I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

The incident involving the World Eroder’s servant at Rahern Academy.

It was an incident where the youngest Cardinal, Mirei Beakis, and the magical artifact creator, Rona Imblaze, were brainwashed by a World Eroder Black Witch.

Due to this incident and the successive events that followed, Rahern Academy had to endure great turmoil.

This was because there had already been a history of an assistant professor being a servant of the World Eroder.

That assistant professor was Jenikalen.

Although the kidnapping incident he committed was settled as the students were unharmed and his behavior towards them was deemed rational, this time, the students repeatedly became targets of the World Eroder, and Rahern Academy’s name began to circulate globally.

The most common remark about this was that Rahern Academy had gathered too many talented individuals in one place.

The World Eroders have consistently threatened the world on numerous occasions.

Although their goals differ, it is rare for them to have a positive influence on the world.

As such, it was speculated that Rahern Academy, where the most elite children of nobles gathered, was continuously being targeted.

Most dismissed this speculation as nonsense, claiming that the issue should lie with the World Eroder who caused the incident.

However, there were some who agreed to a certain extent.

Among them, some voiced concerns about what would happen if Rahern Academy faced an uncontrollable disaster and all the students were lost.

In reality, if this generation were wiped out, there would be no one left to protect the world.

In the midst of various discussions, one individual began to be talked about, aside from Rahern Academy itself.

That individual was none other than Kraush.

The world began to focus on him again, as he demonstrated the power to purify the servants of the World Eroder.

“Did you hear? Kraush Valheim was personally designated as the successor by the Fighting Emperor Durandal!”

“You’re talking about purifying the servants of the World Eroder, right?”

“Yeah, that’s said to be Durandal’s unique secret art.”

Even among commoners, Kraush’s name was being frequently mentioned.

Durandal had risen from the very bottom to reach the heavens.

He was a true idol for commoners and remains someone deeply admired by many.

The fact that Kraush was chosen as his successor caused an inevitable uproar.

“I heard that even the youngest Cardinal, Mirei Beakis, was affected by the World Eroder, but Kraush purified her!”

“Whoa, you’re saying he managed to do something even the Cardinal couldn’t handle?”

Additionally, Mirei’s case, which the church should have actively concealed, spread widely.

“The Saintess herself declared that he would purify the world and expressed gratitude to him for protecting Cardinal Mirei Beakis.”

“For the Saintess  to say such a thing, does that mean even she couldn’t help Mirei Beakis?”

“Well, I’m not sure about that, but it must mean that World Eroder wasn’t an ordinary foe.”

Before the church could suppress the news, the Saintess personally declared that Mirei had fallen victim to the World Eroder.

As a result, the rumors spread like wildfire.

In the end, Freeman gave up on accusing Mirei of having fallen to become a servant of the World Eroder.

Instead, they began using a different propaganda.

They aimed to cover up the fact that Mirei had been attacked by the servant of the World Eroder by elevating Kraush’s reputation.

A young hero who even saved a cardinal!

The new star of the younger generation!

A warrior acknowledged by the Saintess!

Due to political necessities, Kraush’s reputation skyrocketed to an absurd degree.

Coincidentally, Kraush had already accumulated considerable accomplishments as a young direct descendant of Valheim.

Undoubtedly, he was bound to grow even more in the future.

Thus, Freeman took this opportunity to link him with the recently troublesome Saintess and promote him as a hero.

At the same time Kraush’s name was soaring to new heights, he was stretching in his dorm room, which he had moved to after his previous room had been wrecked thanks to Rona.

As he stretched, Kraush briefly recalled the incident with Rona.

「I’m sorry. And thank you.」

After the incident, Rona expressed her deep gratitude to Kraush.

Although she was also a victim, she had committed acts that could have easily led to her execution.

Not to mention that she had even attempted to kidnap Kraush’s maid, Alicia.

Knowing roughly what Kraush had gone through thanks to the Black Witch, Rona’s face was pale with guilt.

Her expression made it clear she had no excuse, even if Kraush were to reprimand her.

