Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Off to Steal Again Today
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I doubted my eyes for a moment.
Green.
It was a full-on green text.
'Green?'
All the common-grade items I'd seen so far had been white.
But this one—this item I'd just found—was marked in green.
What could that possibly mean?
No, I didn't even need to think deeply. The answer was obvious.
'Different colors for different grades?'
That was it.
The user who'd bragged about snagging a rare item himself.
And now, an item of a completely different color popping out of that user's inventory.
Just looking at the current situation made it clear: that green text meant a rare item.
'But...'
Right then.
Luke's eyes narrowed.
'Identify?'
I calmed my pounding heart.
Unidentified item.
And identification too.
Suddenly, these new systems had popped up out of nowhere.
Luke calmly stared at the finger-shaped icon with his settled eyes.
It was identical to the hand icon from the first steal attempt.
'So, some items require separate identification before they can be stolen?'
That summed it up.
As expected.
You couldn't just snag every single item for free.
They'd pulled out another hidden mechanic to make things annoying, but it wasn't like I couldn't steal it at all.
Just one extra step.
'Well, I never thought it'd be easy from the start anyway.'
Muttering to myself, I carefully touched the green text.
[......7%]
[......14%]
[......22%]
It was rising.
The percentage was steadily climbing.
'Ugh!'
The moment that number hit 100%, the unidentified item would naturally be identified.
Maybe that's why.
I was even more tense than when stealing common items.
'Ah, this feeling...'
Wasn't it just like opening a random box?
Excited about what might be inside, yet anxious that something weird could pop out.
That was exactly how Luke felt right now.
[......97%]
And finally, the moment of identification arrived.
'Here we gooooo!'
Luke stared piercingly at the unidentified item, buzzing with excitement.
'Ooh!'
Soon.
A rare item would appear right before my eyes any second now.
'It's here...'
The moment I inwardly cheered.
'Huh?'
My face stiffened at the belatedly revealed item name.
"Ah, sis, you're here?"
"Yeah."
"Hold on, I'll hand over the shift quick."
Yoo Seokwoo's regular capsule room.
Jonghyuk's shift change had finally arrived.
The next part-timer taking over was a woman one year older than Jonghyuk.
"No rush."
It was Choi Bora.
"......"
Her short bob haircut suited her well. She watched the counter for a moment before turning her head.
And her gaze landed on the capsules in the very last row.
One customer had just stepped out from the corner of that row, now reserved for regulars.
"Ah."
It was none other than Seokwoo.
A top-tier regular that any part-timer here would recognize instantly.
That was Seokwoo.
But for some reason.
Seokwoo, emerging from the capsule, looked like he'd left half his soul behind somewhere.
"Hey, Jonghyuk. What's up with that guy?"
"Pardon?"
"Look at him."
"Whoa, you're right. Hmm, not sure, but last time he kicked open a capsule and stormed out. Maybe related to that?"
"Really? Eh, probably dropped some gear."
"Happens all the time in capsule rooms."
"True."
That was right.
When players died to monsters and lost items, or quests and dungeons didn't go as planned.
Customers always reacted in various ways depending on their mood.
"Aah......"
Seokwoo trudged over with a utterly deflated expression.
Bora, standing at the counter, gave a light wave in greeting.
"Hi."
"Ah."
"Huh?"
"Aah......"
Their eyes met briefly.
Soon, Seokwoo turned and headed to the break room.
Like he'd turned into a zombie.
"What the heck."
Bora turned back in bewilderment at the sight.
"Jonghyuk, I just got ignored, right?"
"W-Well..."
"Jeez, I finally greet someone first for once."
As Bora grumbled with a dissatisfied face.
"......Ah."
Seokwoo's mind was utterly blank as he entered the break room.
Hiss!
A cigarette between his lips.
And smoke billowing out moments later.
From within it, Seokwoo slowly spoke.
"A Wind Bracelet from Starting Village."
Every game has its iconic items.
Whether good.
Or bad.
They become trademarks widely known among gamers.
Like noob farmer gloves.
Scholar's loafers.
Executioner sword.
