Kerning City

Thief class town Lv 20-35

Thief Town. Neon, subways, back-alley dealings.

The Thief town on Victoria Island's east side. Dark Lord runs 2nd job advancement out of a dojo above the club. JM From tha Streetz teaches leatherworking. Nella dispatches the classic 'somebody wants something' delivery quests, Icarus runs the hang glider chain, Mong from Kong handles the medicine questline. The subway south of town spawns Wraiths - Kerning City's signature XP.

Full map dossier →

17NPCs

108quests

36hunting maps

9interiors

12direct exits

Party quest walkthrough

Kerning Party Quest (KPQ)

The iconic Lv 21-30 party quest, reworked for Classic World. 3-6 characters, four puzzle stages (Cloto's trivia + ropes + cats-on-logs + barrels), one King Slime boss, and a Companion's Magic Box each. Full stage-by-stage walkthrough with corrected J>/S> LFG shouts and the Stage 1 question pool.

Read the KPQ walkthrough →

Landmarks in town

Thief Sanctuary (Dark Lord's dojo)
Kerning City Subway
Leatherworking Station
Community Board
Path to Kerning Party Quest

Lore & history of Kerning City

Kerning City is Victoria Island's urban underbelly. Neon signs flicker over narrow alleys, the subway system rumbles under the streets, and every second building is either a bar, a Chinese restaurant, or a suspiciously-labeled 'club.' The town's aesthetic borrows heavily from 90s Hong Kong crime movies. Nobody who lives here would use the word 'nice.'

Dark Lord is the Thief instructor. He runs his operation from what publicly appears to be a Chinese restaurant, but which is very clearly a Thief guild front. His job advancement quest tests your speed and stealth rather than your combat skill. If you're going Thief, this is where your moral compass gets bent slightly out of shape.

Kerning City is best known outside of the class-town circuit as the home of KPQ - the Kerning Party Quest, running Level 21-30. KPQ was the single most important social feature of classic MapleStory. Entire friend groups formed around KPQ recruitment. Kerning's population at peak hours was 90% party-quest-lobby traffic. If you played classic Maple in any era, you know exactly what a 'Ludi taxi' or 'KPQ bus' means, and you know it started here.

Things to do in Kerning City

Curated by category. These sit alongside the auto-generated quest and hunting lists below - think of them as the “insider tips” version.

quest

Talk to Dark Lord for Thief advancement

Enter the Thief Sanctuary - the Chinese restaurant across from the subway. Dark Lord's first-job quest is a stealth check. Yes, the restaurant is a front. Roll with it.

combat

Grind Subway Line 1 Wraiths

The subway system under Kerning City is a Cleric heaven (Wraiths are Undead - Heal shreds them). Also a solid Lv 30-40 grinding spot for any class. The trains DO run - watch for the platform hazard.

trade

Buy your first Claw or Dagger

Kerning's weapon shop stocks the Assassin and Bandit starter kits. Assassins should also budget for a stack of Steely Throwing Knives - stars are ammo.

exploration

Descend into Kerning Underground

Below the subway is a rarely-visited zone with elite Wraith spawns and hidden treasure boxes. High risk for the level bracket, but a great screenshot destination.

lore

Read the flickering neon signs

Kerning City's neon signs have a rotating cast of flavor text - some in English, some in mock-Cantonese, some in gibberish. Slow down and read a few. The town has more atmospheric detail than any other on the island.

Full NPC roster (17)

Everyone stationed on the main town map. Click any name for the full NPC dossier - questlines, other maps they appear on, source data.

JM From tha Streetz 4 quests · 1 map

Alex 4 quests · 1 map

Shumi 3 quests · 1 map

Mong from Kong 3 quests · 1 map

Regular Cab 0 quests · 1 map

Mr. Hong 0 quests · 1 map

Lakelis 1 quest · 1 map

Nella 9 quests · 1 map

Icarus 5 quests · 1 map

Mr. Pickall 0 quests · 1 map

Weaponcrafting Station 0 quests · 2 maps

Leatherworking Station 0 quests · 2 maps

Community Board 71 quests · 1 map

Scarlett 0 quests · 1 map

Doorbell 0 quests · 1 map

Malady 2 quests · 2 maps

Maple Administrator 6 quests · 2 maps

Every quest that starts here (108)

Grouped by level requirement. These are quests given by NPCs stationed in Kerning City - the "what should I do while I'm here?" list. Some point at mobs far outside town; that's normal.

Level Unknown level

Midnight Rest Quest Maple Administrator

Hunting grounds nearby (36)

Every field, dungeon, and connected hunting map with mob spawns in the Kerning City region. Sorted alphabetically; click any card for the full map dossier including exact spawn positions.