One-Eyed Monster-Chapter 718 - 715: The Meaning of Exploration

For Puppet Masters and Puppets, this crack meant nothing. Puppets had already lost their lives when Silkworms entered their brains—such was the price of their resource exchange. Consequently, they wouldn't know what transpired after their journey to the Eternal Tranquility Realm. As for the Puppet Masters, they cared even less about this crack, because matters devoid of value were not worth their attention.

This disinterest wasn't limited to Puppet Masters; such an ethos permeated the prevailing attitudes of the time. Few people would pay attention to things without perceived value. It wasn't the Scholars who researched or explored the crack either. Scholars of that era only studied things they deemed valuable, and Puppet Masters, whose methods had already been exposed, held no further value to them. Only eccentrics like Teacher Hadi were interested in such things.

These eccentrics pursued such matters tirelessly, though it was unclear what they sought. It seemed that working in vain meant nothing to them. Ordinary people could not comprehend what made such individuals tick. Just as many considered Igor a fool, in reality, Igor wasn't foolish at all. He was merely dedicated to something he loved, although this pursuit also seemed quite bizarre to most.

People would often ask, "What's the purpose of doing this? What's to be gained? Can it bring about any personal change?"

In a world that emphasized Equivalent Exchange, no one was interested in fruitless endeavors. Every exertion had to yield rewards, or people wouldn't linger.

The reality of the world is a harsh truth that no one can change.

Igor chose this path, following his inner calling. Perhaps no one could understand his reasoning, but that didn't matter; what mattered was that Igor had found himself.

He chose to be an Adventurer because that was what his heart desired. It felt as if an unseen force constantly pulled him in that direction—a peculiar sensation beyond words.

Perhaps it was because he was curious about the world. He always wondered what lay beyond the mountains, and what lay even further beyond that...

The unknown lured him, constantly reminding him of how little he truly knew.

He felt compelled to keep exploring, to unravel the world's mysteries, discover new things, and gain more knowledge...

This was Igor's dream, the pursuit he was prepared to dedicate his life to.

At the Yonder Travel Academy, Igor was renowned for his peculiarities, as was Teacher Hadi.

No one understood their bizarre practices. Their efforts garnered neither gold coins nor power. No one could figure out why they did what they did.

No one could imagine Teacher Hadi, magnifying glass in hand, comparing several skulls merely to study the cracks on them.

Who could possibly understand the purpose of such an endeavor?

Few understood that exploring something could indeed be a monotonous process.

Igor vaguely remembered his initial encounters with these peculiar things. He'd experienced fear and joy, awe and confusion—a mixture of feelings that captivated him, compelling him to seek answers. Answers were not readily available; they had to be sought. And the quest might not necessarily yield results...

Despite no foreseeable outcome, Igor was invigorated by it all. For him, the process itself was paramount, even if it occasionally made him sick to his stomach. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

When he first began investigating the topic of Puppets and Puppet Masters, Igor had felt quite ill for a while. When he first started studying the cracks in skulls with Teacher Hadi, Igor had even vomited several times...

Despite this, Igor remained fascinated because, for him, the significance of exploration lay in the process, not the outcome.

This process was one of creation, from nothing to something—a transition many overlooked.

When a novelty appeared, one initially knew nothing about it. However, with gradual exploration, one would accumulate a wealth of information concerning it.

Even if this novelty ultimately proved valueless, one would still find joy in the process itself.

This process was the essence of their quest.

The process meant experience. Only through experience could one truly understand life's meaning and the principle of Equivalent Exchange in this world.

Igor gleaned many truths through such processes. He firmly believed his destiny was not preordained but shaped by his own experiences.

What, then, is the line of destiny? It is not a coincidence formed by intersecting straight lines, nor a shadow cast by overlapping curves. Destiny is the entirety of one's experiences throughout the process. Even if these experiences seemed meaningless at the time, who could say if one might encounter similar circumstances later on?

Take Igor, for instance. He never would have imagined that an exploration he and Teacher Hadi had casually begun at the Yonder Travel Academy would become crucial to his gamble on Guru Mountain.

At the time, he was driven purely by interest. He didn't fully comprehend the world of Puppets and Puppet Masters and merely wanted to learn more about them by studying these skulls.

Although many considered their research unreliable, they stubbornly persisted.

And who would have thought they would actually discover something new? Even if this discovery was worthless to others, not exchangeable for even a single copper coin.

Teacher Hadi and Igor's study of the skull cracks yielded no major breakthroughs. They only found that these cracks were pushed out by Silkworms. Unlike other physical damage that left deep fissures, these cracks appeared more akin to something that had grown naturally.

This discovery led Teacher Hadi to speculate: could it be that after their larval stage, the Silkworms began to struggle within the Puppets' skulls? Otherwise, how could such natural-looking cracks form?

Ordinary cracks showed clear signs of damage, but these cracks on the Puppet skulls bore no such marks. They looked more like fissures that had formed naturally from within, pushing outward.

It was akin to the subtle fracturing when a chick hatches from its egg, or the way a bean sprout emerges from the soil...

In essence, it was a naturally formed crack, not an injury inflicted by external force.

Of course, only eccentrics like Igor and Teacher Hadi could discern this difference. It was a conclusion drawn from their extensive research and observation of countless skull cracks...

Igor now fondly recalled those moments of exploration, never imagining that the insights gained would prove so beneficial at such a critical juncture.