I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 40

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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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40
‘The adults were right about everything. Goblins really do die when they do things they shouldn’t.’
A fleeting thought from Roga as the curved blade descended toward his neck.
‘But gods, it’s beautiful.’
Could death truly be this radiant?
The light shattered where it met the blade—blinding, magnificent.
Even knowing it would claim his life.
Yet that iridescent brilliance didn’t last.
In an instant, a single Black Line pierced through the luminous world.
‘…?’
Before wonder could form, light and darkness collided.
Clang!
It took a heartbeat for Roga to realize that ribbon of darkness had saved him.
“…?”
His gaze chased the shadow.
A black blade that had shattered the blooming light.
And whoever wielded the Black Sword…
“Oh, Hidden One?”
‘A human? What is a human doing here…?’
“Immeasurable Difficulty…”
The human spoke words that made no sense, yet carved a Snake-Human in two with a single stroke.
Screech!
“This looks fun. I’ll take that impossible.”
“Kiru! Kie! Hisss!”
As the Snake-Humans and Dog-Humans clashed, Roga tried to warn the human away from that tangle, but his words clearly meant nothing.
‘He’s strong—I saw him kill that Snake-Human—but still, those numbers are dangerous…!’
But Roga’s worry proved unfounded.
“Hisss, hissss!”
“What are you even saying.”
The human swung his blade lightly against the Snake-Human blocking his path.
Again, a Black Line carved through empty air, and the result was identical to what Roga had witnessed before.
Slash!
A Snake-Human that typically offered up its tail instead gave up its head.
Of course, losing one’s head instead of one’s tail left no chance of survival.
“Kie…?”
Roga couldn’t quite grasp why the Snake-Humans died, or how—only that when touched by that deadly Black Line, they fell.
All he understood was that the Black Line emanated from the human’s blade tip.
‘This human is strong…!’
“Hisss, hissss!”
“Tszzzzt!”
Having lost two companions in moments, the Snake-Humans threw their numerical advantage at him, coordinating their assault.
“Good. All at once is better. Easier for me.”
Yet numbers made no difference.
When the Black Line lashed out, Snake-Humans fell without fail.
Was this what the legendary great ruler Goldarac had been like in war?
After dispatching the clinging Snake-Humans in a blink, the human’s attention turned to the Dog-Humans.
“Grrrrr!”
“So, you mutts are baring your fangs?”
Snake-Humans preferred to enslave goblins rather than devour them, but Dog-Humans were different.
They regarded goblins as livestock—useful for breeding.
Even goblins captured by Snake-Humans pitied their kin who fell to Dog-Humans.
Roga had taken modest comfort in being enslaved by Snake-Humans instead of Dog-Humans.
Yet now those dread Dog-Humans were being carved into neat sections by the human’s hand.
Whatever sorcery he wielded, the Black Line alone had been menacing—but now the Black Sword in his grip blazed with fire.
“Kyaahhng!”
Moments later, the Dog-Humans’ bold assault evaporated; they coiled their tails and fled in panic.
‘So even among humans, the greatest are merely human. Humans truly are terrifying.’
Snake-Human, Dog-Human, human—all of them slaughter machines.
For small, fragile creatures like his kind, there was no recourse against such towering beasts.
‘But what happens now…?’
What on earth does this human want with me after saving my life?
To enslave me? Or to make me food?
‘Do humans eat goblins like the Dog-Humans do…?’
I can only hope they don’t.
“Grrr! This one wants the goblin! Abandon it and flee!”
“Hisss! The bastards are running! We retreat as well! All units, fall back!”
After only a brief skirmish, both sides had suffered devastating losses.
Soon the stragglers vanished into the forest in disarray.
Just as the goblins had done moments before.
The human, rather than pursue them, calmly wiped the blood from his blade.
“Tsk. I wanted to kill them all, but they gave up fast.”
A brief tempest of blood, and then silence fell.
In the heart of the blood-soaked forest, the human who had spilled so much yet bore not a single drop upon himself stood motionless, muttering something incomprehensible.
“Impossible, you say? It doesn’t seem that difficult.”
* * *
The situation was over.
Five goblins, freed from the Snig and the Lizardmen, huddled together in a corner, trembling.
