The sun hung high over Novice Village #109, casting long, sharp shadows across the Town Hall square.
Players were bustling about, turning in quests, repairing gear, and complaining about the difficulty of finding rabbits to kill. None of them 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: You detach your physical form from the material plane and enter the Void Dimension.
Effect 1: Phasing. You can pass through all physical matter (walls, terrain, enemies).
Effect 2: Null-Existence. You are completely undetectable by sight, sound, smell, or magical sensors below Divine Tier.
Effect 3: Untouchable. While in the Void, you are immune to all physical and magical damage. You cannot attack while in this state.
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"Broken," Sebastian muttered. "Absolutely broken."
In the later stages of the game, Mages would kill for a spell that offered even three seconds of invulnerability. This skill offered it indefinitely, as long as he had the mana. Thanks to his [Void Ocean] passive, he regenerated mana almost as fast as this skill consumed it.
He looked at the two Elite Guards flanking the heavy oak doors of the Town Hall. They were scanning the crowd, their hands resting on the hilts of their broadswords. A faint blue shimmer covered the doorway—a 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 a high-contrast monochrome of greys and blacks. The sounds of the market—the shouting, the crafting hammers, the footsteps—were instantly muted, replaced by a hollow, windy roaring sound, like holding a seashell to one's ear.
Sebastian looked at his body. He was translucent, composed of swirling black smoke and starlight.
He walked toward the guards.
As he approached, one guard frowned, tilting his head as if he heard a whisper, but his eyes looked right through Sebastian.
Sebastian didn't stop. He walked straight into the guard.
There was no collision. No impact. Sebastian felt a slight chill as he passed through the polygon mesh of the guard's armor and flesh. He stepped out the other side and faced the heavy oak door.
He didn't bother opening it. He simply stepped through the wood as if it were mist.
Inside, the Town Hall was lavishly decorated with velvet carpets and gold chandeliers—a stark contrast to the poverty outside. Clerks scurried back and forth carrying papers. Sebastian drifted past them, an invisible ghost in the machine.
He located the staircase leading to the 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.
He reached the heavy iron door of the Mayor's private study. It was locked with a magic seal.
[System: Door is magically sealed. Key required.]
Sebastian chuckled. "Physics is a suggestion."
He stepped through the iron door.
Inside, the Mayor—a fat, greasy man named Mayor Grogton—was sitting at his mahogany desk. He was stacking piles of gold coins, humming a cheerful tune.
"One for the orphanage fund... and ten for me," Grogton muttered, sliding 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. He reached out.
Clang.
His hand hit the wall.
[System: You cannot interact with objects while in Void Walk.]
"Right," Sebastian whispered. "I 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 and ripped it off the wall.
The sound was loud.
"What?!" Mayor Grogton spun around in his chair, spilling gold coins everywhere. "Who are you?! Guards! GUARDS!"
Sebastian ignored him. He stared at the safe. It had a complex combination lock.
"I don't have the Lockpicking skill," Sebastian noted. "But I have something better."
He pressed his hand against the steel door of the safe.
[Skill: God-Slayer's Edge (Passive - Acquired later? No, wait. I 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. It wasn't an explosion this time; it was a welding torch. The steel lock melted instantly, glowing cherry red and dripping onto the carpet.
Mayor Grogton was hyperventilating, reaching for a bell on his desk.
Sebastian kicked the safe door open.
Inside lay a velvet box containing a heavy gold ring with a 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. He didn't raise his hands to fight. He simply smirked.
"Too slow."
"Void Walk."
The swords swung.
Swish. Swish.
The blades passed harmlessly through Sebastian's body as if cutting smoke. The guards stumbled, their momentum carrying them forward, nearly crashing into the safe.
They spun around, eyes wide with confusion.
"Where did he go?!"
"I... I hit him! I 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 was 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 a heavy thud.
Clay froze. He slowly lowered the bottle. His trembling hands reached out and picked up the ledger. He flipped through the pages, his eyes scanning the records of bribes, extortion, and illegal slave trading.
"He... he actually kept records," Clay whispered, a 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. It was no longer the look of a quest giver looking at a player. It was the look of a master acknowledging a peer.
"You walked into the lion's den and 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. He was 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 and pulled out a tattered, blood-stained book. It wasn't a system-generated skill book that glowed. It looked like a manual handwritten in dried blood.
"This is my life's work," Clay said solemnly. "The Arts of the Severed Vein. It 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.]
It was a 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 the target's Physical and Magical Defense.
Secondary Effect: Any damage dealt creates a [True Wound] that cannot be healed by magic for 1 hour.
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Sebastian summoned his rusty starter knife. It 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."