I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 40

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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 40. The Demonic Tribe (3)
For more than seven minutes, the battle raged without either side gaining ground.
“What’s this? He’s struggling more than I expected?”
Lizelna’s brows knit together in frustration.
“Jeroksaar hasn’t shown his true strength yet. He’s merely enjoying himself—don’t be so impatient.”
Barcan remained unmoved, an observer watching from the sidelines.
As though he had no intention of intervening whatsoever.
“Barcan. I know we have no reason to fear defeat, but once you’ve caught the fish, you eat it quickly. There’s no need to toy with it.”
“You seem quite anxious.”
“I am. Desperately. If we miss this chance, there may never come another opportunity to kill the Emperor.”
A chance that had come once in centuries.
If they lost it, there was no knowing how long they would have to wait for the next.
Lizelna pressed on.
“The 2nd Knight Order alone is formidable. Dozens of our upper-tier kind have fallen to the Order’s commander.”
And what of the veiled 1st Knight Order?
Only rumors persisted—whispers that it surpassed all the remaining orders combined in strength.
To this day, no one had ever encountered a single knight belonging to the 1st Knight Order.
“You worry too much. If you allow yourself to be swayed by legends born from human imagination, then that is precisely what they wish.”
“Perhaps. But there’s no harm in being cautious.”
“If that is your will, I grant you permission to deploy the Joyin Tribe.”
At last, Barcan’s sanction fell.
“Kill them. And above all, do not let that human escape.”
Lizelna issued her command to the Joyin Tribe.
Certainly, Jeroksaar would be furious, but there was no helping it.
For now, completing the mission safely was the priority.
“Shrieeek!”
“Caaaw!”
Keruza and the rest of the Joyin Tribe shrieked in unison.
Then they began their descent toward the mouth of the Volcano.
“No—they’re coming!”
“Damn it.”
From the assault team’s perspective, it was a hopeless turn of events.
Two thousand would shatter the teetering balance entirely.
One minute?
They wouldn’t last even thirty seconds.
Yet there was one man.
Jusang alone smiled as though he had been waiting for this very moment.
“So they finally played the Joyin Tribe card.”
He had wondered when they would deploy it.
Now, at last, came the time to land a blow.
Swish.
Jusang, bearing a cold smile, withdrew a book from within his robes.
A trophy obtained when he had ventured into a wall on a previous occasion—a kind of encyclopedia detailing the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of various bird species.
[‘Shakespeare’s Fountain Pen’ activates!]
Whooom!
Brilliant light erupted from the fountain pen.
Before, it had managed only to rearrange the positions of characters.
But now.
‘This time is different.’
That catastrophic incident when he had rendered all followers of the Immortal Cult completely bald.
From that single act, the latent potential of Shakespeare’s Fountain Pen had expanded dramatically.
Thanks to that, he could now easily alter a single character.
Scritch.
Jusang brought the fountain pen to the book in his possession.
[The characters of ‘Avian Encyclopedia’ are being corrupted.]
The words transformed.
[‘Avian Encyclopedia’ has become ‘Avian Influenza’!]
Fsshhh.
The book crumbled to dust and vanished.
In its place, a swirling haze of black powder hung suspended in the air.
[You have acquired Avian Influenza!]
[Acquisition Difficulty: AA]
[Description: A virulent mass that is lethal to avian species. Infectivity is extremely high, with approximately 25% survival rate. However, due to the excruciating pain, infected individuals suffer a Star Rank reduction of –2 stages.]
Whoooosh….
The particles swept through the ranks of the Joyin Tribe descending upon them in an instant.
Eyes and nose.
And mouth.
It burrowed into every crevice through which it could enter the body.
And then, in that moment.
“Gack! Cough!”
Keruza spat out phlegm tinged with blood from her beak.
The entire Joyin Tribe had been swallowed up by the unfamiliar calamity of Avian Influenza.
Joyin Tribe members falling from the sky in droves.
Thud-thud-thud!
Splat!
It was as though countless meteors were raining down.
“I… is this even real?”
“Yes! We did it! We actually did it!”
A deafening cheer erupted from the ranks of the raiding party.
In the moment of despair, another impossible miracle had unfolded.
Naturally, morale soared beyond all reason.
Now was the time.
Jusang leaped into the air with perfect timing.
There was only one target.
Keruza, the queen of the Joyin Tribe.
Granted, he would secure the lion’s share of contributions through the Avian Influenza, but Keruza was an exception.
Only by striking her down personally could he claim the greatest reward.
Her beak was a Triple-A grade material, particularly suited for shield craftsmanship.
The asking price would be substantial.
Slice!
