After asking a few more questions to the waitress, Ryner found out that the tournament’s prize, the Heaven’s Blade, was being displayed for the public to see. As such, he, Evelyn and Mi moved over to the building where it was kept. They found themselves inside a large hall among many others who had the same idea as them. The place was already packed with curious and excited people who wanted to see the magic scythe. It would be the first time for many of them to have ever seen an Artifact in their life.

The interior was well-lit and there was virtually nothing inside except for the tournament’s prize that was put on a high pedestal on top of a couple of stairs in the middle of the room. It was a scythe that had a black handle and a razor sharp blade. The back of the white blade was covered by a plate of green armor. The weapon seemed to shine under the light and those around stared at it in awe.

“Look at that. It’s supposedly thousands of years old, but it sure as hell doesn’t look like it.” [Onlooker]

“So that’s an Artifact. Wonder what powers it holds.” [Onlooker]

“I can’t believe one’s being offered up as the prize for a tournament. It makes me wish that I could fight. If I sell it, I’d be rolling in gold.” [Onlooker]

“Dad, if I enter the tournament and win, can I have that magic scythe?” [Onlooker]

“No because you’ll get yourself killed.” [Onlooker]

Although everyone wanted to take a closer look at it, they couldn’t because of the security. Dozens of men and women in armor were surrounding the pedestal. They were set up in three different circular formations with those in the outer one wielding spears. The other two had swords and shields. Moreover, there were more guards lined up against the walls. All of them kept a watchful eye on the crowd, ready for anyone that would try to steal the magic scythe from them.

“So this is where they kept it.” [Ryner]

Ryner muttered as he watched from afar.

“A lot of security, but given how valuable these magic weapons are, it should be expected. What’s strange is that one would choose to display it in such an open space.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn commented as she observed the scythe on the pedestal.

“Guess this is a publicity stunt to attract more tourists. Or the guy who’s given away the Artifact wants to show off.” [Ryner]

“You mean that adventurer who found it? If that waitress’ words can be believed, then he’s an S rank magic user and is always followed by his wives who are all beautiful and A ranks. The reason why he gave it away wasn’t specified, but supposedly, he wanted the town to organize a tournament for it.” [Evelyn]

“Too bad he’s left days ago.” [Ryner]

“He’ll be here when the tournament officially begins since a seat of honor has been reserved for him. Furthermore, his women will be participating as well. You wanted to meet him?” [Evelyn]

“Sort of. But, first things first, let’s take care of this. I can find him later.” [Ryner]

Ryner shrugged his shoulders as he continued to carefully observe his surroundings with his usual sleepy expression. Then, he turned around to leave the place, followed by Evelyn. The two walked to a deserted alley, away from the crowd. There, Ryner handed Mi over to Evelyn and pulled out a black jacket from his pocket dimension.

“You stand out too much. I’ll be doing this alone.” [Ryner]

He said as he wore the jacket over his white shirt.

“Will I be of no help?” [Evelyn]

Evelyn asked, sounding rather sad.

“Half of those guards kept glancing at you like the rest of the crowd. They’ll remember us as the group that has a dog and a blonde-haired beauty. I don’t want you in their memory on the day that the magic scythe gets stolen.” [Ryner]

“Beauty…” [Evelyn]

Her expression completely changed and her lips formed a smile. But, before he noticed, she put on her usual composed expression and nodded to his words.

“I understand. But, if you need my help, just say the word.” [Evelyn]

She said as she touched her lace choker.

“Then, when will you be doing it? Tonight?” [Evelyn]

The vampire asked, wanted to confirm when Ryner planned on stealing that scythe.

“No. Right now. I want to hurry up.” [Ryner]

But, the nonchalant answer she got wasn’t what she was expecting at all. Her eyes went wide open and she stared at him without moving for a moment.

“Are you sure that is a wise choice?” [Evelyn]

“Relax, Evie. It’s not my first time robbing something in broad daylight.” [Ryner]

He casually admitted to having stolen valuables before as he put on a watch on his left wrist.

“Then, will you at least wear some sort of mask to cover your face? Perhaps a hood to be less conspicuous?” [Evelyn]

“That’d just make me stand out. In a crowd, this is the best mask.” [Ryner]

Ryner took out a brown wig as well as a fake mustache and put them on. Also, he retrieved from the blue circle a capsule containing a dark brown contact lens floating in a clear liquid and put it on his right eye.

