Path of the Thief - II

Merlin spent a few moments catching his breath before climbing down the platform and making his way over to Pelear who was no longer hiding his presence.

"Good work, you passed!" Pelear spoke while writing down on a clipboard, "You got the highest score on the recruit leaderboard too."

"Alright, next up is the most important skill to know in our line of work, so pay attention." Pelear put the clipboard away before speaking once more. "I'll be teaching you the basics of how to hide your presence, like so."

And once again, although Merlin could see Pelear in front of him, it felt like he would disappear the next time he blinked. His presence had been completely erased, although there were methods of still detecting him, visually was the only method Merlin could currently use.

For a thief, or any stealth based play-style, the most important skill was hiding your presence. This could be countered through a variety of ways, such as through various detection skills, a high awareness stat and visually or audibly detecting the player using your own senses. But those counters could also be countered via other methods, such as using skills and items that allow you to become invisible to counter visual detection, or having a higher stealth stat than the enemy's awareness.

"While you can still see me, there should be a feeling in your mind that something is wrong." Pelear started to explain while pacing around slowly, "Your mind is subconsciously processing everything in your surroundings at all times, the faintest noise, the slightest shift in wind on your skin, even the tiny change in temperature caused by the body heat of all the living creatures near you."

Pelear paced behind Merlin while still talking, causing goosebumps to spring up all over Merlin's arms and sending a wave of anxiety through his body.

"What I'm doing is drastically reducing all the aspects I can control that your brain uses to confirm my existence." Pelear leaned in and whispered, causing Merlin's body to automatically dash a small distance away, his discomfort overcoming his self control.

"And as you can see, your brain doesn't like that, but it doesn't know what to do." Pelear started laughing once more, dropping his concealment. "If your opponent hasn't seen you before you stealth, their brain doesn't tell them something's wrong until you get too close, how close that is depends on how perceptive they are. Take for example my son, who you didn't notice walk up behind you."

Merlin's anxiety spiked once more, and as he turned around, the boy he once held his sword against was standing behind him, causing Merlin to jump back in surprise. His stealth was even better than his fathers, at this close of a distance Merlin's brain still didn't register that something was wrong until he was told, the kid was terrifying.

Pelear had dropped to the floor while laughing, it seemed this was something they rehearsed just for him, probably payback for the inciting incident.

A worrisome thought raised itself in Merlin's mind, causing him to check his inventory, specifically his wallet. His concern was later proven right, the two silver and eight copper he had left was reduced by two copper pieces.

"Seriously?" Merlin sighed out loud, "We're on the same side, don't treat me like a mark."

"Oh you actually caught on. Was that just intuition?" Pelear seemed rather surprised, "Alright Bell, give it back."

The kid seemed reluctant to part with his score and even pretended to be sad, leaving Merlin at a loss of what to do. He felt guilty pointing a weapon at the kid earlier, and the situation with the other thief was partially his fault, even though the kid probably deserved it for trying to steal from him.

"Fine, keep the two copper, that'll be your compensation. If you take anything else from now on we'll have issues, got it?" Merlin gave in, but made the kid agree to not steal from him again, giving him some peace of mind, but he still wouldn't lower his guard around him again.

"Alright, back to the task at hand." Pelear tried to get back on track, "I'll have you practice hiding your presence now."

As Pelear started explaining the basic methods of how to hide his presence, a quest notification appeared before Merlin.

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[Common Quest]

Path of the Thief II.

You've been instructed on the method of hiding your presence, Pelear Ladrona will close his eyes, you must approach him undetected.

Hide your presence and approach Pelear Ladrona undetected.

• Reward: +1 Dexterity

└───────────────────

What would have been a tricky concept to wrap one's head around had come naturally to Merlin. The slow rhythmic breathing, movements that didn't produce a single sound, the emptying of his mind and concealing his mana, even an advanced technique of slowing his heart rate. All the techniques he could employ in his current state came to him like riding a bike, although he could feel his body start to strain.

Without any additional bonuses to his stealth outside of what his agility stat gave him, this is the most he could reduce his presence at this current moment, vastly exceeding what would have been expected in such a quest, and well above what would generally be expected from someone at this level.

