I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 19

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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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19
Tower Headquarters, Team 2 Office.
With the Tower’s Blessing stretching on day after day and now a Special Entity appearing on top of it all, the entire nation of South Korea was caught in a festival atmosphere—but this place was an exception.
Uninvited guests to the party, so to speak.
While everyone else rushed to raise their glasses in toast, they were busy nursing lukewarm coffee.
Because of one VVIP—an Awakener whose name no one knew—the whole of Team 2 had been awake through sleepless nights for days now.
Bang!
“Team Lead!”
Im Hyun-woo, a Team 2 agent, burst through the door practically gasping for breath, nearly tearing it off its hinges.
Lee Do-hyun, the exhausted Team 2 leader, looked up to greet him.
“Easy, easy—be careful. You’ll break the door. You planning to pay for that?”
“I’m sorry. But this is so—no, just look at this! I found something!”
“What? The VVIP? If that’s the case, you’d have every right to break down the door.”
“No, not that, but… I found it. A lead.”
Im Hyun-woo pulled a tablet from his bag and set it on the desk.
The screen displayed a single post from an Anonymous Community.
[└Anonymous10: …My friend went to the Swamp too, and she said the ground there was so muddy that you couldn’t make any progress without specially crafted Magical Boots or something like that. Would it be all right to ask Poongyoza how he crossed it?]
“Magical Boots?”
Lee Do-hyun furrowed his brow.
What made this such an important clue.
“Team Lead, doesn’t something feel off about this comment?”
“What do you mean.”
Im Hyun-woo’s eyes gleamed as he continued his explanation.
“Anyone can see it’s a post written by an imposter—not even a convincing joke. Normally with something like this, people just ignore it or leave a comment saying ‘Fake.’ But this person’s question is strange.”
“…Is it?”
Lee Do-hyun examined the original post and the other comments with narrowed eyes.
‘This comment does have a different texture to it, come to think of it…’
“Keep going.”
“It’s not just a simple question. It’s a kind of counter-intelligence, a trap question designed to filter out imposters. By dangling the bait of ‘Magical Boots’—something that doesn’t even exist—they were testing the other person’s reaction.”
“So you’re saying this person is involved? What’s your evidence?”
“The frustration of knowing the truth but being unable to say it outright! And meanwhile, a fake is playing the hero—that burning fire in their chest! It’s all condensed right here in this comment.”
“Hmm, go on.”
“They could just ignore it and move on, but instead they’re setting an elaborate trap to humiliate the imposter? This person must be someone at the core of the VVIP’s circle. They probably don’t want attention for themselves, so it’s highly likely they were a colleague who was with him.”
Lee Do-hyun nodded along and smiled.
There was something thin and cold about that smile.
“Oho, is that so? Here everyone else is scrambling to get out to the field and meet Survivors, and somehow you dug this up? Impressive.”
Im Hyun-woo, excited by his own achievement, failed to sense the strange undertone and pressed on enthusiastically.
“That’s what I mentioned before, didn’t I? Even if you clamp down and hold it in for now, people are bound to let it slip eventually. When you alone know something important, it’s like, ‘The Emperor’s ears are donkey’s ears’—you can’t keep it bottled up.”
Then Lee Do-hyun’s expression froze cold.
“Im Hyun-woo, are you not reading the room?”
“…Yes?”
The unexpected response caught him off guard.
Im Hyun-woo suddenly realized something was going wrong, his mouth going dry, as Lee Do-hyun tapped the tablet with his finger, his irritation evident.
“Burning fire? Frustration? Are we psychologists now? Bring me something concrete. How many internet conspiracy theories start with ‘My friend said…’? And there are dozens of them a day. If we have time to waste on this kind of garbage, we should be out in the field meeting one more Survivor instead. What am I supposed to report to headquarters with this?”
Flustered by the sharp rebuke, Im Hyun-woo stammered.
“At l-least, couldn’t we verify whether the person who left this comment is really involved, or if they have some connection to a Survivor even if they’re not…?”
“It’s an anonymous community—we can’t even easily figure out their location. And you want me to send a cooperation request based on something like this? Dozens of posts like this go up every single day. Are we supposed to check every one of them? Huh?”
“I’m sorry… Team Lead. I think I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Yeah, Hyun-woo, please, help me out here… The director’s in a bad mood right now, and I need to show some progress, but if I bring something like this to him, I’m not just the one getting chewed out. That’s not what you want either, right?”
