I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 25

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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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25
Something about the pattern felt off, different from usual.
I stood still, studying the black message carefully.
Against my will, it had swallowed the shadow, and now this had emerged.
In place of the familiar blue message window I’d come to know.
‘Shadow Predation complete,’ it said.
Just one line of notification.
No explanation of what predation actually did or how it worked.
“And? That’s all?”
A message appeared belatedly.
Still black background.
[Essences Available for Predation]
▶ Essence of Regeneration
▶ Essence of Monstrous Strength
▶ Essence of Indomitability
“Your explanations are getting shorter, aren’t they?”
Different color, different tone, explanations so sparse I couldn’t believe it was the system I’d known—everything was wrong.
All of it felt strange.
Maybe that’s why.
The whole situation felt subtly off-putting.
‘Still, the content is good, so that works. It’s asking me to pick one of these, right? Or is it not? Well, either way—clearly this is a list of skills that ogre had.’
‘I shall never forget your kindness, I beg you to help me!’ sounds worse than ‘I found this, so you take it and use it.’
So what if the packaging is poor? The contents are what matter.
‘Of course, it has to be…this one.’
There was no reason to hesitate.
Monstrous Strength was tempting too, but after watching a severed wrist reattach itself, how could I pass this up?
“First choice: Essence of Regeneration. I’m taking this.”
[This choice cannot be undone.]
“I don’t car—”
[Absorption complete.]
The moment I chose, it was done.
‘I thought it would ask me again, but it was just a notification.’
With that, the black message window faded away, and the familiar blue system message appeared in its place.
[You have learned a new skill through an unknown path. You permanently acquire ‘Ultra Regeneration (A)’.]
Unknown path.
‘What does that even mean?’
Could it be that the system responsible for this blue message hadn’t even detected what just happened?
‘The Tower’s status message didn’t notice?’
Questions upon questions.
Right then, a thought struck me like lightning.
‘…Could the blue system message not know exactly what my shadow is capable of?’
Once I thought of it that way, everything made sense.
An Awakener who can use skills outside the Tower.
It was limited to skills with the ‘shadow’ descriptor, but it was abnormal in itself.
A state that broke whatever rules the Tower had established.
‘There’s something inside the Tower, beyond the Tower’s knowledge, that can exert influence. And the medium is the shadow….’
As my thoughts reached that point, a chill ran down my spine.
‘I was just happy that a few skills worked outside, but this is no small matter.’
In the orphanage, nothing I ever had was truly mine.
With a talent to copy anything, I learned early that being good at something just because I could do it better than others was reason enough to be resented.
The reason I kept my identity hidden despite becoming somewhat famous under the alias ‘Abundance Seat’ was all rooted there.
Envy. Jealousy. Things like that.
‘I need to be more careful from now on.’
Whether hiding would actually work was another question.
Every time I did anything, the Tower blasted out system-wide announcements.
But one thing was certain now.
Even if my identity got exposed, my abilities must never be exposed.
“Huh… well. At least I got an A-rank skill, so that’s something. But what’s going on, and how?”
I defeated the 5th Floor boss, and a previously locked ability was unlocked as a result, which earned me a permanent skill.
That’s the core of it, but anything beyond that remained a mystery.
The thing is, this new friend of a different sort doesn’t say much at all.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Either way, if I keep climbing, I’ll see him again soon enough. I’ll understand things gradually.’
When did he ever understand everything that happened in the Tower perfectly?
What mattered now was that he’d no longer need to use Potions in most situations.
‘Money saved. With a skill this good, I probably won’t even need to invest in a separate recovery skill.’
Now that he thought about it, the sharp pain in his wrist that had been nagging him all this time had vanished without a trace.
“…Man, the effect is incredible.”
* * *
At dawn, when dim light seeped through the window, the Tower Disaster Control Headquarters.
Even at this early hour, Director Jeong Jin Hyuk’s office lights burned brightly.
He’d been suffering under mounting pressure recently.
Though anyone would be exhausted from all-night operations, Jeong Jin Hyuk still scrutinized the whiteboard in the corner of his office with sharp eyes.
‘I think we’re almost there….’
The board was crammed with names of those who’d survived the recent Forced Summoning incident in the Tower.
The powerful groups occupied the top positions.
Below them sat those without any particular distinguishing marks.
‘What am I missing?’
As his worry deepened, Jeong Jin Hyuk pressed his tired eyes with one hand beneath his glasses for a moment.
‘I haven’t slept enough—my head’s gotten stiff. I need to rest a bit and think this through again.’
At last he turned away from the whiteboard and collapsed into his chair.
But he wasn’t even granted a moment to close his eyes.
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking echoed from beyond the director’s office entrance.
“Director. I’ve come to make a report. Do you have a moment?”
“Yes, just a moment.”
Jeong Jin Hyuk straightened his tie and checked his appearance before greeting his visitor.
“Come in.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Director. I’ve prepared a report on foreign agency movements.”
A visit from the head of the overseas intelligence team.
His face bore no less exhaustion than Jeong Jin Hyuk’s own.
“Good. Let me hear it.”
“Yes, first there’s the American Tower Anomaly Response Authority. T.A.R.A has elevated surveillance of the VVIP as its top priority, and a large contingent of research teams and field personnel have entered Incheon Airport under the guise of a research mission for the Wetland Abundance phenomenon.”
“Ha, these guys. Listen to them hide behind this ‘allied nation’ excuse.”
Just the analysis team would’ve been suspicious enough, but field personnel too?
