Chapter 1163 - 1163: D479. Fanatic Devotion

The next day, in the morning.

Sunlight penetrated the room through the gaps in the curtains, and slender rays fell upon the girl's hair.

The Mute Girl lying on the bed slowly opened her eyes.

Although it was already late in the morning, she showed no intention of moving, her eyes half-open and unfocused, lazily immersed in a haze as she gazed at the ceiling.

Just then, a gentle knocking sounded on the door.

Though the knock was cautious, it still seemed loud in the soundproof luxury hotel room.

The black-haired girl rolled her eyes and directly grabbed a pillow and threw it.

The pillow hit the door with a muffled thud.

Though the sound wasn't loud, it was enough to convey her anger and silence the person outside.

Only then did the girl contentedly curl back into the blanket, squirming a few times, fully enjoying the soft silk covers before slowly getting up.

She casually put on the nun's robe she had modified herself, washed her face, brushed her teeth...

Only after half an hour did she open the door and looked with displeasure at the thief crouched outside.

"Well then, Mr. Crippled Patient," her voice sounded clear and cold, trembling with magic power.

"I think you must have a very good reason to knock on a lady's door so early in the morning, right?"

The thief glanced up at the nearly midday sun outside, then at the Mute Girl's messy hair, unsure what to comment on first.

Eventually, wisely acting like he hadn't heard anything, he said with an awkward smile, "Well..."

[Thief's Contacts (10-Alchemy Thief, 10+Dual Blade Thieves, 40+Shadow Mage, 70+Intelligence Expert (Success), Neglect-20)]

D80=70

[Mute Girl's Luck (1+has clues, 5+success)]

D10=1

[? Considered a critical failure in intelligence gathering, what happened?]

1.5. Didn't find Mute Girl's past

2.6. Encountered a (Hero's) acquaintance

3.7. Surrounded by debt collectors

4.8. Simply didn't find anything

9. Dungeon Worshiper

10. Great Success/Great Failure

D10=9

♛: Dungeon Worshiper

→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←

"So, what intelligence did you actually gather?"

In the delicate time frame of a late breakfast and an early lunch, the Mute Girl asked with interest as she flipped through the hotel restaurant's menu.

Although she had issued a strict order yesterday demanding results today, she didn't actually have high expectations.

If everything could be solved with deadlines, there wouldn't be so many historical destructions.

That's why being disturbed early in the morning was indeed surprising to her.

She had originally thought this guy would only come running at dusk to humbly apologize.

However, observing the thief's weary yet somewhat excited demeanor, the Mute Girl guessed he probably really did pull an all-nighter and had found significant information.

So she graciously invited him to dine at the hotel's restaurant with her.

The restaurant was particularly quiet after the morning, with few guests.

However, after they sat down, the thief seemed to suddenly cool off from the exhilaration of being up all night, slowly revealing hesitance and anxiety.

"Well..." he rubbed his hands, "I did find someone that meets your requirements."

"Oh? Nicely done," the Mute Girl nodded approvingly, "It seems your claim that your news was even more reliable than a bard's wasn't entirely exaggerated."

"Big Sister, I wouldn't dare to deceive you."

The thief—or rather, the Spiritual Message Catcher—thought back to that night he drunkenly huddled on the street, tearfully selling himself to the Mute Girl, his smile tinged with embarrassment and shame.

"Moreover, thanks to your excellent medical skills, I was able to regain my previous abilities."

He said, instinctively flexing his right hand, which, illuminated by flowing magic power, emitted a faint glow like a spiritual body.

In this city teeming with adventurers, every Silver Level adventurer possessed their own unique specialty.

The Spiritual Message Catcher's abilities were indeed outstanding among them.

He could directly capture the lingering spirit particles in the atmospheric magic element, analyzing and deciphering the desired intelligence from them.

Distribution of magic creatures, their types, map changes, and even treasures' locations...

Once in the Dungeon, the Catcher could collect intelligence at an astonishing pace.

Since it worked in the Dungeon, it naturally worked on the surface as well.

People's footprints, echoing conversations, even remnants of thoughts could be captured to a certain extent.

Thus, despite working alone, the Catcher became a rival to some intelligence organizations due to this ability.

If he could reach Legendary, he might complete preliminary exploration of mid-level Dungeons all on his own, attracting the Adventurer Guild's desire for his power.

However, this is a skill requiring precise control.

After his right hand was cursed, the Catcher not only lost his most crucial capturing tool but his body's magic flow was disrupted, preventing him from returning to his former proficiency.

Fortunately, although he indulged in debauchery in the past, he never used this ability for anything detrimental, mostly just for Dungeon intelligence gathering.

If he had any disgraceful secrets, he might have already ended up dead on the street.

When ordered by the Mute Girl to gather intelligence on "people," he felt some reluctance.

But circumstances outweighed his own thoughts; faced with the pressure of gratitude for saving him, he could only adjust his mindset.

Once he applied his abilities, it took only one night to pinpoint the person the Mute Girl needed.

"Honestly, I didn't expect it myself," the Catcher said, flexing his right hand, "Even though the curse hasn't fully lifted, I can recover to this extent. Perhaps due to Big Sister's magic power, my capture of spiritual messages is even more sensitive now—"

His flattering words contained some genuine feeling.

Recovering to peak state, and even improving further, truly exhilarated him. His initial reluctance to gather private intelligence had long vanished, with him pouring his all into working overnight.

However, the Mute Girl clearly wasn't interested in hearing about the newfound dexterity of his right hand.

"Enough with the flattery," she interrupted impatiently, "Where's the Vanguard I asked you to find?"

Confronted with her question, the Spiritual Message Catcher's words got stuck in his throat, and he hesitated visibly.

"...Oh," Seeing him in this state, the Mute Girl narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "Judging by your timid demeanor, did you hit the jackpot?"

She had tasked the Catcher with finding a teammate who met any of three conditions.

The first was someone like the Catcher himself, a patient needing her intensive treatment.

Simply put, a slave patient she could control.

The second was a person of high moral character, willing to sacrifice for their companions.

In other words, a meat shield ready to die decisively.

If the first could still be helped by luck, the second was entirely demanding, so no wonder the Catcher had initially complained.

And the third...

Seeing that the Mute Girl had guessed the answer, the Catcher nodded with difficulty.

"Yes, I've discovered that tonight... there will be a secret gathering of Dungeon worshipers."

The third condition was, indeed, those heretics fervently worshiping the Dungeon.

"And the suitable Vanguard will appear there."

[Worshiper's Status in the Esoteric Sect (Odd male even female)]

D70+30=(54)=84

[Mute Girl's Declaration (oracle+50)]

D50+50=(39)=89