I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 45

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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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Chapter 45. Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu

Evelask’s Training Ground.

There, Krash clenched and unclenched his right hand over and over.

He did this to grow accustomed to Sword Spirit’s Arm.

He still hadn’t shaken the awareness that it was someone else’s limb.

In that moment, Crimson Garden perched herself on Krash’s shoulder.

“How much do you know about Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu?”
“Almost nothing. Just that it was formidable.”
“So you, a returnee, didn’t even know that much before you eagerly asked for Sword Spirit’s Arm?”

Krash shrugged.

How was he supposed to know he would return in time?

“How could I have known about someone who died before I was even born?”
“Tsk, tsk. What a thoughtless creature you are.”

Crimson Garden pecked Krash’s head a few times with her beak, then descended to stand before him.

“Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu is similar to your One-Sword Style, yet different.”

And with that, Crimson Garden began teaching Krash about Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu.

One way or another, she was genuinely earnest in her desire to make him stronger.

“Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu begins by infusing Aura into the blade while it rests in the scabbard.”

That much was the same as conventional Iaijutsu.

Drawing the blade at maximum speed together with the Aura dwelling within, then unleashing it.

That was what Iaijutsu meant.

Of course, in most cases, simply swinging an already-drawn blade proved faster.

Iaijutsu, after all, was nothing more than a technique devised to respond swiftly to surprise attacks by drawing a weapon quickly.

But Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu departed from that principle entirely.

“And so the Sword Spirit fragmented the Aura into fine particles, imbued them with elasticity, and detonated them from within. As a result, the Aura shattered into tiny granules that thrash about frantically inside the scabbard.”
“What madness.”
“It is through such madness that secrets are born. In any case, the Aura inside the scabbard doesn’t decelerate—it keeps battering the scabbard’s interior. The scabbard becomes saturated with the Aura’s force, and when it reaches its peak.”

The blade is drawn.

Riding that explosive force at true maximum speed.

This is why Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu followed a different trajectory than ordinary Iaijutsu.

Because the blade strikes the enemy’s neck before those who drew their swords on Aura’s explosive force alone.

And the destructive force unleashed by that explosion transcended all ordinary measure.

In truth, Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu was merely a preparatory stage for a killing technique.

A preparation that compressed and detonated Aura to its absolute limit, designed to send an opponent down in a single, decisive strike.

“Do you understand?”

Krash gazed at his own blade, now sheathed in the scabbard.

If he’d grasped it all from mere explanation, he’d have been a genius.

Unfortunately, he was no genius.

Seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times.

Doing it once surpassed listening a hundred times over.

“I’ll give it a try.”

Krash grasped the blade according to Crimson Garden’s instruction.

“You’re using Sword Spirit’s Arm now. That means Sword Spirit’s Body Memory is entirely contained within your right arm.”

True to her words, Sword Spirit’s Arm had become Krash’s arm.

And that arm had drilled its own Iaijutsu tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times over.

All that experience remained etched within his limb.

“Follow the will of your arm. If you do, you’ll succeed.”

Hearing those words, Krash quietly closed his eyes.

Then, standing within the scabbard’s embrace, he began slowly channeling Aura inward.

The infused Aura gradually gained elasticity.

Krash had practiced Aura control daily to master the One-Sword Style, so fortunately it wasn’t difficult.

Yet the state remained unstable.

So Krash took his time, concentrating intently on each individual point of Aura.

Several minutes passed.

Plink.

Cold sweat trickled slowly down Krash’s cheek.

A sign of his profound concentration.

He’d already invested this much time merely in fragmenting the Aura.

Actually using it in combat was still nowhere in sight.

Yet Krash remained quietly focused.

He felt no sense of urgency.

Having lived this way his entire life, Krash harbored no disappointment in himself—he could always observe himself with objectivity.

Watching Krash, Crimson Garden offered no criticism either.

A Secret Technique cannot be mastered in a single morning.

Therefore, how one spends that one day learning a Secret Technique determines the outcome.

Minutes continued to pass.

Krash finally succeeded in infusing elasticity into all his Aura.

‘And now, detonate the Aura inside the blade.’

Soon, the Aura within Krash’s blade began to detonate.

