The party, led by Machary, walked down the narrow streets of the clay city, and they felt uncomfortable.
There were many looks—unfriendly ones—lingering in their direction.
"...I am not sure about you guys, but I’d like to find the Desert Tower Key as soon as possible and leave this floor."
Machary said.
He had heard bad rumors about the 7th floor, and especially about its "No Safe Zone" city that was a very dangerous place.
It was a popular trading port for the locals and players, but it also had a dark side.
It was a popular "Player-Killing" city, where killing fellow players was an everyday occurrence, and some strong players came here to get some free loot by killing players.
If they lingered here too long, they might encounter some really strong players, who might want to kill them for their loot.
"Keep in contact with the party chat. If someone is in trouble, we’ll come to help. Let’s check every merchant store for the Desert Tower key, and if there isn’t any, try to find information on its location."
Abigail said.
Everyone nodded and left in different directions.
Since they didn’t want Poppy to go anywhere alone, she went with Ragnar, as they doubted anyone would want to pick a fight with him.
"..."
At a nearby roof, a hooded figure watched as the party of five split, and the figure focused on one person in particular.
At Fang Raon.
Who was walking down the busy street, clearly unaware that someone was looking at him.
"..."
Silently, the figure started following behind him—in shadows, silently, and unseen—like a ghost that shouldn’t be here.
...
"...Sorry, we don’t sell that here!"
A rough-voiced merchant said and waved Fang Raon off, who grunted under his breath and left the shop, once again disappointed.
’Nobody is selling that. It’s no wonder. It is hard to find, and if any of the merchants get their hands on it, it will immediately be sold.’
Fang Raon thought with a sigh.
He then walked down the alleyway, which was narrow and tight—it would barely fit two people walking side-by-side—and made his way towards the merchant district.
"Hey, stop, you thief!"
In that moment, he heard a shout behind him and saw a bandana scarf-wearing player running away from the merchant shop he just left.
The merchant tried running after the player, but he had short, fat legs and thus couldn’t keep up with the player.
"Hahaha!"
The thief saw Fang Raon, nimbly jumped over him like an acrobat, and, at the same time, touched his head.
[You’ve lost your Refined Sword]
[You’ve lost your Steel Shield]
"Thank you very much!"
The thief giggled and kept running away.
"...What... How?!"
Fang Raon’s eyes turned serious, and he ran after the thief, but he was extremely agile and fast!
It was also obvious that the thief had been spending a lot of time in the city, as he knew every alleyway and corner better than his own pockets!
Fang Raon smashed against the wall at the end of the alleyway, kept running left, and then turned right.
He barely saw the thief’s silhouette turn left, and he followed immediately after.
"...Oh?"
The thief turned around, then smiled, and he left the alleyway and entered a market street that had hundreds of people moving about.
"Shit..."
Fang Raon stopped at the crowd, couldn’t find the slippery thief anywhere, and he then looked up at the clay buildings.
In that moment, he used the windows, balconies, and cracks in the clay to climb to the rooftop.
From there, he scanned the crowd, and a short moment later, he heard some meat-selling vendors scream, "Thief, thief!" and he immediately turned to the sound.
There, he saw the thief laughing and running away with his spoils.
’Arrogant and fool!’
Fang Raon used the roofs, vaulting and leaping across them. He then saw that the thief escaped into one of the alleyways.
He slid down the rooftop, landing gracefully in the alleyway, and silently followed after the thief, who hadn’t noticed him.
In that moment, he saw the thief cross a street, leap over a clay wall, and disappear inside a shady-looking warehouse.
The warehouse had a lot of activity—a lot of players were exiting and entering the place.
"...I lost my weapons, shit. Should I call others? No, there is nothing they can do about this. I need to do this alone, somehow.
"Should I sneak inside the warehouse and try to find the thief? How far will I get, though? It doesn’t look like a place where anybody can just enter.
"This also isn’t some newbie floor. There can be High Rankers inside that warehouse."
Fang Raon bit his nail.
’I might get killed if I try anything. What kind of skill did he use to steal my stuff straight from my inventory?’
Fang Raon stopped biting his nails, turned to the warehouse, and just chuckled to himself with his heart beating hard against his chest.
’Ah... Whatever. I won’t leave this place without my stuff. If I die, so be it, but I’ll find a way to get back to Black Online, and I’ll make their life a living hell.’
He grinned, left the alleyway, crossed the street, and with some players looking at him suspiciously, he just leaped over the wall.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing?"
"Who the hell are you?!"
Some players shouted after him, but then Fang Raon pushed open the warehouse doors, and his ears were greeted with the shouting of players.
Close to two hundred players were gathered inside—playing games, drinking, eating, trading, and just talking loudly.
At the center of the warehouse, there was a big-bellied man—sitting on a throne of metal—surrounded by drunken women.
"...Who opened the door?!"
The big-bellied man asked angrily.
This warehouse door was rarely opened, and it made some of them squint their eyes, as they hadn’t seen sunlight for many days.
"...Is that guy crazy or what?"
In his crow’s nest, near the ceiling of the warehouse, the thief looked down with his hazel-brown eyes.
At that moment, some of the players caught up to Fang Raon and pushed him down to the ground, stopping him from moving.
"...You bastard, do you know where you are right now?"
"...Who the hell do you think you are coming here like this?"
"...State your name!"
Ignoring them all, Fang Raon stared silently at the big-bellied man, and he stared back with his generally unpleasant glare.
"I want back the things that were stolen from me. I know you are here, thief, and I want the things back now."
Fang Raon said coldly.
In that moment, every player turned to him and laughed in unison, calling him a "fool" and idiotic for coming here.
"...What’s your name, boy?"
The big-bellied man asked.
"Fang Raon."
"...I know of you... Yes, yes... You are definitely reckless, as I expected. One who tries Solo Clears always is, and you coming here alone confirms that theory."
The big-bellied man stood up from his throne, his lower belly spilling out from underneath his shirt, and he caressed his dirty beard.
"Thief, come here!"
In that moment, the thief used a rope to come down, and he walked next to the big-bellied man and looked at Fang Raon with scorn.
"You stole from him?"
The big-bellied man asked.
"...Yes, I did, Boss Randell."
"Hahaha... Give them to me."
Randell took the Refined Sword and Steel Shield—weighing them in his hands—and then he placed them on the table.
He then sat back down on the throne and waved for the players to bring Fang Raon closer to him, and they did, forcing him to sit down before the table.
"I’ll give you a chance to earn these weapons back—we’ll play three games, and if you beat me in every single one, they are yours!"
Randell said with an ugly smile.