Thieves Strike from Behind

I carefully opened the system window.

The moment to put this to real use had finally arrived.

I tapped the notification I'd been ignoring, and something familiar filled my vision at once.

"Let us go downstairs, Sora. Mina."

"Ah, okay!"

"Sounds exciting. Of course, Orabeoni!"

The Thief Guild.

In Dragon Gate RPG, you uncovered the existing thieves' guild conspiracy through the Thief class questline, defeated a humanoid boss, and claimed ownership of the place. Now, as the notification said, you simply selected a location and "bestowed" a Thief Guild upon it — the same way a Warrior claimed a territory.

Well then... time to head down and take a look.

"Oh, Oppa... so what are the benefits of a Thief Guild, exactly? Just from the name, it sounds like the main point is stealing things or assassinating people..."

Han Sora, who didn't know Dragon Gate RPG, asked the question. Heh. Finally, a chance to play the expert in front of Sora.

"Think of it like the adventurers' guilds from fantasy novels. You accept ranked commissions, and when we adventurers — meaning us — complete them, we receive experience, gold, and sometimes even special items as rewards."

"Ah, I-I get it right away!"

"You mean those adventurers' guilds that show up constantly in isekai stories? Honestly, they always feel like a worldwide organization that just fantasy-fied a pawn shop. The unrealism is exactly what makes them so fantasy!"

Yun Mina's comparison was honestly pretty funny.

I strode down the stairs without hesitation — and then felt, on my own skin, just how uncomfortably accurate that comparison really was.

"Hmm...?"

"W-wait? Was the basement of the National Assembly Building always... like this?"

"Whoa? What is this... a wooden building inside a concrete one?"

Exactly as Yun Mina said.

The basement had been completely transformed.

It was covered wall to wall in timber and wooden planks, as if it had always been a wooden house. The long concrete corridors were simply gone. In their place, dead center, stood a single door with a worn but ominous inscription hanging above it.

A motto that could not have suited a Thief Guild better.

"Stay close and follow me."

"Y-yes...!"

"Yes! Official permission to cling to Oppa~"

"Hey! Hey!"

"What? Got a problem? Take it up with Oppa, Se. Ni. Or.?"

"Uuuugh...!"

These two's banter is hilarious. So hilarious I want to hear it in bed t—

Ahem. Better open the door already.

Creeeeak...!

With a spine-crawling groan from where the wooden door met the wall, we got our first look at the transformed basement interior.

It was dark overall. Lamps cast light here and there, but none of them were large. Thanks to those flickering flames, we could make out that each table had a lamp set on top of it.

Strangely, though, there was nothing but tables. The reception counter you'd expect from an adventurers' guild — the place where commissions were posted and accepted — was nowhere to be found.

Instead, in the wavering lamplight, a figure sat in place with a hood pulled low and a robe covering their entire body.

"W-who's there!"

Han Sora, with the sharpest eyes among us, spotted the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠person first.

"..."

No answer. Sensing danger, Sora reached for her bow — but I stopped her.

"It is fine, Sora. I am familiar with this."

"W-what? Familiar... how?"

Because I got the same déjà vu when I established the territory and met the steward.

"Who are you?"

At that, the robed figure carefully rose from their seat. Sora fidgeted with her bow again at the movement, but it didn't matter.

The robed one offered me a polite bow and spoke.

"Lord Jeong Hoon. Welcome to the Thief Guild."

The face and voice visible beneath the hood were unmistakably a woman's — and a woman of considerable, lethal charm at that. The sultry beauty of her features and the curves hidden under the robe made it clear she was strikingly attractive.

Though the hood covered most of it, a lock of red hair that slipped free looked like a tongue of flame.

...So why can I see her whole face when our steward's is covered in noise? Even standing in front of a beauty, the little curiosity hit me first. Maybe I've just got too many beautiful women around me already.

"So then — who are you?"

"Oh my, how careless of me... I am the one charged with managing and operating the Thief Guild, your humble servant. I have no name, but... if you would kindly call me 'Hermit,' I would be most grateful, Lord Jeong Hoon."

Hermit? As in a recluse, right?

How do I know that? Sit down, let me tell you. Back in the day there was this 2D online game, and the Thief class's third-tier advancement was named...

Why am I rambling useless crap in my head? Answer the person(?) in front of you.

"You manage and operate the Thief Guild? How does it work?"

"Yes, my lord. I operate the systems within the guild. Naturally... unlike all of you, I was generated based on the system, just like that steward fellow. Ah, of course... my physical manifestation is quite real. For example..."

