One-Eyed Monster

Joela let out a soft sigh, then immediately pushed aside those unforgettable memories. They had a mission to accomplish now; this was not the time for reminiscence.

The world had been changing quite rapidly these years, so quickly that even Joela was overwhelmed with bouts of helplessness.

Take the Alchemy Workshop, for example. Drastic changes had occurred, led by the younger generation with Kuyi Tulan and Milo at the helm, quickly sending the previous Golden Twelve Seats into the Elder Council. Joela wasn't exactly considered part of the younger generation, but he was certainly among the benefactors of Chief Kuyi Tulan's ascension.

It wasn't just Joela. The entire Alchemy Workshop owed a debt of gratitude to Chief Kuyi Tulan.

Had he not held firm back then, the notion of Battle Alchemy could have been delayed by several years.

Had Kuyi Tulan not been there, the Alchemy Workshop might still, to this day, be applying alchemical layers to the armor of the Guardian Army and crafting Exchange Beasts for the wealthy elites as mere trinkets.

If it hadn't been for Kuyi Tulan, could the Alchemy Workshop ever stand as an equal to the Wizard Alliance? Clearly, that would be impossible. Even now, many Wizards in the Alliance remain unconvinced, believing Battle Alchemy to be nothing more than a joke.

But no matter how much the Wizard Alliance belittled it, the Alchemy Workshop shone brightly in the Guardian War. The changes brought by Kuyi Tulan and his team, whether in the Alchemy Array or in Battle Alchemy, achieved impressive results and soon spread throughout the entire Empire.

Joela naturally felt the changes within himself. He never could have imagined that he, a mere alchemical coating master, would have the chance to attain a Golden Seat. Of course, this was all thanks to the Great Mentor and Kuyi Tulan. Without their efforts, the Alchemy Workshop would hardly have achieved its current brilliance.

So, regardless of whether the elders of the Workshop opposed the Chief's recent plans, Joela resolved to support those plans unconditionally.

Joela felt that the mission to find the Great Mentor should be the obligation of everyone in the Alchemy Workshop.

However, not everyone thought the same way...

This world was just like that, full of changes. There were no absolute rights or wrongs. People were deceived by appearances, unable to see the true nature of things. They lived in ignorance, completely oblivious to the world changing around them.

This world is becoming chaotic and exceedingly strange, Joela thought.

The Kayne Empire was constantly being eroded by its neighboring countries, the Mantai and Wensi Empires. Numerous wars and standoffs, both large and small, had occurred over the years. The Mountain Monsters and Dwarves of the Mantai Empire, and the Tree Spirits and Water Spirits of the Wensi Empire, had all been unusually active in recent years.

Even Guru Mountain, which was not particularly noteworthy in itself, had become quite unusual due to the arrival of various groups of people.

How could a mountain that isn't even marked on a map attract so many people? Could the rumored White Cloud Fruit, supposedly nonexistent, actually exist? But why has it never appeared in any market throughout the Empire? Could it be that the people coming here all know about a secret hidden within this mountain?

This baffled Joela somewhat.

It felt as if everyone else knew the truth, while he alone was kept in the dark.

Regardless, this was already the second day that Joela, Hector, and Brad had been on the mountain. They had wandered like fools along the mountain trails for nearly a day yesterday and had to camp in a wind-sheltered spot for the night.

Wandering and camping were trivial matters; these Alchemists weren't so delicate. The crucial point was that they had accomplished nothing after an entire day. This sense of failure deeply struck Joela.

To set up the array, almost all the Exchange Beasts of the Golden Seats had been dispatched up the mountain. The Alchemy Array was already laid out, so Joela and the others dared not casually summon their own Exchange Beasts.

They could only rely on the shared Spirit Vision to search all over the mountain.

As for what they were looking for, they themselves had no firm idea because everything about this mountain was unknown. It was up to the three of them to uncover it.

Hopefully, there are some clues somewhere in these mountains to lead us to a discovery, Joela mused.

Milo mentioned seeing Dastan through the shared Spirit Vision. Could he have been mistaken? Joela mused silently, continuing his painstaking search for clues.

It was strange. They had ascended the mountain yesterday and wandered about, yet found nothing. It was unbelievable. Furthermore, they had been climbing upwards for so long but still saw no sign of reaching the summit.

Joela couldn't shake the feeling that the three of them had been standing still all along, that their walking was just an illusion.

However, he didn't have any evidence to prove this at the moment.

"Hector, do you feel anything odd?" Joela finally voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Nothing seems out of place for now." Hector, not as perceptive as Joela, continued his ascent as usual.

"Brad?" Joela wanted to confirm with Brad as well.

Brad shook his head.

"Wait, sir, I think we've returned to the same place we passed yesterday. Did we take the wrong route today?" Hector suddenly observed.

Brad turned around, taking in everything around them, meticulously investigating every overlooked corner.

"Let's not act rashly for now. Especially you, Brad. We can't reveal our identities until we're certain of the enemy."

"So, what should we do now?" Hector was still young, and some matters were difficult for him to handle; he was better suited to being a pure executor.

"We'll keep moving as we did before, mark some spots and count our steps. If we're truly going in circles, we'll find out soon enough."

"After we find out, what should we do then?"

Hector's barrage of "what should we do" questions earned him a disdainful look from Brad, who clenched his fist and waved it at Hector, as if to say that if they found someone was tricking them, there was only one thing to do: fight!

"After luring that guy out, we'll teach him a good lesson," Joela translated Brad's gesture again.

"However, anyone capable of trapping us in such a Reincarnation Trap is certainly not to be trifled with."

The three of them, Joela, Hector, and Brad, proceeded systematically towards the "summit." Before long, Hector made a new discovery.

"Sir Joela, I'm certain that we're going in circles."

"Hmm?"

"I marked this spot yesterday because my Exchange Beast appeared here."

"It seems we're trapped in someone's Maze Array! To think we unknowingly walked around in it for a whole day yesterday—how idiotic!" Joela exclaimed. A touch of anger rose within him, quickly followed by a surge of excitement.

"Sirs!" Just as Joela was savoring this excitement, the usually quiet Brad suddenly called out.