Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Off to Steal Again Today
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Hooo...
Seokwoo clutched his throbbing head.
'Normally, I wouldn't even glance at a quest, but if it's a hidden quest, that's a different story.'
That was why he was agonizing over it like this.
About how to handle the map leading to this hidden quest.
'A quest that's guaranteed to be a massive payday.'
The problem, though, was the difficulty and the time it would take.
'If it's within what I can handle, I'd just smash through it...'
But if not, trying to progress the quest while growing at the same time would be impossible.
"Hooo, what a headache."
Seokwoo clutched his throbbing head.
A map leading to a hidden quest.
If he sold it to a top ranker or one of the top ten guilds, he could probably get at least ten million for it.
No, if he played his cards right, it might even hit the hundred million mark.
But that would depend on negotiating through a broker.
Until then, no one knew for sure.
So Seokwoo decided to hold off on the hidden quest for a bit longer.
'I'll check it out myself first. Quests can be transferred anyway. I'll gauge the value and difficulty first. I can decide after that.'
The region marked on the map was in the south.
It wasn't some remote outpost like the Starting Village.
But it wasn't an insanely long distance either.
With a proper means of travel, he could get there in just a few days.
'And the fact that it was in a safe...'
Meant no player had completed the prerequisite quest yet.
The Ancient Hunter set was probably one of the rewards.
But he'd snagged the rewards without doing that prerequisite.
By raiding the village chief's hidden safe and skipping the whole process.
'It's practically a glitch.'
He hadn't just bypassed the set path—he'd smashed straight through the wall.
With the Great Thief's skills.
Through theft, that is.
'So what was the prerequisite quest, anyway?'
Who.
When.
Where.
What.
How.
Why.
The five W's and one H swirled in his mind.
But they faded soon enough.
No point racking his brain alone—the answer wouldn't come.
Even if it turned out to be mandatory, he could just sell the map.
'I could always threaten the village chief to find out...'
But the risk was way too high.
In his current position, starting from scratch, it was a massive gamble.
He wasn't as strong as before, after all.
If he got caught, he'd be chased by guards levels above him.
'He'll find out about the safe eventually.'
But by then, he'd be long gone from the village.
'I might end up on the suspect list later, but without knowing when it happened, they can't pin it on me for sure.'
He wasn't the only player or NPC to visit the chief's house.
And there were no witnesses.
'They don't even know how the key was stolen—jumping to conclusions about me? Ridiculous.'
Seokwoo thought it over as he lit another cigarette.
'Alright, next up: future direction...'
Back to the main point—the Great Thief job.
This was the conclusion he'd reached after raiding the village chief's hidden safe.
'Time to switch my main focus to theft.'
The reasons were simple.
First, the massive experience from Steal skills.
Second, with enough Scout time, he could pick and choose items to steal.
Third, if the odds were right, he could snag high-grade items.
'I only have Item Appraisal for now, but it said retrieving the Night King's items would unlock more abilities.'
That's right.
The Night King's items scattered across the continent.
According to the message right after the memory flashback, retrieving them would grant new Great Thief abilities.
Probably job skills, if he had to guess.
If so, he couldn't neglect hunting them down.
'Nothing dumber than not using your job.'
False Identity was already hiding his Infamy.
If he wasn't going to use tools like that, what would he use?
Max gains with minimal risk.
How?
Theft.
'Screw it, I'll be a thief.'
It wasn't real life—what was there to hesitate about?
A thief who dabbled in assassination when needed.
That should be plenty.
'More than plenty.'
Seokwoo stood, stamping out his cigarette.
Tssst!
'Time to go.'
It was about time to leave the Starting Village.
When there's a quest that's tough to solo.
Or monsters too much to handle alone.
Players band together to overcome those challenges.
Party play.
A group formed in-game for a common goal.
Agas, built on RPG foundations, was no different.
To enable smooth party play from the start, it let you pick a basic job right after the tutorial.
And there was one moment that really drove home the importance of parties for newbies: leaving the Starting Village.
That's how it was.
Only one path to the main continent.
The Trial Forest.
From wild wolves to slaughter monkeys, raging boars, and venomous snakes.
A forest crawling with packs of beasts tough enough solo.
And you had to escort the carriage through it.
With users fresh at Level 10.
'This difficulty is insane. What were the devs thinking? How are three lowbies supposed to clear the Trial Forest? And we have to keep the coachman alive too.'
'Crazy, five monster waves?'
Minimum three players.
Five monster waves.
Wild animal assaults, total.
