Mythology Rebooted

Darkness enveloped the Earth, swallowing the entire Caforno Town.

Wayne and Mike no longer had to argue about who would enter first, as the Gate of Truth, having been ignored for half a day, simply took the liberty of bringing everyone inside.

Veronica was right, only a Legendary Mage was qualified to enter the Gate of Truth. Mike was far from meeting the standard; his use of the Golden Triangle Magic Array was a shortcut, causing the Gate of Truth to go out of control and enter a state of rampage directly.

Even a true Legendary Mage wouldn't dare to open the Gate of Truth rashly. Mike's brazenness was a testament to the adage that ignorance is bliss.

However, Mike was clearly unaware of these facts. He was caught up in the joy of entering the Gate of Truth, arms raised high, waiting for limitless knowledge to descend upon him.

The knowledge came, it came like a tsunami.

Almost instantly, Mike's thirst for knowledge was quenched. He swam through the vastness of space, garnered the truths of the world, and became infinitely powerful by it.

From Wayne's perspective, Mike raised his hands high and just like that, he was lifeless.

Abrupt and complete, without a ripple of disturbance.

The black orb of flesh collapsed and disintegrated, its contained laws returning to the cosmos. Mike achieved his dream, merging with the knowledge, never to be separated.

Mike passed on serenely and with steady emotion. Wayne watched the scene, his scalp tingling with unease, as he frantically searched for the passage leading to the Gate of Truth.

In the depths of his being, he had a premonition that he should leave quickly, or it would be too late.

Unlike Mike, who entered the Gate of Truth and had his intellect zeroed, Wayne, on the contrary, snapped back to alertness. Unfortunately, he could not control his own body and moved at a sluggishly slow pace.

The Monster Giant's hide came fully to life, its wrinkled skin breathing and filtering some kind of substance or energy from the depths of space. The Great Eyeball was in extreme pleasure, satisfied beyond measure.

Wayne and The Book of Greed became one. The happiness of The Book of Greed was his happiness, but the uncontrolled joy made him apprehensive, fearing that if The Book of Greed were to indulge further, he would become the next Mike, assimilated into the stars by the universe.

One must recognize their limitations; it was said that only a Legendary Mage had the qualification, so a Magic Apprentice shouldn't dream of such things.

Wayne shouted forcefully, interrupting the spellcasting and chastising The Book of Greed to rein in its desires, otherwise, if he went mad, no one would be spared the consequences.

If The Book of Greed knew what it meant to hold back, what it meant to quit while ahead, it would no longer be The Book of Greed, but The Book of Politeness.

Wayne forcibly stopped the magic, the ugly skin slowly receded, and he shrank from three meters tall back to his original form. However, the Great Eyeball in his chest was unwilling to give up and struggled, throbbing wildly.

The two sides engaged in a tug-of-war on a mental level. It seemed to be a mental battle between Wayne and The Book of Greed, but in reality, it was Wayne fighting another version of himself.

One was reason, the other greed!

In the face of a life-or-death crisis, reason finally overcame greed. The Great Eyeball retracted into Wayne's body, reluctantly ending the gluttonous feast.

This was Wayne's first fusion with The Book of Greed. During the process, greedy desires overcame everything, and due to the initial indulgence, his thoughts were also greatly eroded.

The most visible evidence was on Wayne's chest. After turning back into a normal human, he had a sunburn-like mark resembling an eyeball on his chest.

Wayne didn't pay attention to these details. He didn't have much time. Thanks to his Supernatural Sensing, he found a weak point in the cosmic space.

The Gate of Truth was still open. There was still time to leave.

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

He sniffed hard and quickly ran towards the location of the two people and the cat.

In the cosmic void, there was no concept of up, down, left, or right, and nowhere to leverage from the ground. Strangely, one could walk freely and even breathe within it.

It was hard to say what this part of the universe actually was!

Wayne ran for a while, gradually losing his strength.

Mainly, his mind was under severe shock.

Under the protection of The Book of Greed, Wayne's mind wouldn't be instantly overwhelmed by the enormous knowledge, allowing him to retain his sanity and know to escape as quickly as possible.

But Wayne's foundation was too weak. He had entered a high-level dungeon that he should not have dared to, and even with a Divine Artifact protecting him, his SAN Value was being emptied bit by bit.

I'm starting to understand everything (✗)

I'm about to go mad (√)

Wayne ran dazedly, the eyeball mark on his chest flickering uncertainly. Unbearable heat swept through his body, and, driven by instinct, he discarded his sense of shame running while flailing wildly.

Soon, Wayne followed the scent to find his friends. Monica and William had drastically changed in appearance, but at that moment, he was too weak to think; he only knew that this was the right scent, these were the people he was looking for.

If you feel like you are carrying a burden, don't think, you're right, someone must be riding the good years on your back.

Wayne carried the three mechanically, his eyes lost focus, seeing nothing but white, his body obeying the last command, moving towards the light.

Keep moving forward, never stop.

In the far reaches of deep space, a massive shadow pierced through the void, resembling a maggot with a spiral maw filled with fangs, its mouth and esophagus covered in sharp teeth.

It sensed the scent of flesh and, salivating, lunged towards Wayne and the others.

A thousand meters!

Five hundred meters!

One hundred meters!

Ten meters!

Just as the beast was about to swallow the four in one gulp, Wayne stepped through the white corridor and vanished into the depths of space.

The monster curled and tumbled, bellowing with rage and frustration, its spiral mouth expanding as it spewed out a dark green fluid.

Marking a feeding spot.

Set up an ambush and wait a while!

————

Wayne wasn't aware that he had narrowly escaped death, barely avoiding becoming excrement. If he knew, he would have been even more grateful for his judgement.

The instance was too high-level for him, not something he could handle. Now, there was only one thing he had to do.

Play it sneaky and grow!

Wayne woke up laughing, having had a dream that was good for both his mental and physical health.

At a lakeside cabin, he was fishing when three long-haired female ghosts emerged from the water. Their faces were unclear, but they seemed fierce as they lunged at him, claws bared.

Three midnight horrors, their imposing aura as though they were about to violate him. In a moment of panic, he forgot to resist and found himself pinned to the ground by the three female ghosts.

Lush and pert, smooth and supple to the touch.

Just as the female ghosts were stripping him bare, Wayne woke up laughing, preemptively ending this eventful party.

Feeling somewhat regretful, why did he wake up so soon!

"Go ahead and keep dreaming if you can, I don't mind. The key is my friend wants to watch..."

Wayne found himself lying on the second floor of a barn, with a blanket underneath and a quilt covering him. They looked familiar; they were the supplies he had purchased before and always kept in the trunk of his car.

He shook his groggy head and sat up, only to realize something was not right.

Damn, where are my clothes?

Could it be that it wasn't a dream!

Wayne looked bewildered and suddenly heard a few footsteps. He quickly lay back down and pulled the quilt over himself.

Oh Goddess above, please let it be Veronica's doing, and definitely not William...

And absolutely not Monica.

A fragrant breeze wafted in, and three attractive figures surrounded Wayne. One frowned, another blushed, and the third seemed eager to try.

"He's still not awake..."

"Then let's hurry, it won't be fun if he wakes up."

"Uh..."

"What, you lost rock-paper-scissors and now you want to back out?"

"I'm not, I didn't..."

"Hey, that's too heartless. Wayne risked his life to save you, and he almost died. What's the big deal about changing clothes? If you don't want to do it, step aside and let me."

"Shut up, I'll do it!"

Veronica took a deep breath; really, it was just changing clothes, what was the big deal.

Oops, it was kind of a big deal.

So ugly!