Information is power.
"Muhahahaha..." I coughed for a while.
I sneaked into the school to cheat on an exam.
The security was weak.
At least from my perspective.
"Arts, Shape-shifter disguise (weak), You were lucky to get that."
I can't fully utilize this arts skill.
I can't completely mimic someone's physique.
However, this skillful arts has the ability to perfectly mimic faces that I have memorized.
With my knowledge from my past life, gaming knowledge, and cheater's triple combo, I easily snuck into the school and unlocked the dial-type safe with 10.2 million combinations.
"Bingo... that was too easy."
I had previously disguised myself as a teacher using the arts and remembered the "sound" of this safe.
Using the sound as a clue, I bypassed the security.
"Now then... second-year class, second-year class... here it is."
I grabbed a bundle of documents and memorized the test schedule and class ranking for the inter-class competition.
"Hmm... alright, my business here is done. Now, what I want to do is..."
I want to do something like a phantom thief.
Actually, I'm just a petty thief, but oh well.
"Well, haste makes waste!"
I started running.
It was late at night.
I was wearing a phantom costume and standing on top of the clock tower at the center of the school, looking down at the empty campus.
"Ladies and gentlemen!
Welcome to the magic show!
Let's begin. Let's have a frenzy of a party!
Entertain me, young ones with a bright future.
Under the name of illusions, I declare the start of the magic show!
It's showtime!
Against the backdrop of the moon, I bowed in a respectful manner after screaming out into the empty school grounds.
"Huh? No way. Are you kidding me?"
I mean, I'm pretty cool, right?
"Well then, let's go home."
I came all the way here just to do this.
It was when I was about to start getting ready to leave, on top of the clock tower overlooking the outdoor observatory, when I was confronted by a pair of sharp eyes.
"Hey you, suspicious person. Who are you?"
"You seem quite strong," I said, though I only knew this from rumors.
Echi Ochi, the senior member of the student council responsible for beautifying and maintaining order in the school, wore a traditional Japanese dress called a "hakama."
While she looked like she could handle weapons such as swords, naginatas, and Japanese bows, her preferred weapons were long-range rifles and medium-range guns.
This imbalance was strangely charming.
On her back was an anti-material rifle that looked like the "NTW-20" from his past life, named "Neighing."
She carried an assault rifle in her hands that resembled the "SIG MCX" from his past life, named "Blinking."
The weapons she wielded did not shoot lead bullets like those from her past life, but rather magical bullets imbued with magical power.
"You seem to be the one sneaking around and stealing things on campus lately. I'll put an end to that right here," she said.
"Huh?"
Although it was my first time breaking into a place to steal, I did take some items.
"You, with the jet-black outfit and strange mask...you're a suspicious person."
"I must look suspicious to others," I thought.
My senses had dulled and I found myself unable to control my suspicious movements.
This "Phantom" persona of mine is a bit too immature.
But I just can't imagine not wearing this jet-black outfit.
I want to keep wearing this outfit.
However, it seems like there are other suspicious enthusiasts out there besides me.
"Shall we have a little fun? Let's see the face under that mask," they said.
"I refuse!"
How enthusiastic.
With grace and elegance, I declared, "I'll give it my all and escape!"
"What!?"
I was quicker than Ochi's blink.
"Farewell! Hahaha!"
I laughed heartily as I made an unnecessary motion and threw myself off the clock tower's observation deck.
The ground was getting closer and closer.
I fell tens of meters and landed gracefully before disappearing into the darkness.
.
.
.
I escaped from Ochi's magical barrage and snuck out of the school.
The school had a vast territory, with many facilities and a research institution. I ran into a research building that caught my eye.
Let's kill some time here. It's time for a nighttime stroll.
"Uh, isn't this a security hazard? It's not locked. How careless."
All the thick iron doors were open. The research building was something that couldn't be accessed in the game.
"This is exciting."
Inside the research building, there were large LCD screens that looked like something out of a cyberpunk world, with a string of unfamiliar green characters on a black background.
"This isn't a programming language, an OS command, or low-level processing. What is this?"
I can tell because I programmed in my past life, but there doesn't seem to be any rules like branching, repetition, sequential execution, or object-oriented and function processing.
A string of unfamiliar characters. It may be a language unique to this world, or a unique technology system in this world.
"If I worry about it, I'll lose."
As I walked around, there were things like spiral structures of genetic material and cultivation capsules on display.
"I have no idea what smart people are doing."
It's completely incomprehensible. There were no research building events in Megashuva, so it must be a legitimate research.
The research-like guys were all drooling and sleeping with happy faces.
"Thank you for your hard work."
They must be really tired. The clock was about to strike 2 am.
To be forced to work until this time... It's damn black.
I became sad.
To the side of these tragic workers, I searched the facilities for valuable items.
"Which one... should I choose...? Oh! I've made up my mind!"
The point of distinguishing valuable items is not flashy or gaudy gold.
"The market value is the lowest and most worthless-looking item."
Despite being such a futuristic facility, this item is the most mismatched thing in this space.
"That makes it the rarest!"
There it was.
"A mysterious item."
I set my sights on a book stored behind reinforced glass. I broke the glass with a weapon barrage extra bullet and skimmed the worn-out book into my pocket.
I don't know much about antiques in this world, except for the item that appeared in Megashuva.
Anyway, this one looks like it's a rare out-of-print book since it's the most worn out and securely stored.
I'll sell it at a rundown old bookshop next time, and I plan to disguise myself so I won't be recognized.
This will definitely help to fill my pockets.
"Hehehe."
.
.
.
As I wandered around killing time, I borrowed a book from the research building and changed into casual clothes before heading home.
"Let's take tomorrow off."
"Yeah, let's do that."
The written test can be easily passed with cheating.
Adjusting the scores will also be easy.
The practical exam is a piece of cake. I don't even need to think about it.
I'll be able to manipulate my grades to the decimal point as I please.
"Wait for me, Moridori-san. I won't let you get fired."
As I was determined, even though it was getting dark,
In my line of sight,
there was a suspicious person wearing a black robe at the top of the school's colosseum.
I was as fired up as the Phantom Thief, Me.
The mysterious person wore a hood that covered his face, and a jet-black mask that sucked everything in.
The mask had only holes for the eyes.
The eyes were blood-like red and rainbow-like seven-colors.
It was an odd eye.
Something like black mist swirled behind the suspicious person.
Both eyes shone brilliantly, reflecting the moonlight, as he looked at the empty space.
Whether the person was a man or a woman was unclear.
Each eye.
I had seen them somewhere before, but it was too far away and I could only distinguish their colors.
This character was not in Megashuva and was probably a pickpocket mob.
Encountering another suspicious character and fellow move enthusiast in a place like this.
As I looked up at the suspicious person,
Our eyes met.
"Uh, hi."
Even though it couldn't be heard, I unconsciously greeted him.
"..."
The masked figure remained silent.
"Sorry, that was rude of me."
I don't understand the rules of the pickpocket world.
I talked to him unintentionally.
We're both pickpockets.
Talking to each other is uncool.
He probably feels like he wants me to leave him alone.
"I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
I told him, even though I knew he couldn't hear me from this distance.
Then the mysterious person melted into the darkness and disappeared in an instant.
So, I can do it," I boasted, trying to sound cool.
Definitely exuding the aura of a powerful person.
I have to be careful not to get into a turf war.
Today's gains are information and old books.
As for the old books, they don't matter, but I'm feeling great because I obtained some valuable information.
"By the way, isn't that guy a suspicious person who has been stealing recently?"
Oh no, that's rude.
We're both suspicious people.
It's nonsense to pry into each other's affairs.