"Let's go."Fully dressed, Ryan tugged the other end of the binding rope and gently pushed open the door with Evelyn in tow.

  He poked his head out first, scanning the corridor quickly. After confirming there were no patrolling knights, he pulled Evelyn along and slipped out, closing the door behind him in one fluid movement.

  Both of them wore black stealth suits that almost blended seamlessly into the darkness.

  Even when dressed like a thief, Evelyn's cold, crystalline aura could not be concealed.

  If not for the suspiciously thief-like design of the outfit, her natural grace and poise would have made anything she wore look dignified.

  Even now, with most of her face covered and only her eyes and smooth forehead visible, anyone who saw her would immediately suspect that the beauty beneath the mask must be breathtaking.

  As for Ryan, he simply looked like a thief. From the sneaky way he moved to the mischievous glint in his eyes, he resembled a fresh graduate from a thieves' guild.

  "Take off!" Ryan whispered, giving the rope a light tug.

  Evelyn understood instantly. The two of them tapped the ground with their toes and shot forward like drifting smoke, leaping up to the highest roof of the palace in the blink of an eye.

  Ryan turned back and gave Evelyn a big thumbs-up. His eyes were full of approval. Her coordination with him was getting better and better.

  "Down." Ryan lowered his hand, signaling Evelyn to crouch beside him.

  Evelyn's heart tightened, and she immediately realized what he was doing.

  He was going to steal something.

  Yet she did not scold him. She felt nothing toward the Eryndor palace, and lecturing him would be pointless. Learning his goal mattered more.

  "What are you planning to steal?" Evelyn kept her voice extremely low.

  "How can you call it stealing?" Ryan raised an eyebrow as he led her along the edge of the roof."This is called a temporary loan. When I make it big in the future, I will return everything with interest."

  Since his intent was exposed, he no longer bothered to hide it. They crept quietly toward a distant palace that shimmered with a faint metallic glow.

  On its plaque were the carved words Armory Hall.

  "You want weapons?" Evelyn instantly grasped his target, her eyes flickering with curiosity.

  Ryan nodded, gaze fixed on the windows of Armory Hall."I need a proper magic weapon. I doubt the royal armory will disappoint me."

  "You do not need to do this." Evelyn crouched beside him.

  "Come with me to the Northern Border Icefield. Whatever you want, I will give you."

  "What would I do at the Northern Border Icefield?" Ryan pretended not to understand, never slowing his movements.

  "I have never even left the South Territory. Right now I just want to explore the Central Continent."

  Of course he understood her intentions. The Northern Border Icefield was the foundation of the Glacial Arcana Academy, and she obviously planned to return there.

  But he had no intention of placing himself under anyone's authority for now.

  "You said you would follow my instructions tonight." Ryan tugged the binding rope to remind her of their agreement."No going back on your word."

  Evelyn stayed silent for a moment, then let out a quiet breath. She did not argue further.

  Fine, let him do as he wishes. Stealing a few magical weapons was not a big deal. With her strength, even if they were discovered, she could still take him and escape safely.

  "Follow me."

  Ryan lay flat on the roof, signaling Evelyn to move with him.

  The two of them slid along the edge like a pair of nocturnal bats, heading toward the ventilation opening at the back of the building.

  Ryan activated the Breath-Concealing Art and suppressed the magical aura of both of them until it was nearly undetectable. His eyes were fixed on the two guards standing at the entrance of the Armory Palace.

  They were Adept Mages, each holding an enchanted longsword with waves of magic radiating from their bodies.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Move." Ryan lowered his voice and raised his hand in a blade-like gesture. Without waiting for Evelyn's response, he grabbed the binding rope and leaped down from the roof.

  Evelyn shook her head helplessly. A layer of blue frost-like acceleration runes flashed across her body, and her figure turned into an afterimage as she followed closely behind.

  They landed without making a sound. Before the guards could even see who had approached, two thin lines of frost shot from Evelyn's fingertips and pierced their necks. Their eyes rolled back and they collapsed silently without even a groan.

  "You really are the ultimate powerhouse." Ryan gave Evelyn an exaggerated thumbs-up before gently pushing open the door of the Armory Palace.

  "You two visiting at this hour... are you here to take something precious?"

  A frail yet mysterious voice suddenly echoed through the hall.

  Ryan's heart tightened. He turned toward the sound.

  In the center of the Armory Palace, an old man with white hair sat leisurely on a rocking chair, playing with a dim blue crystal.

  Ryan thought, is that the caretaker of the armory?

  He instinctively activated Magic Detection. The result stunned him instantly.

  【Name: Unknown Elder】

  【Magic Rank: First-tier Journeyman Mage】

  Evelyn reacted far faster than he did. The moment she saw the old man's rank, she grabbed Ryan's arm and teleported directly beside the old man.

  Ryan felt the scene blur. When his vision cleared, the elder was already slumped in the rocking chair with his eyes shut, clearly unconscious.

  He had been erased into oblivion by Evelyn's high-tier spell before he even had the chance to resist.

