"I'd kill him if it were the last thing I ever did. No matter who's in my way. The Hero or the Queen, I'd get rid of them, no matter how many times it takes." Up until now I had always thought I was normal, a little on the weirder side but at least normal enough. Then I died and well... I didn't. Dragged off by the Hero and her party to slay the Demon Lord I met my end to the Monster along the border forest only to wake up before it all began. I'm clearly not the Hero Lara with her dazzling smile. I'm not the captain of the Knights Ronalt. I'm not a Master Wizard or a Swordsman, that would be Ardent and Earnest. Nor am I the surprisingly violent priestess Marley. And though she was dragged along as well, I'm not the beautiful thief Taylor. No, my jobs outnumber theirs tenfold for I am... their cook, their driver, the baggage carrier, blacksmith, tailor, potions maker, bird tender and so on and so forth. In other words I was the extra taken from my small town home. No matter what though, no matter how many tries it takes, I will make it back home or die trying, literally.

Tibs survived by picking pockets; until he's caught. Instead of losing a hand, he's sent away and told he must now survive a dungeon. How is a kid who knew nothing more than his street supposed to survive a dungeon that changes each time he goes in it? Being sent into an ever-growing dungeon becomes his life, facing ever-changing threats to him and the people he tries so hard not to become attached to. He'd like to run away, but where the dungeon means he might die, the guards have made it clear trying to run will ensure he does. But his street taught Tibs to get back up after he's beaten down. So he isn't going to just give up. And maybe, just maybe, if he's tough enough to take a chance on people, and on a deal for power he's advised against taking, Tibs can not only survive, but beat those who seem to stack the odds against him.

Volume 1: Pickpocketing Living in secret and stealing to eat is a hard life , but it's all Kuro has ever known. Fear and necessity honed him from a young age into the finest young thief in in the wizard kingdoms. Nobody can hide forever, though, and a run of poor luck lands Kuro in a place where his quick hands and quiet feet count for nothing: Avalon Academy, school of magic. Out of his depth and unable to escape, can Kuro find a place among the other misfits at the school, or will his past return to ruin the one chance he has to leave his life in the shadows?