Old man sword.
Broken straight sword, and so on.
Agas was no different.
It had several standout iconic items, just like other games.
'One of them was the Wind Bracelet.'
Rare grade.
The option attached to it was just one line.
So, was it infamous for being bad?
No, not at all.
On the contrary, the Wind Bracelet was top-tier.
Why?
Because that single line was insanely powerful.
'All speeds increased.'
That alone might not click.
But lay out all the affected speeds, and the story changes.
Movement speed.
Attack speed.
Casting speed.
Cast preparation speed, and more.
Every speed beneficial to players went up.
'It was one of those items you couldn't get even after killing people nonstop, and now a newbie snags it in Starting Village?'
And it wasn't even on the market easily.
'Whoa, talk about luck favoring the bold.'
As expected.
What decides games: money, fame, talent, power, and luck.
'Luck-based trash game.'
No wonder the curses flowed.
'Damn luck-based trash game.'
That's why.
That's why the curses came out...
"Ehehehe, luck-based trash game. Total luck-fueled trash game."
Why was I laughing like this?
The answer was simple.
Because that Wind Bracelet was now in my hands.
That's why I could curse it while grinning.
'The probability dropping by 5% each failure was unexpected, though...'
I'd thought steal failure only dropped success rate by 1 fixed.
But that was only for common grade.
Wind Bracelet.
In other words, rare-grade steals dropped by 5% per failure—I'd confirmed it with my own eyes.
'Good thing the initial rate was high, or it'd have bottomed to 0% after a few fails.'
Common: 1%.
Rare: 5%.
Then higher grades must drop by different amounts on failure.
'Can't just blindly celebrate pulling a jackpot item anymore, huh?'
That was Seokwoo's realization this time.
'Anyway...'
Back to the main point.
The biggest dilemma now: how to handle the Wind Bracelet in my possession.
'No equip restrictions, so buyers will line up. Toss it on auction house, and it'll fetch 500 gold easy.'
Or wear it myself as an investment for the future.
Ahh.
Just thinking about it made me happy already.
Getting something I never had so easily.
By stealing, no less.
'Feels like this job exists purely for bad guys like me.'
Maybe even the Night King thought that when passing on his power.
To a wicked enough guy to get life imprisonment.
'Ah, maybe I was destined to be a thief?'
At least in-game.
Hiss!
As I stubbed out the cigarette and left the break room with a light heart.
"What? You were spacing out like a zombie a minute ago, and now you're grinning like an idiot."
"Huh? Oh, Bora, you were here?"
Bora stood at the counter, lips pursed.
"Been here a bit. Even greeted you, and you just blew past."
"Ah, had something on my mind. Sorry... nah, not really?"
"......Oppa, you're such a jerk."
"Heard that a lot. You'll get used to it in four months."
"Bull."
Bora, the four-month part-timer.
Being a regular, Seokwoo ran into not just Jonghyuk but also her, a year younger, often.
Now they chatted casually like this, but she seemed a bit sulky from the ignore.
"Anyway, time left—reactivate my spot?"
"Sure."
As he waited for the capsule to prep.
Agas news was playing on the capsule room monitor.
It was a famous broadcast channel's game pro.
The host was hamming it up extra hard.
Apparently, some user was dead set on killing rankers.
'Well, I used to do that too.'
To drop their gear or items.
But only once or twice.
Chasing rankers blindly left you with nothing eventually.
If a guild issued a hit order, you'd spend all day hiding in the fields.
'Got hard to target proper rankers later on.'
They started grouping up, making assassinations tricky.
Recalling old times, Seokwoo listened to the hosts continue.
One host smiled brightly and displayed a photo.
Black training robe straight out of a wuxia flick.
Long scabbard at the waist.
And a bald head like a monk's.
- Let's see, ID is Gu... Hwi? Something like that.
Seokwoo's eyes went wide.
'......Huh?'
Those half-lidded eyes.
That utterly bored expression.
'That bastard?!'
It was him.
No doubt.
The user who'd bisected me in one hit.
Gu Hwi.
'That damn punk is the Ranker Hunter?'