I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 82

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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 82. Krash, Return

After Hilnider’s departure.

Krash spent several days in personal training at the Cheong Song Manor’s training grounds.

And what occupied the largest portion of his training was none other than mastering the Thunderbolt Star.

The Thunderbolt Star proved far more temperamental than he’d anticipated.

Since it was a blade that formed fluidly according to his Aura output, the sword’s edge wouldn’t maintain a consistent shape.

‘Charlotte handles it effortlessly—even Belokin manages that level of output without effort.’

Krash’s problem was that he’d been born with a smaller reserve of Aura, so he’d grown accustomed to maximizing efficiency with minimal output.

That’s why Krash began correcting his own habits.

To maintain his Aura constantly, just as Charlotte did.

“……This is killing me.”

As a result, Krash collapsed onto the ground once more, utterly depleted of Aura.

He’d gained fresh appreciation for just how staggering the Aura flow Charlotte maintained truly was.

Krash lay there motionless, staring blankly up at the sky drifting across the training ground.

He planned to rest until the headache and dizziness subsided.

‘It’s so hot.’

Perhaps because it was midsummer.

The ground was considerably warm.

Thanks to acquiring the Lunar Body, his body was offsetting the heat—but that wasn’t purely an advantage.

He’d noticed his reflexes dulled beneath the sun compared to before.

‘I never expected it to have no drawbacks. If I can maintain Extinction Flame Erosion constantly, I’d have no problem even under the sun.’

But that meant, conversely, that without using Extinction Flame Erosion, he’d quickly exhaust himself in direct sunlight.

Krash lay with his arms folded across his chest.

Then the solution was straightforward.

He simply needed to increase the amount of World Erosion that served as fuel for Extinction Flame Erosion.

Of course, the more he increased World Erosion, the greater his Madness would grow, and eventually there’d come a day when even the Eye Doll Bianca had given him couldn’t suppress it.

‘When that time comes, I’ll just have to restrain it with something else.’

Seal one hole, another opens elsewhere.

As he considered this troublesome reality, Krash silently made his decision on the next direction to take.

The idea was to absorb enough World Erosion to at least resolve the weaknesses of the Wol-eum Constitution.

If he managed that, he could operate with far greater quantities of World Erosion at once, growing stronger in the process.

But he couldn’t simply absorb World Erosion without restraint.

‘If the Erosion Rate of the World Erosion dropped, the Purification Officers would find it suspicious.’

Standard World Erosion was out of the question.

There was no point in drawing unwanted attention.

‘Which means, in the end.’

His options were limited to one place: the Forbidden Realm.

The Forbidden Realm, where World Erosion ran most rampant.

Even if Krash absorbed World Erosion there, the Forbidden Realm would not diminish.

But the Forbidden Realm was something that kingdoms, the Empire, and countless noble families managed with strict oversight.

He couldn’t simply walk in.

“So what do you think, Crimson Garden?”

Krash turned to Crimson Garden, who sat beside him, and she clicked her tongue in response.

“Mirsys can’t help anymore. After last time, she’s being watched carefully by Sepira because of the trouble we caused.”

Krash’s expression grew disappointed.

Mirsys’s assistance had been quite useful, given her rank in Sepira.

As Krash fell into contemplation, something suddenly came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, isn’t Balheim organizing support for the Forbidden Realm around this time?’

If he participated in their expedition, he would certainly be able to enter the Forbidden Realm.

‘The problem is.’

The promise he’d made to Hilnider.

Krash had committed to maintaining his Half-penny Status until he entered Laehelern Academy.

He needed to avoid drawing attention if possible.

‘For now, keeping a low profile is definitely the best approach.’

As his mind worked through the problem, one figure suddenly surfaced in his thoughts.

Someone with sharp intuition and decent sense.

And by now, they should have returned.

Krash resolved to meet with them and rose from his seat.

‘Darling should still have some of those drugs she gave me.’

The day Krash received the Elixir from Darling.

Darling had pressed several kinds of medicine into his hands, saying to use them if need be when she wasn’t around.

Among them was a potion for changing one’s appearance—the same kind he’d used before.

Not just one or two, either. Quantities of it.

‘That woman has peculiar tastes, I’ll give her that.’

Still, it was undeniably useful to have on hand at a moment like this.

He was in the act of moving toward the door, planning to gather the potions from his room and find someone to escort him to the Forbidden Realm, when—

In the distance.

He caught sight of a girl’s head, motionless before the Cooling Magic Device that kept the room comfortable.

Her hair streamed earnestly with the breeze, yet she clung so stubbornly to the device’s air outlet that he couldn’t help but smile.

Though he felt a pang of sympathy alongside it.

Her struggle was due to her unfamiliarity with Balheim’s summers.

In Hadenhartz, even summer rarely grew this hot.

“Bianca.”

At the sound of her name, Bianca finally turned her head to look at him.

