I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 9

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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 9. The White Ghost, Snow Woman (2)
At the hostile girl’s reaction, Felix immediately unleashed his magical power.
Crack!
[The chess piece ‘Felix’ activates the skill ‘Black Lightning’!]
As befitted a Mid-Boss Monster of difficulty level five, a terrible force erupted forth.
And in that very instant.
Slash!
The sound of something being cut rang out.
At the same time.
Thud!
Felix’s head fell to the floor.
A crimson heat still shimmered in the air where the blade had passed, traced like a scar across the void.
How insane.
Just how fast was that?
It’s a blade so swift that there’s no time to parry, let alone evade.
Yet here, showing fear or hesitation would be absolutely fatal.
“Tsk. For a first greeting, that’s rather excessive. I came all this way to pat the head of a Cursed Clan child we haven’t seen in ages, yet look at you now.”
As arrogant as possible. As though thoroughly bored.
The key was to brush away the fragments of Felix clinging to his shoulders.
Whoosh.
As he approached the torch held by the chess soldier, the master’s form gradually became visible.
Hair as white as snowflakes.
Eyes that held a sapphire blue, as though precious gems had been transplanted in their place.
And white robes besides.
It was as though he stood before a mirror, facing his own reflection.
“Who are you…?”
The girl’s mouth opened slowly.
From the moment she glimpsed the master bearing the distinctive features of the Cursed Clan, confusion seized her.
‘Just as I thought it would work.’
The Yeonseok Cho root purchased before entering the Sewers.
This had the effect of temporarily changing the color of one’s eyes and hair.
True, the effect lasted only a few hours, but that was more than sufficient to pull off the deception.
[Plunder Condition: Make them mistake you for an overwhelming master.]
[Reward: You may randomly plunder one of the target’s unique abilities, traits, stats, or memory items.]
Honestly, it was a brutally difficult and demanding condition.
Yet the reward for achieving it was far too tempting to abandon.
‘At least I have to try.’
Hadn’t he made all manner of preparations for precisely this?
The master immersed himself fully in the character he had created.
“I heard there was a capable child in this Labyrinth, so I came myself. Yet a youngster from far below in the hierarchy presumes to defy me?”
A life lived in complete isolation from the world, doing nothing but repeating terror.
And so a variable that broke the pattern in such a way could not help but shake her.
And yet.
“Something feels off. I’ve wandered this Labyrinth for countless ages, but I’ve never encountered one of the Cursed Clan in such a manner before.”
Tsk. Her instincts were sharper than expected.
This much wasn’t enough to satisfy the condition of being mistaken for someone overwhelming.
Plan A had to be considered a failure.
“You dare suspect me? Very well. At times like this, a sting of the whip speaks louder than words.”
Plan B was to use the chess pieces to subdue her.
While the ‘Pawns,’ who made up the greatest number, bought time, he would apply pressure through the ‘Bishops,’ ‘Rooks,’ and ‘Knights.’
And finally, the King would render her unable to fight with his charge.
“Play along with me. Don’t let her get hurt.”
Commit fully. Strike as if to kill.
The master commanded his forces with practiced ease.
He drew out every ounce of their latent potential, making them execute a formation as precise as if drawn with a ruler.
Up to that point, it was flawless.
Yet.
Crackle-crackle-crunch!
Crash-crash-crash-crash!
“Roooarrr!”
“Aaaah!”
The real problem was that every chess piece shattered like rotted straw each time the girl drew her sword.
Damn it.
He’d spent hours preparing these pieces, and yet she was reducing them to rubble in under a minute?
“Ho. Impressive. Not bad at all.”
More than impressive, actually.
Worthy of praise that would exhaust his voice.
* * *
“…….”
The girl, too, found the current situation bewildering.
‘He didn’t bring the summoned creatures from outside… he’s raising the ones that exist here by slaying them.’
A distinctly Labyrinthine aura radiated from the summoned creatures.
Proof that he’d done the work himself.
Of course, it wasn’t anything remarkably impressive.
