I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 30

[EP.30] Playing Dead??

Sera Betella.

A master-class talent and attendant to the Fourth Princess Sizelry Ephania, she was frowning over the incident that occurred yesterday.

The informants they had embedded in the imperial palace had either been bought off or were only gathering incorrect information.

‘What is this.’

Even under Sera’s stern pressure, the bought informants kept their mouths shut.

They just repeated that they had no other choice but to act that way.

‘To think they would do this even when the imperial palace is mentioned directly.’

Sera swallowed her frustration.

‘If that’s the case, someone even higher up than the Fourth Princess must have given the order.’

There weren’t many in the empire whose status exceeded that of Sizelry.

Sera frowned as she considered those individuals.

‘Why would they target the Fourth Princess?’

Sizelry had deliberately distanced herself from the throne struggle by acting playfully.

T h i s w as c opie d f rom k i n gm t l . o r g
Her siblings didn’t keep her in check because of this, and now Sera could not fathom why this was happening.

‘Can I protect her all by myself?’

Sizelry was intelligent.

She had only prepared the bare minimum to defend herself, without bothering with other measures.

For her, the best defense was not to hold anything of value at all.

Thus, Sera felt a great sense of duty to protect Sizelry.

It was no coincidence that her mother had pleaded with the Emperor to appoint her, a master-class talent, as Sizelry’s attendant.

And now she was being targeted.

By the wolves lurking in the tiger’s den.

To those wolves, Sizelry was nothing more than a defenseless lamb.

A lamb that could be torn to shreds at any moment.

T h is w a s c op i e d f r om ki n gm t l . o r g
Sera was that lamb’s horn.

The only means of defense, yet all too small compared to the grandeur of the imperial palace.

“Ha…”

A long sigh escaped from her.

Starting from the Second Prince absorbing the power of the Night Crow, to the recent friction between the First and Second Princes.

And on top of that, Sigrid’s strange movements.

Every single factor was suspicious.

She was better suited to swinging a sword than strategizing.

Therefore, she had spoken directly to Sizelry.
T his w as c o p ied f r o m kin g m tl. o r g

But Sizelry had been deep in thought, simply telling her not to do anything for now.

T his w a s c o pi e d f ro m k in g m t l . o rg
Only making an absurd remark that she should take care of herself.

“What are you pondering all by yourself again?”

It would be helpful if Sizelry would at least confide in Sera, her only retainer.

But Sizelry, being intelligent, preferred to subtly direct someone’s actions rather than make them understand her own thinking.

The problem was that those who became the target of her intentions were often left frustrated.

Tap-tap –

Suddenly, a sound came from the window.

As Sera turned her head, there was a crow.

“This child is…”

Sera remembered seeing that crow.

It was the crow of the boy whom Sizelry had recently taken an interest in.

‘Night Crow.’

That was Sera’s immediate thought upon seeing the crow, but she shook her head.

The boy couldn’t be the Night Crow; Sizelry had made that clear.

How would a crow like this know her location?

The boy was as enigmatic in his thinking as Sizelry.

Creak –

So, out of a desire to check, she opened the window.

Then, the crow smartly walked into the room and spoke.

“Sera Betella.”
T h i s wa s c o pi ed fro m k in gm t l. o rg

Startled!

Sera’s face froze for a moment, as she hadn’t expected the crow to talk.

Then, a smirk appeared on the crow’s beak.

She was seeing a crow smile for the first time.

“I’ll share a bit of my immortality in exchange for your vitality. So play dead.”

The moment Sera heard those words, she suddenly realized darkness was seeping into her vision.

“Black!?”

Her sight vanished abruptly, and she inadvertently swallowed her annoyance and slumped onto the floor.

Her sense of equilibrium had been shattered by the darkness in an instant.

Something had happened to her without any opportunity to react.

‘What on earth…’

As her tensed body was on high alert, she drew her sword, focusing intently on any perceptible movements through the darkness.

