Chapter 36: Stealing Skill

"The Experience Capsule for a Great Swordsman just now, it costs 500 million?"

Nami calculated the price, feeling very greedy, but was powerless to act.

In the years she had spent running about stealing,

she was already considered a very wealthy master Thief; even with the monthly "life-buying" money she had to secretly provide to the villagers, she could still save up 80 million Beli.

For an ordinary person, their monthly salary would be 100,000 yen at most.

"Can it be cheaper?"

Nami said, looking pitiful.

Fang Yi wore a smile and shook his head, saying: "There are no promotional offers for the time being; if you wait until the game event period, there might be a discount."

"Besides, items in the Mall require purchasing authority; your initial player level makes it impossible for you to buy expensive goods."

"Profiteer!"

Nami muttered secretly, then gritted her teeth and said: "Hunting Pollution Monsters will allow me to level up, right?"

Fang Yi nodded and said: "That's right, and you can also have Reward Points and valuable equipment drop. Honestly, the money you earn by putting your energy into the Samsara Game is definitely more than what you earn as a Thief."

Hearing this, Nami was very tempted.

Every time she went to sea, she struggled to sneak onto Pirate ships, doing dirty and tiring work, living in fear all day, yet the treasures she stole amounted to no more than a few hundred thousand Beli.

Ordinary Pirates were just common people who went to sea relying on their strong bodies and fierce personalities; they didn't have much skill and could at most plunder small villages, so there wasn't much money to be made.

"Oh no!"

Nami shrieked, then quickly jumped up and rushed into the Soul-Hooking Forest.

She hadn't realized it before, but those monsters were all bright yellow gold; one head could be exchanged for 50,000 Beli.

However,

Nami soon discovered that hunting monsters was not as easy as she had imagined.

In the deep, lush forest, the Drowned Ghosts, their bodies swollen and entangled with death energy, had skin that was festering and white, looking just like puffed-up, solid steamed buns.

When the weapons of the Pirates and guards slashed into them, it was like cutting into a thick, soft cushion.

It was like a layer of armor; it was impossible to harm the Drowned Ghosts at all.

By the time they wanted to pull out their weapons, the Drowned Ghosts had already sprayed corrosive acid, burning the attackers until they rolled on the ground.

To hunt successfully, at least two people needed to work together.

"Outlook?"

Nami suddenly spotted the middle-aged Noble mixed into the guard squad.

Clearly, back on the merchant ship, he had almost been dragged into the seabed by a Pirate's hook claw because of his clumsy movements, but now, the pot-bellied man was actually able to fight the Drowned Ghosts to a standstill.

Was it because of that weapon?

Nami had sharp eyes and caught a glimpse of the scimitar in the middle-aged Noble's hand at a glance.

Taking advantage of the chaos while hunting the Drowned Ghosts, she acted decisively, picked up a rock to knock out an inconspicuous guard, and put on the guard's uniform.

Outlook, who hadn't noticed, killed a Drowned Ghost covered in blade marks under the maneuvering of the guards.

Just at this moment,

Nami moved quickly to snatch the scimitar, but when her palm touched the hilt, text popped up before her eyes.

【Life Skill 【Steal】 not mastered; unable to snatch player equipment.】

Outlook was startled and hurriedly gripped the scimitar tight.

But lacking combat experience, he was grabbed by the throat by Nami, who had closed in on him, causing the guards to not dare to make a move.

"Give me the scimitar, or I'll kill you!"

When Nami said this, she looked fierce, but she was very nervous inside.

She had never killed anyone.

Although she knew that death in the Samsara Game could consume Reward Points to revive and didn't count as a real death, she was still somewhat resistant to it.

However, Outlook was clearly frightened by Nami's feigned posture and hurriedly waved his hand to dismiss the guards who wanted to swarm up.

"Don't kill me, I'll give it to you."

Outlook was about to hand over the scimitar, but suddenly his expression turned vicious, and he swung his blade toward his own back.

This scimitar was a piece of equipment he had purchased from the Game Mall.

A full two hundred Reward Points.

Resurrection cost a mere million Beli; he could certainly do the math.

Actively colliding with the sharp rubble in Nami's hand, Outlook's entire body turned into a faint white glow, and he revived anew.

Nami had already escaped thanks to her agile skills.

"Must I master the Stealing skill to be able to snatch player equipment?"

Nami was not discouraged; instead, her eyes lit up with a glow.

She took out all her savings, a full 80 million Beli, and exchanged them for 800 Reward Points.

【Purchase of 【Primary Stealing Scroll】 successful; this scroll can master the primary Life Skill: Stealing Technique.】

"As expected of Nami."

Fang Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry; he really wanted to applaud her.

800 Reward Points were enough to buy a set of low-quality equipment in the Game Mall, or to purchase a white-tier skill.

Although she would still need to run away when facing a White-Clothed Ghost, with the attribute bonuses from equipment, she could completely hunt Drowned Ghosts on her own.

But the lady Thief, who was somewhat famous in the East Blue, had actually given up on hunting Drowned Ghosts and aimed her spearhead at the players instead.

"Life Skills all require long-term cultivation; the success rate of the Primary Stealing Technique is very low, and it's possible to lose everything."

Fang Yi watched Nami as she slipped into Outlook's guard squad, using the same trick again.

He kept his head down and followed beside the middle-aged Noble, working very hard to help the guard squad hunt five Drowned Ghosts, then quickly ran away.

Outlook didn't even react in time; when he realized he had lost something, he angrily slashed his curved blade into a tree trunk.

In Nami's records, it was like this,

【You initiated Steal on the player, failed.】

【You initiated Steal on the player, failed.】

【You initiated Steal on the player...】

【You initiated Steal on the player, success, you obtained Drowned Ghost Leather Armor (White) *1】

Nami was full of joy and equipped the spoils into her equipment slot.

In an instant,

she seemed to feel her strength becoming more powerful.

This piece of Drowned Ghost Leather Armor had cost Outlook three hundred Reward Points when he purchased it, and its value was even higher than that of the curved blade.

He hadn't expected it would actually be stolen.

Behind the screen,

Fang Yi was also dumbfounded, curling his lip as he said, "Primary Stealing Technique causes player alertness upon failure; Nami released it over a dozen times and actually avoided detection perfectly every time. Should I say her stealing methods are brilliant?"

Life Skills are very flexible.

There are two release modes: one is fully automatic release, which is limited by the skill level.

The other is free release, which requires the player to master the timing of activation themselves; for example, after a blacksmith in reality masters the Forging skill, when they hammer and forge, they have the assistance of techniques and methods, and the finished product rate will be higher than that of ordinary players.

Although he knew Nami had a knack for stealing and could steal everyone's wallets in the blink of an eye when saying goodbye to the villagers of Kokoyashi, he hadn't expected her to be this strong.

The following trial was entirely Nami's stealing show.

Is the success rate of Primary Stealing Technique low?

It doesn't matter,

Nami blended into the Black Cat Pirates, skillfully lowered the Pirates' vigilance, and then continuously released Steal on the two Pirates who looked the wealthiest.

【You initiated Steal on the player, success, you obtained Drowned Ghost Leather Boots *1】

【You initiated Steal on the player, success, you obtained Soggy Foot Wraps *2】

【You initiated Steal on the player, success, you obtained Drowned Ghost Leather Pants *1】

By the time the trial time ended,

Nami, who had killed two Drowned Ghosts, had actually managed to piece together the three-piece set effect of the 【Drowned Ghost】, and she also had a Short Blade in her hand from some unlucky soul.

(End of this chapter)