Chapter 150
Chapter 150
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Hassan and the Nine-Headed Thief
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Thieves' Guild holding a hiring interview?
Was it like some audition show to weed out the real thieves? I couldn't wrap my head around it. And shouldn't a thieves' guild operate more discreetly?
Doing this so openly in a crowded place like this. They must be that confident in their own clout. Or maybe Sodomora's laws are just that much of a joke.
Either way, getting info on the Thieves' Guild was a stroke of luck.
Curious about what this was all about, I took a closer look. People from all around were cheering on lockpicking attempts and even placing bets with coins.
Clink, clack, clack.
"Damn it. Just a little more. Really, just... ugh."
A scrawny guy, sweat slicking his hands as he jammed a hairpin into the lock and kept wiping his palms. The crowd around him shouted.
"Almost there! You got this!"
"Shut up, damn it! I'm concentrating...!"
It really hit me just how amazing computers and gaming consoles were. Without them, we'd probably still be entertaining ourselves like this back on Earth.
Snap.
Right then, a masked man swung the short whip in his hand.
"Time's up! You're out!"
The skinny guy messing with the lock went flying to the ground with a sharp crack.
As a whip expert myself, I could tell right away it was all bark, no bite—just a bluff.
"Gah! He actually hit me! Fuck!"
But the skinny guy clutched his struck shoulder, glaring up at the iron bars.
"I'm Half-Hand Ed! You think you can hit me and get away with it!?"
Shing.
He even drew a dagger from his belt, looking plenty menacing.
"That bastard actually pulled a knife!"
"Isn't that dangerous?"
The surprised crowd.
Just in case, I subtly hid Luna and Paranoya behind my back.
Right then, the masked man burst into laughter.
"Pulling a knife? That makes you a bandit, not a thief, punk. Consider yourself lucky it was just my whip. If this were the real deal, you wouldn't be getting whipped—you'd have your wrist chopped off by the guards."
"Shut your mouth, fucker! As long as you steal it, who cares!"
"Kids these days got no romance. That's why the higher-ups are making noise about 'exterminating Hydra' and all that crap."
Whoosh.
The black-masked man leaped down from the iron bars. He stood face-to-face with the guy gripping the dagger.
Standing there without a hint of tension in front of a drawn blade. Was he pretty tough? Or just didn't care about his life.
Either way, one thing was clear: watching a fight was damn entertaining.
Even on advanced Earth with computers and games, nothing beat the thrill and spectacle of people throwing down.
So what was about to go down? While we kept slurping our candy, the skinny guy with the vicious dagger lunged at the masked man.
Tap-tap.
Pretty quick, thanks to his nimble build.
"I take it back. At this rate, you couldn't even pull off a decent robbery."
"Shut up! Urgh!?"
The masked man bullfighter-dodged the guy's body, then smashed the back of his neck with a knife-hand strike, dropping him flat.
Clean, no-frills skill.
"Alright, next! Whoever picks the lock gets a special interview with the execs! Step up now, and you can snag some work-appropriate gear at a discount."
Nod.
The masked man jerked his chin. Black-clad face-covered folks appeared, dragging the fallen knife-wielder off somewhere.
Clank, clang.
A few others swapped out the front iron bars for something else.
The masked man glanced at it and added a few words.
"And we'll throw in that special prize too—"
Whirr...
"Whoa, shit! It's a wildling!"
Newly caged behind the bars: a slime monster about the size of a soccer ball.
"Hassan, it's a wildling! Wildling!"
Luna went nuts, smacking my forearm like a seizure button had been hit. A few onlookers burst out laughing.
Even the whip-wielding, masked Thieves' Guild interviewer running the event grinned in satisfaction.
"That's right, a wildling. Mysterious critters said to fall from the Milky Way and hide in the earth. They move silently, hide silently. So it's not easy to spot a fully grown one like this."
Someone raised a hand at his explanation and yelled.
"They say eating wildling makes you fast enough your hands vanish—is that true?"
The masked man replied.
"Depends on the person. Some it suits, some it doesn't."
