Mythos Reboot

Chapter 18

Darkness engulfed the land, devouring the entire town of Caferno.

Wayne and Mike no longer needed to argue over who'd enter first—the Door of Truth, ignored for so long, simply swallowed them all.

Veronica was right: only a legendary mage could qualify to enter the Door of Truth. Mike, far from meeting the standard, had exploited the Golden Triangle Magic Circle as a shortcut, causing the Door of Truth to spiral out of control into a frenzied state.

Not even a true legendary mage would dare recklessly open the Door of Truth. Mike's audacity stemmed from nothing but the old saying: fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

But clearly, Mac was unaware of this. He was immersed in the joy of entering the Gate of Truth, arms raised high, awaiting the descent of infinite knowledge before him.

The knowledge came, arriving like a roaring tidal wave.

In almost an instant, Mac's thirst for knowledge was satisfied. He wandered through the endless depths of the cosmic void, grasped the truths of the world, and thus became infinitely powerful.

From Wayne's perspective, Mac raised his arms and—poof—was suddenly lifeless.

Just like that. Completely. Without a single ripple.

The black flesh sphere collapsed and disintegrated, its contained laws returning to the starry cosmos. Mac had realized his dream—merging with knowledge, never to be parted again.

Mac departed peacefully, his emotions perfectly stable. This sight made Wayne's scalp crawl, and he hurriedly searched for an exit from the Gate of Truth.

Somewhere deep inside, a premonition told him—leave now, or it'll be too late.

Unlike Mac, whose IQ had instantly zeroed upon entering the Gate of Truth, Wayne instead regained clarity. Unfortunately, he couldn't control his own body, his movements frustratingly sluggish.

The monstrous giant's hide completely came alive, its wrinkled skin breathing in and out, filtering some substance or energy from the deep space cosmos. The massive eyeball experienced extreme ecstasy, satisfaction beyond measure.

Wayne merged completely with the Book of Avarice - the book's joy became his joy. Yet this uncontrolled elation filled him with unease, fearing that if the Book of Avarice continued indulging unchecked, he would become the next Mike, assimilated into this starry cosmos.

One must know one's limits. It's said only Archmages qualify - mere magic apprentices shouldn't entertain such pipe dreams.

With a loud shout, Wayne forcibly interrupted the spellcasting, sternly commanding the Book of Avarice to restrain its desires, warning that if he lost his mind, everyone would suffer the consequences.

If the Book of Avarice understood restraint or knowing when to stop, it wouldn't be the Book of Avarice - it would be the Book of Courtesy.

Wayne forcefully halted the magic. The hideous skin slowly receded, shrinking from three meters tall back to his original form. But the giant eyeball on his chest refused to relent, struggling and throbbing wildly.

The two engaged in a mental tug-of-war. While it appeared as a spiritual battle between Wayne and the Book of Avarice, in truth it was Wayne wrestling with another version of himself.

One represents reason, the other greed!

In the face of life-or-death crisis, reason ultimately triumphed over greed. The giant eyeball retracted into Wayne's body, reluctantly ending this gluttonous feast.

This was Wayne's first fusion with the Book of Greed. During the fusion process, greedy desires overwhelmed everything, and due to initial indulgence, his mind suffered considerable erosion.

The most visible manifestation appeared on Wayne's chest—after reverting to normal, a sunburn-like mark resembling an eyeball remained on his sternum.

Wayne paid no attention to this. He had no time to spare. Thanks to supernatural perception, he located a weak point in the cosmic void.

The Gate of Truth hadn't closed yet—there was still time to leave.

After a few steps, Wayne suddenly realized his three companions had also been swallowed by the Gate of Truth.

He took a sharp sniff, then sprinted toward the location of the two humans and one cat.

The cosmic void had no spatial concepts of up/down or leftight, nor any footing to push against. Bizarrely, one could walk freely here and even breathe.

