Not long ago—

“Steal everything from the Followers of the Martial God and offer it to Hyunsoo.”

Raon, having become the Grand Thief, gave the order to the thieves under his command.

The subordinates of Raon, scattered across the world, moved at once.

All across Ares,

the entire storehouses of corrupt, grasping nobles were suddenly plundered by hundreds of thieves who appeared out of nowhere.

A holy knight of the Ares Church.

The true identity of the one who had been living in hiding under that name—as one of the Followers of the Martial God—was exposed, and everything he had was taken as well.

Based on the list of the Followers of the Martial God that the Grand Thief had secured, hundreds of nobles, knights, and hidden followers across the continent were stripped of everything they possessed in the span of just a few days.

All across Ares,

testimony from users poured in.

“The Grand Thief’s disciples have appeared!”

“The citizens of the Grand Thief’s nation are stealing everything!”

“This is insane... then just how incredible is the Grand Thief!?”

The entire world felt shock and fear at the Grand Thief’s appearance, and everyone wanted to know who it was.

We believe it’s an NPC. According to rumor, Grand Thief Dakuan had apparently been raising a successor from the beginning, apart from the seventeen disciples.You all know that NPCs can trigger world messages too. Of course, in the case of NPCs, it usually only happens when they reach a new realm, and they regard a world message as the Holy Grail.This is the moment a new ultra-named NPC is born in the Ares setting.The world did not know.

Grand Thief Dakuan.

The aged old man had judged that one day, his foreign disciple Raon might succeed him.

And so he had started spreading rumors from that moment on.

“My successor will naturally never be some foreigner.”

Those rumors had been to protect his succession.

And if the whole world were to learn one thing, it would be what shocked them most of all:

the thefts committed across the entire continent of Ares over the course of just a few days by the Grand Thief and his subordinates—

had been done for Hyunsoo alone.

*****

[All thieves have fulfilled your command.]

After plundering the Followers of the Martial God, Raon had gone to find Hyunsoo immediately.

“The slave among slaves. Grand Slave, Slave King Raon offers this to Hyunsoo.”

[20,393,195 gold]

Kneeling on the ground and presenting the bundle, Raon smiled.

Then Hyunsoo reached out, took only a single gold coin from inside the bundle, slipped it into his pocket, and said,

“This is enough for me.”

“...?”

1 gold.

It was worth no more than 1,000 won.

“Raon. Build the orphanage with this money.”

Looking at the huge pile of money, Hyunsoo smiled.

“Don’t offer your dream to me. And if you really are the Grand Thief I’ve come to know, then you shouldn’t spend all this money this way. Are you really okay with offering all of this to me?”

“...”

In truth, Raon knew the reality as well.

[A Grand Thief’s theft must have justice.]

[You must return part of the stolen money to the poor.]

[If you fail to do so, the previous Grand Thief Dakuan may steal everything from you.]

He had to give away at least half.

That was the Grand Thief’s penalty.

Even so, with that 20 billion won, Raon had more than enough to establish an orphanage, and he would still be able to return 50% to the poor.

Looking at Raon, Hyunsoo suddenly said,

“That reminds me of something.”

Raon listened closely.

“Even when the earth freezes solid, when the time comes, the shoots still rise.”

Smiling faintly, Hyunsoo said,

“Now push through the soil and go out into the world.”

*****

Now.

Kumar and the more than two hundred Indian rankers were stunned.

Raon’s summoning calls went on without end.

The seventeen figures dressed like thieves had appeared one after another like shadows.

[Disciple of the Grand Thief, Kalaon Lv.523]

[Disciple of the Grand Thief, Andallo Lv.532]

Their appearances were varied.

The first to emerge from the darkness, Kalaon, was an old man.

“Hohoho.”

The white-haired old man let out a sinister laugh as he looked at the two hundred Indian rankers.

And then a woman smiled faintly.

She had a slender build.

She was Andallo, one of the disciples.

Behind her mask, her emerald-like eyes gleamed.

“...These people have some very nice things.”

There was also one who looked extremely young.

“Hehe, I’m going to steal the most today!”

[Disciple of the Grand Thief, Paya Lv.503]

He looked like a boy no older than thirteen.

