An emergency, and an actual explanation

16:37

Hilda was sitting the kitchen, eating some eggs she'd scrambled. Normally, she'd only eat at 18, but she decided to take care of her needs earlier. After all, she was supposed to meet with Youngwoo at 19. When he called her before, she was in middle of a meeting with her guild (to be honest, she forgot she belonged to a guild), but decided to exit the meeting immediately. For some reason, she felt uplifted when she heard the man ask her out.

And so, she decided to prepare in advance. She'd already dug through some of her clothes to find something that looked a little better than usual, and then she went to eat. Munching on some food, she was checking guild's chat window to keep herself updated. However, she felt the phone vibrate and noticed how letters spelled a name 'Youngwoo Lee' on the screen. A little surprised, she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hilda, an emergency." He said, and she felt some urgency in his voice. "I'm with Ieva in the park, but she suddenly fainted."

"What?!" She felt her heart skip a beat as her hand trembled. "Why?"

"I don't know! She seemed healthy a minute ago! Does she have some health condition?!"

"No... Youngwoo... you're in the park, right? Then bring her here." Hilda said simply, but felt some words being constricted in her throat.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Bring her t-to my home. I'll contact a healer and meet you halfway."

"...I'm on my way." And then, Youngwoo hung up.

Hilda took a deep breath. Then another. Her hands were shaking for a few long seconds, until she felt Calm Mind trigger. Her heartbeat abated ever so slightly and the shaking was gone as she quickly dialed another number.

"Yolooo~" A man's voice entered her ears in a melodic manner. [Reference]

"Idan, come around quickly. Something happened with Ieva."

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that she suddenly fainted."

"What?! Where are you?"

"I'm at home. I'll explain later. Get in here, fast." She said quickly, and hung up.

Then, she bolted out of kitchen and into her room. After she quickly grabbed two jackets (one for herself and one for Ieva), Hilda made her way to a drawer in the main room. Looking through some medications, however, she found nothing out of order. A few vitamins, some homemade cough syrup, a few other things, but nothing she wouldn't know of.

'Should I check in her room...?' A thought went through her head. However, she shook the idea out quickly. 'No. Ieva wouldn't do anything stupid while I'm out. Something else must've happened.' She took her steps out of her home, and locked the door quickly.

As she exited the building, she begun a sprint towards the park. It was just about 4 minutes away.

16:40

Youngwoo was holding Ieva by her back and legs, letting her head rest against his shoulder. The first thing he did when she fainted was check her status. However, he was surprised to see that she was mostly fine. She was sweating and her limbs were limp, but she was breathing stably, and her heartbeat was quickly calming down.

"Che." Iris said, floating above them both. "Mental strength of some people is just laughably weak."

"It must've been a shock to her." Replied Youngwoo as he was carrying the woman through the city, headed towards her home. "The first skill I had picked was 'Calm Mind', so my reaction was way calmer, but it still hit me."

"..." She rolled her eyes.

"So, she regresses with us, you say." He looked at Ieva for a moment, but he pointed his words towards Iris.

"Do you doubt me?" She tilted her head a little bit, positioning herself in front of him.

"No offense, but we know each other for not even one full day. I know the reality of it all, but let a man adjust a bit at least."

"Che." She put on a little pout. "Seems like you're in the same category as her."

"I won't deny that." He shrugged ever so slightly.

Iris didn't respond to his words, instead turning around and floating just behind him, her back turned to his, and watched some people she could see. Well, not to say there were a lot of them to begin with; the time was just before 17, so most people were on different floors doing quests and getting money. And those who stayed behind didn't catch her eye in any way. Nothing... outstanding in particular. She clicked her tongue inwardly, but didn't speak up. 'The Tower has been here for less than 10 years. It doesn't compare to my world. It's still very young.' Yes, she was certain that at least 20 more years would have to pass for something grand to happen. Or, if Youngwoo did things right, he might be able to do it in 2.

Taking note of sudden silence, Youngwoo begun thinking himself. First of all, he had to explain the situation to Hilda in some way. He couldn't just tell her truth. No, even if he did, the danger of regression wiping her memories was too ominous. This was the reason he didn't want to confront Ieva first thing in the morning after last one - he was certain that she'd not remembered it. Well, but could anyone really blame him? He didn't know that something like a stowaway could happen. Actually, wasn't Iris a stowaway as well? Oh well, there would a time and place for overthinking this issue later, he was sure.

Then, what should he say? That he met her randomly? What if she didn't believe him? No, he needed to ensure that whatever he said, Ieva couldn't just dispute his words. Something solid. But...

"Youngwoo!" He heard Hilda's voice from up ahead.

...he didn't have time to think about that. He looked up, and saw her sprinting towards him. She just barely managed to stop just before she'd bump into them two, and immediately looked at Ieva. With motherly worry, she placed a hand on Ieva's forehead, measured her pulse, and quickly checked other things. As she finished, Hilda put a jacket she held onto her sister and said:

"Come on, the healer is on his way." She then turned around and, with a hand holding onto Ieva's shoulder, started walking forward, Youngwoo following suit. "We'll talk later."

