The Heist Begins

"You?!" The man seemed to be overtaken by rage when he found himself being ignored, and his entire body trembled. However, he was also bathed in perspiration which could make anyone take a pity on him.

His shaking hands were about to touch the spectacles on his face before a noise impelled him to stay on hand.

'He doesn't even look alive. His strength is low, so killing him is easy. But, how will I kill him in front of them? Wait! What is this System?'

"That's enough, Sigel."

The calm voice pulled Ander out of his confusion, and compelled him to turn his head to notice a man aged around forty sitting before the opposite furniture. He fumbled around with one of the numerous gadgets embellishing the table, as his face was slightly tilted anteriorly.

Along with his voice, everyone seemed to pause for a second, and turned to look towards him at the same time.

'He appears to be the leader here,' Ander remarked silently. However, his heart was still in turmoil. He was wondering if they had implanted some Kind of chip inside his head. It was also possible that they were testing him, so Ander remained calm on the outside.

"It seems both of you don't put me in the eyes," he said gently, and his voice hid a dark anger.

"But, this brat disrespected me first." By the end of his sentence, Sigil's roar was sliced down to low voice of complaint.

"I don't care. Did you forget the security around this club? No one except whom I allow comes alive beyond this door. Or do you think I am dumb?" There was a sharp edge to his last question.

"That's not the case at all." Sigil seemed to be getting dizzy under the pressure. "I just thought he is unworthy to be your man, Sage."

"It's not something for you to decide. Are you the leader or me?" Sage asked calmly while his gaze still lingered around the gadget.

"Of course you."

"Say it again," Sage demanded.

"You. You are the leader."

"State who you are." The frequency of his voice went up an octave.

"I am your subordinate, sir," Sigel said through gritted teeth.

"Good." Sage complimented, and turned towards Ander. "And you. I remember warning you to keep your slippery tongue and hooligan bearing behind the borders of yourself. Don't let me find you ignoring my orders ever again throughout the mission."

Ander kept silent this time, and remained wary of this man.

"Now. I want you both to shake your hands and make a truce. Fight all you want after the mission. I don't want something amiss because of two brats. Am I clear?" Sage commanded.

"Hmph." Two voices of disagreement echoed simultaneously.

"Then I encourage you both to leave. One would be left with a pseudo solution to get treated. Another would have no place in the entire Valorent City."

Ander stared at him sharply while Sigil returned his gaze with the same edge. They did not flinch a second longer before coming close and shaking their hands. "Ander." He introduced.

"Sigil."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," Sigil said.

"Okay now. Settle down both of you. Let's talk business." Sage clapped lightly, and gestured to them to take a seat. "Ander, have you finished studying the file I sent you the other day?"

"Yea, almost."

"Still not complete yet?" Annoyed, Sage put down the gadget and started inspecting Ander instead. "You think we are going to steal some neighborhood house? Do you think I am a joke? Grab that thing and start decoding the security."

Ander looked up and lightly glanced at him. "I apologize I had to do some labor back at home. Give me the copy of the security codes of that factory, and I will be done in a minute."

The moment his words fell down, everyone turned to look towards him with a mixture of doubt and shock. However, it only lasted for a second before they withdrew their gazes.

The other man in the room, Haruto Nimaka, a robust man with a fierce look, fished out a shiny object from his pocket, and threw it towards Ander. "Here."

"How would you get in?" Ander was truly shocked, and could not help but ask. They were going to rob one of the most secure places in Valorent City, and not some neighborhood house.

Haruto remained silent. The woman beside him chuckled lightly as if she found it amusing.

It was Sage who replied, "He has been working in the factory for almost a year now."

'It seems like they are really well prepared.'

Ander nodded, and silently swiped through the complex codes through the hologram shown by the device.

He took out a small chip and inserted it on the device. It welcomed it with a beeping noise, and a river of codes started flowing on the screen.

Soon, he received a green light on the hologram, and smiled.

Sage, who had always been calm, could not help but take a deep breath. Upon witnessing the security codes which could not be tampered by veterans would be so easily neutralized by a kid.

He would have not believed it if he had not seen it with his own eyes. Loudly clapping his hands, he looked towards him with bright eyes. "I knew you would not disappoint me. Good job."

"Now, let the heist begin."