It's hard to define what this universe truly is!

Wayne ran some distance before gradually losing stamina.

The main issue was his mind enduring intense shocks.

Under the protection of the Book of Avarice, Wayne's mind wouldn't be instantly overwhelmed by the torrent of knowledge, allowing him to retain his sanity and know to flee for his life as quickly as possible.

But Wayne's foundation was too weak. He had entered a high-level dungeon he shouldn't have ventured into, and even with divine artifacts protecting him, his sanity (SAN) was being drained bit by bit.

I'm beginning to understand everything (？)

I'm going insane (√)

Wayne stumbled forward in a daze, the eye-shaped mark on his chest flickering erratically. An unbearable heat swept through his body, and he instinctively shed all sense of shame, staggering blindly as he ran.

Soon, Wayne followed the scent and found his companions. Though Monica and William's appearances had drastically changed, he was now beyond rational thought - he only knew this was the right smell, these were indeed the people he sought.

If you feel burdened while moving forward, don't doubt it - you're right. Someone must be riding on your back while enjoying their peaceful life.

Carrying all three mechanically, Wayne's eyes lost focus, seeing only white emptiness. His body followed its final command - advance toward the light.

Advance, keep advancing, never stop.

In the distant depths of cosmic space, an enormous shadowy figure breached through dimensions - worm-like in form, with a spiraling vicious maw lined with fangs from oral cavity to esophagus.

Drawn by the scent of flesh, it came drooling toward Wayne and his three companions.

One thousand meters!

Five hundred meters!

One hundred meters!

Ten meters!

Just as the monstrous creature was about to devour all four, Wayne stepped across the white passageway and vanished into the cosmic void.

The beast coiled and writhed, roaring with fury and frustration, its spiraling maw expanding as it spewed dark green bodily fluids.

Marking a feeding location.

Lay an ambush first, lurk for a while!

————

Wayne remained unaware of his narrow escape from death - how close he'd come to becoming fecal matter. Had he known, he'd have felt even more grateful for his decision.

This dungeon was too high-level for his capabilities - now he had only one objective.

Play it safe and grow stronger!

Wayne woke up laughing from his wholesome, health-benefiting dream.

In his lakeside cabin dream, while fishing, three long-haired female ghosts emerged from the water - their faces indistinct but clearly vicious - clawing their way toward him.

Three midnight spirits, ferocious as if they meant to violate him. In his panic, he forgot to resist and was pinned firmly to the ground by the three female ghosts.

Full and perky, smooth and springy to the touch.

Just as the ghosts stripped him naked, Wayne woke up laughing at the last moment, abruptly ending this ghostly orgy.

He felt somewhat unwilling—why did he have to wake up now!

“If you've got the guts, continue the dream! I don't mind, but my friend really wants to see…”

Wayne found himself lying on the second floor of the barn, a blanket beneath him and a quilt covering him—familiar items he had purchased earlier, always kept in the car trunk.

Shaking his groggy head, he sat up and realized something was off.

Holy s**t, where are my clothes？

So it wasn’t just a dream!

Wayne was utterly baffled when he suddenly heard footsteps. He quickly lay back down and pulled the quilt over himself.

Goddess above, please let it be Veronica who did this—definitely not William…

And Monica would be even worse.

A fragrant breeze drifted in as three stunning figures surrounded Wayne—one frowning, one shy, and one eager to pounce.

“He's still not awake…”

“Then hurry up, it won't be fun if he wakes up.”

“Uh…”

“What？ You lost at rock-paper-scissors and now you want to go back on your word？”

“That's not… I didn't…”

“Tch, so heartless. Wayne risked his life to save you, nearly died even. What's the big deal about changing his clothes？ If you don't want to do it, step aside and let me.”

“Shut up! I'll do it myself!”

Veronica took a deep breath. After all, it was just changing clothes - how hard could it be？

Well… maybe a little hard.

How ugly!