“Hey, are you all right?”
As I approached to examine them, their condition was pitiful.
Malnutrition was the least of it—their entire bodies were covered in whip marks and bruises.
‘That’s why I haven’t seen them in so long.’
Though I couldn’t know for certain, it seemed that some kind of rift had formed among the forces that once divided the Great Forest into thirds.
‘They must have used that opportunity to hunt goblins and take them prisoner.’
The more I thought about it, the clearer the situation became.
“Still, though—you’ve beaten these kids half to death. I mean, you lot are always brawling with each other, capturing and being captured, so… don’t you have some kind of Great Forest Accord or something?”
“…Keh?”
All that came back when I tried to speak was incomprehensible chirping—kee-rook, kee-rook, and such.
Each time my eyes fell on them, they flinched and averted their gaze, as if making eye contact meant being devoured on the spot.
They’re grateful for being rescued, but still don’t trust me.
It feels like looking into the eyes of a new slave master, somehow.
“…This won’t do as it is.”
Of course, there was a solution.
Why else would I have chosen the goblin route without any foundation for trust?
“Hey, Snig. Come on out.”

[The item ‘Lord Goldarac’s Ring’ opens the ‘King’s Secret Chamber’.]
The ring responded as if understanding its purpose.
Space rippled and a portal formed, through which Snig emerged in an instant.
“Your lord’s faithful servant! Colonel Snig reporting! I’ve already returned from my duties, sir! Wait… what is all this?”
The vacant expression on his face as he surveyed the surroundings suggested he’d assumed I was calling him from home after work.
“Long story. I’ll explain later. I rescued some goblins—the Snig and the Lizardmen were giving them a hard time.”
“Ah! How gracious and merciful of you, my lord! To extend your compassion even to these savage forest goblins and deliver them from the claws of evil!”
“…You’re always so theatrical. Anyway, forget it—just translate for me. That’s why I called you.”
“I am honored, sir! I shall convey your words at once!”
As I spoke with Snig, a familiar face peeked through the closing portal.
It was Sangsik, exiled in the King’s Secret Chamber.
“Oh, Sangsik. How are you managing? Getting by all right?”
I greeted him warmly, and he started in alarm, bowing his back at a ninety-degree angle.
“Y-yes, sir! I, I’m doing well! Please don’t worry and carry on with your business!”
Why is he so stiff?
Ah, right—he’d seen everything. The corpses on the ground.
‘An unawakened one seeing all this blood and carnage would naturally be shaken.’
As that thought crossed my mind, the portal sealed itself shut with a soft whisper.
“How’s Sangsik been? You two have been together the whole time.”
“He’s become quite obedient, sir.”
Well, that sounds like he’s doing fine.
“Good to hear. Now then, let’s get things organized here.”
“Understood, sir! What should I tell them?”
“Tell them we’re moving on. The blood stench is too much—we can’t stay here any longer.”
“I shall obey your command!”
Snig straightened his chest and fixed his expression into one of grave dignity, then bellowed toward the goblins.
“Kiruluk! Kiek! Kikek―!”
‘Ugh, my ears.’
This goblin tongue was truly unbearable.
* * *
To Sihyun it was merely grating noise, but to the goblins it meant something else entirely.
“Behold! You wretched Green Breath, lost and wandering in darkness!”
Snig gestured respectfully toward Sihyun with both hands, his voice ringing out with sonorous force.
“Here stands our sovereign, Kisharak himself, come to lift your dying breath from the mire! You must kneel before him and offer your veneration!”
Kisharak. Master of the Green Breath, King of All Things.
It was startling enough that a goblin had suddenly appeared and conversed amicably with a human, but to call that human Kisharak of all names―
A title legendary even in goblin society, and the goblins visibly trembled at it.
“Master of the Green Breath…!”
“Kisharak, you say Kisharak?!”
“The legend that was severed after Goldarac…!”
“That tall creature is Kisharak? We’re grateful he saved us, but surely not that―”
“Right, well spoken! That certainly can’t be right!”
To them, like the Snake-Humans and Dog-Humans, tall creatures were enemies and nothing more.
Of course, Snig was not one to let such mutterings pass unchallenged in Sihyun’s presence.