It was merely strong by Labyrinth standards.
Nowhere near her own tier.
Yet the real problem lay elsewhere.
The Cursed Clan specialized exclusively in swordsmanship.
At most, they could manage to raise spectral foxes—that was the limit.
But Corpse Manipulation, a fundamentally alien art? And deployed with such mastery at that.
‘And he hasn’t even drawn his sword yet.’
Her opponent seemed to be savoring the moment, offering praise as though he were letting her have her way, content and amused.
Even if the summoned creatures had coordinated their assault, she would have held the advantage—yet he showed no inclination to move himself.
It was a sure sign of his leisure.
Perhaps he was still concealing more summoned creatures in reserve.
If he could control this many, he must possess considerable expertise in Corpse Manipulation.
If this weren’t a Labyrinth of inferior grade…
If it were a place where far mightier superior species teemed….
Could this man command even those creatures?
She frowned.
The girl bit her lip, visibly uncomfortable.
Her thoughts grew more tangled by the moment.
How long did this tense stalemate continue?
It was Ju-sang who broke the silence first.
“It seems I must step in directly, whether I will or no.”
He let his gaze drift.
Cautiously, he drew forth Melseong-ryu.
First Technique—Moonlight—spilled luminescence into the air.
How was this?
Surely even for a specter of her renown, the Imperial Knights’ unique swordcraft would prove taxing?
This was the very technique known for severing stars themselves—
Craaack!
The girl shattered Moonlight with a single stroke.
Fragments of the broken moon scattered through the void.
“That’s… the technique the knights use. How have you come to master that sword?”
The girl’s wariness deepened noticeably.
The playful smirk she’d worn at the start had vanished entirely.
Like a cat with its fur on end, she held her ground at a fixed distance, hissing silently.
“I had occasion to indulge in it as a small diversion. To verify whether Snow Woman still retains her original fragrance, I required a blade of sufficient caliber to test against.”
“So you were deliberately restraining your strength? To gauge my capacity?”
“Hmm?”
“In this girl’s limited understanding, the Moonlight technique just now appeared far weaker than it should be—crude and utterly unremarkable, if I may say so.”
“…You’re right. Precisely observed. I was indeed restraining myself.”
“I thought as much. It seemed far too weak.”
This girl spared no words.
Standing before someone whose life force had been wrung so thoroughly dry that their belly ached.
‘Even this much won’t suffice?’
Ju-sang’s eyes darted repeatedly into the empty air.
He’d already deployed contingencies B and C, yet the Plunder Condition remained unfulfilled.
Would he need to demonstrate something far more conclusive?
Then there was nothing for it but to use Plan D.
Ju-sang retrieved the Iphrasia Flower Petal and the Lucid Dream potion that he’d obtained from Felix.
His body was already straining dangerously, and he’d hoped to avoid using them if possible….
But a man must know how to cross a perilous bridge when the need arises.
Drip.
He mixed the petal and potion in a 2:3.5 ratio and let the mixture fall onto the dagger.
Then.
[The dagger “Dryad’s Soul” has been released!]
The engraved deer sigil on the blade’s surface began to emit a soft radiance.
Felix would never have intended to sell this in the first place….
This dagger was once wielded by an emperor.
Though it had only been used for ceremonial purposes, it was treated as a Sacred Relic bearing the emperor’s dignity.
Crack.
In an instant, an immense aura erupted outward.
An absolute sovereign’s presence—incomparable to anything he had felt before—rippled through the air.
But this was merely a manifestation of the emperor’s imposing force, nothing more.
The blade’s actual offensive power was decidedly ordinary.
Still, it seemed that much was already more than sufficient.
“This can’t be….”
The girl stood frozen with wide eyes, having retreated over ten meters in the face of that suffocating pressure.
Her lungs felt as though they might burst from the sheer weight of it.
“Come then. I shall grant three moves as a courtesy to a junior.”
Ju-sang flicked his fingers toward his opponent.
Silently praying she wouldn’t actually charge.
