The Master thief, Gran.

Sam looked through some of the exploits and was really amused by this person.

Not many people saw him or fought him. Or to put it other way, not many people fought with him and lived to tell the tale.

His battle style is also different and he is the user of the shadow element. At least according to what the five elemental King said.

There are only few assignments that this person failed and one of them is the one with Five elemental King and the other one is the Saber Monarch and both of them are Sam's subordinates.

The Five elemental King's assignment almost succeeded, he managed to grab the item, but he couldn't take it away. The five elemental King locked him in the battle making it impossible for him to escape, even though he disappeared like a phantom.

Five elemental King almost followed him to his hide out. There is nothing he could do and left the item away before escaping.

As for the Saber Monarch, this maniac managed to stop that thief even before he could grab the item. Because the item he wanted to steal was a saber and Saber Monarch's grip is not exactly removed easily.

And the worst part of it is, the assignment was given by the Saber Monarch himself. He just wanted to meet this thief and tried to meet him directly, but the channels didn't allow him to do that which caused him to place this assignment on his own head and lured the Thief to come and find him directly.

He said that he wanted to spar or something, but the thief escaped as soon as he learned that this is a hoax. At least, he got some advance down payment which could be considered a profit.

But still, even among the few people who managed to fight with this guy or escape from this guy, nobody saw his face, and nobody ever made proper direct contact with him.

Not even his highest-paid managed to see that person's face. They only knew that it was a man.

After settling the matters down in the Crimson reed realm, the four of them left while Akhil and Noah went on their own journey.

They are not exactly suitable for going against the families at this level yet.

They are still only suitable for the first phase families which are still left a lot.

So, all they can do is leave and continue their progress at their own pace.

Sam now has an extra person in the entourage and he is also downright annoying, their next stop is the Nine Moon realm.

The realm with the main planet having nine moons. And these nine moons are of different elemental significance with their soil and cores having high-level concentrations of different elemental energies.

These nine moons also have lower gravitational force than an average planet and the air is very thin with almost no oxygen which makes it impossible to survive. But once in a while, these moons throw something on this planet when they interrupt each other's gravitational fields and create some chaos.

This makes the Nine moon planet the main planet of this realm extremely dangerous place to live as nobody knows when the hit would come and how much damage it could create.

But this also brings some advantages as whatever piece comes from that moon, it will be resourceful and useful for the cultivation or making weapons.

The moons influence the waves, a small tsunami is almost a daily occurrence. There would be at least two earthquakes on the whole planet.

This planet is a nightmare for all the construction artisans.

Because of this chaotic situation, no family or organization made this planet as their headquarters.

There are small bases of every organization and there are fewer businesses. The beasts that live on this planet are all apex on their own level. To live in such a chaotic place is not exactly a pleasant task.

As for the businesses, there are very few that could even manage to survive.

There are very few cities that are built in the zones which are free of any strikes from the moons, they are somewhat of blind spots.

But still, the people that come and go from this planet are extremely high in numbers even though the death rate is astronomical. The only reason being their greed for resources. As long something falls from the moon, there would be at least ten people or teams fighting for that along with a bunch of beasts within the surroundings.

Every person on this planet is a scavenger which made a perfect place for the Master thief to start his business. Most of his assignments are within this planet. A big shot would get something and he would steal it from that guy.

At this moment, Sam and the trio are walking through a city. The Bandit City.

This is the city named like that because of Gran and in this city, there is only one bar which could be considered a proper business.

Because it has been there for years and no amount of chaos managed to disrupt its business.

The main reason for that is the fact that this business is affiliated with Gran. In fact, this is the place where people drop assignments for Gran and get the news whether they accepted it or not.

Sam entered the bar with a group.

There are not servers or waiters even though there are a lot of tables. There is only one lady bar tender behind the counter who is polishing the crystal glasses.

She is the owner of this place. Everyone who entered the bar went to the counter got their drink and sat down at a table of their liking.

Sam looked around the bar and his gaze landed on the walls. There is a large metallic letterbox mounted on the wall and beside it there are a bunch of notes nailed to the wall.

The letterbox is for dropping the assignment for Gran and the notes are the indication of whether gran accepted the assignment or not.

There is a small crystal screen beside the letterbox with a number displayed on it 2820.

And when a person came in and dropped a letter in the box, the number changed to 2821. These numbers are the indicators of the assignments and on the notes, the assignments are indicated by these very numbers without any mention of names or the tasks.

Sam took a seat at the counter which is completely empty while the rest of the group took their drinks and sat at a table nearby.

The bartender looked at them in surprise and then at Sam who sat at the counter and looked at the menu.

She stopped polishing the crystal glasses and waited for Sam to speak.

"It has been a while since I had a cocktail. I would have your best cocktail please," Sam said with a smile.

She nodded and started pouring the drinks for the cocktail. Sam observed the different alcohols. Just from the smell, he could sense that they are of great quality.

She shook the drink with a certain rhythm but the energies are the ones at play and poured the drink in a crystal glass.

The cocktail looked transparent even though the liquor that was poured in has different colors. Sam took a sip and closed his eyes to savor it properly.

"Wow, that is really good. The blend of elemental energies is perfect. You are really good at this."

Sam said as he savored the drink. He finished it and asked for one more before looking around.

"For a bar with such a beautiful bartender and these amazing drinks, there are awfully few people at the counter."

"Not many people have the guts to sit down anymore." She replied.

"Why? Are you that dangerous?"

"Not really, in fact, it is quite opposite. That is why they tried their hand and overstepped their boundaries but that guy who is using my wall is not so easygoing. So, the bar counter is almost a no-entry zone."

Sam nodded in understanding as he took the next drink and this time observed the woman and her action as she mixed the third one.

She is a tall lady. She is beautiful, but not to the point of making everyone lust after her. It is a bit of sophisticated beauty. She wore normal clothes that covered her whole body, not revealing too much skin. Maybe the most beautiful features are the eyes and the long hair.

A few drunks would have really tried their hands at her.

"That look is not generally not a good sign." She said as she fixed the drink.

"Don't worry, I won't try my hand. I am not interested in your body. As much as I am interested in your drinks."

"That would be good for both of us."

"By the way, it has been a while since I saw someone with their way around the liquor. I have a friend who is also good at this. How about comparing some notes?"

She looked at Sam keenly and said

"Not many people would dare ask something like that." She paused and then looked at the table of his companions.

"I guess not many people would come along with two of the most notorious guys in the surrounding realms."

"I guess," Sam said with a smile.

"Tomorrow morning, an hour before the opening time. Bring your friend here."