Time to plan a bit, and then sleep

Youngwoo walked behind Hilda as she went into a room at the end of corridor. It was rather small, barely furnished, and exceptionally clean. In fact, safe for some dust here and there, there wasn't anything amiss in the place. Even the only drawer and bed looked immaculate, as if they were freshly put together.

Room's walls were of a somewhat dull sky-blue color, but they didn't look bad, composed with bright wooden floor and white ceiling. In fact, Youngwoo could see why this was Idan's room. It almost emanated positiveness, just like the man.

Hilda quickly went up to the drawer and pulled a shelf. As she quickly rummaged through some pieces of clothes, she took out a pair of pants and eyed them. After she did so, she also eyed Youngwoo, and with a bit of a frown she put them on the bed, and returned to searching.

However, she couldn't find anything more fitting. Just as Youngwoo had suspected, it was a matter of length, but surprisingly, the pair that he was given was only about 10 centimetres short. This was manageable for him.

"Thank you." He bowed his head a little.

"Go wash up and put your pants in the washing machine. You don't need to hurry." She pointed lightly towards the door behind him. "You can take a spare towel from the shelf."

He nodded towards her, and left the room quickly. As he closed the door to the bathroom and locked the lock, Hilda took in a deep breath. Heavens, she still felt her heartbeat reverberate in her head. To be honest, she wasn't exactly sure how she was standing anymore. She felt warmth flush over her for the past 15 minutes nearly constantly. At first, it was simply lust she'd not felt for quite a long time, but... now it was something else. She wasn't sure if she could describe the feeling in words, but she sure did remember when she last felt it. The feeling of safety, as if she knew that everything was going to work out from now on. The feeling she'd last felt when she heard her mom read a bedroom story to her and Ieva.

She went out of the room, deep in thought. She walked into the kitchen and flopped on her seat. As she got a hold of her cup, she felt how the coffee was now cold. Oh well, but it'd be a waste to throw it away, so she sipped it while thinking.

This situation was... new. She'd never been in love before (not in a serious one, at least), so she couldn't tell if this was THE feeling, but for some reason, she instinctively felt like it was. All she wanted to do now, was to feel Youngwoo hug her again. There was a sense of safety that his presence brought, and she wanted to feel that again. Dear, if she could, she wanted to convince him to stay for the entire next day. Of course, she knew he was going to 13th floor whereas she would be staying behind, but... couldn't she push herself a bit?

...NO. She suddenly felt the thoughts of her argument with Donnie surface. The memories she's tried to suppress for Ieva's sake. The pain and torment she felt as she shielded her sister from the truth. No.

[Your frame of mind is unstable. Skill 'Calm Mind' cannot activate.]

Emotions were not math. Just adding some positivism didn't vanquish the negativism. She needed to be careful. Her sister was her entire world. Without her... who knew what'd happen to her? She most definitely didn't want to think about that. No, not in a million, billion years.

It was important to take a break for now. Advancing the Tower could wait. There were too many things going on now that could influence her negatively.

Shadow Cult. What did they want from Youngwoo??? Hilda couldn't decipher their motivations. Sure enough, a mental attack at Ieva could be a possibility. But... there was something that didn't click here. Attacking her was basically the same as making an enemy out of Magician Guild. Sure enough, the organisation did have enough forces to take on the 4 major guilds, but they didn't do it because of the silent agreement between the forces. So long nobody made an advance at the other, Shadow Cult's existence and real nature remained secret to but a few select people. No, attacking the best Tinkerer around wouldn't make sense. What was Clairvoyant thinking?

So, if that wasn't the reason, then... why? Did Youngwoo know some powerful people? Or would he get to know them in the near future? Of course, this wasn't out of question. But... there was something off about this as well. This man was a F-ranker, as far as she knew. If a powerful talent appeared in the Tower, he'd have no chance at meeting them... unless something happened... akin to what happened to her and Ieva?

Wait, but... wasn't this what Ieva and Donnie said about Youngwoo at first? That he could be a pawn working for Shadow Cult, intent on getting close to them both? If she thought about it in this perspective... wouldn't this also make sense? Wouldn't Clairvoyant predict her reactions?!

