Ambushed by Thieves
Thieves? No—as Namgung Seojun's party navigated the maze of the bonus 18th floor, his mapping skill picked up another group. 'What the hell? This... that's way too big a group.' It was around forty strong. Given that typical adventurer parties in the 10th floor sections numbered fewer than twenty, the odds were high this was a band of thieves.
'Let's steer clear.' Seojun led his party on a slight detour to avoid them. But then, from another direction, another group of about forty approached.
"Damn it! Battle stations!"
Namgung Seojun's Super Sense told him these two groups were deliberately herding his party. He judged that preparing for combat right now was the best move and waited for the thieves to close in.
"Ooh!"
"Hoo!!!"
"Wooow!!"
The thieves charged with shouts to seize the initiative. But since they hadn't drawn their weapons yet, Seojun waited for them to strike first. To cover himself in case of later disputes, he needed the recording orb to capture proof that the enemy attacked first. If he struck prematurely by mistake, thieves often lied afterward, claiming they'd been counterattacked after their own "first strike."
The thieves held back as well. They kept a safe distance, just yelling to stall until their comrades cut off the party's retreat. Moments later, thieves appeared from the opposite side too. Exactly eighty-three thieves, split evenly to block Seojun's party from front and back.
He checked their status windows with God's Eye. Fortunately, despite their numbers, there weren't any overwhelmingly threatening foes.
"Easier than it looks. Stay calm, everyone. Shields up. Guho, Firebolt on my signal only."
At his command, the party raised shields, and Lee Guho cast Firebolt to intimidate.
The thief leader stepped forward, eyeing Namgung Seojun's party greedily.
"Oho. Nice haul."
From the thief leader's perspective, Seojun's party was prime merchandise. Adventurers using magic this low down, plus good-looking ones like Gisohee and Yuki—it was a jackpot.
"Heh heh heh, Boss, this party's loaded. Filthy rich!"
The man who stepped up beside him was a familiar face.
"Liu Dajing."
Namgung Seojun barely swallowed his rising fury at the sight of Liu Dajing, whom he hadn't seen in ages. Liu Dajing had defected from the party straight into this thief band—and he'd fed them intel on Seojun's group.
"An inviter party? That's risky, ain't it?"
"Nah! Sure, they've got a mage, but it's just a ten-man party."
The "ten-man" bit reassured the thief leader. No matter the inviters, sheer numbers made it manageable.
"Party's got a mage, and the girls are top-shelf lookers."
"Not bad... but is it worth the hassle?"
Mages and pretty girls fetched high prices, but the inviter risk wasn't worth it.
"Plus, this party's rich. I snuck a peek in the leader's pouch—easily over three hundred gold."
"What? For real? That loaded down here?"
"Yep! And the leader's weapon? Gotta be high-grade unique."
The promise of cash and a unique weapon sealed it. The thief leader decided to attack Namgung Seojun's party. He smirked leisurely and called out.
"Alright, let's talk terms. Hand over that sword and the girl with healing skills. Do that, and I'll let you walk."
It was an obvious lie, of course. Seojun's Super Sense picked it up instantly.
"Bullshit."
"Oh-ho."
The thief leader overacted his surprise.
"I offer a generous out, and that's how you respond?"
The other thieves sighed and sneered pityingly at Seojun, but the party's morale held firm. They trusted his judgment.
"Fine... guess cheap tricks won't shake you. Lads! Charge!!"
"Waaah!"
The thieves rushed from both flanks.
"Firebolt! Magic Missile!"
"Dagger toss!"
"Power Shot!"
"Thrust!"
The thieves charged boldly, but several dropped before even closing in. Lee Guho's spells alone took five out of commission in one go.
The thief leader bellowed, "Take out the mage first!"
At the same moment, Namgung Seojun shouted, "Defend around Guho!"
A fierce skirmish erupted with Lee Guho at the center. Jo Jaehun and Kim Hoon anchored the shield wall as the party held.
"Hold! Hold no matter what!"
Jo Jaehun's roar, laced with fury, made everyone grip their shields tighter.
"Break through! Break 'em!!"
The thieves hammered relentlessly with swords and axes. The party defended desperately.
Namgung Seojun was the exception, positioned slightly apart. He systematically cut down the thieves sticking to him.
"Argh!!"
After dropping the four on him, Seojun turned toward the thief leader. Only then did the leader notice.
"Third squad, kill that guy."
Eight more thieves rushed him. Outnumbered eight-to-one, Seojun held the edge with Domain Insight, Super Sense, and Prediction.
"Magic Missile! Magic Missile!!"
By Lee Guho's sixth spell, over thirty thieves lay fallen. Neither his magic nor Seojun's blade could be stopped.
"......"
The thieves sensed the tide turning. Their allies kept dying, yet Seojun's guards held, and bodies piled around him.
"Ah... no way!"
One thief bolted first, igniting a rout.
"Run!"
