I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10. The White Ghost, The Snow Maiden (3)
Crack!
The patterns carved into the blade shattered, splitting into dozens of fragments.
[Dryad’s Soul is being destroyed!]
[Emperor’s Authority is manifesting, severing all oaths and constraints!]
If Felix could have seen this, he would’ve foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness on the spot.
He’d always considered this blade a mere loan, after all.
Of course, he’d intended to reclaim it eventually.
No doubt he’d bragged endlessly about lending something so extraordinary.
But what could I do?
When you lend something, you’re supposed to account for the worst-case scenario.
There’s even a saying—treat borrowed money as lost.
Spark!
Golden sparks erupted in all directions, drawing the shattered blade fragments back together.
‘I can’t afford to slip up.’
One chance. That’s all I have.
But I wasn’t worried.
There was nothing—no matter how tricky or difficult—that I couldn’t handle.
That’s what it meant to be a master of your craft.
Thud!
The blade fragments pierced into the girl’s heart from every direction at once.
And in that moment.
“Shrieeeek!”
Something inside her body let out a scream.
Then a black worm writhed through the wound and crawled out of her body.
It was Solitude.
* * *
I’d actually done it.
I’d removed Solitude—something I’d thought impossible.
The first time I’d ever felt another’s goodwill.
Thump.
The girl’s heart, which had been still for so long, began to beat faintly.
If a Transcendent Being this powerful and versatile was going to stand beside me…
I felt certain I could overcome any hardship that lay ahead.
“Is it… done?”
The girl asked carefully, as though she still couldn’t quite believe it.
“I’ve put him in a dormant state, but he hasn’t been completely removed yet.”
A lie.
As long as I didn’t wake him, it was essentially permanent.
“To keep this creature asleep, you’ll need to make a contract with me. The binding nature is the same as with Solitude, but I make you this promise: I will never mistreat you.”
A contract that required the subject’s consent.
One of the abilities granted by the Dryad’s Soul—establishing a master-servant relationship by supplying mana.
“Young one. I shall never forget this kindness you have shown me.”
“And I will remember your loyalty.”
The master placed two blade fragments, each marked with a deer motif, on either side of the girl’s head.
Hum…
The pair of blade fragments transformed into small white antlers.
Well.
They actually suited her quite well.
If she didn’t go around slashing at people indiscriminately, one might mistake her for a pure and innocent little fawn.
[Mana Contract has been established.]
Safety first.
Since she’d need mana to function, her combat duration would be severely curtailed compared to before…
But at least I’d prevented those blades from ever turning on me.
I’d reduced the chance of betrayal to less than one percent.
Right then.
Ding!
Another status window flashed.
[Trait ‘Obsessive Infatuation’ has been forcibly added.]
Obsessive Infatuation, no less.
This isn’t good.
The greatest drawback of the Mana Contract was that it forcibly imposed one negative trait.
Since it’s completely random, there’s nothing to be done about that part, but I have to prevent the obsession from growing too strong.
If I’m not careful, it could lead to killing all my other companions.
I’ll need to manage it carefully going forward to avoid that.
“Now I need to find the Demonic Beast in here. Do you happen to know where it is? It should be shaped like a large tiger.”
By the Labyrinth’s design, I could only find a way out once I dealt with the boss monster inside.
The boss was a mutant tiger the size of eight meters.
Its distinctive feature was the snouts studded with teeth protruding from various points on its body.
“If that’s the case, I have an idea where it might be. Please wait a moment.”
The girl bowed respectfully and vanished into the darkness.
Not long after.
“Roaaarrr! Screeeech!”
The sound of a beast’s cry echoed from far away.
Crash! Bang!
Boom! Crack!
Then came the sound of something shattering.
A series of gruesome wet tearing sounds—flesh ripping, bone snapping—followed in succession.
Then, just as suddenly, all noise ceased as if it had never been.
A moment later.
“Is this mutant tiger the Hazardous Species you were referring to?”
The girl emerged, dragging the head of the mutant tiger by one hand—its tongue lolling out—a head as large as her own body, spine and all torn free.
Hm.
It was like a horror film come to life.
She’d torn off and brought back a head the size of her own body, complete with the spine attached.
This was, without question, the first time I’d felt sorry for a monster.
“You worked hard.”
“It was merely a trifling task.”
“That aside, I can’t keep calling you ‘girl.’ What is your name?”
“Those who took me in called me Specimen Number One. I was also known by the aliases White Ghost and Snow Maiden.”
White Ghost, Snow Maiden.
Baek Seol-gwi….
Then I’ll combine them and call her Baek Seolgi.
Since she looked like white rice cake, it wasn’t a bad name to remember her by.
“I’ll call you Baek Seolgi. How does that suit you?”
“Baek Seolgi—did you give me that name meaning ‘one who carries the spirit of pure white snow’?”
At receiving her first true name, Baek Seolgi’s eyes trembled.
“Baek Seolgi….”
She savored each syllable with such tenderness, as if the name were infinitely precious.
Well, it’s really just pure Korean for rice cake made from white flour.
If I told her the truth, she’d be terribly disappointed.
“That’s exactly right.”
A name is a name—as long as it sounds good and is easy to call, it serves its purpose.
Either way, it was far better than “Specimen Number One” or whatever.
You’re white rice cake from now on.
“Well then, shall we make our way out?”
“Yes?”
“What, did you want to stay here?”
“That is….”
Baek Seolgi faltered.
Having spent her entire life trapped in dungeons and labyrinths, the very fact of going outside felt strange and terrifying.
“Don’t worry. You’ll adapt bit by bit.”
“But… your hair color and eye color—something seems strange about them.”
Baek Seolgi tilted her head, studying me curiously.
My blue eyes and white hair were gradually turning black.
