A Genius's Swoop: Stealing Dust from the Gnome Warehouse
Ethan received his notebook with an expression that looked like he had bitten into something that had already been spat out.
“..Well, it’s getting late, so I’ll head out first.”
He bowed and turned to leave when—
“Wait a second!”
The gnome snapped his fingers.
“There’s just one little thing I can’t shake off!”
“…”
“Don’t stare at me like that! This time it’s for real!”
Ethan’s expectations had already hit rock bottom.
“See those two swallows over there? They wake the dawn when they fall into the sea, right?”
“Yes.”
“The phrase ‘wake the dawn’ from the Empire is an ancient expression that isn’t used much anymore!”
“When is it used?”
“It isn’t used at all!”
What kind of nonsense was that?
“But there was a time when it was used!”
“When?”
The gnome scratched his head with a claw.
“Hmm… about four hundred years ago? When Solitaire was still alive?”
Ethan’s eyes widened.
“So you know what that means?”
“Uh… hold on! I have some books I was keeping here!”
The gnome dashed toward the pile of books.
Whoosh. A mountain of scrolls flew toward Ethan.
Ethan caught them like a slimes would, neatly stacking and organizing them.
“Found it!”
The gnome leaped out with a book three times the size of himself.
Every page in the books he threw was covered with the same word.
“Why are there so many books about Solitaire?”
“I wrote my graduation thesis on that!”
Ho.
This was quite the discovery.
“So did you study the Founding Hero’s sword scars too?”
If he knew that as well, this was a jackpot.
‘I might even be able to cover Felix’s Professor’s skills lesson SCI-level assignment.’
The gnome proudly thumped his massive chest.
“Of course! When researching the founder of the nation, you look into every aspect—stealth, attack, and projectile techniques. It’s only natural!”
“Wow, you really are a top senior. No one can do anything they want.”
“You know something after all! What a rare junior!”
When Ethan gave him a double thumbs-up with flattery, the gnome puffed up proudly.
“Of course! Hehe! If you want, I can even give you the old master-level reference materials I gathered long ago!”
Ethan accepted a single stone etched with a sword scar from the gnome.
‘Let me just… check.’
Ethan closed his eyes and concentrated.
A mist swirled beneath his feet.
When he glanced slightly sideways, a semi-transparent silhouette appeared in the mist.
It was a young master carving a sword scar with the tip of his sword, then pulling it away.
‘Ah… so the sword scar for stealth techniques is carved with the handle, not the blade!’
Only now could Ethan truly understand Professor Felix’s words.
‘When leaving sword scars for stealth techniques, he told me not to use the sword.’
With the mist, it was clear.
This was the trace of the stealth technique left behind by the Founding Master Valois Solitaire.
Ethan felt a different sensation from the attack techniques he had seen from behind the reinforced wall.
‘If that’s the case… I should be able to survive Professor Felix’s skills lesson.’
As Ethan reached for the stone, a tiny hand grabbed his arm.
“Hey! You want to take the master’s sword scar just like that? To do that, you have to complete my request first!”
“Ah, right.”
“I’m giving out a lot because a really good junior showed up after a long time!”
Ethan swallowed hard.
‘I heard even lower-grade master sword scars sell for a lot.’
‘The sword scar of the hero they called Solitaire would cost a fortune.’
‘Is it not some kind of request like “bring me a gray wolf”?’
“Tell me the request.”
The gnome smiled faintly and raised both hands.
“Clean this place thoroughly!”
What?
It wasn’t anything special, was it?
Ethan’s eyes sparkled.
“Just cleaning?”
“Yep! Then I’ll throw in the Solitaire book I put on that stone too! That’s expensive too!”
Oh, this was honey.
A master sword scar and a Solitaire book on top of that.
Even if buying whole books was already rarer than hunting stars in the sky these days.
Sweeping this tiny office and getting a sword scar and history book in return.
‘This is truly a big harvest.’
Ethan hummed a tune as he picked up the cleaning tools from the corner.
“Then I’ll clean…”
“Hm? Why are you doing that from over there? You’re supposed to clean here!”
The gnome opened the door at the back of the personnel office.
*
Ethan waved a pink apron and a mask with lifeless eyes.
“Seniors Gnome.”
“Call me Gnome!”
“Gnome sir.”
Ethan sighed while looking up at the sky-high ceiling.
“The office is house-sized, but why is the warehouse so huge?”
“What’s ‘huge’ to you, Ethan?”
“No, nothing.”
The warehouse of the Gnome Employment Office was nearly the size of a steel mill hub.
‘Damn… this is terrible.’
But he couldn’t back out.
He had already said he would do it, and if he left now without finishing, he didn’t know what Gnome would tell the dean.
“When I’m done, call me! By the way, the deadline is today! If I can’t finish by midnight, the promise is broken!”
“Eh? What… Hey!”
“I’ll check later too! Make sure it’s spotless!”