[Your frame of mind is unstable. Skill 'Calm Mind' cannot activate.]

...no. Hilda shook her head as she put the empty cup on the table. Then she clenched her fists and started expelling air from her lungs, attempting to calm down. She was overthinking this. Clairvoyant was powerful, but she couldn't get in her head, nor see exactly what would happen. For all that woman would know, Hilda was getting close with Youngwoo, but her ulterior motives were mostly unknown.

But even if this issue was cleared, there were others as well. Ieva was overworking herself lately. For all the time Hilda was gone, her sister would spend nearly 90% of her time in the Workshop, working her days away and profiting from it. While the older didn't approve of her workaholic nature, she couldn't just forbid Ieva from working.

Donnie wasn't much help, either. He kept spending a lot of time with Ieva, but he didn't stop her from tinkering all the time. Sure, he tried asking her out, but it wasn't like she cared much. Outside of her work, the world didn't seem to matter to her much. Heavens, sometimes Hilda felt like Ieva was distancing herself from even her. She would need to bring the hermit out of her shell and for some outside activity.

Then there was the issue of James. The argument they had was quite harsh, and Hilda accidentally let a few sensitive parts slip. So far, for years, nobody knew the truth behind her and Ieva's circumstances before the Tower, not even Idan. She'd need to have a talk with Donnie, apologize and try to work something out with him. She couldn't break their relationship right now. No, she absolutely needed allies, especially in times like this. The reserve and dislike that Donnie had been looking with at Youngwoo would also need to be resolved, but that could come in a day or two.

Another issue was the current situation in the Safe Zone. This was an issue brought up during the meeting of Magician Guild. In many places, especially around blacksmith's area, there was a lot of strange activity, mostly thefts and the likes. Of course, her and a few others knew it was Shadow Cult's doing, but the question was: For what intent was this? And when would they strike for real?

The prices already had gone up by nearly 15% compared to last month. This was an incomparable increase, considering people could easily and reliably get food and money by doing quests on 11th floor, and there was little danger involved. Of course, the increase in prices at first only affected minerals and the likes, but in the last few days even food and water became more expensive. What was Shadow Cult achieving through this?

No... she couldn't keep on thinking about things like that.

[Your frame of mind is unstable. Skill 'Calm Mind' cannot activate.]

There will surely be some time to talk this situation over with Ieva, Youngwoo, Donnie and Idan. For now, those 4 were the only people Hilda felt like she could trust. She was also certain that together, they could achieve some kind of a solution.

A few minutes passed, Hilda breathing in and out in a slowly calming manner. She tried not to think about all the problems she would need to face, and tried to engulf herself in laughter. She fired up a video on Youtube, and started chuckling every now and again at sight of some unexpected twists in talks between people. And soon, she felt her mind becoming clearer.

[Your frame of mind stabilizes. Skill 'Calm Mind' is in effect.]

Her chuckling was now only reduced to a neutral expression, just barely corner of her lips budging a little. Eventually, hearing a door open, she turned her phone off and put it down.

Youngwoo walked into the room. He took his sweet time in the bathroom, that was to be sure, but Hilda didn't mind. Well... if she knew why he took so long, she might've started laughing again. Still, he looked at her and got to his seat, deciding to sip the now cold tea he'd asked for before. His dark hair were glistening, still wet somewhat.

"I'm sorry I took so long." He said, and there was a bashful tone in his voice.

"Don't worry about it, Youngwoo." She replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go in."

He nodded quickly to her, taking another sip. Hilda quickly took her steps to her room, and no longer than a minute later she was in the bathroom.

Meanwhile he was sitting by the table, Iris sitting where Hilda was just a while ago. As a few minutes passed by, he noticed how the woman was clearly waiting for him to finish his tea.

"Time to work out some plan." She said. There was no glint of annoyance nor urgency in her voice.

"I know." He wrote on his phone.

"Are you seriously believing that Clairvoyant could hear you?"

