I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

In the snowy forest of the mountain,

Kraush, along with three others, was sprinting forward.

“…So, boy, you’re saying the one who unfolded that yellow sky is the Mad Sword Emperor? And the same person who gravely injured the Poison King?”

“Yes, according to No. 8.”

While running, Kraush explained the general situation to Sena.

For now, he cited No. 8 as the source of this information.

Fortunately, No. 8 played along well.

Since she was already familiar with the Crimson Garden, she assumed Kraush had received the information through her.

“Do you know anything about the Mad Sword Emperor?”

When Kraush asked Sena, she roughly ruffled the back of her hair with her hand.

“More or less. You know I’m from the Empire, right?”

“Yes, I’ve heard that Sizerly needed your accompaniment to participate in the council as a princess.”

“Exactly, boy. Just as you said. Also, our family has ties with Lagrin. That’s why, during the Lagrin incident, we cooperated with the Poison King to investigate the world eroder who caused the yellow sky.”

As she said this, she glanced back toward Haring.

She was concerned about how Haring would react to the story.

Kraush also looked back at Haring.

“Are you alright?”

However, Haring’s expression remained unchanged.

While she seemed intrigued by the story, she wasn’t about to lose control as she had before.

“I’m fine. As long as Kraush is here.”

Haring’s eyes, as they looked at Kraush, carried an even stronger sense of trust than before.

As long as Kraush was there, she felt she could remain calm even under the yellow sky.

Kraush was the stabilizer for her unstable emotions, the only bandage that could cover the scars etched into her heart.

That was who Kraush was to her.

“Hm, boy, you’re quite something.”

Even in this situation, Sena carried a playful smile on her lips.

“Please continue the story.”

Kraush said, giving her a sharp look.

Sena shrugged her shoulders and resumed speaking.

“Anyway, here’s what we found out: that Mad Sword Emperor was the world eroder responsible for the Lagrin incident. The problem is, we couldn’t find any trace of him—whether he vanished into the earth or ascended into the sky.” ȒᴀŊốβЁŠ

World eroders were notoriously difficult to track, as many of them could traverse even forbidden zones with ease.

However, if even the Poison King and the Ghost Lord pursued him directly and still couldn’t find him, there could be only one explanation.

‘The Black Witch must have taken him.’

The Black Witch, possessing her own unique dimension, could move freely anywhere in the world.

It was certain that she had taken the Mad Sword Emperor into her dimension.

“The issue is the book the Mad Sword Emperor is thought to have stolen, The Poison Blood Codex.”

This book, a treasure of the Lagrin family, was said to contain a wealth of knowledge about poisons, including descriptions of the supreme poison known as Formless Poison.

“And this book has reappeared in the Empire’s underground markets.”

“That’s…”

“Of course, it’s possible that the Mad Sword Emperor handed it off to the black market. But something about the circumstances feels strange. It doesn’t seem like the work of a world eroder—it feels more like it passed through human hands.”

Sena furrowed her brow, her unease evident.

“What I’m saying is, the Lagrin incident may not have involved just the world eroders.”

She turned to Haring. Naturally, Haring’s expression had hardened as well.

She had grown up fueled by a desire for revenge against the world eroders.

But now, the possibility of another party being involved left her mind in turmoil.

“Regardless, the Poison King has continued to personally pursue the Mad Sword Emperor ever since. And, of course, the Imperial Court isn’t unaware of this.”

Kraush quickly caught on to why Sena had brought this up.

“…Even for the Imperial Court, knowing the Poison King’s situation, appointing the leader of the Night Raven as the suspect seems highly unusual.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m bringing this up. While it’s true the Poison King was tasked with pursuing the Night Raven leader, the whole situation still feels off—especially with how the Lagrin side was silenced. Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to implicate both parties.”

“So, you’re suggesting that the Imperial Court has a reason for wanting the Mad Sword Emperor to remain at large?”

Sena’s expression turned sour.

“That would be the best-case scenario—if it’s just speculation.”

