SSS-Ranked Thief: Everything You Own is Mine

After leaving the church, it didn't take long for Zane to arrive at a grand hall, lavishly decorated and divided into sections based on different professions.

Each area had a professional mentor overseeing it, guiding players in their respective careers.

Zane headed straight to the Thief section, where he spotted a stunning woman clad in tight leather armor—her figure was nothing short of devilish.

She was the Thief Mentor.

"Hello, I'd like to learn advanced thief skills," Zane said, stepping forward.

The mentor lounged lazily in her chair, giving Zane a half-interested glance before replying:

"I have two skills available for level five: Poison Coating and Backstab. Five gold each—no haggling, no credit, and definitely no refunds."

Zane took a deep breath.

He had come to a realization—every NPC in this game was a cutthroat merchant.

"Damn, I only have ten gold left… If I hadn't 'fundraised' earlier, I'd have no idea how to afford these skill books!"

He sighed internally.

If he was struggling to afford skills, other players must have it even worse. Most regular players wouldn't be able to buy new skills as soon as they hit level five.

Of course, wealthy players and guild-backed elites were exceptions.

Rich players could simply buy gold from others, and guilds had the advantage of pooling resources. This paywall was no obstacle for them.

"Figures… even in a game, it's tough for regular folks to make it."

Without hesitation, Zane paid the mentor, silently adding another "stakeout location" to his mental notes.

With the books in hand, he immediately learned the skills.

[You have learned the skill: Poison Coating!]

[You have learned the skill: Backstab!]

Backstab

Type: Active

Rank: Tier 1, Level 1 (0/100)

Effect: Swiftly maneuver behind a target and strike, dealing 100 + 100% attack power damage with a 30% chance to critically hit. (Must be within 1 meter of the target.)

Mana Cost: 50

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Poison Coating

Type: Active

Rank: Tier 1, Level 1 (0/100)Effect: Uses expert techniques to coat a weapon with poison, maximizing its potency for 1 minute. Can also professionally remove poison from a weapon.

Cost: Poison material

Cooldown: 30 seconds

As the skill books vanished from his hands, the knowledge embedded itself in Zane's mind.

Among the two, he found Poison Coating the most intriguing.

In Genesis, not just anyone could apply poison to their weapons—it required proper technique. Without expertise, the poison's effects would be weak, and its duration short-lived.

Thieves, however, specialized in this craft.

"Thanks, mentor. I'll be back," Zane said, flashing an innocent smile before leaving.

Zane returned outside the town, concealing his ID and level as he quietly entered the Bouncing Rabbit hunting grounds.

This time, he ventured into the woods.

Rabbit roamed here as well, but the tree cover provided better concealment. It was unlikely anyone would notice him, and if they did, they'd just assume he was a newbie practicing his mechanics.

And so, Zane began his skill training grind.

First, he pulled out a bottle of Basic Poison.

Basic Poison

Type: Consumable

Effect: Coating a weapon with this poison grants +10 poison damage and a 10% chance to inflict Poisoned status. Poisoned targets lose 8 HP per second for 15 seconds.

"Poison Coating!"

[You've consumed a portion of poison. Your weapon, Shadow Blade, is now coated in poison for 1 minute!]

Thanks to his Infinite Potential talent, the skill's cooldown had been reduced from 30 seconds to 15 seconds.

More importantly, this talent also reduced resource consumption, meaning he could use one bottle of poison five times instead of just once, with no reduction in potency!

At this rate, by the time he exhausted his poison supply, Poison Coating would have improved significantly.

Then, Zane continued training.

Stealth! → Immediately cancelled to trigger cooldown.

Steal!

Backstab!

Kill the Bouncing Rabbit!

He cycled through his four main skills repeatedly, maximizing proficiency gains.

For most people, mindlessly repeating the same actions would be mentally exhausting.

But after everything that had happened, Zane had developed a deep fascination with the thief class.

He wanted to master it—to push its mechanics to the limit.

So he persisted.

Again.

Again.

And again.

His potions and poisons dwindled bit by bit.

[Steal skill proficiency maxed out! Upgraded to Level 10!]

[Stealth skill proficiency maxed out! Upgraded to Level 6! Skill mutation triggered!]

[Poison Coating skill proficiency maxed out…]

Zane was completely immersed.

At first, he was excited about every skill upgrade.

Then, he stopped checking.

Cooldown's over? Use the skill. That's it.

Time passed. Skills leveled up.

Eventually, fatigue crept in, and his movements slowed.

But Zane quickly found a way to break the monotony—he slowed his training just enough to watch the chat channels and keep up with player activity.

Breaking News! The three major guilds launched a joint assault on Lonely Wind Mountain but were ambushed at the mid-slope by Bronze-ranked Bosses: Silver-Scaled Serpent King and Forest Berserker Ape King, resulting in massive casualties!

Great News! The player Green Mountains discovered a swamp west of Lonely Wind Mountain! Monsters there have significantly better loot drop rates! Players, seize this opportunity! If guild players try to monopolize the area, contact Green Mountains—we stand together against the big guilds!

Chat was still bustling, filled with updates and gossip.

Of all the ongoing discussions, Lonely Wind Mountain remained the hottest topic—nobody had figured out what was really happening up there.

After scrolling for a while, Zane closed the chat interface.

Instead, he opened a live-streaming platform and began watching streams while grinding skills.

The regional chat only showed messages from Maple Leaf Town, but Zane was curious—what was going on in other starter towns?

Right now, Ascension Online was dominating global livestream platforms, with thousands of streams running simultaneously.

Zane hopped between streams and noticed that most starter towns had a similar leveling pace to Maple Leaf Town.

Their layouts were also mostly identical, including notice boards.

However, not all towns had the same quests.

For example, the Lonely Wind Cliff Anomaly quest only existed in Maple Leaf Town.

This suggested that while towns shared common features, there were unique differences among them.

After watching for a while, Zane shut off the livestreams and refocused on grinding.

Steal reached Level 11… then Level 12!

Stealth reached Level 7… then Level 8!

At first, he felt a thrill whenever a skill leveled up.

Now, he was numb to it.

Notifications? Who cares. Just keep grinding.

Train skills. Feel bored. Watch streams. Train more. Repeat.

The cycle continued endlessly…

Until overwhelming fatigue finally caught up to him.

Unknowingly, an entire day had passed.

Zane logged out, scarfed down some instant noodles, and collapsed into bed.

The moment he woke up, he dived straight back into the game.

By now, player levels had increased significantly.

When he checked the regional chat, he noticed that the strongest players had already hit Level 10.