I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 54

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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 54. Job Quest (1)
A massive barrier dividing Ha-nam and Kang-dong.
There is only one way to pass through this place, guarded with iron discipline by countless soldiers.
“Jo-jang! Here—forged credentials!”
“Aaaah, I-I made a mistake! Please, just this once, forgive me! I beg you!”
A skeletal man was dragged out with desperate screams.
He thrashed his limbs wildly, pleading all the while—
Crack!
One swing of the axe, and his head was gone.
A sight as mundane as cleaving kindling.
In Ha-nam, it was routine.
“Hm. That makes fifteen today?”
“Stupid fool. If you’re going to forge papers, at least take them to a named artist. But no—you wanted to cut corners, and now look at you. Caught on the spot.”
Mockery rippled through the guards.
In Ha-nam, where human lives were treated like insects, another’s death was nothing but a punchline.
“The omens are ominous, my lord. Should we by any chance be discovered, I humbly entreat you to spare yourself and preserve your health.”
Heuk-bi beside me was just as anxious, I could tell.
Unlike Baek Seol-gi, who could slip into the subspace, Heuk-bi had no choice but to cross the checkpoint in person.
Fortunately, Nam Goong Su-ho had provided me with an identity recognized throughout the Empire.
He’d had it made by Wang Yu, a master forger from the martial world, so there shouldn’t be any major problems.
At least not against the level of inspection in Kang-dong.
“Stop worrying and think instead about how to grow stronger as a Yin-Yang Master.”
“Is not becoming stronger my very duty to serve you? Of course I make ceaseless effort each day.”
Hm.
Hearing that keeps making me hesitate to say this, but—
“Why do you keep calling me ‘Your Majesty’?”
It’s not like I’m some ancient king.
My face burns just thinking about it.
“Teacher and sovereign are as heaven itself. Especially since your name is already that of a true sovereign, and Your Majesty is the only proper title—what else would I use? Moreover, since you now lead the Eo-yeong-sa, I see this as nothing but destiny.”
Trust a Yin-Yang Master to weave words like silk thread.
Well, if that’s how he wants it, there’s no point arguing.
How long we talked this way, I wasn’t sure.
Finally, my turn came.
……
The bearded Jo-jang examined my credentials with meticulous care.
“Citizen Grade confirmed. Welcome to your residence in Kang-dong.”
Of course—we were through.
“This one’s approved as well. Foreign E-4 visa, with five years remaining validity.”
Heuk-bi passed without incident.
Clank!
As the gate swung open, a markedly different landscape revealed itself.
Far more developed than Ha-nam, which had been nothing but shanties.
Still weathered and shabby, yet buildings of two or more stories were common enough.
The shops and restaurants looked considerably more refined as well.
“First, let’s find nearby lodging.”
My funds were ample, but I’d need to reinforce weapons and the costs would be astronomical—guilds, and countless other expenses both internal and external.
We arrived late at night at a rundown motel in the Amsa-dong district.
Iron bars hung to prevent robbery, and behind the counter sat a hefty club.
It was clearly far from cozy.
Still, at 100,000 won a night with breakfast included, it wasn’t a bad bargain for this neighborhood.
“Must be nice, you lazy bastards. Some of us out here work like dogs just to scrape by each day.”
The drunk employee squinted his bleary eyes.
He’d taken one look at our youthful faces and decided to mock us.
The fact that this motel was in the roughest part of Amsa-dong helped his assumption.
“Insolent! How dare you speak such words in our presence!”
Heuk-bi snapped immediately.
“Pfahaha! Insolent, he says. Fine—your room rate just tripled. Don’t like it? Get out. Of course, if you try sleeping rough around here, your chances of winding up dead are very high.”
He wouldn’t budge.
‘As it happens, this works out well.’
I had questions about the situation in Kang-dong anyway, and I’d been wanting to save on lodging.
To think they’d provoke us of their own accord.
We should thank them for the opportunity.
Ju-sang was slowly drawing in magical power.
Crack.
The motel counter began to freeze rapidly.