"I don't want to take chances. I trust that Hilda wouldn't lie to me. No matter if what she knows is true or not."

"Che. Trust in others will only lead you to ****." She rolled her eyes. "Not that it would matter to you though." She added.

"Any propositions on the plan?"

"It would be wise to begin by assessing the situation. Climbing the Tower is not the only thing you need to think about."

"What? Isn't that the main objective of Tower's existence?" He tilted his head a little.

"Che." Iris shook her head. "You don't even realize how many fronts there are to be wary of. Tower is a passive goal towards which you work. But there are many forces around. Other Hunters. Organisations and guilds. Outside world. All of this must be taken into account."

"So... we need to learn more about Shadow Cult?"

"Mphm." She nodded. "You are dense, but you do have moments of clarity, it seems. Yes, Shadow Cult should be priority. Though, might I say, that's a shitty name for an organisation."

"Yeah... doesn't seem too frightening."

"Back to business. 'Clairvoyant has ties with Shadow Cult', that woman said. That's bullshit. I'm betting you my secret treasure that she's behind that organisation altogether. With power of clairvoyance, she could do it easily. Gather most powerful people and make a semi-guild structure out of it. Her power is almost like yours. Actually, if she has the wits, her strength is bigger than yours, at least on surface. But here's the catch. You are an error in her system." Iris said, moving behind Youngwoo and watching as he typed on his phone. Truly, she was actually somewhat fascinated by the technology they had in this Tower, even if she tried not to show it.

"Error? How so?"

"You come back after you die, and change the way you do things to avoiding dying again. Doesn't it make sense that you'd pique her attention? Especially considering that you stopped Tinkerer's ****, which, as you said yourself, was certainly connected to Shadow Cult itself." She recalled her talk with Youngwoo in the void.

"So... you're saying that by saving Ieva I got Clairvoyant's attention on me?"

"Exactly. Since originally Tinkerer's **** occurred as intended by Clairvoyant, you appeared where you shouldn't be. You broke her expectations. If she were any smart, she'd have started watching over you, even if just for a little bit. She must've seen you die, but as you came back to life, she probably couldn't wrap her head around it. You meeting Mobius, who is second in command of Shadow Cult, only proves that. He came around to gauge you because he has the best abilities suited for that."

"...so what now? We learn about Shadow Cult, and what next?"

"Depends." Iris shrugged a little. "On 3 factors exactly. The first one is: how powerful is Shadow Cult really? I mean number of people, their overall capability of fight and skills, and connections. Knowing Tinkerer, she'll probably know at least some of that. Second is: what are their intentions towards you? Do they want to befriend you? Or try to kill you? Or maybe they'll try to ignore you? No, scratch that last one. Only an absolute idiot would do that. And thirdly: what are our intentions towards them?"

"Wait, what? What's with the last one?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake... and you wondered why Tower didn't give you a skill..." She massaged her temples as she closed her eyes for a moment. "You can't just be passive towards them! If you will, they'll try to use you! You can't bend to their will!" There was some serious anger behind her words. Were those flames that suddenly sprouted from Iris' eyes? "You, WE need to show them that we won't be fucking around with them! Be it soft way, or the hard one, I'll let you choose, but don't think I'll let you be passive towards those fuckers!" She shouted at him with fury. Why was she suddenly so agitated? Youngwoo decided not to ponder on that. Truly, Iris was pretty scary when she was angry.

"I understand. We'll do so." He nodded lightly.

"Hmph." She put on a serious pout, but didn't 'Che' him yet. Or was this actually bad? "Good to know you got some oil in your head."

"But, I don't get it. How could you deduce so much, and why do you sound so certain of it? You only had 15 minutes or so to think about that, didn't you?"

"Che. I'm a genius, and I'm a genius." She replied. "It was the most logical solution I saw, and I'm honestly offended that you think it should take me more than 15 minutes to reach such conclusion. When you think about it, it's quite obvious."

"..."

'Her words do make some sense.' He thought, nodding a little to himself. 'Assessing the situation is important. We need to ask Ieva when she wakes up. But...'

