[New Skill: Void Walk (God Tier)]
He checked the description, and a cruel grin spread across his face. It was time to rob the Mayor blind.
The sun hung high over Novice Village #109. Sharp shadows cast across the Town Hall square.
Players bustled about...turning in quests, repairing gear, complaining about the difficulty of finding rabbits to kill. None paid attention to the figure in rags standing near the fountain.
Sebastian reviewed the new skill shimmering in his UI.
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[Void Walk] (Level 1)
Type: Active / Divinity
Cost: 500 Mana / sec
Description: Detach your physical form from the material plane. Enter the Void Dimension.
Effect 1: Phasing. Pass through all physical matter...walls, terrain, enemies.
Effect 2: Null-Existence. Completely undetectable by sight, sound, smell. Magical sensors below Divine Tier can't find you.
Effect 3: Untouchable. While in the Void, immune to all physical and magical damage. Cannot attack in this state.
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"Broken," Sebastian muttered. "Absolutely broken."
Later stages of the game? Mages would kill for a spell offering even three seconds of invulnerability. This skill offered it indefinitely. As long as he had mana. Thanks to his [Void Ocean] passive, mana regenerated almost as fast as this skill consumed it.
He looked at the two Elite Guards flanking the heavy oak doors. Town Hall entrance. They scanned the crowd, hands resting on broadsword hilts. A faint blue shimmer covered the doorway {Basic Detection Ward}. Any Rogue using normal stealth would be flagged instantly.
Sebastian stepped forward.
"Void Walk."
VWOOM.
The world didn't just fade. It inverted.
Colors drained away. Replaced by high-contrast monochrome of greys and blacks. Market sounds, shouting, crafting hammers, footsteps was instantly muted. Replaced by hollow, windy roaring sound. Like holding a seashell to one's ear.
Sebastian looked at his body. Translucent. Composed of swirling black smoke and starlight.
He walked toward the guards.
As he approached, one guard frowned. Tilted his head as if hearing a whisper. But his eyes looked right through Sebastian.
Sebastian didn't stop. Walked straight into the guard.
No collision. No impact. Sebastian felt slight chill as he passed through the polygon mesh of armor and flesh. Stepped out the other side. Faced the heavy oak door.
Didn't bother opening it. Simply stepped through the wood as if it were mist.
Inside, the Town Hall was lavishly decorated. Velvet carpets. Gold chandeliers. Stark contrast to the poverty outside. Clerks scurried back and forth carrying papers. Sebastian drifted past them like an invisible ghost in the machine.
He located the staircase. Upper floors.
According to his memory of the lore, the Mayor's office was on the third floor.
He floated up the stairs. Ignoring the laws of gravity.
Reached the heavy iron door of the Mayor's private study. Locked with a magic seal.
[System: Door is magically sealed. Key required.]
Sebastian chuckled. "Physics is a suggestion."
Stepped through the iron door.
Inside, the Mayor the fat, greasy man named Mayor Grogton sat at his mahogany desk. Stacking piles of gold coins. Humming a cheerful tune.
"One for the orphanage fund... and ten for me,"
Grogton muttered. Slid a stack of coins into his pocket. "Stupid adventurers. Buying overpriced potions."
Sebastian stood directly in front of the desk. Watching the corruption unfold.
'Enjoy it while it lasts,' Sebastian thought.
His eyes scanned the room. In the corner, behind a painting of the Mayor shaking hands with the King was a safe.
Sebastian walked over to the painting. Reached out.
Clang.
His hand hit the wall.
[System: You cannot interact with objects while in Void Walk.]
"Right," Sebastian whispered. "Have to materialize to grab the loot. That's the vulnerability."
He checked the room. The Mayor was the only witness.
Sebastian positioned himself directly behind the safe.
"Deactivate."
Color rushed back into the world. The roaring wind ceased.
Sebastian immediately grabbed the painting. Ripped it off the wall.
The sound was loud.
"What?!" Mayor Grogton spun around in his chair. Gold coins spilling everywhere. "Who are you?! Guards! GUARDS!"
Sebastian ignored him. Stared at the safe. Complex combination lock.
"I don't have the Lockpicking skill," Sebastian noted. "But I have something better."
Pressed his hand against the steel door of the safe.
[Skill: God-Slayer's Edge (Passive - Acquired later? No, wait. Need to open this.)]
'Think, Sebastian. You don't have the damage skill yet. You're a Mage right now.'
