What A Thief Needs

In front of the village was a straight, narrow road which extended for miles. This was the road that led towards the city but the villagers hardly ever used it.

The reason was because of bandits. They would sometimes appear on the road and rob the unlucky travellers. Although the local lord had tried several times to capture them, they were as slippery as eels.

This was why whenever the tax collector or the doctors came to the village, they would be accompanied by guards.

The poor villagers simply couldn't afford hiring such people and could only stay put in the village. Luckily for some reason the bandits never bothered them.

To its right and left were forests and even some mountains could be seen in the distance.

He wasted no time as he went towards the forest to his left to gather wood. There were already some logs neatly placed by those in charge of cutting them down so all he had to do was gather them.

He decided to gather enough wood so he could avoid doing so for sometime. He wanted a few days to himself since he had some things he needed to do.

After gathering the woods, he proceeded to tend to the livestocks and check up on his crops. For him it was unnecessary but he had to do it to maintain his hardworking image.

Once he was done with everything, he then took a stroll around the village.

Walking leisurely with a smile on his face, he kept exchanging greetings with his fellow villagers and even offering a helping hand sometimes.

Continuing his walk, he came across some kids holding short sticks.

"Hyaaa!!!! Taste my cursed sword!!! You have nowhere to hide now, Izaniya!!!!"

"Huh? But I already poisoned you so why are you still swinging your sword?"

"Shut up! Did you think a mere poison would work on me?... the great Black Knight??!"

"Hmph! You simpletons... I, Lady Rigrit, will cast you all to your doom."

"What??? How are you even alive? Why are you all cheating?... No fairs."

The little kids shouted at the top of their lungs as they kept role playing as the Thirteen Heroes.

'The Thirteen Heroes huh. I believe they defeated the so-called Evil Deities fifty years ago.'

The Evil Deities rampaged throughout the world and given that they held so much power, the Thirteen Heroes had to step in and defeat them.

However, compared to the Six Great Gods and the Eight Greed Kings, the Thirteen Heroes and the Evil Deities were weak.

Of course in the New World they were powerful considering that it was extremely difficult to achieve the Heroic Rank which — according to Yggdrasil standards — was around Level 30.

Still, like their name suggested, the Thirteen Heroes were your everyday typical heroes and some of them were Players who had been transported to the New World.

He was aware of the influence of Black Knight who was one of the Thirteen Heroes in the City-State Alliance, after all he was their national hero.

Even among all the Thirteen Heroes, he was popular mostly because of his legendary swords called the Swords Of Darkness.

However, Ingram considered all these famous figures ranging from The Six Great Gods to the Thirteen Heroes pathetic.

Most especially the Eight Greed Kings.

With such power at their fingertips, the reason for their demise was completely absurd. They fell because of a woman.

Yes that's right, those so-called Kings lusted over one woman and in the process engaged in a fierce battle, eventually killing themselves.

It was why they were called the Greed Kings by the denizens of the New World but he felt it should be changed to the Eight Stupid Kings.

According to Yggdrasil standards, they were Players who were Level 100. People on the same level as the Six Great Gods. People stronger than the True Dragon Lords.

The kind of power they had at their fingertips was enough to have the whole world tremble in fear.

But look what happened to them. Due to their sheer stupidity, they became dust.

'This is what happens when you give power to foolish individuals. Their hormones and emotions get the best of them and they begin to think with what's between their two legs.'

He looked at these little children who kept wording out imaginary attacks. He just ignored them and continued patrolling the village.

Although he had the memories in his head, he wanted to survey the village personally. It was important for what he had in mind after all.

After walking for a while and interacting with other villagers, he went back in the direction of his house.

But, instead of going straight home, he went to the hut just beside it. Both his wife and daughter were out so he had some time to himself to set some things straight.

Inside the hut, he took out some brown pouches and opened them one after the other.

"Haaa, so just fifteen copper coins in total."

He held some coins in his palm as he sighed. While he was studying the layout of the village, he also kindly "took" coins from some unsuspecting villagers.

He was relieved that his pickpocketing skills had not rusted.

As for the unlucky individuals? They could only blame their bad luck.

This was more of a test for him so he didn't put it to mind.

He carefully put the coins inside his pouch and relaxed on the chair as he began to map out his plans.

"I fully understand how this place operates. First and foremost what I need is money. Since I plan on leaving this village, it's extremely important."

He understood that he needed some capital before leaving for the main city. There was no way he would confine himself to this small village when a vast world was out there waiting for him.

He stroked the imaginary beard on his chin.

"...Hmm... the village chief will have to suffice since he's in charge of gathering the proceeds after the harvest. It will definitely cause the ire of the tax collector and the local lord but...so what?"