Lee Do-hyun gave Im Hyun-woo a sharp dressing-down before softening his tone at the end, patting the younger man’s shoulder reassuringly.
Im Hyun-woo returned to his seat with repeated apologies, his face full of disappointment.
“Sigh…”
Lee Do-hyun exhaled heavily, as if the frustration weighed on him, and rose from his chair.
“I’m going out for a smoke. Everyone else, get your heads in the game and focus on the work.”
“Yes, sir. We’ll see you in a bit.”
As Lee Do-hyun headed for the door, leaving his team members’ farewells behind him, he yanked his necktie off roughly, his exasperation evident.
“Sigh…”
The sigh came unbidden.
VVIP.
Because of that one Awaker whose identity remained a mystery, the entire Headquarters had been turned upside down for days now.
He was combing through the scene itself, meeting with survivors in person, and on top of everything else, he’d even been scrolling through internet communities where useless posts piled up endlessly.
Yet despite all that effort, everything that came back to him amounted to nothing but dead ends. Just like Im Hyun-woo’s earlier deduction.
‘King Midas’s ears are donkey’s ears, or what…’
Of all the communities out there, they’d latched onto posts from an Anonymous Community—not even one where only verified Awakeners could participate. It was absurd.
Lee Do-hyun headed toward his car in the Underground Parking Lot instead of the smoking area.
Once inside, he pulled out a cigarette and clicked his tongue without lighting it.
“Tch. Working with these idiots is a real pain.”
Im Hyun-woo.
He was quite diligent.
The man did legwork well and had persistence.
But at crucial moments, he always got fixated on something strange and stumbled.
‘That’s why, even with all his seniority now, he’s still busy running around at scenes.’
He glanced around, then opened the glove box and pulled out a lighter.
But what came out wasn’t just the lighter.
A battered old cell phone came with it in his hand.
It wasn’t the phone that people knew—the public Lee Do-hyun’s phone.
He soon typed a message on the suspicious phone and sent it somewhere.
[New lead secured. Information monopoly maintained. Target value has shifted; previous offer void. Auction opening bid: 2 million dollars. Exclusive details provided only to final winner.]
There was no concrete lead yet, but what did it matter?
His job was tracking a VVIP anyway.
The lead would come soon enough—that was Lee Do-hyun’s thinking.
‘And in the meantime, my market value keeps climbing… excellent.’
This business was finished.
Lee Do-hyun pushed the phone back deep into its hiding place and lit the cigarette.
“Phew…”
Smoke dispersed into the air.
One corner of his mouth twisted upward in something like a smile.
‘I won’t be able to keep doing this much longer anyway. Though there’s no reason I couldn’t.’
This would be the last time.
* * *
The creature that broke free from the egg seemed impossible to believe as a newborn.
It looked to be at least a month or two old.
‘Did it grow that much inside the egg before hatching…?’
It didn’t make sense, but I couldn’t judge a winged cat born from an egg by any logic I knew.
“Well, it could happen.”
Lately, everything felt pointless anyway—what did common sense even mean anymore?
My shadow moving on its own, losing my abilities outside the Tower, yet somehow engraving the Covert Movement skill in the middle of Seoul without issue—all of it.
‘…What is all this leading to?’
It felt like Awakener registration kept slipping further away.
In any case, the troublesome cat had taken to following me immediately after being born.
In fact, it was snuggled in my arms right now.
I didn’t pick it up—the moment it emerged from the egg, it scrambled into my embrace on its own and settled in.
‘They say animals recognize the first thing they see after hatching as their mother. Is that why? No, wasn’t that birds…?’
I don’t know. Does it even matter?
A small, adorable bundle of black fur.
The warmth radiating from this tiny creature in my arms felt strange and unfamiliar, yet somehow pleasant.
A kind of settling feeling.
I carefully stroked its back.
The creature purred contentedly.
“Oh… a little rumble-purr.”
Sensing it didn’t mind, I kept petting it and spoke softly.
“But what are you exactly? You came from the Tower at least… Item information?”
[Condition not met. Insufficient Affinity with the target. Failed to retrieve detailed information.]
Affinity? Acting like a living creature rather than an object, when it came from the Tower anyway.
“Alright, we’ll figure out what you are slowly. We’ll be seeing each other for a long time anyway.”
Raising it was already decided.
