Standing in front of my gun was a man. He looked up at me and stared down the barrel with a quirked eyebrow.

The guy looked young, early to mid-twenties. His hair was long, tied up in a high ponytail with strands falling down his face. His eyes were grey, blue specks dotting them like stars in the sky. He glanced at me, and with a brief look of alarm before his face switched into an uncanny calm.

“Put that down and get the fuck out,” I shouted. I waited, tense, and nodded my head toward the open window. The man sighed, and his hand that was slack at his side flicked towards me.

I shot at him twice, not risking finding out what inscription or other tricks he was going to use. The bullets slowed in the air. I froze.

Fuck.

I shot two more times and flung myself out of the way of the door.

Stay calm. I needed to analyze the situation. Protection Inscription? No. Those tend to be automatic. Confident that hand movement was an activation tell. What inscriptions can stop bullets like that? A kinetic inscription?

My heart sank as the spot I was previously standing exploded, wood splintering as my workshop's doorway was turned into a gaping hole. What shit luck was this? A kinetic inscription was probably one of the strongest inscriptions a person could have, and someone with one decided to rob me of all people.

I looked at him through the remnants of the wall. His face was still blank, but his eyes told a story of sadness.

“Wait!” I yelled, tossing my gun aside. Something about his demeanor told me he didn’t want to kill me, but he would if he had to. “L-let’s just talk. Why the fuck are you robbing me?”

I was indignant at the situation, anger intermixing with my fear. Why do I have to negotiate for my life in my own home?

I heard a noise from the guy and spared a glance around the corner.

He was chuckling.

“Anyone can sense the mana gems here from blocks away,” He said as if talking to a child.

My eyes widened in shock, I didn’t know that people could sense mana gems. Liz never mentioned it nor did any information that I read online.

“Okay but why? Why take them?” I stammered out. I winced realizing how stupid the question was. They were valuable, extremely so.

His eyes locked onto mine, “I need one for a project of mine. These were the easiest.”

Great, so I wasn’t even robbed out of desperation, but convenience.

I slowly dusted myself off and got to my feet, warily watching him as he continued to inspect the gem he had stolen.

He was holding the largest mana gem I had, one I had swiped out of a cop car about a year back when the cop went inside a nearby apartment to solve a domestic dispute. That might also be where I got the gun.

“I’m taking these if you don’t mind,” he told me, dropping inside a satchel full of gems. Those weren’t all that I had, but they were a good majority and were all of the better quality ones.

Something told me he said that out of habit and didn’t care if I minded. “F-fine,” I said, bitterness leaking from my voice. I saw his mouth form into a small grin, amusement evident on his face.

“Here, something for the trouble.” He walked over. I watched him intently as he drew closer.

There was a small book in his hand. It looked worn as if it was rifled through thousands of times. I snatched it, and shoulder-checked him. My hand brushed against his pocket as I walked past him into my workshop. He just sighed.

I sat in my chair and my leg bounced, my body trying to release nervous tension. I glared at him.

“It’s a ward book, should be worth the gem and the…” he waved around the hole that was between the two of us.

“Ya know, I can’t exactly sell that. No one in this area would buy it, “I grumbled trying to keep my tone amicable. My fear was being drowned out by the anger rising in my chest. The sheer audacity was pissing me off but I held my tongue and watched my tone. I was alive out of whimsy more than anything. As long as I didn’t act outwardly hostile I hoped he wouldn’t attack me.

“Yeah, but judging by the stuff here in your room it seems like something you’d be interested in. Either way, I don’t need it, I just kept it out of habit. Take it.”

That was suspicious. Most robbers aren’t exactly out there giving gifts in return—even if they don’t need them anymore. Especially something as powerful and useful as a ward book.

It was probably a fake meant to mollify me so I didn’t try anything before he was long gone. Whatever. Not worth risking my life over a few gems. Not even highly restricted, difficult to acquire, extremely expensive gems. Fuck this sucked.

“Sorry about the mess. Honestly planned to be in and out. Got distracted looking around.” He said and shrugged before he turned to walk out the front door. I sat there paralyzed at how surreal the situation was. If it wasn't for the fact I was just robbed and had a significant portion of the wall blown out of my house, I’d be excited to have seen a kinetic inscription at work. Those were extremely rare, only the lucky or the rich would have something of that caliber.

