Eternal Thief

Ace stood gobsmacked in front of a pitch-black building loomed amidst the volcanic landscape, stark defiance of its fiery surroundings.

Although fifty meters in diameter, this building seemed to have been constructed from a material that seemed to absorb all light. Its surface, smooth as obsidian, reflected only the faintest glimmers of the ever-present heat haze.

The design, however, was far from ordinary. The building resembled a monolithic, squat Goliath castle. A single, imposing doorway served as the entrance, framed by a massive archway that resembled a grinning maw. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

But the most striking feature wasn’t the imposing architecture. Above the entrance, a magnificent devil horn owl symbol spread its wings in a gesture of silent power. Carved from a material that seemed to faintly glow with an inner light, the owl’s piercing gaze seemed to follow anyone who approached.

More than just an ornament, the owl’s outstretched wings served as a billboard. Etched onto each wing in a language that flickered with an otherworldly luminescence were the words in the language of ancient gods, ‘Thief’s House.’ The inscription hung in the air, a blatant declaration of its origin!

‘What in the world…’ Ace was utterly speechless at this completely unexpected turn of events, which occurred after he gave the order to unlock the thief’s house chamber.

Ace imagined the House Leader Chamber would appear in the thief’s house space, and then he would be able to enter it like the other members directly. However, out of his wildest expectation, this building suddenly materialized, and Ace felt something slip from within him.

When Ace thought about this strange feeling, he quickly tried to look for the thief’s house within his thief’s space top level. But to his shock, the thief’s house structure above the dark clouds had vanished, and he didn’t need to ask the system where it went.

At this moment, the system’s prompt suddenly awakened Ace from his dazed state, which meant he wasn’t imagining anything.

===== [House Leader Chamber has successfully been unlocked!] —

[House Point(s): 10,092]

—

[Thief Point(s): 793,166,801]

—

-House Leader Chamber (Level-2)

-Description: A residence for the House Leader in the Thief’s House! -Function (1): Thief’s House Manifestation

-Description: The House Leader can only enter the House Leader Chamber when the Thief’s House is physically manifested outside the Living Thief’s Space! Whenever the House Leader calls upon the House Leader Chamber, the Thief’s House will manifest right in front of the House Leader, no matter the time or space!

-Function (2): Thief’s House Defense

-Description: Thief’s House Defense is directly interconnected with [Thief Rank]. The Thief’s House can defend against all kinds of attacks, treasures, abilities, probing, Heaven…!

-Current Defense Grade: Ascension Grade-3 (Advanced Thief: Initial)

[NOTE: Defense Grade will be upgraded with Thief Rank Advancement!]

-Warning: If the Thief’s House is damaged up to 95%, it will be retracted back into the Living Thief’s Space, and the House Leader will have to pay House Points to repair it!

-Function (3): Thievish Camouflage -Description: Thief’s House is equipped with powerful camouflage and the ability to blend into its surroundings. It is directly interconnected with [Thief Rank]!

-Current Camouflage Grade: Ascension Grade-3 (Advanced Thief: Initial)

[NOTE: Camouflage Grade will be upgraded with Thief Rank Advancement!]

-Warning: Any treasure or cultivator with two grades or two higher realms could see through the thievish camouflage with Spirit Martial Sense and Spirit Soul Sense!

-Function (4): No Invitation, No Entry!

-Description (1): Only House Members or the House Leader can enter the Thief’s House without an invitation from the House Leader!

-Description (2): An outsider’s cultivation will be completely suppressed as long as they are within the defensive range of the Thief’s House.

-Description (3): Force entry will suppress a cultivator’s cultivation according to their cultivation realm!

-Description (4): The House Leader can void an outsider’s entry any time he wishes. Warning: Cultivators or treasures with two realms or grades can forcefully enter the Thief’s House!

=====

Ace inhaled deeply after reading through all the functions that the House Leader Chamber unlocked. Truth be told, he was somewhat flustered about the thief’s house manifestation since it meant he would be completely exposed to his enemies.

But when he considered his inability to enter his thief’s space since the beginning, and knowing that a living space treasure needs a physical form to let someone enter it, and the thief’s space didn’t have any, this kind of result was only a little surprising but not unexpected.

Other than that, Ace was pretty content with the countermeasures installed to avoid attention as much as possible. Even though he had to be careful whenever he used the house leader’s chamber, as long as he chose the location well, he could enjoy the entirety of the thief’s house functions. The pros outmatched the cons by a huge margin.

After admiring the thief’s house’s gloomy yet majestic exterior, Ace finally decided to enter, and the moment he thought about it, the grinning maw-like entrance suddenly started to part, opening a way for the owner of the house.

Satisfied with the uncanny welcome, with an expectant smile on his face, Ace stepped into the entrance before the door behind him started to close. Stepping through the imposing doorway of the Thief’s House, Ace found himself in a cavernous hall that defied logic. While the exterior was only fifty meters in diameter, the interior stretched outwards for a seemingly impossible 1,000 meters, just like his thief’s space!

The discrepancy was breathtaking, creating a sense of awe and unease in equal measure. The vast space was illuminated by a soft, ethereal glow emanating from the obsidian-like walls themselves. This internal light revealed an impressive structure. The side walls, smooth and polished like dark mirrors, were adorned solely with intricate, runic designs that pulsed with a faint, otherworldly luminescence.

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Ace then spotted six individual grand doors at the end of the hall, divided equally and etched on the left and right walls. Each roughly ten meters wide and twenty meters long, they were carved from the same material with dark blue outlines at measured intervals.

Furthermore, on three doors on the left, there were carved words in dark blue writing within the small thief symbol, ‘Thief Assassin,’ ‘Evil Thief,’ and ‘Faceless Thief.’ Ace instantly knew they were undoubtedly the cultivation chambers of the existing thief house members, while the remaining three with empty name plates were for the remaining member slots.

But Ace’s attention was instantly drawn to the center wall between the house member cultivation chambers. There resided a larger, ornately decorated structure. It was an elaborately carved door with a dark blue color, depicting scenes of darkness that awed anyone who saw it.

In the center of this door was his imposing thief symbol, and written within its wings was ‘Thief House Leader!’ Ace’s heart raced as he knew it was the long-awaited resident for himself!

However, this wasn’t the end of the interior; it was a grand, spiraling staircase of obsidian, its steps worn smooth by seemingly countless footsteps, dominating the center of the back center of the hall. It beckoned upwards, hinting at the second floor that remained unseen.

In the central area of the vast hall was a grand gathering space. A hefty, polished obsidian rectangular table stretched across the center, flanked by three pairs of ornately carved chairs, each crafted from a different type of rare and valuable wood arranged in front of each other. In the top center, the position of the head of the table was a dark throne with a vivid small black thief symbol sculpture on top of its throne frame.

The number of seats precisely matched the number of people residing in the thief’s house – an unspoken symbol of hierarchy and camaraderie.

Ace was completely awed by the interior design of the thief’s house, which had completely changed after it was upgraded to level 2.

At this moment, the three imposing doors of the three occupied chambers suddenly opened, drawing Ace’s attention!