3. Thief
Before I could even try to smooth things over, five people appeared in a corner of the shrine in a flash of light.
Kim Yun-ho. It was the party of the most popular kid in our class. But one of them wasn't someone who usually hung around Kim Yun-ho.
When Ms. Kwon Chae-a rushed over to check on the students, the attention fortunately shifted that way right away.
"You made it back safely! Now we just need Ji-yu's party to return."
For all that, their armor was caked in blood, but none of them seemed to have any fatal injuries.
Kim Yun-ho exchanged a few words with the teacher, then went over to the other group of male students.
"Lee Min-chan, how much EXP did you guys earn?"
"Us? 60."
"Yeah? I got 85."
This was a bad turn. The conversation naturally drifted toward how much EXP the other parties had earned.
"What? Lee Se-rin got 100? Is she a monster?"
"Yeah. With her, that makes sense. So that puts us in second?"
"No. That guy over there who didn't have a party. Seo Do-hyeon is tied for first, so you guys are third."
"What?"
At that, Kim Yun-ho came over to me and looked me up and down. What? If you've got something to say, say it.
"What's this? Not a scratch on you. You're pretty good, huh?"
I didn't expect him to actually talk to me.
"Still, no way it's 100. What's the real number? You know if you bullshit, it'll come out in a few days when you don't level up, right?"
This was an opportunity. What would be a good number? The girls got 50, the other guys' party got 60, so if it was a number that would let me keep getting permission to solo,
"It's actually 75. I said that because I was afraid the teacher would ban me from soloing if it was low."
"Yeah? At that point, just round it up to a hundred."
Kim Yun-ho laughed like that and clapped me on the back.
"Then we're second. Good luck, third place."
Good luck with what? Kim Yun-ho walked off looking satisfied with himself.
I'd managed to avoid suspicion, but now I'd have to hide my level-up tomorrow. Unless someone could peek at status windows like I could, a level-up wouldn't be discovered. A level-up could be proven by using a 2nd-level feature, but you couldn't prove a feature you didn't have.
The students who'd been shocked that I'd earned 100 EXP at first seemed to accept it once I said 75, and only Ms. Kwon Chae-a came over to warn me not to lie from now on before walking away.
The next person to come find me was Lee Se-rin.
"You."
"Do you know how worried Yu-na was because of you?"
Yu-na. She must mean the class president, Choi Yu-na. The only person who would worry about me, a guy with no friends in class, was the class president.
Even friendless as I was, I wasn't enough of a jerk to say "so what?" here.
"Yeah? Tell her I'm sorry. No, I'll go apologize myself."
"Hey. Seo Do-hyeon."
"What?"
"Apologies are made with actions, not words."
What was she on about?
"You said you earned 75 EXP, right?"
"Then from now on, just hunt with our party."
What was she talking about?
"If you can earn 75 on your own, that means you can pull your weight. Stop making people worry for nothing and join our party."
How was I supposed to refuse this? Since I'd said I earned 75 EXP, I didn't have much justification to turn down a party that earned 100 EXP.
"Wouldn't a guy like me just be a burden if I joined your party? I tried hunting alone today, and it was doable. No need to impose."
"So you're going to hunt alone and die? Stop talking nonsense and move with us starting tomorrow."
She was way more persistent than I expected. No, more than that, why was she going this far? I thought she'd back off if I refused politely.
I could understand the class president being kind-hearted and worrying about me. But did that mean Lee Se-rin would declare she was putting me in her party? After glaring at me like that?
There was a missing gear somewhere. Until I figured out what it was, my options for getting out of this were limited.
Avoidance. Given the current mood, she'd keep hounding me to the end. Running away. That would come back to bite me later.
In that case, I'd meet it head-on. I walked up to Lee Se-rin and whispered in her ear.
"Actually, I'm leveling up tomorrow."
"What?"
Lee Se-rin's expression twisted.
"I'm not lying. I can prove it after hunting tomorrow. So I'm going to decline."
That soloing earned me far more EXP than joining your party. Now that I'd said that, Lee Se-rin had no grounds to keep pushing me.
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"If it turns out I'm lying, I'll join your party then. That good enough?"
"I'll remember those words."
