Only I Am A Reader

Though he might not necessarily lose to one, Leo was no longer a Martial Artist in this world. He still needed the usual level of sustenance.

"It\'s worse than prison food that\'s for sure."

Unfortunately, compared to the great meals he received in the Asterisk, the steak he ordered almost tasted bland.

Of course, the hotel wasn\'t threatened to bring him good food, but those responsible for his capture were, so it all made complete sense.

\'I will have to figure out the food problem after I\'m done with this.\'

Having moderately filled his stomach nonetheless, Leo directly left the room and checked out before marching towards his target.

Now that his mother was no longer there to cook him daily meals, he had to consider personally cooking or going to a proper restaurant.

\'There is no such thing as a perfect start.\'

In all honesty, despite starting with great power, Leo couldn\'t deny that he felt slightly lonely. While he had to start from nothing at the Sword Continent and the Heavenly Furnace, he at least had some warmth to keep him going.

Even the extremely frugal meals he ate at the Orphanage would have probably tasted better if he had the same company…

On the other hand, Cassian was the basic definition of a lone wolf. Though some people of all intentions tried to get closer to him at different stages of life, he pushed them all away.

Among his many rules, his desired revenge could only be achieved by himself. Even if they would have made it easier, Damian never planned on relying on something like a team.

\'It makes sense why he ended up with such a severe case of depression.\'

Cassian\'s midlife crisis might be a common problem even back on Earth, but the reason behind it was easily distinguishable.

As much as his extreme focus had helped him achieve his goal against all odds, it also isolated him from all joys of life, leaving him with nothing to pursue.

Perhaps… This was the reason why Cassian\'s mind took a sudden interest in a common topic like Aurora Dawnbringer, it was trying to reach out for any kind of coping mechanism.

\'Would this have been me as well?\'

Imagining an alternate future where he eventually ran out of books to read, Leo could see himself in Cassian\'s place. That might have been the case… Had he not awakened his True Reading ability.

Now that Leo had seen the many options that life had to offer, he no longer believed that books were his only salvation. He might be a natural Reader, but he was still born human.

\'Should be around here, right?\'

Looking at the desert slum-like street, Leo believed that he reached his destination. The \'City of Villains\' wasn\'t so detailed as to depict the whole process of obtaining this Hidden Piece.

Only a foreshadowing teaser was added to the end of one of the middle chapters. As for the information that Leo was relying on, the villain that would have come here in his place was kind enough to explain it.

\'How could he know? At least he wasn\'t stupid enough to mouth it out.\'

The novel\'s characters weren\'t so poorly written as to have a villain who explained everything he did and was about to do. However, Leo\'s typical advantage still applied. He was a reader.

The villain just mentally retraced his steps until his climax point, being proud of the success of his long-brewing schemes. Unfortunately for him, that gave Leo the sneak peek he needed to come here.

\'It\'s almost a miracle that this place is still like this.\'

Over the years, New Enigma City had long become the focal point of humanity\'s advancement. With more and more special Ability Users being born, technology and business alike were on the brink of a breakthrough.

Yet, small blindspots like these still existed all over the city. These remnants of a dark past were the perfect reminder of humanity\'s inherent bias.

Aside from a select few, everyone went on with their life as long as these unpleasant sights never reached their eyes.

In fact, there were people who lived in areas like this around the city just because they couldn\'t afford to leave. The advanced city life wasn\'t for everyone as it was advertised.

\'This one is completely abandoned though.\'

The blindspot that contained Leo\'s target was no better than an abandoned mission, albeit on a larger scale. A few short patched-up buildings stood in front of him, and now he had to go through them all.

Just not all Gates reached \'break\' status after the same period of time, not all Gates made sure that everyone was aware of their presence.

Even for those with sensory abilities or detection devices, some Gates remained hidden until the last moment possible. Leo\'s target was one such Irregular Gate, and it was hiding within one of these buildings.

"This shouldn\'t take too long."

Not only was it impossible to sense, but this specific Gate basically vanished during the day and re-emerged at night, nightfall wasn\'t just a condition for entry but also necessary for recognition.

As such, even though Leo knew he would still have to spend some time at this location, he couldn\'t leave early to get a headstart…

\'It might not be all-encompassing like Martial Arts, but…\'

Thankfully, Leo had the perfect ability to skip this side quest. Cassian\'s multitude of branching abilities was definitely the most convenient, and Shadow Movement was the peak of it!

Since he didn\'t have to care about being weakened during this quick search, Leo let his shadow carry him through each building as he gave them a quick scan.

Each building still took a few minutes as Leo was being thorough. However, his search was cut short before he went through half of them.

"There we go."

Power returned to Leo\'s body as the dim light in the room empowered his shadow. Nonetheless, even though the suspended circle acted as a source of light, it couldn\'t hide the sinister darkness lying within…