It had been a week since Aiken’s friends had visited him. The food that they had brought lasted only until two days ago, and he was starving once again. He settled on becoming a thief, for the Dark Lord was closer to him, as opposed to Grendel, who was all the way in Ellinia. He would have to do it today, before hunger made him too weak and sluggish to qualify him as a thief. After looking around in desperation for anything that qualified as “food,” even with the knowledge that he would find nothing.

After a short walk, he arrived at a small bar where the Dark Lord was known to live. He entered reluctantly, with a twinge of regret that he never got the chance to truly consider becoming a magician. He looked around, but the Dark Lord was nowhere to be seen. Confused, he asked the bartender, ‘excuse me, can you tell me where the Dark Lord is? I know he should be here, but I can’t see him anywhere.’

‘Ah, making your first job advancement, eh?’ asked the bartender.

‘Yes,’ Aiken replied. ‘so, do you know where he is.’

‘Well…’ the bartender began slowly. ‘To reach him, you have to go into the *ahem* toilet.’

Aiken stared at him blankly. ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?’

‘No, no, I’m quite serious.’ he answered with an unexpectedly straight face. ‘If you can’t manage that, I’m not sure that you’re up to being a thief. If you think you’re ready, go on! I promise I won’t laugh, I’ve seen too many thieves-to-be fall in to find it funny anymore.’

‘Well, thanks for the information.’ said Aiken, uncertain about what he had just been told.

He walked into the washroom, and found the toilet easily enough. Swallowing his pride, he took a put his foot forward, not knowing how many years it would take for him to recover from the trauma. But he felt nothing. No water, and no toilet at all. It was just an illusion. Immensely relieved, he put his head down through the image and looked down. there was a narrow shaft which had a ladder running down one side. He climbed down to find a dimly lit room.

‘Hello?’ he called out.

‘There’s no need to yell.’ whispered a voice directly to his right.

Surprised, Aiken rolled to his left and drew his dagger, ready to fight if need be.

‘Careful, now. Wouldn’t want to hurt anyone.’ said the man hanging from the roof. Chuckling, he landed on the ground, perfectly oriented despite having been upside-down for some time now. ‘For one classified as a beginner, your reflexes are remarkable. However, it won’t always be enough to react; always preferable to anticipate dangers… Anyways, I assume you’re here to become a rogue, correct?’

‘Yes.’ Aiken replied shortly, just starting to calm down.

‘I’ve already seen that you’ve got what it takes.’ said the Dark Lord. He handed Aiken a small book. ‘This book contains all the basics of being a rogue. It will show you some simple, yet vitally important offensive and defensive maneuvers and how to execute them. And now, for the most important part. Give me your hand.’

Aiken held out his right hand, as it was the dominant one. The Dark Lord clasped his hand rather tightly, and muttered a few words that Aiken couldn’t understand. The next moment, he simply felt great! He was no longer hungry, the smallest cuts and bruises were healed, and every symptom simply vanished. He also felt far stronger than he had been, even when he had enough to eat.

‘Congratulations, you are now officially a rogue. If you don’t believe me,take a look at your hand.’

Aiken looked at his palm, and saw a crescent. It was black, but unnaturally so. It was almost as though it devoured the very light that shone upon it. When he tried to illuminate it by facing his palm to one of the lights, the crescent seemed to get darker, if anything.

‘That is the symbol anyone officially classified as a rogue will recieve.’ the Dark Lord told Aiken. ‘From now on, train yourself hard, and as you gain experience, you will be able to perform increasingly incredible feats, especially with something called “Mana,” which, if I am correct, you can access far more easily than before.’

Indeed, Aiken could feel a powerful force emenating from within him. It seemed familiar, as if he had worked with it before, but its power was more than it had ever been.

‘Once again, congratulations on making the job advancement.’ The Dark Lord shook hands with Aiken. He started to climb the ladder, when he realized he hadn’t put the book in his left hand so that he could use his right. Stil,l he felt comfortable using his left.

‘Sorry, but before I go, I have a question. Does everyone become ambidextrous when they become a rogue?’ Aiken asked

‘Ah, so it’s happened to you, has it?’ the Dark Lord asked casually. ‘Well, not everyone, but it’s a common common side effect. You’ll probably find it useful in combat when you can wield a weapon at whichever side is advantageous to you, or when a more powerful monster has crippled one of your arms.’

‘I guess I’ll be on my way now. Thank you for everything!’ said Aiken as he climbed up the ladder, knowing his new power would make everything easier than it had been.