"...um, huh?"
Husky was utterly bewildered.
He felt as though he had exhaustively and diligently prepared for a great undertaking... only to suddenly receive the news that he had been admitted without examination just when he was ready to shine.
He had just prepared to start using his brain and carry out the mission in earnest. Yet the BOSS that was supposed to be deceived by him had instantly turned the tables and started stripping off all its gear.
While frantically throwing its loot to the ground, it began reciting the chanics of other BOSSES at a pace so quick it was like soone eating grapes but not spitting out the skins...
"The entire world is preventing from thinking!"
Husky grumbled discontentedly.
How can I prove that I have an excellent mind?
Thinking this, he looked around.
—It seed familiar.
This place... was still room 203.
"Have I co back here again?"
Husky muttered, puzzled.
He turned his head and noticed that Frederick was still lying on the bed, fast asleep.
It was the sa scene as when he first entered the nightmare.
The difference from the beginning of the nightmare was the strong scent of alcohol emanating from Frederick’s body.
Husky’s keen sense of sll told him that this was not the fragrance of alcohol spilled on clothing, but the pungent odor of alcohol sweat seeping out after soone had drunk and then perspired.
It was like a drunk man who, after returning ho, collapsed without even removing his clothes.
A new plot intro appeared before him again.
But this ti, it was entirely different.
He only had a single, short line, whose aning was completely unclear:
[You have made your decision.]
Afterward, it disappeared on its own.
No new main quest appeared.
"What have I decided?"
Husky was clueless: "Have I decided to start slacking off?"
"By the way, bros. What was Frederick saying just now? I only caught ’Professor Wolf is Professor Grey’..."
"—Wait a sec, the information overload has got parsing..."
"—I’m stunned, why did this powerful support just rush over by itself?"
"—I didn’t get any info from the sprint next door, but sohow I won with a limp."
"—Got it, ignorance is bliss."
The barrage was bewildered by each ssage.
They hadn’t even started discussing the massive influx of information; instead, they began to marvel at Husky’s luck.
The incident was unforeseen.
Except for Delicious Goosey, who had pen and paper at hand and began to quickly take eting notes, the other players hadn’t rembered much either... after all, Frederick spoke too quickly.
While Husky was still pondering the line "Ah, so Professor Wolf is Professor Grey", he snapped back to reality only to find Frederick talking about "Valley Wolf".
At that ti, Husky was dumbfounded: What was he talking about in between?
Then, while he was trying to figure out "What is Valley Wolf, is it Wise Wolf Holo?" he found that Frederick was shouting about "the next ti you see , just say the password" and such.
It was roundabout the sa as "students, make sure to review well after class" or sothing like that.
—It was like that mont in an advanced math class when you let your mind wander briefly, only to snap back to reality and realize you don’t understand anything that’s being said anymore.
As for what was said in between, let alone rembering... Husky didn’t even hear it.
He didn’t know whether this would affect the puzzle-solving for this stage.
"...But at least it shouldn’t affect clearing the stage."
Even if Husky wasn’t as brilliant as Thirteen Spices, he could easily tell that Frederick suddenly unloading a bunch of information likely ant he realized he was in a nightmare. This suggested that the information he divulged was probably sothing he couldn’t attain in his normal state.
If the clues vital for clearing the ga were hidden in out-of-ga information only available in the Transcendent stage, that would be quite low.
"Hey, Mr. Justus—"
Just then, the call of a young man ca from outside the door.
Imdiately after, there was a knock at the door.
This startled Husky, who was posing as "The Thinker" inside the room.
He jolted, his gaze shifting toward the door.
He hesitated for a mont before walking over and opening it.
It was a young man dressed as a waiter, handing Justus a tray with food.
"Here’s your ordered lamb chops, honey-glazed chicken wings, and mutton pudding. Oysters are still unavailable, so the kitchen has sent you a serving of fried fish and salad. Your drink will be brought over in a bit."
