One-Eyed Monster

"Thank you, Coban!" Igor withdrew his gaze, Coban’s brilliance made him reevaluate his own dream.

On the path of exploration, some stumbling is always normal, and one should not retreat in the face of a heap of unknowns.

Although Coban’s narration was simple, it made Igor realize that many things require flexibility, even an adventurer is not unchangeable; facing the unknown courageously is the true spirit of exploration.

No matter who it is, everyone can contribute on this path of exploration.

The purpose of an adventurer is to turn these unknowns into knowns, so that those who are lost in the future won’t stumble anymore.

Igor slowly digested Coban’s words. He thought that on the long roads ahead, he needed to quietly feel these truths.

Coban Kangen stared a little dazedly at the scenery outside the window, realizing he hadn’t returned to the Kangen family for a long time, often feeling like an outsider. He knew the Kangen family wouldn’t shut him out, since in this nation, many Kangen family members failed to inherit the family aura, leaving its protection to prove their own worth, indirectly elevating the entire family to a new height.

Coban wondered what treatment he would receive upon returning to the family now, would he be despised, admired, or perhaps, as usual, feel non-existent?

Regardless, this was his first time returning, and he wasn’t sure if his old friends would still remember him...

"By the way, how much do you know about the Soul Guardians, Coban?" Igor suddenly remembered the main purpose of his trip.

"Oh," Coban was pulled back to his thoughts by Igor’s question, "Soul Guardians, huh? I don’t know much, but as a member of the Kangen family, I’ve had some contact. I can only say I know a bit more than you all."

"Perhaps that’s enough!" Igor chuckled, admiring Coban Kangen’s prudence.

"Soul Guardians, how to say this, the organization is very mysterious. Although it belongs to the Kangen family, it is not entirely composed of our family members. Many are recruited from outside, and some are non-family nurtured by us. These people always maintain their mysterious identities, living secretly around us."

"So, aside from themselves, no one knows their identities?" Igor asked curiously.

"That’s not entirely true; some people openly reveal themselves as Soul Guardians, depending on the level of secrecy they are guarding."

"There’s a hierarchy of secrets they guard?"

"That’s right. The Kangen Family’s Soul Guardians do not guard the family’s secrets; they guard the secrets of the entire ancient faction. All ancient family secrets, or even the secrets of the entire professional world, are guarded by them."

"If that’s the case, if a traitor emerged among them, wouldn’t all secrets be exposed?" Igor was quite surprised!

"Haha, you underestimate the tightness of the Soul Guardian organization. Secrets are secrets because no one knows what they are, and Soul Guardians are named as such because they don’t know what they are guarding either!"

"Uh..." Igor felt a bit dizzy, wondering what on earth was happening.

"The Soul Guardian team is just a bunch of operatives, similar to Bistal’s dark operatives. These Soul Guardians only know their task is to protect an area from invasion, but as for what that area is—whether a person or an object—they don’t know!"

"But who tells them what to guard? Those who instruct them must know what’s being guarded!"

"That’s a good question. I once asked our family elders the same thing. Their reply was that these things are heirlooms left by ancestors. The objects they said must be guarded until the grave, and they were classified by level when passed down."

"Are you saying the ancestors mastered many things unknown to us now?" Igor voiced another thought.

"Exactly! You’re spot on. The ancestors left us a wealth of knowledge, allowing us to handle the safe aspects and burying the dangerous ones in the grave!"

Igor frowned, pondering if the ancestors were so confident. How did they know that future generations wouldn’t be able to unravel these dangerous things?

Coban Kangen didn’t notice Igor’s train of thought and continued, "Secrets are divided into three levels—Wind, Thunder, and Electricity. Wind level secrets are the lowest, and they are discussed regularly with other families by the Kangen family’s Soul Guardians. They are released when ready for public disclosure."

"Therefore, correspondingly, there are the most Wind-level Soul Guardians, and they can openly declare themselves as such."

"Thunder level secrets are more severe, requiring stricter confidentiality. Only a few elite Soul Guardians know such secrets, which need a long time for validation before being disclosed!"

Igor was quite taken aback by Coban’s statement. What did needing time for validation mean?

Coban, without caring if Igor understood or not, continued, "Electricity level secrets are the ultimate secrets. These secrets are unknown even to the Soul Guardians; they only have the role of protecting them."

"Although I currently have many questions needing answers, I don’t even know where to start asking." Igor scratched his head, as Coban’s lengthy and numerous accounts made many aspects feel a bit incredible.

"It’s quite normal to feel puzzled by the workings of the Soul Guardians, but no matter how outrageous it seems, its existence has its reasons, which is undeniable."

"Say, if these Soul Guardians are guarding these secrets, what if they are interested in the secrets themselves? Couldn’t they explore them easily?" Igor pulled out one question from his many queries, feeling it was worth pondering, especially since it was also related to the potential traitor mentioned earlier.

"Soul Guardians are under the special seal of Wizards. If they ever attempt to explore the object they are protecting, the seal will activate, and the spellcraft controlling them will spread throughout their body, stripping them of their ability to act, and even life." Coban continued.

Igor could tell that the Soul Guardian team was indeed very meticulous; his question seemed to be directly eliminated by this spellcraft.

"Spellcraft can really make them obey?" Igor was still a bit curious.

"The Kangen family wizards naturally hold quite a few secrets." Coban Kangen laughed.