Threat

[You have been attacked by an unknown enemy and have died!]

[You have been attacked by an unknown enemy and have died!]

One by one, the priests and mages of the Domination Guild started dropping dead—mysteriously and without warning.

"Silver Spear! The guys are saying someone's attacking from stealth!"

Silver Spear received frantic messages from his subordinates one after another.

"Motherf***er! It has to be that bastard who stole my boss!"

He was furious, grinding his teeth in rage.

But little did he know, the mastermind behind it all—Zane—was already right behind him.

"Steal!"

Before taking a life, if Steal wasn't on cooldown, Zane would always give it a shot—though his success rate wasn't great.

But this time, a delightful notification popped up.

[Steal successful! Skill proficiency +20!]

[You have obtained 'Leopard-Print Jacket' ×1!]

"Haha! Serves you right, you loudmouthed fool!"

Hearing the success notification, Zane felt a rush of satisfaction.

At that moment, in the midst of combat, Silver Spear suddenly felt a chill on his upper body.

"What the f***? Where's my cool leopard-print coat?! Someone stole it?!"

He was completely stunned. A wave of disgust and humiliation crashed over him, and he nearly exploded with rage.

"You bastard! If I ever find out who you are, I swear I'll f***ing end you!"

Meanwhile, the rogue players ganging up on him looked at each other in confusion.

"The hell's wrong with this guy?"

"No clue. Maybe he got hit too hard in the head?"

All they saw was Silver Spear fighting normally one moment, then suddenly stripping off his top equipment like he'd given up on life. Seeing this, they immediately intensified their attacks.

Because of Zane's interference, the Domination Guild's mages and priests had already been wiped out, and the battle was turning into a massacre.

Now, with Silver Spear losing his cool and fumbling his movements, his gameplay completely fell apart. Within moments, his health dropped to critical levels.

"Die!"

A black dagger appeared out of nowhere, silently piercing into Silver Spear's back.

Zane had struck from the shadows—an instant kill!

"Mission complete. Time to vanish."

He ignored the chaotic battlefield and slipped away…

"Looks like I was too optimistic. I need to keep grinding my skills—hopefully, I can trigger a mutation or two. Otherwise, it's still not strong enough."

Deep in the forest, Zane reappeared, casually walking while lost in thought.

Judging by the rate his Steal skill was leveling up, it wouldn't take much longer.

Now that his level had risen, his success rate when stealing from Bouncy Rabbits was much higher. Every success netted him a solid +20 proficiency.

At this rate, hitting level 6 in Steal—only requiring 600 proficiency—would be a breeze.

With a plan in mind, Zane headed toward the forest's edge.

At the same time, he opened his inventory to check the loot he'd stolen from Silver Spear.

[Leopard-Print Jacket]

Grade: Black Iron

Stats: HP +100

Required Level: LV3

A solid defensive jacket!

Zane equipped it immediately.

Now, even if he stood still, Bouncy Rabbits wouldn't be able to scratch him—perfect for effortless skill grinding!

By now, more and more players were entering the forest.

The outskirts of Maple Leaf Forest were mostly populated by level 5 monsters. At level 3, a well-coordinated party could handle them.

Higher-level monsters had better loot drops, so despite the difficulty, players preferred fighting them over weaker ones.

As a result, many players were forming parties and heading here to grind.

Zane ignored everyone he passed, keeping a low profile.

"You useless idiots! You still can't kill this elite monster?!"

"Miss Sword Dance, we're almost there!"

"I get the last hit!"

As Zane was about to exit Maple Leaf Forest, he spotted a group surrounding an elite monster.

The ten-person team had a balanced composition, and they were fighting a level 5 tree-type elite.

"An elite monster?"

Zane was within ten meters of them and grew interested.

At that moment, a female warrior in the group finished her attack, retreated to let the tank take over, and happened to spot Zane.

"What the hell are you looking at? Some broke-ass loser trying to steal our kill?"

The woman's in-game name was Fireworks·Sword Dance. She had striking features but wore an annoyed expression.

She was clearly frustrated. In her previous games, her older sister had always carried her. This time, she wanted to prove herself—but things weren't going as planned.

Now, she vented her anger on Zane, ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

"Relax. I was just passing by."

Zane raised his hands in mock surrender, flashing an innocent smile before turning to leave.

"You came here alone? Another clueless idiot. Get lost before we decide you're trying to steal our kill."

A priest from Fireworks Guild shot Zane a glare.

Zane walked away without a word.

But they didn't see the smirk curling at the corner of his lips as he turned.

"Oh, so you think you can just throw your weight around, huh? You think the world revolves around you? Alright, little princess, let's see how you handle some chaos."

Yup—Zane was about to stir up trouble again.

He pretended to leave but quietly circled back.

The group was too focused on the elite monster to notice him lurking behind a bush, hidden among the maple trees.

"Almost there… Just a bit more…"

Zane watched the monster's health drop, waiting for the perfect moment.

Just then, a translucent system announcement appeared before him.

[Domination·Silver Spear: You sneaky little rat! You're on the Domination Guild's kill-on-sight list! You better pray I never find out who you are!]

A message popped up in the local chat.

This was a paid announcement, which any player could send in exchange for in-game currency or real money. It would be displayed to all players in Maple Leaf Town's vicinity.

"Hah. Empty threats. You think I scare easy?"

Zane smirked and dismissed the message.

Meanwhile, the town's players burst into lively discussion.

"Wait, wasn't Silver Spear always acting like a big shot? Did someone just wreck him?"

"I heard about it. Apparently, a bunch of rogue players ganged up on him and wiped his squad. But what's this 'sneaky rat' nonsense?"

In the early game, leveling up was slow, so players often took breaks to chat in the community channel.

Then, another announcement flashed across the screen.

[Green Mountains: You Domination punks can't handle losing? We wrecked you fair and square! Who the hell's hiding? Unlike you cowards, we don't need dirty tricks!]

Green Mountains—one of the rogue players who'd fought back against Silver Spear—immediately fired back.

Silver Spear was furious.

"Green Mountains, who the f* do you think you are?! If it weren't for that sneaky bastard interfering, you'd have never beaten me!"**

"Hahaha! Look at you cry! Domination Guild really is a joke. You lost fair and square, and now you're making excuses? Pathetic!"

The argument escalated into a full-blown flame war.

Spectators, finally piecing the story together, started ridiculing Silver Spear even more.

Apparently, someone had been stealth-attacking Domination Guild the entire fight, causing their defeat.

But since no one had actually seen this 'mysterious figure,' most assumed Silver Spear was making excuses to cover up his loss.

Even some anti-guild players joined in, mocking Domination Guild.

Meanwhile, back in town…

Silver Spear, having just respawned, stared at the chat in disbelief.

"Why the hell does no one believe me?!"

"Damn it! There's something seriously wrong with this game!"

He clenched his fists, seething with rage.

If he ever found that invisible bastard…

He'd tear them apart.