Keruza’s neck was severed cleanly.
[Your Star Rank has advanced to mid-Stage 6!]
[Stat Points: 35]
[You have acquired Keruza’s Steel Beak, 1 kg!]
[A Trait has dropped!]
Status windows appeared in rapid succession.
His Star Rank had easily surpassed 6, and he’d claimed a healthy sum of Stat Points as well.
Yet what drew his attention most was something else entirely.
‘A Trait?’
Jusang swallowed hard at the sight of the luminous, brown sphere.
This was beyond his expectations—a complete windfall.
After all, it had come from a boss-tier monster that existed beyond the wall itself.
Just then.
Flash!
A black light flickered before his eyes.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!!!
A beam of black light tore across the bridge.
A long scar was carved into the ground beneath him.
“Damn.”
Jusang rolled with the impact, quickly regaining his stance.
Truth be told, the dodge was half luck.
If he hadn’t memorized all of Barcan’s skills and traits, that last strike would have split him in two.
That’s right.
Now it was starting to sink in.
“Too delicious a morsel to yield to another.”
The real game was only now beginning.
[Barcan activates the trait Domain of Subjugation!]
Gray smoke crept outward, trailing Barcan’s shadow.
Footstep.
He walks.
But that alone was enough to make a significant portion of the raiding party shake their heads or writhe in place.
“Ugh….”
“So dizzy….”
Thud!
Crash!
Those who lost consciousness and collapsed kept appearing in rapid succession.
‘Cheating from the very start, I see.’
The Domain of Subjugation is an aura-type trait.
Once you enter the circle extending to a radius of forty-five meters, you’re crushed beneath the authority of a demon—that’s how it works.
Already, most of the fifty had either lost consciousness or become incapacitated.
The raid party’s numerical advantage had simply evaporated.
“Barcan! That one’s my prey! Didn’t you say you’d leave him to me!”
Jeroksaar’s voice rose in protest.
“Word of our presence here will reach the Empire soon enough. They’ll send a subjugation force—and it’ll include knights, plenty of them.”
“Knights? You mean those thrilling opponents are coming?”
“Yes. We’ll have plenty of entertainment ahead. So. Drop your interest in this one.”
Not a request—a command.
There was no gap in his tone for any argument to slip through.
“…Understood.”
Jeroksaar reluctantly withdrew.
As he did, he flashed a cruel smile at the Master and the rest.
“Poor bastards. You would’ve at least had a clean death if I’d taken you on.”
* * *
The Master’s gaze turned toward Barcan.
He too was looking this way, smiling broadly.
“I’m rather looking forward to this fight. So don’t show any openings trying to protect the weak, and don’t waste any opportunities.”
“I appreciate the advice, but you’ve done nothing but lose this whole time—where’s this confidence coming from?”
“Ha ha. True, I’ve given you plenty of ugly moments. But from now on, things will be different.”
Step.
Barcan closed the distance to the Master without hesitation.
Just a little more.
Just a little further.
Almost there now.
And the moment Barcan’s aura was about to touch his feet—
Now!
The Master dropped a small vial he’d been holding.
Shatter!
The glass broke, and the liquid inside spilled out.
In an instant, it began tracing a massive circle across the ground.
“…A barrier?”
“That’s right. I didn’t know what you’d like, so I prepared the most flashy thing I could.”
A demon-exclusive trap made using Holy Oil and Myrrh of the Magi received from Amy.
-Connect. Link. Amplify.
Sacred characters emerged in succession.
Ornate patterns rapidly filled the gaps in the ritual.
“Barcan!”
Lizelna cried out in shock.
The aura pouring forth was clearly of extraordinary power.
-Holy. Punishment. Purification.
Not yet.
Still not enough.
The Master clenched his teeth so hard they might shatter, pouring everything into each step of the ritual’s unfolding.
-Layer. Layer. Layer layer layer layer layer….
To the limit.
And beyond the limit.
Burning everything.
Even the last drop of mana remaining.
The moment the final character was inscribed.
[Holy Demon Sealing ‘Twilight’s Judge’ activates!]
From below.
Upward.
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
A column of sacred force erupted skyward.
The earth trembled beneath them.
Wind twisted into a gale, then descended as a typhoon.
‘I’m not even hoping to kill him with this.’
There was no need to annihilate him.
Just enough to rattle him would suffice.
Once he met the conditions for subjugation, she could strip away his power and create a new variable in this fight.
Hehehehe….
After nearly a minute of this, the beam of light finally began to fade, slowly growing pale.
* * *
“Hah. Hah. Hah….”
Jusang drew ragged breaths.
Her heart felt ready to burst, but she couldn’t afford the luxury of composing herself.
