I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 50

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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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50
[Shadow Crystal]
Description: A crystal expectorated by the shadow fairy Nixiel after absorbing and concentrating condensed shadow for an extended period.
The dense power of shadow is crystallized within it.
Effect: Upon use, the crystal is consumed and permanently enhances a selected skill by bestowing shadow attribute upon it.
Bestowing attribute on a skill — that’s essentially skill enhancement, isn’t it.
“This is something big, isn’t it?”
My lips curved upward unbidden at the sudden fortune.
I scooped up Bami and smothered her with affection.
“Oh, you beautiful thing. You’re pure luck incarnate, you really are.”
“Meow!”
Bami answered proudly, as if understanding she was being praised.
“You worked hard coughing up that hair ball, didn’t you? Let’s treat you well tonight, our Bami. What do you want to eat? Oh, that’s right! Better yet, how about some Churu first? Churu?”
“Meow! Meow! Meow!”
So eager at the mere mention of it. The moment she heard the word, Bami darted ahead toward the cupboard where snacks were kept.
I quickly squeezed two pouches into her bowl.
Slurp-slurp-slurp!
While Bami focused intently on her treat with those noisy little sounds, I turned my attention back to the item information.
On second read, I noticed something I’d missed while fixated on skill enhancement.
“Shadow fairy Nixiel, huh… so you’re a fairy?”
By my reckoning, she’d just been a winged cat, but apparently she was a fairy all along.
It made sense, though. She did have wings, after all.
“Item information.”
[Conditions not met. Insufficient affinity with target. Detailed information access failed.]
Hmm, I’d thought we were quite close by now, but apparently Bami’s detailed information was still locked.
I’d wanted to learn more about her being a shadow fairy, but that would have to wait.
“But really, what does it matter what you are? What matters is that you’re our Bami.”
Perhaps she registered that I’d called her name.
“Mew?”
Still mid-snack, she turned her head and looked up at me.
Her little mouth was absolutely smeared with Churu residue.
Normally I’d have scolded her to eat more neatly, but today even that seemed endearing.
“Never mind, keep eating. Go on.”
I let Bami finish her snack while I got back to my own task.
“Right then, let’s see how this works. How exactly does this…”
In that instant, thin tendrils of black energy began flowing from the Shadow Crystal.
“Huh?”
Simultaneously, my shadow, which had been still, slowly reached toward that energy.
Then a message flickered into view.
[Selectable Skills]
▶ Island (Unique)
▶ Cardia Swordsmanship (Unique)
▶ Super Regeneration (A)
▶ Persona (B)
※ Skills engraved with the Unique Ability Shadow Mimic cannot be selected.
“Ah, so that’s how it works?”
It seemed I just needed to make my choice in this state.
“I see — engraved skills don’t qualify, only the ones I permanently possess.”
If I were to enhance just one of my skills, it would naturally be the one I’d stolen from the Master Swordsman.
But that option isn’t available.
“So the question becomes what to enhance here. Hmm… right, tell me how each skill would change if I bestowed the shadow attribute.”
If I could confirm that, the choice would be simple.
But the answer that came was definitive.
[Attribute Bestowal results cannot be previewed in advance.]
“Tch, that’s not an option either.”
All I could do was pick blind.
‘Call it attribute bestowal if you like, but it’s really just an enhancement item. It won’t change the skill’s fundamental nature.’
If I used it on Island, shadow would probably cling to my sword strikes. If I used it on Super Regeneration…
‘Maybe shadow would wrap around my body and speed up the regeneration process?’
Something like that seemed plausible.
“Hmm… I can’t quite visualize how Persona and Cardia Swordsmanship would work.”
That’s why I was hesitating.
The other two I could manage to imagine somehow, but these two—I couldn’t even picture how they’d transform.
“Do I have to choose right now?”
[You may cancel the skill selection and choose again later.]
Really? Then there’s no rush.
Getting stronger would be nice, sure, but it’s not the kind of thing I should use carelessly—it’s not that common.
And the decision was difficult.
I decided to think it over more carefully before deciding which skill to enhance.
For now, there’s nothing particularly pressing about climbing the tower anyway.
“Alright, I’ll hold off on choosing for now. Keep it.”
[Skill selection cancelled.]
The Shadow Crystal, now returned to its original state, went carefully into my Inventory.
Unlikely as it was, I was cautious just in case it might crack.
Once I’d organized everything, it was already two in the afternoon.
The hour when I’d normally be home from work, resting.
“Can’t believe it got this late. Been a busy day with the customer too.”
Everyone was probably pestering me about why the extension notice for the Golden Age hadn’t come up yet.
I was restless myself.
I wanted to test what I’d learned from Teacher Shin in actual combat.
“You’ve finished eating. Shall we head out then? Floor 13?”