"Then the thing about the eighth-gen eating a ton and getting super strong—is that real?"
"...Unfortunately, yeah, it is. Anyway, this is a prime adult wildling. Called a living elixir, worth two gold coins each."
Two gold coins.
Two gold.
Murmurs rippled.
The crowd's reaction stirred at the weird liquid blob—less from health talk, more from the hard price tag.
Luna trembled like she desperately wanted the slime trapped in that cage.
"I want that one! You scarfed down the last two from the ones I bought earlier. If we make an elixir out of it, it'd be amazing...."
Since I'd eaten two of the wildlings Luna bought, I had nothing to say even if I wanted to. But they were tasty.
Wanted more.
Eating it would probably boost my karma value too.
So yeah, I was interested in that caged prize.
"Alright, taking more applicants. Entry fee's one underground silver."
Hands shot up everywhere at the man's words. Soon folks lined up, trying their hand at the lock.
Clang. Clang! Clang-clang!
Some swung hammers at the padlock with all their might.
"Fuck, it's tough as hell! Damn it, was this even made to be picked? Feels like a 1-silver ripoff!"
One contestant yelled in frustration, and the interviewer snorted.
"Of course it won't break easy—titanium bars, titanium lock. You think a half-assed hammer swing opens a vault door?"
"Then what the hell are we supposed to do!"
"Idiot, vaults and locks are made not to break easy—that's what makes 'em vaults and locks. Any fool can hop a low fence, but if you can't crack the important safe, you're done."
"Ugh, screw this. Too dirty—I'll stick to honest work."
"Yeah, you do that."
Challengers popped up everywhere, eyeing the 2-gold prize wildling. But most just fumed helplessly at the insanely sturdy lock.
Losing that 1-silver entry fee—no wonder they were pissed.
"Alright, next challenger?"
"Me! I'll give it a shot! Anyone can join, right?"
Right beside me, Luna shot her hand up lightning-fast. No time to stop her.
Luna handed a silver coin—freshly exchanged at the underground exchanger—to the masked man. Then she stood stock-still in front of the bars, peering around.
The man watching through his mask flipped the hourglass nearby.
Swish, thump.
"Five minutes before its time for the guards to swarm the rich district gates. So, how you gonna snag that wildling?"
"...Quiet. Hunting voodoo needs focus."
"Oh? No clue what that is, but got it. I'll hush. Stealth is the lifeblood of the job."
Swish, swish.
Luna circled the fairly large cage, stroking it like she was checking for gaps.
She even slipped her slender fingers inside—ignoring the lock entirely, which was weird.
"What's she up to?"
"I have no idea?"
The onlookers, arms crossed, faces puzzled, wondering the same.
Even Malco next to me piped up.
"Brother, our sister has a talent as a thief?"
"Nah, no clue."
Luna, thieving?
As daughter of the night goddess, maybe some tie to nighttime theft?
Nah, that's a stretch. All Luna steals is royal jelly or honey from hives. Occasionally bird eggs from nests.
But those are nature's bounty—no locks needed.
So what was she planning? I watched anxiously for no reason.
Swish, swish.
"This should do it."
Luna, who'd been shoving her hand through the small bars nonstop, rummaged at her waist like she'd made up her mind.
Rustle, rustle.
What now? Did Luna have lockpicks too?
Right then, she pulled out something red and round from her belt. Leftover stick candy from earlier licking. She'd pocketed it to savor later.
People burst out laughing.
"What, that's candy?"
"Candy for picking a lock?"
Everyone chuckled like it was cute antics. Even I deflated a bit. But Luna's face was dead serious.
She knelt before the bars and muttered softly.
"...Gloop, gloooop."
Then she dangled and shook the candy in front of the cage.
I'd seen Luna mimic animal noises plenty, but had it ever paid off? My eyes flicked to the hourglass—sand half gone.
Luna was gonna blow 1 silver too.
That's what I thought when—
"Look at that."
Someone in the crowd said.
"Look, the wildling's reacting!"
"No way, for real!"