"We can't win!"
"I ain't dying here."
They scattered in disarray, revealing the thief mob's true nature—no camaraderie, no discipline.
"Damn it!"
As his men fled, the thief leader ran too, with Liu Dajing and his elites in tow.
"You said they weren't that tough! Easy pickings!"
Liu Dajing had no retort. He'd barely seen the party fight thieves—only monsters, and lightly at that. Above all, back when he was around, Lee Guho lacked multi-casting, so no one expected this barrage of spells.
"Boss! He's coming!"
Namgung Seojun pursued the fleeing thief leader and his crew. The leader promptly drew his sword and stabbed Liu Dajing's leg from behind.
"Aaaagh!!"
As Liu Dajing crumpled, the leader hoped he'd buy even ten seconds and fled with his men.
Seojun caught sight of Liu Dajing bleeding from the calf.
"L-Leader... mercy......"
Before the plea finished, Seojun swung lightly.
Whoosh. Thud... thud...
Liu Dajing's head parted easily from his body. Seojun resumed the chase. The traitor hadn't even lasted the ten seconds the leader hoped for.
"Boss is ahead."
As Seojun closed in again, the thief leader sized him up.
'Not a fight I can win.'
His loyal elites—the ones who'd kept the band alive for years—mattered less than his own skin.
"Sorry!"
The thief leader vaulted a maze wall over three meters high and fled. His skill, Wall Jump, was a rare-grade but exceedingly scarce ability. In the dark mazes of the 10th floor sections, it was top-tier. No one could chase him over such walls.
It had let him survive high-level extermination squads for over twenty years as a thief.
Abandoned, his men plunged deeper into the maze's shadows anyway, desperate to live. Namgung Seojun faced a choice: pursue the wall-jumper or the path-fleeing elites?
Luckily, the dilemma resolved instantly. Super Sense screamed to go for the leader—and despite the wall, Seojun had his cheat skill, mapping.
"Hah... hah... this should be safe?"
The thief leader had leaped two walls nonstop, thinking himself clear. Then—
Tap... tap. Tap-tap!
Pursuit footsteps echoed.
'What?'
He Wall Jumped another wall.
'Jumped again.'
Seojun tracked via mapping, took the shortest path, and sprinted with sylph buffs boosting his speed. No matter how many walls, he pursued.
Thirty minutes later, the thief leader's mana ran dry—he couldn't flee.
Wall Jump ruled the 10th floors, but mapping perfectly countered it. No wall could hide from the map.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
Out of options, the thief leader drew his sword for a last stand.
"I've... survived over twenty years here... I won't go down like this!"
Seojun knew he was level 30 adventurer-tier but lacked real combat prowess, so he grinned and raised his blade.
"Die!"
The leader lunged, but Seojun dodged a few strikes and countered twice—enough to subdue him.
While the party cleaned up the battlefield, sorting corpses and prisoners, they waited at the fight site for Namgung Seojun.
"Hyungnim, you're back."
Lee Guho greeted him first. Seojun dropped the slung-over thief leader.
Thud!
"Argh!!"
The leader, arms severed and in agony, screamed—but no one cared.
Namgung Seojun announced, "Got the thief leader too. Let's head to the nearest village and hand over the prisoners."
Half a day later, they reached Siyeong, a tiny village of about four hundred souls but with a proper temple of the main god.
Seojun's party reported the thief battle at the temple and turned over the captives. The priest gaped at the prisoners.
"Whoa!! Incredible!!"
He exclaimed with genuine awe.
"Catching a monster like this! As expected of inviters!!"
The captured leader was infamous. For over twenty years, he'd terrorized the 10th floors, victimizing countless adventurers. His bounty was a whopping hundred gold, plus massive merit points.
High-level squads had purged the area multiple times, yet he'd never been caught.
Seojun's party had taken him alive.
"I can't emphasize enough... truly impressive!"
The priest repeatedly praised their feat. The party figured they'd just nabbed a tough one, but the settlement blew their minds.
"Bounty on this thief: hundred gold. Temples of the main god and goddess add hefty merit points too. Exactly 29,000."
The leader was a walking treasure goblin—no, a merit point goblin. The party scored huge.
Super Sense had guided them perfectly: dragging Liu Dajing along netted direction skills to 15th floor and this massive haul on 18th.
Namgung Seojun reconfirmed: it always led to the optimal choice.
They collected gold from the temple and certified shop, distributed merit points to regular members, and hit the inn for splits. For once, the party unanimously agreed.
"Seojun, take all the gold this time."
"Even giving you our merit points feels stingy."
"You nabbed the leader—7,500+ merit points alone is a godsend. Gold's all yours, hyungnim."
Seojun chuckled at their words.
"Then let's have a full-party beer bash for old times' sake. On me!"
"Yes! Sounds great, hyungnim!!"
Lee Guho whooped loudest. As the party drank, night deepened in Siyeong village on the 18th floor.