It was because the herbal medicine’s duration was wearing off.
“Ha. Well, about that….”
I’d already made the contract anyway.
It was time to tell her the truth.
* * *
I rattled off explanations readily enough.
About how my unusual constitution caused my hair and eyes to change color.
I added that I’d sustained serious internal injuries pushing myself to kill Solitude and forge that troublesome contract just now, all to save Baek Seolgi.
“So that’s why you were hurt—saving me.”
Baek Seolgi murmured, her eyes glistening with gratitude.
“Don’t worry about it. And from now on, speak comfortably. Too many eyes watching outside.”
“Yes. But… I’m a bit concerned. After the contract, I’ve developed constraints. I can’t summon my full power like before.”
Baek Seolgi gazed down with something like sorrow at the small creature perched on her shoulder.
The massive, terrifying form of Baek Sa had vanished entirely.
Only a dainty twenty-centimeter-long version remained, sitting there forlornly.
My weakened state was to blame for that.
As a result, the divine beast had shrunk into this adorable form.
“Chirp!”
Baek Sa nodded vigorously, as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
True—compared to before, it certainly looked far more diminished.
“Don’t fret over strength; there are ways to recover it gradually. I’ll also look into your sister’s situation separately, so be patient and give it time.”
The detention facility where the other Dryads were held was classified as top secret, with only a handful knowing its location.
The location itself was moved periodically as well.
Which meant I had no choice but to search slowly, over time.
“Merely giving me hope is more happiness than I deserve. Still, I worry that even this is too small a thing to trouble you with.”
This much was more than sufficient, honestly.
If anything, I was genuinely concerned about becoming a burden to her instead.
“Oh, that’s right. Before we go—could I bring my cherished collections with me?”
Ice statues that made your skin crawl just to look at them.
One side displayed victims frozen alive by frostbite poison, arranged in ghastly rows.
“Leave those here.”
The moment we stepped outside, the Imperial Guard would haul us in.
If we were lucky, it’d be a clean hanging or the guillotine.
If we were branded witches, it’d be the pyre.
“Yes…”
Baek Seolgi’s shoulders drooped, and she lowered her head in dejection.
Together, we fled the Labyrinth.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind welcomed us with blinding sunlight.
Perhaps it was because we’d been in the dark Sewers.
The sunlight felt unusually bright.
Of course.
“My eyes… it’s too bright.”
For someone like Baek Seolgi, who’d spent her entire life wandering the Labyrinth and dungeons, the intensity of the sun was on an entirely different level.
It would take considerable time to adjust.
Only after a long while could she cautiously open her eyes.
Baek Seolgi gazed around with wonder, her head turning in every direction.
“What’s that?”
“A clock.”
“And that?”
“A carriage. It runs on Mana Stones. That one over there is the market—a place where people buy and sell goods, if that helps.”
“Market… carriage…”
After that, Baek Seolgi pelted me with questions relentlessly.
It was like tending to a newborn.
Everything seemed fresh and new to her eyes.
In moments like this, she was simply an innocent girl.
One with a radiant smile.
But I knew the truth.
That a calamity could manifest its omens at any moment, regardless of what it appeared to be.
Even with the Mana Contract in place, I had to remain vigilant.
As we sightsaw, Baek Seolgi suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Her small nose twitched continuously.
Her eyes were fixed unblinking on a single spot.
In Hanam, where the staples were things like rat-meat stew and bread hard as stone, this was one of the rare upscale dessert cafés.
It was probably a shop catering to the occasional wealthy merchants and knights from the upper districts.
Just a few decent teams, and he could rake in a month’s worth of income without breaking a sweat.
“What is that place?”
“A dessert shop—somewhere they sell sweet foods.”
“Sweet foods?”
“Yeah. It’s a bit hard to explain off the top of my head. What did you usually eat before? If there’s something similar, I can compare and describe it better.”
“I ate Grain Sustenance Pills. And drank Pure Spring Water.”
In modern terms, that meant her staple diet was oatmeal and water.
Tsk.
Even bodybuilders got their cheat days.
This was like she’d been on an extreme regimen 365 days a year.
Right. Time to go big and treat her properly.
He’d looted a six-person team and stocked up on cash and items, so he could afford it.
“I’ll have a chocolate brownie with whipped cream, a fruit tart, and two strawberry smoothies.”
He placed the order, and before long the table was laden with beautiful desserts.
“Go ahead, try it.”
“Yes? O-okay…!”
Clink.
She awkwardly moved the fork, testing it out.
A handful of whipped cream.
Half a spoonful of brownie.
She carefully balanced it all, then popped it into her mouth.
“……!?”
Baek Seolgi froze in place, her lips smeared with cream.
Her mind had gone numb from the overwhelmingly exquisite sweetness.
Her mouth hung open and closed, open and closed.
She looked exactly like a broken doll, mechanically working her jaw.
All she’d ever known was the dry, grainy texture of Sustenance Pills soaked in water—of course this was a whole new world.
“Squeak!?”
The small Baek Sa perched on her shoulder also widened his ruby-red eyes in perfect circles.
Having experienced sweetness for the first time himself, he nearly tumbled from her shoulder.
“Seolgi, you wouldn’t know this, but outside, food like this costs an absolute fortune. Most people—unless they’re quite wealthy—could never dream of eating it.”
“Is… is that really true?”
“It is. Look there. Everyone’s staring with envy, aren’t they?”
Through the window, vagrants dripped with longing, eyes fixed on the desserts.
For people for whom a single coin was precious, this place was a location they could never enter in their entire lives.
“I see. Thank you so much. For giving me something so precious.”
Baek Seolgi had completely bought into his words.
Good, good. Eat as much as you want.
When managing slaves, feeding them well was always the most important rule.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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