I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - 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. What Have You Been Up To

Dorothy, a first-year student at Halcrum’s prestigious magical academy.

With her disappearance, Aslan had collapsed entirely.

Liryna had some vague sense that something had happened between Aslan and her.

But since she wasn’t directly involved, she couldn’t know the reason for the disappearance.

What about Krash, then?

‘I know everything.’

On the way back to the Blue Sea Knight Order Barracks after hearing Liryna’s request,

Krash was turning over in his mind a story he’d heard from Aslan long ago.

—Why bother hearing the whole tedious story secondhand like this? Looking at that bastard, I’d think even if you grabbed the Woleum-jithe, he’d just let it slip away.

“No, he won’t let it go.”

Krash shook his head lightly.

Living alongside Aslan, Krash had come to know one of his most distinctive traits.

He was possessed of an iron will.

Even if his stubbornness led him down a path that gained him nothing,

that iron resolve would never break.

And so Krash could be certain:

even until the moment before death, if Aslan used the Black Hood on the Woleum-jithe, the Dial would still appear.

For the Woleum-jithe itself was one of the root causes that had birthed Aslan’s stubbornness.

“Besides, the Igrit Family, though not quite on the level of Balheim, comes from the line of the Flame King among the Ten Strongest.”

Naturally, their security was strict, and there were no shortage of magical countermeasures in place.

So a direct invasion would almost certainly be detected.

“You’re a raven, so you don’t have to worry—but humans are different.”

And so the way to proceed was to create an opportunity for an official visit in the least conspicuous manner possible.

That was to slip into the mansion as one of her acquaintances, using Liryna as cover.

Since the Igrit Family’s estate was so vast, the servants and attendants often turned a blind eye to visits from acquaintances of the household staff.

“And personally, I have no intention of cutting ties with that bastard.”

Aslan Igrit, who bore the Woleum-jithe and yet was called the Flame Emperor.

The reason he could be called such a thing was because he had forcibly erased the Woleum-jithe by setting his own body ablaze.

And so the Aslan that Krash had encountered was covered from head to toe in burn scars.

The venomous gaze he’d worn on that first day, swaddled entirely in bandages and glowering, remained vivid in memory still.

‘Though later, even that look became bearable.’

In any case, Aslan had burned away far too much in the process.

Having burned through his own life force, his lifespan shortened—and he’d breathed his last at merely twenty-four.

In a way, he was the only one among the Starry Generation to die by his own natural span.

‘The Flame Emperor has to live.’

Venomous as he was, he’d been one of the few who could actually be reasoned with.

A man like that couldn’t be left to die.

‘The Greatest Calamity’s World Erosion doesn’t erupt one at a time.’

Krash had witnessed the world’s ruin with his own eyes.

He’d seen how helplessly the Starry Generation was tossed about before multiple Greatest Calamities erupting simultaneously.

He would stop the destruction.

But while he finished one Greatest Calamity, he’d need people who could at least hold back the others, who could endure.

And Arthur had surely chosen three women to fill that role.

They were capable enough, at least in that regard.

In fact, no one else had bought him as much time as those three while he waited for Arthur to arrive.

Krash acknowledged that much.

‘But this time is different.’

Krash had no intention of leaving those three women as they were.

The damage they’d caused was no small matter.

Better to hold a different hand entirely.

And one card in that hand was none other than the Flame Emperor, Aslan Igrit.

Had he survived until the Greatest Calamity erupted, he would surely have stopped one head-on.

‘So this time, I won’t let that happen.’

Let him live out his full span and die in peace.

‘As much as I struggle, you’ll struggle too. Aslan.’

Uncertain whether the thought was for his sake or his own, Krash moved forward.

—So how exactly are you planning to find this Dorothy girl?

It was in that moment that Crimson Garden posed the question.

Hearing the question, Krash lifted his shoulders in a shrug.

“Find what?”
-But you just said you were looking for her.
“I can’t find her. So, to be precise, Dorothy no longer exists in this world.”

And then came the bombshell.