“Having a plain face is awesome when your job involves sneaking around and, well, assassinating people.” [Ryner]

Furthermore, he also took out some sort of earplugs and covered his ears with them.

“But, there’ll be countless visitors and guards on the scene. How will you do it without getting spotted? Or, do you plan on taking it by force and escaping as they chase after you?” [Evelyn]

“It’ll depend.” [Ryner]

“On what exactly?” [Evelyn]

She asked as he retrieved a few items from his pocket dimension and placed them in his jacket’s pockets.

“On if I get caught. So, just to be safe, get out of town and head for where we landed when we came here.” [Ryner]

“… Alright. Then, contact me once you’re done. I’ll be waiting for you.” [Evelyn]

“Yeah, and relax. There’s pretty much nothing in this town that can kill me. Besides, I’m freaking immortal.” [Ryner]

Casually dismissing the serious Evelyn’s concerns, he untied his right shoe and went back to the display hall with Mi’s barking at his back. The vampire saw him off for a few seconds before heading for her own destination. While walking on the street, she had to hold onto the little red puppy that kept trying to escape and go to Ryner as if she was worried about him.

Making his way through the crowd, Ryner was acting like an enthusiastic tourist as he tried to get a clear view of the Artifact. While doing so, he checked his surroundings once again. There were no windows, only one entrance was present, the target was in the middle of the room and guards were stationed around it and against the walls. After going through the plan in his head one more time and making sure that no one was observing him, he crouched down to tie his shoelace.

People around him glanced at him for a second, but soon ignored him. Once he was done, he placed a small metallic disk on the white floor that he took out from his jacket’s pocket. After activating it, he got back up and stepped on it to hide it. Then, he walked away at a brisk pace, nimbly making his way through the crowd. The humans and beastmen that were present were kicking the disk around and stepping on it, but it didn’t break.

No one noticed it because they were busy trying to have a look at the Artifact. Ryner, who walked to the other side of the hall, repeated the process as he pretended to wipe the dirt off his shoe and dropped another disk before leaving. Once he arrived near the pedestal, where the guards didn’t let anyone move closer, he checked his watch. Time wasn’t shown on the round surface. Instead, it was an electronic device with a touchscreen that was displaying a red button. He pressed it and the screen turned black.

Then, it happened.

“““AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!””” [Crowd]

The two disks released a high pitch sound that caused everyone to cover their ears in pain. Despite its size, the screech that was like nails scratching a blackboard was so loud that it easily filled the entire building. Both the visitors and the guards reflexively lowered their head, shielded their ears and closed their eyes. Some crouched down and fell to their knees. People were screaming, adding to the cacophony that was already unbearable.

The moment this chaos began, the perpetrator, who was unaffected by the noise thanks to his earplugs that filtered the disks’ sonic attack, threw multiple black marbles at the guards surrounding the pedestal as well as in all directions. When the small balls made contact with either the floor or a person, they exploded and released a cloud of grey smoke. As such, this increased the panic and those caught in the clouds were coughing. As for Ryner, he quickly made a mad dash for his target.

Charging into the smoke, he jumped over the circles of guards that were coughing and screaming and landed right at the pedestal. While holding his breath and keeping his eyes closed, he held his hand out and grabbed the scythe, having already memorized its position. Swiftly, he stored it inside his pocket dimension as well as his watch and his ear plugs, which caused him to be vulnerable to his own device’s loud attack. Enduring the pain, he jumped out of the smoke cloud and back into the crowd.

Among the masses, Ryner was covering his ears and groaning in pain as he staggered around, but was consciously getting away from the pedestal. Three seconds later, the two disks automatically stopped and destroyed themselves. Sparks and smoke were released as the devices broke into pieces. With the horrible noise gone, the pain disappeared and everyone was slowly getting back on their feet. They looked around, wondering what that was and sought their friends or relatives, still shaken by that experience.

“You ok?” [Victim]

“Dad? Mom?” [Victim]

“Urrgh, my ears…” [Victim]

“What the hell was that…?!” [Victim]

“Monster…? W-was it some… Monster’s scream…?” [Victim]

The lingering smoke clouds were being fanned away by the guards who finally started mobilizing. Those stationed at the walls were busy handling the panicking visitors and tried to calm them down, though they themselves were greatly shaken by that sudden event. However, more dire news was soon discovered.

