Only I Am A Reader

'This place is really oversized.'

Even though Leo's monster encounters instantly multiplied the deeper he went, it felt like this place would never end. While the passages had become narrower, they also stretched far longer.

It was really hard to understand how such a grandiose gate only had such a 'shy' entrance, but then again, this Gate had a specific purpose for its creation.

'It feels counterproductive.'

In fact, Leo especially wanted to fall into that trap. However, his supposedly quick adventure kept on going as the gargoyles' corpses piled up in his Shadow Pocket.

The walls got darker and darker, and the abominations got uglier, but the end of the road didn't seem to be any closer… At least that was what Leo thought a second ago.

'There it is.'

After almost a dozen hours of exploration, Leo's heart started beating quickly all of a sudden, just like it did when it stood in front of the Gate's entrance!

He was being charmed to follow a certain direction, and that was all Leo needed to get a big smile on his face.

This Gate was finally starting to do its job!

Expecting this to have taken much less time, Leo had only imbued the Safety Pin's shadow with enough Enigma to last 24 hours. He would have had to create another Safety Pin if this had been any later…

'Show me the way.'

Rather than restraining his heart, Leo only calmed down his mind as he moved his body in the direction that it desired to follow.

Although this mesmerization was already a clue that he was close to his target, Leo wouldn't blindly search for it when there was an easier method.

'Phew.'

Not long after, Leo's decision was proved to be correct. His body didn't move systematically in a specific direction. Rather, its passage choice seemed as random as one could be!

Naturally, there was nothing truly random about it. It was all choices that it had to make to reach the source of its mesmerization. ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏｖｅ𝚕．ｃｏｍ

If he had truly tried searching for it on his own, Leo might have had to spend as much time as he already did before getting the hint…

That being said, it still took him about half an hour for his heart to slightly settle down. He was now only a few steps away from his destination!

'This atmosphere is indeed more suitable.'

The cave-like enclosure that Leo stopped in front of not only had the darkest walls, but it also reflected the sinister feeling that radiated from the Gate's entrance.

It was almost completely pitch-black, the light radiating from the walls was now barely enough for Leo to watch his steps.

'...Useless.'

Once Leo stepped inside, there was an additional source of illumination, but it technically had no value other than looking malevolently cool.

Standing in front of Leo was a flat circular stage with some scratching engraved on them. Meanwhile, two black flames floated above it, barely showing the more intricate scratchings on the wall.

'This is definitely it.'

Leo's heart was now going off the charts, it wanted to do whatever these inscriptions ordered. However, now that he no longer needed its guidance, Leo promptly silenced his heart. The mesmerization was merely an illusion!

The scratchings were supposed to be instructions on how to use the stage, but there were two ways to understand them.

One either had to have actually studied the language they were written in, or he could let his heart continue acting on its desires… That was if he never wanted to go back to having his own thoughts ever again.

'Neither options are necessary for me.'

In the novel, the villain who chanced upon this Gate wasn't just lucky. He had been chasing a certain myth from the very start.

Through strange relics obtained from Gates and the special records of the Initial Apocalypse's start. He had deduced the existence of Gates like this one.

A passage that could connect you with beings of much higher power! One of the ways to break the unbreakable wall!

His whole hypothesis was shrouded in mystery. Nonetheless, the villain known as Colt had no qualms about going on a quest for something that might not exist in order to satisfy his own greed…

By searching all over New Enigma City, he found and exploited multiple weak but special Ability Users to produce translations and possible locations that would eventually lead him here.

'Thanks for the help.'

In fact, Leo believed that Colt should be amid his quest at this moment. Unfortunately for him, Leo was fully ready to digest the result of all his hard work right at this moment as he started taking out the monster corpses that he kept till now.

Thanks to Colt's selfless contribution, Leo was already aware of what he had to do in order to activate the stage. He needed a lot of flesh, blood, and Enigma Stones!

'It's not as diabolical as one would think.'

As Leo poured out the corpses into the stage, he mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen.

Although it felt like he was preparing some sort of evil sacrifice, this was a proper summoning procedure!

Even if this was an intermediary Gate, a lot of energy was needed to let something crossover. The corpses and Enigma Stones were precisely there to act as fuel for the process.

While letting a 'monster' in seemed to deviate from the target of a Gate raid. Raiding the Gate was merely a means to an end, Leo's true target was the thing that he was preparing to summon.

enough firewood. He just had to light it all up!

Cutting off one of the gargoyles' arms, Leo raised it up to the flame. 'Oh.'

Just when Leo poured about half of the corpse pile that he had, the flames atop the stage suddenly intensified, indicating that this was enough firewood. He just had to light it all up!

Cutting off one of the gargoyles' arms, Leo raised it up to the flame. Once the black fire caught into it, he threw it back among the rest…

Crackle!

Coming upon such abundant food, the dark flames spread all over the stage faster than a normal fire could ever do. Starting this chain reaction was the whole meaning behind its existence!

'Here it comes.'

Seeing everything unfold in front of his eyes, Leo braced himself for what was to come. Without delay, the first ominous sign resonated in his ears.

{You have done well, summoner.}

The praising eerie voice didn't make Leo feel any better…