What was even more shocking was that it was made up entirely from youths who somehow managed to drift to the outskirts and had the misfortune of calling it home. 

They had started by stealing food for themselves in their earlier years but had gained their infamy after they started targeting the wealth of the few wealthy individual who caught their eye. 

...

Although Lovell would not be directly involved in the raids, he was set to be their lookout and would be posted at the perimeter and had to make sure his poisonous tongue warded off any soul that started asking questions, as well as notify his group should any authorities come snooping around. 

He then started walking towards his room but then he noticed his ankle was hurting. It was at the exact spot that the vagrant wrapped his sickly looking hands around.

Interesting return home, huh? 

Annoying geezer. 

He gave it a dismissive look and proceeded to his room dispite the new discomfort. 

It was only slightly painful and did not cause any difficulty walking. He chose to ignore the pricking sensation.

He left the group in their excitement and proceeded towards his room. 

His room wasn't what one would expect a thief to have, but he always did try to stand out, in his unique way. 

It was littered with the dozens of books he had managed to gain over the years. 

While the rest of his group tended to lean more towards jewellery and food, he was more inclined towards his pursuit of knowledge. However limited that may have been.

He picked up the latest book that was on his to-read list from what could only be surmised as his bed and threw it towards the heap he had piled up in the corner of his room. 

He then reached under his bed and pulled out a flat piece of wood. 

On this wood was a crude map of the manor they planned to raid. He looked over it a few times to memorize the exact location of the storage rooms, bedrooms and library. 

Although he couldn't go inside himself, he always managed to get a book out of such ventures. 

Derek would always get him something when the opportunity presented itself. They were friends since childhood and even ran away together from the orphanage where they were raised. 

Another contributing factor to his position of being the vice-leader.

Now, all that is left is to get some much-needed sleep for tonight's activities. 

He then put away the crude map and placed it under his bed. He lay on the bed and closed his eyes. Shortly after, he had fallen asleep. 

...

After what felt like a four to five-hour nap, he was woken by the sounds of rapid movement happening outside his shoddy room. 

The time had come, and the other members of the group were running up and about to prepare for the raid.

Lovell got out of his bed and proceeded to open the door. Most of the others were already gone from their rooms and were gathering in front of the shed. 

Lovell slowly made his way towards the entrance of the shed since he was still a little groggy from sleep. 

Derek was quietly watching the members of his brigade chat among themselves with anticipation and excitement written across their faces. 

"Listen up!!

None of you are newcomers, so you know the drill. 

Nobody is to behave carelessly, and always make sure you move in pairs. 

Handle this seriously and you will be rewarded.

Only fools get caught.

Is that understood?!"

"YESSIR!!" 

Their unified vocals completely woke Lovell from his groggy state and sharpened his awareness. 

He walked out of the shed and proceeded to the back of the group, where he would not be noticed by anyone. The group then began their descent to town at Derek's order.

They slowly and quietly marched towards the only mansion that was present in town during the cover of night. 

The local authorities had already caught wind of a group of youths famous for theft, so the brigade had adapted to carrying out their activities at night lest they encounter trouble.

The mansion was located at the far edge of town and was fairly isolated. It was a beautiful building that was made from white stone. 

Its roof was rumoured to have been tiled from the scales of a Horror. Some even speculated that it was built using the remains of the Horror itself, but no one knew for sure. 

It didn't matter to them that much anyway since they were only there to rob the place, not to make it their home. 

After navigating the labyrinth of citizens and evading authorities, they made it to the mansion. 

The group then began to climb the fence and head towards the main building. 

Lovell was positioned to observe the road that connected the manor to the town and make sure that no officials patrolled the area and disturbed their plan. 

He had even bought a flashlight for this very occasion. 

Hopefully, everything will go according to plan and no problems will arise. 

Considering my luck though, it's unlikely. 

As he was swimming in his thoughts, he began to feel deeply unsettled. His heartbeat began to accelerate, and he began to see double. 

Those were only the opening act because he suddenly placed both his palms on his temple. He was suddenly struck with what could only be described as the worst headache he had ever felt in his life.

Accompanying his earthshattering headache were ravings and murmurings that could only be described as the sound of multitudes. He saw images he couldn't describe and shook at what he couldn't even begin to comprehend.

He was not a Dreadborn and thus was not equipped to handle all the information that suddenly flooded his mind. His eyes rolled back as he buckled to his knees and fainted on the ground. 

In the direction of the manor, the sounds of conflict erupted.

...

They had intended on executing a simple snatch and grab, but the reality of their situation turned out to be so much worse than they had imagined. 

After managing to carry a few precious looking items, their eyes saw something that was out of place.

Instead of sleeping, unexpecting servants, what greeted them was the indifferent gaze of a Dreadborn. 

With hair the color of a blue sky and a face that would lead any kingdom to ruin, she was quietly seated on the bottommost stair leading to the second floor. 

She was meant to not be residing in the manor, but as fate would have it, she was there. 

She was seated with a glass of red wine in her hand. They stood still from awe at her beauty and fear from her presence. It was almost as if she was waiting for them because beside her was a sheathed sword. 

As they began entering her manor, she did not move or make any sounds and simply welcomed them in. She just quietly sat there as if she were waiting for them to finish coming in, so that she could deal with them all at once. 

Derek suddenly felt apprehensive about their situation. He knew that if she truly was the Dreadborn who owned the manor, any hope of coming out victorious in a clash had died.

If they were to truly fight, it would already be fortunate to have one of their members successfully flee. Everyone else would either be cripple or killed. 

He could only consider how to distance himself and his group from her without suffering extreme casualties. 

Before he could say anything to get them out of the situation, she spoke first.

"Who would have thought, the infamous Sleight of hand graces my small manor with their presence. 

Is this my lucky day?"

Derek felt increasingly wary about her since she was so relaxed and composed as she made this statement while sipping her red.

"Surely you must be joking, Miss Dreadborn. My companions and I wish to no longer bother in your home. We pray you have a good night's rest and lead humanity against the Horrors. You don't need to trouble yourself with seeing us out, well then, bye." 

She didn't say anything to refute his withdrawal but simply stood on the stairs. She did not draw her weapon mainly because she alone was already enough to handle them all. 

Even if they attempted to flee, she knew they could not go far. She did not waste time trying to threaten or persuade Derek with words, but unexpectedly shot straight for him. 

She had been trained in all manner of combat since she was young and was able to quickly surmise that he was their leader and perhaps the strongest among them. 

Although Derek had no weapons on him, he was able to pause her movements by throwing the nab sack he had intended to store the items he would plunder at her. 

With her vision temporarily hindered. Derek used that opportunity to roll to the side and avoid her grasp. 

That simple exchange was already enough for him to know that he had no hope of winning against her in a fight. 

The distance she covered from the stairs to where he was standing was almost twenty meters, and she managed to cover it before he could even give his men the order to retreat. 

"Everyone!! RETREAT!!!" 

Without wasting any time, all members of Sleight of Hand ran out in all directions to save themselves.