You couldn't form a party beforehand either—random matching happened the moment you boarded Coachman Horse's carriage.
'Ugh, bad party members and wiped. How many times is this?'
'Whenever humans group up, at least one trash is guaranteed.'
Stuff like that happened constantly in the Trial Forest.
'Fucking hell, wiped on wave three. How many Starting Village resets is this?'
If the coachman died or the party wiped, game over.
No death penalty, luckily, but failure meant starting over from scratch.
Early in launch, tons of players got stuck, unable to pass.
Luke remembered struggling back then too, thanks to rotten party members.
'And now I have to do it again.'
Of course, things were different now.
But partying with randos was still a pain.
'Better to solo than babysit trolls.'
If it weren't random matching, he'd have done it ages ago.
"Oh, Luke, you've finally become a proper adventurer. Heading to the main continent?"
Coachman Horse, the NPC.
Maybe thanks to his contribution points, the villagers—including him—greeted Luke warmly.
Answering here would board the carriage immediately.
"Not yet."
"Hmm, come back when you're ready."
But Luke didn't board right away.
Instead, with Horse right in front of him, he pulled something out.
'Finally time to try this on.'
A high-end accessory.
The Wind Bracelet.
'I was gonna mull it over more, but...'
With a hidden scenario item in hand, Luke changed his mind.
'Think of it as an investment.'
For faster growth.
And smoother progress toward the hidden scenario.
'Nice!'
An armlet-style bracelet.
Felt like wearing a luxury watch in real life.
'Feels good.'
Luke gave his body a light test move.
Light.
And his movements felt quicker overall.
'Skill speed boosts too, huh?'
Luke eyed Horse.
Tempted to test Scout on him, but too many eyes around.
'Can check that later...'
His gaze shifted to the set gear in his inventory.
[Ancient Hunter Set]
[Increases wearer's Agility!]
[Increases wearer's critical hit chance!]
The Ancient Hunter set he'd stolen from the chief's safe along with the map.
'Who knew it had such broken options. Basically a cheat key limited to high-end gear.'
Top-tier options even among high-end equipment.
'Guess I have no choice but to wear it.'
His gear was sorely lacking overall.
Equipping this early would mean no armor worries for a while.
But it was stolen village chief loot.
Better to equip it cleanly after leaving the village proper—no loose ends.
'Would've been perfect if it included a weapon.'
His contribution rewards naturally came to mind.
Including the silver dagger, a top thief weapon.
Second-tier early-game weapon.
Luke still regretted not stealing it.
'That damn compass caught my eye.'
He cursed the memory flashback timing.
"Ready."
"Hm?"
"Let's go."
"Oh, all set then. But keep this in mind—the path ahead is..."
Same lines.
Same explanation.
Luke, who'd been through it before, half-ignored Horse's warning as he boarded the carriage.
The carriage interior was fairly spacious.
Soon, as it departed, his new party members would fill the other seats.
But Luke, tucked in the corner, was still fixated on his contribution rewards.
A slender female player and a burly male appeared.
Rabbit, with her blue hair.
Gulliver, the bald guy.
Judging by their weapons, warrior and mage—no overlap.
"Uh... hi?"
"Pleased to meet ya."
"Oh, yeah."
"Hmph."
"..."
Awkward as hell.
Luke didn't say a word, just stared out the window.
'My contribution rewards.'
Still hung up on them.
'Sigh, turn back now...? No, no. If it didn't drop despite that, it's probably hidden elsewhere.'
Too late to go back now.
Luke sighed deeply and turned his head.
'Gone bus is gone— no point obsessing.'
Party full now anyway.
Time for the usual Scout...
'Oh?'
Luke's eyes widened.
Item names scrolling nonstop above Rabbit's lowered head.
Much faster than before.
'Definitely quicker!'
Yes.
Items popping up a full 1-2 seconds faster.
'Wind Bracelet for the win!'
All speeds increased.
Had to be that effect.
'Awesome.'
Amazed by the boosted Scout,
Then amid the white text flood, a new color appeared.
'Huh?'
Green.
High-grade item green.
No ID needed.
But the surprise didn't stop there.
Scout
Braincleaver (2%)
'Br, Braincleaver?!'
What was Braincleaver?
The god-tier dagger called early-game tier 1 for thieves.
And here it was, in Rabbit's inventory.
Right after regretting the silver dagger.
'Ah.'
Regret vanished in an instant.
'Live for the Braincleaver, folks.'
The silver dagger was already ancient history.