After a week, I had been bumped up in all my subjects except magic history. Apparently, this school has no concept of grades, but instead once one reaches a certain level of proficiency in a class on moves on to the next class regardless of the time of year. Cassiopeia said that changes once one reaches the advanced courses, but neither of us are there yet.

Right now, I am reading about jobs in the library. Once one gets enough skills in a certain field, your status automatically updates to the corresponding job. Then the job can evolve or even change completely depending on the skills you get and/or level later. The book I have open details the known requirements for common jobs. For example, [Novice Magician] requires [Mana Detection I] and eight spells from no more than three elements. However, [Novice Fire Magician], which is more advanced, only requires five spells, but they must all be fire spells. I for one am now a [Novice Light Magician] and can thus become an adventurer anytime now, but this school is good for building my foundations.

After reading my fill, I close the book and walk out into the hallway. I make my way to the dormitory. Today is an off day so I plan to get some arrows for my bow and maybe a piece of wood I can carve into a wand. Slinging the quiver over my shoulder, I walk out of my dorm room only to realize I have no money. Thinking for a bit I devise a plan.

The city is crowded today as always. Street vendors vend things at the top of their lungs. Passersby pass by, occasionally giving me strange looks. I wonder why; I mean, I’m fully dressed today, and I see other people in school uniforms and other people with bows and quivers. Is it because I am skipping around? I don’t think so. Whatever, I found my target. He looks like he is passing by like everyone else, but if I look closely, I can see that instead of a passerby, he is a pickpocket. When he walks into an alley I follow after him.

As he counts the money, I walk up to him and tapping him on the shoulder, call out, “Hey.” He whips around, shrieks, and runs. “Wait!” I cry as I give chase. Ignoring the skill notifications as we round three corners, I use my only lightning spell [Lightning Dash I] to close in and tackle him when the alley straightens out enough. “Wait, I just want to ask a few questions.” He doesn’t seem to like being pinned beneath me, but I can’t really risk him running away again.

“Get off me, you washboard!” he shouts, but there aren’t any washboards nearby, much less on top of him. Unless he’s talking to me.

“I’m not a washboard: I’m clearly a girl.”

“Lies!” he struggles. “You are as flat as a mirror!”

Let’s just ignore his confusing talk. “Just answer my question: can you teach me how to pick pockets, too?” Huh, he stopped squirming and started staring at be blankly. Let’s just stare back. This is taking a while. Ah! he blinked. That means I won right?

“What?” he asks.

“Can you teach me how to pick pockets?” I repeat.

“If I do, will you get off of me?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, fine.” I step up and stand to the side as he squirms up. “Follow me: I’ll take you to my boss,” he says as he walks in the direction we were running.

After five minutes, we arrive at the decrepit cellar of a decrepit inn. He gives a rhythmic knock and waits as sliding sounds resound within until another boy opens the doors from inside. “Van, whach’you doin’ here?” the inside boy asks my guide.

“This flat bitch here assaulted me then asked to learn the trade.”

As the inside boy turns my way, I rebut, “I’m human, not canine.” Van or whoever he is must really be blind since he keeps misidentifying me.

“Couldn’t shake ‘er?” the other boy, whose name I still don’t know, asks.

“See the uniform? She has movement magic. Just let us meet the boss so I can go back to getting my fill.”

“Oh. Well, I’m not supposed to let strangers in, period. I might could ask the boss to let ‘er in, but you’ll have to wait.”

“That’s acceptable,” I comply. This boss will likely be able to teach me what I want to know better than these kids, and forceful entry seems to have negative connotations in the dictionaries.

By the time I return my thoughts to the real world, the not-Van boy returned with a young adult in tow. He had black or dark brown greased and slicked back into some kind of promontory just above his forehead as well as male pattern resting bitch face. The most noticeable feature of this thug, however, was that the thumb and index finger on his right hand were missing.

“This the broad?” the presumed boss speaks while facing me.

“Y-yessir,” replied his guide.

“You want to learn how to pickpocket?” the boss asks.

“Yessir,” I imitate the boy. The boss looks me up and down. I shiver a little as I felt his gaze. It feels like a drop of ice water ran down my spine, but after some thought I conclud it was some spell.

“Very well, I will teach you the skills of a thief, and in return, you will give me a third your profits and take part in missions I give you. Also, the guild has certain rules: no robbing people who paid the protection money; keep the names and locations of members secret including your own; no killing; and lastly, you can hire anyone under you as long as they pay you a third. Are we clear?”

