One-Eyed Monster

Igor knew that his question was somewhat unreasonable, but he felt deeply apologetic to Nonoa for her condition. He thought that if it weren’t for his lack of strength, Nonoa wouldn’t have had to fight so desperately.

Igor had just learned how to use Energy, and releasing it to such a degree was already quite an achievement for him…

”The situation was urgent at the time; I didn’t think much about it. Besides, Nonoa is the most skilled at hiding among us, I…” Tobin couldn’t continue.

”Nonoa said the only way to evade the Soul Devourers’ tracking was to start running. But even though we didn’t stop running, how did they find us so quickly? And what’s going on here? Aren’t you worried about sudden attacks from the Soul Devourers while we stay here?”

Igor blurted out numerous thoughts, expressing his inner doubts.

”You’re right. This is a Barrier; it’s hard for the Soul Devourers to find this place. However, the Barrier can only be maintained for a while, so to understand the special aspect of what’s on you, we must hurry.”

”I just don’t get it. Is what’s special about me really that important?” Igor interrupted Tobin Sol bluntly. He felt the Resistors were so fixated on something he couldn’t comprehend.

Tobin Sol was taken aback by Igor’s words, then innocently asked, ”Then what do you think we should do now? What is the most important thing?”

”Of course, wake up Nonoa first! What could be more important than that? Then we go find those Soul Devourers and have a good fight. We can’t leave this grudge unsettled!”

”Hey, brother, I like what you said!” The burly man with a big knife couldn’t help but chime in—it was hard for him to hold back. Then he apologized to Tobin, ”Sorry, leader, I couldn’t help it. I really want to give those bastards a good beating.”

”Who is this…” Igor asked, puzzled, looking at the bulky guy. By now, he considered the Resistors in the Border Realm as his own people, but it was rather awkward not knowing each other within the group.

”They are all cadres of the Resistors,” Tobin said earnestly.

”Of course, I know they are cadres, but what are their names? I can’t just call them old cadre, lady cadre, and fat cadre…”

Igor’s complaints made Tobin uncomfortable. He realized that ever since Igor arrived, his authority as the elected leader vanished, and everything he said was countered by Igor in a peculiar way.

This feeling…

…really sucked.

However, on careful thought, every retort from Igor seemed to have some truth…

Indeed, he should have introduced the cadres’ names to the young man.

”I’m called Igor, aspiring to be an Adventurer. No matter where I am, I will become an Adventurer. And you guys?” Igor thought Tobin Sol was unreliable; a leader not introducing his subordinates, just zoning out there—what was that about?

”Those two fat guys are the Mos Brothers. The guy with the fish face is Torres. The one with the dark face is Ostro. The older guy is Odin, and me, Shana.”

Igor found Shana’s introduction excellent; he could match every name, especially the dark face and the fish face—so vividly described…

”Alright, now that you know who we are, can you tell us what you plan to do?” Shana asked right after. When the group of cadres realized their leader couldn’t handle this young man, they stepped forward to offer assistance.

Without lifting his head, Igor said, ”First, wake up Nonoa. Then, go fight those Soul Devourers. I’ve already said it.”

”But young man, have you considered that with our current strength, we have no way to confront the Soul Devourers head-on?” The elder named Odin kindly reminded Igor.

”Fight as many as we can fight; we can run fast anyway, right?” After saying this, Igor glanced at Tobin Sol, clearly including Tobin Sol’s Teleportation Spell in the plan.

Tobin Sol suddenly felt his original role had been usurped by Igor; Igor was the one giving orders now, not him, the leader of the Resistor alliance.

”So what’s your plan exactly?” Ostro, with a perpetually dark face, asked. He wasn’t impressed with Igor’s approach, believing that without a detailed plan, it was all for naught.

”Plan? What plan? Does fighting require a plan? Just hit the Soul Devourers when we see them. Why need a plan?”

”You didn’t understand Ostro’s point. What he means is…” Fish face Torres tried to explain, but Igor cut him off before he could finish.

”Don’t fuss over these details. We’re going to fight now, and if there’s anything unclear, just grab someone and ask. Is it that complicated?”

”Uh…” Everyone exchanged glances, clearly never considering Igor’s method. They had been tangled in figuring out what the Soul Devourers wanted from Igor but couldn’t find an answer after much thought.

Interestingly enough, they didn’t initially know the Soul Devourers’ mad assault was due to this young man’s presence. They assumed the Soul Devourers were merely frenzied. It was when different Resistor cadres and elites were attacked that they sensed something wrong. Tobin Sol hadn’t hesitated then, surveying and aiding battlefields one by one…

During that time, Nonoa hadn’t communicated with any of them, which was why Tobin hadn’t immediately gone to her. Nonoa, the Border Realm’s best at hiding, often acted alone. Her combat ability wasn’t the strongest, but she was excellent at evading these Soul Devourers and monsters.

But it wasn’t until Tobin rescued other cadres and attempted to contact Nonoa that he received silence…

That prompted him to quickly use the Teleportation Spell for rescue, a spell he hadn’t employed in previous battles.

”As you mentioned, the Soul Devourers launched a large-scale attack. I think even if they’ve retreated now, they shouldn’t have gone far.”

”What do you propose?” The Mos Brothers displayed eager expressions but courteously looked at Tobin Sol.

”Now, Igor is the leader. I’ll follow his lead.” Tobin Sol generously said, deciding to yield the initiative to someone capable when he realized he couldn’t solve the issue at hand.