I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 39

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

39
“Thank you so much! Do come again!”
“I’ll put it to good use. May your business flourish.”
The workshop district on the first floor, a rare visit.
The item I’d commissioned days ago at considerable expense—the Marsh Veil—had finally come into my hands.
A yellow-green leather cloak with a subtle clay-dust tint.
The way it shimmered as though moisture might seep from it at any moment suggested the name “Marsh Veil” was well-earned.
I’d expected it to look crude, but it fell with an unexpected elegance, the lines sharp and assured.
“Aesthetically speaking, it passes.”
The smell, though—that was another matter.
It carried the damp, brackish reek of a riverbank after rain.
“…Well, that’ll help with camouflage. Item information.”
[Marsh Veil]
Grade: High
Type: Cloak
Description: A cloak crafted from the hide of a colossal creature, steeped in marshland.
Imbued with damp moisture and the earthy scent of silt, it grants exceptional camouflage ability in wetland terrain.
Special Effects:
[Protective Coloration]: Attunes the wearer’s presence to surrounding environment, amplifying the concealment efficacy of stealth skills and camouflage actions.
※ Efficiency significantly increases in marshland and forest terrain.
[Moisture Resistance]: Protects the wearer from damp humidity and contaminated mud.
※ Grants high resistance to various status ailments arising from hot, humid environments.
“Not bad at all.”
It couldn’t compare to high-grade items like the Ring of Goldarc or Nightsong, but for a high-grade piece, it was excellent.
More importantly, the true value of this item lay in its environmental adaptability.
The Barren Land had been my primary stage from floors one through ten. That was finished.
According to my research, floors eleven through twenty held a vast jungle awaiting me.
‘An environment just like where I was taken that time… this is going to be rough.’
An item perfectly suited for a hot, humid jungle.
I could only hope this thing would give me some breathing room in the depths of that forest.
My first objective on the first floor was complete.
‘Now then… next is skills. What should I inscribe after dropping Covert Movement?’
‘Covert Movement’—a skill with good efficiency for its grade, and I’d benefited from it considerably, but it was time to let it go.
The Protective Coloration effect alone would provide some replacement.
Rather than chasing synergies, I wanted to expand my options.
‘What skill would make navigating the jungle easier?’
I had a few candidates in mind, but the real question was whether I could find those who possessed them.
I stopped and focused on the scents carried by the crowd around me.
Acrid smoke, metallic blood, the tang of iron….
Among the tangle of odors, a unique fragrance brushed against my senses.
‘Hmm…?’
A clean, crisp scent—like cotton blankets dried stiff in the summer sun.
I knew instinctively.
The skill I was looking for belonged to this person.
‘Found them.’
I parted the crowd and followed the scent naturally.
Soon I spotted the source of that fragrance ahead.
I trailed them quietly, then gently stepped on their shadow. Lightly. With care.
[New shadow contact detected.]
[Target: Awakener Ju Da-eun]
[Activating unique ability ‘Shadow Mimic’.]
[Analyzing skill information…]
[Precise Shot (C), Light Footsteps (D), Target Marking (E+)]
‘Nice.’
Excuse me. Ju Da-eun.
I’m borrowing some of your skills.
* * *
[Basic Quest completed.]
[Calculating reward.]
“Whew. That felt clean.”
Eliminating fifteen swamp monsters—a basic quest—was finished without difficulty.
The Marsh Veil and my newly inscribed Light Footsteps proved far more effective than I’d anticipated.
The Golden Era buff, too, was nothing to dismiss.
‘I’d even considered crafting proper snowshoes if things got rough… but there’s no need for that now.’
Those days of wallowing through mud in crude snowshoes woven from bark were behind me.
The Marsh Veil blocked the damp moisture, and Light Footsteps let me walk through the mire as easily as solid ground—nothing could have been more comfortable.
‘Environmental penalties: completely neutralized. That’s what I’m talking about.’
It struck me anew just how broken it was to steal and use someone else’s skills.
‘Even low-rank skills are powerful when used right. In practical terms, I’m getting nearly B-rank utility out of them.’
Of course, that was specific to the swamp, but it made no difference.
Not anymore, now that I have the Shadow Archive.
When a skill outlives its usefulness, I swap it for another, and whenever I need it again, I simply pull it back out of the archive and use it.
“Well, I’m warmed up. Time to get to the main event.”
Just as the system finished its automatic inventory management, a message recommended the main course.
[Will you challenge the Ordeal of the 11th Floor?]
“Challenge accepted.”
[The Ordeal of Watching now begins.]
The moment I accepted, the forest erupted into chaos.
“Hisss! Shhheak!”
“Grrrowl! Grrrowl!”
