I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 17

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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 017. Starfield (1)
Urban Legend — a term meaning “strange happenings.”
Think of it like those scary stories you’d hear: red toilet paper or blue toilet paper?
Of course, the Urban Legend that had infested Starfield was far more sinister than any such schoolyard tale.
Sweet Home — an entity that encompassed every Urban Legend associated with shopping complexes.
By Star Rank, it was a hub-class entity at the 6-Star level.
‘The Evil God’s Sacred Relic is formidable, certainly. To draw in a creature of this caliber…’
One of the ways to assess an Urban Legend’s danger was its sheer scale.
This one had not only infested the massive space but had expanded it far beyond its actual size through a barrier.
Though he couldn’t be certain, the current dimensions of this place were likely at least ten times larger than before.
In short — hellishly dangerous.
But then again.
The rewards were equally guaranteed.
[Plunder Condition: Create a new Urban Legend that will make Sweet Home’s blood run cold, then annihilate it.]
[Reward: Randomly Plunder one of the target’s unique abilities, traits, stats, or memory items.]
Hmm.
The Plunder condition was devilishly intricate this time.
Pinning down an Urban Legend’s concept was no simple matter.
But if he could seize Sweet Home’s defining trait — its core nature…
That would be reason enough to wade through this troublesome Urban Legend’s game.
A rough outline crystallized in Ju-sang’s mind.
If he leveraged the members here and what he already possessed, success was entirely within reach.
“That one. It looks absolutely delicious.”
“I think if I bought it as a souvenir, our child would love it…”
The Holy Knights and priests who wielded Holy Power mumbled as if entranced.
“It would be wise not to touch anything carelessly.”
Ju-sang’s warning was terse.
What he saw through his glasses was rotting meat — almost unbearable to look upon.
Eating it would end in far more than mere food poisoning.
The wares laden with curses and hexes were equally dangerous.
And yet.
Growl.
[Hunger Meter rising rapidly.]
A ravenous hunger descended upon them.
“Come now, just try one? It’s a clearance sale — we’re practically giving them away.”
“See how the juices are dripping? Made fresh today from meat we caught just hours ago.”
In the end, one of the priests placed a skewered piece into his mouth.
It was the beginning.
“Ugghhh— bleeeeurgh! Retch!”
The priest suddenly vomited blood in a frenzy.
His eyes were bloodshot crimson.
He clawed at his own throat in agony, then collapsed.
Dead.
“Priest Gabel! Wh-what in—”
“Poison!”
The priests and Holy Knights dropped their food and stumbled backward.
He’d warned them. He’d said not to touch anything.
“So… we’re not to eat or drink anything?”
Ordinarily a person could survive a week without food, three days without water…
But this place was different.
In less than ten minutes of arriving, they were already suffering intense hunger and thirst.
‘There’s no problem without a solution. Even if Urban Legends are cruel, there’s always a way to break them.’
Ju-sang recalled the words he’d seen when first entering Starfield.
— Those who break the Taboo shall not return alive.
The true meaning behind that sentence.
It meant that if you obeyed the rules and didn’t break the Taboo, you could clear Sweet Home.
“Choose what isn’t on sale and what they don’t recommend — the things shoved into the corners!”
Ju-sang seized a withered apple sitting in the farthest corner.
Whatever the entities were pushing had to be a deadly poison.
Conversely, what they didn’t recommend would be safe.
“W-w-well, that one’s p-p-past its expiration date… the m-meat. The meat. Please, eat. Cheap. Delicious.”
The grotesque figure in clerk’s uniform mumbled uncertainly.
Regardless of what it said.
Ju-sang raised the apple to his lips without so much as a glance.
“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!!!!”
The grotesque creature, its face twisted into something savage, let out a screech like metal on metal.
At that same instant.
Splash!
Fruit juice dribbled down from Ju-sang’s lips.
[Hunger Meter drops sharply!]
The hunger, the craving—all of it vanished like a lie.
“This is how you do it.”
“Ah!”
“R-right, of course.”
Everyone followed the method Ju-sang had just demonstrated.
