Seeing the attributes, Don couldn't help but exhale slowly. His grip tightened around the dagger.
The equipment was only one tier above White Iron, but the difference was overwhelming. The numbers alone were enough to make his pulse rise, strength, agility, constitution, every stat aligned perfectly with his build. There was no waste, no inefficiency. It was as if the equipment had been designed specifically for him.
But his gaze lingered on the final line. Sealing Slots, locked, unavailable. He couldn't equip them yet, which meant returning to the village and buying Unsealing Stones. Don frowned faintly. Two gold per stone for a single slot. Practically robbery.
Still, completely worth it.
He took one last glance at the items before storing them carefully, ensuring nothing was left behind. Then he paused. There was something unfinished. Viren's quest. His mind settled back into its usual clarity. He wasn't the type to leave things half-done, not when rewards were involved, not when efficiency mattered.
He checked his status. Level eleven. Ten attribute points available. No hesitation, all into Strength.
The moment the allocation completed, his attack surged again. The difference was immediate, noticeable, like stepping from ankle-deep water onto solid ground. Now the Jungle Bees were nothing.
Don turned and stepped back into the jungle. This time it wasn't a fight, it was a sweep. A single skill, or at most two clean strikes, and each bee dropped instantly. No resistance, no threat. They couldn't even damage him anymore. His movements flowed effortlessly, each kill blending into the next as though the jungle itself had become an extension of his rhythm.
Within minutes, the remaining Bee Stingers were collected. Quest complete.
But even then, he didn't head back immediately. Instead, he changed direction. His steps carried him toward the path where he had kited the boss earlier, where a small river flowed quietly beneath the canopy, its surface catching faint ripples of light through the leaves. He crouched beside it. The water was cool and clear. He dipped his hands in, splashed his face lightly, and washed away the dirt and grime that had clung to him during the fight. The mud streaks disappeared. His features sharpened again, clean, simple, unremarkable.
Different.
If someone saw him now, they wouldn't connect him to before. Not easily. Not without looking closely.
Don straightened slowly. It wasn't that he was afraid. Guilds like the Gon Alliance deserved to be crushed, completely. But this wasn't the time. Right now there were priorities, leveling, advancement, reaching the top five out of a hundred and twenty. That was the goal. PK could wait.
He stepped out of the jungle. The familiar outline of Yiersa Village appeared ahead, and just as he expected, they were there, Gon Alliance members standing, watching, patrolling. Their eyes scanned every player entering and leaving, sharp and restless, searching for someone.
Searching for him.
Don didn't slow. Didn't hesitate. He walked forward naturally, his posture relaxed, his expression calm, as though nothing had happened, as though he were just another player returning from the outskirts. A faint smile rested on his lips as he passed through them. Unnoticed. Untouched. Invisible.
And as he stepped fully into the village, the thought settled quietly in his mind, sometimes the best way to win is simply not being seen.
Despite their hostility, the Gon Alliance members didn't dare act recklessly. Not here, not in the open. This was still a controlled environment, and even if they wanted revenge, they could only watch. So they stood at the village entrance with sharp, searching gazes, restrained, but seething.
Meanwhile, Don had already cleaned himself up. The dirt, the disguise, gone. What remained was his original appearance, calm, composed, unremarkable. He walked straight past them, unhurried and unbothered, slipping under their noses and into the village without so much as a sideways glance.
He headed directly toward Rogue Instructor Viren without stopping.
"I want to advance my class."
Viren looked at him for a moment, then nodded. His expression turned solemn. "In the name of the great Nature Goddess Gaia, I bestow upon you the title of Apprentice Thief. May you serve the sacred continent of Illynoa well."
A faint glow surrounded Don's body. The class change was complete.
His lips twitched slightly. 'Apprentice Thief. Honorable? Not really.'
There were no flashy rewards, no bonus items, no system announcements, just a quiet transition. Compared to older games, it felt almost plain. But that was intentional. Realms Online was tightly balanced. No shortcuts, no early-game advantages handed out freely. Everything had to be earned.
Don opened his status panel, and this time his expression changed.
[Bane]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Apprentice Thief]
[Level: 11]
[Strength: 11]
[Intelligence: 5 ]
[Agility: 7 ]
[Constitution: 7]
[HP: 385 ]
[Physical Attack: 572–627 ]
[Physical Defense: 57 ]
[Magic Defense: 57]
[Reputation: 80]
[Luck: 0]
A faint smile appeared. 'So this is the difference.'
His Strength growth had increased again. Now every single point of Strength gave eleven attack power. His Agility was still lower than a standard Thief's, but that didn't matter.
He had already chosen his path, a Strength-based Assassin build. He would rely on equipment and overwhelming damage, not evasion, not speed. Just brutal execution.
He did a quick mental calculation. Before advancement, his total growth ranks had been twenty-five. After advancement, thirty. The standard upgrade for all combat classes. A solid increase.
Next, he handed over the bee stingers. Viren's expression softened slightly. "Well done. You've exceeded expectations. This is your reward."
A notification chimed in his ears:
[Quest Completed - Obtain Bee Stingers] [Rewards: 4,600 EXP, 15 Reputation, 20 Silver Coins, Scout's Bow.]
A soft weight appeared in his inventory. Don pulled out the bow. It was light, crude, almost toy-like, but useful in certain situations. Against elites, bosses, or when creating distance.
[Scout's Bow.]
[Grade: White Iron grade.]
[Physical Attack: 32–51.]
[Agility +5.]
He stared at it for a moment. "As ugly as it looks," he muttered. "But it'll do."
He turned back to Viren. "Anything else?"
Viren nodded slightly. Two more skill options appeared, and Don's eyes sharpened.
[Evasion, avoid one physical or magical attack within five seconds.]
[Cooldown: twenty seconds.]
[Stealth, enter a hidden state outside of combat.]
[Duration: sixty seconds. ]
[Cooldown: ninety seconds.]
Both were extremely practical. Without hesitation, he purchased them. Total cost, three gold coins. His expression stiffened slightly, at this stage, most players couldn't even afford one. But he didn't hesitate. These skills were worth it.
Then something else caught his attention. His previously learned skills had changed.
[Backstab, Junior. Damage increased to 210%.]
[Consecutive Slash, Junior Damage increased to 65% + 75%.]
[Dagger Mastery, Junior. Max Physical Attack bonus increased to +50.]
His eyes narrowed slightly. 'So skills evolve too.'
Not just levels, not just equipment, but skill efficiency itself, scaled, improved, refined with class advancement.
A faint smile formed. His build was coming together, piece by piece.
Behind him, the village remained calm. The Gon Alliance still waited outside, watching, searching. But they didn't know that the person they were looking for had already stepped into a new phase.
He wasn't just a player anymore. He was a Thief.