Chapter 2: Thief, But With a Side of Terminal Illness (2)

On a night when even the moonlight was shrouded in darkness, a shadow darted across the academy grounds.

His movements were astonishingly light and so swift they were nearly invisible.

As if the darkness before him posed no obstacle at all, he glided freely through streets as dark as the deep sea.

Soon, he arrived at a building.

Even in the pitch-black darkness, it faintly emitted the lingering glow of magical resonance.

It was unmistakably distinct from the other academic buildings he had passed.

[Magitech Research Institute]

A key facility within the academy, dedicated to the study of magic, science, and the otherworldly power known as occultology.

Recently, the empire’s interest in magitech had been steadily rising.

As a result, this place buzzed with daily advancements and projects, with active research ongoing.

His reason for coming here was deeply tied to this.

That morning, he had received intel that an artifact had arrived at the academy and been transported to the Magitech Research Institute.

The artifact’s name was ‘Might of the Giant.’

It was an artifact he, an artifact hunter, had been chasing for a full year.

‘This time, I’ll get it for sure.’

Artifacts were items whose value was determined by their rarity.

They were nearly impossible to craft, as difficult to obtain as plucking stars from the sky, and each possessed unique abilities.

Of course, some were duds, but from what he had learned, ‘Might of the Giant’ was the real deal among the real.

In fact, he had once held ‘Might of the Giant’ in his hands.

Half a year ago, by raiding a caravan.

Yes, back then, he had been a bandit.

But he had been betrayed by the real bandits he had enlisted, and they had stolen ‘Might of the Giant’ from him.

And so, through twists and turns, it had ended up here.

“…Damn bastards.”

Truthfully, he didn’t care what others called his trade.

As long as he achieved his goal, he didn’t mind being a bandit, a thief, or even a grave robber digging up someone’s tomb.

Tonight, he was a night thief robbing the academy.

“Once this job’s done, I’ll take a break for a while.”

Muttering to himself, he scaled the research institute’s wall and headed toward the lab where he suspected ‘Might of the Giant’ was kept.

The process wasn’t entirely smooth.

Despite his utmost caution, he was eventually spotted by a patrolling magitech puppet.

[Intruder…]

Crack!

“Shut up, you tin can.”

He swiftly threw a dagger, shattering the puppet’s alarm system.

Then, he charged at the staggering puppet, drew his longsword, and swung it toward the core in its chest.

Crunch!

The magitech core shattered like glass dust, and the puppet’s body went limp.

From detection to neutralization, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

He let out a faint sigh.

“That was close.”

A moment later, and the alarm would have sounded.

Then the academy’s security force would have come rushing.

As an artifact hunter, magitech puppets were small fry to him, but the security force was another story.

“Best to avoid those guys. Definitely.”

After that, he was spotted by a few more puppets but dealt with them in the same way.

However, the more time he wasted, the greater the risk, so he quickened his pace.

“Where is it, where is it, where… huh?”

Here it is! he exclaimed instinctively.

Lab 4.

And below it, the research title: ‘Artifact Decomposition.’

Damn it.

Decomposition.

If he had arrived even a day later, he might have lost it forever.

“Lucky me.”

He flashed a slight smile.

Tonight, ‘Might of the Giant’ would leave this place with him.

The lab door was secured with a thick lock.

There were no magical mechanisms.

Picking an old-fashioned lock like this was child’s play for him.

He pulled out a small pin and easily unlocked it.

Click!

The door opened.

With a bright expression, he gazed at the glass case where the artifact was stored.

But his face soon hardened.

“…It’s not here?”

Inside the glass case.

Where ‘Might of the Giant’ should have been, there was nothing.

What the hell? Panic surged in that moment.

But he was a professional, and he knew all too well that in times like this, he had to stay calm.

He quickly scanned the surroundings.

A pristine lab.

No signs of a break-in, only the glass case’s stopper lying alone on the floor.

Had a researcher moved it elsewhere?

He absentmindedly picked up the stopper from the floor.

And then dropped it again.

“Ugh. What’s that?”

A searing heat stung his palm.

He crouched down and closely examined the dropped stopper.

And soon, he realized everything.

He vaguely recalled hearing rumors about those who had mastered a peculiar technique for forcibly dismantling magical arrays.

