I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 107

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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 107. So What About Arthur?

“They’re treating Charlotte like a Returner?”
-Yes, it seems they made that judgment arbitrarily for now.

As the first exam concluded and the results were about to be announced.

Through the Brooch, Krash heard the voice of Crimson Garden transmitted to him, and he caught the entire conversation between Mary and Sigrin.

‘It’s true that Charlotte’s actions have differed quite a bit from before.’

Krash thought that if the situation were reversed, he too would have kept Charlotte foremost in mind.

She was a variable incarnate, after all.

The most likely candidate, in fact.

“But what about that Arthur they mentioned? The fake one?”

A fake Arthur.

This was the first he’d heard of such a person.

Judging by Sigrin and Mary’s reactions, even they seemed unaware of him.

So someone like that actually existed?

‘Is this some other ploy of Arthur’s?’

At the same time, doubt crept into Krash’s mind.

He couldn’t see what Arthur stood to gain from this.

Despite all the unpredictable variables involved, this move seemed far too passive compared to Arthur’s usual patterns.

Passive enough to hide his very identity, no less.

Krash crossed his arms and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

‘I still haven’t confirmed which Cycle this Arthur is in.’

Arthur’s previous Regression had certainly failed.

Once Krash stole his skill, the Arthur that Krash had known never returned.

This current Arthur was definitely someone different.

And one far more passive and cautious than the Arthur Krash knew.

‘But even so, Arthur acting this passively?’

The three women had no idea that Krash had stolen Arthur’s Regression.

So when they observed Arthur, they’d simply thought he was being more careful this time around.

But Krash, who knew the truth, was different.

The fact that Arthur, with no information at all, was being this passive made Krash think in multiple directions.

‘Wait.’

In that moment, Krash’s pupils began to dilate slowly.

A thought flickered through his mind: what if?

‘……I’ve been assuming that the current Arthur only lacks the memories of the cycle I spent with him.’

Since Krash had stolen Arthur’s regression.

He had concluded that at this moment, Arthur had only that one cycle missing from his memory.

But what if that wasn’t the truth?

What if regression wasn’t a concept of the future self ‘receiving’ memories,

but rather ‘carrying’ one’s own memories and returning to the past?

‘The hint is the Memory Transmission Arthur mentioned.’

Krash kept pondering how Arthur had executed the Memory Transmission.

And the moment he obtained today’s information, Krash became certain.

Arthur had brought three women—Sigrin, Mary, and Abela—bound to his regression.

He must have found some method to do it.

But Arthur had his regression stolen by Krash.

As a result, Arthur—who should have returned carrying all his memories—died in the collapsing world.

Then who was the Arthur in this world?

Cycle 8? Cycle 6? Cycle 5? Cycle 2?

No.

‘The Arthur right now might be…’

Cycle 0.

Because the Arthur with memories was dead.

An Arthur with no succeeding memories was an Arthur without even the concept of cycles.

Krash’s face hardened.

Then he slowly swept back the hair from his forehead with his hand.

Beads of sweat formed along the newly exposed brow and trickled down.

It was only a guess.

A guess born from the fact that he hadn’t actually seen Arthur, and the unfolding situation seemed strange.

But as the pieces began to fit together, cold sweat broke across his skin.

The thought struck him that he’d utterly erased the existence of the Returner Arthur.

‘Damn it.’

He’d never expected much from Arthur, but now that it had come to this, his feelings were complicated.

If this was true, then ironically, the reason the three women’s memories could be linked might have been Krash himself.

They existed in a form parasitic on the Regression, after all.

‘It’s still just a theory.’

What mattered most now was that the current Arthur had figured out through some process how the three women came to receive Memory Transmission.

And Krash had figured out who’d given him that information.

‘It has to be Abela.’

Abela—the one Krash had tried to find but who’d hidden herself from sight.

Krash was certain that everything the current Arthur was doing was connected to Abela.

She must have gathered information on Mary and Sigrin through Abela as well.

The situation might have become even messier.

‘……If Arthur sent a false version of himself to hide from Sigrin and Mary that he has no memories of them, that would be manageable. But if Abela figured out that Arthur has no memories, and acted on her own initiative…’

Abela’s purpose in doing that was simple.