“How dare you—what exactly are you saying right now?”
It was Baek Seol-gi, who had arrived late after buying snacks at a roadside shop.
“C-cold…”
The employee exhaled breath that had turned frigid.
A bitter cold so severe that even tears froze solid.
In a few more seconds, death would be certain.
“Seol-gi.”
“Yes.”
“That’s enough.”
“Yes… understood.”
Baek Seol-gi, looking somewhat disappointed, reined in her chill.
“Hah… hah… ah…”
“No matter how bad your drinking habit is, you shouldn’t say such things to a guest. From now on, perhaps you should restrain yourself with alcohol.”
“I’m—I’m so sorry. I’ve always been told that drinking is my problem, and I’ve decided to quit it entirely, starting now.”
“That’s fine, very fine. Then, how about you stay in our best room here for a few days and let us see how well you keep your temperance?”
“Pardon?”
“What is it—you don’t like the idea?”
Ju-sang glanced over at Seol-gi.
Seol-gi’s expression turned feline as she flexed her fingers, showing her nails.
“N-no, not at all! I mean, yes. Yes! A suite room! With a mirror on the ceiling and everything. A bathtub that spouts bubbles. Lighting that sparkles and shines—we’ll have the finest one ready for you right away!”
Though, truth be told, I hadn’t asked for quite that much.
Still, it seems I won’t have to worry about lodging and meals for a while.
Shortly after, a quite respectable meal was delivered to the room.
“There’s… such a taste as this?”
Heuk-bi had taken a bite of the breaded pork cutlet and stir-fried pork, and his eyes widened round.
Having eaten only simple, clean food until now, he had no resistance to the heavy MSG in such dishes.
Indeed, wasn’t the combination of breaded pork cutlet and stir-fried pork—the soul food of men—enough to break down even a Daoist who’d endured wall-facing meditation?
“Heh. This is but one of the many benefits that come from being with Ju-sang.”
“Now I understand why you follow the Immortal Cult so devotedly. Especially the martial skill you displayed just now—it drew nothing but admiration.”
Heuk-bi immediately spoke of Baek Seol-gi in elevated terms.
“Hmm, you have a discerning eye. Then, are you saying you wish to stand with me rather than with the foreign merchant?”
“Surely a junior of the martial world ought to stand alongside a senior, should they not?”
“Heh heh. I like that answer.”
So this is why people speak of bonds forged through school, region, and blood.
With just a few words, she’d won over one calamity to her side.
‘How ominous. Why does this feel so foreboding?’
Flashing through my mind: the Saint Mother of the Dark History and the war with the Hundred Ghosts.
Perhaps these dangerous explosives are sprouting and growing even now—more threatening than the Emperor himself.
* * *
The next morning.
The three of us left the motel and cut across the city center.
‘The key is what I choose… but this is something I’ve been wrestling with right up to the end.’
With an ability like Ability Theft at my disposal, it might seem I’m not bound by job class at all.
But that’s not truly the case.
Rather, precisely because of this power, I must choose a job that’s both unusual and novel—something that can’t be stolen through theft—something genuinely useful.
After walking for nearly thirty minutes, we arrived before a massive gate.
Kang-dong’s landmark and oldest resident—a dungeon that has been challenged for nearly five hundred years without conquest.
The super-large labyrinth: the Twilight Battlefield.
“Wow. Ju-sang. Look at this. It’s absolutely enormous. I’d have to spread my arms fifteen, sixteen times over and still fall short!”
Baek Seol-gi bounced about with both arms spread wide.
“I’ve heard that ordinarily, if such cursed gates aren’t closed quickly, the things inside come pouring out. I wonder if we should be concerned.”
“This labyrinth is a Closed Labyrinth where Outbreaks don’t occur, so we’re fine.”
The Empire had its reasons for deliberately leaving this labyrinth unconquered and untouched.
You could obtain at least three hundred different job classes from within.
“Come now, if you wish to grow into a proper warrior, why not seek our consultation? We’ll teach you the strategies for success inside the labyrinth!”
“Mages above all are the flower of every profession. If you wish to become Semi-Noble, come this way!”