-What? Then what are you thinking? Are you planning to summon even Evelask to bring her back to life?
“That’s impossible too. There probably won’t even be a body left. She was burned to death by the Flame King’s hand.”

At the succession of bombshells, Crimson Garden’s eyes widened in disbelief.

-What exactly are you planning to do?

Krash rolled his neck loosely.

“I’m going to resurrect Dorothy.”
-Am I the only one who doesn’t understand what you’re saying?
“You’ll understand soon enough.”

Krash lifted his head.

“The Spirit King’s Egg.”
-……Oh no.

Crimson Garden clicked her tongue at the appearance of a name that should never have been mentioned.

“I’ll steal the egg and resurrect Dorothy. Dorothy is a spirit, after all.”

* * *

A spirit.

What exactly was it?

To put it simply, spirits are Erosion Species.

The place from which they seep out is one of the Forbidden Zones that exist in the world.

It is the Spirit King’s Forest.

There, spirits are born, grow, and emerge into the world beyond.

Dorothy was one such spirit.

The Spirit King’s Forest, in fact, lay not far from Halcrum.

The reason was simple.

The Red Magic Tower and Ignis together managed the Spirit King’s Forest.

The Flame King’s Flame Magic was best suited to reducing the scale of the Spirit King’s Forest.

So they kept it in check every single day to prevent the Spirit King’s Forest from growing any larger.

Krash now stood before the stone walls that surrounded the Spirit King’s Forest.

“There aren’t many fools out there who make life harder for themselves the way you do.”

At the sound of a voice, Krash turned his head.

Standing before him was a woman he had seen once before.

Her military uniform was visible where her swollen chest had strained the fabric open.

Beside her flame-red hair, a black star badge gleamed.

She was one of Sepia’s members—the one who had come to investigate World Erosion not long ago.

“Why did you bring the child all the way here?”

Crimson Garden clicked her tongue and regarded Krash with displeasure.

“Aren’t you pushing your master around a bit too much?”
“You said to use me when I’m useful. Right now, you’re my only card.”

The Spirit King’s Forest was a Forbidden Zone, and it was watched with lethal vigilance.

If trouble arose in the Spirit King’s Forest, immediate response was necessary, so it was only natural.

Because of this, no one could simply enter—only those who carried proper authorization from above were permitted access.

And who could obtain such authorization?

None other than Crimson Garden’s servant, a member of Sepia.

On her chest was not the Fourth Rank badge he had seen before, but a Third Rank.

She had been promoted one grade in the interim.

At that level, she could move freely in and out of the Forbidden Zone under the guise of investigation.

Crimson Garden seemed to be training her servant rather diligently.

“Are you planning to have her rise all the way to head of Sepia?”
“Hmph. I wouldn’t take that position even if offered. My servant is simply that capable.”

She spoke and extinguished the color of her hair.

Then she tossed a badge from her pocket to Krash.

When Krash caught it, a Fourth Rank Sepia badge was embedded there.

It was something she’d brought to allow Krash entry into the Spirit King’s Forest.

“I’ll let you in so you can settle your business, but are you truly determined to enter? Honestly, I’m opposed.”

Crimson Garden showed an uneasy reaction to the aura emanating from the Spirit King’s Forest.

Had something happened inside the Spirit King’s Forest?

Krash asked, puzzled.

“Yes, I need the Egg to resolve this. And the Spirit King’s Forest is relatively safe, even among the Forbidden Zones.”

It was a place he had already experienced firsthand.

For Krash, there was nothing particularly difficult about it.

“Hmm, in that case, I’d rather not go in. You go alone.”
“Why the sudden complaint? I’ve told you—without you, I can’t get inside at all.”

When Krash pressed her so firmly, she finally clicked her tongue.

Then she began walking forward with long, deliberate strides.

“Don’t regret this.”

By then, her hair had returned to its natural black color without her noticing.

Krash adjusted his Badge properly and pulled the Black Hood over his head as he followed, and soon soldiers appeared at the entrance.

They recognized Crimson Garden’s uniform and Badge, and immediately straightened their posture.

A rank-3 officer of Sepia held a position impossibly high in the eyes of common soldiers.

