I’ll Steal Everything and Escape - Chapter 1

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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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1.
In the final moments of life, what words would a person hear?
Words of heartbreaking farewell? A confession soaked in regret? Resentment? Or perhaps an empty, silent end is what waits.
“Hurry! Just leave it and come here!”
“Wait, but—”
“So we’re dragging that along?”
I had vaguely assumed, at the very least, it wouldn’t be like this.
Elodie crawled along the ground, reaching out with her hand. She could no longer feel her legs. Dirt clung stickily to her palm, crusted with dried blood.
“P-please.”
I’m scared. It hurts. The words she mumbled reached no one. Someone glanced back once, but that was all. Soon the footsteps faded away.
“Cough, no… don’t… Help me…!”
Her broken leg was caught by “it,” dragging her away.
“Robert! Sylvia!”
Scrrrape. Her body was hauled backward. She clawed desperately at the grass and tree roots, but it was useless. Her nails tore free, and blood burst forth once more. A black shadow spread over her body, covering it completely.
“Ah…”
Thud.
With a brief gust of wind, the ground was smeared dark red.
Her blood-soaked golden hair twitched a couple of times, pitifully. In her eyes, losing their focus, the gray sky was clearly reflected.
‘I’ve been abandoned.’
Abandoned, and turned into bait to buy the others time to escape.
All that effort I poured in to survive together. All that devotion. I really, truly had it hard.
A single remaining tear rolled down from the tip of her eyelash.
If I was going to die like this, I should have at least cursed those bastards out properly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The rustle of grass blades. The tremor of the earth. Scorching heat and red blood going cold. This is the end of Elodie Pontaine.
But surely, it isn’t the end for her alone.
‘And you don’t even know the way out.’
Damn you all. See you in hell.
Elodie released her last breath.
* * *
I was certain that was the end.
‘What…?’
Elodie Pontaine was dreaming.
[Of all people, why did I have to fall with you.]
[Someone who can’t even wield a single spell is useless.]
…Isn’t it supposed to be right before death that the memories of one’s life flash before the eyes? I didn’t understand the situation, but a surge of anger rose within me.
‘I have magic too! I do!’
Since we were all going to die anyway, there was no need to hold my tongue. I had lowered my head all this time because I trusted that they, being so capable, would get me out alive!
[Hmm. The problem started the moment you joined this team.]
[Honestly, you’re good for nothing.]
Elodie squeezed her eyes shut as the images in her head refused to stop. At this rate, finding rest seemed far out of reach. Because…
[Your inherited magic is just memory. Does that even make sense? Is that really magic?]
Memory. That was Elodie’s one and only talent.
‘It may not be flashy, but it’s a rather special kind of magic.’
Mages. Those with the talent to freely wield mana and build up ‘Circles.’
Even in the mighty Bayern Empire, mages were scarce, numbered on one’s fingers. Ever since the Day of Calamity, those capable of building Circles had nearly been wiped out.
However, there was exactly one exception, one way to use magic even without talent.
[With such thin bloodline to begin with, what can you do? It’s not Elodie’s fault.]
Bloodline.
There exists a special magic that flows through the blood. A single form of magic handed down from ancestors, bestowed at birth. Elodie’s ‘Omni Memoria’ was of that kind.
‘…Of all places, to end up here.’
Still, memory or not, it was magic. If I hadn’t fallen onto this island, I would have lived comfortably and well.
[Good for nothing.]
I wouldn’t have had to hear words like these, either.
I would have graduated from the Academy without trouble and found work at the Montaigne Library. It’s close to the territory, quiet, and…
[Maybe it’s because she’s from the countryside, but she’s so oblivious.]
I wouldn’t have had to mix with those arrogant elites anymore, and I could have returned to the arms of my parents, who cherished me. I could have.
‘…If only I could start over.’
At the thought of my parents, one side of Elodie’s chest ached as if being wrung. Her eyes burned hot.
‘If only I could have left that island alive.’
[Elodie. Do you remember that?]
[Of course!]
…Huh?
It was her mother’s voice. Elodie lifted her head suddenly from the depths of the abyss.
Head…
Smack.
“Hah.”
A jolt of electricity shot through her cheek.
“Hey, wake up! You’re alive, right?”
Her eyes snapped open. What is this?
The prickly sensation of grit pressing against her cheek. It was damp and cold. Her muffled ears slowly began to gather more information: the rasp of sand, and the rhythmic crash of waves.
‘That’s strange.’
