I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 5

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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 5. The Sewers (1)
First encounter with a Knight.
It goes without saying that meeting a blood-crazed murderer usually ends in a bad ending—eight times out of ten.
Think calmly about it.
Not a single clue, not a single word or gesture, can be overlooked.
“It’s unfortunate that he’s not from the 33rd Cohort, but since we’ve come to this, I’ll handle it myself,” the Knight muttered, almost to himself.
A single phrase spoken like an aside.
For some reason, this one was hunting the recently summoned Heroes from the 33rd Cohort.
Not for interrogation or capture either—but with the clear intention to finish them off.
“I am indeed a Hero, but I’ve been here for over a year now.”
Jusang answered without changing his expression at all.
If he’d been here a year, he wouldn’t be cut down on the spot.
Unlike the friend with the missing left arm standing before him, that meant he was worth using.
“Then whoever left this mark must have already departed? Though judging by the concentration, it seems quite recent.”
“I’m afraid I can’t say for certain. As you know, this is quite a thoroughfare—many people come and go.”
Fortunately, the Starting Point was always bustling.
Identifying a single person wasn’t easy.
Just a few moments before, there had been over a dozen vagrants buying and selling goods.
“Hmm. If it was a year ago, that would be around the time the Second Princess just completed her coming-of-age ceremony.”
“The Second Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony was six months ago, not a year, as I recall.”
“Ah. Was it? I must have gotten confused with all my duties piling up. But then—might I ask which Raid you participated in under the Hero Conscription Law?”
“I participated in the Raid hunting the Named Monster Peltugon. We rolled around in Yongin for two weeks—I looked like a mess by the end of it.”
“Hmm.”
At Jusang’s words, Bennermorph removed his hand from his sword.
The answer had been flawless, with nothing to grab onto—his suspicion had lifted.
“Forgive me. When you do this kind of work, paranoia is something you can’t escape without it consuming you.”
“It’s fine. I understand full well how grave your duties are.”
It seemed like things would end on a pleasantly warm note.
Or so he was thinking.
“But here’s the thing.”
Something had nagged at Bennermorph. He scratched his chin with his fingertip.
“If you’re a Hero who survived the Peltugon Raid, I should know your face. But strangely, I have no memory of ever seeing you before.”
The atmosphere shifted abruptly.
Like a beast of prey baring its fangs at defenseless prey, Bennermorph’s presence twisted menacingly.
Had naming such a famous Raid been a blunder?
He’d thought it was fine because it had been a large-scale operation with over a thousand participants.
Just how paranoid was this man?
“Are you saying I’m lying right now?”
“Well, I can’t be certain. But there is one surefire way to verify whether you’re telling the truth or not.”
The newly arrived Hero was weak as a newborn babe.
Even with outstanding potential.
Even with suspicious knowledge of the Empire.
His body remained unnaturally close to that of an ordinary mortal.
“If you’ve truly been here over a year, and you came back alive from Yongin, you should have no trouble dodging this.”
He was going to test him directly.
Once the Knight had made up his mind, there was no way to turn back his decision.
“Could you at least allow me a sword for self-defense? My weapon was destroyed in a Raid a few days ago.”
“It probably won’t be much help, but if it puts your mind at ease.”
Bennermorph nodded slightly.
“Here. Hero.”
Jusang took the sword handed to him by a soldier and readied his stance.
Knight Bennermorph.
His distinguishing features were that he wielded a left-handed sword.
And that when he draws, his blade’s trajectory shifts direction twice in the middle.
Blocking a regular Knight’s sword with his current specs was madness.
But with a left-handed sword…
‘If anyone knows how to wield a sword in their left hand better than anyone else, it’s me.’
There was a chance.
Just one.
A single opening where he could exploit his opponent’s moment of carelessness.
‘If I wait to see and react, I’m already too late.’
Foresight that transcends mere prediction.
Drawing on countless accumulated data and experience, calculating the single outcome with the highest probability.
Sweat trickling down. Breath steady and measured.
‘One.’
Shing.
The Knight’s blade is drawn.
The flash of steel cuts across the surface of the stagnant water, scattering blinding light.
‘Two.’
Acceleration upon acceleration.
Crash!
Through the spray of sparks, a blade of pale blue steel comes screaming toward him.
‘Now!’
Jusan swung his blade with his left hand.
A margin of error measured in tenths of a second — zero tolerance.
Two swords locked into a single trajectory with perfect precision.
Clang!
The impact courses through his wrist, tremendous and jarring.
His stats had been elevated to levels that could be called abnormal.
Yet in this moment, he felt it anew.
Just how absurdly overpowered these Knights truly were.
“Ugh!”
Jusan was thrown back violently, a heavy groan torn from his throat.
The impact felt heavy enough to have cracked bone.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
As Jusan’s blade struck the murky water pooled on the ground, the surface split open more than five meters in every direction.
“Haha! Look at you sprawled in the mud like that!”
“Well, at least he’s still alive.”
“Sir Bennermorph’s Quick-Draw Technique is astounding, no matter how many times I see it!”
The soldiers erupted in cheers.
It looked like nothing more than sheer luck, from every angle.
And yet, there was one person.
“What…is this?”
Bennermorph’s expression was clouded with shock.
* * *
“…….”
Bennermorph’s eyes grew cold and distant.
