The Great Thief

“Where are you right now? Come over to the Blacksmith.” After the group chat fell silent for a while, the future Union Elder “Square Root 3” spoke up. Ao Jian had probably swallowed his anger and agreed to Lu Li’s requests.

Not too long later, the Hunter Square Root 3 saw Lu Li at the Blacksmith. Although he was mentally prepared, what he saw shocked him out of his mind.

The player who had confidently said that he could earn 20 gold in 1 week was only left with equipment that couldn’t be destroyed or dropped…

However, Lu Li’s expression was abnormally calm. Square Root 3 had never seen anyone look so calm while almost naked, which left him with some hope and faith in Lu Li. He silently transferred to Lu Li a dagger and 10 Little Breads.

[Sharp Dagger] (Common): 1-2 Damage. Level Requirement: LV0. Durability: 8/10. A bit better than the beginner weapon.

“Oh, also, were you able to find a Seal Transformation book?”

Square Root 3 shook his head, and asked in curiosity, “You’re a Thief, right? Why do you want a Seal Transformation book? Is it for a friend?”

The Seal Transformation was a Druid transformation skill book. It had a chance of dropping from monsters beside lakes. It didn’t have any skills specific to that animal, and so Druids usually viewed it as quite useless. However, Lu Li was determined to have this skill book.

“Yep, I have a friend who wants that skill book. Just remember to give me that book. Earning 20 gold within a week depends on it.” Lu Li casually said as he held the hand equipped with the Supreme One Ring behind his back.

“Don’t worry, I’ll send some people to wipe out some small fry,” Square Root 3’s expression became serious, and immediately dispatched some people to kill monsters to look for the skill book.

“See you later.” Lu Li waved with the dagger in his hand, and left to kill some monsters.

Thieves were given three skills when they started the game: Shadowstrike, Stealth and Unlock. As a Night Elf, he also had a bonus stealth skill: Shadowmeld.

Stealth: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 8 seconds. Allows Thieves to conceal themselves until the effects run out.

Shadowstrike: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 4 seconds. Deals 2 damage to the target, as well as 120% weapon attack damage. Awards 1 combo point. Proficiency: 1/1000.

Unlock: Requires 10 seconds to cast, Cooldown Time: 2 minutes. Open the locks of chests and doors. Proficiency: 1/1000.

Lu Li didn’t find a monster and simply charge at it. Instead, he activated Stealth and got closer. This was the difference between the Manual mode and Automatic mode.

Under the Automatic mode, the system would alert players when they were able to use their skills, and could even cast skills for players. Using Automatic mode, it was also impossible for skills to fail because of control issues. On the other hand, any other issues could cause the skill to fail.

Like so.

LIKE SO.

Snap! Lu Li accidentally stepped on a branch, causing a clear snapping sound.

The young boar’s ears pricked up, and snorted a few times before charging at Lu Li.

This was, after all, Lu Li’s first time playing as a Thief. He could only reveal himself and start duelling it out with the young boar.

He slashed at the boar, -6!

The boar rammed into him, -9!

Just like this, Lu Li exchanged blows with the young boar.

In the distance, Square Root 3, who had been observing him, frowned. He didn’t know much about Thieves, but this guy who even failed at using Stealth didn’t seem like an expert.

Under Automatic mode, using Stealth was not foolproof, but against low level monsters like this boar, he definitely wouldn’t have been detected.

The Star Moon Union’s future Vice-President left in disappointment. To him, Lu Li was pretty much a scammer.

However, Square Root 3 didn’t see Lu Li’s second attempt against a monster, otherwise his impression would have been much better.

The second time, Lu Li’s Stealth didn’t fail. He arrived behind a young boar, and aimed at its hind legs as he slashed out.

Blood spurted everywhere, -11!

System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 82%, caused 93% Skill Damage, target stunned for 1 second!

Stun!

This was the Manual mode!

The beloved, yet despicable, manual mode!

The 82% Skill Completion that Lu Li just achieved was not a simple feat at all. That 82% Skill Completion was pure luck.

Currently, not many people had chosen to go with the Manual mode, and those who did averaged around 50% Skill Completion. 50% Skill Completion could only unleash 40% of the Skill’s Damage, as opposed to the 100% from the Automatic mode.

In Lu Li’s “past life”, Manual mode had not become popular until the game had been released for three years.

