One-Eyed Monster

Igor watched the group laughing quietly, without any interference. He knew that interference would be useless, as this crowd would ignore anything he said.

”Young man, how did you end up here, did you rely on a map?” The odd man opposite him asked kindly; currently, he was the only one in the tavern who could chat freely with Igor.

The odd man was considered a drunkard by the people here. No matter what a lunatic says, others won’t take it seriously. Therefore, Igor’s chat with this odd man held no interest for these thugs.

”I relied on a map to get here; I was actually heading to the Ghost Realm,” Igor said, not bothering to keep his itinerary secret.

”Oh, what a shame you came here.” The odd man took a sip of his drink, tilting his head elsewhere. It was a gesture of helplessness, seemingly telling Igor that coming here was truly unfortunate.

”Ahahaha, rare entity indeed, he’s completely oblivious to who we are!” The Mantai people continued to mock.

Actually, Igor wished to laugh at them, speaking peculiar Kayne words and moving clumsily like ducks. However, Igor did not laugh, knowing that after these people finish their laughter, they will reveal the answer to him.

Arrogant people always show off after ridiculing others, that’s their usual behavior, and Igor had met quite a few of them.

This situation amused Igor, wondering why people always behave the same way. Well, no wonder, they had no guidance, no books to summarize their experiences, because these arrogant people almost always meet an unfortunate end.

Igor himself dared not underestimate his opponents; he couldn’t guarantee he’d defeat this group but felt confident of leaving here unharmed. He could predict their fighting strength; if his was ten thousand, theirs would be around four or five thousand, but the elder beside him showed considerable prowess. As for the odd man, Igor made no prediction since he held no hostility...

Igor was waiting, waiting for the bastards to brag about their identities.

”You wouldn’t know who we are. Back then, we stood on equal footing with the Mantai army’s Wind Controllers, who would have thought we’d encounter a Wind Chaser rebellion, damn, it’s really unfortunate!” said the Mantai leader, with a mix of regret, deep anger, and a hint of pride. Clearly, they were once renowned warriors in Mantai.

”Boss, don’t tell him so much, once we gather enough Gold coins, we’ll buy a bunch of superweapons from the dwarves and reclaim Mantai!”

The subordinates’ ambition remained undiminished, unabatedly passionate.

Igor paid little mind, for these were just the thugs’ own fantasies. He grew bored, realizing they were merely fallen warriors of the Mantai Empire...

”Hmph, though driven from the Ghost Realm by Millg Wind Chasers, we still have our skills, mainly the boss’s strength, driving you Kayne people into panic!”

”Indeed, we’re the famous Tramplers; everywhere we tread becomes our treasure trove!”

The subordinates boasted one thing after another, with Igor hearing merely tales of plundering and destruction, nothing but evil deeds.

Igor sighed, unwilling to listen any longer; their stories revolved around killing people and ruining places.

”These Tramplers, truly wicked, they’re regulars at this tavern,” the odd man across nibbled on nuts, speaking plainly.

Igor found interest in the odd man’s words, sensing he might get more valuable information from him. Though the odd man spoke before, he had fallen silent, seemingly unwilling to say much. Now he opened up again, apparently ready to spill everything to Igor.

”These Tramplers are interested in only two things: slaughter and money.”

As the Tramplers continued to brag about their achievements, the drunkard’s words were completely ignored.

”Slaughter is their nature, money their pursuit. The Mantai people are rather straightforward, some benevolent, some wicked. These Tramplers represent wickedness.”

Igor agreed; just the Tramplers’ own boasts of their exploits were enough to fill him with righteous indignation.

”Their movements are always unpredictable. Usually, only a few subordinates came to this tavern, but today even the leader showed up, clearly valuing you as a rare entity.” The odd man chuckled.

”Why am I a rare entity!” Igor was a bit puzzled, unsure what’s special about him.

”You’re too young, full of vigor; coming into this tavern, you should conceal a bit, such strong Spirit Power radiating out, these dog noses naturally smell the scent of blood!” The odd man said.

”You mean my Spirit Power attracted them.”

”Recently, a guy named Brass came to Mist Town; he’s a trafficker, but a special one, seeking unique individuals—Adventurers with Class!” The odd man spoke quickly, feeling the Mantai thugs would soon finish boasting their great feats.

”Brass only wants Adventurers with Class, offering high prices, yet once he gets them, he kills them; isn’t it odd?” The odd man took this chance to reveal his information.

Igor pondered; he seemed to have realized something.

”Heh, I know what’s going on; Brass wants to extract something from the Adventurers with Class and kills them after obtaining it. Ruthless and unscrupulous, truly vile. So Adventurers with Class brimming with Spirit Power like you showing up here, it’s no wonder you’re considered a rare entity. After all, there’s not many Adventurers with Class in this place,” the odd man finished and leaned back, looking completely relaxed.