The Great Thief

As they talked about his training, Lu Li learned a lot from the conversation.

Firstly, the Thief was definitely not Garona’s student because his master’s name was Mekgineer Thermaplugg. When Lu Li had completed the Zaetar Tower mission, Thermaplugg was the Gnome that he had seen.

If Lu Li had not passed his trial, he would never have found out about this.

The Thief’s name was Jeramo and he already had three advanced skills. One of his most powerful was the advanced Shadow Step, which was Mekgineer’s signature move.

He also had an upgraded Ambush. If Jeramo had chosen to Ambush him from the back instead of fighting him head-on from the very start, Lu Li’s lifeless body would have been lying on the ground.

The last was an upgraded Cut Throat, which made Lu Li laugh out loud.

The idea of a short Gnomish Thief trying his best to reach someone’s throat was hilarious to him.

Jeramo asked about the outside world and Lu Li smiled as he talked about his countless adventures.

It was easy to tell from his voice that the Gnome had a desire to go adventuring.

All that Lu Li could offer was his blessing and wishes of good fortune. Jeramo led him to the entrance of the third trial.

According to his description, the third trial was at the end of a convoluted underground tunnel with countless Stealthed monsters waiting to ambush any intruders. The monsters were all made by Mekgineer and were some of his most-advanced creations.

It was quite obvious that Mekgineer and Jeramo were quite close.

The tunnel was pitch black and was possibly some sort of an abandoned mine. Every few meters, there was a candle on the wall that flickered gently in the cold draught.

The ground beneath him was uneven and rocks were scattered around everywhere.

Lu Li knew what this trial was testing – the ability of a Thief to fight while in Stealth.

He checked his equips and potions, then entered into Stealth at the entrance. Like most other Thief players, he had been perfecting his Stealth mechanics.

You could be a decent Thief even if you weren’t completely geared up, as long as your Stealth mechanics were well-trained.

Lu Li detected someone on the left side of the wall in front of him. His opponent’s Stealth was likely very low because Lu LI was able to detect him from far away.

What an insult!

Lu Li pounced onto his opponent and accurately stabbed him in the back of his head with his dagger.

Instant Kill!

The situation was quite bizarre, firstly because the Stealth of his opponent was weak and secondly because his HP was low enough to be instantly killed. Lu Li was at a loss, trying to figure out what was happening.

He had only dealt a single point of damage to his target, but was still able to instantly kill him.

When he checked his stats, he noticed that everything had been lowered to 1, apart from his Defense, which was at 0. He had become the same as the target that he had just killed.

Lu Li quickly calmed himself down and assessed the situation.

If he had to guess, all the enemies that he would encounter in this trial would have 1 HP, 1 Attack and 0 Defense as well.

This way, the playing field would be evened out. However, Lu Li quickly realized how difficult stage three would be.

There was absolutely no margin for error.

If he messed up even once, he would face certain death.

Even though the mechanical Thief he had just killed was extremely easy to defeat, Lu Li decided he should concentrate harder.

He knew that the trial wouldn’t be that easy, especially because this was the third stage.

If the goal of the mechanical Thief was to stun him, then it had failed its job miserably.

Lu Li quickly came across another mechanical Thief and proved his theory correct. This one was stronger than the previous one; Lu Li was unable to detect it until it had almost passed by him.

He quickly took care of business and went into Stealth again.

Not even a second had passed before another robot detected him and inspected the position he was in a second ago. If Lu Li’s reaction time had been a fraction slower, he would have died immediately.

This mechanical Thief was also killed by Lu Li’s dagger.

The robots were now becoming progressively stronger and harder to detect. They were even working together in groups and coordinating attacks. Lu Li began feeling the pressure of the trial and almost died a couple of times.

However, he was strong, both psychologically and physically, which helped him avert any danger that he encountered. At the end of the tunnel, he finally reached a small underground hall.

This was the final trial of the third stage and likely the most difficult one. He knew that there would be countless mechanical Thieves in this hall, which would make it almost impossible to traverse.

At this moment, Lu Li did something completely unexpected.

He took out a black, ball-shaped object and threw it towards the hall.

The black ball exploded loudly, causing the whole mine to shake as the mechanical Thieves were blown into pieces.

The robots stood no chance against the bomb.

As the mines collapsed over the hall, the entire tunnel began crashing down. Lu Li ran out and appeared from within the smoke, leaving the ruined tunnel behind.

”Cheating, that’s cheating…” Jeramo, who had been waiting nearby, muttered.

However, the trial never forbade the use of items. Otherwise, the System would have prevented him from using it. ”Hey pal, did I pass?” Lu Li asked.

”Of course you passed.”

Jeramo was definitely an upstanding guy. Lu Li knew this from the very start when he had decided not to Ambush and take advantage of him. He knew that there was nothing he could do anyway, since the entire mine had been demolished.

”Thanks. Honestly, this is how Thieves should be,” Lu Li said. Clearly, he did not think that he had cheated at all.

Why would he waste time trying to complete an impossible trial when he could pass with one simple solution? This sort of ideology was something he had learned from the harsh environment that he had grown up in. As long as it wasn’t against his morals, he would do anything in his power to succeed.

”I’m just a bit surprised,” Jeramo said.

”If you go out on an adventure one day, remember to place yourself above everything out there. We’re assassins, not warriors. Don’t be ashamed to use poisons, bombs or traps to help turn the situation into an advantage for yourself,” Lu Li lectured, teaching him a valuable lesson.