Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Nie Yan had Guo Huai send over a Thief to deliver all the loot he collected back to the guild.

「I recently picked up seven Junior Revive skill books. Make sure they go to talented Priests,」Nie Yan informed. A sharp blade required good steel. It was important these seven skill books didn’t go to waste.

Guo Huai was stunned. A Junior Revive skill book was worth at least several thousand gold. Every time one appeared up for auction, there would always be a mad scramble, with wealthy players frequently raising the bidding price to ludicrous levels. Asskickers United naturally wouldn’t acquire Junior Revive skill books for such overinflated prices. However, due to their abysmally low drop rates, the guild had only accumulated nine thus far, finding one or two every five to six days. So of course Nie Yan collecting seven in just one afternoon was mind boggling!

「Just where did you get so many Junior Revive skill books?」Guo Huai couldn’t help but ask.

「I’m grinding in a Level 80 map, so I’ll probably be finding more,」Nie Yan replied. He thought for a moment, then added,「Tell Sun, Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the rest to get over here. I’ll help them level up a bit.」It was meaningless to just raise his own level. He had to raise the levels of the core guild members as well!

Guo Huai quickly got to work.

Nie Yan stopped levelling up further after reaching Level 54. Instead, he diverted all his incoming experience to Lil’ Gold, whose level quickly soared to Level 45 and was fast approaching Level 50.

Lil’ Gold reached over 6,000 health, his attack power and defense increasing considerably as well. This Golden Dragon was starting to become an unrivalled hegemon among pets.

A while later, Tang Yao arrived. Nie Yan brought him to do some quick levelling. When Tang Yao saw groups of Level 80 Faelins collapsing one after another, he could hardly contain his shock. With this kind of method, how could someone possibly not level quickly!? He had previously been farming monsters above his level too, but at most they were Level 60. He would never dare to venture in a Level 80 map.

It wasn’t long before Sun, Smoke Stub, Bladelight, Young Seven, and the others arrived as well. There were 20 players in total, all of whom elites of Asskickers United.

“The journey here was really dangerous. We passed by so many Level 60 and 70 mobs! How did you end up stumbling into a place like this?” Smoke Stub asked. It seemed like there was no place Nie Yan didn’t dare to go!

Nie Yan chuckled. “Well, the mobs here are all Level 80 Faelins. You should be careful.”

Nie Yan divided up his Death Wave Scrolls among the group. Everyone would set off in different directions to grind. The Warriors and Thieves would do all the hunting while the Mages would stay on the sidelines leeching experience.

Nie Yan estimated everyone would at least be Level 50 by the time all the Death Wave Scrolls were used up.

Sun approached Nie Yan. “Big Brother, I got that fragment of Sulgata’s Shadow you wanted me to find. Here it is.”

Sun took out a drabby and ancient-looking roll of cloth from his bag. Sulgata’s Runic Cloth was located in a Level 30 map, hidden in a labyrinth filled with various deadly mechanisms not just anybody could get past. There were some traps that could easily kill a Level 70 Thief.

Nie Yan accepted the cloth and examined its properties.

Description: A fragment of Sulgata’s Shadow. This cloth is brimming with a mysterious magical power.

Properties: Focus +20, Cloaking +20

Nie Yan placed Sulgata’s Runic Cloth in his bag along with Sulgata’s Boots. Following a flash of light, the cloth melted into the boots before vanishing entirely.

Nie Yan examined the boots which glistened with a peculiar luster, a clear contrast from before.

Requirements: 330 Strength

Description: These boots can be equipped due to the remnant magical power contained within. The player must seek out all fragments (Sulgata’s Boots, Sulgata’s Feather, and Sulgata’s Runic Cloth) to restore Sulgata’s Shadow.

Properties: Dexterity +50, Speed +20, Jump +20, Cloaking +20, Reflex +20

Steal (Rank 7): Allows the player to steal money or items from players and monsters.

Shadow Waltz (Rank 7): Stealth +50, Cloaking +50, Speed +50; 2 seconds of invincibility upon activation; cannot be detected through stealth for the first 12 seconds.

Restrictions: None

Sulgata’s Cloth Boots had undergone a massive transformation. This was especially true for Steal and Shadow Waltz, both fairly rare skills, which went up from rank Rank 3 to Rank 7. Shadow Waltz also gained 2 seconds of invincibility, putting it above Gale Step in terms of usefulness.

