After enjoying the warm waters for a few seconds, Somnu stepped out of the shower and dried himself up.

  He had to resummon the straw arm to do that, but was currently navigating the world without relying on any borrowed vision.

  Despite the many instances where he was forced to go naked, he still chose not to allow Naga to be present while he cleaned himself up. Instead, he had her join the recent hunt.

  Besides, what are the others going to think if I take my sentient serpent familiar into the shower with me? Somnu let out a sigh and slumped his back slightly. I have to look out for my reputation here… It would affect them too.

  The scarecrow was currently in a different room, which was the size of another small apartment. He had apparently spent the night in Leyna’s and Aurora’s place, and the Emeberlyn granddaughter had left out of consideration for the siblings. She had crashed at Arman’s place, but now that Leyna was awake, Somnu was led to Mo’s place nearby.

  “Are you done? That was fast.”

  “!”

  As soon as Somnu opened the door and summoned Naga on his shoulder, his big brother was standing in front of the bathroom door, with only a towel draped over his shoulder.

  Not having properly seen his brother for a while, Somnu could now clearly notice the work Mo had put into his broad figure and refined muscles that looked hard as steel.

  “... Yeah, you can go in. We don’t have time to waste.”

  “Well, knowing Leyna, even if she rushed things, she’ll still be late.”

  Mo patted his brother on the shoulder, receiving a side eye from the familiar, before he went in and closed the door behind him.

  “...”

  The scarecrow walked toward the living room, hearing the sound of water running behind him. Without realizing it, he touched his own abs where a gaping hole had once been. With his fingers, he traced the thin lines, taking notice of the constantly improving state of his body with every level up.

  Although far from the refined figure of his brother, his wasn’t anything to scoff at either. At least, from a waking world perspective. It was very likely that many Savants reached the same physical upgrades.

  He had noticed this slightly on Mo and Aurora when compared to one of his previous visions, but Leyna and Arman wore clothes that hid most of their bodies for him to make out any details.

  Nevertheless, Somnu had once again grown stronger during his quick shower.

  On one hand, he had been naked, boosting his power due to the [Naked Prince] Personal Title. On the other hand, the growing fear of the Unseen Dreadbeast of Lethe was feeding into his [Fated Terror] Personal Title, boosting his strength and durability in equivalent to multiple levels.

  In addition, not only had he received another two level ups from Fala, but she had managed to defeat new types of Nightmare Creatures. Choking Serpents based on the fears of crawling, Epipophobia, and of being overwhelmed, Atephobia.

  This meant Mathros had hopefully overcome his last active fear, although the scarecrow had no way of knowing how the Specter serpents looked or what kind of restriction they had. He hoped Fala had left something for his friends.

  For some reason, the crow companion had restlessly hunted the serpents, sending her master a lot of Terror Cores to use. It was one of the reasons he was able to successfully hunt his recent prey.

  At the moment, Somnu’s Hollow Core level had passed the first quarter of his Dreadbound rank, the same equivalent as Savant.

  [Hollow Core Level: Lvl 28.] {With 100 more Cores to the next level up.}

  At the same time, he still had 57 Terror Cores in inventory.

  Fala is really working hard…

  ‘Master, I did good too, right?’

  How did she know what I’m thinking… Female serpent intuition again? The scarecrow stopped moving for an instance, then relaxed his nerves.

  ‘Master?’ She nudged his cheek when he didn’t respond.

  ‘Yes, Naga, you did really well. Good job.’ He responded as he patted her head, making her proudly straighten her posture on his shoulder.

  A low, hissing sound escaped her as she closed her eyes, denying him the borrowed vision for a moment. He didn’t mind letting her enjoy the praise.

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  It was undeniable that her contributions helped the doppelganger and Grudgekeeper win. After consuming the horse man, pig lady, two sheep men, the assassin and even the cow woman who had been murdered, the Dream Catcher’s level had received multiple boosts.

  [Dream Catcher {Grudgekeeper} Level: Lvl 5.] {With 4827 more Ego Particles or Core equivalent to the next level up.}

  A Savant is giving Grudgekeeper around half a level, around 5000 Ego Particles or Cores worth. However, it hadn’t been only the prey, but the cow woman’s grudge was strong for being unfairly killed, along with Fala’s continuous efforts in consuming Nightmare Creatures outside the fort.

  Either way, it was safe to say Grudgekeeper was accumulating much more grudge from all the victims that were killed by the now consumed pawns.

  Still, I need to grow much stronger if I’m going to stand a chance against John Doe and his powers… Somnu thought, recalling his last fight with the murderer while he was possessing Almon. I have to keep increasing my strength, but for now… Clothes.