Squish~

Suddenly the woman — Hermit — started fondling her own chest over the robe. More precisely, she was cupping those heavy breasts from below and lifting them up— no! What the hell was she doing all of a sudden?

"H-hey! W-what do you think you're doing?!"

"Oh my... so even AIs are throwing themselves at Oppa Jeong Hoon now? Is that the trend?"

Han Sora recoiled in horror, and I could hear Yun Mina muttering like she couldn't quite believe it. Honestly, I was a little horrified myself — not that I could show it.

"Hehehe. Today is my first day being physically manifested, so I haven't quite adjusted to my own body yet. Still, being given form as such a beautiful woman feels wonderful. I'm beautiful, after all, and if the need arises..."

Hermit’s gaze seemed to drop toward my lower body. Was I imagining that?

"Should my lord find himself sleepless at night, you could always ease your loneliness through me. With this ample body, I could grant my weary lord pleasures like a dream."

Not imagining it. Did I summon a Thief Guild or a brothel?

"Th-that thing is actually...!"

"...Well, at least men's fantasies get delivered without fail."

Han Sora looked ready to explode on the spot. Ahem. Time to change the subject. In situations like this...

"Attend to your primary duties, Hermit."

"Yes, my lord. At the Thief Guild, you accept quests and receive rewards based on the quest content and your degree of completion. Rewards are primarily experience and gold, and occasionally items may be provided according to performance."

The moment I put some weight behind my words, Hermit's tone shifted instantly.

"Is the Thief Guild management system something I control directly?"

"Ah, you mean like the territory management system. You need not worry. Facility management, rank administration, and quest intake are all handled by me. I will activate a system window for you, Lord Jeong Hoon, through which you may view the Thief Guild's status. Managing the Thief Guild is my sole duty, so I must inform you that other tasks — for instance, personally repelling territory intruders — are beyond my capabilities. Ah, of course, attending to Lord Jeong Hoon at night is an exception—"

"Explain the system window."

I cut her off before she could spiral any further. If I left her alone, Sora was going to forget this was a virtual lifeform and start loosing arrows at random.

"Understood. I shall... show you now."

A moment later, just as with the steward, a new window appeared before my eyes.

Most of it was just status viewing... wait. What was number 4, Quest Registration & Management?

"Do I have to register the quests myself? Come to think of it, how are quests even received?"

"They are generated randomly through the system to match the environment. The Thief Guild is currently rank E, so five E-rank quests and one D-rank quest are generated each day. However... if you wish, my lord, you may compose and register quest content yourself."

"Myself?"

Huh. I didn't see that system coming.

Obviously the original Dragon Gate RPG had nothing like that. You just visited the Thief Guild, refreshed, and various quests popped up like repeatables.

Being able to create quests myself. It felt like the freedom had gone way up.

"Then does that mean I also pay out the rewards?"

"No. You only write the quest content. Rewards are determined automatically to match other quests of similar type. Of course, no gold will leave your purse, nor will experience or items. Would you like to try it yourself?"

"Hmm. Very well."

Without hesitation, I selected 4. Quest Registration & Management.

A moment later, Han Sora, Yun Mina, and I all let out the same appreciative gasp.

"Excellent."

"Th-this is... Oppa, this, this is...!"

"Want me to say it for you, Sora-sunbae? This is fucking insane. Orabeoni~?"

"Sh-shut up!"

But that was exactly the right way to put it.

The quest registration system. Holy shit, this is broken as hell.

You could write the quest content yourself, and the rewards scaled accordingly.

Following Hermit's example, I first wrote a quest titled Tidy the interior facilities of the Thief Guild. The time limit, also per the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guide, was set to within thirty minutes.

The detailed objective was simply to straighten up the tables and chairs scattered all over the place. It was a quest worth a mere 100 experience — a warm-up — and when I did it myself...

That was what popped up (and since the report was inside the Thief Guild itself, it was over in seconds). The bonus reward was interesting, but the real surprise was something else.

"Th-the experience..."

"It came through the same for everyone?"

Unlike when we slaughtered monsters and experience and gold were split evenly, the quest experience went to every party member exactly as listed in the reward. Well, that had been the same in Dragon Gate RPG, so it didn't feel particularly special.

The truly special part was something else entirely.

"Rewards scale based on the quest content?"

"Yes. Allow me a simple example. Suppose a quest to 'slay 10 goblins' offers 500 experience and 100 gold as a reward. But if you add conditions — 'roaming the underground,' '10 male goblins,' 'slay them within 12 hours,' and 'bring back their ears as proof' — then each condition reflects an additional 10% performance bonus. Since I just listed four conditions in the example, a total of 40% is added to the base reward."

