I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 54

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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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54
Just one fruit, and I get an A-Rank Skill?
Well, I’d better savor it properly.
It’s supposed to be sour anyway—what does taste matter?
“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
After thanking the Sun Bird, I popped the entire fruit into my mouth at once. I worried that if even a single drop of juice spilled, the potency might diminish.
‘Hm…? This is more palatable than I expected.’
The flesh burst between my teeth, flooding my mouth with tartness.
Despite the warnings about sourness, the flavor wasn’t bad at all.
It was like a tangerine—just slightly less acidic than a lemon. That’s the closest comparison.
The moment I swallowed after chewing thoroughly, a message bloomed in my mind.
[You have consumed a Star Fruit.]
[You have acquired a new Skill.]
[You have learned the higher-Rank Skill ‘Star Step’, which supersedes the previous ‘Light Footstep’. Light Footstep has been automatically deactivated.]
[Star Step]
Rank: A―
Description: Your footsteps become as light as if cradling starlight itself.
The burden of movement, jumping, and landing decreases, and your footfalls grow silent.
Once per day, you may use ‘Star Stepping’.
▶ Star Stepping: Creates small platforms of starlight in mid-air upon which to step.
Nice. Nutrients absorbed successfully.
Officially, Light Footstep’s superior version—and it was unmistakably so.
My steps felt even lighter than before, and my body felt unnaturally buoyant.
“Alright, let me test out this ‘Star Stepping’ technique.”
Since the trials were finished anyway, I invoked it immediately without worrying about the once-per-day limit.
The moment my foot pushed off into empty air, I activated Star Stepping,
and with a soft tap,
a small platform materialized in the void where nothing should have existed. Something glittering and shimmering, like stardust.
“Ooh!”
I kicked off the platform and shot upward with a whoosh.
My body, now feather-light, launched forward like a spring, carrying me past distances that would normally have been awkward to reach—graceful and precise on landing.
“Wow… the improvement is immediate. This really is a different tier from ‘Light Footstep’.”
As I marveled at the Skill’s utility, I noticed the platform I’d just stepped on had dissolved into star dust and scattered away.
“So it doesn’t remain in place permanently.”
The passive enhancement was excellent, and the active effect was equally superb.
The platforms were useful for preventing falls, changing direction mid-air, extending jump range—countless applications.
But what really impressed me was the ability to create movement patterns the opponent couldn’t predict.
That was what truly delighted me.
“Hey, thanks. You’re really earning your keep as a life-saver, aren’t you?”
“Chirp.”
Perhaps the Sun Bird felt that her collection had finally been appreciated.
The Sun Bird seemed genuinely pleased by the gratitude.
“Well, Roga, let’s head back. I could use some hot broth over rice.”
Ah, yes. Odeng soup sounded perfect.
I’d wanted kimchi stew, but with two spice-sensitive members in our group, this was the best compromise.
Yet when I called to him, he didn’t even turn his head—unusual for him.
He stood frozen in place, like someone caught in the act of mischief.
‘What’s gotten into him now?’
Then I saw it: his gaze was fixed on a Feather that had fallen to the ground.
He reached toward it, then pulled his hand back. Reached again, then hesitated.
The look on his face was one of careful deliberation—wondering if he was even allowed to pick it up.
‘He wants a souvenir. But is that Feather really worth all that? Ah, well—it’s at least high-quality crafting material.’
Whether or not that was the reason, I understood. To me it was just a large bird’s plume. But to him, it was something from a creature of legend.
‘Fair enough. I’ll be generous.’
Since Roga had played his own part in the Sun Bird rescue, I pulled out the Feather I’d obtained on the fourteenth floor and handed it to him.
“Hey, Roga. Is this what you wanted?”
“…Keruu!?”
Roga accepted the Feather carefully, his expression trembling with gratitude.
Then the Sun Bird squeezed herself between us.
“Chirp.”
“…?”
Just as I wondered if he’d let me give away what I’d picked up, he plucked a feather straight from his own body with a soft tug.
The fresh feather he’d just pulled out became Roga’s.
“Keru…?!”
He clutched the feather carefully, disbelief written all over his face. His grin was absolutely radiant.
“Keru…!”
“Wish granted?”
Good. One feather in the bag.
Though I had no idea what he’d use something this small for.
* * *
Back home after work, I warmed myself with a hot shower and a bowl of hot broth stew.
