I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 68

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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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68
On the Northern Hill overlooking the Great Forest, Garak stood silent, lifting his gaze beyond the dense thicket of trees.
‘They’re late.’
If the Arson Squad had reached their positions on schedule, black smoke should already be rising from several points in the forest.
But no word came, and Garak was beginning to anticipate the outcome.
“…They’ve failed.”
It was then.
“Garak!”
A Lizardman emerged through the undergrowth—a scout who had been sent to gather intelligence.
“What is it?”
“We’ve lost contact with the Arson Squad heading east.”
It was what he’d already expected. Garak’s expression remained unmoved as he assessed the situation.
“How long has it been?”
“Six hours since the last communication. They’ve long since missed their scheduled return time.”
“What about the others?”
“We’re still checking, but… something has clearly gone wrong.”
Before he could finish, another messenger came rushing over.
“The western Arson Squad has been ambushed! The goblins were lying in wait at every chokepoint. They blocked off the escape routes beforehand…… It seems they knew we were coming.”
There was nothing more he needed to hear.
Garak’s gaze swept across the barren forest.
‘We’ve been discovered. The rain—that must be it.’
The unease he’d felt while preparing the Fire Attack had finally caught up with them.
The rain that had been falling steadily had stopped abruptly, so the enemy would have sensed something was amiss.
Of course, for that to happen, they would need to have known that the Lizardmen could control the rain.
‘As far as I know, the goblins had no information about the Rain Altar. They wouldn’t have known. But if they’ve suddenly learned of it… then it must be his doing.’
At this point, it no longer mattered.
Who had told them and how they’d found out—that wasn’t important. The operation had failed.
“I… Garak?”
A captain standing beside him ventured to speak.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to move the main force now? If they’re scattered hunting the Arson Squad, we could seize this chance to push forward and crush the goblins—”
The Lizardman captain faltered, catching himself on the phrase ‘crush the goblins.’
But what truly rankled Garak was something else entirely.
“Where exactly would we be fighting?”
“Sir?”
“We came to burn this forest. We didn’t come to fight them on ground of their choosing.”
“But surely they’re not a match for our full strength? They’re nothing but a ragtag collection of rabble, aren’t they?”
“That rabble just cost us fifty scale warriors.”
“But if we return like this, Basil will—”
To give over this many troops, to stop the rain for the Fire Attack, and return with nothing to show for it?
It would not be easy to escape Basil’s wrath.
Yet Garak’s mind did not change.
“If we’d succeeded in setting fires, this forest would have become their tomb. We failed, so the opposite is true.”
The forest was goblin territory.
They knew it intimately, and now that dangerous human fought alongside them.
And they’d lost the advantage of surprise.
Would he really push the main force into such a place?
That wasn’t fighting. That was throwing away soldiers.
“I do not fight battles where the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. There’s no reason to.”
The captain fell silent, understanding that Garak had no intention of engaging in combat.
“Understood, sir. Then… what shall we do afterward?”
“Send out all messengers. Order any surviving Arson Squad units to cease operations and return immediately. And one more thing.”
Garak paused briefly before speaking with quiet conviction.
“The main force withdraws as well.”
When the order to retreat reached the soldiers, a stir ran through the camp.
Those who had friends in the Arson Squad bristled with anger, and others saw turning their backs while goblins remained in sight as shameful.
Some voices even spoke against involving goblins at all, but Garak paid them no mind.
He had finally reached a position where he could command the Lizardmen.
He could not afford to waste this hard-won opportunity by throwing soldiers away recklessly.
“Let’s move out, then.”
Hundreds of Lizardmen retraced their steps back the way they had come.
The massive flames that were supposed to engulf the forest never rose — not even a wisp of smoke.
* * *
The Arson Squad’s offensive was a complete success.
Before long, the goblins who had gone out to scout the enemy’s movements began returning one by one with news.
“Screech! Screech!”
“What’s he saying?”
“Their main force is heading back north, sir!”
“What, they’re just leaving like that? Better restraint than I expected.”
I’d thought that having their slave goblins turn on them might’ve enraged them enough to throw their whole force at us. A shame that wasn’t how it played out.
“…Hmm, there aren’t many better positions than this one.”
Fire Attack or not, Lizardmen are Lizardmen and goblins are goblins.
Honestly, if they’d committed their full strength and charged us down, we’d have taken serious casualties on our side.
‘Even if we’d won, the goblins would’ve been ground to pieces.’
They had to know that.
The easiest path to victory had slipped away, but it was still a fight worth fighting from the Lizardmen’s perspective.
I didn’t expect them to withdraw so readily.
‘I should’ve at least inflicted some damage, even if we couldn’t settle it here… but it looks like today’s done.’
From the start, today’s objective wasn’t to annihilate them.
It was to repel their assault.
‘That sneaky Tower bastard deliberately left Fire Attack out of the briefing.’
In that sense, with the enemy withdrawing on their own, the trial was clearing smoothly…
“Right?”
Right on cue, the system message appeared.
[You have completed the Special Quest, ‘Trial of Observation.’]
[Clear Evaluation: EX]
[Special Quest completion rewards are being granted.]
“Huh, so that’s floor twenty.”
The final stage of the chained trials that the Tower had claimed were impossible was just around the corner.
“Didn’t seem all that impossible, so I’m hoping floor twenty goes just as smoothly.”
Though I doubted the Tower would be so cooperative, it was a small wish I could afford to have.
Dreams are free, after all.
* * *
That evening.