I couldn’t let a winged cat go wandering around the neighborhood, and besides, it follows me like this. I have to take responsibility.
“Let’s see… I need to give you a name… Here comes another difficult choice.”
Painful memories from Nocturne surfaced.
The white one was Baekseolgi, the black one was Bami.
My naming sense was only at that level.
Nocturne was a peak I hadn’t even anticipated myself.
‘Bami… it wasn’t great as a sword name, but wouldn’t a black cat suit it? No, better than suit—it’s absolutely perfect, isn’t it?’
I whispered to the creature nestled in my arms.
“How about Bami, little one? As your name?”
It had been looking up at me from my embrace, but suddenly it turned its head away.
Or so it seemed.
Its purring had stopped too, for some reason.
“Hmm, you don’t like that one? Then… Pepper?”
This one failed the test too.
“Briquette! Nero! Siru!”
I kept calling out black cat names I’d heard somewhere before, but it was all for nothing.
No matter how many times I called, the creature wouldn’t meet my eyes again.
“You stubborn thing. Pickier than I expected. The names are good too. Fine, if you don’t like them, what can I do? I’ll have to think harder.”
I let out a soft laugh and stroked the creature again when suddenly its pitch-black fur caught my eye.
Not a hint of light reflecting off it—a black as deep as the night itself.
Nocturne came to mind.
“It looks exactly like Nocturne, all dark like that… Nocturne… Nocturne… Night…?”
In that moment, the creature’s ears perked up and twitched.
…!
The first reaction I’d seen since I started naming it.
I called it a bit longer.
“Bami?”
“Meow!”
The creature that had shown no response to any other name suddenly answered as if it had been waiting.
Turning its head to look up at me.
“Bami… Bami… you like this name?”
“Meow!”
It answered briefly and rubbed its head against my hand.
It was clear this one had pleased it.
“Alright, then. From now on, your name is Bami.”
Once I’d settled on a name, practical concerns surfaced.
“I’ll need to feed you something. Let me think… formula? Cat food? Or do kittens have something like weaning food?”
Come to think of it, I knew nothing about cats.
Except for the one thing—don’t feed them cow’s milk.
“Well, I’ll just buy one of each type and give whichever it eats.”
I carefully set Bami down from my arms.
“There’s a 24-hour pet supply shop nearby. I’ll be back quick.”
I gently stroked its head once and headed for the entrance.
I was just opening the door to leave when a plaintive sound came from behind me.
“Mew—eow…”
I turned to find Bami had already followed and was crying at my feet.
I nudged the creature inside with my foot and carefully shut the door.
“Mew—eow…”
The crying grew louder.
I had no choice but to open the door again and come back inside.
Then, as if it had never cried at all, it stopped and rubbed itself against my legs.
‘Damn it… how is this so cute.’
I soothed the creature for a while, and once it seemed settled, I carefully put it down and dashed to the entrance, quickly shutting the door.
Right on cue, the crying started again.
“Mew—eow…”
“Sigh… you wouldn’t separate from me back when we first met either. You won’t let go now. Fine, fine. Let’s go together.”
As if understanding my words, the creature came trotting eagerly to my feet.
With the intention of carrying it, I scooped it up in both hands when Bami suddenly licked my hand.
“…Huh?”
I figured it must be hungry, like a baby sucking on a finger, but something felt off.
“What is it…?”
Looking closer, it wasn’t my hand at all.
The creature was licking the shadow between my fingers.

No, it wasn’t licking.
It was eating.
Smack-smack-smack — the creature was devouring it with relish.
“…?”
At first I thought I’d misread the scene, but no matter how many times I looked, it was unmistakably feasting on the shadows between my fingers.
Watching that inky, cotton-candy-like substance vanish into its mouth made denial impossible.
“Well, this is a first.”
A different sight from when shadows moved of their own accord, swallowing endless hunger.
“Though I suppose a winged cat hatched from an egg wouldn’t eat pet food anyway.”
What had I even been thinking?
I laughed softly and reached over to stroke its head as it busied itself with the meal.
“At least it’s earning its keep.”
Just by treading on shadows, the skill copies itself
Author |
Killing Part
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. — Dream Books
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G720:N+A063-20260703072
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blog.naver.com/dreambookss
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@dreambookss
Submissions |
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Without written permission from Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. — Dream Books, this book’s contents may not be used in any form or by any means.

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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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