With that, the Auras inside the scabbard began moving wildly, frantically.

Hammering against the scabbard’s interior, again and again, those forces began accumulating within the blade.

Krash felt the scabbard swelling as though it might burst at any moment.

But not yet.

Sword Spirit’s Arm remained motionless, still gripping the hilt.

With endless concentration, Krash focused his mind solely within the scabbard.

And in that instant.

Sword Spirit’s right arm twitched, barely perceptibly.

As if it had been waiting for this very moment.

The instant their timing converged.

Krash’s blade erupted from the scabbard with explosive force.

Crack-crack-crack!

The sound of the Aura detonating and the blade being swept through the air roared violently across the training ground.

The violence of that swing rippled the very air itself, sending Krash’s hair cascading outward.

“Ha… ha.”

Drenched in sweat from head to toe, Krash breathed in ragged gasps.

His right arm, which had executed the Iaijutsu, felt thick and sticky.

Sword Spirit’s Arm was accustomed to Iaijutsu.

But he lacked enough Aura to reinforce his body and endure that Iaijutsu.

Clang!

As a result, Krash lost his grip on the blade.

Krash’s right arm trembled violently.

The price of being unable to fully absorb the explosive force of Iaijutsu.

But he had succeeded.

That meant he could move forward.

Krash grasped the sword again and slowly slid it back into its sheath.

His right arm trembled from the impact, but Krash paid it no mind.

If he couldn’t be a genius, then he’d simply have to possess grit.

He would only repeat until he had mastered it.

“Begin.”

And because Crimson Garden understood this about him, she commanded him to start again at once.

Krash obeyed the command faithfully.

A good teacher, Sword Spirit’s Arm.

He had everything.

All that remained was his own will.

So Krash closed his eyes again and gathered his concentration.

To repeat endlessly until he could touch the heights of Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu.

* * *

Days later, Krash found himself facing No. 8.

Today, instead of her maid’s uniform, No. 8 wore something like a form-fitting suit, but still bore her black rabbit ears as she bowed her head slightly.

Then she spun the staff once in her grip and spoke to Krash.

“You may begin whenever you’re ready.”
“Right.”

Krash, hearing this, placed his right hand on the grip.

That was the moment.

Clang!

No. 8’s body recoiled backward.

At the same instant, a sharp screech tore through the air where her staff was held.

Krash’s blade had been drawn in a flash.

Watching it intently, No. 8 responded.

“I see it.”
“Tsk. Still not fast enough.”

Krash slid his sword back into its scabbard and made a clicking sound with his tongue.

Sword Spirit’s Iaijutsu was a secret technique that drew the blade at a speed the opponent’s eyes could not perceive.

But No. 8 had recognized Krash’s draw and blocked it, and its destructive force still fell far short of what the Sword Spirit could manage.

Krash looked down at his right hand.

After just days of such brutal training, his hand was covered in wounds.

Even with Sword Spirit’s Arm, there was no escaping the scars.

‘I think I’m starting to get the hang of it, though.’

In the end, it came down to his inborn Aura reserves—this was something only he could cultivate through his own growth.

To do that, he would need to return to Cheongsong Manor and learn the next secret technique.

“Thanks for keeping up with me.”
“Don’t mention it. You should have more confidence, Krash. Those of us numbered in the single digits, like me, are Master Rank practitioners.”

The corpses of Evelask flowing in around the 9-digit level.

All of them were Master Rank monsters.

Which meant it was only natural that they could track Krash’s draw with Dynamic Vision.

But unfortunately, Krash felt no satisfaction from her words.

“The ones I’ll have to face later are beyond just Master Rank.”

The Generation of Sky—they were all monsters sculpted from raw talent.

If he wanted to steal their skills, there was no choice but to grow stronger here.

“Still, thanks for saying that. You’ve helped me a lot.”
“I’m glad to be of help.”

Krash smiled at No. 8, and together they left the training ground.

At that moment, Evelask happened to pass through the corridor ahead.

She rubbed her eyes with a fatigued expression, as if she’d just woken up.

Her T-shirt was stretched out thin enough to barely conceal her chest, and her hair was disheveled and matted.