Jeong Jin Hyuk was no fool about their true intentions.
“Well, fine. It’s like playing peek-a-boo with our American friends, but at least they bother to announce when they’re coming and going.”
The real problem was China, whose movements remained veiled in secrecy.
“What about China?”
“They’re making a lot of noise on the official channels. They’ve dispatched a trade delegation claiming they’ll bulk-purchase the Tower byproducts flooding out from the Wetland Abundance phenomenon. They’re using state-owned enterprises as their front.”
“And?”
The question itself implied there was inevitably more.
Of course, there was.
“According to intelligence from the National Intelligence Service, they’re attempting to identify the VVIP through their information network in Chinatown. They’ve apparently been detected preparing a substantial recruitment offer.”
“Tsk, they never change.”
Jeong Jin Hyuk rubbed his temples with visible irritation.
Just those two were a headache enough; there was still one more to account for.
“Is Japan still quiet?”
“Outwardly, yes. With America and China both making moves, their stance is to observe the situation for now….”
“That’s when those guys are most dangerous. You never know what schemes they’re plotting.”
“Yes, the moment we get any relevant updates through any channel, I’ll report it as top priority.”
The report on the movements of those three most troublesome nations ended there.
The moment he felt he’d caught his breath, a slip of the tongue escaped the overseas intelligence team leader’s lips.
“Fortunately, it appears all countries are still having difficulty identifying the VVIP’s personal details.”
The instant after he spoke, he realized his mistake.
Right on cue, a pointed remark from Jeong Jin Hyuk flew at him.
“That’s our problem too. Against our own national, here in our own backyard. In fact, we’re falling the furthest behind.”
Catching that tone, the team leader added in a stiff voice, as if to redirect the conversation.
“Ahem, Director. This is something separate, but… over the past 72 hours, the number of foreign Awakeners entering through Incheon Airport has surged 1,400% compared to the previous week.”
1,400%? It was a staggering figure, though not entirely surprising.
The Wetland Abundance alone was already seeing a steady increase in foreign Awaker arrivals.
The emergence of a Special Entity Goblin was like pouring fuel on this fire.
“It was always going to happen. The Tower follows the Territorial Principle, not the Personal Principle.”
The Tower’s rules were absolute.
Any Awakener, regardless of origin, could ascend a Korean Tower while standing on Korean soil.
Conversely, any Korean who ventured abroad could ascend the towers there.
Because of this, in the wake of the Moscow catastrophe, each nation had begun maintaining a precarious cooperation.
Of course, that hardly meant peace.
Just as before, they remained entangled in interests, waging their silent wars without the sound of gunfire.
‘Allies today, enemies tomorrow — and everyone’s desperate to poach each other’s Awakeners.’
China had solidified its dominance over tower security across its neighboring regions and throughout the African continent, leveraging its staggering capital and overwhelming human resources. America, meanwhile, erected invisible walls centered around its allies.
Europe and the Middle East were no different than before the Towers emerged.
Europe’s aging empires masqueraded as unified under the European Union, feigning cooperation while competing fiercely for each other’s Awakeners beneath the surface. The Middle East, as always, never stopped at mere poaching — it descended into something far more vicious.
Kidnapping, imprisoning, coercing, and stealing the key Awakeners who secured each nation’s tower security became commonplace; those they couldn’t steal, they eliminated.
So when Korea suddenly became known as a gold mine, the hyenas naturally came circling.
“Was there anything else regarding the influx of foreign Awakeners?”
“We’re currently pursuing the development of ‘Awakener-Specialized Tourism Packages’ in close coordination with the Tourism Board, capitalizing on this opportunity.”
“Lucky country. That’s the right approach for now, but….”
The Wetland Abundance won’t last forever, nor will the Special Entity appearances.
Merely having capable Awakeners seek out Korea and ascend Korean Towers was itself a windfall for the nation.
But what if those talented Awakeners liked Korea enough to stay put?
Every other nation was desperately trying to poach Awakeners from their neighbors — it was almost too good to be true.
‘The real problem comes if the Abundance keeps extending by one day at a time, and ends up lasting forever.’
The appearance of the VVIP had been an unprecedented blessing for Korea.
Yet it was also true that nations burdened with too much abundance sometimes crumbled from within.
History had proven that many times over.
‘…Still, in the end, the benefits probably outweigh the risks.’
Perhaps this opportunity would allow Korea to absorb talented people from across the world, just as America did.
Should that happen, Korea taking the lead in Tower climbing ahead of America wouldn’t merely be a dream.
Of course, that was just ‘a possibility.’
It might happen, or it might not — and even if it did, it would be a distant future.
“That concludes my report.”
“Thank you for your hard work, team leader. Why don’t you head home and get some rest?”
“Director, shouldn’t you at least step home for a moment and rest yourself? How many days has it been since you left the office…?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me — just go rest. I’m not going home, but I’m managing to rest here and there.”
“…Well then, I’ll take you up on that and grab a little sleep. Thank you for everything.”
With his subordinate leaving his post, silence returned once more.
Seated in his chair, Jeong Jin Hyuk leaned back, and his gaze naturally drifted toward the whiteboard below — to a corner that had almost been erased.
[Kim Si Hyun: Survivor of Forced Summoning Incident. Awakened same day (Healer). Unregistered, no notable anomalies.]
Among countless names, the three characters ‘Kim Si Hyun’ barely held their place.
Just by stepping on a shadow, my skill copies itself
Author | Killing Part

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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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