The next few times Lu Li faced off against monsters, his highest Skill Completion was around 60%, which was far below the 100% for Automatic mode players. After all, he had never properly played with the Manual mode before.

Although the ‘rebirth’ gave him advantages over other players, it didn’t mean he became an expert instantly.

However, he wasn’t worried. He patiently killed young boars while raising his Proficiency and getting a better sense of the Skill Completion.

Being a professional player could be quite dry at times, and patience was often more important than talent. Lu Li, who had killed many, many monsters in order to earn money was an incredibly patient person.

Lu Li’s skill completion level continued to climb upwards, and by the time he had reached LV1, he could consistently achieve over 70% for the Skill Completion. The Skill Damage was now around 90%, which wasn’t too far below that of Automatic mode players’.

The quest to obtain 30 Young Boar Tusks was quickly completed.

Lu Li found 45 copper coins, 10 young boar fur, but no equipment.

When he went to complete the quest, he received 300 EXP, 20 copper coins, as well as a Cloth Cloak.

[Cloth Cloak] (Common): 3 Armour. Level Requirement: LV1. Durability: 10/10.

The young boar fur could be sold for 2 copper coins each, and after selling them, Lu Li’s personal wealth was now a single silver coin.

However, after buying 10 Bread, he was left with only 50 copper coins, or half a silver coin.

In Dawn, every time a player levelled up, they would receive 5 Attribute Points.

Lu Li thought for a few moments, then gritted his teeth and put all of the Attribute Points into Agility.

Although it wasn’t as much as Strength, Agility also gave him some Attack Power. Furthermore, it could also increase his Movement Speed and Attack Speed. More importantly, Agility could increase the chance for Critical Hits and Evasion for Thieves.

In Dawn, Thieves were split into two main styles: the Agility Thieves, who put all of their points into Agility, and the Warrior Thieves, who put all their points into Strength. It was hard to say which one was better- both styles had peak level experts, but to Lu Li who was used to playing alone, there were more advantages to Agility Thieves.

After levelling up, there were 2 new quests available to him: Shadowmaw Panther’s Fur, which could only be obtained by killing a LV2 Shadowmaw Panther, as well as the Rotting Magic Moss. The second quest was a Collection quest, and was located near the bank of the Moon Shadow Lake.

After killing 30 young Shadowmaw Panthers, and finishing all of the LV0 quests, Lu Li would go to kill real Shadowmaw Panthers.

Shadowmaw Panthers were decent monsters to farm for EXP. They didn’t have much HP, and had average Defence. To Thieves, who had the advantage of attacking first, it wouldn’t take much effort to kill them. Moreover, apart from fur, Shadowmaw Panthers could also drop equipment, or even skills like the Magicians’ ‘Ice Spear’ or the Druids’ ‘Claw’ or ‘Panther Transformation’.

Of course, this all depended on one’s luck. Lu Li’s luck was quite poor, and even after half an hour, he didn’t find a single skill book.

Stealth, Shadowstrike, -19!

Shadowstrike Skill Completion 73%, caused 81% Skill Damage. Lu Li sent out two attacks, and the Shadowmaw Panther in front of him let out a pitiful cry as it collapsed to the ground.

A clang sounded out, causing Lu Li’s heart to leap. That wasn’t the sound of coins falling, but equipment dropping- and a weapon, at that.

Lu Li kicked away the Shadowmaw Panther’s body, revealing a 1 metre long, jade-green Magic Staff.

[Apprentice Magic Staff] (Common): 5-7 Damage. Level Requirement: LV2. Durability: 3/10.

This was definitely a good piece of equipment. Although it was only Common grade, it had high Damage. For a LV2 weapon, it was extraordinary.

With the motivation of earning equipment, Lu Li began to farm monsters in earnest.

Not too long after, a second piece of equipment appeared.

[Fisherman’s Old Felt Cap] (Common): 2 Armour. Level Requirement: LV1. Durability: 8/10.

This piece of equipment was a lot worse than the Magic Staff, but at least Lu Li could immediately use it. After equipping the Hat, his Armour was increased by quite a bit, and he received less damage when fighting monsters. This raised the efficiency of his farming.

As he was farming monsters, he felt the sensor on his waist vibrate.

Lu Li quickly finished off the monsters he was dealing with, picked up a copper coin, and answered the call.

“The ‘Seal Transformation’ you wanted has appeared…”