacher Hadi.” Igor was very calm and very firm. He understood how the Inner World worked, so he had no doubts.

”Very good, you adapt quickly. That’s right, I am Russef Hadi.” Teacher Hadi spoke politely now, none of that earlier unreliability.

”Teacher, how can you create an Inner World?” Igor was still as adorably slow‑witted as ever.

”I just praised you and you ruined it already. I think you’re a complete blockhead, hahaha.” In fact, there was no need for Teacher Hadi to mock Igor; his own behavior in this Inner World wasn’t much different. He’d barely stayed serious for a few minutes before turning back into a mischievous old rascal.

”When I don’t understand, I ask. That’s what you taught me, Teacher,” Igor muttered unhappily.

Actually, Igor knew he didn’t even need to speak, because Teacher Hadi was the one in control here; he could read Igor’s thoughts completely. In this Inner World, Igor had zero defenses up.

”And that’s your weakness, Igor,” Teacher Hadi said with a grin. ”You’re willing to believe anything. No matter what other people say, you’ll easily trust them. Don’t you realize that’s very dangerous?”

Igor’s mind went blank. He had no idea what Teacher Hadi was getting at.

”You’ve always been controlled by your emotions, Igor. That’s your greatest weakness. When your emotions start spreading through you, you’re at a loss, and you end up disappointed in yourself.”

Igor admitted this. He also felt he was always bad at managing his emotions.

”The purpose of this Inner World is to let you see yourself clearly,” Teacher Hadi said.

Igor understood this was to help him grow quickly. But why was Teacher Hadi going to such pains for him?

Whatever he thought of, Teacher Hadi could see it, so in response to this question, Hadi answered him very straightforwardly: ”Because what you’re about to face is pretty formidable. If you’re not prepared, there’s a good chance you won’t be coming back.”

”Is Stan Sol’s brother facing something really complicated?” Igor asked. He felt this wasn’t as simple as he’d imagined.

”Specifically, you’ll know once you meet Dean Hoffman. I don’t know the details, but I know Dean Hoffman fairly well. He wouldn’t do something this pointless. If he asked me to treat you all, then what you’re going to face is definitely complicated,” Teacher Hadi said.

The whole process was very strange. Igor felt he’d entered an unknown world.

Everything he thought of, Teacher Hadi could experience. Igor’s experiences on Guru Mountain left him extremely shocked.

”I didn’t expect you’d run into things like that on Guru Mountain, and even more unexpectedly, my old friend Guzan is on that mountain too. Once you’ve finished this matter, we can have a good long talk.”

”Wouldn’t it be easier if you just read it directly?” Igor said. Since Teacher Hadi was the one in control, he should be able to freely access his memories!

”Doing that would consume a huge amount of Spirit Power. You can’t do that yet, and I’m just an old bag of bones.”

”That was careless of me. I forgot about that,” Igor said, feeling ashamed.

”Back to business. You’re special, so I left you for last to treat. And unlike the others, they just needed to find a sense of acceptance so they could face their emotions. You, kid, are too simple. I have to make sure you really see yourself clearly.”

Igor nodded. This training in the Inner World was completely different from before. He didn’t feel it was a treatment—at least, he saw it as a training, a training tailored specifically for him.

He was determined to seize this opportunity.