Not far off, on both sides of me, came the cries of Lizardmen and Nol—the primary monsters of the Great Forest.
Judging by the volume and frequency of the noise, there were considerable numbers of them.
“They’re coming in a mob?”
Actually, that worked in my favor.
A rabble of weaklings was always easier to handle than a single sharp opponent.
‘Time to hide.’
I concealed myself behind the thick foliage and waited.
Before long, they pushed through the forest and revealed themselves.
The first group to appear was a band of Lizardmen clad in polished steel armor, wielding curved blades honed razor-sharp.
“Hisss! Sheak!”
Between the bipedal lizards trudged a horned buffalo with impressively large antlers, hauling a cart.
‘Count’s around ten or so. Their gear is nothing like the ones I killed during the basic quest. Combat troops, maybe?’
Beyond the equipment, there was nothing particularly threatening about them.
What caught my attention was that cart.
‘What are they carrying, wrapped up so tightly? They really went to town with the packing.’
Whatever it was, it didn’t look like anything ordinary.
‘Is looting that cart the goal of this ordeal?’
While I was pondering that, the Nol pack appeared from the opposite direction.
“Grrrrowl!”
Where the Lizardmen were bipedal lizards, these were bipedal canines.
Their numbers—roughly twenty—were double the Lizardmen’s, but their equipment was nowhere near comparable.
Most of their metal pieces were badly rusted, and to make up for the shortage, many wore armor fashioned from bone and hide.
‘One side relies on quality and smaller numbers, the other on sheer force of numbers. Let me see which is stronger—dog or lizard.’
We were getting close enough for action.
I rested my hand on my sword hilt, ready for battle.
But what unfolded next didn’t quite match my expectations.
“Grrrowl! Grrrrowl!”
“Hissss! Sssssss!”
‘…What?’
An ordeal, or so it was supposed to be.
I’d assumed, as before, they’d hunt me down and try to kill me. That’s why I’d hidden.
But no—they weren’t looking for me at all. Instead, they were locked in a tense standoff, baring fangs and split tongues at each other.
I was completely beneath their notice, and it looked like they were ready to charge at each other any moment.
‘Why are they at each other’s throats like this? Territory dispute? And where’s the objective message—why’s it always so late…’
Just as the saying goes, speak of the tiger and hear his roar—the system message finally arrived.
[Quest Objective: Support one of the factions vying for dominance over the Great Forest and lead them to victory.]
▶ Choice 1: Support the Lizardman Faction — Cargo Escort (Difficulty: Normal)]
▶ Choice 2: Support the Nol Faction — Cargo Heist (Difficulty: Hard)]
※ Warning: This choice cannot be reversed or reconsidered and will permanently affect the progression of the Ordeals through the 20th Floor.
※ Rewards will be distributed according to the difficulty you select and your overall contribution.
‘Oh, a chain quest…? Or should I call it a linked Ordeal?’
Depending on which hand she chose—the dog’s or the snake’s—the difficulty and rewards of the climb ahead would be determined.
The difficulty was plainly marked, but the choice wasn’t simple.
Safety or risk? Play it cautious or gamble for greater reward. That was the question.
‘But there’s no Goblin Faction option?’
The enemies that typically appeared in the 11–20 floor Great Forest section fell into three broad categories.
The Nol Faction, the Lizardman Faction, and the Goblin Faction that wasn’t showing its face.
‘I haven’t seen a trace of them in the Basic Quests either, and they’re not in the choices here either…’
I recall reading a recent post that Goblins had become rare sightings in the Great Forest section.
Back then I’d scrolled past without much thought, but now it didn’t feel so casual.
‘Is there some reason for it?’
It was right when I was thinking that.
“Grrrowl! Yelp! Yelp!”
A pack of Nol, spears and axes raised high, charged at the cargo.
A group of Lizardmen drew their curved blades and met them head-on.
“Hiss, hiss-hiss!”
Clang—!
Metal shrieked where it clashed, and sparks red as blood flew in all directions.
A dizzying melee erupted in an instant.
Before the metal’s screech had even faded, the cries of flesh and the spill of blood followed in its wake.
“Screech!”
“Hiss-ahhh!”
There were wounded among the Lizardmen, but rolling on the ground were only furred beasts.
The difficulty difference in the choices held true—the Lizardmen had the clear advantage.
‘If I leave them to it, the snakes will win. In that case, I should probably…’
I was just running the numbers on which side to attach myself to and pocket the spoils, when a sudden crack split the air.
Crunch—!
“…!?”
My eyes snapped toward the sound by pure reflex.
A wagon was teetering on the edge of balance, about to collapse in on itself.
A wild axe-swing had gone wide and splintered the wheel spoke.