16:52

He placed Ieva in a bed, placed in what he presumed to be her room. He was very careful not to accidentally touch her for longer than needed, but he also took care so that she'd not strain anything in her sleeping position. Hilda was going around them both, quickly taking care of the bed and tidying the sheets. Then, seeing that there was little she could do, she started picking up some clothes that were lingering around.

Youngwoo took in Ieva's room for a moment. It was... extraordinarily dirty, to be honest. There were clothes hanging literally everywhere, even on a lamp above their heads. Bras, panties, t-shirts and socks, fresh and used alike, pants hung on door's handle and much, much more. To be honest, Youngwoo wondered where she'd actually pack all those in, but that question was solved by Hilda picking up nearly everything in one swoop and putting it in a huge bag in room's corner. After she closed the zipper, her phone suddenly started ringing. Immediately, she picked it up.

"Door's open." She said and hung up instantly.

Right after that, they both could hear someone walk in, closing the door quickly behind themselves. Hilda quickly went out of the room and said:

"She's here, Idan."

"How's she?" Asked the man, immediately going through the home and past Hilda.

"Just ****, it seems, but I can't be sure."

"I see-" As he walked into the room, Idan looked at Youngwoo, who was standing and looking at something above room's corner. "Hello?" He turned to Hilda.

"He's a friend." She nodded. "Take care of Ieva, I'll introduce you two in a moment. A coffee?"

"...yeah. The usual." Replied Idan, knelling by the bed and warming his hands up as he prepared to cast his magic.

"Youngwoo." Hilda's voice rang through the room. "Let's leave Idan to his work. It will take a while."

"Y-Yeah." The man turned to her and stepped out of Ieva's domain.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Is a tea alright?"

"It is. Please, have a seat." She guided him to the kitchen, where he sat down at a chair.

"..." He looked at her, thinking of what to say.

"Don't worry, Youngwoo."

'Wait, what? Why does it sound like she's trying to comfort me?!' He looked at her, surprised. Noticing how he reacted, Hilda continued:

"Idan's a good healer."

"I'm sure Ieva's fine, too... but I thought you'd be more... worried?"

"I am worried." She replied, sitting opposite of him and joining her hands together. "I really, really am. It's just a skill I have... it prevents me from letting it all out sometimes."

"...I see... but I'm sure it's nothing serious. Maybe she overworked herself."

"Yes... but how did you meet her?"

"..." He looked at his hands for a long moment. 'What now?' He looked to his side, towards the main room. Iris was leisurely laid on the couch, seemingly bored by the situation. "I just went to the park after I finished helping some Hunter on floor 2... then she walked up to me and we started talking. After a few minutes she suddenly passed out, and you know the rest."

"...I see." Hilda nodded at his words.

"Hilda... I need you to tell me something, if you know."

"Of course." She tensed up, ever so slightly. She felt like she wouldn't like the question. "What is it?"

"Do you know what Shadow Cult is?"

Hearing the question, Hilda felt like her heart stopped for a split second. Her blood pressure suddenly went up a little bit, and her complexion darkened. Her hands, resting on the table, shook a little, but she remained calm.

"...did Ieva tell you about it?"

"...yeah. She-" He started saying, but suddenly found Hilda's hand on his mouth, stopping him.

She put a finger to her mouth, showing him not to say a thing. Taken back by the sudden movement, he only nodded lightly, and Hilda took her hand back. Then, she took out her phone and started tapping away at it. After a few seconds, just as Youngwoo was about to ask her what she was doing, she turned it to him, showing him what she'd written.

"It's safer this way."

He wanted to ask her what she meant, but he instead heard Iris' voice:

"Don't be an idiot. She's not doing it without a purpose." She looked at Hilda from above Youngwoo's shoulder. Did she pick her attention by silencing him? Well, who knew.

Quickly, he took out his device and started writing a response.

"'Safer' how? And why?"

Truly, Tower's ability to translate all languages was a very big help. And thankfully, it also applied to all written text. It was like everyone's brains subconsciously knew what certain characters meant. Some people speculated that this was a hidden skill granted to everyone in the Tower, as literally everything was translated, even texts from outer world. This was very helpful indeed.

"It's a countermeasure against Clairvoyant."

"Clairvoyant? Didn't she commit suicide years ago?"

"She's very much alive."

Youngwoo frowned. 'How would they know...? Maybe better not to ponder on that.'

"...So how does this help?"

"Clairvoyant's ability is powerful, but not very precise. She can't see details like what we're writing about."

He squinted his eyes in a bit of disbelief.

"How in the world do you know about stuff like that?"

"Actually, Ieva was the one to figure it out. But, that's another story. Let's focus on what we have here. So Ieva told you about Shadow Cult?"

"Yeah. She believes I work for them."

Hilda looked at his message, and then closed her eyes for a moment. Youngwoo couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he had a feeling it wasn't good. Still, he didn't intend on shying away. He would see this issue through.

"I tried telling Ieva that you aren't with them, but she wouldn't believe me. I'm sorry Youngwoo."