Kraush lifted the magical artifact that Rona had created, which triggered the World Erosion to run rampant.

Clang!

He then destroyed the artifact and looked at Rona.

「The Black Witch’s brainwashing we faced this time.」

Hearing Kraush’s voice, Rona slowly raised her head, her expression tense.

「Can you create a magical artifact to block that?」

Though the artifact she had created this time was a monstrous product made under the Black Witch’s influence, Rona’s skill was genuine.

If it were her, she would undoubtedly go on to create numerous magical artifacts in the future.

That would surely benefit not only the Skyborne Generation but also Kraush.

Thus, Kraush proposed a task she was best suited to handle.

This was the greatest help he could offer to restore her confidence.

Rona’s eyes brightened as she looked at Kraush.

She realized that this was indeed something she could do.

「I’ll make it. Somehow, I’ll make it happen.」

With this, there should be no obstacles in the path ahead for Rona.

Thinking so, Kraush suddenly collapsed to the floor.

「Huh? Oh no, oh no!」

A panicked Rona carried him with much effort and urgently transported him to the infirmary.

The place where Kraush opened his eyes was precisely this room.

It was the new room assigned to him after being thoroughly scolded by the returning Saintess.

Several days had passed since he had moved to this new room.

[ You’re really paying the price now. Don’t you think it’s only fair if your body splits in two soon? ]

At that moment, Crimson Garden nagged incessantly.

As she said, Kraush had a specific reason his body was in this state.

Currently, Kraush’s body housed two distinct energies besides aura.

One of them was the power of the World Erosion.

Another was the power of the world itself, Aura, which was in direct opposition to the power of the World Erosion.

(TL: The aura that all swordsmen use is spelled in korean and the world’s Aura is in english, so it doesn’t translate well. Instead I will refer to the world’s Aura with a capital A.)

No matter what, these two powers were inherently incompatible.

As a result, the two forces were divided within Kraush’s body.

[ If you’re not careful, you might just go ‘boom’ and explode. Tsk, tsk. ]

At those words, Kraush rubbed the back of his neck.

He was fully aware of this fact.

‘I was the one who accepted it, knowing all this from the start.’

Still, thanks to this, he had come to understand one thing.

The human body has a limit to how much energy of any kind it can accommodate—a sort of capacity, like a vessel.

And the forces such as the World Erosion, Aura, and aura energy were not stored in the same vessel but in separate ones.

The power of the World Erosion was like the night sky.

Boundless and vast, its pitch-black darkness blanketed the heavens, evoking terror in those who beheld it.

Aura was like the earth.

More primal than the sea, it firmly supported Kraush, forming the foundation that maintained the overall structure of his body.

As the power of the world itself, Aura had naturally played a significant role in constructing his body.

It was for this reason that the Fighting Emperor possessed such a strong and massive physique.

‘If I keep using it, will I eventually become a giant like that too?’

It wasn’t an urgent matter, so Kraush set the thought aside.

In any case, this unique arrangement allowed Kraush to wield three distinct vessels.

Since filling one vessel didn’t mean the others would overflow, his potential for growth had significantly expanded.

The problem was that, aside from the vessel for aura energy, the other vessels couldn’t be used simultaneously.

‘I can use each individually, but if I overexert myself like this time, one energy seems to gleefully push out the other from its place.’

This was the reason Kraush had lost consciousness.

The Aura had intruded upon the space previously occupied by the power of the World Erosion, and the shock was transmitted directly to his body.

‘Even if I manage to unleash my full power, my body will bear the brunt of it.’

What’s more, a vessel, once filled, will eventually overflow.

Expanding the vessels to increase their size might solve the problem.

But if the contents of one vessel were to overflow and mix with another due to a mistake…

[ The vessel would shatter into pieces. ]

And that vessel was none other than Kraush himself.

In other words, Kraush was in an extremely precarious situation where a single misstep could cause his body to be torn apart.

[ Why go looking for trouble? ]

“If I don’t take on the trouble, I’ll end up dealing with worse after death.”