In the chaos, familiar faces appeared between the shattered cargo compartments.
“…Keek?”
“Kee! Kee!”
The green dwarves who’d seemed to vanish just moments ago—they were back.
Five Goblins.
‘Wait, so it wasn’t treasure? They were prisoners?’
So that meant the Nol and the Lizardmen had been competing over prisoners this whole time.
“Kee, kee-rue! Kee-ek!”
“Kee-ruk!”
The Goblins, seizing their one chance at freedom, scattered in five directions and bolted as if they’d rehearsed it.
‘Hmm. Though I doubt they’ll just let them go.’
Sure enough, one of the nearby Lizardmen shook off the Nol he was fighting and tore after the Goblins with murderous speed.
“Hissss—!”
With those stubby green legs? They might as well have been fleas.
There was no way to outrun a Lizardman whose legs were twice as long.
“Hiss! Hiss-sss!”
The pursuing Lizardman caught the slowest straggler by the scruff and hurled it to the ground.
“Gack!”
Prisoner or not, mercy doesn’t extend to those who try to escape.
The Lizardman raised its curved blade high—and that was when it happened.
“Kee-eek!”
A cry—whether a scream or a roar, I couldn’t tell—and another Goblin burst forward, blocking the blow.
The same one that had been fleeing just moments before.
‘It could’ve lived if it kept running. But it came back. For its friend.’
“Kee-rue! Kee-rue-ruk…!”
Even as its legs trembled with fear, the Goblin shielded its companion—a heartwrenching display of loyalty.
‘Courage is admirable, but…’
Still, it wasn’t enough.
Without the strength to fight directly, it would only become another sacrifice.
Whoosh! Slash!
It was exactly like pouring oil on a burning house.
A Lizardman adjusted its curved blade, narrowing its yellow vertical pupils to slits.
It looked ready to cleave both of them at once.
‘They’re done for.’
The situation was somewhat pitiful, but it wasn’t my concern.
I’d already killed more than a few Goblins with my own hands—no point in getting sentimental about it now.
And yet,
Hummmmm—!
All at once, my fingers burned hot, as if seared by flame.
“Ah, it’s ho—!”
Urgent red messages cascaded across my vision.
[Item ‘Ring of Goldarc’ detects violation of ‘Absolute Hierarchy’ rights.]
[Warning: Your ‘potential asset’ is under threat.]
‘Asset?’
The special effect ‘Absolute Hierarchy’—something I’d half-forgotten in the shadow of ‘Golden Ratio’ and ‘King’s Memento’.
The skill was saying that those pitiful Goblins over there were mine, or could become mine.
‘My asset is under threat…’
That changed everything.
By the time my thoughts reached that point, my body was already in motion.
Tap-tap-tap!
I slid forward with Light Footsteps, and the distance collapsed in an instant.
The Lizardman’s curved blade was already mid-swing.
Screech!
The Goblin froze without even managing a scream.
The blade fell, scattering an eerie flash of reflected light.
And one thin black line cut through that brilliance.
Clang—!
“Sh—slash?”
Where darkness severed light and passed, the curved blade flew skyward.
The black blade glinted in the Lizardman’s amber eyes, now empty-handed.
“Who gave you permission to lay hands on someone else’s property?”
This was rightfully my asset.
Then, as if waiting for this very moment, a flood of messages engulfed my vision.
[Condition fulfilled: Possessing and exercising ownership rights of ‘Absolute Hierarchy’.]
[Hidden choice ‘Goblin Faction Restoration’ has been activated by meeting specific conditions.]
▶ Choice 3: Goblin Faction Restoration (Difficulty: Impossible)]
※ Warning: The faction is in an irreversible state. This choice is not recommended.
※ Warning: Selecting this route will cause all Nol Faction and Lizardman Faction forces to regard you as a ‘public enemy’.
“Oh, a hidden route?”
Turn both factions hostile, with only irreversibly broken Goblins as allies.
By any rational standard, it was suicidal.
But.
“Unmeasurable difficulty…”
Which meant the reward was equally unmeasurable, didn’t it?
Then my answer was clear.
Scrape—!
The Lizardman’s head dropped, eyes wide, as my blade swept lightly across.
I kicked the serpent’s skull aside and declared,
“This’ll be fun. I’m taking it—that impossible task.”
그림자만 밟았는데 스킬이 막 복사됨
지은이|
킬링파트
발행인 |
(주) 삼양씨앤씨
책임편집 |
편집부
펴낸 곳 |
(주) 삼양씨앤씨 – 드림북스
주소 |
Gwaseong Building 7F, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260703072
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
X (Twitter) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
Without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.—Dream Books, the contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————