Lee Se-rin backed off like that. I'd had no choice but to spill it, but it wasn't bad. Lee Se-rin wasn't the type to go blabbing it around.
***
After waiting a bit longer, the last girls' party returned, and we left the shrine.
"Then I'll guide you to the inn I scouted."
Ms. Kwon Chae-a said that while we were resting yesterday, she'd talked with the priests and looked for a place to stay. Thanks to the gold coins we'd received instead of our smartphones, our finances were comfortable, but she said if we spent recklessly without a proper income, it would be trouble later.
The teacher led us to a place near the outskirts of the city, and we arrived at a fairly large inn.
"I've already spoken with the owner here. You just pay one gold coin each when you go in."
"How many nights?"
"One night. They provide breakfast and dinner, plus warm water."
"So we can bathe?"
"Not that. They said you can wipe yourself down with warm water."
"One gold coin for that?"
"Other places are similar or worse."
"How many people per room?"
"Two. Okay, questions end here! Let's head inside."
Just as we were about to enter the inn,
"Ow."
A small person passing by collided with one of the female students. He ran off without even apologizing.
"Not even an apology."
The girl who'd fallen dusted off her skirt and stood up, but soon let out a scream.
"It's gone!"
"What is?"
"My coin purse!"
As the girl who'd lost her money started to tear up, Ms. Kwon Chae-a rushed over to check on the students.
"I told you to put important items in your inner pocket and button it, didn't I?"
"Hic."
"I'll cover your lodging fee, so let's go inside for now. It doesn't look like we'd catch him even if we chased him now. We'll go see the guards tomorrow."
Leaving the teacher to comfort the tearful student, I took a gold coin from the inner pocket of my school uniform, handed it to the innkeeper, and was assigned a room.
There were twelve rooms in total. The students took ten rooms at two per room, the teacher had one to herself, and one room was left empty.
My roommate was Kim Deok-su. We'd often rested in the corner together during group activities. He was a heavyset male student who was called "Oh" more often than "Kim." Since we weren't the type to talk much with each other, an awkward silence hung in the air until Kim Deok-su spoke first.
"Soloing. Is it doable?"
"It's okay. You?"
"I thought I was going to die. No, I half died and came back."
And so the grumbling began.
Kim Deok-su had been lucky to get into Kim Yun-ho's party. It just so happened that all four members of Kim Yun-ho's party had good ranged aptitude. Thanks to that, they'd brought in Deok-su, who'd chosen a melee Fighter class.
Once the hunting started, the party got cocky thanks to the animals dying so easily. They left the grasslands around the castle and went deeper into the area.
"Wolves. Real wolves."
Unlike the other animals that could be hunted one by one, wolves were pack hunters.
When five wolves charged at them, they reduced the numbers from range, but three still got in close.
"I blacked out once then, and after getting healing magic, I got back up......"
Not only that, but on the way back, they were apparently ambushed once more by wolves that had hidden themselves.
"I might actually die next time......"
Deok-su's story ended like that, and the room sank back into silence. Just as I was about to speak to break the awkward atmosphere, there was a knock.
"Who is it?"
"They said it's dinner time."
The male student passed the message along and went downstairs.
"Gotta eat."
I said that to the gloomy Deok-su and stood up. He nodded and followed me out.
***
Dinner was better than I expected. No, it wasn't actually good. But expectations are a thing, right?
There was no hot shower, and it was a place where you could get pickpocketed on the street. I'd expected the food to be something that barely filled your stomach, but when I dipped the bread-like thing into the bean stew that came with it, it was passable. There was even a piece of something like a chunk of meat in it.
Once the students were full, they started talking. They sympathized over what everyone had been through, shared efficient ways to earn EXP, and bragged about how they'd overcome dangerous situations.
Just when I was starting to feel like only Deok-su across from me and I were left out of the lively atmosphere, Kim Yun-ho came over to Deok-su.
"A drink for our party's ace!"
Kim Yun-ho said that as he threw an arm around Deok-su's shoulders. In his other hand, he was holding a drink.
"The teacher said it's fine. We're all adults, right?"
Kim Yun-ho went on about how much help Deok-su had been and how they'd beaten the wolves thanks to his exploits.