In a world doomed to collapse, what’s the point of worrying about taking on this much?

Especially when starting with Ixion, then the Hell Fairy, and even the Imperial Family,

problems weren’t in short supply.

On top of that, the time had come for the most fearsome seeds to sprout one by one.

‘I’ll have to cut them down at the root.’

With a mountain of tasks ahead, Kraush needed to learn and adapt to everything that came his way.

“And for that, I’m planning to meet Veltua Lacroix, that old coot.”

Veltua Lacroix, the Curse Master.

Kraush needed to obtain one of the highest-level curses from him.

Without it, he would have to continue holding both the ticking time bombs of aura and the power of World Erosion, leaving him in an unstable state.

[ What about the Black Witch? Even if you’ve left artifact creation to Rona, her brainwashing will continue to disrupt those around you. ]

Hearing this, Kraush nodded, as if he had already considered that aspect.

“The Black Witch’s brainwashing isn’t limitless. She can only control up to three individuals at a time.”

The Black Witch could only brainwash three people without paying a price.

Even then, it only worked on those with cracks in their mental fortitude; those with strong willpower couldn’t be swayed.

There was no need to worry about a large number of people falling under her influence.

“And most importantly, I can now clearly see the servants of the World Eroder.”

Since acquiring Aura, Kraush had become more sensitive to the power of the World Erosion.

Durandal, having never directly dealt with the power of World Erosion or curses, couldn’t distinguish between the two forces.

But Kraush, having experienced and wielded both, was able to differentiate them clearly.

Thus, with his experience and application of Aura, Kraush became capable of distinguishing even the servants of the World Eroders by identifying subtle differences.

Above all, having Aura allowed him to dispel the Black Witch’s brainwashing.

This meant that even from the perspective of the Black Witch, she could no longer recklessly use her brainwashing.

[ Don’t let your guard down. Relying on power too much will eventually lead to mistakes. ]

“Yeah.”

Kraush agreed with that point as well.

Being cautious, always and without exception, was never a bad habit.

He had seen far too many who died because of one careless slip.

“Squeak, squeak.”

At that moment, a corpse rat poked its head out of Kraush’s pocket.

That corpse rat was none other than Ebelasque.

“I found the last known location of Veltua Lacroix.”

Hearing Ebelasque’s voice from the corpse rat, Kraush’s lips curled into a slight smirk.

As expected from the former cleanup specialist of the Imperial Family, her information was impeccable.

“That’s good.”

Kraush immediately felt the need to set off.

Resolving his current state required obtaining that curse at all costs.

However, there was one problem.

Previously, his absence had been justified because of private training with the Fighting Emperor, so it hadn’t been an issue.

But if he were to leave this time, Rahern Academy wouldn’t just let it slide.

After all, Kraush was still a student of Rahern Academy.

Special treatment could only go so far.

‘What should I do?’

He couldn’t simply leave without permission.

Kraush needed to find a way to leave Rahern Academy without causing major disruptions to his life there.

After pondering for a while, he soon thought of someone—a person who could provide him with a legitimate reason to leave Rahern Academy.

Without hesitation, Kraush immediately opened the door and stepped out, ready to seek out the person he had in mind.

However, as the door swung open, he froze in his tracks.

It was clearly the men’s dormitory, but an unexpected figure stood before him.

“Well, well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Her hair, the color of the sea, was adorned with two small buns on either side.

Mischievous amber eyes gleamed with a brilliant light.

Finally, the petite woman smiled brightly as she looked at Kraush.

She was someone Kraush knew very well. 

The 4th Imperial Princess of the Empire.

Sizerly Ephania.

Having been to the Imperial Palace, she had finally returned.

“You seem to be in a hurry. What should I do? I brought lots of gifts.”

Sizerly said with a playful smile, holding up a small box of confections in her hands.

Kraush, seeing this, stepped back to make room for her to enter.

“Come in.”

Although he had urgent matters to attend to. 

It wouldn’t hurt to hear a bit about the Empire’s affairs, right?

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