Ah, so if I line that up—

Roaming the underground — 10%

10 male goblins — 10%

Slay within 12 hours — 10%

Bring back ears as proof — 10%

That means 10% of 500 exp / 100 gold — which is 50 exp / 10 gold — gets tacked on for each condition, for a final total of 700 experience and 140 gold!

"O-Oppa... this is..."

"This might actually be an easier way to level up than just grinding monsters nonstop. No — we might power-level with this. Especially since... from what I just saw, the quest content isn't even limited to monster hunting, is it?"

While Sora was left speechless by the fantasy-made-real, Yun Mina cut straight to the heart of it with her observation.

I looked to Hermit for confirmation, and she smiled and nodded.

"You have a wise retainer, my lord. Precisely so. This Thief Guild is a facility bound to your territory. Nearly any task that benefits the territory can be registered as a quest. If, for example, my lord wished to register a quest to 'maintain the lawns within the territory,' you may do so. Of course, the rewards would be far cheaper than for slaying monsters, assassinating someone, stealing valuables, or seducing or abducting a specific person or monster."

W-wow... those examples really reek of a fantasy-world Thief Guild.

But... with this, the conditions were met.

"The optimal opportunity to grow both the territory and my companions."

No — even faster than I'd expected... it felt like I could raise myself and my companions as much as I wanted.

Before that formidable Vampire Lord could stretch his hand toward Gangnam, I now had a way to take Gangnam completely and grow strong enough to hold it.

Meanwhile, at the National Assembly subway station—

"I don't know, I don't want to hear it..."

"Miseon, please...! Don't you turn on me too!"

Jung Yun was desperately trying to persuade Han Miseon — her former comrade, and the younger sister of the man she had once cared for.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Six people watched this with ice-cold eyes and made no move to help. Six people who, until recently, had been trying to persuade Han Miseon themselves.

They had their reasons. Until not long ago they had worked to convince her — but the situation had changed. The moment word arrived that Han Daegeon had betrayed the rest of the party and led most of them to death or slavery, whatever affection remained had evaporated in an instant.

That went for both Han Daegeon... and for Han Miseon, who still refused to accept that bastard's — that unspeakable piece of trash's — monstrous betrayal.

"Go convince her yourself, unnie. We're going to join that Jeong Hoon guy."

"Hey, Miseon. You... for fuck's sake, ease up on the stubbornness! You crazy bitch! Just— ugh...!"

"Cool it. How was she supposed to know he'd do that?"

"Yeah... let's just go. Tell her she can wait here for her oppa until she dies."

And the six whose patience had truly run dry each dumped a cold look and a curse on Han Miseon before vanishing from their sight.

A mere four days after Jeong Hoon entered Yeouido, the subway station that had once teemed with dozens of people was left with only two. And one of them hadn't even originally been staying here.

"Miseon... I understand wanting to deny it. I do. But right now, even if we have to push past that... we need to go join him."

"...Why don't you go do that yourself, unnie."

"Miseon! You really...!"

Even as Jung Yun pleaded desperately, urgency churned in her chest. Honestly, from the moment she received Jeong Hoon's offer, the scales in her heart had been tipping back and forth — and by now they had almost fully settled on Jeong Hoon's side. Electricity, hot water, lodging, food, and even treatment if you got hurt. How was anyone supposed to refuse that and just endure?

On top of that, she had witnessed the overwhelming skill of the man making the offer with her own eyes. Realistically, joining Jeong Hoon was the right call.

But... she still couldn't quite bring herself to leave Han Miseon behind. The bond of comradeship hadn't completely died yet.

So, as if she had no other choice, she decided to stay by Han Miseon's side a little longer.

Just a little while. If things were still like this tomorrow, she would have no choice but to swallow her tears (and, if she was being honest, bolt before any monsters showed up) and go beg Jeong Hoon to take her in as a resident.

"Alright, Miseon. Just a little... think it over a little more and then decide. I'll wait here for your decision. Okay?"

Until tomorrow midday — no, until tomorrow morning. Jung Yun deliberately left that part unsaid.

Han Miseon had her arms wrapped around her knees and her head bowed low, barely listening, so it probably wouldn't have mattered if she'd said it anyway.

And Han Miseon, very quietly, in a voice Jung Yun could not hear—

"I'm going to kill them... I'm going to kill them... that bastard who ruined everything and that bitch too... I'm going to kill them... I swear I'll kill them...!"

—burned with nothing but vengeance, clinging to delusions cut off from reality.

For someone with the Blacksmith class, it was a future that was all but impossible.