Since magic immunity could interfere with the flow of magic energy and isolate it from the rest of the world, there was no reason it couldn’t do the same to something created out of magic energy such as the barrier. Nie Yan recalled encountering similar situations in the previous timeline, specifically during stronghold wars.

Nie Yan wondered if his idea would really pan out.

Ten minutes later, Nie Yan entered the game. He was still in the corner he logged off at in the narrow dungeon under the colosseum. The smell of decay wafted into his nose.

Nie Yan looked into the prison cell and saw Pallot reclined in the corner sleeping. Sensing Nie Yan’s presence, Pallot opened his eyes which flashed with a sharp light.

Pallot gazed at Nie Yan. “Devil Slayer, you’re back. Have you made any progress?”

“Hold on a moment, Sir Pallot.” Nie Yan faintly smiled. He crouched down an examined the bars on the cell. Each one was thick and sturdy and inscribed with mysterious runes which radiated magic energy.

This was a Dark Barrier, a high-level protective formation. The skill capable of breaking through this type of protective formation could be learned at Level 100 at the earliest.

The gap between the bars was roughly five inches wide, not even big enough for a person to squeeze their head through.

When Nie Yan reached out his right hand and touched the thin membrane protecting the cell, a powerful jolt of energy forced him back. He was almost sent flying. Only after being pushed back several steps did he regain his footing. A numbing sensation coursed through his arm.

What a strong repelling force!

It took a long time for Nie Yan to regain feeling in his arm.

Pallot wondered what in the world Nie Yan was doing crouched down beside the barrier. When he saw Nie Yan getting blown away, he hurriedly warned, “Devil Slayer, do not attempt to break this barrier! It contains over 600 Megacycles of magic energy. Only a Level 180 Great Mage can break it!”

Nie Yan simply shook his head with a faint smile. “Just sit back and watch.” He walked back up to the prison cell. Even though he had to go through that unpleasant experience just now, he confirmed that the energy powering the barrier was no different from regular magic energy.

Pallot’s eyes widened in surprise. Did Nie Yan really have a method to get past the barrier? This was beyond his expectations.

Pallot stared intently at Nie Yan, observing his every action.

At this moment, Nie Yan put on the Animorph Necklace and Pygmy Ring.

Animorph!

Nie Yan shone with a brilliant light as he morphed into a black lynx. He had shrunk to less than a third his original size. His Dexterity and Jump increased by 300%, and he became more suited to running in mountains and woodlands.

Even after becoming a lynx, he was still too big.

Pygmy Transformation!

Nie Yan rapidly shrunk to the size of a small housecat. He was now small enough to fit through the five-inch gaps between the bars.

Pallot was shocked by Nie Yan’s transformation. “Devil Slayer, you have some very rare magic items!”

Nie Yan finally activated Adjudicator of God, giving himself magic immunity. He sucked in his chest and slowly approached the barrier. He was extremely nervous. If this idea didn’t work, he would be blown back again.

As Nie Yan walked forward, the thin membrane protecting the cell warped and twisted before gradually giving way.

Nie Yan’s body passed through the barrier as he slowly made his way into the cell from a gap between the bars.

Any part of the barrier that touched Nie Yan would dissipate into nothing.

Magic energy was a type of particle that was omnipresent in the world of Conviction with its own unique laws governed by the system. Those who could comprehend and manipulate these laws would become powerful existences. Those who attempted to challenge these laws or destroy them altogether would inevitably be wiped into nonexistence.

By using the magic immunity from Adjudicator of God to bypass the barrier, Nie Yan was making use of the already present laws in the world of Conviction.

When Nie Yan finally passed through the gap between the bars and entered the cell, the barrier returned to normal.

Nie Yan cancelled his active skills and rapidly returned to his original size.

Witnessing how Nie Yan got into the cell, Pallot was completely blown away. He never imagined someone could use this sort of method to bypass a barrier.

“What did I say, Sir Pallot? And look, here I am!” Nie Yan greeted with a smile.

“Sir Devil Hunter, out of the numerous mysterious and outstanding people I’ve met in my life, you definitely rank among the very top!” Pallot praised. He viewed Nie Yan in a new light, evident by how he added a ‘Sir’ to his address.

