[Penalty: Get 10× intelligence since you are so stupid if you fail.]

I stared at the text displaying the penalty. Instead of encouraging me, it was trying to demotivate me. And for some reason, the system seemed unusually convinced that I would fail at getting any kind of information.

Unfortunately, it was right. I had a higher chance of failing than succeeding in this quest. Still, I can’t give up on it. After all, I am supposed to face them sooner or later.

The cold night air brushed against my face as I walked through the city streets while checking the locations I had marked earlier.

One café after another. Most of them were closed, some were empty, and others were filled with students, couples, or exhausted office workers.

Moreover, none of them matched my memories until I reached the second-to-last place on my list.

"There..."

Gradually, my steps slowed down when my eyes caught sight of a small café across the street. The sign above it wasn’t anything special, and the building itself looked ordinary.

Yet the moment I saw it, something clicked inside my head. It had the same black exterior, small outside seating area, and most importantly... the strange bronze clock hanging beside the entrance.

This was the place.

The café that repeatedly appeared throughout the story whenever Black Faction members wanted to hold secret meetings.

"I found it."

Gradually, a grin spread across my lips and I began to walk forward. However, the moment I stepped closer, my grin disappeared. Because there was one very obvious problem.

How exactly was I supposed to investigate now?

Am I supposed to just walk inside and ask, "Hello, are there any evil criminal organizations holding secret meetings today?"

That sounded like an excellent way to get a death sentence.

"Maybe I should just observe from outside."

The plan sounded reasonable. So naturally, just like always, the universe immediately decided to ruin it.

Tap.

A hand landed on my shoulder and made every muscle in my body freeze as a cold chill instantly crawled down my spine.

Slowly... Very slowly... I turned around.

"..."

For several seconds, I just stared at the person behind me. Then I stared some more just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.

Because, standing behind me was someone who absolutely should not have been here.

"Viora?"

"Mhm."

No.

Seriously.

How? How was she here?

I had left the villa quietly. I had checked behind me multiple times. Heck, I had even walked for more than an hour straight. And yet somehow she was standing behind me.

"How did you get here?" I asked, completely caught off guard by her appearance.

"I followed you."

That explained absolutely nothing. Also, that clearly wasn’t what I was asking.

"You are blind."

"Mhm."

"You weren’t even beside me when I left."

"Mhm."

With every question I asked her, she just nodded her head and only replied with, "Mhm." What kind of answer is that?

"At least tell me how you followed me?" I was so frustrated at my own self that my voice had a bit of anger in it. Still, Viora didn’t seem to mind it, and after being silent for a moment she replied.

"I could smell you."

"What?!"

"I can also hear your footsteps." She pointed vaguely in my direction. "And I can also sense your heartbeat."

A terrifying realization slowly appeared inside my mind. It must be because of the Abyssal Predator’s Sense.

Earlier, I had assumed it wasn’t anything impressive because Viora hadn’t grown extra limbs or started glowing ominously.

Apparently, I had been wrong. Very much wrong. She hadn’t simply gained better senses. She had become ridiculous.

The scary part was that she had followed me all the way across the streets without me noticing her even once.

"By the way, Viora. How long have you been behind me?" I asked, and before answering me she thought about it. "Since you left the villa."

Her answer made me stare at her with widened eyes. She had followed me without getting lost or needing any assistance. And somehow she had done all of that while being blind.

The more I thought about it, the less I liked it. Honestly, what I actually didn’t like was how terrifying it sounded.

"Viora. Please tell me you got lost at least once." I asked, hoping for her to say that; in fact, she got lost a few times, but that answer never came since she replied with, "I did not."

The answer only made me feel worse.

Then again, considering she had detected a hidden assassin that even I couldn’t notice, perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised anymore.

At this point, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she told me she could hear a butterfly flapping its wings three streets away.

"Woo Jin," Suddenly, Viora’s head slowly turned toward the café and immediately her expression changed as the relaxed look disappeared from her face. "Someone is inside."

I turned around toward the place and looked inside it. "Obviously. It’s a café." I said, and she instantly denied it.

"No. I should correct that. It isn’t someone. It is something."

My brows furrowed and I squinted my eyes as I looked with more attention.

"Something?"

"Yeah. Something really bad is in there, but I can’t tell what it is."

Now that was useful information. If her senses were really this sharp, then bringing her here might actually be beneficial.

It was something I never expected I would ever think. Still, this didn’t change the fact that I had sneaked out specifically to avoid bringing her.

The logical part of me immediately recognized how useful her senses were. On the other hand, the emotional part of me wanted to drag her back to the villa before something happened to her.

And yet she had become my partner I couldn’t ignore anyway.

"Fine." I shook my head slightly to shake off any bad thoughts that were appearing in my mind about her safety. But that isn’t something I need to worry about.

"Since you’re already here."

"I am." Viora nodded eagerly as if she was proud of what she had accomplished by following me.

’Why did she sound proud about that?’

Ignoring her, I focused on the café. The lights were still on and several customers could be seen through the windows.

Nothing seemed unusual. But that was just on the surface. This place had shown up too many times throughout the story for me to ignore. And if we add what Viora said just now, this has become something which I must not ignore.

"We shall enter." I looked at Viora and grabbed her hand. I thought she would at least act serious now, but no.

"Enter and do what?" She asked. The habit of her acting oblivious to serious things isn’t something that could just disappear.

"Listen."

"Yeah, tell me. I am listening." She leaned in closer to me to listen to what I didn’t even know I was going to say.

"No. I mean listen to what the people inside the building are saying. Dammit."

"Oh. Alright."

With her consent, I took a deep breath and then we crossed the road.