One-Eyed Monster

Let us return our focus to Guru Mountain.

Our heroes have been off the grid for quite some time now, captured on the mountain by a mysterious man of few words. However, our protagonist didn’t feel his situation was particularly dire. In fact, he held great respect for his captor, the mysterious man who, every now and then, would present him with some novel trinket he’d never seen before. This made him feel incredibly fulfilled. Nevertheless, the heroes’ absence from the main storyline is noticeable, and many readers may have forgotten about them.

But our protagonist had not forgotten his mission. He was currently engaging in a lively, rambling conversation with his companions.

Our naive Igor was animatedly chewing on Thorny Roots from the Rubber Leaf Bowl, cheeks puffed out, spit flying, clearly engrossed in his story.

"Lemme tell ya, true Adventurers, they’ve got some m-mystery to ’em." Chewing the Thorny Roots, soaked in hot water, was just like eating hard-boiled eggs. If one wasn’t careful, they could easily scald their mouth or choke. Given Igor’s manner of eating and talking simultaneously, he would likely regret it soon enough; the feeling of choking on an egg was very unpleasant.

This couldn’t be helped. The unexpected addition of the talkative, large Hunter Baharo to their already peculiar team only made them seem even more outlandish. A Hunter leading a group of captives—and lively ones at that—was already odd. Now, with the addition of another talkative captive, the group’s atmosphere, which couldn’t even be described as merely ’lively’ anymore, had descended into a state of near-frenzy. The captives were not only cheerful but also getting along famously with their Hunter captor. It seemed they were moments away from having their ropes untied and becoming fast friends, slinging arms over each other’s shoulders.

"Heh heh heh, your Adventurers are a new profession, but when it comes to being mysterious, the ancient professions win hands down," Baharo shared, taking care not to talk and eat simultaneously.

"I’ve read some brief introductions to ancient professions in books, too. They were barely mentioned, with no detailed analysis at all," Hustace chimed in. To him, Igor was an idol; whatever Igor did, he wanted to do. He had been eagerly awaiting such an opportunity for conversation for a long time.

This long-lonely young master had suddenly found an opportunity to unleash his emotions in this specific environment. Would he willingly let it pass? He was determined to treasure every second of this moment, even if he was currently a prisoner.

"That’s why these ancient professions are considered mysterious! Even learned Scholars can’t figure them out. How could they be anything but mysterious!" Baharo picked up where Hustace left off, his expression even more smug.