“I believe so, yes,” I reply before continuing. “Does the one third tax go all the way to the top?”

He pauses before sighing, “Yes. Well, come inside. Van, return to work. Tony, as you were.”

The inside of the cellar looks like the inside of a cellar with foods and drinks stored about, but beneath one of the barrels was a trapdoor and ladder leading to a small room with a table and two chairs. On the table was a ledger with a quill and a small jar of some transparent fluid. Beside one of the chairs, was a locked strong box where the boss apparently stored their earnings. All four walls had thick wooden doors though only one was open and another swung the wrong way, outwards not in, and lacked the door bars of the other three.

“Behind the open door are bunk rooms where Tony, Van, and the others sleep. You don’t have to stay here, but if you ever need a place to lay low there’s a bed for you. My room and personal stuff are behind the locked door. Never enter there unless you are ready to leave this world. The other two doors lead to some storage rooms and the rest of the underground. I won’t bother you if you decide to try your luck with them but something else will. Wait here while get you your gear.” I wait as he disappears behind one of the doors and later reappears with a bundle in his hands.

“This is your guild badge: it has an enchantment that notifies the wearer of guild members and clients which expires in thirty days. Come to me for a refill when it does. It also is designed to completely disintegrate if you cast an [Ignite] upon it. Do so if you are captured or otherwise compromised. Here is a basic cloak for hiding in the dark. Don’t wear I broad daylight or you might get pulled in for questioning by the city guard. This is a special dagger for thieves. This notch is for cutting the strings holding up coin pouches and tendons if you’re good at it; these are for catching and breaking swords – you shouldn’t try that yet; unscrewing the pommel opens up a compartment with a lockpicking set and a lethal poison tablet. Under no circumstances are you to let anyone see you with this dagger.

“Lastly this scroll has a forbidden spell described on it that you will find helpful. Read it now and give it back immediately.” Storing everything but the scroll in my inventory, I open it to read as instructed but am interrupted. “Also, don’t reveal that you have an item box or whatever. I can count on my bad hand the item box wielders who were discovered and not burnt at the stake by the church.”

That sounds bad. I decide to process that sudden bombshell after reading the scroll which explained an efficient but only mildly effective concealment spell called [Fade]. I read and returned it to the boss before retreating back to the dorm before realizing I didn’t learn how to pick pockets. I guess there will always be a next time.

Status

Skills

Combat: Skip Step Evasion II Dagger Techniques I Light Barrier I Light Beam III Lightning Rush I Fireball I Flame Wave I Ferrokinesis II Tracking I Civil: Examine II Analyze III Cartography I Court Etiquette I Reading VI Mana Detection II Candlelight II Ignition I Summon Water I Sprinting I

Status

Identity: Name: “Robin” Age: 16 Sex: Female Job: Novice Light Magician Home: Capital Magic Academy dorm 18-201 Gauge Levels: HP: 91/91 SP: 63/63 MP: 498/550 LP: 100 PP: 10/10 XP: 430 Summary Statistics: Level: 33 Combat Level: 13 Civil Level: 20 Rank: 31.9 STRength: 8.1 DEXterity: 12.8 STAmina: 9.4 INTeligence: 56.2 WISdom: 45.8 WILlpower: 14.3 CONviction: 3.15 FAIth: 37.5 CORrectness: 99.9 Tier: E+ Equipped Items: Academy Uniform Blouse Academy Uniform Skirt Academy Uniform Kerchief Academy Uniform Vest The Divine Panties of Chastity Indestructible Cannot be removed by anyone other than the wearer even after death or on accident Under no circumstances will the wearer’s privates be revealed while equipped If anyone without sufficient mental resistance looking at the wearer nefariously gazes upon them, they will immediately lose interest The Divine Sports Bra of Chastity Indestructible Cannot be removed by anyone other than the wearer even after death or on accident Under no circumstances will the wearer’s privates be revealed while equipped Automatically alerts the wearer of ‘Peeping Toms’ Plain Leather Boots Red Hair Ribbon Plain Leather Quiver (empty) Firenze Magic Academy Student ID Measurements: [[withheld]] …

Inventory

Equipment: Simple Green Archer’s Hat Simple Green Huntress’s Blouse Simple Green Huntress’s Skirt Plain Leather Boots Plain Leather Belt Plain Leather Archer’s Right Glove Plain Leather Archer’s Left Arm Guard Basic Hunting Dagger Ordinary Iron Buckler Standard Ironwood Longbow (unstrung) Plain Black Cloak Thieves Dagger Thieves Guild Members' Badge