She was the type with unusually intense possessive instincts.

Krash rolled his neck slowly.

One wrong spark, and the situation would explode into a three-way conflict between the Returners in an instant.

‘This fake Arthur, then.’

Krash glanced sidelong at the false Arthur walking out alongside Mary.

He was someone who didn’t even exist in Krash’s memories.

‘I don’t know what he’s after.’

But whether he was connected to Arthur or Abela, he’d be the key to linking one of them.

“Then for now, I’ll let them keep their misconceptions.”
—Your sister, is that really all right? Didn’t you tell her there were other Returners besides you?

Before coming to the Academy, Krash had informed Charlotte that there were more Returners in existence besides himself.

Crimson Garden had been the most suitable source to gather information on the four people at the Academy.

Crimson Garden hadn’t seemed particularly surprised.

She appeared remarkably accustomed to the concept of Returners itself.

“It’s fine. She’s my sister, after all.”

Krash spoke as though the matter were of little consequence.

“And you’ve heard roughly what their purpose is, haven’t you?”

A thin smile played at the corner of Krash’s mouth.

They meant to sway him, to use him against Charlotte and watch her crumble.

How could he not find that amusing?

Every petty scheme of those fools remained vivid in his memory.

“Since they’ve misunderstood anyway, I might as well use it to my advantage.”

In the end, those fools would spill everything themselves.

“Now then, I will announce the names of those who have passed the first examination.”

At that moment, Kairan, the examination proctor, finally announced the list of successful candidates.

Names crafted by magic appeared in the sky, floating above a board that materialized above her head.

Krash immediately recognized that he had passed the first round.

It was unmistakable—his name sat at the very top.

Proof that the list was arranged by score.

‘And the names below it.’

All of them were people he knew.

“My… my name isn’t there.”
“This can’t be right!”

Cries of despair echoed from various corners of the arena.

All they had done was place their hands on the Aurora Stone.

They had shown nothing of substance.

Krash felt a flicker of sympathy for them.

Once, his own passing margin had been razor-thin, and he too had heaved a sigh of relief.

‘I only enrolled a year after this.’

After Aliod had attempted poisoning, only to drink the poison soup himself and die.

Krash had trained relentlessly and consumed every elixir he could find.

Even then, he had barely scraped past the cutoff—a bitter reminder of his meager talents.

‘The Academy wouldn’t accept all the rejects if it were a low-caliber institution.’

This was an academy dedicated to cultivating talent specifically trained to confront World Erosion.

Those with lower aptitudes would simply fall behind in their studies.

‘In any case, most of the ones who fall here are likely sent by noble families just to build connections at Rahelern Academy.’

Even so, the numbers were hardly negligible.

Nearly half had been eliminated.

The children couldn’t accept their disqualification.

But reality was reality.

They shuffled their feet toward the exit of the Arena Training Ground.

“Then we shall begin the second examination.”

The moment those words left his lips, the second trial commenced.

As mentioned before, the test required three duels—against someone stronger, someone equal, and someone weaker.

But the trial had a flaw.

One person could not be matched against either a stronger or equal opponent.

And that person was none other than Krash, the first name drawn.

In Aura Output, unquestionably the strongest.

So Krash had to take the examination only once.

And that was the privilege of first place.

From the moment he passed the first test in first place, his admission was practically assured.

“The second examination begins with an equal opponent. When the instructors call your name, proceed to your assigned area.”

Perhaps for that reason, even as the other candidates were being called away by the instructors, Krash waited with unhurried patience.

“I’ll be back!”

Once Balak disappeared, the space around Krash fell quiet.

And no wonder—Krash had only one opponent to face.

Only Mary Diana, the one ranked just below him.

“You look bored.”

At that moment, Krash heard a familiar voice.

He turned his head and found black hair and a small mark at the corner of an eye.

She was Kairan, once called the Pirate Empress.

“Instructor in charge of the entrance examination, then.”
“Call me Associate Professor Kairan. It seems unlikely you’ll fail this exam, after all.”
“Isn’t telling me that a form of bias?”
“You know it well yourself, don’t you? Then again, since you’re Balheim, perhaps it’s only natural.”