Speculation.

While she hoped it was merely conjecture, Kraush, who knew some of the Empire’s secrets, couldn’t dismiss it so easily.

After all, Hadenhartz had been annihilated because the second prince revealed some of those imperial secrets.

‘So, it’s all been tangled up for ages, hasn’t it?’

Kraush clicked his tongue and looked up.

“Then it’s simple.”

A surge of black flames erupted from Kraush’s body.

“We catch the Mad Sword Emperor.”

Sena, taken aback by the straightforward answer, was momentarily left speechless.

However, Sena couldn’t deny that Kraush’s words held the answer.

“Are you confident?”

“Confidence alone doesn’t solve everything in life.” 

But his eyes shone with unwavering determination.

“That said, doing nothing won’t solve anything either, will it?”

In the end, he was saying he would face it head-on.

“Reckless.”

Despite her words, Sena didn’t seem opposed to the idea.

After all, she was someone who preferred to act rather than just watch things unfold.

“I might actually get along with you, boy.”

“Do you prefer recklessness?”

“I absolutely hate sitting around doing nothing.”

Her soft laughter echoed just as—

BOOOOOOOOM!

A thunderous roar erupted from beyond the distant mountains, sending flocks of birds flying into the sky.

Despite the considerable distance, the ground shook violently, drawing the attention of all four people.

“This rumble…”

“It’s Brother Rai’s doing.”

Kraush clicked his tongue, and Sena immediately recognized the source.

“Rai? As in the Sword King?”

Haring turned toward the mountains with a shocked expression.

If the earlier impact was caused by the Sword King, everyone knew who he must be fighting now.

“…Kraush, you mentioned that the Mad Sword Emperor’s world erosion grows stronger the more he fights powerful opponents.”

“…Yes.”

Sena asked with a troubled look, her gaze fixed on the sky.

When Kraush confirmed it, she adjusted the black-tinted glasses resting on her face.

“Then if Rai and the Mad Sword Emperor are fighting, how many levels do you think he’ll reach?”

Kraush fell silent for a moment.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Another deafening explosion shattered the air, this time powerful enough to cause a mountain to collapse.

A tingling sensation emanated from beyond the mountains, powerful and oppressive.

“…At least 8-star, possibly even higher.”

An 8-star level world erosion.

That meant its owner would be on par with someone like Agares.

Haring’s face turned ghostly pale.

She had faced Decarabia not long ago, a barely incomplete 7-star opponent, and barely managed to defeat it with everything she had.

But an 8-star world erosion?

It was far beyond what she could handle.

“Ha, this is bad.”

Sena muttered, her own expression uneasy.

An 8-star level would be more than enough to reduce Hadenhartz to rubble.

Currently, Hadenhartz housed both the Empire’s Fourth Princess and Starlon’s First Prince.

If anything were to happen to either of them, the ensuing blame and accusations could spark a war.

If anyone had known things would escalate like this, they would have ensured neither of them came here.

But no one had foreseen this.

After all, it was the Empire itself that had hidden the Mad Sword Emperor’s existence.

“We’re picking up the pace. Push yourself a little harder.”

Sena commanded, her tone firm as her pace quickened.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

The thought struck her: Could the Empire have subtly orchestrated this?

The Mad Sword Emperor, the Poison Blood Codex, all of it felt suspiciously orchestrated.

‘What does the Imperial Family want out of this?’

Sena didn’t have deep knowledge of the Empire’s inner workings.

She had left the Meyer family’s headship behind without a second thought, unwilling to be tied down to anything.

She despised being bound to anyone or anything, so leaving had been an easy choice.

Still, she bit her lip in frustration, chasing after elusive threads of reasoning.

This was exactly why she hated anything to do with politics.

She couldn’t figure out what the Empire stood to gain from this, especially with the Fourth Princess present. Would they really risk so much?

‘Thinking isn’t my strong suit.’

She was a fighter, not a strategist.

At that moment, Sena’s sharp, intuitive sense caught hold of something.