"Don't be. I'm sure she didn't mean anything ill towards me. I just want to know what it is."

"Shadow Cult has been working for about 4 to 5 years by now. It's not known exactly how it started, but all we know is that Clairvoyant has close ties with them. They're a band of outlaws that **** Hunters and do whatever they like. They stay in the shadows, but they're too strong for even major 4 guilds to take them on. It's unknown how many people are in there exactly, but we know that some of the most powerful Hunters are affiliated with Shadow Cult."

"Who's Mobius? Is he with them?"

"Yes. He's their second-in-command, working under directions of the Boss."

"What are his skills?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I believe I might've met him today. Ieva told me that his name is Arthur Page, and I've helped out a person of such name today."

"He's known to be very proficient in firearms, as he used to be a sniper in military, but the skill he actually has is known as Great Insight. It lets him see information about people, but makes him sensitive to light."

"What kind of information?"

"That is unknown. He's said to see some skills of who he's facing, as well as what they've done. But I don't know if any of this is true."

"I see... it checks out. Arthur Page I met today was wearing sunglasses, and he headshotted 2 attacking great orcs."

"Then it's likely he's Mobius."

"But why would he be faking his rank?"

"He has Clairvoyant on his side. Clearly, there must've been something that he gained from doing that. Can you describe how you met him and what happened?"

Youngwoo spent a few minutes describing what his encounter with Mobius looked like. In the meantime, Hilda got up and made some tea for him and coffee for herself and Idan with water that boiled.

With some help from Iris, Youngwoo was even able to tell her all those things that he forgot himself or pushed away when he deemed them unimportant. As he finished, he noticed tense look on Hilda's face. She was clearly thinking about something.

"That's odd. Clairvoyant would be able to tell that this would happen, so clearly, he didn't get to you to reach to me and Ieva. There must be something else they're after. Do you perhaps know anyone who could be deemed important? Anyone with strong skills?"

"I don't."

"Then it's extremely weird. Mobius is known as demon of efficiency. Going out of his way to meet you doesn't seem like anything he'd ever do. Unless you have something that they might deem usable..."

"Nothing that I would know of. My sword is almost as old as my stay in the Tower, so they probably wouldn't need it, would they?"

"No, I suppose no. Then, the only explanation I have is that they are after someone you will meet soon."

"I see... so they want to get me on their side?"

"Clearly that's not it." Cut in Iris. "Someone of Mobius' rank wouldn't be going around meeting someone like you. If anything, he'd have sent a grunt to do the job. With skillset like his, it's like he was measuring you in particular."

Youngwoo looked at her for a moment, but quickly averted his gaze. He didn't want Hilda to see him looking into the main room without a reason.

"It's possible, but I'm sure that there is more in the play here. Perhaps they only wanted to use you as a decoy?"

"Wait, I just thought of something."

"What is it?"

"Ieva told me that she saw me enter the Gate with Mobius. But if that's true, then she's keeping a watch on either of us. Is it possible that Clairvoyant wanted to hit Ieva through that?"

Hilda put a hand on her chin. Then, she nodded.

"It's possible. Actually, very probable, even. From what I know, they coveted her tinkering ability, but she's been refusing to work with them because she didn't want to put me on the line. Maybe they wanted to use you to hit her."

'They coveted her ability...?' Thought Youngwoo as he looked towards Ieva's room. 'But then... why would they try to kill her before...? Well actually, why DID they kill her before all of this? Something is amiss here.' Clearly, there were pieces that didn't fit. Taking what Ieva told him in previous regression in mind, he figured that it must've been Shadow Cult who sent those 5 thugs on that Sylvester night. But then, what was the point? If they wanted her tinkering ability, why kill?

"I see." He decided not to go further with the talk. "Thank you for telling me this."

Hilda nodded lightly, and turned off her phone. Youngwoo promptly did the same, and the two of them started enjoying their drinks in silence.

A few minutes passed, not a word spoken. Between quick, short sips, the two of them looked at their hands. Even Iris was staying silent, opting to simply float about without a care. And then, they heard a sound of door closing. Idan walked through the main room slowly. His eyes were full of exhaustion, and there was sweat glistening on his forehead.

"How's she?" Asked Hilda.

"She's fine. I bottomed my mana at least twice, but there was nothing wrong with her. Not even fatigue. How did it happen that she fainted?"

"She was probably stressed." Replied red-haired woman, getting up and grabbing a cup from a counter. "Here, your coffee's cooled a little, but I can make a new one if you want."

"No, it's fine." He walked to the kitchen slowly, and then looked at Youngwoo.

There was a glint of surprise on Idan's face as he eyed Youngwoo. Has he forgotten about him? Has he not seen him when he was coming around from Ieva's room? Oh well, that was a redundant question.

"Oh, hello." The man waved his hand a little. "You new here?" Was it a glint of laugh in his voice that could be heard? This man surely seemed a little weird.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you two." Said Hilda, looking between the two. "Idan, this is Youngwoo. Youngwoo, this is Idan."