SSS-Ranked Thief: Everything You Own is Mine

Zane emerged from the cave and quickly darted into the dense forest, seeking cover.

He was now in the mid-mountain region.

"Why haven't those guilds managed to get to the top yet? This area is huge—if they can't brute-force their way up, can't they just sneak in?"

Zane couldn't wrap his head around it.

Wouldn't it be possible to send a thief in under stealth? No matter how dense the monsters were, there was no way they were guarding every single corner, right?

Of course, other thieves didn't have stealth as advanced as his. They might not be able to slip past high-level monsters.

Could that be the reason why nobody had figured out what was up there yet?

"Maybe it's not as simple as I think. I'll check it out myself."

Activating stealth, Zane started making his way up.

Even the regular monsters he encountered along the way were at least level 10.

As he ventured deeper, he noticed a clear decrease in the number of players.

Only the top players in Maple Leaf Town could handle leveling in this area, so it wasn't surprising that few were here.

Moving with caution, Zane weaved through the terrain, avoiding both monsters and guild parties. Thanks to his precise movements and stealth, no one noticed him.

He slipped through undetected.

Before he knew it, he had left all other players behind.

Approaching the summit, he slowed his pace.

Rumor had it that a powerful Silver-ranked boss roamed this area.

Skyfall, Domination, and Fireworks Guild had all suffered complete wipes against it. There was no way he could take this lightly.

[System Notice: You are about to enter the summit region of Lonely Wind Mountain. The Silver-ranked boss, Flamewing Tiger, does not tolerate human presence. If you are detected, nearby monsters will attack, and the Flamewing Tiger will be alerted. Proceed with caution!]

The system prompt made Zane realize, "No wonder no one has reached the top of Lonely Wind Mountain."

So that's why the Flamewing Tiger was such a problem—it didn't even give players a chance to set foot in its domain.

Normal thief's stealth wouldn't fool the monsters here. Even Level 3 Stealth wouldn't work.

In fact, Zane wasn't even sure if any other thieves had managed to level up stealth to Level 3 yet.

"Interesting. Let's see what's so special about this place."

He vanished into the shadows and advanced.

Other thieves might struggle, but he wasn't just any thief.

He was confident that even the Flamewing Tiger wouldn't sense his presence until he made his move.

Upon stepping into the summit, Zane was taken aback.

The monsters here moved differently than those below.

They patrolled their designated areas in an organized fashion. Even if they encountered each other at the borders, they didn't attack.

There was even a goblin patrol unit roaming between zones, led by Level 13 Elite Goblins.

"The king of the mountain, huh?"

Zane was intrigued.

Clearly, this level of discipline was due to the Flamewing Tiger's presence.

With such tight security, Zane had to be extra careful.

If his stealth ended, he couldn't just crouch behind bushes or trees—the risk of being spotted was too high.

But he had a solution: the Spider Silk Ring.

"Shwoop!"

A thread of spider silk shot out, latching onto a tree and pulling Zane upward, letting him use the branches as cover.

He would hide in the treetops and wait for his stealth cooldown to reset before moving again.

From his observations, the number of flying monsters in this area was low. Hiding in the trees was much safer than staying on the ground.

Using a combination of stealth and the Spider Silk Ring, Zane gradually approached the mountain peak.

Finally, a towering cliff came into view—Lonely Wind Cliff.

Zane nestled himself into a lush tree, shrinking his body behind the dense leaves for cover.

Through the gaps, he spotted a terrifying figure below the cliff.

A massive tiger, standing over ten feet tall, with golden fur and flaming red energy swirling around its body.

It had wings.

Lying lazily at the base of the cliff, it was surrounded by ferocious-looking tiger-like guardians keeping watch.

It was clear that this thing was not to be messed with.

"No wonder those guilds got wrecked."

Due to the distance, Zane couldn't see the boss's information, but he could sense its power.

There was no way he could take it on right now.

And with all those guards standing by, he definitely didn't want to end up in a dogpile of tigers.

After observing for a while, he melted into the shadows and moved toward the side of the cliff.

With the map guiding him, he wouldn't get lost.

A few minutes later, Zane safely reached the cliff's edge.

The back side of Lonely Wind Mountain was steep, with sheer drops. A single misstep would mean certain death.

Even here, patrol monsters could still wander through. He had to move fast.

"Shwoop!"

A strand of spider silk shot out, latching onto an outcropping on the cliff face.

"Retract!"

The silk reeled him up at high speed.

Just then, a dim-witted goblin waddled into the area Zane had just occupied, sniffing the air suspiciously.

It could sense something.

It began pacing around, scanning the ground.

Zane's heartbeat spiked.

He clung tightly to the cliffside, suspended in the air by the spider silk.

The goblin frowned, tilting its head upward to look at the cliff face.

"Stealth!"

Just in time, his stealth refreshed.

Zane vanished.

The goblin blinked at the strand of silk swaying in the wind, then lost interest and wandered off.

"Hah, now that's a rush!"

Zane grinned wickedly as he dangled in midair, the howling wind whipping past his face.

One slip and he'd be splattered at the bottom of the mountain—maximum adrenaline.

But he wasn't afraid.

On the contrary, the sheer realism of the danger made his blood pump with excitement.

This was what made games fun.

After waiting for his cooldown, Zane tightened his grip on the silk and cut it loose, before shooting a new thread straight to the cliff's summit.

And then—

He reeled himself in.

Eight meters… seven meters… six meters…

"Up we go!"

With a powerful kick off the rock, Zane soared over the edge—

—landing on top of Lonely Wind Cliff!