The Thief's Next Journey - Liven's Classic Maple Guide

At a glance

Quest giver: Dark Lord (Kerning City)
Starts at: Thieves' Hideout
Minimum level: 30
Class requirement: Thief / Rogue (1st job)
Chain position: Step 1 of 4

In-game text

Having reached level 30 and mastered the way of the Rogue, I feel the urge to learn more. Does Dark Lord of Kerning City have even greater lessons to teach me? Dark Lord said that if I can pass his test, he'll gladly teach me more. I'm no longer the weakling I once was, but hearing that I still have to face a trial makes me a bit nervous.

Rewards

EXP
12,600 EXP total across all 4 steps (3,150 per step) Step 20300 (Dark Lord trigger) + Step 20301 (Finding the Instructor) + Step 20302 (Test of Qualification) + Step 20303 (Proof of Qualification) = 12,600 EXP guaranteed.
ITEM
The Proof of the Thief (chain-terminal item, step 20303) Physical proof of second-job qualification. Token to unlock Assassin / Bandit skill trees.

Liven's take

This canonical article covers the complete 4-step Thief second-job advancement chain - quests 20300, 20301, 20302, 20303. Dark Lord's trial gates all second-job Thief skills (Assassin / Bandit).

The 4-step chain

20300 - The Thief's Next Journey (Dark Lord, Kerning City). Talking quest. Dark Lord acknowledges your growth. Rewards 3,150 EXP.
20301 - Finding the Instructor (Dark Lord). Dark Lord sends you to the Thief Job Instructor at Construction Site North of Kerning City. Rewards 3,150 EXP.
20302 - Test of Qualification (Thief Job Instructor, Construction Site North). Solo trial instance. Stealth/combat time-limit test. Rewards 3,150 EXP.
20303 - Proof of Qualification (Thief Job Instructor). Return with proof. Instructor grants The Proof of the Thief. Rewards 3,150 EXP. Return to Dark Lord to select your branch.

THE branch choice - completely different playstyles

Assassin vs Bandit is the most divergent 2nd-job fork in MapleStory - see the Thief second-job branches guide:

Assassin (claws + throwing stars): ranged LUK-scaling. Lucky Seven core skill. Extends into Hermit -> Night Lord.
Bandit (daggers): melee DEX-scaling. Double Stab + Steal. Extends into Chief Bandit -> Shadower.

Construction Site North of Kerning

Kerning City -> north exit -> Construction Site B1 (subway area) -> Construction Site North. Same building complex as Shumi's L35 Construction Site heist chain - just at a different basement level. Mob density L25-30, in-range for L30 Thieves.

Class naming note: the CoT 2 datamine labels this class "Rogue" internally to match modern KMS conventions. Every in-game player-facing text still says "Thief". Same class - two names.

Related guides

Sources

Closed-Test Information
OSMS Data Explorer - Classic World client datamine

ohmi69 (community datamine) - Aug 11 2026 (CoT 2); refreshed for Grand Launch Oct 22 2026

Community-maintained data dashboard extracted directly from the Classic World client; first captured from the CoT 2 build (Aug 2026, the figures below) and refreshed for the Grand Launch client on Oct 22 2026 (7,360 items, 343 quests, 109 monsters with Classic World stats). Provides 163 skills with per-level stats + PNG icons, 712 items + 1,199 equipment with icons, 187 monsters with animated sprites, 348 crafting recipes with ingredients and meso costs, 322 quests with chains and rewards, and full patch notes. GitHub-mirrored so the dataset survives even if the live dashboard goes down.
Confirmed facts
- CoT 2 contains 163 skills across 25 classes (datamined Aug 11 2026)
- CoT 2 contains 348 crafting recipes across 6 disciplines
- CoT 2 contains 322 quests organized into chains by region
- CoT 2 contains 712 non-equipment items and 1,199 equipment items
- Warrior 1st job in CoT 2 has 6 skills including new 'Precise Strikes'
- Archer 1st job in CoT 2 dropped 'Blessing of Amazon' and added 'Power Knockback'
Topics

Skills, Items, Equipment, Monsters, Crafting, Quests, Maps, Cash Shop

Checked

2026-10-22

Links

Original Archive snapshot