Aurora felt only a sliver of surprise as the ground broke before she twisted her body and landed on her feet.
Rita landed a few steps beside her on her familiar. The huge cat disappeared as soon as Rita's feet touched the ground.
It took only one second for the pair to realize that they had landed in the middle of a gathering.
To be more precise - a thief's gathering.
"Looks like you were right. There is an underground passage here. Now, let's get our stuff back." Rita made a punching motion. Her expression looked ready to fight.
Aurora quickly scanned their opposition and decided to let Rita handle this fight. Aurora would butt in if Rita needed her help.
Not that she would. Rita was overqualified for the first few floors of the abyss. She just lacked experience. Besides, Aurora spotted a familiar face standing at the back of the opposite group.
She wanted to talk with that person.
Rita's summons was a sight to behold and made quick work for the group around them. They were rough with the opponents and made Aurora feel sorry for them.
"You're not going to save your members? They will not be able to handle Rita alone." Aurora questioned the masked woman once she reached the end wall.
The mysterious woman had not moved an inch ever since Aurora had landed down here. The masked woman did not even look surprised to see the ceiling crash.
"They are fools if they cannot see how outmatched they are. Why should I waste my time on them? Besides, that idiot would arrive here soon enough." That voice was the last nail in the coffin.
Thieves guild was a special organization (in other words - unrecognized but needed) that would steal anything for the right price.
People respected the thief guild. But only a few knew that the real workforce had been assembled by Sara.
As of now, the thief's guild had yet to establish its reputation. But Aurora knew it would not be long before their name would spread far and wide.
Aurora did not doubt that this was Sara. Unlike Michelle the witch, Sara was a name only known by seldom. But in the future, those who employed her service were never left hanging. She was the second-in-command of the thieve's guild in the Abyss tower.
But in terms of fame, her leader certainly had her best.
"Hey, hey, hey. What is going on here? What's wrong with you? Beating up people for no reason. Are you itching for a fight with me?" The loud voice echoed in the cave.
Sara's 'Oh God. He's here already' betrayed her annoyance. Aurora understood the reason behind Sara's
"No reason? You guys decided to steal my stuff. And now you pretend like you don't have an idea about it? Just who do you think you are?" Rita replied with just as much sass.
It was unfortunate for everyone that those two had butting personalities. Aurora had no idea where things had gone so wrong for Aurora to turn this way.
"Oh, come on. It's just a small bag. I'm sure you can afford another one. Our new members need this more than you." The leader replied in a careless tone. Even his body language was relaxed.
Rita must be seething. It was only a miracle that she had not attacked the leader yet.
But she was also outmatched by the leader's skill. Rita's magic might have been as strong as the leader's, but the stronger didn't always win in the Abyss.
It all came down to experience in such fights.
"Boss Bill, don't start here. Don't forget that we are currently in hiding. Fighting now would attract the tower goons. Well, more than we have already, that is." Sara warned.
Rita broke out in laughter at the scolding.
"B-Bill? You are such a big-looking guy and your name is Bill? You lost all the intimidation points at the name." Rita teased.
Aurora wanted to stop her. Rita should not anger people she could not handle but the boss was already angry anyway.
"Stop making fun of my name. I won't tolerate this any longer. If the Tower wants to start something with me, they are more than welcome to do so. Let me show you tower scum why I am feared so much." The buffed man yelled.
The voice caused a spark of pain to attack Aurora's head along with the overwhelming passion.
"Boss Bill, do not cause more problems for us," Sara warned. But the big man-child was beyond the point of listening to her.
Aurora felt the feeling of danger rise in the air. The buff man had a weapon that gave off a mean aura.
Rita was too relaxed and Aurora could feel her intention of tanking the hit with her familiar and then summon another to attack from behind.
Unluckily for her, she did not have a familiar strong enough to tank the hit. And that was the point Aurora decided to interfere.
Since Aurora decided to stop hiding without any preparation, she wasn't able to control her speed. She managed to make it between Rita and the boss before holding her hand out.
The boss's ax collided with Aurora's shield. Similar powers resonated and the explosion caused the nearby walls to cave in.
Aurora barely managed to push the thief boss back before straightening herself.
"I apologize for my subordinate's big mouth. It was not our intention to offend you. Truth to be told, we cannot go back to buy another beginner's exploration package because we are trying to avoid the tower as well." Aurora explained.
It felt wrong to bow her head in front of these people but Aurora wanted to convey her sincerity.
"Wow. You managed to stop my attack? There is no way such might can belong to the tower cowards. You must be telling the truth." Bill exclaimed, almost looking happy.
Aurora spotted face-palming from the corner of her eyes and felt sympathetic. It was not fun to deal with idiotic subordinates.
"Boss, just because someone managed to stop your attack doesn't make them a decent person. It just means that you lacked power in your attack." Sara added.
At this point, the female had pushed herself off the wall and decided to walk over to the group.
"I know, I know. But I can just feel that this new girl is a decent person. Don't know about the younger one thought. She did attack us unprovoked." Bill exclaimed and Aurora felt tired of his unbounded enthusiasm.
And she was not the only one to feel this way. Sara looked like she wanted to kill her boss.