For once, a meal that actually looked edible sat on the table—a welcome change from Sang Sik’s usual cooking, which always needed explaining.
Today’s menu was Jokbal and Makguksu.
“What’s the occasion…?”
“They say even a ghost that eats well before dying looks prettier. Tomorrow’s climb looks like it’s going to be rough, so I figured we’d load up on something tasty beforehand.”
“Are you testing my patience? And speaking of your own life so carelessly—that’s bad luck! You shouldn’t say things like that!”
It was just a figure of speech. Why was he being so sensitive about it?
“I don’t know anything about luck, but I know I’m going to eat this meat. Come on, Sang Sik, dig in before Snig finishes it all.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s not spicy, and it’s meat.”
As I spoke, I jerked my chin toward Snig.
That was precisely the moment Snig had been reaching for his first piece of Jokbal as a goblin.
And moments later.
“Kyioooooh—! Master! What divine flavor is this! This tender, chewy skin! And the meat—with every bite, savory richness bursts across my tongue! Salty, sweet…!”
And then he devoured the Jokbal at a terrifying pace, barely chewing before swallowing.
Where was the creature who’d questioned why we were eating pig legs when there were so many other options?
“See?”
“Y-yes. I, I’ll enjoy this meal too.”
Even as he answered, Sang Sik’s chopsticks were already moving busily.
Those two really were on the same level.
Snig I could excuse—he was eating it for the first time in his life. But Sang Sik… I couldn’t figure out why he was like this.
‘Did he starve growing up? No, that can’t be it… Someone who can’t eat meat wouldn’t be parading around in gold chains and designer goods. Was he locked away? I made sure he ate well, didn’t I?’
As a kid, I’d found gluttonous children utterly disgusting and had always kept my composure. But now that I could afford to feed them with my own money, well-fed was better than restrained—though they could definitely use some table manners coaching. Both the goblin and that older fellow.
Still, the food was flowing and they were eating well.
“Look, no one’s stealing anyone’s food—oh wait, you’re both stealing from each other. But I ordered extra portions, so there’s plenty left. Slow down, both of you.”
They nodded in unison, as if they’d made a pact.
“Mmmmmm!”
“Hmph!”
I had no idea what that meant, and I didn’t want to know.
I think I’d seen what he was chewing.
As I sat there chewing a piece of meat and mixing my Makguksu, Sang Sik made his move.
“Ah, you know, meat tastes best when it’s still clinging to the bone.”
His gaze drifted meaningfully toward the Jokbal bone. I caught his drift immediately.
“Isn’t that right, Garak? A choice cut like that really ought to go to Snig, don’t you think? He’s worked hardest today.”
Ha—I’d tried to stop playing these games, but this setup was far too perfect. It felt wasteful not to have someone take the bait.
“Quite right. Hey, Snig. You’ve been working hard as a translator lately, so you eat this. We don’t give this to just anybody, you know. Look at it—can’t you see? Absolutely magnificent.”
“Ooh! As expected, my lord recognizes the efforts of his servant!”
Delighted, Snig pulled the Jokbal bone toward his own plate.
When my eyes met Sang Sik’s, we both turned our heads at the same moment. I was about to burst into laughter.
‘If he finds out…’
Even if he did, I wouldn’t be too scared—but it’d be hard to tease him about it afterward. Better that he never found out.
‘Mm, it really is delicious though.’
I’ve never been the picky type when it comes to food or complaining about side dishes.
But after living on Sang Sik’s cooking, eating something properly prepared felt almost moving.
Such was the pleasant moment of our meal.
“Kack! Keck!”
Suddenly, a strange sound came from under the table.
“Hm?”
Bami seemed uncomfortable, coughing repeatedly.
“Ugh, didn’t I tell you to eat your noodles slowly? Anyone watching would think I was starving you… uh…?”
Wait, this felt familiar somehow.
“Don’t tell me it’s not a cough…”
It is!
If that was what I thought it was, now wasn’t the time to lounge about eating.
I quickly hopped down from my chair to cheer Bami on. I wanted to help, but this was all I could do.
“Come on, Bami! You can do it!”
“Why are you leaving your meal? Wait, is the cat alright?”
“Oh, right. Bami’s about to cough up a Hairball.”
“…A Hairball?”
Come to think of it, Sang Sik hadn’t seen this before—he’d been trapped in Bigo last time.
“She’s not sick or anything, so please keep eating. It’s fine.”
“If you say so…”
He said that, but Sang Sik didn’t seem able to focus on his meal.
Meanwhile, Snig, who’d managed to stay out of it, decided to pitch in for the sake of fairness.
“Don’t worry—keep eating! Omuljak Sang Sik! The furbeast is currently excreting treasure from its mouth!”
“…Excuse me? Excreting what from its mouth? Did I hear that correctly?”
I couldn’t just let Snig’s comment slide either.
“Hey, not Omuljak—Bomuljak! Do you have any idea how rare this is?”
“Your words are law to me, but this—this I cannot accept!”
“Oh? So you’re matching wits with your lord now. What’ll you do if I don’t agree?”
“Miaow!”
As we bickered, there came a soft, peculiar sound. Thunk.
A Black Sphere rolled across the pristine marble floor of Bigo.
“You did it, Bami!”
“There, Omuljak Sang Sik. That’s the treasure I just told you she excreted from her mouth.”
“That’s a bead, though…?”
We were all looking at the same thing, yet our impressions could not have been more different.
“Mya?”
At the center of it all, Bami tilted her head.
As if asking why they were all staring at her like that.
I Only Copied Skills by Stepping on Shadows
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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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