He chuckled to himself. He just didn't care.

But, he had a slight problem: Magic.

Although he had absolutely no idea on how the mechanics behind sensing mana worked in this world, he had to at least try something. Also, he was yet to check if he had the hōgyoku here with him.

"Will meditation work? After all, in most cases, you have to try and "feel" the mana in the surroundings by meditating or so to speak... as for the hōgyoku I don't even know where to begin. Although the probability that it followed me here is quite high, I can't rule out the possibility of the opposite being the case."

He always considered the negatives in everything. If the hōgyoku failed to accompany him here, although it would be a little disappointing, he wouldn't dwell too much on it.

However, if it did succeed in coming to the New World with him, then it would be a game changer.

He was extremely clear about its abilities.

Not a single thing in this world could compare to it, not even those powerful World Items.

"Seems like I'll have to try and get a feel for mana. I don't know how long this will take but I won't rush it. I'll also have to visit that apothecary later today. As for the hōgyoku, if it's in my body I'll find out in some way."

He had some plans laid out already and would take his time to execute them. After all, one of his greatest strengths was patience.

This was the most important skill a Thief needed to have. Any "Thief" who had zero patience was unqualified to refer to themselves as Thieves.

Without patience it was impossible to plan and without plans it was impossible to steal.

This was what he wholeheartedly believed when it came to theft.

Theft without patience was bound to end in misery. It only resulted in total failure just like a building with poor foundations.

The village bell rang, signalling noon.

He stood up and stretched a little before he made his way towards the house.

…

After lunch with his family, he went straight to visit the apothecary.

The village apothecary was a middle aged woman. She always had a lazy expression on her face. Her house was just like the others in the village except for the fact that it was filled with the scent of several medicinal herbs.

Although she had no husband, the money she made from selling medicines was enough to sustain her. Besides, she was also an indispensable asset to the village.

"Oh Ingram, you're back again today. Is there a problem with the bandage or medicines?"

"Well, good afternoon to you too Rina… and no, actually I'm here to ask for a favour."

Rina was a little embarrassed and chuckled dryly:

"...Haha I apologize if I sounded a little rude. It's just, I'm currently stuck trying to figure out a new medicinal recipe. I was up all night yesterday and even had someone help me gather herbs—ah sorry about my rambling. So what can I help you with?"

"It's fine. We all have our frustrations so it's no problem. Since it's you I'm sure you'll figure it out."

She just smiled once she heard this. She loved being praised for her work ethic.

"Concerning my request...I was wondering if you could teach me about medicine?"

Rina's gaze sharpened as she frowned.

'Does he want to take over my business?' She couldn't help but have such thoughts.

"I don't understand, Ingram. What do you mean by that?"

It had to be known that the selling of medicine was her livelihood. Since she was a woman well past the marriageable age, this is what kept a roof over her head. Which is why she was suspicious about his motives.

Noticing her strange expression, Ingram knew what she was thinking so he clarified the situation.

"Oh don't worry. I'm not trying to steal your business. You should understand that I've got my hands full with the farm and livestock. I just asked for your help because I wanted to be able to at least offer emergency treatment if anything happened

"Yesterday reminded me of my son. I couldn't help but wonder what I would do if something like that happened to my wife or daughter. I don't want to feel that helpless again. So please, even a little knowledge will go a long way. I won't try to profit off of it I promise."

About the profit part, well he was telling the truth.

Why he wanted to learn about medicine from her wasn't for profit but something else entirely which she didn't need to know about.

Hearing this, Rina's frown melted and was replaced with a look of understanding. She was aware of what happened to Ingram's son two years ago and so his reason was valid.

'Haaa... Ingram is one of the good ones. I shouldn't have judged him too harshly.'

She couldn't help but feel a little guilty in her heart. Almost everyone in the village knew the sort of person he was; a kind and easily approachable man.

So suspecting that he wanted to steal her business was a little uncalled for.

'I'll just teach him the basic stuff. Besides, in teaching him I may find a solution to my current problem.'

"Oh I see... I understand, Ingram... however, I'll only teach you the basics and the properties of a few herbs. I hope you see where I'm coming from."

He nodded, "That's fine Rina, I understand. Thank you so very much. You don't know how much this means to me."

He could easily read this woman like a book so of course he knew the hidden message behind what she said: She was still wary of him but was confident that with just his basic knowledge, there was no way he could steal her business.

Still, this is exactly what he wanted. Frankly, it went easier than he expected but it was at least better than going back and forth with her.

He didn't care about whatever secret recipe she had. What he wanted was what she considered unimportant.

"Haha oh come on Ingram, we're a community and as such we should help each other."

He just smiled at her reply.

'Good. The first step is completed. Now, my next focus should be magic.'