“Meow!”
Bami, recharged with Churu, was ready as well.
* * *
“Phew… the environment’s more of a problem than the Mission itself.”
Where Floor 12’s theme had been snow and dense forest, Floor 13 was its opposite—swamp and Lizardmen.
I’d finished the basic Mission early and had just begun the Floor 13 Trial.
“Good grief, am I going to collapse from dehydration? I should bring a water bottle tomorrow.”
As I was grumbling about the sticky humidity and oppressive heat, Roga, who’d been leading the way as our guide, suddenly stopped.
“Keruu…!”
A voice much quieter than usual.
It seemed to say there was an enemy ahead.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
A faint, rhythmic noise from the distance.
‘That’s the sound of pickaxes. The Trial objective was freeing slaves, so they’re putting people to work here.’
Now I understood.
Those shiny, flashy pieces of equipment the Lizardmen were carrying.
We advanced, following the sound for some time.
Eventually, a vast Mine emerged in the distance.
“This is… pretty brutal.”
More than a mine, it was a massive labor camp.
Dozens of Goblins, as emaciated as if they’d never eaten a proper meal, were toiling away with pickaxes in hand.
Their bodies were caked in dust and sweat.
Their backs bore overlapping lash marks, and among them, Lizardmen stood scattered about as overseers.
“Kee…!”
Roga’s hand went to the hilt of his blade, rage burning at the sight of his kin being oppressed.
He looked ready to draw it immediately.
Since when did he join fights like this anyway?
After beating one Goblin and apparently having some kind of awakening, he’d been like this ever since.
“Swish! Whirrrp!”
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the mine.
A Lizardman, displeased at something, raised his voice and lifted his whip.
Of course, his target was….
Crack!
“Kyieeeek!”
The whip came down hard across the bony, protruding back of an emaciated green-skinned Goblin.
The whipped Goblin’s back split open and caved inward, but the Lizardman who’d struck him didn’t even blink.
“Shhhk.”
He simply ordered the work to continue.
The other goblins showed no surprise or resistance, heads bowed as they worked the pickaxes with frantic energy.
As if this scene were utterly routine.
‘Completely broken in,’ I thought.
On one level, I understood it.
The moment they stopped, that whip would turn on them in an instant.
‘Still, though… they’ve accepted it like it’s just another day.’
Watching them made Roga—reckless enough to bolt without thinking—look almost noble by comparison.
Of course, if I actually let him charge out of here, he’d be dead within seconds.
“Listen, you’re still better than—huh?”
A soft scrape.
Roga slipped forward a half-step ahead of me in one smooth motion.
His nerve was admirable.
“Stand down. I’ve got this.”
I gestured him back with my hand.
I figured he’d retreat gracefully at this point.
But no. The fool actually drew his blade.
“Keru…!”
“You know how to fight? If you just charge in mindlessly, you’ll die.”
His blade tip wavered, betraying his fear even as he tried to hide it. The tremor was unmistakable.
I was offering to handle it, so why was he shaking like a leaf and insisting on throwing himself into harm’s way?
“Ah… fine, I warned you. Look after yourself in combat. I won’t be able to protect you mid-fight.”
I said it with a straight face, but a smile leaked through.
Still, wasn’t a reckless idiot throwing himself at enemies without a second thought better than livestock too broken to even think of fighting?
If this idiot lived through today, he’d grow stronger.
A soft whoosh.
Of course, this idiot would survive today.
Because there’s another idiot here too.
* * *
The battle began with an ambush—two lizardmen brought down swiftly—and quickly tilted in favor of the duo of fools.
Shriek! Screech!
Another one falls.
As my frost-rimed blade cut through a torso, white rime lingered along the wound.
“No different from the lizardmen we faced on Floor 11.”
Their numbers had never been great to begin with.
After I’d cut down about five, the remaining dozen or so lizardmen abandoned the fight and fled.
“Shsssh!”
Terror-stricken, they waddled away in an almost comical gait, some even abandoning their tails in their panic.
I didn’t bother pursuing them.
My objective was rescuing goblins, not exterminating lizardmen.
“Go on. Don’t mind me. I’m not catching you.”
That was the moment.
Whoosh, thud!
From nowhere, a Trident flew through the air and pierced the back of a fleeing lizardman with perfect accuracy.
“Shiek! Shisss!”
The lizardmen who’d been scrambling in blind panic froze mid-flight, their gazes snapping toward the source of the Trident. They trembled.
At the end of that collective stare, a single lizardman walked forward slowly.
‘So it’s you.’
I should have known.
I’d never expected this to be easy in the first place.
He’d come.
“So you showed up?”
The lizardman approached and stood before me, not bothering to retrieve his Trident, his expression blank as he gazed down at his dead kin.
“Deserters are… shiek. Executed… shiek, on sight.”
