Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Off to Steal Again Today
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His consciousness returned.
The memories contained within the lockpick—of the blacksmith and the young man.
Actually, to be precise, they were stories from before the lockpick had been created.
He had no idea why such memories were embedded in the item, but one thing was crystal clear.
'Raid a dragon's lair just to make one lousy lockpick? This guy's a total psycho, isn't he?'
The young man.
No, the Night King in his younger days had been even more unhinged than he'd imagined.
And his personality was nothing like the middle-aged Night King he'd seen in the previous memory recall.
'How the hell did a nutjob like that climb all the way to king of the shadows?'
Maybe something pivotal had happened along the way.
Compared to his post-coronation days, he seemed like a completely different person.
'Whatever. Let's just check out the lockpick.'
Luke quickly shelved his deeper musings and decided to inspect the item info instead.
Infinite regeneration.
Exactly as he'd seen in the memory recall.
The meaning was obvious without much thought.
A metal that regenerated instantly even if broken.
Luke had personally witnessed the lockpick regenerating in that scene.
'But just having this feels a little underwhelming.'
A tool was only as good as the skill to wield it.
And that was the new job skill he'd just acquired.
As expected.
But the mention of "special tools" and "Stage 1" locks was unexpected.
'Oh-ho, so it's not just lockpicks—other special tools exist too?'
It hinted at a variety of such tools out there.
'And "Stage 1 lock"...'
Off the top of his head, locks must come in multiple stages.
Level up the skill to tackle higher stages.
In short, higher skill level meant higher-stage locks could be cracked.
That was the basic structure, at least.
'Well, no point theorizing. Time to test it out.'
No need to go far.
Locks were everywhere nearby—on doors, chests, you name it.
So Luke promptly activated Parkour to scale the rooftops once more.
Heading back into a villager's house.
Kiiik!
The second-floor window creaked open slowly.
Luke slipped quietly into the nearest resident's home.
'Last time, no key, so I could only stare. Now I'm finally scratching that itch.'
Of course, it was too early to relax.
The locked chests inside the house.
Whether he could crack them now was the real test.
'Please be low-level.'
He prayed for the lock stage as he approached the chest.
'Huh?'
Something was different.
A message he'd never seen before hovered over the locked chest.
Stage 1.
It was a whopping Stage 1.
What did that mean?
Simple.
'I can open it!'
Even at Skill Level 1, he could crack this safe with the lockpick.
Gulp!
Luke swallowed dryly and pulled out the Infinite Lockpick.
Semi-transparent icons floated above the keyhole: a lockpick shape on top, a small dagger below.
'Insert them?'
Just to be safe, he slotted the Iron Dagger into the bottom slot instead of Braincleaver.
Then he inserted the lockpick.
Left- and right-pointing arrows appeared shortly after.
Rotate.
In other words, turn it.
'This...'
A system he'd seen in other games.
Pin the lockpick to the unlock direction, then turn the dagger like a key to pop the chest.
Familiar mechanic to gamers who'd tackled multiple genres.
'And I was one of them.'
Which was why he quickly maneuvered the lockpick, locating the sweet spot.
Pop!
But Luke wasn't perfect on the first try.
He snapped it turning too hard, just like now.
Of course, it regenerated in no time.
'At least I won't run out mid-pick.'
After several attempts, Luke pinpointed the unlock position.
'Now just turn the keyhole with the dagger.'
Unlock complete.
Click!
All that was left was to open the now-unlocked safe.
'Hold up—this gives EXP too?'
After Steal, now Unlock too.
His growth paths were diversifying into all things thievery.
'Ah, the thrill. Always something new!'
Stealing really was the best.
Luke grinned as he flipped open the lid.
Inside was a hooded full-body robe.
And a single note.
'Hmm, not great haul. Robe seems just for hiding your look. The note... what's this?'
The note read:
-Third test subject shows rejection response. Experiment deemed impossible. Disposal confirmed...
Like some lab report.
Just page after page of experiment results.
'No clue what any of this means. Tsk, total dud.'
But no need to be disappointed.
Plenty of other villagers' houses left.
Over ten locked chests he remembered alone.
