Hi There (Part I)

"What is this? What's happening to me?" 

After the Eye had successfully activated his connection through the Seal of the Eye, he became slightly shocked when thoughts—that weren't his—slipped into his mind.

He quickly ascertained that these thoughts came from the human. The seal's connection had transmitted its voiced thoughts to the Eye while he was connected with the human's vision. 

When the Eye realized that the human wasn't intentionally trying to communicate with him, he also understood that it was completely unaware of him and what had truly transpired to it. The human had recently woke up, so its visible confusion was naturally great. 

The Eye felt somewhat hopeful that he would finally be able to interact with a creature. Slight eagerness grew in his mind, the same as when he would look below to watch the creatures move about the mountain. This time, his excitement bubbled forth with a fervor.

However, as his sight was currently connected with the human's new right eye, the unconstrained feelings caused his vision to spin before returning to his own. When his sight left the human's eye, he also lost access to its thoughts.

He was back to looking down from the sky above the mountain. 

Without the former emotions, the Eye noticed the human examining the different parts of its previously injured body. 

The creature first looked at its marred arms, appendages that were a canvas of blood and dirt. Then, as if recalling something, it frantically grasped at its chest, feeling around for any changes. 

Upon reaching its chest, the human started to look visibly confused, touching all the different parts of its body before deciding to stand, stumbling around in its attempts. 

Despite that, it seemed to have regained some energy as it frantically scoured the nearby bushes and plants, and a few rocks, seemingly indifferent to the new scratches that appeared on its body. 

The Eye was slightly puzzled by the creature's behavior, but then he assumed that it was probably natural for this type of creature to act in such a way. 

Before the Eye tried to connect again with the human below, five creatures came out of the forest. When the Eye looked into the eyes of one, he was able to see it clearly for what it was:

[Being]: Adult Night Wolf

[Description]: A Rank 1 creature that is characterized by a black coat of fur, swift movements, and sharp fangs and claws that allow it to cut through its prey like butter.

[Age]: 6 years

[Abilities]:

1. Night Run: The Night Wolf's speed is boosted at night. 

———

The Eye was impressed that these wolves had an ability related to speed. It must have greatly benefited them on night hunts when catching swift prey.

The Eye then noticed a Night Wolf that was larger than the rest. The creature charged ahead in front of the other four wolves, looking confident and determined. Its tongue lolled around its vicious-looking fangs as saliva dripped down.

This wolf was different from the rest. So, the Eye looked deep into the creature's eyes to find out more.

[Being]: Senior Night Wolf

[Description]: A Rank 1 creature that has become a pack leader of the Night Wolves. It has increased abilities and a larger build, allowing it to exert dominance over an entire pack.

[Age]: 10 years

[Abilities]:

1. Night Rush: The Night Wolf's speed is greatly boosted at night. 

———

An improved ability? Compared to the other Night Wolves, the "Senior" one had better speed, so it must have been an exceptional creature in the area.

The Eye wondered if his abilities would grow as he did, but before he could think too hard about it, the wolves crept towards the human, surrounding it. Seeing different kinds of creatures interact before was a new sight for the Eye, so he was faintly eager to see their joining. 

As he continued to look down in moderate anticipation, the Eye speculated on how the interaction would play out. 

Observing the physical traits of the wolves, the Eye understood that they were designed to prey on other creatures. They needed to eat others to survive. 

Putting the scene of salivating beasts and a human meekly shivering like a tree in the wind before them, the Eye determined that this wasn't an amicable meeting. The wolves were here to eat the human.

It could be interesting to see how the wolves would consume the human as sustenance–but the Eye quickly stopped this line of thought. 

The human creature below didn't look agreeable to this event, and the Eye was unsure whether he wanted to see the process happen to the first connection he had formed. 

The Eye reasoned further, noting that once the Night Wolves finished their meal, they would likely leave the Eye by himself. Having gone so long since creatures personally visited his mountain, the Eye was vaguely keen on not wanting to be alone. Once the wolves dined and dashed, he would be left with no connections. 

A heavy ounce of dissatisfaction rose in his mind. He did not want to go back to his rather dull routine. 

In the end, the Eye chose to intervene in the best way he could, and that was by testing his seal on the Senior Night Wolf. 

He did not have sympathy for the wolves' hunger. After all, compared to the creatures below, the Eye didn't eat. 

A small worry nibbled at the Eye's mind, causing him to question whether he should use the seal ability again so soon and with the little wisps he had left. The Eye remembered how it had felt a little dizzy when he had activated the ability on the human.

Despite that, the Eye decided it would be for the best if he could make as many connections as possible. What was a little dizziness and a few of his wisps? 

Reaching deep inside his being, he felt a release of energy as a whisper of the ability echoed throughout his mind. 

[Seal of the Eye]

After activating the ability, the Eye felt a rather intense feeling of lethargy come over him. It was far stronger compared to the slight fatigue he experienced the first time he had activated it on the human. 

Swiveling his gaze to the pond, he noticed that 10 of his orange wisps rushed around his pupil before finally diving inside of it, leaving the Eye with 10 orange wisps and 1 red wisp. 

This time, he had used up a lot more wisps to activate the seal.

The Eye thought back to how the ability's mana usage depended on the level of a creature's existence. He wondered how large the disparity was between the wolf's and human's levels of existence. 

Did that mean that this wolf had a level of existence more than ten times greater than that of the human? 

The Eye thought further back to when he had activated his first ability, which was his aura. He had used up 10 red wisps to satisfy the required condition of 10 mana, allowing him to determine that each of his red wisps represented 1 mana. On the other hand, he was still unsure how much mana his orange wisps contained. 

However, he was certain that it had to be more than the red wisps because his first activation of the seal on the human had used up an orange wisp only to leave him with a red wisp. 

Unable to solve this small puzzle, the Eye's thoughts wandered to what defined a creature's level of existence and how it correlated to his seal's mana cost. Considering the disparity from the wolf to the human, it could have a sequential mana cost, but if their levels of existence were in fact a step away, it would mean that there was an exponential mana cost. 

As the Eye pondered over these matters, a black wisp exited his abyss-like pupil. It drifted down below as if it were a cherry blossom carried by the wind on a warm spring day.