The disciples formed a ring around the two hundred rankers, and they were all different like this.

There were old men, women, children, and even thieves so tall their height bordered on absurd.

Kumar and the other rankers were thrown into confusion.

Just moments ago, they had been mocking Raon.

He had been nothing more than a boy from the slums, abused and oppressed by Kumar, surviving as a pickpocket.

When they had seen Raon being trampled under Kumar’s boots, they had felt the thrill and pleasure that the strong felt when looking down at someone at the very end of the law of the jungle.

But now, Raon pulled up his mask and said,

“I am the Grand Thief.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Not long ago,

the one who had shocked the entire world.

The father of the 800,000 thieves spread throughout Ares.

The fact that he was merely a twenty-one-year-old user—and that he had once been nothing more than a pickpocket—struck them like a blow.

“Y-you...!”

Kumar could not believe it.

This had been the same child who used to crawl around crying after being beaten with Kumar’s club.

The seventeen disciples who had been snickering among themselves turned to Raon and showed him proper respect.

“Hoho, Master, please give us your command.”

“Your command.”

“Hehe, Master. Just give the order!”

From behind the mask, Raon said,

“Steal everything.”

In that instant, the thieves vanished from before the Indian rankers’ eyes.

Once they disappeared, Kumar—who had been bewildered—started feeling something deeply unpleasant.

What is this?

Before he knew it, the old man stood in front of him.

[64% of your possessed gold is stolen!]

[161,014 gold is taken.]

“Hoho, I’ll make good use of it.”

The old man, Kalaon, loved stealing money, and he was the best at it.

Kalaon began sweeping through the field, stripping the Indian rankers of their gold.

[134,104 gold is taken.]

[103,015 gold is taken.]

Following behind him, the woman Andallo displayed something even more shocking.

She passed one of the Indian rankers standing beside Kumar in a blur.

[Transcendent grade. The Melted Demon Ring is plundered!]

“G-give it back!!”

It was an accessory he had bought with his entire fortune.

The ranker screamed after losing it.

“Thank you.”

Andallo smiled sweetly.

The woman began stealing every accessory the Indian rankers possessed and dropping them into the cloth bundle she carried.

Of course, there was still such a thing as probability failure for them as well.

But there was a force that compensated for it.

[You are with the Grand Thief.]

[The probability of plundering artifacts and gold increases by 25%, and all skill levels related to theft increase by 1.]

The seventeen disciples were those who had learned theft directly from Dakuan himself, and their levels were also so high that the high-rankers here could not compare.

And on top of that—

“Hehehe, shall I steal too!?”

The boy disciple Paya was like Hermes incarnate.

Paya plunged into the midst of the rankers.

The Indian rankers flinched and tried to defend themselves, only to be thrown into confusion.

As if he were wearing boots that could fly, Paya soared through the air, and his sharp dagger slashed across them.

[Critical hit!]

[HP falls below 72%.]

“An assassin?”

“This little brat’s an assassin!”

The Indian users could barely keep their wits about them, and they were stunned that their HP had dropped by nearly 30% from a single strike.

Some stole. Others attacked.

The indiscriminate assault of those who had all surpassed level 500—beings on the verge of Legend—left the more than two hundred high-rankers in a state where they could hardly even think straight.

And the most outstanding of them all was Grand Thief Raon.

STAB, STAB-STAB-STAB, STAB-STAB-STAB-STAB—!

Raon darted across the battlefield, displaying exceptional ability as both thief and assassin.

[Legendary grade. Helm of Eneon is plundered.]

[Epic grade. Boots of Raimi are plundered.]

[32,301 gold is plundered.]

[Critical hit!]

[HP falls below 43%.]

Kumar’s face, which had once dismissed Raon, turned pale white.

...India’s number one has changed?

Because he himself had been India’s number one, he could tell.

Raon’s value could not be measured, and the man was several levels above him.

And there was more than enough evidence that India’s number one had changed.

First, he was an outstanding thief and assassin.

Second, he was the king of 800,000 thieves.

Third, he commanded the seventeen disciples—and that was the most overwhelming part of all.

At this level, he doesn’t just rank first in India—he’s probably top five in the world!

