"How are you feeling today?"

"Oh, senior. Everything seems fine."

"Really? That’s good to hear."

"If this keeps up, we should be able to find it within a few days."

Siwoo responded to the senior who had approached him while looking around.

The senior seemed to like Siwoo and Arte, as he had been talking to them since the meeting.

Today, this senior was going to be with us instead of Arte.

"By the way, why is she sleeping in today? What’s the reason?"

"She drank. She has a hangover."

"Drank? Oh, I see. It’s because of you, isn’t it?"

"···."

"Treat her well. She’s mad because her boyfriend isn’t spending time with her."

I let out a small sigh.

Seeing how the senior, the information hub here, was saying this, it seemed the rumors had spread quite a bit.

"We’re not dating yet."

"Sure, sure. Do your best. She’s pretty."

He didn’t believe me at all.

Did he realize I was uncomfortable?

The senior changed the subject smoothly.

"Anyway, I really don’t get it. Are we really looking for something? Aren’t we just walking?"

"We are just walking."

"···Then how do you know where to go?"

"Instinct."

How else could I explain it?

Instinct.

That’s the only way to put it.

How else could I describe the feeling of knowing the direction without any clues?

I felt a bit sorry for the senior who looked baffled, but it was the truth.

"···You know my ability is intuition, right?"

"I knew that... but I thought you’d get some kind of hint."

"That’s not it. I just feel like I know."

"···Is that really detection?"

"I don’t know."

It was natural for the senior to question it.

As far as I knew, it was impossible to use detection abilities in this way.

Looking around, all I saw was a city painted in gray.

But for those with detection abilities, it would look different.

They would see the footprints of beasts, scattered fur, or even smell the scents.

Or perhaps they’d see the distribution of mana floating in the air.

Most detection ability users are like that.

From limited clues, they gather much more detailed and precise information than others.

And they draw conclusions based on the collected information.

…This is the biggest difference between me and other detection ability users.

To me, this city was just a destroyed gray city.

Nothing more, nothing less.

For detection ability users, this place was a treasure trove of information, but for me, it was just a background.

Even though my senses were sharper than average, that was all.

I couldn’t compare to those with related abilities.

Yet, I could tell.

I was more confident than the detection ability users.

They make guesses based on information. That’s why there’s a possibility they could go in the wrong direction.

But Siwoo was certain. This direction was correct. The person we were looking for would be here.

We would meet them soon.

"I think of it as something that can also be used for detection."

While training with Dorothy’s enhancement, Siwoo suddenly realized.

His ability wasn’t just mere intuition.

The amount of information that directly struck his brain was too much to just call it intuition.

If it was merely intuition, how could he receive so much information?

The more Siwoo trained and grew every day, the more solid this idea became.

When he put all his effort into landing a blow on that villain, he had seen a vision.

And lately, that vision was becoming clearer.

Even with a single enhancement, he could glimpse it.

What would happen a few seconds later.

What would be the result of his actions, it felt like he could see it beforehand.

Precognition of the future?

Maybe.

But it felt a bit different.

"Well, I don’t know much, but our job is to complete the mission, right?"

"Yes, that’s true."

"How about now? Do you feel anything?"

"Yes. Probably in about two days…"

…My intuition sounded an alarm.

Something felt critically wrong.

It felt like the premise itself was wrong.

"···? What’s wrong?"

"···."

I had felt this sensation before.

That time.

When I saw that bizarre presence clinging to Arte, I had felt something similar.

I had felt it a few other times too. A sensation as if the world was twisting.

…and something always happened then.

It was like a precursor to an event.

Damn it!

"Quick, the communicator!"

"Uh, uh…?!"

"Hurry!"

Knowing it was rude, I hurriedly snatched the communicator from the senior and tried to send a message.

"Main unit, main unit. Respond! This is the search team!"

"···What is it, Siwoo? Didn’t you say there’d be nothing today?"

"Incident, incident! Quickly, be on alert and prepare for battle! Now!"

"···What?"

"There’s no time to explain! Hurry!"

Thankfully, they seemed to believe my urgent tone.

I heard the commander issuing hurried orders.

"You guys, too…!"

"We’re ready."

"It’s not our first time. We know what to do."

Luckily, Amelia and Dorothy seemed to notice something was wrong and had started preparing to retreat.

These guys could be annoying usually, but they were reliable in danger…

"So? Where do we go?"

"To the main unit! We need to join them quickly! If we get separated, I can’t guarantee our survival!"

"Got it."

"Wait a minute…! What are you doing! You need to explain…"

The senior’s voice trailed off, and his face turned pale.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Neither could we.

"…Is that it?"

"…Probably. No, definitely."

"Guess no sleep for us tonight…"

Anyone would be speechless at the sight before us.

A black wave.

That would be the appropriate term.

Like a surging wave, a massive swarm of spider beasts was rushing towards us.

"Ugh, I’m not good with bugs…"

Amelia joked with a bright voice, but there was no hint of playfulness on her face.

Only urgency.

"Hurry, give me all the luggage. I’ll carry it."

"…Are you sure?"

"I’m the fastest! Come on! We don’t have time!"

"Sorry. Thanks."

"I’ll be back!"

With all the luggage except the essentials, Amelia disappeared from sight in an instant.

In the past, carrying that much would have slowed her down significantly. She had grown a lot.

But there was no time to admire Amelia’s growth.

We had to move quickly too.

"Hurry, let’s join the main unit! It’s dangerous to stay here!"

"Ugh, yes! Let’s move!"

How many times had I been grateful for my ability?

I estimated the distance between us and the main unit.

…No matter how I thought about it, if I had reacted a bit later, only Amelia would have survived.

The speed of the spiders was faster than expected.

Their small size made them easy to handle individually, but…

If we got swept away by that swarm, survival would be impossible.

It wasn’t just a few.

We decided to join the main unit as quickly as possible.

"Ugh…"

I frowned at the sunlight piercing through my closed eyes.

Is it morning already?

With a groggy mind, I tried to avoid the sunlight by turning over.

Oh, right. Siwoo was hugging me. I can’t move…

I thought.

But my body moved easily, and I turned my head.

Huh, why isn’t Siwoo here?

Feeling uneasy, I got up from the bed to check the time.

I’ve felt this sensation occasionally.

Even before coming to this world, I rarely slept well.

So I always woke up in a grumpy mood, annoyed that I had to get up.

But something was different today.

…Why does my body feel so light?

A worst-case scenario flashed through my mind, waking me up completely.

There was only one reason I would feel this light.

I hurriedly checked the time on my phone, confirming my fear.

"I’m late…!"

My grogginess disappeared, and my mind became clear instantly.

It was already 11 a.m.

…No wonder my body felt so refreshed.

Realizing the obvious, I started sweating coldly.

I was late.

And by a lot.

We were supposed to start searching at 9 a.m. today.

It was almost lunchtime now.

"I-I-I’m late…! Author, why didn’t you wake me up…!"

[You only call for me at times like this.]

"Isn’t this something you should have woken me up for?!"

[Your affection for me has cooled…]

I wanted to snap at the author, but I held back.

There was no time to waste.

…but I couldn’t help but say this.

"I never had any affection for you in the first place!"

[L-Lies…!]

Stop denying reality, author.

Why would I ever like you, anyway?