Deok-su took the cup Kim Yun-ho offered, toasted, downed it, and blended into the group of students. I quietly finished my meal and went up to the room.
A while later, a drunk Deok-su was carried in by Kim Yun-ho's party members and tossed onto the bed.
"We're heading out."
"Yeah."
Deok-su, asleep on the bed, looked happier than before.
***
Outside the window, the sun had already set, and it was the hour when the exhausted students had gone to their rooms and fallen asleep. I fled the room.
'The snoring is way too loud.'
Fortunately, the inn seemed to have good soundproofing, because once I stepped into the hallway and closed the door, the noise was barely audible. Even in the darkness where only moonlight barely shone through the window, the inn was clearly visible to my eyes.
'Should I practice my staff work?'
Right now, my offense basically consisted of staff strikes backed by True Strike. If an enemy appeared at close range, my staff was also the only thing I had to protect myself.
I drew magical symbols in the air and swung the staff over and over, and my arm quickly started to ache. I wasn't even a melee type, so was this kind of practice a waste? I should go practice stealth instead.
I'd failed twice in the dungeon, so I needed to build up a bit more proficiency. I also repeated attempts to lull my mana circuit to sleep several times. Stealth training got boring quickly too, and other thoughts came to mind.
'Should I test out an Authority?'
What came to mind was the Authority of Dream Infiltration. The ability to enter other people's dreams.
In the labyrinth, I didn't know what might happen while using it, so I hadn't used it even on the sleeping goblins, but the inn was safe, right?
If I entered his dream, maybe I could reduce the snoring. Just as I was thinking that and about to open the door again, someone came up the stairs.
Was it the innkeeper? I looked, but it was a small-framed woman I'd never seen before. We'd definitely rented this place, so she couldn't be another adventurer.
The question of who she was resolved itself quickly. The woman was holding a piece of metal and trying to open a locked door.
A thief.
Instead of shouting "thief," I was already casting a spell. I woke my dormant mana circuit and fed mana into the magic circuit. Using my staff as the focus, I unleashed the spell.
"Sleep."
"Hk."
The thief, absorbed in picking the lock, couldn't dodge the spell and fell asleep on the spot.
Good thing I saved the spell.
I went into my room, pushed through the noise, and brought out a rope. Since I'd done it several times before, I bound her limbs easily, then fell into thought.
What do I do with this? She hasn't actually stolen anything yet, so can I report her as a thief and have her locked up?
First, let's check her status window.
［Name］ː Tia
［Race］ː Halfling-Human Mixed Blood
［Level］ː 1 (0 EXP)
［Class］ː Rogue
□STR : 8
■DEX : 18
□CON : 14
■INT : 10
□WIS : 14
□CHA : 12
［Feat］Technician
［Feat］Sharpshooter
Suddenly, I remembered what the Western man had explained about Rogues.
"A Rogue is an expert in all kinds of techniques."
"Aren't they thieves?"
"Because of their nature, many Rogues live in the underworld, but not all Rogues are criminals."
So she was a thief. Well. First, I picked Tia up and carried her into the empty room across from the teacher's.
I tossed her onto the bed, locked the door, and placed my hand on Tia's head. For now, let's practice my Authority on this one.
'Dream Infiltration'
Then a sensation like the world distorting passed, and when I came to my senses, it was broad daylight in Tartarus.
'What just happened?'
『You have entered the target's dream.』
So the Authority worked.
『Affirmative. If you look around, you will find the dream's owner.』
Following Mary's directions, I looked around and saw a little kid playing in a clearing, shooting a bow. She definitely resembled Tia, but she seemed far too young.
『It is presumed to be a dream of her childhood.』
The Tia in the dream was practicing archery alone, over and over. After she'd shot who knows how many times, just as I was thinking about stepping in, someone appeared behind me.
"Big Sis Bel!"
"Practicing again today, Tia?"
"Yeah! When I grow up, I'm going to be an adventurer like you, Big Sis!"
So now she'd become a thief who picked newbies' pockets, but she'd had a dream when she was young? Still, that wasn't a reason to forgive theft.
