Extra - Karlin

Extra - Karlin

*Kingdom of Nuave, The Southern Frontier, Six Years Ago*

Karlins POV:

Well, this had gone to shit - and that meant that everything was going according to plan for me.

Adventurers were attacking the shity little clearing that the [Bandits] I was running with had been calling a camp. The grunts were yelling and scrambling for their weapons, sometimes screaming when the [Acid Mage] struck them. Cant blame them for that part, it takes a peculiar kind of sadist to become an [Acid Mage] after all.

The Boss was trying to pull the group into some semblance of order. It wasnt hard to feign panic and approach him, after which a quick [Knife in the Back] with a poisoned blade put an end to that. I stepped over his body and into his tent, ignoring the scantily clad young woman quivering in its corner. Frankly, other than a vague sense of contempt towards the [Bandits] who engaged in such activities, I didnt really care anymore. Besides, I had a time limit if I wanted to loot the place and get away clean.

I started stuffing the late Bosss stash of treasure into my pack, along with cloth to stop any jangling. I wish I had one of those Bags of Holding, but on the other hand those were pretty easy to detect. Getting away with the money was always more important than actually getting the money in the first place, so it was better to use mundane tools to avoid detection.

I cut my way through the back of the tent, using my Skills to slip into the shadows outside. It was harder with the heavy load I had, but with everyone distracted by the fighting I probably walked out without even trying. I did try though, because you never knew what you would get with adventurers and it would be annoying to get caught.

Not deadly, of course, because I was the one who had sold the [Bandits] out in the first place, but Id have to give up the items I was carrying. Normally, [Bandits] rarely had things worth taking, but this was southern Nauve and that meant [Merchants] transporting gold. It also meant that the powers that be were keenly interested in hunting [Bandits] down.

Id known the score before I came down here. Blood flowed more freely than gold in Nauve. Between the Monsters, the Adventurers Guild, and Nuaves military it was a death trap for the criminal Classes. But they baited their rat trap with gold and so a constant stream of fools were willing to try their Luck.

But Luck had jack shit to do with it.

I slipped out of the camp and into the forest, reflecting on the fact that the [Bandit] Class was shit. Unless you got a better one, like [Marauder], you were basically fodder. A large enough group could intimidate a [Merchant] and some D-rank party - maybe even a C-rank party if you had enough bodies - but at some point either a group of adventurers or a B-rank would show up and butcher everyone involved.

It was far easier - and safer - to join the [Bandits], sell them out, and steal everything I could on the way out. If I was caught... Well, the faces of the Priests of Scalus when those Alet fuckers told them I was actively stealing and fencing stolen goods and that it was all technically legal, was always worth a smile.

I didnt go too far away from the camp; this was not a safe region in the slightest. Even with my Skills and skills I wasnt confident I could make it back to civilization. I was a [Thief], not a [Ranger]. Fortunately, I just happened to know where a large group of adventurers were that I could let unwittingly clear the way back for me.

I wish they would hurry up wiping my former comrades out, I would kill for a good drink after having to camp in the ass end of nowhere for so long.

...Actually, considering Id be paying for my drink with the gold Ive taken, I suppose I am killing for a good drink right now.

*Kingdom of Nuave, Nu City, One Week Later*This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Fuck! I groaned out as the dice came up Drake Eyes. I wasnt the only one, as the audience watching the gambling table felt my loss vicariously. I had just lost more gold in one toss than most [Commoners] earned in a couple of years. The lady on my lap was more than happy to comfort me - she had cost more than most of the watchers earned as well.

Some might say that I would be better served not spending my money at gambling tables and on expensive [Courtesans] - although I would argue that anyone would experience a good [Courtesans] Skills would end up admitting that that was hardly a waste - but no one ever got out of their game. A [Thief], retire? That only happened in the stories. Fantasy stories.

It wasnt only [Thieves] though. I thought as I waved the [Waitress] over to top off my wine. Reality was that a [Soldier] or an adventurer would never be able to retire unless they earned enough money to never have to work again in their life. Leave a life of fighting and danger and become a [Farmer]? How would they compete with the much higher level [Farmers] around them? Become an [Innkeeper]? With what Skills?

Nah, I was in this ride for life - or at least until my life ended. It was better to risk it all and to live it up after rather than scratching at the dirt or whatever it was [Farmers] did anyway. Id spend my gold like water and then go out and earn it all over again.

*Kingdom of Nuave, The Southern Frontier, Five Years Ago*

Find that damn [Thief!] The [Bandit Lord] roared into the night, sending his lackeys scrambling. Over the past year I had been rather successful, too much so in fact. There were few things worse for a [Thief] than being known as one.