"What about Ieva? Once she wakes up, how do we know that she won't just faint again? That's a lot of stress she needs to take in."

"Che. Leave that to me." Replied Iris. There was a sound of door opening, and Hilda was walking towards Youngwoo. Her red hair were tied in a ponytail and dry, but clearly had been washed. "..." Iris suddenly floated, and passed right through Hilda and into Ieva's room.

"Youngwoo?" Hilda tilted her head a little. "I don't recall you ever being as distracted as today. Did something happen?" There was a glint of worry in her voice as she sat down opposite of him.

"...no." He shook his head. "I'm just distracted by your beauty." He added with a smirk.

"You're really corny, you know that?" She smiled lightly as well. "But I like that." She winked to him.

The time was reaching 18 by now. After the two of them ate something that semi-resembled dinner (Hilda was calling the main dish 'bigos', and seeing how much of it she ate, she clearly loved it), they sat down on the couch and watched something that was on the show. Still, by hour 22, both of them were laying in Hilda's bed, sound asleep, hugging one another lightly.

Meanwhile

Norma was sitting in her bed, her hands joined in complete darkness. Her eye was closed as she concentrated all her magic to see everything around Youngwoo Lee. She could see that he was writing on his phone, and showing it somewhere up front. She knew what he was doing; he was clearly showing her what the difference between him and her were. He saw far more details that she did.

"Youngwoo..." She started speaking out of habit, focused on the vision. He tilted his head in surprise. Wait... was he reacting to her in real time? Were they connecting their clairvoyance skills right now? Her heart beat strongly. This was the first time something like this had happened. And, for some reason, she felt... anticipation, on top of her fear.

Still, he didn't respond, clearly listening to what she would be saying. Taking her chance, she continued:

"M-Mister Youngwoo..." She corrected her words. "I... I know you're stronger. I... I-I am sorry for going against you before..."

No response. In fact, he had his eyebrow raised, as if he was waiting for her to continue her thought.

"But... I... I-I don't... I don't want to have you as my enemy... Please..."

Silence...

"I... I-I will abide by your terms... I'll do w-whatever you want... just... I don't want to... to... die." She said with shaky voice. Her fear was causing her body to shudder by second.

Suddenly, she noticed him nodding lightly. Was he in agreement with her? Or did he acknowledge her words? It was probably the latter. After all, there was no reason for him not to speak his terms right now. He was alone at the moment, so he didn't need to worry about anyone hearing.

"I... Is it alright to... send an envoy to you?" She asked, feeling sweat trickle her as it went down her neck and between her barely-visible chest, tickling her a little in the process. Still, not as much as a smirk appeared on her face.

He nodded again. No way... could it be that he also wanted dialogue with Shadow Cult?! Norma was so focused on that singular thought, that she didn't even notice when she ran out of mana, breaking the connection with Youngwoo.

Slowly, she laid down on the bed and covered herself with the sheets. Still, her body was shaking. She was nervous, afraid even. She had no idea that it was possible to connect with another Clairvoyant on a level like that. Still, basing on Youngwoo's reaction, it wasn't the first time for him. Clearly, he must've done a connection like that with her in the past. But why did he remain silent then? Well, that was a question for another day.

Taking her shaky hands and placing them on her stomach, she felt just how cold they were. In reality, her entire body was covered in cold sweat. But, she knew what she spoke was true.

Norma Jacobsen was terrified of dying. This was the backlash of getting her skill when the Safe Zone wasn't so safe yet. She saw so, so many times the images of her body being torn to shreds by wild boars and other monsters inhabiting 1st floor. For first weeks of her stay in the Tower, she was **** to watch different scenarios of her deaths to be able to avoid them. By feeling the pain of having her muscles torn from the bones a thousand times over, she had learned to fear the act leading to ****. She wasn't scared of what happened after. In fact, it was always a bliss. A sudden, pleasant stop to the pain. Well, but thankfully, for the past 8 or so years, she hadn't had a single vision of her own ****.

After she calmed down a little after some minutes, she took her phone from just beside her, and sent a message to a number on it.