Krash looked at her as one might regard trash.

He kept his corpses so immaculate, yet here she was—why did she look like that?

Krash, who despised the word “sloth” more than anything, found himself thinking again that working with Evelask would be difficult.

“What—what is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

And Evelask, noticing him at that very moment, turned to face Krash.

She glanced down at her clothes, then quickly covered her chest with her hand.

“You pervert! Of course you’d be like that—you’re a man, after all! Well, I suppose I am fairly… endowed, enough to captivate the heart of a teenager. So it’s only natural you’d harbor such feelings. Right?”

Krash didn’t even bother to answer.

There was no point in doing so.

He was certain he’d seen novels of that sort before bed.

“I’m leaving for Falheim today.”

He made sure to inform Hardenhertz that his arm had been restored safely.

Bianca shed tears when she saw it, but there was no problem since no one else was around.

Meliocan afterward had the priest summoned without further comment and reported to Falheim that the arm had been repaired, following Krash’s wishes.

Now there truly was no reason not to return.

“Um, well, then what about me?”
“Do as you please.”

Krash no longer cared whether Evelask followed him or not.

He’d always told her she was free to come and go as she wished, anyway.

“Hmm, what should I do?”
“You can stay here if you want. But if you go to Falheim, you’ll probably be discovered before long.”

Unless she used servants like Crimson Garden did, Evelask’s true form as a World Eraser would carry that distinctive presence with her.

Falheim was home to countless monsters.

Not just his own bloodline, but the companions of Balloc, Krash’s father, who shared his generation.

The Five Elders of Falheim.

They would almost certainly detect Evelask’s aura.

“Ugh, how scary.”

She trembled, her eyes wide with fear.

Having lived her life as a captive of the Empire, she had no desire to be captured again.

“That’s why you should stay here. Besides, there’s something I’d like to ask you personally.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“There’s a man called the Poison King.”

One of the Ten Strongest, and the person who destroyed Hardenhertz.

There’s still plenty of time, but if the 2nd Imperial Prince were to take refuge in Hardenhertz again, he would eventually come at the Empire’s command.

“I’d like you to keep him from causing trouble for Hardenhertz. Even buying time would be fine.”
“You mean one of the Ten Strongest? That’s not easy……”
“I’m not asking you to face him head-on. Just keeping Douglacan, Hardenhertz’s patriarch, alive would be enough.”

It wasn’t as if any of this would happen immediately anyway.

“Understood. If that’s all, I can do it.”

She agreed to his request without hesitation.

Krash had once called returning her heart a transaction, but Evelask, for all her appearance, still harbored gratitude toward him.

That’s why she’d accepted his request without hesitation.

“And if you need anything from me later, don’t hesitate to ask.”

She honored the debts she incurred as readily as she settled those owed to her.

That was the kind of person Krash was—meticulous about such matters.

So he left those words behind and walked out of Evelask’s hideout.

Watching his receding figure, Evelask felt an unbidden smile escape her lips.

“Master, there’s no need to follow him, is there?” No. 8 asked.

Krash had said Evelask would be discovered if she went to Falheim, but if she truly meant to hide herself, there were ways—she wasn’t entirely without options.

Yet she chose not to pursue them.

“If this were the distant past, perhaps I would have followed him.”

Once, before she became a World Eraser, there had been a time when she wandered the worlds alongside others, on grand adventures.

But that was long ago, and the resolve of that era had faded considerably.

Krash, no doubt, would traverse countless worlds just as he always had.

“Besides, I was reckless enough to follow him this far. If I go further, I’ll end up conflating him with those old companions, and that won’t do.”

So she decided not to pursue Krash any longer.

“I’ll stop here. I’m hardly the type for adventuring anyway.”

She was an unusual figure even among the World Erasers, and with those words, she turned to leave.

Still, one thing nagged at her.

Based on the trajectory of Krash’s movements, he would inevitably become entangled with countless other World Erasers besides her.

Some of them were genuinely dangerous.

And just as she had, they would recognize him.

‘When that time comes.’

She thought it wouldn’t be unreasonable to repay the debt of a heart properly when the moment arrived.

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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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