  Ryan's mouth twitched. Just moments ago he had thought Evelyn was a burden he had to accommodate.

  Now he realized she was basically a mobile artillery unit with built-in teleportation. With her around, infiltration felt like strolling through his own backyard.

  "Hurry up and pack." Evelyn frowned, her gaze sharp as she scanned the surroundings. Her magic sensing field expanded outward, covering the entire Armory Palace like a seasoned lookout.

  Ryan snapped back to focus and began stuffing items into the bag as fast as he could.

  The wall racks were filled with magical weapons such as enchanted short swords, flame daggers, and thunder war axes, each inscribed with basic attack runes.

  On the top shelf stood only three finely crafted weapons.

  "To be honest, this is a little poor." Ryan muttered inwardly while stuffing weapons into the storage bag.

  The grand imperial armory had not a single rare-tier weapon.

  Evelyn quietly followed behind him, watching him categorize and loot the high-grade weapons with skill that looked far too practiced. It was as if he had done this a thousand times.

  "Did you use to do this often?" Evelyn suddenly asked, a faint hint of curiosity in her voice.

  Ryan froze for a moment, then quickly replied with complete sincerity,"No, absolutely not. From the moment I was born until right now, this is the only time I have ever done something like this."

  That was half true and half false. In his ninth life, this really was his first time doing such a‘temporary borrowing' operation.

  As for the previous eight lives, his infamous history of robbing the vaults of major factions must never be known to this woman.

  Some of the suspicion in Evelyn's eyes faded. She did not pursue the question and instead expanded her sensing field to twice its size.

  Suddenly Evelyn's expression changed. She glanced at Ryan, who was still stuffing weapons into the bag, and whispered softly,"Someone is coming."

  Ryan quickly increased his speed, stuffed several more enchanted weapons into the storage bag, and pulled Evelyn with the binding rope into a corner.

  With the stealth cloak's concealment effect stacked on top, the two of them blended into the shadows like statues, perfectly hidden.

  The main door was slowly pushed open. Ryan peeked through a narrow gap and froze for a moment.

  Another intruder?

  The newcomer wore a black robe with a hood that hid most of his face, leaving only a pair of sharp, gleaming eyes exposed. Under the enhancement of wind-type agility magic, his movements were swift like a panther of the night, without an ounce of hesitation.

  It was clear that he had already scouted the Armory Palace in advance. When he saw the unconscious guards at the entrance and the fainted elder in the rocking chair, he showed no surprise at all. Instead, a flash of excitement crossed his eyes, as if the timing could not have been more perfect.

  After a rapid series of steps, he rushed to the weapon rack that Ryan had not yet finished looting. He raised a hand and opened the storage bag at his waist.

  Its capacity was more than twice that of Ryan's.

  He began frantically stuffing the remaining weapons inside, moving even more skillfully than Ryan while still keeping alert for any magical fluctuations in the surroundings.

  Ryan quietly activated Magic Detection, and the man's detailed information appeared before his eyes:

  【Name: Marius】

  【Identity: Shadow Rogue and Grimoire Holder】

  【Magic Rank: Second-tier Journeyman Mage】

  【Life-bound Weapon: Rare-grade Umbral Sword】

  After reading the information, Ryan felt a jolt in his heart.

  Another Grimoire holder.

  He should have thought of this earlier. In a world full of magic, geniuses were never in short supply. If he could possess a Grimoire, then others could have one as well, though with varying levels of power.

  People like Marius often relied on unique advantages to stand out on the continent, sometimes even challenging opponents above their magic rank.

  Of course, there were also reincarnators who never obtained a Grimoire. Most of them ended up as cannon fodder in harsh magical trials, dangerous expeditions, or factional conflicts.

  But Ryan never had any fondness for such individuals.

  Across his previous eight lives, he had seen far too many reincarnators who thought themselves chosen by destiny.

  They believed they were fated to reach the peak of magic, yet every one of them died under his blade.

  Not because he was inherently cruel, but because these people, just like he had been in his first life, were blinded by their own arrogance. They repeatedly crossed his bottom line and even tried to steal what belonged to him.

  If not for the painful lessons of eight lifetimes, he might have become just as delusional as they were.

  Only after exhausting eight entire lifetimes to reach the rank of Grand Magus with the help of his Grimoire did he finally understand.

  The so-called chosen ones were nothing before absolute strength.

  Those fools who believed they could ascend in a single lifetime were nothing more than clowns.

  "Grimoire, how many Magic Origin Points can I get for devouring the Grimoire he has?"

  Ryan stared at the man still frantically looting a short distance away and asked his own Grimoire silently in his heart.

  He knew very well that the value of a Grimoire was measured in tens of thousands. The reward would not be small.

  【Target detected holding a tier eight Grimoire. Devouring it will yield 200,000 Magic Origin Points.】

  Grimoire tiers ranged from tier nine, the lowest, to tier one, the highest. Anything above that was something Ryan's Grimoire refused to reveal.