The Hunger Meter problem was solved.
Now it was their turn.
Ju-sang drew upon Fire Essence and compressed a flame into the shape of a sphere.
“Seol-gi.”
“Yes.”
Seol-gi layered snowflakes across the sphere.
The finished product looked exactly like white Mochi Bomb.
“Since you’ve given us something so nice, I ought to repay the favor a little.”
“W-well, that’s not necessary. We’re not supposed to eat on duty.”
“Oh, come now. Gifts from customers are fine. Here. The cake came out wonderfully soft and well-formed.”
There was supposedly something particularly vibrant about a ghost that had eaten before dying.
He found himself genuinely curious what would happen if something already dead died again.
“Mmph—!”
Ju-sang shoved the Mochi Bomb into the clerk’s mouth without hesitation.
Boom!
The clerk’s body exploded outright.
Black fragments of flesh scattered across the floor.
Then, just as quickly, they dissolved into smoke and vanished.
‘Huh. Packs more punch than I expected.’
Of course, after making such a commotion, the Urban Legends wouldn’t simply stand idle.
[Shopping Mall Rule: Disturbances are not permitted.]
Thump! Thump!
The sound of something heavy drawing near echoed through the space.
Creatures towering well over four meters tall.
Incomprehensible giants, dragging crude-looking axes behind them.
Name badges reading “Security” hung from their chests.
“They’re coming!”
“Raise your Holy Power!”
The Paladins immediately took combat stance.
The Priests began casting various buffs and Holy Spells.
Their fear was understandable, certainly.
‘But we don’t actually need to fight.’
Through his glasses, Ju-sang could read the contents of the guidebook the security guards were holding.
—Increase sales revenue.
—Fill vacant spaces and ensure rent collection doesn’t fall behind.
—Eliminate those who cause problems.
“Disturbance. Not. Permitted. Follow. To. Security Room. Quiet. Discussion. Required.”
The security guard issued the order in a mechanical, staccato tone.
Naturally, agreeing and following along would mean death.
The Security Room had the unique property that all abilities possessed by every creature—except the security guards themselves—would be sealed within its walls.
So they would have to approach this differently.
“Say, is there any chance we could open a shop in one of the vacant spaces?”
“A shop? At Starfield?”
The security guard faltered.
The topmost priority listed in the guidebook was, after all, “sales.”
The management crisis quickly led to staff cuts, and the security guards were the most acutely aware of this danger.
“Yes. Since I bear some responsibility for this situation, I’ll also compensate for damages by paying five times the monthly rent at the end of each month.”
I’m leaving today anyway. Promises I have no intention of keeping are worth nothing.
“F-five times. Each. Month?”
The security guard’s voice turned as warm as a spring breeze.
The atmosphere was such that he would probably praise me even if I blew up a few more staff members.
“What k-kind of. Business. Would you like?”
Hmm. What should I do?
Since things have come this far, I might as well lean into the concept.
[The Royal Millhouse]
A charming little shop that aggressively pushes delicious Mochi Bombs on reluctant customers.
Now let’s create a proper Urban Legend.
* * *
Three hours later, a great deal had changed.
-Don’t even think about going near that shop.
-Not just the shop—the entire first floor is off-limits. They’ve been doing a hard sell for the last thirty minutes.
-Word is they even bought off the security guards. I saw congratulatory wreaths stacked in front of the rice cake place.
Rumor—the very foundation of an Urban Legend.
The otherworldly beings inhabiting Starfield were gripped by profound terror.
Forced to shove rice cakes into their mouths and sign slave contracts before they could resist, it was unbearable.
“Buy some mochi. While I’m still asking nicely.”
Seol-gi’s presence, in particular, had collapsed the market economy entirely.
Even the otherworldly beings who had honed their combat skills rushed down to the first floor in desperation, only to be cleaved in two by a single sword strike.
Shops shuttering one after another.
In their place hung signs reading “The Royal Millhouse, Branch No. N.”
‘I’ve succeeded.’
Sang-ju’s eyes grew misty as he gazed at the flourishing shops.
He’d spent his whole life scraping by in a basement room.