It turned out decent enough.
Not that Sang Sik made it—he headed straight out and bought it the moment we got back.
Since it came with broth already, all I had to do was dump everything in and let it simmer.
After he’d eaten his fill, Sang Sik muttered something like, “Man, just one shot of soju and I’d be in heaven,” which was the only sour note.
The man needs to reach one hundred million on his Golden Ratio and every penny counts—where’s he going to find drinking money.
Anyway, so came the rest hour after the meal.
While Sang Sik clinked and clattered away at the dishes, Bami and I sprawled on the floor, until suddenly Bami shot upright and bolted.
“Mya!”
The target was unmistakably Roga.
Or rather, the feather Roga had in his possession.
“Ke, keru!”
Roga was too busy being bombarded by Bami’s physical assault to react.
I quickly grabbed Bami by the scruff of the neck and hauled him away.
“No. That’s not your toy.”
“Mya…”
Bami whined softly, looking aggrieved.
I was pretty sure he’d figured out what that feather from yesterday was for.
“If you want something to play with, here—play with this.”
“Meuk!”
The moment I tossed out the feather, he scampered over, chittering happily.
He seemed so thrilled I thought maybe next time I should tie it to a stick for him.
“You be careful too, Roga. You going to lose that thing?”
“Ke, keru…!”
Back from the tower, Roga had scarfed down his meal and now sat alone, fiddling with the feather, kneading it between his fingers.
He’d scrounged up a few scraps of worn leather cord from somewhere and was connecting them to the feather, grunting and muttering as if trying to craft something.
“Little bastard—he’d’ve been in real trouble if he hadn’t gotten that feather.”
Sang Sik, done with the dishes by now, quietly edged his way into the conversation.
“Isn’t that the feather the boss showed you yesterday?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, so you gave it to him as a gift?”
“Not exactly. That’s the feather from yesterday, but it’s also not the one from yesterday.”
“Huh?”
Sang Sik’s face clouded over with confusion.
“The one from yesterday—that’s the one Bami’s playing with over there.”
“…Did it duplicate?”
Normally this would veer into “Oh, so you got it from the tower today,” but this was an unexpected turn.
I didn’t bother correcting him.
“Kee…! Kee!”
Meanwhile, Roga kept wrestling with the feather.
I had no idea whether he was making a bracelet or a necklace or what, but at this rate he’d never finish. Frustrated, I stepped in.
“Snig, come here and translate. Hey, Roga, show me.”
Through Snig’s mouth, I finally learned what Roga was after.
What he wanted to make from the feather, and for whom.
“He says he wants to make a necklace for Garok. To prove he really saw the Sun Bird. That the story you told him was true.”
Hmm, I’d had a hunch, but I was right—it was for Garok.
‘Garok… that’s the one everyone calls a traitor to his own kind, right?’
Roga never wavered, always insisting there’s no way that could be true…
‘But when everyone agrees, it’s less likely to be a misunderstanding.’
Still, it wasn’t hard to understand.
Whether human or Goblin, people believe what they want to believe.
Especially when family is accused of betrayal.
Even I, without family, found it hard to imagine.
‘Well, the majority isn’t always right. It could genuinely be a misunderstanding.’
At that point, I set aside the tangled thoughts.
Besides, it wasn’t really my place to get involved.
Instead, I quickly finished the feather ornament and handed it to Roga.
“Here, you try it first. I tied it with the toughest knot I know—it shouldn’t come undone unless you really force it. The cord might snap before the knot gives.”
“Keru…!”
Roga looked moved as he fastened the feather necklace around his own neck.
He rose to his feet and knelt before me.
Then he bowed his head deeply.
“I am grateful.”
“You don’t need me to translate that kind of thing.”
A moment later, Roga clutched the feather in his hand and murmured very softly.
“Keru, kiru laksha…….”
“What did you say?”
“The green breath that receives a feather from the sun bird shall never lose its way.”
“Never lose its way?”
“No matter how deep in the forest one falls, someday they will find their path home.”
“Really? He’s always been good at finding his way anyway. Doesn’t seem like he’d need something like that.”
Ah, so it’s a gift for his brother.
* * *
At that same moment, in the Black Rock Gorge in the Northeast Great Forest, Lizardmen and a pack of Knoll faced off against each other.
“Shriaaak!”