Known as the Night Clan, they were thieves who once ruled the nights of the capital, Icata.

It was said that when they dismantled a magical array, the spot would be left with nothing but the scorching heat of burned-out mana.

Sure enough, the stopper bore an engraved sealing array.

Or rather, it had borne one.

…Until just moments ago.

Crackle!

He hurriedly dashed out of the lab.

Stepping over the wreckage of the magitech puppet strewn across the hallway, he retraced his infiltration route and exited the research institute.

The lingering heat meant one thing.

The sealing array had only recently been broken.

That meant that until he had entered this place, ‘Might of the Giant’ had been inside that glass case.

Which, in turn, meant the thief had only just escaped.

Outside the research institute.

A large full moon now hung in the night sky.

Heavy silence and dazzling moonlight.

And within it, a man letting out a hollow laugh.

That was the last scene the full moon saw before it was once again veiled by clouds.

Soon, the surroundings were cloaked in darkness, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

“Crazy. Hey. Look over there.”

“What? Where?”

“There. The guy running toward us. Isn’t that the face I know?”

Intense gazes landed on me.

They came from two female cadets walking ahead.

The red emblem embroidered on their robes signified the 889th class.

They had just finished their first year and were about to become second-years, making them my juniors by a year.

…So, inwardly, I hoped for a greeting.

Thud!

And nothing happened.

They hurriedly stepped aside, and I merely passed by them.

In the passing breeze, their voices slipped into my ears.

“It’s him, right? Gerard! It’s him, isn’t it?”

“Huh? I’m not sure. I’ve never met him since enrolling. I’ve only heard rumors.”

“Really? Well, I guess that makes sense. That guy’s such a weirdo.”

[Sharp Perception] is undoubtedly a great trait.

But in moments like this, I hate it.

Because it makes me hear things I don’t want to.

“But what’s that guy doing at this hour?”

“He’s jogging.”

“What? Jogging? Is he insane? Did he boil and eat goblin dung or something?”

Was the old me the kind of person who’d only jog after boiling and eating goblin dung?

Really?

I stopped running and looked back.

The girls, who had been gossiping about me, flinched as if they’d seen an ogre and turned their heads.

I was curious.

I thought about asking, but decided against it.

With those looks of disgust, I’m not clueless enough to bother.

Well, it’s not like this is the first time.

Yesterday, the day before.

Even thirty minutes ago, I went through something similar, so I’m practically immune by now.

“My heart nearly dropped. Why’d he suddenly turn around? Did he hear us?”

“No way. But he’s exactly like the rumors.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. His face looks totally pissed off.”

I picked up my pace.

Until the sound of their giggling laughter faded completely.

Tap! Tap!

As they said, it was early dawn.

Since the semester hadn’t started yet, there weren’t many people around, but it wasn’t completely deserted.

Like just now, some second-year cadets were up early for training, and I’d occasionally pass professors or staff who didn’t sleep in, or academy security guards on patrol.

Even the gardeners tending the flowerbeds for the academy’s aesthetics or the cleaners picking up trash.

Of course, not a single person acknowledged me.

Even excluding strangers, even those who seemed familiar didn’t bother greeting me.

It’s only natural.

Because I’m Gerard.

The academy’s worst cadet.

To take a break, I plopped down on a bench in an empty clearing.

I pulled out my water bottle and gulped it down when I sensed someone stirring nearby.

Hmm. Seems I wasn’t alone. A glance revealed an old cleaner.

The old man was engrossed in his work, whether I was there or not.

I focused on resting, sipping water now and then.

After finishing the bottle, I tossed the empty container toward a distant trash can.

Clang, the bottle hit the side of the can and bounced off.

“Damn. Almost made it.”

I grimaced and let out a small sigh.

But then a problem arose.

The bottle had bounced in the direction of the old cleaner.

It rolled and stopped right at his feet.

“Hey! What kind of lowlife!”

Naturally, the old man glared at me with narrowed eyes.

But then, oddly, he flinched, cleared his throat, and turned away.

Once again, I realized.

Oh. I must really look like I’ve got a bad temper.

But the old man didn’t just leave.

“They say you live as you look. What a temper. Tsk tsk.”