I was not sure who had pointed me out to the boss of my current - former - crew and I was taken by surprise, but thankfully the [Bandit] Class was not one known for its intellect.

As I started to relax and my adrenaline went away, I was finally starting to feel the cut on my leg. From experience I could tell it wasnt too deep, but you would never be able to tell that from all the blood soaking my pants. It was going to be a long walk back and it would feel even longer if the Elf wouldnt let me clean it up. What, by the Void, was an Elf doing out here anyway?

*Kingdom of Nuave, Nu City, Three Days Later*

This fucking bastard!

I was glaring at the [Priest] of Scalus who had delivered my sentence; that smug, smiling, little shit! Demanding that I give up my [Thief] Class? Just the Stat loss alone would screw me over, how - by the Void - was this supposed to be Justice!?

No need to look at me like that, the man said after a minute of my stunned silence at his pronouncement. The Gods assure me this will be good for you in the end.

Fuck the Gods and fuck you too! I let out a snarl, but the [Priest] remained impassive. Arrogant bastard, he was half my age and treating me like a whining child, wasnt he? Of course he was, it wasnt like I had a fucking choice. I doubt this [Priest] was powerful enough to actually strip my Class himself, but the [Guards] would hardly let me leave until I did. So my two options were either to give up my Class and cripple myself or rot in the citys jail.

I knew the prison of Nus reputation as well, which meant I was aware that this was actually a choice between becoming a cripple or becoming a corpse. I had no doubt that the [Guards] would accidentally forget I had been brought in and would accidentally forget to give me food or water. There was more than enough wiggle room between Justice and law to fit my dead body.

Fifteen minutes later, I stumbled out of the temple feeling like someone had dosed me with Deep Cave Spider venom. My head was spinning, my vision blurred, and every bone and muscle in my body ached like I had been tossed down a flight of stairs after being beaten unconscious. I nearly fell over right there but was caught by a passerby.

Woah, the man helped me sit down. Are you alright?

Before I could say anything, a familiar voice replied, Of course he isnt, Rauvin. You heard what his sentence was. In fact, the only reason we are here is that you felt bad about it!

Of course I do! the man - Rauvin - became heated, What is wrong with stealing from [Bandits]? This guy was the one to tip off the Guild to more than a few of those groups anyway, so you can hardly say he was doing more harm than good! How is that Justice?

The workings of the Gods can be mysterious, another male - younger - voice spoke up. I find it interesting that the [Priest] said this will be better for you in the end as it implies that Justice paid enough attention to work out the full impact of the Judgement. Scalus is not Alet, who is all knowing by her nature. He must actually work at knowing more about a situation than Alet tells Him and most Judgements are either too clear or too trivial to bother.

Who are you people? I couldnt follow their discussion. In fact, I could barely focus my eyes enough to see a man in armor standing in front of me and That Elf!

Your name is Karlin, right? The man in armor, Rauvin, who was very obviously an Adventurer - and part of the same party as the Elf who caught me - asked rhetorically, My name is Rauvin, and I am the leader of an Adventurer team And, honestly, I kind of feel bad that this happened. Being forced to give up a Class? That just isnt right, so I thought I would make you an offer

*Kingdom of Nuave, Nu City, Two Months Later*

I had initially had some thoughts of revenge, but I quickly put those out of my mind. First and originally, because it was well known that killing an Elf was difficult and that success was more often than not met with the killer being hunted down by some millenia old Elf that was a relative of the one that was killed. Secondly, however, I put it out of my mind because I grudgingly had come to like these kids - and that was really all I could think of them as, even though Rei was nearly three times my age.

They were driven, flexible in how they approached problems, and more than willing to reach out and share a drink with anyone they met regardless of status or how closely they hewed to what the Temples said was correct. Even Ylma, the bitchy mage girl, had another side to her, happily teaching magic to slum kids for free. She was still kind of a bitch, but she had more depth than I had first thought.

The team - Seeking the Horizon, now that was a fanciful name - had been taking jobs in the city, helping me level my other Classes and I had been using my old contacts to help them complete jobs they normally wouldnt be able to. Which was how this had happened:

[You have met the requirements for the advanced Class: [Rogue]!]

[You have 7 open Class Slots.]

[You have Classes available, would you like to see them now?]

[Note: [Rogue] is an Evolved Class. You require a compatible Class to Evolve!]

[Note: Requirements have been met to allow Class Evolution based on the Surrendered Class [Thief]]

I think I might just stay with them for a while yet.