Krash let out a short laugh.

“Even for Balheim, nothing is given.”

Kairan faltered at Krash’s certainty.

She too knew the rumors he’d heard years ago—the ones about him being half-broken.

“…My apologies.”

It might have been a remark that touched an old wound.

Perhaps for that reason, when she apologized, Krash lifted his shoulder in a light shrug.

“There’s no need to apologize.”

His words carried an ease about them.

Kairan studied him.

This kind of composure.

It wasn’t something a fifteen-year-old student—barely of age—should possess.

There was something indefinable in him. A gravity that had nothing to do with raw strength.

A presence that came from experience.

And seeing it awakened her own curiosity.

“It must be disappointing that you alone, Krash, took only one attempt at the second exam, unlike the others?”

She wanted to know just how strong he truly was.

The Pirate Empress, Kairan.

Since becoming an associate professor, she had subdued her nature as much as possible.

Everyone who met her praised her sincerity and gentleness without exception.

How could her colleagues among the faculty not recognize and like her?

But it was all a carefully constructed facade.

Her true self was a pirate empress raging recklessly across the open seas.

Fortunately, it was the Headmaster of Rahelern Academy who had scouted and reformed her.

Through that encounter, she had become who she was now.

Yet even she sometimes found it difficult to restrain her nature.

It happened most often when she faced a young, budding talent before her eyes.

From the moment she witnessed the Aurora Stone shatter, her body had itched with anticipation.

Her inner nature screamed at her to clash with Krash right now.

In fact, she was struggling to hold herself back.

“…There’s nothing particularly disappointing about it.”

Krash was not unaware of her true nature.

In fact, there were students who’d suffered under her strict hand more than once.

“No, you’re right. If the proctor commits misconduct, that’s not allowed. Let’s keep it fair.”

But Kairan was the entrance examination administrator here.

She could bend the rules well enough.

“We’ll apply the second test against a strong opponent, and hold the third test—the one scheduled against the proctor—first instead.”

Wipe that combat hunger from your eyes before you speak.

Krash wanted to say as much, but swallowed his sigh instead.

The third test was coming whether he wanted it or not.

Whether sooner or later, he’d end up facing her—that much was certain.

‘I wanted to hold some strength in reserve for Mary, but…’

Come to think of it, did it matter?

If he burned through everything here and then collapsed, he could bungle the test against Mary.

‘That would cause Sigrin no small amount of grief.’

After all, Sigrin was hoping Mary would knock Krash out in the entrance exam.

Malice gleamed in Krash’s eyes.

He had a gift for thinking this way—when it came to mischief, his mind worked like clockwork.

“Very well. Since you’re the entrance examination administrator, Professor Kairan, I’ll defer to your judgment.”

Krash smiled, and decided to fan the flames of her fighting spirit while he was at it.

“But there’s one thing I’d like to clarify, if I may?”
“Clarify?”
“Well, sir—I mean, isn’t a strong opponent someone you can’t know you’re truly ready for until you stand against them?”

Kairan’s crimson eyes blinked once.

Her pupils began to curve slowly upward.

“You’re saying, then, that I—a mere assistant professor—am an equal match?”
“That would have to be seen.”

At such bold provocation, Kairan barely managed to suppress the raucous laugh that had threatened to burst from her pirate days.

This one was more audacious than she’d thought.

Were they all like this in Balheim?

Kairan fought down the smile creeping across her lips and moved forward.

“Good. Then we should test it sooner rather than later, don’t you think?”
“You’re quite impatient.”
“My pirate days left me with no patience for waiting, I’m afraid.”

It seems she can barely hide her true nature anymore.

Watching Kairan’s menacing grin, Krash gave a small shrug.

“Let’s go.”

It looked like they’d be taking the third trial before the second.

* * *

While the second trial was still underway.

A handful of students caught their breath after barely defeating opponents of equal strength.

In one corner of the Arena Training Ground, marked off by boundary lines.

Two familiar figures stood facing each other.

“Wait, no—is that—”
“The admission instructor and Krash Balheim?”

The students who belatedly spotted the pair wore expressions of bewilderment.

They simply couldn’t make sense of Krash facing off against the admission examiner.