Nie Yan naturally detected the change in Pallot’s speech.

He took out an Instant Transfer Scroll and handed it to Pallot. “Here, take this. With it, you can leave this damned place.”

Pallot accepted the Instant Transfer Scroll. “Thank you, Sir Devil Hunter. I’ll be taking my leave. We’ll meet again in Calore’s Thief Association.”

“Alright.” Nie Yan nodded.

Pallot used the Instant Transfer Scroll and disappeared into a ray of light.「Klang! Klang! Klang!」The shackles and chains that bound him dropped to the floor. He was no longer in the cell.

Nie Yan checked his quest progress.

Rescued Hostages: 100/100

Quest completed! Return to the Thief Association to receive your reward!

I’ve cleared my class advancement quest! Nie Yan’s lips cracked into a faint smile. The difficulty of this quest had somewhat exceeded his expectations, especially the last part where he had to get past the barrier. If he hadn’t thought of using Animorph, Pygmy Transformation, and Adjudicator of God together, he would have no choice but to fight the Level 70 Blackflame Hellhound, dropping his chances of success to almost zero.

Thankfully, he had freed the final hostage without a hitch.

Nie Yan took out a Return Scroll and started channelling. Instant Transfer Scrolls were quest items and couldn’t be bought. Players could only settle for scrolls that took 20 seconds to activate.

With a bright flash of light, Nie Yan returned to Calore.

Calore was still as bustling as ever. Thinking about the reward he would receive for completing his Great Thief class advancement quest, Nie Yan couldn’t help but become excited. He recalled how much effort it took him just to complete his class advancement quest on Easy in the previous timeline. When he finally succeeded, he was brought to tears with elation.

Back then, Nie Yan wore the Fabulous Set, which wasn’t all that amazing in spite of its name. It was only a Level 60 Silver-grade set, but it was decent among ordinary players at the time. All his valuables added together amounted to roughly 60 gold.

Nie Yan had turned his luck around in this life. Even with a conservative estimate, the value of all his equipment, including Lil’ Gold, was no less than 100,000 gold.

This was a monumental difference!

This was also why Nie Yan dared to do his class advancement quest on Expert.

During those dark times, Nie Yan spent every day in hardship. In spite of this, he clenched his teeth and persevered. This was the most valuable thing he had taken with him in rebirth!

Nie Yan walked through the bustling streets and arrived at the entrance of the Thief Association. He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Nie Yan saw Pallot sitting in a seat up ahead, wearing the unmistakable cloak that represented an Elder of the Thief Association. Pallot immediately got up from his seat after seeing Nie Yan enter.

“Thank you, Sir Devil Slayer, and congratulations in advance on becoming a Great Thief. You’ve performed remarkably. In addition to the title of Great Thief, we’ve decided to also confer to you a Medal of Honor. You’re the first to receive this reward in the history of the Thief Association!” Pallot exclaimed.

The Thief Association’s Medal of Honor? Nie Yan had never heard of this item before, nor had he ever seen anyone talking about it online.

Great Thief Class Advancement Quest (Expert) completed! You have received 532,918 experience and 300 gold.

Nie Yan lit up with a white light as he directly levelled up to Level 55. The experience was great, but the 300 gold reward was negligible to him.

You have received the title of Great Thief.

Nie Yan checked his character information. All his stats were increased by 30%, his health rose to over 4,000 points, and the category of both his attack and defense had changed from Ordinary to Enhanced.

Nie Yan didn’t know the complex formulas that went into calculating attack and defense. But it was rumoured that Leather Armour (Enhanced) would reduce damage by at least 60%.

After becoming a Great Thief, players were given a bit more freedom to express themselves. They were allowed to integrate some real-world fighting techniques into the in-game combat. Of course, it was still limited by the system.

Stepping into the Adept Class was when many players started to truly shine. Nie Yan understood that he would have to face many new challenges in the future. The Adept Class players weren’t nearly as easy to deal with as ordinary players.

Even after reaching his peak at Level 180, Nie Yan still hadn’t mastered every single Great Thief technique.

Every player played the game their own way, so they were bound to develop a style of combat unique to them.

For Nie Yan, becoming a Great Thief was the beginning of a brand new journey. He was walking on a strange yet familiar path.