I heard my front door click, and a wave of relief flooded my body. I started shaking as the adrenaline flushed out of my system leaving behind a ball of complicated feelings. My emotions that were hazed over by fear and rage bubbled up to the surface.

I opened an app on my phone. A GPS system opened up with a handful of dots. A couple of them were at my house. A handful at another residence. Half a dozen scattered around the slums from small thefts that I didn’t think viable for recovery. One of the dots was moving away from my house at a leisurely rate. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice the tracker that was sitting in the bag. There should be another sewn into the bottom of the bag he took as well as one inside an obviously fake gem at the bottom of it.

I sent Liz a text:

Hey wake me up in the morning, I’m gonna be up late working on a project.

She responded immediately:

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Really? Aight

At that, I opened up some videos online and waited.

I waited impatiently for night to come. I sat there watching videos, brushing up on some older skills of mine that were rusty. I’d need them.

I sat there silently fuming in my workshop for hours.

I noticed around eleven that the dot stopped moving. I sat there watching it, making sure it didn’t move until it was one in the morning. Looking up the coordinates, it was a nice hotel in uptown. I threw on a pink button-down and some slacks. I tied my locs back and threw on a pair of nice boots, a beanie, and some faux glasses. Then I grabbed my backpack. I stuffed some alcohol, my fake ID, gloves, and my gun inside before heading out.

Luckily, there wasn’t anyone out and about, the town has had some crime issues for the past few years, but I got to uptown undisturbed. The change from my side of the city to uptown was always jarring. I didn’t live in the worst part of the city, but my neighborhood could be rough sometimes. Watching the dilapidated buildings fade away, cracks in the roads smooth over, and graffiti disappear was always a bit unsettling. The message was loud and clear.

As expected, there was an officer nearby. The curfew enforcement was being enforced exactly how I expected: along class lines.

“Officer!” I shouted as I slid my phone into my backpack. “Can you tell me where the Levonold Hotel is? It’s where I’m staying but I lost my phone and have no idea where it is.” My voice rang out with faked notes of relief and excitement. I beamed at the officer and made my constant scanning of the nearby area obvious. I wanted him to think I was lost and a bit unnerved.

The officer sighed. He typed some stuff into his phone before looking up at me. “Head down that road and make a left, then head straight for three blocks. Be quick, or someone else is gonna give you a fine for breaking the curfew.”

“Thank you so much, man! I really appreciate it!” I jogged away with a large grin that dropped away the moment I was out of sight. I lowered my pace and grabbed my phone again. Briskly walking the rest of the way, I checked my phone to make sure I was heading in the right direction.

About ten minutes later, I found my way to the hotel. The building wasn’t the nicest in uptown, but better than anything outside of it. I headed inside.

I had a quick lookover of the ground floor, there was a restaurant with a bar, I headed towards the elevator; I clicked on the button for the second floor. As I got off, I looked around to spot an employee.

I called out to what looked like a janitor. “Hey, you see my brother-in-law? Lanky dude with long hair and bluish-grey eyes?”

He looked up at me and paused in thought. “Sorry, I haven’t. Maybe ask the front desk or someone else?”

I sighed, went up a floor, and tried again. Honestly, this trick wasn’t one hundred percent. No one was on the second floor I went to, but on the third one, I hit the jackpot.

“Yeah, he is there in room 409. I can’t open any of the rooms, but I can try to relay a message to him next time I see him,” the lady said.

“Thanks, but it will be fine,” I sighed, “I’ll call him and wake him up after a few more drinks, I appreciate the help though.”

“No problem, enjoy your night,” The lady said, then went back to her work.

I made my way back downstairs. I looked to see who the receptionist was. It was a younger guy, probably a part-timer. Perfect.

"Hey I lost my keycard to room 409, I'm staying with my brother-in-law and was hoping to get a new card," I said, handing over my ID. Moment of truth. I was hoping he was going to prioritize being helpful over proper security. Assuming that he was trained to begin with.

A lot of places had poor social engineering training, I wasn't familiar with the hospitality industry but I knew I was able to break into a few apartments using a similar trick when working for Martha. I also knew a chain of hotels with a much more prestigious reputation was sued by a half a dozen women who had been assaulted by a guy doing a similar trick after he claimed to be their husband. It was surprising how many places you could go to as long as you looked like you weren’t doing anything suspicious. If you looked like you belonged more often than not, you did belong.