The metallic whisper of his voice spread across the marsh mist.
He was speaking human speech, however crudely.
“…You can talk too? About every ten floors deeper, more of you pick up human speech.”
“Speech is… shiek… possible. Shiek, for many. Human tongue… shiek, rare.”
“Right. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Unlike Barg, who’d stood apart from the rest of the horde, this one resembled the other lizardmen I’d dispatched so far. Appearance-wise, at least.
But there was something—unmistakably—different about him.
‘…This guy’s got power. No wonder he’s showing off.’
The moment I tensed and adjusted my grip on Yasangok, he wrenched the trident from the corpse and leveled it at me.
“Human, hisss. You come. You die, hisss.”
A clumsy threat. What followed was a system message.
[Additional Objective: Eliminate the Steel-Scaled Sla.]
※ Completion of this Additional Objective is not mandatory. However, upon achievement, one of the target’s Unique Drops is guaranteed to drop.
As if I care about some Additional Objective.
Was I supposed to let this creature live when it’s glaring at me with those eyes burning with hunger? This thing is the main event.
“Fine by me. If you’re throwing in a guaranteed drop, I’ll take it.”
“Obstacle, hisss. Remove. Hisss. Is protocol.”
The moment those words left his mouth.
Whish!
“Hah—!”
He was right there in front of me, and then he vanished from sight.
Without even thinking of where to dodge or how to track him, I moved on pure instinct alone,
Crack-crack!
The trident’s blade tore through the spot where I’d been standing just a moment before, puncturing the ground with sharp, rapid succession.
“Damn… This is going to be dangerous.”
“Human, hisss. Impressive.”
One exchange was enough to tell.
This creature was at least one tier above Barg. No—at least two tiers higher.
How did his tower even calibrate difficulty like this?
“If one floor difference creates this much gap, he might as well be telling me to just die.”
But even as I said it, a slight smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
“…Well, this isn’t the first time anyway. Lucky timing, actually. There’s something I’ve been wanting to test.”
After crossing swords with Teacher Shin today, something had nagged at me.
How far could I push myself in the tower relying purely on swordsmanship alone?
No shadow, no skills, no clever tricks—just the blade and nothing else.
And this opponent was perfect for it. Barg had been too easy.
“Lucky me. You’re exactly what I needed, lizard.”
The moment I leveled my blade at him, he moved.
“Oooh…!”
Fast, just as I thought.
What followed was a relentless barrage without a moment to breathe.
Swish! Thrust!
Like a serpent coiled in tall grass aiming for the throat, the trident’s tip probed at my angles relentlessly.
Sometimes he thrust with one hand, sometimes both.
A quick stab, then suddenly a long, extended reach.
All this variety from a single weapon—it was staggering.
Blocking, deflecting, twisting away from every angle—my mind felt like it was about to scatter.
As the battle dragged on and I began to adjust to his rhythm, I finally landed a counterattack.
‘Got him…!’
Screech! Clang!
‘…Clang?’
I’d driven Yasangok straight into his scales, but the sound was like striking metal.
“Huh, living up to the name ‘Steel-Scaled,’ are you?”
“Long time, hisss. Took damage.”
Apparently being hit for the first time in a while enraged him, and he accelerated his assault once more.
Faster? That wasn’t in my calculations.
In the moment I barely evaded his furious onslaught, murky water erupted from the swamp with a wet slap, the trident blade cradled within it malevolently.
“Whoa!”
I managed to slip away and put distance between us with a jump.
“Phew, that one was genuinely dangerous.”
Right then, Sla’s eyes narrowed as he spoke.
“…Human, hisss. How?”
“How what?”
My feet held his gaze.
That’s when I understood.
Without meaning to, I’d activated Light Footstep during that last crisis.
“Ah, damn. Failed the test. If it wasn’t for this swamp, I could’ve gone all the way. It’s the terrain. The terrain’s the problem.”
As I thought—without Char and Pou, the Trial is still beyond reach.
“No, this won’t do.”
The experiment failed anyway. I’d meant to save it, but there’s no help for it now.
I quickly pulled a Shadow Crystal from my Inventory and gripped it in my hand.
“What—what’s that?”
“I’m not sure myself.”
“…?”
Sla made something resembling an expression for the first time. I smiled back at her.
“Truth is, I used to hoard the good side dishes for myself.”
But the world wouldn’t let me.
“Turn your head for just a moment, and they’d slip right into someone else’s mouth.”
So I changed.
The orphanage only taught me one thing, and I’d almost forgotten it.
How far a blade alone could carry me.
Whether I could survive on scraps and roots alone.
I’d learned enough.
“I use it.”
Time to tear into some meat.
Just by stepping on shadows, skills copy right over.
Author |
Killing Part
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(주) Samyang C&C
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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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