Where fingers pointed: the wildling, docile in the cage till now, slowly approached Luna's hand.
Swish, swiiiish.
Gloooop.
It even squeezed its boneless slime body through the bars—a wildling trait. It slipped out like nothing and latched onto Luna's hand, nipping the candy.
"Shit! Caught the wildling!"
Luna hoisted her catch triumphantly overhead, beaming.
"Hassan, look! I got it!"
Feels like I'd seen this before. But this time, pure Luna skill—no assist. I was genuinely shocked.
"Stealing the contents without touching the lock. Impressive."
"Thought she was just a funny pink-hair, but she's got skills."
"That's a color you don't see on the continent. Where's the girl from?"
Folks tossed praises and awe at Luna like roses. Blushing maybe, she yanked the skull helmet off her back over her face.
Clink, clack.
The chinstrap was busted by Elfriede, so it wobbled loose. She had to hold down her helmet to cover her face.
Gloooop.
Anyway, a blue slime wildling wriggled happily in Luna's arms. Who knew she could pull that off? Felt weirdly proud, like I'd done something great.
"Hoh, clever trick. Didn't touch the lock, just yoinked the contents. How'd you manage it?"
The masked man asked Luna. She mumbled back under her bone helmet.
"...Wildlings slip through tight gaps easy. This one was big, so I hesitated. But remembered they love sweets, so..."
"Wildlings like sweets? Didn't know their diet. Fun fact. But sorry, miss—you're out. Had to pick the lock."
"No fair!"
Luna protested like it was outrageous. The crowd erupted too.
"That fucker's backpedaling 'cause he doesn't wanna pay! True asshole!"
"Don't change the rules, bastard! And give me back my 1 silver!"
The mob's fury was riot-level; things could ignite any second. I was pissed too. Underground scam?
As I boiled, the masked man added.
"Stealing without picking the lock? Top-tier talent. But this is an interview. Our great eighth-gen laid it out in the bylaws: 'Those who pick the titanium lock in five minutes—'"
He pulled out a worn scroll from his bosom and unfurled it with a rustle. Something written there, but too far to read.
Then Paranoya, the nymph who'd been quiet munching candy, piped up.
"I-it's true... Says 'those who pick the lock in five minutes—'..."
Her tiny eyes could read that? Paranoya's sharper-sighted than I thought.
Rules were rules.
"Hand over the wildling, miss. I'd give you full marks, but the guild's picky these days. Can't be helped."
"H-Hassan..."
Luna trembled, at a loss. Hidden by the bone helmet, but surely a teary face stared at me from under that hard shell.
Screw it. I stepped forward before the crowd.
"Just need to pick the lock in five minutes, right?"
I drew my club from my belt, tensing my arms and grip.
Creeeak—
The club creaked like it screamed under my decently strengthened grip.
"Gonna brute force it? You're built sturdy, but didn't you see the others fail? Needs skill. Brute force ain't it."
As I calculated the angle for my swing, the masked man crossed his arms and advised.
His brown eyes mixed faint expectation, weary scolding—complex. Like, go ahead if you're gonna.
"Hassan..."
Luna clutched her wildling tight, watching. Countless eyes, countless gazes on me.
Why'd I step up? Tension sweat slicked my palms.
But if it was the same titanium as those steel plates earlier, my club could smash it. Elfriede with 12 strength could've handled this easy.
Whispers from the crowd.
Their breaths.
Everything swelled huge in my ears. I bellowed over the noise, mouth wide.
"Uwaaaaa—!"
Simultaneously, I heaved the club high with both arms tensed max. What I wanted now was pure ultimate-move power.
Yeah, had to be an ultimate.
"Ban-kai!"
[Author's Note]
My head was full of nothing but Bankai... Even 1mcr Hassan... surely only thought of Bankai...
Since mcr came up, side note on character IQs.
Sodomora's young lady - Enya: 3 mcr
Mars Guild receptionist Daphne: 1.5 mcr
Ditch-water nymph Paranoya: 0.5 mcr.
Just for fun, not exact...