The crowd surged towards Wolf’s Den, leaving Mike standing there by himself. He’d just passed on a chance to go to the Heavenly Realm, and now he was stuck buying burgers for this massive group!
Honestly, thinking back on his encounter in that weird void space, Mike couldn’t help but feel a shiver down his spine. That being who claimed to have created the Tower of Truth, the one from the Heavenly Realm, sounded all casual and whatnot.
But something about it felt off. Every word was carefully chosen to nudge Mike forward, to tempt him into making a choice.
Mike was able to resist the other party’s inducements partly because he was incredibly determined. On the other hand, Mike didn’t hesitate to use the materials he had prepared, forcibly powering the [Eye of Truth] with them. This action rendered the opponent’s deception ineffective.
And once Ares, Morpheus, and Apollo showed up, that mysterious being’s words lost all their persuasive power. That’s why, as soon as the Supreme Being phantoms arrived, the being backed off and stopped messing with Mike.
See, the original plan was probably to drain Mike’s [Eye of Truth], leaving him vulnerable to suggestion. But hey, even though things didn’t go exactly as planned, it wasn’t a total loss for that mysterious being.
They never really expected to just whisk Thor away. They had two more chances to chat: on the sixtieth and ninetieth floors.
By then, Thor would truly understand what it meant to be a Supreme Being, what it meant to face certain death. And maybe, he wouldn’t need any convincing. He’d walk right through that door himself. freeweɓnovel.cm
Maxen dragged Thor along, calling out, “Come on, come on! Someone’s treating us to burgers tonight!”
“Don’t you just love it when someone else is paying at Wolf’s Den?”
Mike: “…”
He was still replaying the conversation in his head, the hidden game of wits that had left him shaken.
“Alright, alright,” Mike said with a sigh as he allowed himself to be pulled along. “I get it. But burgers are kinda basic, don’t you think? Let’s have something else. My treat!”
Maxen gave Thor a bewildered look. What in the world happened on the thirtieth floor? Thor was actually willing to spend money!
As they entered Wolf’s Den, Maxen sidled up to Gregory and whispered, “Professor, I think this Thor might be an imposter.”
A Thor who willingly paid for dinner? Definitely an imposter!
Professor Gregory also found the situation rather suspicious.
They both glanced towards the bar, where Thor was deep in conversation with Nyx Valoria. “Since I’m treating everyone tonight,” Thor was saying, “we have to do this right! Don’t worry about the drinks, I brought my own. Got them from Wolf’s Den a while back without paying… ahem, I mean, these are fine wines, handcrafted by a noble vampire prince!”
Nyx Valoria nodded slowly. Bringing your own drinks to a dinner you were hosting was… unconventional, but acceptable.
Thor continued, “As for the food, let’s get something special. How about something with mushrooms and fish? What a coincidence, I happen to have a Mushroom Forest and an icy plain in my private space. Having some stock on hand is only natural, right?”
Question marks were practically floating above Nyx Valoria’s head. Was this guy here to treat everyone, or to clear out his inventory?
She was starting to get the picture. Thor was hosting, but he was determined not to spend a single penny.
Mike continued to discuss the details with Nyx. “Grilled mushrooms? Perfect! I’ll have someone whip up a batch of grills right now. And don’t worry, I’ve got charcoal at home too…”
Maxen: “…”
Yep, that was definitely the real Thor. No one else could pull off something like this. Wolf’s Den was buzzing with excitement as tables were piled high with delicious food and fine wines.
As ridiculous as Thor’s arrangements were, in a way, all these things belonged to him. Sharing them with everyone was his way of treating them, even if he wasn’t actually spending any money.
Besides, the produce from the Mushroom Forest and the icy plain was top-notch! Getting your hands on stuff of this quality at the Mystic Market would cost a fortune.
After all, these were rewards Mike had earned by conquering with an SSSS-rank rating.
As they enjoyed Thor’s “treat,” the guests broke into smaller groups, chatting and laughing. Kaelum sat next to Joseph and whispered, “I’d heard Thor was generous, but this is something else!”
He ticked off the items on his fingers. “These grills are made from B-rank ore, the charcoal is top-grade, and the fish and mushrooms have all sorts of benefits…”
“A rough estimate puts this table at a few million gold!”
Anderson shot Kaelum a look and muttered, “Eat your food and be quiet.”
“Anderson’s right,” Joseph agreed. After spending so much time with Maxen, he knew better than to question Thor’s ways.
Changing the subject, Joseph asked, “By the way, Anderson, are you sure you don’t want to fight for the Nightmare corps?”
Anderson shook his head, declining Joseph’s offer without explanation. The Nightmare corps wasn’t for him. He had already made up his mind about which corps he would join.
“Alright then.” Seeing that Anderson had made up his mind, Joseph didn’t press further.
Just then, his communicator buzzed twice. After reading the message, Joseph sighed and grabbed a blade, heading towards the kitchen.
“You remember I’m a ninth-tier Lord when you need someone to slice sashimi?” he grumbled under his breath. “What is this world coming to? I’m a ninth-tier Lord, not your personal sushi chef!”
Soon, exquisite dishes like “Joseph’s Special Sashimi” and “Maxen’s Fish Balls” were being carried out from the kitchen in a steady stream.
The atmosphere in Wolf’s Den was lively and cheerful.
Still a little shaken from his earlier experience, Mike downed two large gulps of strong liquor. This wasn’t your average booze either. Even Joseph would be knocked on his ass after a few glasses, let alone Mike, a mage who was barely over level 300.
Feeling a little tipsy, Mike slung an arm around Maxen’s shoulders and started rambling. Maxen, who had also been enjoying the drinks, swayed slightly, his eyes unfocused. Suddenly, he froze, the alcohol seemingly evaporating from his system as he sobered up
instantly.
He had spotted Apollo walking into Wolf’s Den!
Apollo’s arrival didn’t cause a stir. Even those who noticed him, like Gregory, Shadow One, Shadow Two, and Shadow Three, pretended they hadn’t seen a thing.
Shadow Two, a fishbone dangling from his mouth, closed his eyes and chanted, “He can’t see
me, he can’t see me.”
Shadow Three, who was grilling mushrooms, instinctively reached for his bone club before letting his hand fall back to his side. If Apollo wanted to kill him, a bone club wouldn’t make a
difference.
At that moment, Shadow Three decided he really needed a name. You had to put something on
a tombstone, right?
He turned to Shadow One and asked seriously, “If I die, can you put ‘Here Lies Shadow One’ on
my tombstone?”
He never got to be the leader in life, but at least he could have that in death.
And so, without alerting anyone, Apollo easily made his way through Wolf’s Den and came to
stand behind Mike.
Oblivious to Apollo’s presence, a slightly drunk Mike continued to chat with Maxen. “Stone, I don’t want to end up like Apollo. And I don’t want Apollo to end up like this…”
Apollo pondered Thor’s words.
Stone must be Maxen.
And I… I must be Thor.
If that’s the case…
Apollo had one final question.
With a thoughtful expression, he asked, “What don’t you want me to end up like?”