* * *
What is fear?
The most primal instinct all living things strive to escape.
Upon reflection, she had always been the one who inspired it.
She was a predator—severing her targets and consuming their terror.
And yet.
‘I’m trembling?’
The girl gazed at Ju-sang, seized by an involuntary shiver.
An overwhelming emotion she had never encountered before in her life.
Her heart pounded in rapid succession.
Driven by the awe she felt radiating from within herself.
“Why do you hesitate? If you won’t come, I shall advance.”
Ju-sang took a step forward.
Oddly, his stride seemed unusually small and tentative—
Bang.
The girl was forced to retreat twice as far as before.
…….
Now she was certain.
Her opponent was a monster dwelling at a height far, far above her own.
Unless she recovered all eighteen of the lost Ice Flower Divine Sword techniques—
No, even if she mastered them to their apex, she had no confidence she could take even a single arm of his.
Combat offered no path forward.
Only one choice remained.
“You said earlier that you deliberately sought me out. What is it that you want?”
With those words.
[Condition fulfilled.]
Multiple status windows appeared before Ju-sang.
Excellent. Success.
His heart had nearly stopped from the strain, but somehow he’d managed to deceive his opponent.
[You have plundered the skill “Sword Body Unity”!]
[Sword Body Unity (Passive)]
[Acquisition Difficulty: S]
[Effect: Understanding of swordsmanship increases by 100%. All sword techniques gain 10% increased potency.]
Ah!
Yes, this was the taste.
The very essence of a skill that anyone with devotion to the blade would covet above all others.
I’d managed to acquire it this early in the game.
‘Even with the same level of swordcraft, I’m starting with a ten percent win rate built in.’
And with my comprehension increased by a hundred percent, my speed in learning secret techniques should be roughly twice as fast as anyone else’s.
Ju-sang felt a peculiar sensation flowing through him as he swung the blade.
Whoosh!
The sword traced a gentle arc through the air.
Unlike before, it now carried both grace and brilliance.
Dozens of sword paths seemed to unfold before his eyes at once.
Insane.
No wonder the Calamities were called natural disasters.
But the girl still hadn’t noticed that her skill had vanished.
Well, even without that, she had plenty of broken abilities stacked up, so there was no way she’d notice right now.
Good. I’ve built up enough momentum.
‘Time to wrap this up.’
It was time to achieve the purpose I’d come here for.
“I don’t want much. Only to stop watching the Cursed Clan suffer.”
“I’m… not sure what you mean.”
“I’ll set you free. Not commanded by someone else, but living a life of your own choosing. And I’ll also find a way to get your sister back for you.”
“……!?”
At Ju-sang’s words, earthquakes erupted in the girl’s pupils.
Freedom.
Freedom?
A concept she’d never dared even dream about.
She’d lived her entire life seeking permission for everything—even the trivial necessities of sleeping, eating, and sustaining herself.
She’d thought it was natural. Thought it was her destined fate.
But then.
A powerful stranger had suddenly appeared and cracks had begun spreading through her entire existence.
The biggest crack was her sister.
Her only blood relative, whose face was growing dimmer with each passing moment.
And yet, the hand she’d held at the very end….
The warmth she’d felt in her palm had not faded.
It remained in her still-frozen heart as a small flame.
-Sister. I’ll wait for you. I’m… I’ll hold on somehow. Until we meet again. Okay?
She had to find her.
No matter what price she had to pay.
After long deliberation, the girl cautiously opened her mouth.
“There’s Loneliness lodged in my heart.”
“I know.”
“If I leave this place carelessly, I’ll die instantly.”
“Didn’t I just say I know?”
Naturally, I’d already thought of a way to deal with it.
“In exchange, dealing with the Loneliness might cause some side effects.”
“For example?”
“One of your abilities might disappear.”
It might have already.
“That’s fine with me.”
The girl nodded.
I had her consent.
“Stay still. Don’t move at all while I’m dealing with the Loneliness.”
Ju-sang poured all his remaining mana into the blade.

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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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