Kumar could not hide his shock, and then a notification rang out that stunned him even further.

[Current status is revealed.]

[So far, you are in danger of losing 33,031,051 gold, 2 Transcendent artifacts, 11 Legendary artifacts, 41 Unique artifacts, and 87 Epic artifacts!]

Kumar was indisputably India’s strongest ranker.

And so, through the notification, he began analyzing the situation calmly.

In danger of losing them? That means they haven’t actually been stolen yet.

In other words, after a certain amount of time passed, the real theft would be completed.

Only then did Kumar perceive the weakness in it.

There’s no way powers this fraudulent can be perfect.

And also—

If I kill them, everything they stole will come back!?

Kumar, the Sun Knight,

revealed the power he had intended to use in Continental War: World Championship.

“Sun Sword.”

KWAAAAAAANG—!

A massive flash that shook heaven and earth swallowed all the thieves and Raon at once.

[All enemies recognized as enemies are blinded for 10 seconds!]

[Those recognized as allies are not blinded!]

The high-rankers were fast.

In the interval when the thieves could not see, they cut them down or activated skills to press the attack.

And in that brief opening, they began subduing the disciples.

“...?”

Raon shook off the blindness faster than the others through the Grand Thief’s Overcoming.

But soon, what he saw made him panic.

The old man Kalaon was dangling in the grip of a warrior ranker who had seized him by the throat.

The beautiful thief Andallo had been slammed to the ground, and a user drove a longsword gripped in both hands straight into her abdomen.

THRUST—!

“Kyaaaah!”

And Kumar had forced the boy thief Paya to his knees and was preparing to strike his head.

“...!”

[Disciple Andallo’s HP falls below 20%.]

[Disciple Andallo may soon die.]

Most of the disciples had been restrained or were in danger.

“This is what experience looks like, Raon.”

Kumar grinned as he laid out the truth he had analyzed.

“As the user who became Grand Thief levels up, the seals will be released one by one, and your power will open further, yes. But your level is still too low to fully awaken all the power of these disciples.”

It was true.

Though their displayed levels were in the 500s, because Raon’s level was still low, all of their stats had been reduced by 20%.

In terms of raw physical ability alone, they could only exert power in the low 400s at best.

“And because you haven’t fulfilled all the qualifications, even though you bear the epithet Grand °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Thief, king of all thieves, those thieves won’t move for your personal affairs. Of course, these disciples are direct disciples of Dakuan, so they’ll move for your sake. And the proof is that only they are here.”

Raon’s face filled with despair.

Kumar had seen through every card he held.

“There are more than two hundred high-rankers here. Even for the Grand Thief, trying to handle that alone was arrogance.”

Kumar clicked his tongue as he mocked him thoroughly.

“Tsk, tsk. Poor little Raon. You were alone when you were young, and now you’re going to end up alone all over again, hm? Let’s kill these ones first, and then we can talk.”

Kumar raised his sword high, preparing to cut through Paya’s neck.

No...!

Raon looked around at the disciples.

All of them were smiling as if to say it was fine.

But Raon did not want to lose the ones Dakuan had raised—the ones willing to give their lives for him—because of his own incompetence.

It’s all because I’m useless... because I’m useless, they’re going to die...!

Kumar’s sword swung down to sever Paya’s neck.

Watching his own helplessness unfold before his eyes, Raon fell into despair.

And then—

suddenly, a change occurred.

RUMBLEEEEE—

What is this...?

The movements of everyone trying to cut the disciples’ throats froze.

An enormous, unknown pressure had begun crushing down on them.

[Super Telekinesis]

[This is an overwhelming force that cannot be resisted.]

Telekinesis?

At that moment, a man entered Kumar’s field of vision.

He was standing atop a cliff.

He had a gentle, affable face, and soon information about him appeared before Kumar.

[Sage Arte]

Sage?

And then Kumar stiffened.

He knew Hyunsoo too, and he knew that voice.

There was no way he would not. They had been on their way to plunder the nation of Hyun.

From quite a distance away,

Hyunsoo’s voice rang out clearly to the two hundred Indian rankers.

“All forces, Form ranks.”