“I’m Mirsys, a rank-3 officer of Sepia, as we contacted you beforehand. This is Krad, a rank-4 officer.”
“Yes, ma’am, we received notice. I’ll open the gates for you right away—please wait a moment.”

The soldier began moving with sharp efficiency.

Sepia conducted regular inspections of the Forbidden Zones.

That was why the soldiers could move so swiftly.

After a brief moment, the wall gate creaked open.

Then luminescent dust peculiar to Spirits began drifting out from within.

The dust would cause skin diseases if it touched humans, yet it was beautiful to behold.

“Will you require an escort?”
“No, the rank-4 officer handles all combat.”

Krash gave a light nod of acknowledgment.

The soldiers harbored no particular suspicion of Krash’s youthful appearance.

Sepia specialized in matters of World Erosion, after all.

“Here, then—this is a Breathing Apparatus to help you breathe through the luminescent dust. Please check the remaining charge and duration, and have a rank-4 officer provide Aura charging.”

Krash and Crimson Garden expertly affixed the Breathing Apparatus the soldier handed them.

They bowed once to the soldiers and stepped through the wall gate into the interior.

Krash squinted briefly beyond the Breathing Apparatus, dazzled by the luminescence, but soon his eyes opened slowly.

Then golden dust scattered before him like flower petals.

And beyond that, trees of colossal size came into view.

This was the Forbidden Zone.

The Spirit King’s Forest.

For World Erosion Species—for spirits—it was a paradise.

Perhaps because this was the first time entering the Forbidden Zone in this life, the feeling was peculiar.

And with it came the World Erosion that pervaded the entire Forbidden Zone.

‘At this level, World Erosion would spread just from breathing.’

Indeed, a Forbidden Zone was a Forbidden Zone.

Having mastered the Extreme Blood Poison Technique before entering, Krash was only now truly grasping how perilous this place was.

Screech, thud!

Behind them, the sound of stone walls slamming shut echoed through the air.

Krash, wrapped entirely in protective layers, had already draped a faint Aura around his body and now stood beside Crimson Garden.

“Let’s move. I know where the Egg is.”
“Krash.”

As Krash turned to leave, Crimson Garden suddenly called out to him.

She was gazing upward at the sky.

“I’d hoped to avoid having to speak of this, but it seems I can’t.”

Krash blinked.

“What are you trying to say?”

In that instant, a low rumbling sound began emanating from above.

The moment Krash belatedly looked up, at the far edge of the sky—now discolored golden by World Erosion—

something pitch-black was hurtling toward them with terrifying speed.

“We escape first, talk later.”

In that moment, Crimson Garden clapped her hands sharply together.

Beneath her feet, multiple layers of crimson Magic Circles materialized, and in a flash, both figures were displaced through space.

The landscape shifted in an instant, and Krash tumbled through the Spirit King’s Forest.

Crimson Garden’s Spatial Displacement Magic had activated.

In the meantime, Crimson Garden cradled her head, feeling the onset of vertigo.

And so, using mana with only meager Aura as foundation, the dizziness had come upon her.

“Damn it. So what’s the emergency?”

Meanwhile, Krash, recovering from the spatial sickness, adjusted his Breathing Apparatus and demanded answers.

A sudden spatial jump—it was unlike Crimson Garden.

And with that, Crimson Garden spoke, her eyes fixed on the golden-hued sky through the trees.

“……I once needed something from the Spirit King’s Forest, so I had a servant bring me a spirit. It was quite some time ago.”
“What on earth were you thinking?”

Krash’s expression turned bewildered, and hers grew only more troubled in response.

“And after that servant finished what I needed, instead of returning the spirit, they traveled the world quite extensively—together with it.”
“Wait, hold on, Crimson…….”

But the moment he heard what came next, Krash’s face began to shift in gradual realization.

“Don’t tell me that’s the Primordial Spirit Master from way back in history?”
“…….”

Crimson Garden fell silent.

The Primordial Spirit Master.

The world’s only spirit master ever recorded in history.

That person had been Crimson Garden’s servant.

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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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