Later that night, Alister found himself in a crowded marketplace. He decided not to put on his mask leaving his black hair and silver eyes exposed.
The mask would have made him stand out, and besides, no one knew Alister Vaughn, just Ace.
The market was kept lit by some runic lanterns,
He was here for a simple reason, testing his ability out and he chose the marketplace because it provided the right amount of crowd and distraction he could use if anything went wrong.
Alister's eyes were immediately drawn to a certain merchant who carelessly lay a pouch of coins in the other side of his stall.
He selected the merchant as his target and slowly walked towards him.
Stopping a distance away, Alister activated the skill. He had already confirmed that it produced no visible visual effects so he knew it was safe to use it out in the open, like he currently was.
[Theft]
The tattoo on his hand reappeared, producing green glow only he could see.
The pouch of coins disappeared from the stall and reappeared in his open palm without the merchant or anyone noticing.
Alister started counting the seconds as soon as the pouch landed in his hand. He was trying to see how long it would take for the item to return back to its owner.
Five minutes passed before he felt the weight of the pouch disappear.
"Five minutes huh?" He muttered "that's more than enough time to do something with the stolen item".
But he still remained unsatisfied with the skill. Sure it made stealing a lot easier but with his skills, there was barely anything he couldn't steal by himself.
"Let's run more tests".
That's how Alister spent the next two hours. He tested the skill's range, which was conveniently large, the sizes of items he can steal and finally, what affects the skill's duration.
After he was completely satisfied, Alister walked back home which wasn't too far from the marketplace.
_______
Alister arrived at a relatively high end environment, compared to where he lived when he was a child anyway.
But this place was middle class, at most. With all he has earned as Ace, he had enough to even live in the high-class districts but his sudden wealth would draw negative attention.
The neighbourhood was lit by some rune powered lamps which bounced off the cobblestone street.At this time, everyone was either in their homes, spending time with their family or at the market.
This was a place where people minded their own business, which suited Alister just fine. He had no desire to draw unnecessary attention to himself, especially given his double life as Ace.
As he approached his house, he noticed a figure standing by his door. His guard went up at first but when he got close enough to recognize the outline of the figure, he dropped his guard.
The figure was a man with light brown hair and blue eyes. He wore casual clothes but an unmistakable aura of power radiated from him, even with his relaxed pose.
His eyes glinted as soon as he saw Alister approached.
"Evening, Alister" The person greeted, pushing himself from where he leaned.
"What are you doing here Kai?" Alister asked "don't you have duties to fulfill?".
This was Kai, a boy who had grown up in the slums just like Alister. Unlike Alister, however, Kai had always dreamed of becoming a champion for the gods.
And he fulfilled that dream when they grew up.He was chosen by the god, Hermes, as his champion.
"Nope, I'm on break" Kail replied only to his last question.
"Break, huh?" Alister muttered, before asking. "So, what brings you here, then? Haven't seen you around in a while."
"Just checking in on you" Kai simply reply as he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on.
"Thank f*ck, I almost thought you were here to preach about being blessed by a god, again." Alister rolled his eyes.
"Nope, stopped doing that years ago" Kai said.
He had tried every means possible to get Alister to apply for being a champion with him, but Alister never budged so Kai had given up convincing him.
"Well then, as you can see, I'm fine. So, good night." Alister said as he moved to open his door but that was when Kai asked a question which made him pause.
"You see, while I'm on break, I'm also supposed to keep an eye out for a thief called Ace" Kai said "he recently stole an important item from the divine vault."
"And you're telling me this because?" Alister turned to Kai, his face giving away nothing, not even a twitch of his eyes.
Kai chuckled, clearly amused by Alister's unflinching reaction. "Oh, no reason," he said casually, "just making small talk. You know, seeing if you've heard any rumors."
"None, I prefer staying locked up in my house the entire day than going around search for rumors " Alister said.
"That's true" Kai chuckled again.
Alister had always been someone who preferred keeping to himself, and Kai knew that all too well.
"Alright then, see you around Alister" Kai said, seemingly dropping the suspicion he previously had.
"Sure" Alister simply replied but as Kai turned around, an idea popped into his mind.
He wasn't sure if it would work but he decided to try anyway since this was one of the safest ways he could.
He subtly outstretched his hand and the tattoo reappeared, glowing as he activated [theft].
Kai suddenly stopped, he felt he just lost something so he turned to look at Alister who was also still standing by the door but his hand had returned back to his side.
Something wrong?" Alister asked nonchalantly.
Kai hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah, just a weird feeling." He forced a grin. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Anyway, stay out of trouble, yeah?"
"Yes Mom" he answered before walking inside, quickly shutting the door.
As soon as the door shut behind him, Alister leaned against it, exhaling slowly.
His silver eyes gleamed in the dimly lit room as he flexed his fingers, feeling a strange yet exhilarating sensation course through his body.
A new notification flickered in his vision.
[Theft Successful: You have stolen Godspeed]
Alister smirked. So, it works on abilities too.
He closed his eyes and focused, trying to get a feel for his newly stolen power. Instinctively, he felt an urge to move—to run. His body itched with energy, as if urging him to push his limits.
Let's see what you've got, Hermes.
With a thought, Alister activated [Godspeed]—and the world around him blurred.
The air roared in his ears as he shot forward, faster than anything he had ever experienced before.
His feet barely touched the ground as he zipped across his small living room, reaching the far wall in an instant.
Unable to stop properly, he twisted his body and braced himself just as he crashed against the wall, leaving a small crack in the plaster.
Instead of grunting in pain, Alister burst out laughing.The effects of [Godspeed] faded a moment later, and his body returned to normal.
He had just stolen a divine ability.
And used it.
Alister grinned, he knew there was more to his ability and he was going to have a lot of fun with it.