Sun had truly helped Nie Yan out a great deal.

Nie Yan wondered how much Sun had improved since their last meeting. He remembered passing down all the Shadow Dancer techniques that Sun had displayed in his past life.

Nie Yan was confident Sun would master them quickly, especially since he was their original inventor in the previous timeline.

“So, how’s your progress with the techniques I taught you from before?” Nie Yan asked in anticipation.

“Out of the seven techniques you showed me, I only learned two of them, Shadow Steps and Illusion Steps. These Shadow Dancer techniques are too difficult. I still can’t pull some of them off even after practicing hundreds of times. I guess I’m just too stupid...” Sun rubbed his head. He was worried about being scolded, since he believed Nie Yan had mastered all the techniques while he could only use two at an elementary level. In reality, his comprehension ability already far surpassed ordinary players.

Nie Yan himself had only mastered Shadow Steps and Death’s Dance. Although Illusion Steps was somewhat easier than Death’s Dance, it still required remarkable comprehension ability. He was truly in awe of Sun’s talent for having gained basic mastery over Shadow Steps and Illusion Steps in such a short time. Some people were just born to play the Thief class.

Nie Yan had only been middle of the pack in his past life. He was like a clumsy idiot compared to the outstanding geniuses, having only picked up a few things through watching their videos religiously. Even though he ultimately failed to become a Shadow Dancer, he still left behind a colourful mark! A nobody like him took down Cao Xu, a mighty overlord whose influence spanned the entire Viridian Empire!

Even though Nie Yan enjoyed the benefits of reincarnation in this life, it was only a temporary advantage. Someone would eventually surpass him. Perhaps one day, there would be many players superior to him. However, he was still the guild leader of Asskickers United. This was an undeniable fact. He was looking forward to seeing the talents he recruited pass him one after the other. When that time came, he could rest easy. Whenever something came up, he wouldn’t need to personally take action.

“Mhm, not bad. You should show me the Illusion Steps later, I still haven’t mastered it,” Nie Yan said openly. If he couldn’t, he couldn’t, simple as that. There was no need to hide this to save face. His talent was inferior to Sun’s, a fact he had long since accepted. He could only continue improving by learning from others; otherwise, he would just fall further and further behind—and that would be the true shame.

“Even big brother hasn’t mastered the Illusion Steps?” Sun asked in surprise.

“I’ve only mastered Shadow Steps and Death’s Dance of the seven techniques,” Nie Yan answered. Shadow Dancer techniques were simply far too difficult. Most Shadow Dancers in the previous timeline could only perform two or three of them, making Sun’s rapid mastery over two of them absolutely absurd.

“I thought Big Brother had already mastered all seven of these techniques.”

“Nobody excels at everything. Learning Shadow Dancer techniques requires talent, and yours is better than mine. Keep working hard.” Nie Yan smiled. Sun was already both hardworking and talented. He was destined for success.

“Of these seven Shadow Dancer techniques, I felt that Shadow Steps was the easiest and Death’s Dance the hardest. I still can’t get the pacing right for that one. I only mastered the Illusion Steps by accident, so I thought my inability to learn all seven was a sign of my stupidness,” Sun admitted with a clearly relieved look on his face. The fact that Nie Yan hadn’t mastered all seven techniques didn’t lower Sun’s regard for him at all. His big brother would always be the true number one in his heart. After all, the seven techniques were only supplementary, not an all-encompassing measurement of strength.

When Bladelight and the others witnessed Nie Yan confessing his inferiority to Sun, they couldn’t help but feel a tinge of admiration. Nie Yan being the leader of Asskickers United absolutely wasn’t due to luck. Strength wasn’t the only thing required in a leader. Humility was important too.

A guild was a reflection of its leader. Asskickers United’s tenaciousness, unyielding attitude, and unwavering loyalty were all influenced by Nie Yan!

Nie Yan and the others started spreading out, using the Death Wave Scrolls to clear the Faelins. By the end, all of them would be around Level 52–53. More importantly, if Bladelight, Smoke Stub, Young Seven, and the others successfully class advanced, they could capture the stronghold at the heart of Greater Calore.