  The blind Sleeper walked towards a sofa and reached down for one of the outfits his sister had prepared for him even before reuniting. He had already slipped into his boxers before coming out of the bathroom, covering his dignity for good. Hopefully.

  The corners of his lips curled up a bit as he put his new clothes on, fitting him perfectly. Having Naga look at him from a front angle, he could see his new features clearly.

  A plain plum shirt, dark gray pants, and lastly, black boots and a nice leather jacket of the same color. There were some straps here and there, but he had chosen to discard some of them.

  It was an outfit very similar to what Somnu used to wear before becoming a professional scarecrow. At that time, his mind had been clouded by revenge, leading him down a dark path. He had indeed been a punk.

  However, the reason he had chosen this outfit instead of the other one with a long blue overalls, was so he could blend in. Both Mo and Aurora liked wearing leather jackets, this way he wouldn’t stand out too much and would have them take most of the attention.

  This time, unlike the past, he would be a punk scarecrow that protects his loved ones with all the cheats he could think of. That was the promise he made to himself.

  ‘You look good, master!’

  ‘Thanks, Naga. You too. Although you should keep hiding the little Grudgekeeper piece you have on you so no one would notice.’

  Somnu sat down and ran a hand through his white hair. He considered cutting it short, but he soon shook his head. A sudden change in appearance would garner attention too, and he didn’t want to lose one of the only things that made him himself. Not after losing his purple eyes.

  After all, beside his pale complexion, the two violet eyes and his naturally white hair were the reasons he had been ostracized as a kid. Now, those were the anchors for his individuality, although only one remained now.

  Waiting for his brother to finish up, Somnu wasted no time. There were other things he had noticed since coming to the fort.

  The Unseen. Their movements are very… normal. The scarecrow leaned back into the couch and held his chin. So far, the pawns I went up against did not have that Personal Title, whereas the ones that do are leisurely living in the fort.

  He paused, hearing the sound of running water suddenly stop.

  Leyna mentioned that two Unseen had tried to protect her, but that’s too odd. Why would the followers of the Faceless Forager do that? Did John Doe and his supporting deity have a falling out? Did I miss something? Somnu furrowed his brows, keeping his eyelids closed. The last pawns I killed spoke of initiation, were the Unseen with Leyna simply trying to prove themselves to John Doe, but got killed by an ambitious pawn instead?

  Too many thoughts were running through his mind that he almost wished he could separate them all into different sections. He had read about the mind palace before, but he could never create one in his mind. He guessed it was related to his sleepless nature.

  Nevertheless, there was one question he still needed to subtly bring up to his siblings or Aurora.

  What happened to the Unseen Sleeper that showed up in his first vision of them? Did he attack them? If so, why did Leyna trust the Unseen?

  “Alright! I’m done!” Mo boasted, standing proudly in the nude with only a small towel to hide his own dignity, and a silver necklace hanging down from his neck.

  “Put some clothes on, idiot.”

  “That’s rich coming from someone who only had a cloak over him just a few minutes ago.” Mo retorted as he entered a bedroom nearby and picked out similar clothes to what he had been wearing.

  “I lost my clothes while fighting out there. Not everyone had the luxury of a sister with a seamstress Aspiration Class.” Somnu scoffed, adjusting his own clothes slightly. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t feeling a bit weird to wear something normal for once.

  “Well, you have that same luxury now too, so make sure to thank her properly.”

  “Yeah…” Somnu put on a faint, yet heartwarming smile. “My naked days are behind me now.”

  “You almost seem disappointed!” Mo chuckled from the other room.

  “I’m not a nudist like a certain someone I know.”

  “You little shit! You better change that tone if you want to keep staying here.”

  “I never said I am.” Somnu exclaimed, standing up. “I think I’ll get my own room.”

  The scarecrow would have liked to stay with his brother after so long, but he wouldn't be able to challenge his translucent crown every night with someone else around him.

  “Don’t be stupid. It’s better we stick together, and my roommate disappeared on my last outing.” Mo returned, holding his leather jacket and boots.

  “Disappeared?”

  “Yeah, it happens occasionally. Since there is no body, we assume they somehow found the exit and moved on to the Second Layer.” The fireman aspirer put on his boots quickly and threw his jacket on. “Of course, they could also be dead, devoured by Nightmare Creatures, but there is no way Ashy would die to some random monsters. I hate to admit it, but he was even stronger than me.”

  “...” Somnu reached up and pinched his nose, the amount of his tasks ever-increasing. Right, I still have to find the exit to this Layer quickly.

  “Anyway, let’s go. Arman should have started the meeting with the Fortmaster already.” Mo urged, walking to the door.

  ‘Master, another pawn!’

  ‘Are you serious?!’

  There truly was no rest for the scarecrow.