Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Off to Steal Again Today
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At that moment.
In some nameless corner of Agas.
The heavyweights who dominated Agas filed into a room that looked perfect for plotting conspiracies.
The leaders of forces commanding countless users.
The masters of the top ten guilds.
And why had they suddenly gathered like this?
The reason was simple.
"We've already lost six."
"Ours is eight."
"We're about the same."
An eyesore had appeared.
A so-called ranker hunter.
The number of rankers who'd fallen to the one known as Gu Hwi had already surpassed dozens.
Naturally, most of them belonged to the top ten guilds, and deeming it impossible to stand by any longer, they'd rushed here.
"Where the hell did this guy pop up from?"
"We're looking into it, but no info's coming up. Doesn't seem like someone who's been active publicly."
"Unofficial ranker."
"Or maybe a supernova that dropped from the sky."
"Tch, of all times..."
Someone clicked their tongue and muttered.
Indeed.
Right now, they were relentlessly pouring in manpower toward a single shared goal.
It was a critically important matter for all ten guilds.
But with Gu Hwi starting to pick off their elite personnel in the midst of it, their grand undertaking was inevitably suffering setbacks.
"Anyway, we need to deal with him ASAP."
"The question is how."
As they pondered solutions...
Someone abruptly brought up a name they'd all rather forget.
"Y'know, aside from the fact that he's not outright picking fights, this is pretty much like the Luke situation. We gathered like this back then too, right?"
"...!"
"Ugh."
"Fuck, why drag up that bastard's name outta nowhere? Makes my stomach churn!"
Luke.
Who was he?
The worst murderer who'd rampaged across the continent, even killing top rankers and spreading infamy far and wide.
An unforgettable nightmare for the top ten guild masters.
'Who could've guessed he'd steal the final blow in a live-streamed raid when victory was right there.'
'Just thinking about how half my guild died because of that prick!'
'A bastard worse than Satan himself, who'd shake his head and send you packing even from hell!'
'No one's saying it, but we've all been thinking of Luke this whole time.'
Not a single face looked comfortable.
Trembling with rage or pale with fear.
Those were the reactions around the room.
Luke had burrowed that deeply into their minds, and before they knew it, a sense of relief was settling in naturally.
'Compared to Luke, this guy's nothing...'
'Hell, Gu Hwi almost feels like a fairy now.'
What an ironic situation.
'That spiky-haired bastard.'
His teeth ground together.
He'd given up on revenge, but the resentment lingered.
The TV continued with interviews from the rankers.
Seokwoo watched with wide eyes.
-It was one hit.
-One hit?
-Yeah, he cleaved me in half in a single blow. Couldn't even react properly. By the time I came to, the death message was floating in front of me.
Were the other rankers taken down the same way?
They all shared similar accounts.
'Not a fluke.'
Indeed.
Unmatched damage.
That guy's swings weren't some lucky punch.
'Not a bounty hunter after all?'
That's what he'd assumed—that the guy chased him into the mountains for the bounty and killed him.
But no.
The guy's target was rankers.
In other words, as a high ranker himself, he'd just been another piece of prey.
Realizing that, it was utterly ridiculous.
He'd thought it was personal over the bounty, but he was merely one among thousands of targets.
So deflating it left him breathless.
'...Wait, the empire guys too?'
Didn't that mean they'd deliberately kept it under wraps?
'What's their game? And who the hell is that guy?'
His head grew even more tangled.
So Seokwoo forcibly cleared his mind.
No point dwelling on it now.
It was all in the past anyway.
He was pissed, but burying it here might be better for the future.
"What're you staring so intently at?"
Bora's voice came from the counter.
"Some dogshit bastard."
"Whoa, sounds weird hearing that from you, oppa."
"What, punk?"
"Anyway, is that game really that fun? I've seen a few clips, but it didn't look all that great."
Bora muttered while gazing at the monitor with half-lidded eyes.
Nice subject change.
"Well, yeah, it can look boring just watching. Curious? Try it yourself."
"You'll carry me hard if I do?"
Seokwoo chuckled at that.
"Dream on. I'm busy scraping by as is."
"Stingy."
"Think what you want. My spot free?"
"Yup, go on in."
"Cool, thanks."
Seokwoo hurried back to his seat.
At the sight, Bora sighed deeply from the counter.
She glanced back up at the monitor and wiggled her fingers.
"...Hmm."