Her hair had blown back so thoroughly that her forehead lay bare, beaded with drops of perspiration.

Krash withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her forehead dry.

Bianca held still beneath his touch, then gently cradled his hand in both of hers and pressed it against her face.

“Your hand is so cool, Krash.”

His Wol-eum Constitution, naturally.

Looking at Bianca’s expression, she was clearly worn down by the heat.

Perhaps he ought to take her somewhere cooler.

‘Once I see where the Forbidden Realm escort is headed, if it’s northward I should bring her along.’

As long as it wasn’t inside the Forbidden Realm itself, there was no real problem.

Unlike Krash, Bianca’s face wasn’t nearly as recognized outside of Hadenhartz.

Simply changing her hair color should suffice.

With that thought, Krash raised his hand and ran it once through her hair in a gentle caress before withdrawing it.

“Where are you going?”
“Just for a bit. I have business at my family home.”

He would need to go there to explain any of this.

And so, when Krash said as much, Bianca naturally fell into step behind him.

She still hadn’t outgrown her chick-like nature, and that suited her well.

“I’m going to wash up.”
“Should I come with you?”
“Of course not. I’m going alone. Just get yourself ready, and I’ll be out in a moment.”
“Understood.”

After saying so, Bianca scurried away from Krash’s side on quick, measured steps.

Her slightly unsteady gait troubled him somewhat, a product of the heat, but she wasn’t the sort to stumble and fall, so it would be fine.

“Alliod, I’m heading to the manor. Have the Cooling Magic Device running in the carriage.”
“Yes, I’ll prepare it at once.”

After instructing Alliod, Krash showered quickly and changed into fresh clothes.

Then, taking Bianca with him, he boarded the carriage, and Crimson Garden slipped in through the window.

By now, Krash had grown quite familiar with this team.

-Krash.

As Bianca, now seated beside him, opened her book, Crimson Garden called out to him abruptly.

Whenever she called him this way, trouble usually followed.

Was something else about to happen today?

When Krash turned to face her, Crimson Garden’s words came.

-The Princess of Sepira has moved.

Krash’s brow furrowed slightly at once.

As he’d feared, it was ill news.

Sepira—the organization specializing in World Erosion investigations.

The princess of that place had made her move.

“……Her escort swordsman—”
-A new one was assigned recently. And naturally, they’re moving together.

Krash clicked his tongue.

So that’s come to pass as well, then.

‘What can I do?’

Krash fell into thought for a moment.

He considered how to deal with the man and the princess—those who would cause problems down the line.

But soon a simple conclusion arrived.

‘……What exactly can I stop, at this level?’

His skills and the circumstances surrounding them still weren’t keeping pace with what was to come.

So Krash determined that at the very least, he couldn’t deal with him right now.

“It would be easier to avoid him if I could.”
-If he heads toward the Forbidden Realm, the chances of running into him are high.
“The Forbidden Realm isn’t just one or two places. I’m supposed to randomly happen to run into that woman and her escort knight wherever I’m going? Ha.”

No matter how unlucky a person was.

-Hmm, I warned you.

……No matter how unlucky a person was.

But unfortunately, Krash knew himself well.

‘……And I have no luck at all.’

He quietly made up his mind to be ready for it anyway.

＊ ＊ ＊

The Balheim main residence.

When Krash arrived at the main residence after a long time away, he did not head toward the family buildings.

Instead, his destination was none other than where the various knight orders were stationed.

The Balheim knight orders numbered nine in total.

Accordingly, the grounds where they lived were enormous in scale.

Training grounds, dormitories, and cultivation centers where knights were directly developed.

They occupied one vast section of the main residence.

Because of this, Balheim knights filled every corner of the path Krash traveled.

The moment his carriage passed, they immediately saluted in its direction.

It was a natural reaction—the carriage bore the Direct Descendant crest of the Balheim house.

“Who was supposed to arrive today?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t heard anything about it.”

While the saluting knights murmured among themselves, watching the carriage pass,

the carriage came to a halt before a building.

Five swords carved into the building’s facade.

The headquarters of the Cheongae Knight Order—Balheim’s fifth sword.

Krash descended first from the carriage, took Bianca’s hand to help her down, and stood before the building.

Then someone came rushing out from within, footsteps hurried and breathless.

“K-Krash Balheim, welcome. I am Masha, secretary of the Cheongae Knight Order.”

She rushed out with a bright smile to greet Krash.

Yet beneath that cheerful expression, she was visibly tense.

Well, the son of Balheim’s Family Head—the master of the domain—had appeared without warning or prior notice.

It was hardly anything short of a bolt from the blue.

Krash wanted to tell her not to worry, but he sensed she’d find even that awkward.

So he decided to get straight to business instead.

“I’d like to meet the Deputy Commander of the Cheongae Knight Order.”
“Ah, I’ll show you right away!”

She received the directive and hurried to comply, keen to avoid any misstep.