And the same confusion gripped those watching from the Arena.

The noise of the students fighting had been so loud that neither they nor the two figures could hear each other’s exchanges.

“Deputy Professor Kairan’s habit is showing.”

Yet the continuing students gathered the situation quickly enough from what they saw.

After all, several of them had already experienced Kairan’s habits firsthand.

“Who do you think will win?”
“Obviously Deputy Professor Kairan. I heard she was originally supposed to take a full professorship—she only became deputy after pestering the principal.”
“But didn’t you all see Krash Balheim shatter that Aurora Stone earlier? I don’t think victory’s guaranteed.”
“Heh, whoever wins, this ought to be quite the spectacle.”

As talk rippled through the gathered students.

One woman stood apart, her expression heavy with displeasure.

‘Why did that woman Kairan have to step in and cause all this trouble.’

It was Sigrin—the one who had been counting on Mary to destroy Krash.

At this rate, her trial against Mary might be cancelled altogether.

In any case, she couldn’t stand that man. Not a single thing about him.

Neither in the past nor now.

Somehow he never once helped her.

Sigrin had long since come to take for granted that Krash simply brought curses for her.

“Sigrin, is something troubling you?”
“……It’s nothing.”

In that moment, she smoothed her expression at the soft voice beside her.

She had to maintain the image she’d cultivated.

While Sigrin busied herself preserving that facade,

Krash stood facing Kairan.

“Feel free to attack whenever. The third trial is meant to show an examinee’s full strength.”

Kairan spoke with remarkable composure, smiling.

In her hand, a single dagger etched with an octopus-leg pattern spun lazily.

Despite that leisured bearing, Krash sensed it.

‘Not a single opening.’

It wasn’t for nothing that she’d been chosen as a professor.

The Aura flowing from Kairan’s body commanded her space with absolute certainty.

‘I’ll give her the first move.’

Krash suppressed a brief laugh.

Then he drew the Thundering Star from its sheath.

An empty blade.

Kairan’s eyes widened with confusion at the sight.

Clang—

Krash’s scabbard fell to the ground.

Kairan simply watched him, wondering what he was doing.

In that span, Krash slowly drew his back foot away.

At the same time, he gripped the Thundering Star at his hip and fitted it into the empty blade’s opening.

In the quiet silence,

as Kairan’s gaze sharpened,

Crack—

a brief spark crackled forth.

At that thunder, Kairan’s ears pricked up.

In that instant, she froze.

The stance Krash had assumed was that of iaijutsu—the lightning draw.

Before that empty blade,

A strange current began to surge in.

All the light in the vicinity was drawn toward Krash, concentrating upon him.

The space around him twisted visibly under the strain.

Crack!

Another spark erupted with a sharp sound.

Kairan’s eyes widened slowly as she took it in.

The blade of the Thundering Star, extended from between the torn fabric at Krash’s back, was caught within the sheath of Raebi’s sword.

The problem lay within that sheath itself.

Tangled masses of Black Flame, dark as pitch, hammered wildly within the scabbard as if possessed.

And that power grew stronger with each passing moment.

A chill ran down her spine.

Goosebumps erupted across Kairan’s skin.

Her instinct spoke clearly.

This attack was unmistakably dangerous.

A sharp breath.

Smoke curled from Krash’s lips as he drew in air.

With each tempering of his flesh, Krash’s presence grew more formidable.

The hair on Kairan’s scalp bristled.

In the same instant, she gripped her dagger tight.

Her body had reacted reflexively.

She had to stop it now.

And by the time that thought crossed her mind, her body was already leaning forward.

Boom!

In the next instant, she launched upward like a catapult, her body propelled through the air.

Their eyes met—Krash’s smile and Kairan’s gaze crossing.

“The first strike was made by the associate professor.”

Kairan bit her lip hard at that smile.

Caught.

Such cunning for a student.

Yet even as Krash’s laughter rang out, his blade shattered Raebi’s sheath to pieces.

From the first strike, commit to full power.

Extinguishing Flame Erosion.

Third Form.

Extinguishing Flame Heavenly Lightning.

‘This is what suits me.’

Crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-boom!

The Academy Arena Training Ground turned to rubble in an instant.

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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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