He pointed his finger at the lock mechanism.
"Solar Flare. Output limited to 1%."
A tiny, concentrated beam of superheated plasma shot from his fingertip. Not an explosion this time. A welding torch. The steel lock melted instantly. Glowing cherry red. Dripping onto the carpet.
Mayor Grogton hyperventilating. Reaching for a bell on his desk.
Sebastian kicked the safe door open.
Inside lay a velvet box. Heavy gold ring with ruby inset. And a black leather-bound book.
[Item: Mayor's Signet Ring]
[Item: The Black Ledger]
Sebastian swiped them into his inventory.
The door to the office burst open. Four Elite Guards rushed in. Swords drawn.
"There he is! Kill the intruder!"
Mayor Grogton shrieked. Pointing a trembling finger. "He melted my safe! He's a demon!"
The guards charged. Their swords glowed with [Power Strike].
Sebastian turned to face them. Didn't raise his hands to fight. Simply smirked.
"Too slow."
"Void Walk."
The swords swung.
Swish. Swish.
Blades passed harmlessly through Sebastian's body. Like cutting smoke. The guards stumbled. Momentum carrying them forward. Nearly crashing into the safe.
They spun around. Eyes wide with confusion.
"Where did he go?!"
"I... I hit him! Felt nothing!"
Sebastian was already walking through the ceiling. Ascending to the roof.
Ten minutes later.
The alleyway behind The Rusty Bucket.
Old Man Clay still drinking the moonshine. Though he looked considerably more alert now.
A shadow fell over him.
Sebastian dropped two items onto the crate next to the beggar.
The Ring clattered. The Ledger landed with heavy thud.
Clay froze. Slowly lowered the bottle. His trembling hands reached out. Picked up the ledger. Flipped through the pages. Eyes scanning records of bribes, extortion, illegal slave trading.
"He... he actually kept records," Clay whispered. Dark, murderous aura flaring around him. Then he looked at the ring. "And you took his seal."
Clay looked up at Sebastian. The look in his eyes had changed. No longer the look of a quest giver looking at a player. The look of a master acknowledging a peer.
"You walked into the lion's den. Walked out without a scratch," Clay said. "I didn't hear an alarm until you were already gone."
"I told you," Sebastian said. "I walked through."
Clay stood up. Surprisingly tall when he wasn't hunched over.
"You have the hands of a ghost, boy. But a ghost needs teeth."
Clay reached into his ragged robes. Pulled out a tattered, blood-stained book. Not a system-generated skill book that glowed. Looked like a manual handwritten in dried blood.
"This is my life's work," Clay said solemnly. "The Arts of the Severed Vein. Teaches you how to bypass armor. How to find the cracks in the world."
[Hidden Quest Complete: The Beggar's Test]
[Reward: Skill Book - Dagger Mastery (Unique/Legacy)]
[Reputation with The Brotherhood of Shadows: +1000 (Honored)]
Sebastian took the book.
[Learn?]
"Yes."
[Ding! Skill Learned: Dagger Mastery (Passive).]
[Effect: +10% Damage with Daggers. +5% Critical Strike Chance.]
Standard passive. For now.
Sebastian opened his interface.
[Available SP: ∞]
"Let's make sure nothing can ever block my strike again."
He poured the points.
[Ding! Dagger Mastery Lv 10... Evolution!]
[Skill: Lethality (Tier 2). Evolution available.]
...
[Ding! Lethality Lv 100... Evolution!]
[Skill: Armor Piercing (Tier 5). Evolution available.]
The points drained like water into a black hole.
[Ding! Evolution Complete.]
[New Passive: God-Slayer's Edge (Divine Tier)]
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[God-Slayer's Edge]
Type: Passive
Effect: Your attacks ignore 100% of target's Physical and Magical Defense.
Secondary Effect: Any damage dealt creates [True Wound]. Cannot be healed by magic for 1 hour.
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Sebastian summoned his rusty starter knife. Looked the same. But to his eyes, the edge seemed to vibrate. Cutting the very air around it.
"Defense is now a myth," Sebastian said.
Clay watched him. Shivering slightly. The old assassin sensed something had shifted. The young man before him hadn't just learned a trick. He had become a predator.
"Use it well, Drifter," Clay whispered. Sitting back down. "The world is going to bleed soon."
"I know," Sebastian replied. Turning toward the market. "But first, I need to break the economy."