She sent a clerk from the Cheongae Knight Order ahead to inform the Deputy Commander of the visit.

In the meantime, Krash followed Misha’s leisurely pace down the corridors.

Knights passed by here and there, chattering as they went.

But the moment they caught sight of Misha’s tiger-like expression, they cleared the hallway.

This secretary had a firmer grip on the Cheongae Knight Order than one might expect.

‘I don’t know much about the Knight Order myself.’

Now that he thought about it, Lackradion had expressed a desire to become his knight.

It might be worth taking the time to properly assess the Knight Order’s capabilities.

With a proper order at his command, he could counter the World Erosion far more efficiently.

They would certainly be more manageable than the Starry Generation.

‘The Commander can be left to Lackradion to handle.’

That left the question of what to name the order.

Krash glanced back at Bianca.

“Bianca, if I were to establish a knight order, is there a name you’d like to suggest?”

At that moment, Misha, who had been guiding them, flinched.

Her eyes wavered sharply.

“Yes, a knight order.”
“Why not just name it after you, sir?”
“It wouldn’t be fitting to have a knight order bearing my own name.”

“What about the Black Sea?”

Misha had suddenly offered the suggestion.

Krash turned to regard her unexpected proposal, and she let out an embarrassed cough.

“Ahem, I mean—that was presumptuous of me.”

Misha had said Black Sea hoping that some trace of the Cheongae Knight Order might remain, but from her perspective—

Krash found himself thinking that the term Black Sea didn’t sound entirely bad.

“This is the Vice-Commander’s office.”

By then, Misha’s guidance had come to an end.

She knocked, and after hearing an answer from within, she opened the door.

Krash stepped through the open doorway with purpose.

What greeted him was a man in the uniform of the Cheongae Knight Order.

He was someone Krash also knew by name.

The Vice-Commander of the Cheongae Knight Order who had been assigned to oversee Krash at Halgram not long ago.

Reblian Phenox.

And today, he was the man to whom Krash would present a difficult request.

＊ ＊ ＊

Reblian Phenox was a composed man.

Swift in his duties, faithful to his superiors’ commands, and having never once abused his authority toward the junior knights, he was a figure of considerable respect.

Yet he possessed flexibility enough to adapt appropriately to circumstances, which made him perfectly suited for the role of Vice-Commander.

In fact, the Commander of the Cheongae Knight Order trusted Reblian, the Vice-Commander, above all others.

Now this Reblian found himself facing Krash, a direct descendant of Balheim.

From their first meeting in the magical city of Halgram, Krash possessed a peculiar nature unlike other direct descendants.

Reblian had wondered what a Balheim direct descendant was doing in the Cheongae Knight Order, but given that it was indeed his business, he had set aside his questions and allowed things to proceed as they would.

But what happened next.

After Krash’s departure, Aslan—a direct descendant of the Igritt family—ceased his suicide attempts, and then suddenly awakened to Flame Magic.

Of course, as the knight assigned to Krash by the Igritt faction, Reblian understood full well that Krash was involved in this change.

From that point forward, Krash had continued to display exceptional behavior.

For this reason, Reblian had been gradually investigating Krash further, and he eventually even heard news that after visiting Masung Palace, Krash had defeated Nakcheon, the phantom of Masung Palace.

Recently, rumors had begun to circulate that this was an exaggerated falsehood, but—

Reblian, having seen Krash with his own eyes, knew the truth.

It was no mere rumor.

“……So you wish to join the Cheongae Knight Order under a concealed identity and participate in the next Forbidden Realm expedition together?”

Reblian pressed the matter, repeating what he had heard from Krash moments before.

Krash nodded calmly in response.

“Yes, exactly as I said.”

Doubt flickered across Reblian’s eyes.

He wondered what reason a direct descendant of Balheim could possibly have for stooping to such a thing.

Yet he kept the question unspoken.

Just as he had silently accepted his position as vice-commander of the Cheongae Knight Order when he lost the power struggle within the Phenox house, so too would he faithfully obey now.

Balheim’s knight order existed for Balheim’s sake alone.

A direct descendant’s request was a command.

“Understood. I shall make the preparations at once.”

At Reblian’s prompt reply, Krash allowed himself a satisfied smile.

Indeed, he was a capable man, well worth taking another look at.

‘Whenever something comes up—a knight order or anything else—I’d want to bring him along first. Too good to waste as vice-commander of the Cheongae Knight Order.’

He was precisely the sort of person convenient to have at one’s side.

But it was not yet time; Krash decided to leave off sizing him up for now.

“What name should I register you under?”

At the mention of a name, Krash fell silent in thought.

Then, gradually, a thin smile spread across his lips.

“Register me as Krad.”

Krad—the first-place victor of the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament who had vanished with the Night Raven Unit.

He had returned, now appearing within Balheim’s Cheongae Knight Order.

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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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