The darkness of the night greeted Whitemoor as per its natural intentions, and every honest folk naturally have abandoned the areas outside and retired in their respective homes in preparation for the next day to come.One particular individual, however, disregarded such limited thinking, walking around the farmlands in the late night with intentions that can"t exactly be considered good.
Clad in a light set of brown armor. The clothing is mostly made of leather material and is lightweight, making it ideal for anyone hugging in the shadows. The chest piece consists of a hood that effectively conceals his face with a set of small satchels that is draped over his left shoulder and a leather belt strapped on his waist.
The man is shown to be extremely capable in his endeavors, avoiding the guards that are patrolling the farmlands with ease as he maneuvers around the area like a true being of the shadows.
In a short while, the man finally arrives in his destination as he mentally praises himself in triumph.
"Hmph, easy." The man thought as he stood in front of Krothu"s manor. "I better make sure to do this quick."
Taking a set of lockpick from his Inventory, the man began utilizing his skill of lockpicking in an attempt to unlock the door with quiet precision.
Such is the way of a thief, a roguish figure who"ll go through great lengths for the possession of items of value.
"Tsk, this lock is a bit tricky." The man mentally grunted in frustration while performing the deed with his nimble hands. "Luckily, I was trained in the baroque art of thievery. A little bit to the right… and there we go."
The man heard the sound of a click inside the lock, meaning that the door is finally unlocked.
"Hopefully, the item, as stated in the contract, is here." The man thought as he enters the manor. "Otherwise, my efforts of infiltrating as a farmer for two whole months will be a petty waste. I always wonder why that d.a.m.n orc does not even leave his manor."
With the man now inside the manor, he then closes and locks the entrance door behind him as he begins his search all over the interiors.
***
"Abad!! (Father)"
A cat-folk child with white fur enters into an office with a bright smile as he calls an older cat-folk. He wears a simple white tunic with long blue pants and a pair of brown shoes.
Unlike the child, the adult has brown fur instead, wearing a set of elaborate-looking chainmail set of armor.
"h.e.l.lo, little kitten." The cat-folk adult returns the smile with the same gesture of his own as he affectionately rubs the young one"s head. "What brings you here to my office?"
"You promised to teach me how to wield a blade today, abad." The cat-folk child happily said.
"Now is not the right time, my child." The older one said gently, going back to his desk as he is still confined with the paperwork. "Abad is rather busy right now."
"Aw." The cat-folk child pouts in disappointment.
"But, I did promise you." The cat-folk adult grins to cheer his son up. "After my work here is done, the first thing I"m going to do is head on down at the training grounds. Meet me there at around five in the afternoon."
"Kah!! Yes!!" The cat-folk child"s expressions instantly s.h.i.+ft to a cheerful one as he looks at his father in enthusiasm. "I can"t wait!! Thanks, abad!!"
"Anything for you, Isamu."
***
With the ceiling of the house greeting him, Isamu suddenly woke up from the dream that he was having, slowly positioning himself in a sitting manner on his bed as he clutches his head while yawning deeply.
"Huh, I never had that sort of dream for a very long time," Isamu said with a grimaced look as he got up from his bed. "Must have been the result of Sarah mentioning about abad a while ago when we were milking the cows."
After his contemplation, Isamu decided not to think much of it any further as he resumes his sleep.
But alas, his efforts of doing so is a failure as he can"t seem to succ.u.mb to the slumber, his entire demeanor now feeling restless as caused by the memory of his childhood.
"d.a.m.n it. Now I can"t sleep." Isamu got up again as he scratches his fur on his head with slight annoyance. He then thought of something that may remedy his current dilemma. "Perhaps some walk outside at the farming grounds will ease me up a bit."
Nodding to himself at his choice, Isamu equips his set of steel armor and heads on out for some walk and fresh air.
The cat-folk walks around leisurely, basking on the twilight of the night sky as he reminisces the different past events that have transpired, leading him to where he is right now.
"Halt right there, citizen!!" A male voice calls him from a distance.
Isamu turns to his side to verify the source of the voice.
It was a guard that made his presence known to the cat-folk while making his approach.
And it was not just any guard, though. It was someone that Isamu is familiar with as the cat-folk became at ease upon seeing him.
"It"s just me, Brandon," Isamu said as he eyed at the familiar guard who greeted him and Gray when they arrived at Chadena"s gate days ago. "So, you"re actually in the night s.h.i.+ft, huh."
"Yes." Brandon nods, feeling relieved that it was not some sinister individual doing who knows what. "So, what brings you here? You know that people might mistake you for a thief or even worse… a vampire if you casually just walk around in these parts at this particular time of the night. And you being a cat-folk definitely won"t help your case."
"Nah, I"ll just show my guild identification card and make up some excuse like patrolling around the area or something like that," Isamu answers him cheerfully as they both start walking around.
"Ah, so that"s why you are wearing your armor, making your case believable," Brandon smirks while crossing his arms. "You"re a genius. I can give you that."