He smiled, "Sure, give me one moment sir." He spent a few moments typing at his computer. He opened a drawer, took a keycard out, and tapped it against a black square next to his monitor.

"Here you go, this should be able to let you in. Enjoy the rest of your evening," he said.

I thanked him and headed back upstairs. I hovered just out of sight until the lady I talked to earlier left, heading up to the next floor. I walked to room 409 and my nerves hit me. I opened the door with a quiet beep and slipped in. The room had its lights left on.

I felt my fear slightly assuaged when I saw the same man that broke into my house earlier fast asleep in the hotel bed. I crept over, not wanting to risk waking him. Well, at least any more than I already was.

On the nightstand next to him was a variety of items: the gems he had taken from me earlier, a cell phone, and finally a binding gem. A fucking binding gem.

If having a mana gem was ‘slightly illegal’, having a binding gem on you was an express ticket to a high-security prison. They were highly regulated. Only the church and the inscription authority were allowed to have them and they were fairly stringent in using them on people. I had to test at a specialized school, study there for the last three years, and I still only have a chance of getting my inscription if I pass my evaluation in a few months.

I threw on my gloves and shoved everything on his desk into my backpack. I made my way to the door making sure not to make a sound. I opened the door slowly, stepped out, and made sure it closed quietly before spending some time exploring the hotel. I used “my” guest card to order some drinks for myself at the hotel bar. I didn’t actually like drinking, but it was the principle of things. I got a bottle of alcohol for the road and shoved it into my bag. Afterward, back out the front door, I went.

Checking the time, it was now three. I don’t think my getting lost excuse would work again, and tonight I pushed my luck in a way I haven’t in years. My nerves were shot.

I made sure to head on darker back roads. I walked with confidence, if I was caught I didn’t want to be seen lurking at night. The less of an impact I made on people the better. I took out the man’s phone to see if I could get any information on the guy who robbed me but it had a pin locking it. Oh well. I made sure to look around a bit making sure no one was in eyesight. I took the case off and pinched it between my fingers before flinging it as hard as I could into the nearest wall. It was satisfying watching it shatter.

Walking in a zig-zag pattern for about thirty minutes, I then headed around the back of a restaurant. I wrote the restaurant's name in my phone’s notes, then I went to stash the backpack underneath a dumpster, taking the booze and binding gem with me. The guy had mentioned that he could sense mana gems within a block. I made sure it was several dozen away but I still didn’t want to risk bringing this back to my place. I wasn’t sure whether or not he could detect the binding gem, but I had a different spot to hide this.

I luckily didn’t run into anyone on the way back home. I spotted some officers enforcing curfew but was able to duck between buildings and get back to my neighborhood without incident.

I briefly stopped inside, grabbing a marker and two more trackers. Then, I headed to the riverside three miles away.

When I finally got there, I put my gloves back on and went down closer to the river to grab a stone. I walked back up a bit then got on my knees and began digging a small hole along the side of the riverbed.

I did this a few times before to hide things of value I didn’t want to keep at my place. Lately, I haven’t had anything someone might be looking for or something that would get me shipped off if the cops found it, so I haven’t needed this trick for quite a while. This gem would have me sent to Liaz Island with no chance of seeing the light of day again if it was found in my house. After digging out the hole, I placed the gem inside alongside a tracker.

I covered the gem with a bit of dirt before placing the stone on top and leaving a small black dot on top. No one would be looking at these stones close enough to notice it unless they knew what they were looking for. I dusted myself off, took the gloves off, and folded them before putting them in my pocket. It was time to go back home.

I went home satisfied. I felt it in the back of my mind. A tiny voice, some would call it rationality or common sense, saying that I acted extremely recklessly today. But I couldn’t just get robbed in my own home and be powerless to do anything about it. I refuse to take life lying down.

I took off my now dirty clothes and threw them in the clothes bin. I don’t dress like that often so I wasn’t pressed to wash them right now.

I changed into a sweatsuit before sitting down on the couch to watch television for a bit. The news was on but at this point, I was too tired to pay any attention. I sat there watching it for a while, mind drifting across the events that transpired today, as well as plans for the future. I yawned and found myself drifting asleep.