The waiter looked at Husky with eyes full of admiration and spoke quickly, sowhat nervously.
"Whoa."
Husky’s eyes brightened, and his earlier confusion disappeared in an instant.
He cheerfully smiled at the waiter: "Thank you, buddy."
After that, he took the tray with one hand and was about to close the door.
But just then, the waiter suddenly cried out in a rush, "Wait, wait!"
"Is there sothing else?"
Husky asked, puzzled.
He suddenly realized sothing: "Is it for a tip..."
But I don’t have any money on , do I?
"What... is a tip?"
The waiter echoed, still lost.
He quickly explained his true purpose: "Could I get your autograph? You are my idol!"
With that, he handed over a neatly cut strip of cloth.
An autograph definitely couldn’t be on a large sheet of paper—it’s a matter of courtesy.
Husky understood.
After all, this world was peculiar, what with the existence of Ritualists. Who knows if soone would use that na to write so sort of contract or IOU backwards.
"...An idol, that’s sothing."
Husky cracked a grin: "You even know that term."
He had thought that in a world where there were "idol schools" of Wizards, the concept of "idol" he understood shouldn’t exist.
Otherwise, when people heard the term idol Wizard, they would probably unconsciously think along the lines of a codian’s situation like "In order to save the Wizard’s Tower, we decided to beco idols."
But it slightly diverged from what he thought.
"Yes, that’s the new usage proposed in ’On Idol Worship’ written by the teacher!"
The waiter smiled proudly: "Justus, I am actually only working part-ti here... Right now, I’m still studying ritual knowledge with Professor Grey!"
"...Oh."
Husky had an epiphany.
That made sense... Ordinary people in this world definitely wouldn’t understand such uncommon terms.
In peaceful places like the Kingdom of Noah, for small town residents, "Wizard" and "Transcendent" remained things of legend and story, unknown whether true or false. The term idol, at least for now, was still considered jargon... much like the term "The Machine," it hadn’t yet beco widespread.
Husky glanced at the waiter again.
Indeed, he looked to be about seventeen or eighteen.
Certainly resembled a student.
Turned out he was a junior from the sa school.
So Husky smiled slightly: "Alright, give the paper and pen!"
He took a pen that resembled a fine brush and scrawled casually on the cloth strip.
Of course, he wasn’t a pharmacist dispensing dicine.
But then this junior certainly wouldn’t know what Justus’s signature should look like.
So he just scribbled nonchalantly—everyone knows that the more a signature resembles the actual writing, the less it looks like it, and the less it resembles, the more it looks like it.
"Hmm..."
Just then, Frederick’s sleep-talking voice ca through.
Was he about to wake up?
"Thank you, sir!"
The junior, seeing the situation, was very tactful.
He quickly took back the cloth strip and pen, sowhat excited as he bowed to Justus: "You saved my sister! You might not rember... but really, thank you so much!"
Afterward, he promptly left and closed the door.
Husky, holding a lamb rib in each hand, squatted by Frederick’s bed, munching away, and keenly awaiting his awakening.
Though there was still much he couldn’t understand.
But seeing Frederick about to wake up.
Whether this "Frederick" was the person himself or spice mix, either was certainly more clear-headed than him. So it was aningless for him to ponder on his own, which might even limit his thinking.
He’d rather wait and ask the big boss directly after he awoke.
However, Frederick didn’t sleep much longer.
And the mont Frederick opened his eyes.
What appeared before him was a very large faceplate.
"Young Wolf Liquor, second, Snow Cotton Flower," Husky stated solemnly.
Frederick looked on blankly, his eyes bloodshot from just waking up.
"...What? What’s that?"
"—Fantastic!"
It was the spice mix!
Husky was imdiately moved to tears.
Though both would help him think, finding one of his own was still a cause for happiness and relaxation.
So Husky gave up on thinking.
"Spice mix, help out—"
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