While everyone was cheering, Ander silently gazed at Sigil, and a weird light flashed past his eyes.

----------

Few hours later.

"Wear this."

Along with a purple flash, Ander's face touched a rough fabric. It had an aircraft imprinted above the breast pocket.

Ander immediately understood the meaning behind it, and his brows furrowed. "Didn't we plan that I will only provide help from outside."

"Well, the plan's changed now. Don't worry, you are just a backup in case anything goes awry. Everything's already prepared," Sage said as he put plasma guns in his pocket.

"Can I atleast know what's the plan?" Ander asked, frustration evident in his voice.

Sage slightly turned his head, and looked at him. "You will know soon. Just follow the instructions of Haruto."

"I understand," Ander matched his gaze, and muttered.

"One more thing, don't go around wearing this tattered robe, you look like a beggar. Wear something good, save me some face for god's sake."

Ander shrugged his shoulders. "Exactly. As you said I am your man now. Gotta keep your expensive face yourself. I don't even have a penny to afford dinner tonight."

"Surely you wouldn't be that poor, the most notorious thief of the slums." There was a sarcastic tone to his voice.

'How did he know?'

"What? Are you wondering how I know that?" Sage laughed. "As expected you are still a kid in the end."

"Did you investigate me?" Ander asked, coldness sipping in his voice for the first time.

Sage spat in contempt. "Did you think I wouldn't? You mean, should I have taken the risk of recruiting a stranger on the biggest heist of the Valorent City?"

Ander took deep breaths, and calmed down. "I hope this won't happen again. Otherwise you will know why I am called the most notorious thief of the slums."

Sage squinted his eyes at the obvious threat, and then slowly smiled. He walked towards Ander who looked at him without a shred of fear, and patted his shoulders.

"Of course. Since you are already one of us, there's no need to have hard feelings."

Ander glared at him, refusing to evade his gaze.

"You are an alert one, aren't you?

"It is something that comes naturally to those who live in those dark alleys."

"Boss, everything is ready." Heavy footsteps rang as Haruto's footsteps came closer to the room.

"I believe it would be an important asset in the mission. Show us what you are capable of. I have to go now. Let's meet tomorrow morning."

Saying that, Sage left towards the door. As if he remembered something, he stopped in his tracks. "I forgot about it. Since you have nowhere to go, you can stay here for tonight. Food and all necessities will be delivered to you shortly."

'He just wants to keep me from spreading the information.'

Ander silently remarked in his heart. Seeing the door close in front of him, he looked around the room.

It was a cramped place, and by the signs of clothes, it was used as a wardrobe not long ago. Despite that, it was something that Ander had never experienced.

Living in that cramped metal shelter he had made back in the alley, he felt overwhelmed seeing the clean and ventilated room before him.

'This is temporary. I must not think too much about it.'

He leaned on the wall, and slid down on the floor. Silently sighing, he looked towards the small bed beside him, and a mocking smile gradually crept up on his face.

"I probably won't be able to fall asleep on a bed. After all, I don't even remember when was the last time I slept on one. It's better to sleep soon. I even have a mission tomorrow."

Just when Ander closed his eyes, he opened them in shock. The system's screen once again popped in front of him, and he fell into deep contemplation.

'It looks like a thing straight from fiction.'

Ander opened the system interface once again, and the familiar text popped up in front of him.

[System Level: 1]

[Race: Human]

[HP: 10/10]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Stamina: 10]

[Magic Talent:?]

[Element Affinity: ?]

[Magic Experience: 0/500]

[Mana: 0]

[Quest: Kill your teammate Sigel]

[Reward: +5 to all attributes, 200 Magic Experience, 1 Mana, and System's acknowledgement.]

'What the heck is this thing? Why is there a question mark beside the magic talent? Does it mean I don't have any talent for magic?'

The possibility disappointed Ander, and he couldn't help but curse out loud. "What a bullshit system!'

Fumbling around, he discovered that he could smoothly navigate with the screen. In the end, there was some kind of restriction which prevented him from going forward. There was also a line of text.

It all felt like a dream to Ander. As if he was wearing a virtual console, or hallucinating with cheap ketamine sold at the slums.

[Quest: Kill your teammate Sigel]

Looking at the text, Ander stretched his body, and stood up.

'Looks like I will have to change the plans.'