The Lizardman spearmen in formation let out a savage cry, and the Knoll pack bared their teeth in response.
“Grrrowl!”
Knoll. Forest predators bound together by savagery and violence.
They hunted Goblins. To eat them.
The Lizardmen were different. They did not consume Goblins.
To them, Goblins were slaves.
Small and weak, but numerous, and obedient when struck.
Neither side saw Goblins as the same kind of life.
And so, to survive as a Goblin in this Great Forest was, truly, terribly difficult.
And Garok, a Goblin who stood here, knew this fact better than anyone.
“Now! Hold formation at this position!”
At Garok’s command, the Goblin slaves dragged from the Quarry came to an uncertain halt.
Skin and bone, as if they’d never tasted a decent meal, they were nothing but a ragtag bunch.
The only thing giving them any unity was the burn scar the size of a small child’s fist marked on each of their foreheads.
The Lizardman Commander watching from the side let out a sneer.
“A waste of effort. What good are mere Goblins on a battlefield? Perhaps hauling stones from a mine, but nothing more.”
Garok shook his head as he answered.
“If they can hold a pickaxe, they can hold a shield.”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure… Goblins are pathetically weak, aren’t they? Ah, but no offense meant to you. You’re different from those lot, Garok.”
“Yes, I don’t expect them to hold fast with the valor of scale warriors. But they can entangle the enemy’s feet. That alone will be of great use in battle.”
“You sound confident. But how? Do you have a good plan?”
“Those dog-headed beasts lose their minds when they smell Goblin blood. In that moment, instinct overtakes reason, and judgment grows clouded. That’s when the scale warriors strike.”
Garok spoke of using his own kin as bait without so much as a flicker of emotion crossing his face, and the Lizardman Commander clicked his tongue.
“You speak of frightening things without flinching. To use your own kind as bait.”
“If this is the way to prove the usefulness of Goblins, I would do far worse.”
“Klkl, your infamy will grow after this battle.”
“Infamy too has its uses, if it serves a purpose.”
“Ho, finding use even in infamy… that’s amusing.”
Bwooo—!
“…!”
At that very moment, a horn call signaling the start of battle echoed through the gorge.
The conversation between the two was cut short.
“Well, the time for that ‘proof’ has come.”
The Commander gazed down at Garok for a moment, then licked his long tongue slowly.
“Are you confident?”
“You won’t be disappointed. Never am.”
“Heheheh, good. Then I’ll trust you once more, as always.”
The moment the Lizardman Commander turned toward the rear, Garok’s path took the opposite direction entirely.
A battlefield where screams and blood and steel danced in chaos.
He headed willingly toward those gore-stained ranks.
“Shields up—!”
Garok’s powerful voice rang across the battlefield.
Only then did the Goblin slaves lift their shields with trembling arms.
Of course, discord emerged even among them.
“N-no! Please, spare me…!”
One Goblin, seized by terror, broke ranks and fled.
“Where do you think you’re going—!”
He didn’t get far, naturally.
Garok descended on him like lightning, seizing him by the scruff and driving him to his knees.
“Argh!”
The Goblin cried out and toppled.
“G-Garok… y-you…! Traitor bastard…!”
Garok leaned close to his ear and growled low.
“Die in front, not behind.”
“What…?”
In his hand, a shield far too large for his frame.
Behind him, the spearpoint of a Lizardman soldier.
Flee, and you die.
Hold, and you die.
Advance, and you might still die.
That was the reality of standing beneath the Lizardmen.
Garok understood that reality better than anyone.
Equality? He’d never harbored such dreams.
Freedom? That was the stuff of fantasies whispered only by those who died first in the forest.
Garok wanted something far more practical.
Goblins had their use.
Just as a pickaxe could mine stone, a shield could bind an enemy’s feet in place.
He had to prove it.
Only then would he become a recognized asset instead of a slave worn to nothing in the Quarry.
That was the salvation Garok believed in.
“If you’re going to die, die facing forward. For your kin.”
Garok seized the fugitive Goblin by the collar and shoved him roughly back into formation.
A gentle chime.
In that moment, a single worn ornament swayed faintly at Garok’s wrist.
A faded red Feather, stained with blood and earth.
“Only then does death hold meaning.”
Garok had never lost his way.
Not once.
Just by stepping on shadows, Skills copied instantly
Author |
Killingpart
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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© Samyang C&C — The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Dreambooks.

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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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