Merlin observed that Bell had a shocked expression on his face, and he could see that Pelear looked visibly uncomfortable but still didn't open his eyes. Taking one step at a time, ensuring that the loose dirt didn't crunch under his feet, he approached Pelear, who was now breaking out in a cold sweat, not knowing what was going on. Merlin placed his hand on Pelear's shoulder, causing his body to jump in surprise.

「You have completed the quest, "Path of the Thief II", visit Pelear Ladrona to receive your rewards.」

Merlin felt his muscles weaken for a moment and his breathing became haggard, forcing him to stop concealing his presence. Although he could the utilise his previous life's skills to such a degree, it took a toll on his body, even if his mind knew all the techniques it seemed his body wasn't able to keep up just yet and required time to adapt.

"You're a monster, you know that?" Pelear awkwardly laughed while holding his chest. "I don't how you earned the moniker Ghost, but I'd say that'd be bloody fitting if that's what you can do."

Merlin's disposition darkened, which Pelear didn't seem to notice while being too caught up in his own thoughts.

"Right, well the last test was going to be run by me, but it seems the boss wants you to do something special." Pelear explained, "Go find him in the main room, he seemed excited."

Merlin said his goodbyes before walking out of the training room, back through the sewer tunnel that he previously entered from. He walked slowly to the gambling ring, giving his body time to recover, it was only at this point did he realise that he was still carrying the beginner lock picking set.

Merlin figured he had paid for it already and threw it into his inventory, he'd probably return it if he was asked, but there wasn't really a need for him to do so if they forgot.

"Open stats." Merlin chanted a command, causing an information window to appear before him.

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• Vitality = 5 (+4 Base, +1 Title, +0 Soul, +0 Equip, +0 Bonus)

• Constitution = 4 (+4 Base, +0 Title, +0 Soul, +0 Equip, +0 Bonus)

• Strength = 13 (+4 Base, +2 Title, +3 Soul, +0 Equip, +4 Bonus)

• Dexterity = 6 (+4 Base, +0 Title, +0 Soul, +0 Equip, +2 Bonus)

• Agility = 7 (+4 Base, +0 Title, +3 Soul, +0 Equip, +0 Bonus)

• Intelligence = 4 (+4 Base, +0 Title, +0 Soul, +0 Equip, +0 Bonus)

• Wisdom = 5 (+4 Base, +1 Title, +0 Soul, +0 Equip, +0 Bonus)

• Charisma = 5 (+4 Base, +0 Title, +0 Soul, +0 Equip, +1 Bonus)

└───────────────────

He hadn't checked his stats in a while, but they were rising quite nicely. His current goal was raising his dexterity so that he could switch to a fighting style he was more comfortable with without sacrificing damage output. But as an important future endeavour, he took note that he needed to raise his vitality and constitution so that he could endure the challenges to come.

While lost in his thoughts, the scent of cigarette smoke and alcohol flooded his senses, bringing his attention back to the gambling den that he had idly walked towards.

Merlin found that several eyes were locked on him as he walked through the various tables, each featuring one of a handful of card games, but they seemed to mostly be poker and blackjack. Eventually Merlin had navigated the sea of tables and thieves, arriving at the bar where a certain flamboyant elf was enjoying what looked to be an expensive scotch, or at the very least he made it look expensive.

"I heard that you're going to be managing the next task, what do you want me to do?" Merlin asked in a rather blunt manner.

"Now now, no need to be hasty." The elf sipped his drink before turning to Merlin, "Would you like a drink first?"

Merlin refused the drink, but the elf persisted.

"I insist, it'll help you get through the next task I have for you." As the elf spoke, his face contorted into an evil-looking smile, leading Merlin to assume his next task wont be pleasant.

"That's unfortunate, I'm underage by my world's laws, I'll have to do without." Merlin retorted.

"Well, we aren't in your world right now are we?" The elf refuted, "And you don't seem very concerned with breaking our world's laws."

"I'll pass, just give me the next task." Merlin made sure to place more emphasis on his refusal this time around.

"Fine fine, suit yourself." The elf seemed to back away from the topic, although it wasn't without giving a final remark, "Don't say I didn't warn you."