Even using only a fraction of his full power — roughly one-tenth — he was still a Knight unleashing a single Quick-Draw strike.
He had expected his opponent to be incapable of reacting at all.
If his opponent possessed any real skill, dodging would have been the limit — getting out of the way, nothing more.
That was how it should have gone.
But instead.
‘He parried it…’
Not merely deflected. Not a simple evasion.
A true intercept.
It would have been impossible unless he read the speed and trajectory with perfect accuracy.
A strange sensation.
Travelling up through his wrist, unfamiliar and unsettling.
If that man had possessed the magical reserves to back up the strike he’d just unleashed.
If he had an Aura or some unique ability of that caliber.
If he had…
Then who would be lying on the ground right now?
‘At the very least, it’s clear he didn’t just cross over from nowhere.’
This wasn’t the target he’d been looking for.
And yet his blood was burning more fiercely than if he’d found what he sought.
“Sir Bennermorph, in my judgment this man has lost your wager. What do you wish to do with him?”
“His earlier answers seemed suspicious as well. I’d recommend dragging him to the interrogation chamber for questioning. Give me three hours, and I’ll have him spilling memories from the day he was born.”
The soldiers were falling over themselves with ridiculous proposals, trying to curry favor with Bennermorph.
“…All of you, silence. Before I beat it into you.”
Bennermorph’s expression darkened with displeasure.
“Pardon?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean….”
“I am not the sort to suffer insults from men like you. So I suggest you watch your tongue.”
The Empire held vast territories, yet it had not conquered all there was to conquer.
Dangerous enemies and troublesome factions remained.
For that reason.
Those with genuine ability received treatment befitting their worth.
Regardless of whether they hailed from the Empire or not.
At least, that was how Bennermorph saw it.
“If you have nowhere else to go, I can take you on as a novice Knight. With a bit of polish, you seem the sort who could become quite a formidable Knight in time.”
“What? A n-novice Knight?”
“Are you speaking in earnest?”
The soldiers cried out in shock at Bennermorph’s words.
Some of them even cupped their ears as if unsure they’d heard correctly.
And small wonder.
A Knight was nothing short of a symbol of the Empire itself.
Never in living memory had a Knight been offered to a Hero.
“I distinctly remember telling you all to be quiet.”
That was the beginning.
Splurch!
A spray of crimson blood erupted.
Before anyone could so much as react, the bodies of the two soldiers who’d spoken first cleaved cleanly in half.
“Does anyone else wish to speak?”
“Ugh… urgh….”
…….
The remaining soldiers frantically clamped their hands over their mouths.
They’d grasped, in that instant, that a single peep would leave them in the same condition.
“Well? How does the position of novice Knight appeal to you?”
Bennermorph smiled smoothly, as if nothing had happened, and made his offer once more.
Hmm.
The sentiment was appreciated, certainly.
[Skill ‘Falling Star Swordsmanship’ has been seized.]
[Acquisition Difficulty: A]
[Description: A unique sword technique used by the Knights of the Empire, exclusively taught to the elite among Imperial citizens. It is said that at its zenith, this art allows one to bisect even the stars of heaven.]
[Bonus Effect: During close-range combat, Strength and Speed each increase by 10%.]
What he wanted was already in hand.
He’d already stolen the Falling Star Swordsmanship, a technique that only official Knights could learn—there was no real reason to walk the path to formal knighthood.
His military service had left him with PTSD besides.
And come to think of it, being sent to the military before the accident was pretty thoroughly unjust.
“I’m grateful for the generous offer, but as someone of Hero origin, I’m uncertain whether I possess the fortitude to bear such a burden.”
It was better to refuse politely here.
If Bennermorph happened to notice that one of his skills had vanished, things could become very awkward indeed.
Though, well—the Falling Star Swordsmanship could be relearned eventually, so he hoped he wouldn’t feel too aggrieved about it.
Having done it once, the second time would surely be easier, wouldn’t it?
Or perhaps not.
“It’s a shame. Should you change your mind at any point, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I shall be waiting.”
Bennermorph handed over a Calling Card with his number inscribed upon it.
Well, well.
This was an unexpected windfall.
A Knight never carelessly distributed his personal information.
Possessing this alone made it a treasure of immense value.
‘I thought mastering even basic swordplay would be a respectable start….’
And yet he’d obtained the Falling Star Swordsmanship itself.
The beginning was turning out better than he’d dared hope.
* * *
After the incident concluded.
Jushang made his way to the Sewers at the heart of Hanam.
‘To see the ending, I’ll need a variable different from last time.’
This was the part he’d agonized over most.
Regardless of how his right hand had been restored, he couldn’t in good conscience claim it alone would be enough to strike down the Emperor.
After weighing countless possibilities, the conclusion I’d reached was….
…to turn aside from killing someone who, by all rights, should die.
A Calamity.
A being capable of toppling an entire nation.
That’s the target.
‘High growth potential. If I can uncover weaknesses too, that’s ideal.’
There were several candidates.
The first one was trapped in the depths of this sewer right now.
In the future, it would roam here—a monster possessed of such overwhelming power that even ten Knights of Bennermorph’s caliber striking at once would be no match for it.
My purpose in coming to this sewer was to carefully cultivate and win over that creature.
‘Let me check my current status first.’
Ju-sang activated his personal status window.
Curious to see just what level of power he’d been granted.
Ding!
The status window flickered to life.

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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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