“Those struggling under Citizen Grade status or taxes—why not consider the production path? At least you won’t have to worry about money.”
Before the gate, countless recruiters had set up shop, each promoting different professions.
Occasionally, those showing promise were scouted away by guilds.
‘What I’m looking for isn’t here.’
Unlike the popular professions, the minor ones had nearly extinct acquisition routes.
And yet.
Like a pearl buried in mud.
The real treasure always lies where others’ eyes cannot reach.
[Entering the Twilight Battlefield!]
Breaking through the shimmering surface and stepping inward, an entirely different world opened before him.
As if an invisible line had been drawn down the middle—left and right formed two wholly distinct ecosystems.
“Indeed, they weren’t exaggerating about how distinctive it is.”
“Some people come in just to see this spectacle, so you can imagine.”
The other gate-crossers scattered around them, each expressing their own amazement.
Where the left stretched as a barren highland, the right unfolded into an endless, verdant forest teeming with life.
This was what set the Twilight Battlefield apart from every other place.
[You must now choose one of two factions.]
The Barbarians of the highland and the Elves of the forest.
One had to align with a faction and live among them.
By completing various tasks and sharing hardship and fortune, one could obtain a profession from the guardian deity they revered.
“Young master, which way should we go?”
“In my humble judgment, the Elf race appears far more refined.”
Typically, warriors and tank-class professions undertook their Job Quests with the Barbarians.
Mages, healers, and support classes did theirs with the Elves.
But.
A stagnant pool must choose a far more exceptional path.
“We’re going that way.”
The neutral zone—a buffer between two hostile forces.
That’s where they would make their stand.
* * *
At the same moment.
A vast shadow of war hung over Guangzhou.
The death of Baron Meltiang had lit the fuse.
“Any updates from the martial world?”
Legion Commander Johannes, the Count, spoke up.
Having brought a force of roughly 150,000 men to this place, they had to achieve their objective at any cost.
This was no time to quibble over methods.
“The Nam Goong Family, having lost their patriarch, is taking the vanguard. They’re being supported by Hwa-san and Dang-mun on either side, numbering approximately 30,000 in total.”
Even if the Nam Goong Family, deprived of Nam Goong Su-ho, could be likened to a toothless tiger….
One could not dismiss Hwa-san, a famous sword house, nor Dang-mun, masters of poison and hidden weapons.
“Troublesome opponents showed up from the start. This will be a harsh battle indeed.”
Though they outnumbered them in soldiers, the martial world possessed superior individual strength.
And this was their home ground.
Accounting for their geographical advantage, he had to prepare for staggering casualties.
“Conserve the regular troops as much as possible—deploy the mercenaries to the front lines. Draw them in as deep as you can, then commit the knighthood.”
“The mage battalion will deploy Area-of-Effect Magic the moment we locate masters of supreme rank or above.”
“Have the rangers pursue their supply lines.”
The staff officers began laying out their strategy in earnest.
But just then.
“Commander! The martial world faction has requested an emergency parley!”
A messenger rushed into the command tent.
“A parley now, of all times?”
“Ridiculous. Did they suddenly lose their nerve as war was about to begin?”
The staff officers exchanged scoffs.
“Did they state what purpose this parley serves?”
“They claim to have information regarding the Job Dungeons and Labyrinths that exist in each colony.”
“Job Dungeons and Labyrinths, you say….”
Johannes was well acquainted with those.
They were where the Empire cultivated those who would become its strength.
“But what does that have to do with us?”
“The Immortal Cult is plotting something at one of those locations. The threat level is Colony-Destroying Grade, and Chief Mage Schramote has confirmed its authenticity through Truth Divination Magic.”
Colony-Destroying Grade meant they could lose an entire settlement in one stroke.
Trouble was brewing in the rear.
Serious trouble.
“If you tell us where it is… what’s the price?”
Johannes asked the question as if swallowing molten metal.
He already knew what answer was coming, which made the current situation feel like a nightmare given flesh.
“A complete withdrawal of all forces.”

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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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