[Wind Bracelet]
Grade: Advanced
Description: A bracelet infused with the power of wind. Increases all speeds of the wearer.
'Ah, this heals the soul.'
The stress from Gu Hwi vanished in an instant.
Just looking at it soothed his heart.
That was the Wind Bracelet.
'The original owner must be fuming right now, staring at his vanished bracelet.'
Maybe even contacting customer service thinking it's a bug.
'Not that Rover Company would care—they'd just say it's not a bug.'
Rover Company, the ones running Agas.
They'd long maintained a hands-off policy toward the game.
As a result, they rarely disclosed player personal info or activity logs, and monitoring was minimal unless exceptional circumstances arose.
All to provide maximum freedom.
'Thanks to that, the devs get equal shares of praise and curses.'
Why?
Because even that policy stemmed from lead dev Yong Ho-seop's mouth.
'Whatever, it's all profit for me.'
Luke smiled down at the Wind Bracelet.
Increased all speeds.
An option thieves craved even more.
And as he'd seen when achieving special conditions, Great Thief was thief-related too.
So he started pondering again.
'No combat skills yet, but...'
Might be useful even for stealing.
'Applies to skills too.'
Scouting speed? Item identification speed?
'Ugh, keeping it for now!'
Luke decided to hold off.
No telling what tomorrow might bring.
If desperate, sell it; otherwise, equip later.
As he went to close his inventory...
"Oh, Luke. Looking cheerful today!"
A passing villager greeted him warmly.
"Swing by the shop later!"
"...?"
The man strolled off casually.
Looking closer, he was one of the repeating quest NPCs.
'What? Why the sudden buddy act?'
Weird.
Villagers rarely initiated chats.
Why the friendly pass-by?
Luke blinked in confusion but soon turned away.
'Just coincidence.'
At that point, he had no idea.
What was happening to him.
Quest completions via theft continued afterward.
"Oh my, you're back again. Thanks, Luke!"
General store.
"Always grateful, Luke!"
Tavern.
"Kid's got grit after all."
Blacksmith.
"Thanks, mister."
"Whoa, thought it was gone for good— you saved me!"
"What can I do to thank you? Hehe!"
And various other villager requests.
Any fetch or gather quest, he handled.
"What? Where's my quest item?!"
"Huh? I swear I collected them all...?"
Just steal from the user holding it.
'Your quest items have been replaced with air.'
Of course, he didn't steal only quest items all day.
Once at the square.
Once in the back alley.
Once at the market street.
He mixed it up, stealing non-quest items occasionally for pacing.
'Too many "coincidences" stop being coincidence.'
He had to avoid rumors or deepened suspicions about vanishing items.
Quests piled up one after another.
Repeat quests excluding dailies and limited ones offered meager EXP, but accumulation changed everything.
'At this rate, hitting level 10 in a week isn't a pipe dream!'
But on the sixth day.
A problem arose.
"Oh my, hello, Luke!"
"Not feeling hello-ish."
He speaks first.
"Hey, Luke! Fresh fruits just in—wanna take a look?"
"Pass. Not buying. Don't trust ya."
"Whoa, Luke stopping by my shop. What an honor!"
"Uh, yeah. Glory to your house."
Villagers greeted him warmly one after another, as if they'd known him forever.
"Whoa, that guy's super tight with the NPCs."
"First time seeing that shopkeep greet someone first!"
Naturally drawing eyes.
Plus the NPCs' overwhelming stares.
'Fuck, what's going on?'
By then, Luke sensed something was off.
'Unless the whole village popped pills, this ain't normal.'
What was the cause?
No need to overthink.
Affinity.
And village contribution.
Quest rewards hadn't just piled up EXP and cash.
'For real?'
Hard to believe.
He was a thief looting players to clear quests.
'All I did was steal, yet I'm the village heartthrob.'
If his story became a novel, that'd be the title.
Luke spouted nonsense inwardly and looked up.
"Boss, that's the guy."
"Yeah?"
Suddenly, thug-like NPCs swaggered into the alley.
"You Luke? Been causing a ruckus around the village lately. Can't stand punks like you."
Crack!
A blond man cracked his knuckles threateningly.
Obvious thug leader.
'Gaining attention among villagers, huh. Never got hassle like this before.'
Already couldn't steal properly with all the eyes, and now these guys would cost him items.
'Don't look like they got anything good anyway.'
Just shabby local punks.
As he sighed...