CHAPTER 18: WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?

Darkness flooded and submerged the entire town of Klofron. Wayne and Mike no longer had to fight over who got to enter it first; when their attention shifted away, the Gate of Truth had expanded and taken everyone in.

Veronica was right. Only legendary mages were entitled to enter the Gate of Truth, a standard Mike was far from meeting. Taking a shortcut with the magic circle in the form of the golden triangle led to the Gate losing control and going berserk.

Even legendary mages would think twice before opening the Gate. Mike’s boldness stemmed from his ignorance; he didn’t know what he should fear. And ignorant as he was, Mike spread his arms in the joy of having entered the Gate of Truth, welcoming the waves of infinite knowledge.

It came; it crashed into him like a tsunami. In that fleeting moment, Mike’s craving for knowledge was satisfied. He swam in the vast cosmos and grasped the truth of the world, becoming infinitely powerful for it.

In Wayne’s eyes, Mike had died the moment he raised his hands. A clean, complete death that caused no ripple in the world.

The black sphere of flesh disintegrated, and the Law it contained returned to the cosmos. Mike had realized his dream of becoming one with knowledge. He would never be parted from it again.

He left so peacefully and with such serenity that Wayne felt a chill run down his spine. He hurriedly looked for the exit. He had a feeling that if he wanted to escape, he must hurry, or it would be too late.

Unlike Mike, whose IQ had hit rock bottom as soon as he opened the Gate, Wayne woke up instead. Unfortunately, he was piloting a foreign body, making his movement slow.

The monstrous giant came alive. Its wrinkled skin breathed in and filtered a particular substance or energy from the cosmos. The large eye in its chest rejoiced in incredible satisfaction.

Since Wayne had merged with the Book of Greed, the book’s joy was his, but the spiraling exhilaration unnerved him. He worried that if the book was allowed to go on, he would become assimilated by the cosmos like Mike.

One shouldn’t bite off more than they could chew. An apprentice should stop dreaming about what was only allowed to a legendary mage.

He snapped at the Book of Greed to keep its desire in check, or he would lose his mind, and then they would both be doomed. However, the Book of Greed wouldn’t be named after greed if it knew how to control its desire; it would’ve been titled the Book of Decorum

.

Waye forcibly terminated the magic. The ugly skin slowly receded, and he reverted from the three-meter giant to his original body. The big eye in his chest, however, refused to give up. It pulsed and struggled, fighting him mentally. It appeared to be a psychological war between Wayne and the Book of Greed, but Wayne was fighting himself.

It was his rationality versus his greed!

Facing the life-and-death situation, his rationality won in the end. The giant eye retreated inside him, reluctantly giving up its feast.

It was Wayne’s first time merging with the Book of Greed. During the process, the book’s desire had overtaken everything, and the initial loss of control resulted in corruption of his mind, evident in the eye-shaped burn mark left on his chest. This was no time to dwell on the issue, though. With his supernatural sense, he identified a weak point in the cosmos.

The Gate of Truth had not closed. There was still time to escape.

After a few steps, he realized that his three companions had been sucked into the Gate, too. He sniffed the air and followed the scents of the two humans and one cat.

There was no up, down, left, or right in the cosmos, and there was no ground for one to walk on. Strangely, however, it was still possible to walk and even breathe. The cosmos was not merely what it appeared to be.

Wayne found himself getting more and more exhausted, mainly from the constant pressure his mind was subject to. With the Book of Greed protecting him, the ocean of knowledge wouldn’t crush his mind instantly, and he was able to remain clear-headed enough to know that he should hurry to safety.

However, he had stepped into a high-level dungeon at a low level. Even with a legendary item shielding him, his sanity was still dwindling.

Magnificent. I’ve come to understand everything[1]. (✗)

I’m losing my mind. (√)

Wayne ran and ran as the eye-shaped mark on his chest flickered. Scorching heat spread through his body. He gave up his shame as well as his clothes. He traced the scents to his friends with unsteady steps.

He found them. Monica and William had become unrecognizable, but he was no longer clear-headed enough to question it. He only knew that they smelled right, that they were the ones he was looking for.

If you ever feel like you’re walking with deadweight dragging you down, you’re right. Someone must be getting a free ride.

Wayne put one foot in front of the other repeatedly with the three wares. His eyes lost focus, and all he could see was white. His body followed the last order he gave it and moved toward the light.

Forward. Go forward and don’t stop.

In the distance, a massive shadow had broken into space, resembling a maggot with an ugly, vortex-like maw. Fangs lined its mouth cavity all the way down its esophagus. It smelled meat. Drooling, it hurtled toward Wayne and his three companions.

A thousand meters!

Five hundred!

A hundred!

Ten!

Just when the giant monster was going to devour them, Wayne stepped through the white portal and vanished from the cosmos. The giant monster writhed and tumbled, growling with anger and frustration. Its maw expanded as it splashed out dark green fluid to mark the dining place.

It decided to stake out here!

***

Wayne didn’t know that he had narrowly escaped the fate of getting digested; if he did, he would feel even more relieved for making the right call. This instance dungeon was too high level. It wasn’t one he should step into now. At the moment, he only had one task:

Farm and grow stronger!

He woke up with a smile since he had just had a nice, nourishing dream. He was fishing by a lake. Three female ghosts with long hair crawled out from the water, their faces obscured but their presence fierce. They lunged at him ferociously like they were going to devour him, and in his nerves, he forgot to resist. He ended up pinned to the ground.

So supple and full. So smooth and bouncy.

He woke up laughing right after the ghosts tore off his clothes, putting an end to the literal wet dream.

Ugh, he should’ve slept a little longer!

“Keep going! It’s not about me. It’s just that a friend of mine would like to watch...”

Wayne found himself lying on the second floor of a barn, lying on a rug with a blanket covering him. He recognized it as the supplies he had procured and stored in the car’s trunk. He shook his head and sat up, realizing something was wrong.

Whoa, where are my clothes? Is that not a dream?!

He gaped. When he heard footsteps, he lay back down and put the blanket on. Goddess, please let it be Veronica. Please don’t be William... And especially not Monica.

Fragrant scents accompanied the footsteps. Three beautiful ladies circled Wayne, one frowning, one bashful, and one eager.

“He hasn’t woken up...”

“Then let’s hurry. It won’t be fun if he’s awake.”

“Um...”

“What? You’re backing out after losing rock, paper, scissors?”

“It’s not... I didn’t...”

“How heartless! Wayne risked his life to save you and almost died himself. You can’t even put clean clothes on for him? If you don’t want to, step back. Allow me to do the honor.”

“Shut up. I’ll do it!”

Veronica took a deep breath. Yeah, she was just going to put clothes on him. Not a big deal.

Hm, there’s really nothing big about the deal.

So ugly!

1. A reference to Chainsaw Man that’s become a meme. ☜