"Haha, I"m not sure if a guard should be saying things like that." Isamu chuckles in response.
"And an esteemed guild member should also not be taking advantage of his status for his self-interest like his nightly strolls." Brandon instantly retorted in a teasing manner.
"Heh, you got me right there, officer." Isamu shook his head amusingly as they both have some good laughs.
As they kept on walking, the two find themselves near the manor of the farmlands.
Isamu suddenly halted on his tracks, his face turning grave as he eyed the manor with full intent.
Brandon looks at him in confusion as to why the cat-folk stop.
"Wait." Isamu"s demeanor took a 180 turn as he felt something a bit off with the twitching of his ears. With his tiger-like sense of hearing, the cat-folk was able to hear something is amidst from manor thanks to his pa.s.sive racial trait of u003cSharp senseu003e.
It"s just like the time when he and Gray were eavesdropping at the Bandit Encampment days ago as the cat-folk heard the two bandits" conversation with remarkable clarity despite the significant distance.
"This place is supposed to be empty." The cat-folk thought with a frown. Then his eyes widen in realization as he a.s.sumed a look of distress.
Brandon looks at his cat-folk friend with concern as he asks. "What"s wrong, Isamu?"
"Follow me quick," Isamu instructs the human guard as he wasted no time in running to the back part of the manor, where the source of the sound that he identified is located.
And the sound that he was able to discern is similar to the creaking noise of a door opening.
Brandon complies with the cat-folk, despite not finding any sense of the latter"s actions.
The cat-folk"s suspicions were proven correct as he saw someone emerging outside from the back door.
???
Lvl 18
Health: 1,459 / 1,459
Stamina: 2,901 / 2,901
Mana: 390 / 390
"Thief!!!!" Isamu yells as loudly as he could and immediately equips his Great-sword from his Inventory and charges straight at the figure.
The thief with his quick reflexes manages to dodge the slash just in time, jumping away in a few paces as he begins his retreat.
Isamu snarls in frustration at his attack missing but immediately recovers from his irritation as Isamu quickly chases the thief.
Brandon fulfills his part by conjuring a blow horn from his Inventory and blows it, alerting the other guards nearby. Afterward, he also follows Isamu in chasing the burglar.
Indeed, Brandon"s action results with all the guards at the area joining the chase, with some of them equipping their bow and arrows in an attempt to shoot the thief down.
Despite their combined efforts, the thief proves to be extremely agile, dodging the arrows with remarkable apt.i.tude, fitting for someone of the shadows.
Brandon quickly realizes that their efforts are all going to be in vain, seeing as the thief proves to be significantly faster and more agile than all of them.
Not to mention their Stamina pool caused by all the running is nearing its end while the thief seemed to be unfazed.
Fortunately, Isamu is still feeling in his element thanks to his pa.s.sive u003cChampionu003e skill of u003cControlu003e, granting him Stamina cost reduction of 20% from his actions, including running.
And the cat-folk felt that not all hope is lost as he still has some certain racial tricks up his sleeve.
Activating his active skill of u003cFeline Agilityu003e in combination with his u003cFeline Maneuveru003e, Isamu was granted a combined movement bonus speed of 40% from the two skills mentioned.
"Like they say." Isamu smirks as he started running on fours. "Never try to out-run a cat-folk."
Every guard was indeed at awe at the cat-folk"s profound speed as they witness Isamu slowly catching up with the thief.
***
The thief was slightly shocked at seeing the cat-folk behind him, closing the gap.
Instead of panicking, however, the thief maintains his composure, finding the right moment when the cat-folk is about to grab hold of him.
"Troublesome." The thief thought with annoyance. "The cat-folks are indeed renowned for their sharp senses and unnatural agility. I would never have imagined that he will be awake at this time of the night. I even made sure to check that all of the farmers are asleep at their respective homes before performing this deed. Oh well, I suppose not every scenario will go according to one"s plan."
"I"ve got you now, you thieving b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!!" The cat-folk reaches for the thief as his claws approach in the latter"s figure.
Suddenly, however, the thief vanishes from the cat-folk"s as the latter was about to grab hold of the former, leaving only a blur as per intended by the thief"s skill.
Isamu eyes widen with surprise as the thief"s action abruptly broke his momentum.
"How annoying." The thief grimaced as he quickly took out two items from his Inventory. "With the guards most likely alerted by now, I suppose I should divert their attention. To be honest, I detest resorting to such tactics unbecoming of a thief like me."
The item reveals to be a ball-like object with a fuse and a lighter as the thief uses the latter to fire up the former.
Isamu and all of the guards widen their eyes as they instantly recognize the item that the thief is about to throw.
"Bomb!!!" One of the guards shouted in warning as they all avoided the dangerous projectile that was hurled into their direction without care.
With the bomb activating, an explosion occurred all over the area, starting a ma.s.sive fire at the farmlands.
With the perfect opportunity of destruction that acts as an effective diversion, the thief finally made his hasty retreat as his job here is officially done.
[+12 CHAOS]