CHAPTER 7: The Phantom’s Edge - Part 2

  Enhancing vision using Prana could not make someone to see in total darkness, but it could grant the ability to see in low light condition.

  After pinpointing the location of each guard, he spat out a piece of pumice and flicked it into the brazier between four guards. A small explosion occurred as the water instantly vaporized and shattered the rock from within. The guards looked toward the fire, diverting their attention and dulling their night vision at the same time.

  In the time it took for the candle smoke to fade, Phantom flitted in front of them and arrived at the wall of the mansion. His entrance was right under the roof, through a small window without bars. Bat chirps from the attic were audible from here. The Viscount allowed hundreds of bats to live in his attic – for grandeur.

  Unbeknownst to the Viscount, those bats had become his agents. He paid the villagers around to net the bats as they left their roosts, smearing each bat with a mixture of glue and iron powder, then releasing them.

  He climbed the timber framing on the outside of the building to reach the window. Without a sound, he perched on the window ledge, refraining from stepping into the corridor behind it because he knew the wooden planks would creak when stepped upon.

  The Viscount was a collector of rare artifacts from before the Chaos Era Two. Many thieves came for him, and he enjoyed toying with all of them in his private dungeon.

  The corridor divided the room into two parts, the Viscount's chamber on the left and the treasure chamber on the right. The width of the corridor could not be traversed by pressing palms and feet against both walls.

  Phantom wore a long-sleeved jacket and specially made pants to overcome this obstacle. He opened the protective fabric on his arms, legs, and chest, revealing a row of black square tiles. He stood up and pressed his hand against the ceiling. His hand stuck when pulled.

  Iron powder from the bats' bodies fell as the glue dried and accumulated on the ceiling. This made his magnets stick. He was grateful to his little agents.

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  With his back to the corridor, feet pressed against either side of the window, he slowly flattened his body against the ceiling, using the magnets as much as possible to adhere his entire body. He then crawled pace by pace across the corridor.

  Passing over the ceiling would be easier, but there were hundreds of bat pups up there that would serve as tiny alarms. Besides, it was almost certain that the ceiling of the treasure room was lined with metal plates.

  Phantom paused halfway through, enhancing his hearing. The sound of the Viscount's snoring indicated his relaxed breathing. He was in deep sleep.

  A few steps later, he arrived above the treasure room door and landed with the tips of his toes. A span of the floor in front of the door made no sound when stepped on.

  While still on tiptoe, he dripped a nearly odorless sunflower oil into the gap of the sliding door to silence its groaning. The lock made a soft click when unlocked using a pick. He had studied this type of lock and could pick it in the darkness.

  Phantom slid the door back into place, then lit a piece of wick for illumination. A rosewood cabinet with more than a hundred drawers filled all three sides of the room up to the ceiling.

  However, there was one more obstacle. Invisible steel wires crisscrossed the room. Some would trigger alarm bells when touched, while others when cut.

  Reaching for the pouch at his waist, he squeezed the liquid inside it through a small gap. A spray of water filled the room. He then opened another pouch containing fireflies. They flew around for a moment before hovering in the air, forming intersecting lines of faint light.

  The first pouch contained an attractant substance from female fireflies. The liquid invited male fireflies to land along the steel wires.

  There were no more traps after that, but the cabinet drawers had to be opened one by one. He broke five lock pick sets before finding what he came for.

  It was a metal plate. Three fingers wide and palm-sized. The grooves on its surface were too precise for handmade craftsmanship. The metal itself was an ancient composite metal. This plate was clearly a component of an Artifica instrument. His mentor wanted it for some reason. Phantom hung the plate around his neck, crossed the steel wires, and slid the door open.

  As the door opened, the old, sagging face of the Viscount appeared right in front of him.

  “Thief, I shall enjoy watching you squirm in agony.” The movement of his jaw caused his chin's skin to waggle.

  The Viscount's coffee-scented breath made him realize something important. The Viscount was an excessive coffee drinker, and coffee relaxed his respiratory muscles, making his snoring sound natural even though he was only half-asleep.

  He struck the Viscount's throat. The old man doubled over, coughing, while Phantom passed by him. He did not strike hard; he had come to steal, not to kill.

  Unfortunately, the Viscount activated his own trap wire. The sharp alarm bell rent the air. Phantom no longer needed to be discreet. He ran along the corridor, making the floor scream, then jumped back through the window.

  The guards surrounded him with weapons drawn as soon as he landed.