Bang.
Ethan looked at the closed door and swept his hair back.
“Well… if I start, I’ll finish it.”
He began sweeping from the corner of the enormous warehouse.
*
Two hours later.
“I can’t do this.”
Ethan threw the broom on the floor.
Clang!
“How many people can I actually call right now.”
Ethan folded one finger after another.
Cera, Dormuut, Carson, Iskra…
Iria the princess and Kaion wouldn’t come even if called.
The 1st Dormitory students…
“Ugh…”
He hadn’t even called all his classmates.
“The warehouse is too big.”
Even if he mobilized all Thief Academy students, it was questionable whether they could finish today.
“Having so many cleaning tools enchanted for cleanliness… where am I supposed to use them, little senior…”
Ethan glared at the brooms lined up in the corner.
They would double the speed of sweeping and cleaning, he had boasted.
“Unbelievable.”
Whether he transferred water with a spray bottle or a bucket, when the amount of water to move was the size of the Indian Ocean, what good was that?
Kingly.
Slam.
“What am I supposed to do… I’m supposed to clean this vast space…”
He couldn’t break the promise and run away.
He had heard since childhood that breaking a promise made to a fairy was like breaking a contract.
“I wonder if he’ll even treat me like a junior.”
That couldn’t be.
“Even the Goddess Vespera couldn’t cancel that contract.”
Even though he was a graduate of the Thief Academy.
He couldn’t be strong enough to break a fairy’s promise and send Ethan away.
Fairy promises were absolute.
“Hmm…”
How could he clean this incredible space?
“I’ll lay some mist, maybe?”
For some reason, ever since he absorbed the Piece of the World, he had been able to manipulate mist.
The floor swirled with mist.
When he concentrated a little more, it quickly reached his knees.
Swoosh.
Ethan pulled a stone with a sword scar from his pocket.
It wasn’t the one he had agreed to take earlier; he had simply picked up one that was rolling around.
“Hmm… the posture looks a bit like fishing.”
A semi-transparent master carved the tip of his sword against the stone, then withdrew it.
“Eh?”
A thought flashed through his mind.
“I wonder if I can apply this to clean.”
Ethan made his decision.
After all, if he went back to the dorm, he would have to practice stealth techniques anyway.
“It would be better to max it out here.”
Even better.
Ethan entered training mode.
He took out a bundle of scrolls from his pocket.
*
Luckily, Ethan had brought the notebook he had taken notes in during Spirit Operation and Skills lessons.
He unfolded the notebook on the floor and checked each action one by one.
“I could use it immediately when stealing a pocket watch, but now that I have to be conscious of the movements, it feels forced.”
There had been a lot to learn in the meantime.
It was necessary to review them one by one.
My current plan was as follows.
1. Practice stealth techniques and Spirit Operation.
2. Combine the two to create a void absorption.
3. Sweep up the trash and dust in the warehouse.
Although it seemed the difficulty would skyrocket because he had to create a void absorption,
“Stealth techniques are easy enough.”
There was no need to move the hands precisely to avoid being noticed, so it was relatively easy.
Moreover, the dust and trash didn’t move from their positions.
It was even easier than stealing moving objects.
“Then I’ll review them one by one from now on.”
First.
“Stealth techniques are easier than attack techniques.”
If attack had to follow a target’s point continuously,
stealth only required hitting the point exactly once.
“But don’t think of something like a rapid slash. That’s a movement of the blade itself.”
Focus on the movement of the point and strike the energy with a fork-like precision.
Since he had stolen a pocket watch at long range before, the sensation should remain.
It probably wouldn’t be hard to recreate.
“Let’s gather the energy.”
Ethan concentrated.
Ssssh.
Mist settled on the floor of the warehouse again.
When Ethan opened his eyes, the mist cleared.
Reaching toward a pile of scrap metal three steps ahead.
“Void Absorption.”
He didn’t need to chant the skill name, but he couldn’t hold back.
The mist turned green and was sucked toward Ethan’s fingertips.
The second circle in the left upper corner of his forearm tattoo glowed.
Shoo!
Invisible energy burst from the tip of Ethan’s hand and touched the scrap metal.
Ka-kaang!
The scrap metal flew toward Ethan’s hand as if an electromagnet had activated.
Clang!
The corner of Ethan’s mouth lifted in satisfaction.
“Good. Success.”
His body was fine.
“It’s doable.”
Now it was one go.
Ethan raised both arms in a cheer and pointed them toward the warehouse.
When he closed his eyes and concentrated, the mist extended and filled the entire warehouse.
The energy gathered and was sucked into Ethan’s two hands.
The tattoo circles shone brilliantly.
“Void Absorption!”
A formless energy burst from the tips of Ethan’s hands, spreading in all directions.
“Get in!”
Ethan dodged the flying trash by hiding behind an iron crate he had placed there.
Trash and scrap metal that touched the invisible energy all flew toward Ethan at once.