Her expression darkened.

A few seconds later, Kraush’s expression also shifted, his brows furrowing.

Sena noticed and was visibly surprised.

She had long suspected that Kraush possessed a similar intuitive sense to her own.

In real combat, even a few seconds’ delay can mean the difference between life and death, making Sena’s acute intuition and Kraush’s sixth sense fundamentally different.

However, Sena wasn’t just anyone—she was an invited professor at Rahern Academy, a seasoned expert with an earned reputation and even a moniker. She had far more years of experience and training than Kraush.

Kraush, on the other hand, was just 15 years old.

Moreover, his strengths leaned more toward combat than sensory abilities.

And yet, he had detected the presence nearly as quickly as Sena.

‘Rai was an exceptional monster, and young Charlotte seemed like a true prodigy…’

And now the youngest, Kraush, was proving he was no ordinary talent either.

‘I thought his judgment and courage were oddly mature for a 15-year-old. But considering the two older siblings, perhaps it’s not so strange after all.’

It could only be described as the legacy of the Valheim family.

In other families, producing just one such genius would leave a mark on the family’s history forever.

Yet, in this generation, the Valheim family had produced multiple extraordinary talents, all at once.

‘Truly, this family is monstrous.’

It seemed plausible that this generation might be the brightest era in Valheim’s history.

This was likely why the Empire kept trying to curb Starlon’s influence.

Even an entity as vast as the Empire found the movements of the Valheim family intimidating.

And that fear had led the Empire to increasingly provoke Staron, where Valheim belonged.

‘There have been unsettling movements within the Empire for a while now.’

With the current incident layered on top of that, Sena’s expression grew darker.

‘At this rate, won’t a single misstep really lead to a war between Starlon and the Empire?’

The thought hovered faintly in her mind.

And just as that thought struck, another realization hit her.

‘…Wait, could it be?’

Sena turned toward Kraush instinctively.

“Professor Sena Meyer, you’ve sensed it too, haven’t you?”

Though her reason for looking at him hadn’t been that, Sena nodded regardless.

At the same time, she observed Kraush with a peculiar gaze.

Charlotte’s sudden decision to bring him into the Lion Corps.

The princess-backed justification for Haring joining the Corps.

Even the royal mission directly assigned by the Starlon royal family.

All of it was tied to one individual: Kraush.

‘Could it be…’

Was this boy, barely 15 years old, orchestrating all of this to prevent a potential war between Staron and the Empire?

Even if he was the youngest of Valheim, could that truly be possible?

‘This isn’t something that can be done with force alone. Strategy, politics, connections—if even one of these falters, the entire plan collapses like a house of cards.’

And yet, Kraush was pulling it off.

It was as if he could read the flow of the entire world.

Shiver-

For a brief moment, Sena felt a shiver run down her spine.

She had always thought Valheim was truly extraordinary when observing Rai and Charlotte.

But now, she realized the real issue wasn’t those two.

Those two were bright, shining stars—illuminated for all to see.

However, the one gradually steering a massive, unseen current behind the scenes wasn’t them.

It was a boy who had barely reached adulthood.

‘They say Valheim is a den of demons.’

And now, a true demon had been born from that den.

Sena decided to reevaluate Kraush in her mind, viewing him in an entirely new light.

She could suddenly envision it—a far-off future where Kraush, standing at the forefront, led the most powerful figures in the world.

‘This feels almost prophetic.’

Sena, who occasionally experienced such glimpses, shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Those visions depended on countless interconnected paths.

What mattered now was solving the immediate problem.

“Kraush, you said the Night Raven leader is an ally, right?”

As she spoke, Kraush raised his head.

Ahead of them, atop the mountain they needed to cross, countless bone monsters blanketed its slopes, descending toward them like an avalanche.

“As a welcome party, this feels a bit excessive.”

Sena said, her expression turning slightly exasperated.

Kraush drew Thunderstorm and smirked.

“Yes, she’s quite fond of me.”

He figured it was time to scold her a bit.

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