“Silence, you wretches! How dare you flap your jaws at your sovereign!”
The goblins flinched at Snig’s rebuke and clamped their mouths shut.
Yet though the noise ceased, their eyes remained thick with doubt.
“….”
“Can you not see the seal of the Crimson Tyrant upon him!”
Snig pointed to Sihyun’s hand―specifically, to Lord Goldarac’s Ring.
It was a symbol of absolute authority that any goblin should rightfully revere.
Yet for the goblins of this age, it had become nothing but a tale from a distant, legendary past.
“…What’s that ring?”
“Heavens above, your eyes are knotholes, not sockets! And you ask what it is?”
Snig beat his chest in evident frustration, his fists thumping against it.
Sihyun, growing impatient, stepped forward himself.
‘What’s wrong with this bastard?’
He’d entrusted the goblin expert with the task, but things were taking an unexpected turn.
“Why is this taking so long? What’s with their attitude, and did you actually convey it properly?”
“My deepest apologies, my lord. These foolish wretches refuse to trust you because you are human, and so I―”
In truth, eight-tenths of the goblins’ resistance came not from Sihyun being human, but from Snig adding unnecessary commentary; Sihyun simply didn’t know it.
“Tch, I suppose that’s possible. Okay, fine―now hurry it up.”
“Yes, yes! I shall conclude at once, my lord.”
Sihyun’s gaze then turned toward the goblins themselves.
“Listen up. We save your hides, and this is how you repay us―with backtalk and complaints?”
At that moment, the ruby in the ring began to emit an eerie radiance.
Whoooosh―!
[The special effect ‘Absolute Hierarchy’ of the item ‘Lord Goldarac’s Ring’ activates.]
“Hm?”
Sihyun’s command to listen had become the trigger that awakened the ring’s power.
A crushing wave of pressure radiating from Sihyun swept over the goblins like a tide.
“Gasp! What, what is…!”
“…M, my body…!”
An unseen, colossal hand pressed down upon their skulls, forcing them into the earth against their will.
Thud.
Roga’s knees buckled beneath the weight, and he collapsed forward.
Terror etched into blood and bone.
Instinctive submission that eclipsed all reason.
They still could not fathom what that ring was, yet they could not resist it.
‘No, fear is not enough…! This is reverence…!’
Prostrate on the ground, a forgotten fragment of legend came floating back to Roga―words the old shaman of his tribe had once spoken.
“The promised savior ‘Ashkatal’ shall not come from among the Green Breath, it is said…!”
His trembling lips muttered the words as though spitting them out.
It was merely an ancient prophecy his own kin had dismissed as madness, yet now everything made sense.
Why this human had helped them, and the inexplicable reverence that welled up toward him.
It could only be possible because they all understood he was the promised savior, Ashkatal.
“Kisharak isn’t everything—it’s Ashkatal…! You’re the legendary Ashkatal!”
The decisive word erupted from Roga’s lips.
‘That’s it! That’s what I needed!’
Quick-witted Snig seized upon it at once.
“Did you hear that? The wisest among you has recognized it! This is the great King, Kisharak, and the promised savior—Ashkatal himself!”
“I—I’ve heard the legend too! I have!”
“The old ones’ rambling nonsense… you mean that prophecy was actually real…?”
Beginning with Sihyun’s single utterance, the goblin society’s prophecy locked into place, and the situation completely reversed.
Snig, riding the tide of that momentum, cried out triumphantly.
“Ashkatal has declared that he will purify this filthy land and lead you to the promised paradise! All of you, follow in his footsteps!”
“Kisharak…!”
“Ashkatal…!”
The goblins prostrated themselves in worship.
They dared not cry out loudly.
They simply pressed their foreheads to the ground, murmuring the great name.
Solemn and reverent worship—yet the very object of their devotion, Sihyun, was in the midst of a leisurely yawn.
“Heh-hum…”
Unaware he had suddenly become the savior of prophecy.
“Yeah, yeah. Fine. That’s enough thanks. Let’s wrap this up. I’m going to fall asleep at this rate.”
He simply thought the gratitude was getting a bit excessive.
Just by stepping on a shadow, the skill got copied right away
Author |
Killingpart
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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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