It was my fault, so I stayed quiet.

As time passed and our presence faded from each other’s awareness,

The old man, who had been picking up trash nearby, suddenly spoke.

[…You did it. I recall this mission was quite challenging.]

It was a low voice.

Completely different from the grumbling tone earlier, it was clear and vibrant, like that of a young man.

And it wasn’t carried through the air but transmitted directly to my mind.

The thieves’ technique, [Whisper].

I glanced at him.

He was still focused on cleaning, three meters away.

I gave a small nod.

[It was.]

Suddenly, I recalled the job from earlier that dawn.

The Magitech Research Institute.

Indeed, that mission was tougher than the previous ones.

It felt like the difficulty had spiked out of nowhere.

[Are you unharmed?]

[Fine.]

[Well done. This will surely solidify the cult’s trust in us.]

Well, probably.

I had flawlessly completed all five missions over the past two months.

If the trust level didn’t rise after all that effort, that’d be pretty disappointing in its own way.

This cleaner was none other than Luis, the butler of Shadow.

While I carried out the operations in the front, he supported me from behind, and he also served as a liaison, passing on the cult’s missions to me, as he was doing now.

Unlike me, who had infiltrated as a cadet, he was skilled in disguise and assisted me by posing as a cleaner, like now.

A week ago, he had relayed the cult’s mission to steal an artifact named ‘Might of the Giant.’

This dawn, I had successfully completed it, and I had placed the result inside the water bottle just moments ago.

Inside the bottle was a ring-shaped artifact.

After a brief glance at each other, we both turned away.

I covered my mouth, pretending to yawn, and asked.

[How’s the guild reconstruction going?]

[Fortunately, we found a good location. No need to worry about security, and it’s not far from the academy.]

That was welcome news.

[Where?]

[Royal Road.]

I thought I misheard.

[Where?]

[Royal Road.]

I heard right.

[Wait, isn’t that the fancy district where all the high-class nobles live? A damn tiger’s den. Doesn’t that make it more worrying for our safety?]

[The darkest place is under the lamp. It’s not finalized yet. The budget’s tight.]

True, setting up a base in Royal Road would require far more than the rewards we’ve earned so far.

We’d probably need to pull off four more missions like today’s to afford even a small shop’s rent.

I mulled over this for a bit but then let it go.

Luis would handle it.

Rather than me, who still didn’t fully understand how this world worked, it was better to rely on Luis’s insight, honed over years of managing the guild’s finances… That’s an excuse.

Honestly, I’m just too busy trying to survive right now.

I didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about the guild yet.

[Anyway, there won’t be any new missions for the next week. With the entrance festival starting tomorrow, there’ll be crowds and heightened security, so they’re likely being cautious.]

The entrance festival.

Time’s already come to that, huh?

It feels like just yesterday that I possessed this body, barely coming to my senses before Luis dumped this shitty reality on me.

In reality, two months have passed.

That’s how intensely I’ve been living.

In all my thirty years on Earth, I’ve never lived this frantically.

It was a struggle for survival, and even if I could go back, I doubt I’d live this hard again.

Honestly, if I still die after all this, I’ll just accept it as my fate.

That’s how much I’ve given my all these past two months.

[Are you pleased?]

[With what.]

[You’ve been smiling.]

Caught off guard, I hurriedly wiped the smile off my face.

Kinda embarrassing.

[It’s nothing. Guess I just smiled unconsciously because there’s no mission for a week. Don’t mind it.]

Luis nodded without suspicion.

[Fair enough. Once the semester starts and the curriculum kicks in, you’ll be swamped. Better rest up now. Catch up on maintenance. Enjoy the festival a bit.]

I mumbled an agreement, but inwardly, a bitter smile formed.

Enjoy the entrance festival, huh.

If he knew what events would unfold then, and what I’d have to do amidst that chaos,

Would Luis still say that to me?

The entrance ceremony.

The starting point of the game’s opening, where the main storyline begins to flow.

But for me, it’s the day my future—my fate—will be decided by a critical endeavor.

And the outcome is one of two.

Jackpot or bust.

No, that’s not right.

For me, teetering on the tightrope between life and death, it’s survival or death.

That’s why this job has to succeed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep