I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 26

[EP.26] Being Misunderstood

The next day, the day of the martial arts tournament preliminary round.

Kraush, more fatigued than usual, wiped his face.

“I’m really being hammered here.”

Unable to even respond to the giggling derision from Crimson Garden beside him.

It had started from the previous day and continued until this morning.

Because he had been relentlessly harried by Sizelry.

‘This is why I hate geniuses.’

Especially if it’s regarding brains.

Sapped of energy from verbal sparring, as she seized any information with whatever he said.

He wanted to finish the martial arts tournament swiftly and leave now.

If he stayed any longer, he might risk exposing his Balheim identity.

“Now’s my chance!”

At that moment, he heard a voice and a boy wielding a club attacked him from behind.

Shouting while attempting a surprise attack—this one was too immature.

Kraush, without drawing his sword, raised his hand and smacked the chin of the leaping applicant.

“Argh!?”

The boy screamed and rolled on the ground.

Without mercy, Kraush stomped on the boy’s abdomen, and his eyes rolled back, unresponsive.

“Wow, how many makes that now, anyway?”

“That guy’s a slit-eyed monster.”

“What’s the deal with that crow? It doesn’t fall off even when he moves like that.”

Heads turned at Kraush’s voice, and those who made eye contact with him scuttled back, looking terrified.

“He’s scary. Definitely comes from the underworld.”

“Seeing the way he finishes them off. Better not get any blowback.”

The place where Kraush was stationed was none other than the preliminary arena.

This preliminary was characterized by melee combat.

One hundred participants per group were divided, and only the top four of each would qualify for the next rounds.

Kraush had such an easy time that he could afford to let his mind wander.

He proved his efforts had paid off: he reigned as a strong contender here.

‘Calling someone strong among 15-year-olds, how strong could they really be.’

There weren’t many peers who could measure up to Kraush.

Especially since those who would enter Rahelrn Academy were all absent.

‘It’s like a fox dominating in the absence of a tiger.’

Kraush, harboring no arrogance, made that assessment of himself.

Having seen real geniuses, he was the most self-aware.

“Hahahaha! Why are you standing there dumbfounded? You idiots! You’re all going to die!”

“Aaaack! Run away!”

“It’s a monster!”

Of course, there were some with real skill among them.

Take, for example, the muscle pig currently charging crazily around like a buffalo.

It was impossible for someone with such a massive size to be under the age of 15, and just by charging, he was unstoppable.

But that wasn’t all there was.

The aura wrapped around his body was also moving with precision.

‘I remember him.’

He was one of the guys who entered Rahelrn Academy through the martial arts tournament.

Regrettably, the name eluded Kraush.

Regardless of being treated insignificantly, he was a Balheim.

There was little need for him to clash with commoners.

“Hahahaha!”

However, that laughter was somewhat loud.

His ears hurt as if even the sound carried aura, and when Kraush looked that way, their eyes met.

In that moment, the muscle pig’s eyes gleamed wickedly.

T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m k i n g mt l . o rg
“Oho, what are you looking at!”

And the subsequent words made Kraush’s eyebrows twitch.

“You’re staring, piglet.”

Kraush didn’t hold back from the provocation.

The muscle pig’s forehead creased deeply.

“Pig? Pigg! Who are you calling a pig!”

Immediately thereafter, the creature began a body slam charge at Kraush.

His large frame and charging stance were certainly intimidating.

But it was only threatening to a human extent.

In world erosion, no matter how big, a person is just a small animal.

Proving this, Kraush merely observed as the pig came right up in front of him.

“Die!”

The muscle pig thrust his shoulder forward, aiming to blow Kraush away.

Woooom!

Accompanied by dust kicking up under his feet, the pig was abruptly halted.

Merely by Kraush’s outstretched hand pressing down on the pig’s head.

The pig’s eyes blinked once.

Looking up close at the creature whose eyes at least looked somewhat innocent, Kraush slowly smiled.
T h i s w as c op i e d f rom k i n g m t l .o rg

“Are you good at fighting with strength?”

And the moment Kraush’s fist tightened,

Wham!

The pig’s face crumpled beneath the force of Kraush’s punch.

Thud! Crash!

He soared sky-high and then rolled pitifully along the ground.

His face smashed in, the big man lay there losing consciousness, his front teeth knocked out and eyes flipped back.

Since Kraush gave him a blow even to the village, consciousness had completely taken flight.

Swoosh—

The arena was enveloped in a brief silence at the spectacle.

The children looked on with eyes wide open at Kraush and the muscle pig, alternating their gaze.

They couldn’t believe what they’d seen—the much smaller Kraush had blasted away the brute.

Then Kraush crinkled his face under the children’s stare.

T hi s w as c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o rg
“Done spectating?”

With that, the children began brawling amongst themselves again.

From that moment, not a single one among the children dared to challenge Kraush.

To them, provoking him would mean instant dismissal from the competition.

“Puhahahahat, a masterpiece.”

In the meantime, a voice burst into a peal of roaring laughter behind Kraush.

There stood a man with his face wrapped in black bandages.

He was quite tall, possibly hitting a growth spurt, and smiled with his eyes at Kraush from between the bandages.

“Why are you laughing?”

Kraush, ever gruff to anyone not a favorite of his, asked peevishly.

T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r om k i n gm t l . or g
Even after witnessing Kraush’s recent feat, the bandaged man appeared not the slightest bit intimidated.

“Well, I have to laugh when an interesting friend shows up, right? You, aren’t you the one sent by the infamous Night Crow assassin family?”

And Kraush couldn’t make head nor tail of what seemed nonsensical babbling.

‘The Night Crow? That’s the most dangerous group operating behind the Empire.’

Had they sent someone to participate in this martial arts tournament?

Even Kraush couldn’t know every inside detail of the Empire.

‘But I’ve never heard about the Night Crow at Rahelrn Academy?’

Would the Empire be mad enough to admit members of the Night Crow?

However, Kraush was aware of an unpredictability factor in the Empire.

‘Sigrid Ephania.’

That damned third princess who must have inherited the same batch of memories as himself.

He felt a bad premonition.

It was as if the woman was doing something behind the scenes of the Empire.

The Empire’s downfall was not without influence from those shadows.

“I don’t know what misunderstanding you’re having…”

“Don’t play innocent. That crow on your shoulder is proof enough.”

The crow as proof?

Kraush glanced at Crimson Garden.

It seemed he’d drawn unwarranted misconceptions because of her.

“Besides, the dubious aura emanating from you screams underworld to anyone seeing it.”

Apparently, his suspicious appearance had been compounded due to Darling’s transformation potion.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got no intention of checking on your lot. Given who’s backing you, I guess there aren’t many left who would dare.”

The bandaged man chuckled and grinned.

“Let’s get along, considering we hail from the same underworld.”

With that, having said his part, he waved his hand and left.

Kraush watched him go before sinking into deep thought by himself.

‘An expert emerging from the Night Crow, eh.’

Whoever it might be was unclear.

‘But I surely feel that an unpleasant variable is about to arise.’

And certainly not in a direction he was comfortable with.

‘I suppose I’ll have to check it out.’

＊ ＊ ＊

After the preliminaries ended, Kraush had confidently remained one of the top four in his group.

Not a single soul dared to challenge him after he demolished the muscle pig.

That meant Kraush had practically conserved all his energy.

Kraush was currently on the tail of someone.

Who might that someone be?

It was none other than the bandaged man who had spoken to him earlier.

‘He must be involved with the underworld.’

Kraush had never visited the Empire’s underworld.

He had only heard a few stories; he didn’t know exactly how those figures operated.
T h i s w a s c op i e d f r o m k i n gm tl. or g

Kraush, not an imperial citizen, couldn’t possibly know everything about the Empire’s affairs.

So Kraush decided to tail the bandaged man to learn about the Empire’s underworld.

“Do you really need to go to such lengths?”

As Kraush closely followed through the back alleys, Crimson Garden suddenly spoke up.

“Go to such lengths?”
T h i s was c o p i e d f rom k i n g m t l . o r g

“Stalking someone, that sort of thing.”

Kraush blinked, his expression questioning as if asking, then what other way is there?

“Tsk, tsk, you only know how to learn from me, not how to use what you’ve learned. What a poor pupil.”

In that moment, Crimson Garden spread her wings and soared upward.

She quickly flew overhead and landed neatly in front of the bandaged man.

“Eh, a crow?”

The bandaged man, walking down the alley, stopped in surprise at the sight of Crimson Garden.

The bandaged man’s shoulders jerked in a rough reaction.

As Kraush approached belatedly, the bandaged man simply stood there bewildered.

“What did you do?”

“It was a light brainwashing spell. In this state, he’ll answer anything you ask.”

Kraush was aware of Crimson Garden’s versatility, but he hadn’t known she could do this as well.

Certainly, if this method were available, there was no need to tail anyone.

“Hey, bandaged man.”

Kraush called out to him, and the bandaged man looked over blankly.

Gazing at him, Kraush quickly posed his question.

“What happened with the Night Crow?”

“Night Crow was recently almost annihilated.”

The man’s lips conveyed the news of the Night Crow’s near destruction.

“Annihilated? But the Night Crow participated in the martial arts tournament.”

“It was by the decree of the new master who annihilated and took them under his control.”

Hearing mention of the Night Crow’s master, Kraush responded with curiosity but also sought confirmation.

T h i s w a s c o pie d f r om k i n g m t l. or g
“Is that Sigrid Ephania?”

She was the only one capable of such a feat.

“No.”

However, the reply was different.

“Not Sigrid?”

“Yes, it was the second prince who annihilated and claimed the Night Crow.”

Kraush’s eyebrows furrowed.

‘The second prince claimed the Night Crow?’

Kraush’s gaze was filled with even greater doubt.

The second prince had long been devoured by the first prince and was known just for inflating the latter’s power base.

It didn’t make sense that he had gotten his hands on the Night Crow.

T hi s w a s c o p ie d f ro m k i n gm tl.o rg
‘And moreover.’

Kraush knew the secrets of the Night Crow.

‘And their true backing was from the imperial family.’

Night Crow, jestingly referred to as the assassin’s house of fame.

Despite originating from the Empire’s underworld, they were so renowned for their assassination skills that they were referred to as a family.

What does it mean for them to be outstanding in assassination?

‘They took on the Empire’s dirty tasks.’

Their forte was assassination.

Thus, they were an organization that undertook high-priced assassination missions from various places.

Their characteristic was one thing: they all possessed something related to a crow.

The rumor of their involvement became so widespread that there was even talk of carrying a crow emblem for safety when walking down back alleys.

‘And the imperial family made use of that.’

The Empire’s imperial family kept tabs on which nobles were using the Night Crow, and who was checking whom, all through the Night Crow.

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Cleverly, the imperial family had naturally adjusted the balance of power among the nobles by utilizing the Night Crow.

It was a fact that remained undisclosed until the Empire’s downfall.

Within the Empire, only the imperial family was privy to this knowledge.

So the notion that the second prince had suddenly become the master of the Night Crow was simply nonsensical.

After all, the original master of Night Crow was the imperial family itself.

But even before that, there was a more inconceivable story.

‘Even if the Night Crow’s annihilation is true, how is it that some random back alley thug knows about the imperial family’s involvement?’

There were too many peculiarities.

‘Wait.’

Something flashed across Kraush’s mind.

‘Sigrid, that girl’s doing.’

Kraush’s face contorted in thought.
T h i s w as c o pi e d f r o m kin g m t l . or g

‘She’s scheming to crush the second prince ahead of time to lessen the first prince’s power base. These are deliberately spread rumors.’

Kraush’s mind spun rapidly.

To him, the rumors indeed seemed deliberately spread.

Creating a narrative as if the second prince had swallowed the Night Crow and was plotting something.

‘The second prince fell into Sigrid’s trap.’

Sigrid deliberately laid the trap, making it possible for the second prince to swallow the Night Crow, and the prince, still eyeing the throne, hastily gulped down the poison that was Night Crow.

Thinking the revelation of controlling Night Crow would bolster his forces, he likely blabbed carelessly.

And Sigrid would have encouraged the rumors from the shadows.

Enough for this bandaged man here to know about it.

Having come to that conclusion, Kraush became lost in thought.

‘I get that Sigrid set a trap for the second prince.’

By making him swallow the Night Crow, what’s she planning to do?

The Night Crow’s specialty is assassination.

Then it means the second prince is going to use Night Crow to assassinate someone…

‘Doesn’t Sigrid know the first prince well?’

He wasn’t someone easy to deal with.

No matter how much the second prince pulls strings from behind, using Night Crow to assassinate the first prince would be impossible.

‘Then it means that the second prince is being manipulated to assassinate someone else.’

But who would that target be?

After spending a moment in deep thought, Kraush slowly lifted his head.

“Damn it.”

Kraush’s eyes crumpled with rage.

He had realized who Sigrid intended the second prince to assassinate through the Night Crow.

‘Sizelry Ephania.’

The fourth imperial princess.