‘Did it work?’
A masterpiece crafted over more than an hour.
A culminating strike drawing on countless techniques and vast knowledge.
No matter how powerful a demon, they couldn’t walk away unscathed.
And yet.
That small hope….
Thud.
It vanished with the sound of footsteps.
He was walking out of the smoke.
And completely unbothered.
Rattling him? Hardly.
All she’d done was give him a sauna.
“Is that all you’ve prepared? If that’s the only thing you’re betting on, I’m sorely disappointed.”
Barcan brushed the dust from his body with casual flicks of his hand.
Even his show of strength was—
“I was just testing how strong you are. You’re as disgustingly durable as the rumors said.”
Still, she had achieved one thing.
[The Saint-Demon Sealing Strike has created an opening within Barcan’s inner being.]
A small wound upon the soul.
This could only be exploited after dealing considerable damage to his body, but—
She had laid the groundwork for delivering that culminating blow.
“Hmm. Still breathing, I see. Then let me try a gentle attack, and you do your best to defend.”
An exchange of offense and defense.
Soon an utterly unreasonable strike would come flying at her.
One that could sever life with a single slash.
“Sorry, but while I love dishing it out, I hate taking it.”
She could admit it now.
She couldn’t match him in raw power.
Tap.
Jusang took a light step backward.
If she couldn’t match him in strength, then she simply wouldn’t.
[Matching Manipulation App is now active!]
With this, she could pull off something amusing.
She’d already charged the battery to one hundred percent using the Heart of the Volcano.
A tiny troll-shaped emoticon made a playful gesture.
And then.
Something changed.
[Searching for members…]
Every being that had entered the dungeon from the outside fell within the scope of the Matching Manipulation App.
Even a demon couldn’t escape the system’s constraints.
“Surely not….”
Barcan’s expression hardened for the first time.
He felt a transcendent force working against his will.
“Stop this at once!”
Crackle!
A tremendous surge of demonic power crashed down.
Materialized black weapons rushed toward the main character.
“It’s already too late.”
I should have obliterated you the moment I saw you, rather than indulging in this hunt.
[Battery drops to 1%!]
[Insufficient power.]
[Switching to Battery Saver Mode.]
Whirrrr!
Black smoke billowed from Barcan’s body and connected to the main character.
[Demon ‘Barcan’ joins the team as a new member!]
The final empty slot in the team was now filled.
“We’re in the same boat now.”
A new slave is always welcome.
* * *
“…….”
Barcan moved his fingers slowly.
Writhe.
A fierce resistance.
He’d only thought about killing the human in his mind, but a heavy pain bloomed near his heart.
As if receiving a warning.
Don’t do anything that undermines teamwork.
[The Matching Manipulation App’s Conditional Command Authority has been activated!]
[You can earn additional rewards if you make a significant contribution to the team.]
Authority held as the team leader.
[A portion of the Dragon Essence contained in the Heart of the Volcano is consumed.]
Shackles to bind a superior species are added.
“Barcan! Are you alright? What on earth just happened?”
Lizelna shouted repeatedly, but Barcan didn’t answer.
His mind was occupied entirely with retracing everything that had occurred until now.
And after a brief moment.
When all his thoughts had settled, what emerged from Barcan’s mouth was pure admiration.
“You were aiming for this from the beginning?”
It was praise for an adversary.
The courage to advance against an overwhelmingly superior foe.
Meticulous calculation rather than reckless audacity or bravado.
Even the cunning to read the opponent’s mind and lay down the groundwork.
All of it.
Perfect.
There was nothing to fault.
“Against a strong opponent, brute combat is hopeless. Exploiting an opening is the only way.”
“Indeed, admirable.”
A satisfied smile played at the corners of Barcan’s mouth.
Elation and fulfillment felt for the first time in over a century.
And because of it.
“Release this constraint, hand over the Heart of the Volcano, and I will guarantee the lives of every human in this place.”
He offered mercy.
Something that would never happen under normal circumstances.
“It doesn’t sound like a joke… you’re serious.”
“Yes. I am giving you a chance right now.”
Such bravado despite the system’s constraints binding him.
The main character checked the Matching Manipulation App once more.
The restraint still held firm.
Given how powerful he was, there was no telling how long the constraint would last, but at the very least he wouldn’t be able to take any action that harmed the team.
Yes, that much was certain.
So why?
Why did this inexplicable unease creep in?
But.
“My answer is no.”
Folding the entire game on a single bluff when victory was already assured made no sense.
“From now on, I will seize victory not as Barcan, but as one of the demon tribe.”
At once, Barcan did something that defied everyone’s expectations.

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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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