Madman: "Hey, buddy, you there? I''ve got a question about ss awakening."


    Orson was wandering around the vige, testing out skills on monsters. "I''m here. Did you unlock a hidden ss?"


    "Kind of," Madman replied. "I''m still debating whether to take it."


    "Why? Is it not good?" Orson was curious.


    Madman hesitated, then said, "It''s an S-tier ss, but it feels kind of… sneaky. It''s practically useless in PvP. If it were you, would you take it?"


    Orson was puzzled. To his knowledge, no S-tier ss was weak, especially not for rogues. Being sneaky was in their nature.


    "Don''t tell me it''s another lockpicking ss?" Orson frowned.


    In their past life, Madman had chosen a lousy lockpicking ss that had tanked hisbat potential. Otherwise, his expertise as a rogue could have rivaled nk''s.


    "Hey! Don''t bring that up again… Anyway, this time I didn''t pick the lockpicking one. But the beggar king gave me an S-tier hidden ss," Madmanined.


    "Okay, so what''s the unique feature?" Orson asked.


    Madman hesitated. "It''s… stealing. The ss is called Master Thief."


    Orson''s jaw dropped. "Holy crap! Does the skill description say something like, ''Has a chance to steal from any living target, including bosses and NPCs?''"


    "Yeah! How''d you know? Isn''t there supposed to be very little information about hidden sses online?" Madman was confused.


    "I''ve studied ss guides pretty thoroughly," Orson quickly replied, trying to move off the topic.


    "Take it. Immediately. This ss, if used right, is insane!" Orson said decisively.


    The Master Thief S-tier rogue ss was renowned for its game-breaking potential. It could steal items from any target with a mere touch, ignoring level or power differences. The catch? You had to make physical contact with the target for three seconds.


    As proficiency increased, the sess rate went up. And against bosses, it could even steal their attributes. In some ways, Master Thief was stronger than many SS-tier sses.


    "Are you sure? Good thing I didn''t reject it outright," Madman said, still hesitant. After all, the three-second touch requirement sounded simple in theory but was hard to pull off. And if the target noticed the theft, the thief would suffer a severe stat debuff, making them easy prey.


    "Trust me. Take it now," Orson urged.


    Madman reluctantly selected Master Thief, but not without warning Orson. "If this ss turns out to be trash, I''m going to leech off you for the rest of my life."


    "You don''t know how lucky you are," Orson teased. Admittedly, Master Thief wasn''t a directbat ss and leaned more towards exploration. But with Orson''s support, Madman could use his skills creatively.


    With a smirk, Orson thought, If I threaten the target with a staff to their head while Madman ''steals,'' wouldn''t that basically be robbery?


    Madman interrupted his thoughts. "By the way, check out the auction house prices for magic resistance potions."


    "What''s up with them?" Orson asked.


    "You''ll see."


    Following Madman''s suggestion, Orson pulled up the listings. "A small fire resistance potion costs at least 50 silver? Are they robbing banks?"


    His jaw dropped further when he checked the fire immunity potions—each one cost a full gold coin! These potions nullified fire damage for 10 seconds and were crafted by yer alchemists at a mere 10-silver cost. In the past, during the first guild war, these potions only sold for 20 silver.


    He refreshed the list. A yer had just posted 100 potions, but within seconds, only 32 remained.


    "Are alchemists making that much money?" Orson wondered, questioning his gaming expertise.


    "Three or four hours'' works the guild''s alchemists 200 gold," Madman exined. "Haven''t you figured out who''s driving the demand?"


    "It''s me, isn''t it?"


    "Of course, it''s you! Who else has such ridiculous AoE damage, you freak!"


    Orsonughed. "So Usher came up with this as a countermeasure, huh?"


    Madman warned him, "If your damage output falters, we''ll be in trouble. We''ve got 120 frontline yers now, but they''ll still be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. I''m betting at least four guilds will target us."


    "Rx. Just focus on preparations. Leave the overall strategy to me," Orson replied confidently.


    "Don''t me me if it goes south," Madman quipped, though Orson knew he''d yell the loudest during a fight.


    After the chat, Orson went back to hunting high-level monsters. With four hours to go until the dwarf cksmith delivered his equipment, he focused on raising his Soul Seal proficiency.


    The Heavenly Spirit''s Right Eye still needed about 3,000 kills to hit 50,000 proficiency points and advance to the next level. Combining this with the Chaos Magic Ball would create devastating effects.


    As for the guilds buying out resistance potions to counter him? They might suppress his zing Burn effect, but he had three other elemental passives waiting for them.


    [Corrupted Antelope: Level 28]


    HP: 9000/9000


    Attack: 350


    Skill: Charge


    Orson targeted the beast andunched a Chaos Magic Ball.


    -820


    Slow!


    Burn!


    -4500


    Attack speed boosted!


    Life steal triggered!


    The corrupted antelope was engulfed in chaotic mes. Water element effects manifested as leeches, draining its life force. Orson''s status bar gained the Blessing of the Chaos Mother, amplifying his effects with multiyered buffs.


    "You''ve killed a Corrupted Antelope. +400 EXP."


    "You''ve killed a…"


    Regr monsters fell instantly to Orson''s attacks, while even elites barely survived two rounds of burning.


    He advanced toward the Swamp Banks, where Level 25 elite monsters, Corrupted Crocodiles, spawned. One crocodile with 30,000 HP emerged, its blood-red eyes locking onto him.


    This area was seldom visited. Without a strong tank, the clustered elites could wipe out a party.


    "Chaotic Tides!"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Orson raised his staff, summoning waves of blood-red chaos energy. The crocodiles turned on each other, biting their kin. Damage numbers popped up in rapid session, chaossting twice as long as before. zing Burn triggered within the chaos, turning a control skill into an AoE damage dealer.


    As more crocodiles gathered—up to thirty—Orson summoned The me Dragon. The chaotic-infused creature spread destruction indiscriminately, its power amplified by gray chaos mist.


    Suddenly, a ck chain shot through the battlefield, binding one crocodile before splitting into dozens of links, ensnaring all nearby.


    "Chaos Chain," Orson muttered, watching in awe.


    At the chain''s center, a spectral figure of the Chaos Mother appeared on a tform. The crocodiles, as if possessed, swam towards her.


    True Damage: -1700


    True Damage: -9500


    …


    The chains vanished in a sh, releasing a massive burst of true damage. Every crocodile in the area was in!