I'd thought I might learn some important secret or the location of hidden treasure. But the only information I got was an old dream. This Authority of Dream Infiltration didn't seem like much after all.
Just as I was having that thought, an arrow pierced "Big Sis Bel" in the chest.
'Huh?'
Bel collapsed, and Tia wailed over her.
What was going on?
Just as I thought that, the world distorted again.
When I came to, Tia was drenched in cold sweat. My hand was still resting on her head.
'So that's how it ends.'
Probably the Sleep spell's duration of one minute had passed, and she'd woken up on her own. It felt like I'd spent much longer in the dream.
Tia came to her senses, checked her bound limbs, and glared at me. What. Why. You're the thief, not me.
As we faced off like that, Tia was the first to raise the white flag.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Then untie me."
"I was planning to hand you over to the guards at daybreak."
Tia ground her teeth at that.
"Check the pouch on my right hip."
"Huh? This?"
When I checked the pouch, it was stuffed with gold coins. Wait, wasn't this the coin pouch they'd handed out at the shrine?
"I came to return this."
......So it was the thing that had been pickpocketed during the day. She came to return it?
"Why?"
"No matter how much of a beginner you are, how was I supposed to know you'd put your entire fortune in one pouch?"
Was she really here to return it for that reason?
"Looks like some money's missing."
"Tuition. Payment for teaching you how to live in the City of Light."
I'd poked at her for being too conscientious a thief, and sure enough, she had skimmed a bit off.
"Coming back to return it for that reason is pretty suspicious, don't you think?"
"Stealing this much money would be trouble for me too. I'd be punished by the Sky God."
"What, lightning falls from the sky?"
"The guards would tear through the back alleys."
They probably couldn't catch her, but it would make things difficult for a while, she added. And it would cause trouble for the whole back alley.
"Is that all?"
"......If I got the chance, I was planning to collect tuition from the others too."
In other words, she'd planned to skim a few gold coins per person.
"So you are a thief in the end."
"A chance, just give me a chance. You can take all the gold coins in there."
"I'm going to return them to their owner anyway."
"Is there nothing you want stolen? If it's not dangerous, I'll bring it to you."
"No. Do you hate being caught by the guards that much?"
"That's......"
She'd been talking without hesitation until now, but suddenly her words stopped.
Hm, could this be.
"If you've been caught by the guards before, does that mean you can't become an adventurer?"
"How did you figure that out?"
Tia's eyes went wide and she started glaring at me. No, more precisely, at a spot slightly below my face. It was dark, so she probably couldn't see well.
That was a critical piece of information. Thanks to what I'd seen in the dream. Maybe the Authority of Dream Infiltration was a little useful after all.
But just having leverage didn't get me anywhere.
Tia wanted to get away from me. I wanted nothing from Tia.
How do I get out of this bind? Should I make her owe me?
While I was mulling it over, Tia's eyes turned a little strange.
"You. What did you do to me?"
What did she mean, what had I done? I hadn't done a thing. But Tia's condition was clearly off. Her eyes were unfocused and her breathing was getting rough.
『Negative. My lord used the Authority of Dream Infiltration.』
I just went in and got some trivial information.
『Negative. My lord's soul is an Incubus Soul. In a world made only of mind, your mere existence exerts enormous influence.』
So there was a problem like that. Good thing I didn't use it on Deok-su.
"You... coward."
Tia's sharp eyes had already clouded over, and her rigid face was flushed red.
It hadn't been my intention, but before I could explain, Tia had already jumped to her own conclusions.
"Seeing as you did this to me, there's only one thing you want from me."
She said that and clenched her teeth. But there was no resolve left in that expression.
"......Do it."
"Huh?"
"You're planning to do whatever you want with my body tonight, aren't you. It's not like I can refuse anyway. Do as you please."
Click.
When I heard those words, something clicked into place inside me.
"Are you an adult?"
"I just have halfling blood mixed in! I'm probably older than you!"
Click.
I felt something that had been blocking my mind crumble.
"You know what you're saying right now, right?"
Tia answered, squirming in her bonds.
"You lowlife. You're going to do what you want with me anyway, since I can't resist."
Clank.
With everything clicking into place, my hand was already reaching toward Tia.