'A couple should have decent stuff. Farm 'em steady!'
Happiness welled up just imagining it.
Growth and loot this easy and straightforward.
Next locked chests already had him buzzing.
'Alright, on to the next one...'
'Mira?'
The call from his little sister naturally halted his chest inspection.
The next day.
Early afternoon in a back alley.
"Haaah."
A young man stretched with a massive yawn as he strolled down the alley.
Unlike his usual disheveled hair, his head was neat.
Even his beard was trimmed tidy.
Seokwoo, who always dragged himself sloppily to the capsule room, was heading somewhere else looking sharp today.
-Oppa, I'm coming down there tomorrow—can you pick me up? Ah, nothing big, just meeting a friend there. Figured I'd bring side dishes and take the bus. That cool?
That's right.
The call from his little sister Mira yesterday.
Because of that promise, he was heading to the bus terminal early.
'Meeting a friend here of all places? Hope she's not coming just because of me.'
She'd said it was no big deal, but he couldn't take it at face value.
Parents nagging aside, she always worried about him.
So Seokwoo had gotten up early to meet her.
"Yawn. Doesn't make the fatigue go away, though."
His mind refused to sharpen.
As he dazedly exited the alley...
"Le... let me go, please."
"No can do, miss. Too dangerous for you to wander alone."
At the alley's end, suited men surrounded a woman.
'What the hell are they?'
Bad vibes obvious at a glance.
He wanted to turn tail, but the bus terminal was right beyond.
'Don't get involved. Just slip past.'
They seemed to know each other.
The suits even called the long-haired woman "miss."
So Seokwoo tried ignoring them and pushing through.
But...
'These idiots blocking the whole damn path.'
No gaps whatsoever.
'Not like they're toll collectors.'
Most were hulking brutes, and they were too fixated on the woman to notice him.
'No choice.'
Unwillingly, he had to ask them to move.
"Hey, make way."
"Miss, this is the boss's orders. We..."
"Path."
"Keep pushing and..."
"Path."
"Absolutely not. As I said..."
His eyes twitched.
Not content with blocking, now blatantly ignoring him.
'These fuckers.'
A vein throbbed on his forehead.
"Huh? And who the hell are you?"
"You?"
"Can't you see we're busy? Butt out or see blood—scram!"
Thud!
The suited man's aggressive shove snapped his patience.
"Tch, some nobody sticking his nose in."
The suit clicked his tongue and turned away, oblivious.
But that instant—
"Path."
"Huh?"
A crisp impact.
Wham!
The suited man took a foot straight to the face and crumpled.
"Move it, you bastards!"
"Se-senior?!"
"Crazy bastard!"
Only then did the others turn.
Acknowledging Seokwoo's existence after their senior hit the dirt.
Far too late.
The suit was out cold from one kick.
And Seokwoo stepped right over him.
'What the fuck is this guy?!'
'Senior went down in one hit?'
Twice their size, dropped effortlessly.
Unbelievable even seeing it.
Tension gripped the alley instantly.
The suits scowled warily, putting distance between them and Seokwoo.
"Ha, you kidding me?"
Seokwoo was the one dumbfounded by the scene.
Won't budge when asked nicely, now overreacting by backing off.
"Who sent you?"
"What?"
"Yeah, won't spill easy. But..."
Thwack!
"What a load of crap."
Seokwoo stopped holding back.
He just relentlessly kicked their faces.
"Your boss threw first punch—this is self-defense, right?"
"Damn it, that punk!"
"What're you waiting for? Pile on!"
The suits didn't go down easy, of course.
They coordinated, rushing from left and right.
But it didn't take long to see it was pointless.
"Path!"
"Gah!"
"To!"
"Urk!"
"Move!"
"Guh!"
"That hard?"
The brutes dropped like autumn leaves.
"Should've listened sooner."
Relief washed over him at last.
As he dusted his hands and turned...
He got a clear look at the woman they'd surrounded.
'Huh?'
Familiar face.
Someone he'd seen before.
Where...?
As he racked his brain, she beat him to it.
"...Luke?"
Rabbit.
The woman with that moniker was talking to him in the real world.