"Is this thing... Are you saying this crown is worth 100,000 yuan?"

I carefully lifted the exquisitely decorated crystal crown in front of me and turned to ask Aliyah.

"Why don't we just take everything? Why bother with so much calculation?"

Aliyah was constantly putting the jewelry and gold coins in front of her into her ring. It looked like she was about to empty the treasury of the Ais Empire.

Yes, in order to complete the mission, the two of us directly infiltrated the Ais Empire's treasury while everyone was celebrating. Although it took a long time to bypass the guards and pick the locks, and we were troubled by the dangerous magical traps, the situation turned out to be very good in the end. After all, we had successfully infiltrated the treasury and started moving things.

Guilty conscience? As a hero, I don't have that.

Compared to those heroes who swagger into a village and plunder it, I consider myself quite moral.

After all, the treasury is so big that even if we casually take one percent, we can make a lot of money. So we don't care about these little things.

No choice, I directly put a large box of gold coins into my ring, and then took a few shiny weapons and jewelry. Then, I turned to look at the piles of books and scrolls.

Magic scrolls are basically useless. Disposable items like that are not as useful to me as learning a useful skill.

Although I learned a lot of skills from the magic tower of the academy, the most powerful skill I can use is only "Sanctioning Cross". I don't have enough mana to use higher-level skills.

Well~ after all, this is not a real game. It won't let you gradually improve your strength according to your level, and the magic sold in the shop won't upgrade slowly according to your level either.

No choice, I can only learn the skills first, and solve the mana problem later.

Ah? Why do you ask why I want to learn so many skills?

There is no choice. After all, I don't have an occupation... of course, this doesn't mean I can't find a job. Even though I am currently stealing from the treasury, it doesn't mean I can't find a job. After all, nominally, I am still the Ais Empire's National Mage.

And my lack of occupation means I am not a mage, warrior, or any other occupation. I don't have any occupation or occupation bonuses.

Although this is a disadvantage for me, in reality, it is also a good thing.

Because of this, I can learn all the skills! That's why I'm collecting skill books everywhere. No matter what skill, I learn it first and then think about it.

But there is a serious problem...

The books here are all too advanced, they are mostly large ultimate skills or above the level of grand arcanes. What a joke, even if I used up all my mana, I still couldn't use them. No choice, let's leave them for now and decide later.

I mindlessly transferred all these miscellaneous skills to the skill list, and after arranging the usable skills at the forefront, I picked a few books and walked behind Aliyah.

"How much do you want to take away? If you take too much, you will be discovered."

"I know that, that's why I'm selecting! I want to steal something that is valuable but not easily detected."

While saying this, she held two pieces of jewelry in her hands, and I could tell from her furrowed brows that she was struggling to decide which one was better.

"You really should have learned the identification skill since you chose the thief branch of occupation. Why didn't you?"

"Because that kind of skill requires a high intelligence point. Before I reach level 25, I don't think I can learn it. Well~, although there are items for identifying objects, they are too expensive, costing about 500 gold coins each. Why doesn't he go rob instead?"

"But isn't this the perfect time to use it? Well, I think you should choose the one on the right. The gem on top is a crystal that only exists in the ocean, while the other one is just a simple magic crystal. It looks beautiful because it is mixed with three different magical elements."

"Oh? You learned Appraisal?"

"No, not really. I just happened to meet someone in the academy who was very knowledgeable about alchemy, and I learned from her for a while."

"Ah, I see. It's just like when I first started learning Lockpicking."

Aliyah didn't initially acquire her lockpicking skill through leveling up; she learned it directly from someone else. Although she has since directly awakened the lockpicking skill, she did originally acquire it through learning.

"Well, that's about it. Let's go quickly, while the celebratory feast is still going on, and pretend like nothing happened as we return to the venue."

"Yes, by the way, here are some dual sword assassin skill books. Do you want to take them with you?"

"Oh, thank you."

Aliyah took the books with a smile and threw them back into her ring.

It seems that she is learning skills at a slower rate than me, so I'd better let her take them outside and read them.

"Alright, let's head back the way we came."

After saying that, Aliyah used her skill to climb up the wall along the ventilation opening on top of the treasury.

Featherlight Technique, Wall Climbing Technique.

I also have these two skills, so I quickly climbed up the wall and then flipped over the extension of the ventilation opening, entering the ventilation duct.

"Don't climb too fast, alright? If you bump into me, I won't let you off!"

"Okay, okay..."

Can't you change into different clothes? Do you have to wear those thief-like black tight clothes? Although your lean figure looks similar to a guy's, it's actually really cute!

But it's better not to say these kinds of things; otherwise, she will definitely scold me as a pervert in the future.

As a mentally and physically healthy young man, I am naturally curious about the bodies of the opposite sex, but my rationality tells me that quietly standing by and watching is the correct thing to do in this situation.

"How long are you going to stay there?"

"Huh?"

I looked up, and Aliyah had already climbed to the top of the ventilation duct. I've been spacing out for quite a while now. How annoying...

I quickly followed a few steps to the top and gently landed on the ground after flipping out of the ventilation duct.

Speaking of which, why are there ventilation ducts in this world? I always thought that they wouldn't exist in castles and such. I never even considered entering through a ventilation duct because of that. But it turns out they do exist!

Indeed, things in this world cannot be judged according to the concepts of the previous world. Regardless, it's different from our world in the end.

That's right, we are visitors from another world. Even though we don't know why we came to this world, since we're here, there's no reason not to enjoy it to the fullest.

"Has your magic recovered? Some guards have returned to work, it seems like the celebratory feast is coming to an end. We better hurry..."

"So, you're tired of this infiltrating game and planning to return to the venue using my [Blink] skill, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

Even if you gaze at the moon, it won't absolve you of responsibility. Although I originally planned to use [Blink] for entering and exiting, Aliyah wanted to experience what it's like to be a thief, so we stealthily made our way here.

"Alright, then change into your clothes."

Saying that, I opened the menu and changed back into my deep black evening attire.

"It's really impressive that they managed to make such a well-fitting outfit in just one day, don't you think?"

"Yeah..."

Aliyah also changed into her outfit, and like me, she received her evening gown, showcasing her character and element in a deep red long skirt.

"Let's go, Miss Aliyah~"

Saying that, I extended my hand to her.

"Yeah...let's go."

Blushing, she grabbed my hand, and the next second, the two of us disappeared from the rooftop.

Thief main quest "Dark Prelude" completed

Mission objective: Steal an item from the Ais Empire treasury.

Mission reward: EXP 5000, Silent Gloves

Additional objective: Steal items worth over 100,000 gold. Completed.

Additional reward: Reality Goggles

Silent Gloves: Once worn, the sound of hand movements and the objects they touch will be silenced.

Reality Goggles: Based on the principles of the world, these goggles allow you to see through all things.