The Game Merchant Who Started from the Ninja World

Chapter 36: Theft Skill

"Did that Grand Swordsman Experience Capsule just cost 500 million?"

Nami calculated the price, eyes full of longing but helpless to act.

After years of running and stealing,

she was already one of the richest thieves in East Blue. Even with monthly bribes to keep her village safe, she had managed to save up 80 million berries.

For reference, most people earned no more than 100,000 berries a month.

"Can't you make it a little cheaper?"

Nami pleaded pitifully.

Fang Yi smiled and shook his head. "There are no discounts right now. Maybe during future game events."

"Besides, the shop requires purchase permissions. With your beginner-level player status, you can't buy high-priced items anyway."

"Scammer!"

Nami muttered under her breath, then gritted her teeth. "So I just need to hunt corrupted monsters to level up, right?"

Fang Yi nodded. "Exactly. And you can get reward points and valuable gear from them. Honestly, investing your time in the Reincarnation Game will earn you more than being a thief ever could."

That made Nami's heart skip a beat.

Every time she snuck aboard a pirate ship, she risked her life doing grunt work and dangerous jobs—always on edge—and most of the time, she only got tens of thousands of berries.

Most pirates were just thugs—strong, mean, but broke.

At best, they raided small villages and didn't have much money.

"Crap!"

Nami suddenly yelled and bolted into the Soul-Reaping Forest.

It had just clicked:

those monsters were walking gold! Each one was worth 50,000 berries!

But—

She quickly found that hunting them wasn't as easy as it seemed.

In the dark, overgrown forest, the bloated Drowned Ghosts were coated in deathly aura, their white, rotting skin puffed up like overfilled bread.

When pirates and guards slashed them, it was like cutting into a thick cushion—

no real damage at all.

By the time they tried to pull their weapons back, the Drowned Ghosts would spray acidic bile, melting their attackers to the ground in agony.

To kill even one, it took at least two people working together.

"Otrluk?"

Nami spotted the middle-aged noble among the guards.

Earlier on the ship, he'd almost been dragged into the sea by a pirate's grappling hook.

Now, the same bloated man was fighting toe-to-toe with a Drowned Ghost?

Was it the weapon?

Nami's sharp eyes spotted the curved blade in his hand.

Amid the chaos, she knocked out a low-level guard with a rock, took his uniform, and slipped into the group unnoticed.

Otrluk, unaware, killed a Drowned Ghost after a hard fight—its corpse covered in cuts.

Just then,

Nami lunged for the curved blade.

The moment she touched it, a message appeared in front of her:

[You have not learned the Life Skill [Theft]. You cannot steal player equipment.]

Startled, Otrluk tightened his grip on the blade.

But he lacked combat experience.

Nami easily got close and grabbed his throat. The guards froze, unsure what to do.

"Give me the sword, or I'll kill you!"

Nami's voice was fierce, but inside she was shaking.

She had never killed anyone before.

Sure, she knew players in the Reincarnation Game could revive with reward points,

but it still felt wrong.

Still, Otrluk looked terrified and waved his hand to stop the guards.

"Don't kill me! You can have it!"

Just as he extended the blade, his expression darkened.

He swung it backward.

It was a shop-bought weapon—worth 200 reward points.

Reviving only cost a million berries.

Otrluk had done the math.

He thrust himself onto the sharp rock in Nami's hand, vanished in a flash of white light, and respawned.

Nami, nimble as ever, escaped before the guards could react.

"So you have to learn Theft to steal gear from players?"

She wasn't discouraged—her eyes lit up.

She pulled out all her savings—80 million berries—and exchanged them for 800 reward points.

[Purchase complete: [Beginner Theft Scroll]—Grants the Life Skill: Theft.]

"As expected of Nami."

Fang Yi chuckled and almost applauded.

Those 800 points could've bought her a full set of low-tier gear or a white-rank skill.

With proper buffs, she could've soloed Drowned Ghosts.

But the infamous thief of East Blue chose to target players instead.

"All Life Skills require time to develop. Beginner Theft has a very low success rate. She could lose everything."

Fang Yi watched as Nami once again infiltrated Otrluk's guard team.

She stayed close, diligently helped them hunt five Drowned Ghosts, then vanished before anyone noticed.

Otrluk didn't even realize what happened—until he noticed something missing.

Enraged, he slammed his blade into a tree.

Nami's logs looked like this:

[You attempted to use Theft on a player. Failed.]

[You attempted to use Theft on a player. Failed.]

[You attempted to use Theft on a player. Failed...]

…

[You attempted to use Theft on a player. Success! You obtained Drowned Ghost Hide Armor (White) ×1]

Grinning from ear to ear, Nami equipped the armor.

Instantly,

she felt stronger.

That armor had cost Otrluk 300 reward points—more than the sword.

And she just stole it.

Behind the screen,

Fang Yi was stunned.

"Beginner Theft usually alerts the victim if it fails. How did she cast it over a dozen times without getting caught?"

Life Skills were highly flexible.

There were two ways to use them: auto-cast (based on skill level) or manual timing.

Just like how a blacksmith's precision could improve forge quality—

manual users with real-world talent could outperform average players.

Fang Yi knew Nami was a skilled thief.

She once said goodbye to her village and swiped everyone's wallets as she left.

But this was something else.

The rest of the trial turned into the Nami Theft Show.

Low success rate? No problem.

She infiltrated the Black Cat Pirates, lowered their guard, and picked the wealthiest-looking cat pirates as targets.

[You used Theft on a player. Success! You obtained Drowned Ghost Hide Boots ×1]

…

[You used Theft on a player. Success! You obtained Damp Footwraps ×2]

[You used Theft on a player. Success! You obtained Drowned Ghost Hide Pants ×1]

By the time the trial ended,

Nami had only killed two Drowned Ghosts herself.

But she'd still managed to collect the full [Drowned Ghost] 3-piece armor set… and an extra short sword from some unlucky sap.

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