Is this what it feels like even when you’re dead?
Elodie closed her eyes again, hoping to hear her mother’s voice once more. But then—
“Undine, wake her up.”
Undine?
Soon, a torrent of water came crashing down on her face.
“Gah, cough, cough.”
“She’s alive.”
Elodie gulped in a deep breath, desperately. Salty sea air flooded her lungs. Her surprise at the sudden drenching lasted only a moment.
‘That voice just now…’
It was Stefan.
…Could I already have arrived in hell?
“Good. One more of us is alive.”
“Elodie, was it? Are you okay?”
Robert? Silvia? No, this is wrong.
Elodie jolted upright. Someone rushed over and steadied her shoulders.
“Let’s head over there for now!”
A voice as soft as an angel’s. Snow-white hair and clear, sky-blue eyes. Only minutes ago, she had been screaming at the top of her lungs,
[Hurry! Just leave her. Come here!]
It was Sylvia Brunet.
“You’re freezing. Are you all right?”
“Uh, I think, yes.”
Elodie slowly lowered her gaze and looked herself over from head to toe. No wounds. No blood.
“Now that everyone’s come to their senses, let’s gather over here.”
Robert called out to them. Elodie caught her breath and looked around. Young students, their faces twisted in confusion.
‘Robert, Stefan, Silvia…’
It was a familiar lineup.
“Where on earth are we? This is ridiculous!”
“The Academy must have lost its mind!”
Silvia and Stefan burst out in indignation. Elodie watched them with unfamiliar eyes, as if viewing a play.
‘If I’m not losing my mind.’
I’ve returned.
She didn’t need long to realize it. Elodie Pontaine remembered everything about that day, vividly and clearly.
Remembered
That’s right.
Robert Bayern, leaning against a tree, opened his mouth.
“Let’s sort out the situation.”
[Let’s sort out the situation.]
Elodie brushed her forearm with trembling fingers.
‘Faces, clothes, speech…’
Everything was chillingly identical.
‘How? Why?’
Regardless of the turmoil within her, the situation unfolded exactly as before.
“We took part in the first dungeon training this semester. And then the Warp Device malfunctioned.”
“Where did the others go? Don’t tell me they’re all dead?”
“No way! D-don’t say that!”
Silvia’s lips trembled. Seven students had started out, and only four were left, so it was no wonder they were panicking.
“We can’t be certain they’re dead. They might have landed somewhere else, or they could be at the dungeon we were originally headed for.”
“Huh, what if the Magic Circle error tore them to pieces!”
“Hic.”
At the sight of Stefan throwing a fit, Silvia began to sniffle. Elodie watched the group launch into a heated debate and bit down on the inside of her cheek.
‘Get a grip. Pull yourself together.’
I don’t know how it happened, but she had regressed to the very first day of the accident.
‘…Just one more day back, that’s all I ask!’
Elodie wiped her soggy face on her sleeve and gritted her teeth. Right beside her, Silvia, tears dangling from her lashes, was wringing water out of her wet hair.
“T-Tristan or Louise died? That’s impossible. No… I don’t want this.”
“…”
It was the exact same scene as before, yet somehow it felt fresh. Looking at it now, back then too.
‘She’s relieved it wasn’t her.’
So Silvia hadn’t felt worry back then. It had been terror. The one who had returned from death slowly began to grasp the reality. Sure enough, everyone had been wondering where the others were on the first day. But.
‘The bigger problem is something else entirely.’
“Anyway, where the hell are we? Of all places to fall into the sea, how gross is that!”
Ah. Her gloomy violet eyes lifted to look up at Stefan.
‘Yes, that’s exactly right.’
The real problem was the place where they had landed.
Survival rate for exploration: 0.1%. A special restricted zone that only came up now and then in Demonic Beast history lessons.
‘The Dragon’s Grave.’
The students wouldn’t learn that fact for another three months, not until one of them had died.
‘Soon enough, you won’t even care about being soaked.’
“Enough.”
A sharp clap drew everyone’s attention. Robert raked a hand through his red hair and frowned.
“…The Warp Device can trace its coordinates backward, so a rescue team will arrive within a few days. Reading the malfunctioning device again will take some time, I’m sure.”
Elodie pressed her thin lips together. The rescue wouldn’t come. They would wander this island for 517 days.
[Serialized] I’ll Steal Everything and Escape

Author
Somgeul
Publication Date
November 9, 2026

Publisher
Terapin Co., Ltd.
Website
http://www.copinnovel.com
Email
[email protected]
Registration Number
No. 25100-2019-000007

ⓒ
Somgeul
, 2026
This publication is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or redistribution is prohibited.

UCI G720:N+A022-20261029106

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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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