Now he was a proper business owner.
One who commanded dozens of branch locations, no less.
[You have Purified over 80% of the first-floor zone.]
[You have Purified over 15% of the second-floor zone.]
Sweet Home was exacting and formidable, it was true—but the entity had one fatal weakness.
It could not free itself from the rules and concept it had created.
I could feel its power waning with each passing moment.
And then, shortly after.
With the Movie Theater Being and the Jjimjilbang Being—Starfield’s strongest otherworldly entities—returning only as decapitated heads, every faction capable of checking The Royal Millhouse had been completely eliminated.
What remained was only the Urban Legend inherent to Sweet Home itself.
I was just one step away from Plundering that power.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, we can fight the Immortal Cult without suffering any casualties.”
“You mentioned you belong to the Red Tiger Guild? That guild certainly has an excellent eye for talent.”
The Holy Knights and priests offered their gratitude.
Their initial wariness had evaporated, and the atmosphere had grown warm—as if they were looking upon a lifesaver.
All save one.
“This isn’t a matter of sharp instincts or quick wit. You know far too much about this place.”
Antonio, the raid leader, fixed me with a suspicious gaze.
It wasn’t so much genuine suspicion as it was anxiety about his own authority being undermined.
‘A common type.’
The lower one’s self-esteem and the stronger one’s stubbornness, the more distorted one’s thinking became.
Right at that moment.
“You saved us. I’m truly grateful.”
The calamity I’d been waiting for drew near.
“I’m glad I could help.”
“It’s the least I can do. In the battle against the Cult, I’ll protect you. I’m the main tank, after all.”
Amy tapped her shield with her palm.
I felt it anew.
A single smile could make you feel as warm as standing beneath the sun.
“Will you be alright? The otherworldly beings mentioned that the Cult is preparing something quite dangerous.”
The tank standing at the front line faces the greatest danger of any member of the raid party.
With an organization like the Immortal Cult, which stops at nothing to achieve its ends, there was no guarantee of survival.
“It won’t be easy, but that’s no reason to give up.”
Amy offered a strained smile.
A goal and conviction she could tell no one else about.
She had no intention of stopping to see them through.
Even if the price was her own life.
……
Ju-sang’s lips twisted into a bitter line.
He knew better than anyone.
What kind of life this girl Amy had lived.
And everything that lay ahead of her. All of it.
Which was why.
“Don’t shoulder everything alone.”
The words fell from his lips quietly.
Hoping the weight of the burden on her shoulders might ease, even slightly.
Hoping the pain of the mark branded on her heart might fade, even a little.
“Ah…”
Amy’s small mouth fell open.
Her crimson eyes trembled violently.
In that tiny lake, countless emotions and memories seemed to churn like a storm.
“I’ll… try.”
The words that emerged seconds later were simple.
Yet why was it?
Amy’s expression seemed lighter than before.
Once Amy turned to rejoin her companions.
“Ju-sang.”
This time Seol-gi approached with a smile.
Her mouth smiled, but her eyes did not.
A chill ran down his spine.
An icy touch that made meeting ghosts seem warm by comparison crept across the back of his neck.
“Why? Why…?”
“That woman. Who is she that you smiled so happily? Do you know her? How old is she and where does she live? Most importantly—will you keep seeing her?”
Questions poured forth like machine-gun fire.
He couldn’t discern her intent, but one thing was certain.
[The trait ‘Obsessive Attachment’ has activated.]
Getting caught up in this would spawn an urban legend with her as the lead.
……
Ju-sang maintained silence.
He deliberately avoided her gaze, humming tunelessly.
-Do not acknowledge or pretend to hear. You’ll invite a burden of attention heavier than death itself.
If there was a strategy guide for this particular urban legend, it would likely be written exactly like this.
“By the way, she really does have such elegance and beauty. She’d make a perfect ice sculpture.”
“What!?”
Damn it.
He’d reflexively answered before he could stop himself.
“Ah, so you can respond? I almost thought your ears didn’t work.”
Ah…
He’d rather fight an evil god.
That would be a hundred times less terrifying.

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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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