“The, the Artifact… IT’S BEEN STOLEN!!!” [Someone]

Someone screamed and all eyes turned to the center of the hall, towards the pedestal. There, the scythe, that should be resting on a fluffy red cushion, was gone.

“What?!” [Crowd]

“No way! When!” [Crowd]

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” [Crowd]

Another wave of panic struck them all, but this time, the guards acted differently. They quickly closed the double doors and blocked them, preventing anyone from leaving.

“NOBODY MOVE! REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE AND FOLLOW OUR INSTRUCTIONS!” [Guard]

One of them yelled as he began shouting orders. One guard was let through the door to report the situation while the rest stayed to search for the stolen Artifact. They believed that it was still in the room and that the thief was hiding amongst the crowd.

“WE WILL NOW LOOK THROUGH ALL OF YOUR BELONGINGS! COOPERATE OR YOU’LL BE SUSPECTED OF HAVING STOLEN THE ARTIFACT!” [Guard]

As such, every person, man, woman and child, were thoroughly searched. The process took hours because of the number of people present as well as the fact that the scythe wasn’t found. In the first place, a weapon that was as tall as a man couldn’t be hidden so easily. If it was still in the building, they would have found it by now. In the end, the guards let the visitors go and news of the brazen heist instantly spread through the town. People talked about it, showing either shocked, horrified or excited expressions by how it suddenly disappeared from a hall full of people and under the watch of numerous guards.

As the mood in the air became restless, Ryner, wearing brown hair and a mustache, was walking through the streets and heading for the gates of the city. Being present at the scene of the crime, he had also been bombarded with questions and suspicious eyes as he showed the guards what he was carrying on his person. Of course, they found nothing, so they ignored him and proceeded to search and interrogate the next person. Taking a small detour, Ryner went inside an alley on the side of the street and put away his wig, mustache and jacket. Then, he headed for the gates and exited the town.

“(Evie, I got the scythe and no one’s after me. I’m outside the city now.)” [Ryner]

He contacted Evelyn telepathically thanks to the leather bracelet on his right wrist which had a small green gem located at his inner wrist.

“(I see. Congratulations, Ryner. Should I turn around and meet up with you?)” [Evelyn]

“(No, head to the meeting point like planned.)” [Ryner]

“(Understood. Then, see you soon.)” [Evelyn]

Cutting off the telepathic link, he continued to walk leisurely for a while until there was no one around. Then, he ran for the meeting point and saw Evelyn and Mi waiting for him.

“Woof!” [Mi]

The young pup rushed to him with her tail wagging energetically. Ryner picked her up and made his way to Evelyn while preventing Mi from licking his face.

“It’s good to see you safe.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn greeted him with a smile.

“You actually doubted me? I’m shocked. Who gave you all those tips on stealing?” [Ryner]

“Although I am grateful for your rich and varied education, but I believe that was hardly a proper thing to teach a highborn lady.” [Evelyn]

She returned his quip with her own.

“Just to confirm, was that Artifact what you were looking for?” [Evelyn]

“Yeah.” [Ryner]

Ryner nodded and, after putting Mi on the ground, he pulled out the scythe from his pocket dimension. Although the Heaven’s Blade was slightly longer than his height, he easily wielded it with one hand thanks to both his strength and the scythe’s blessings. Unlike the last time he saw it, the blade wasn’t shattered and the handle was in one piece.

“That guy did a good job…” [Ryner]

He couldn’t help but mutter his thoughts in a low voice while looking at the handiwork of Motyx.

“Hmm?” [Evelyn]

“Nothing, just talking to myself.” [Ryner]

“So, what sort of power does it possess? Is it perhaps capable of generating flames?” [Evelyn]

“No.” [Ryner]

He lightly swung the scythe to the side from which a gust of wind was born. The grass to his right was cut and fluttered about in the air.

“It reaps lives using wind.” [Ryner]

Ryner held the scythe vertically and stared at the curved blade. A distant look was in his eyes.

“That’s why it’s got the unoriginal name of ‘Wind Reaper’.” [Ryner]