When her cold sweat began to trickle down her cheeks, her vision slowly returned.

Unbeknownst to her, a black star had formed and disappeared in her eyes.

“……!”

Sera quickly lifted her head.

But the crow that should have been at the window had long vanished.

What had she just experienced?

A cloud of unanswered questions filled her mind.

Crash!

Suddenly, the ceiling above her collapsed.

As a golden aura shone through the debris, Sera’s body reacted swiftly, slicing her sword towards the ceiling.

Scccrrraaaape!

Sera’s sword clashed with an adversary’s spear, leading to a chaotic aftermath that turned everything around her into a mess.

The collision of auras shattered furniture and sent debris scattering, with the window unable to withstand the force and shattering as well.

But there was no time to worry about that.

Spear after spear jabbed through the dust cloud from the collapsed ceiling.

Sera quickly regrouped and parried with her sword.

Yet, the force behind the spear was far beyond her imagination.

“Ugh!?”

Driven against the wall by the overwhelming assault, Sera’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

She had never expected to be overpowered.

She had reached the level of master.

But now, she was being pushed back by her opponent.

It meant that her adversary was also a master-level combatant.

‘Who is this?’

There are many at the threshold of becoming master-class talents.

However, even with that consideration, their numbers worldwide did not exceed a thousand.

It was impossible for Sera not to know someone at master level within the empire.

As her eyes pierced through the smokescreen, Sera gasped in recognition.

There stood a young woman in her twenties with black hair.

With her thin eyes and long wavy hair, and a distinctly voluptuous figure, she was gazing back at Sera tranquility.

“You are…”

Sera was profoundly shocked as she recognized the woman’s identity.

Mary Diana from House Diana, the noble house known as the candidates for the imperial lance.

She was the one holding a spear aimed at Sera.

But Sera was shocked for a different reason.

It was because her skills far surpassed her own.
T hi s w a s c o p i e d f ro m k i n g m t l . o r g

Barely legal age.

A master at that age?

Even among the feared adversaries of the Empire in Balheim, she would be considered exceptional.

Moreover, the Mary that she knew most definitely was not a talent of this caliber.

‘Was she concealing her abilities?’

Sera hastily parried another incoming spear thrust.

Each strike of the spear was tremendously powerful.

It could even be beyond her own capabilities.

The thought crossed her mind, and Sera’s eyes hardened.

It didn’t matter if she was the daughter of the Diana family.

If she didn’t give it her all right now, she would die.

Sera, the only sword of Sizelry, could not fall here.

Boom!

As the walls of the room crumbled instantly, Sera was sent rolling across the floor.

Simultaneously, her eyes turned fierce as a red aura enveloped her sword, emanating from her grasp.

She was a berserker.

The longer the battle raged, the more the aura within her body surpassed her limits and drew out unimaginable strengths.

This was the Rampage Transformation she had mastered.

Upon activation, it took a significant toll on her body, but there was no time to worry about that now.

Swish!

Sensing her intent, her adversary commanded a series of rapid thrusts that tore through the wall, aiming to finish her off.

The spear, imbued with golden aura, was so forceful that Sera barely managed to deflect it.

‘But that doesn’t mean I can’t block it.’

If that was the case, she’d have to draw upon the Rampage Transformation, even if it strained her body in the short term.

Crack!

As the spear collided with her defenses, blood spilled from Sera’s lips.

At the same moment, her muscles bulged wildly like a raging beast, shredding through her clothes as her sword surged forward with explosive force toward Mary.

Rampage Transformation.

The Insanity Blood Outburst.

That was the moment.

Crack!

Sera stood frozen in place, her body rigid.

Snap, drip-

Blood gushed forth from her mouth in waves.

Sera’s eyes shook uncontrollably.

Her heart had been impaled by a spear without her even seeing the motion of the thrust.

‘Skill.’

With blood flowing, she realized the force that had pierced her was a skill.

Mary’s skill Excel.

It was an acceleration that drastically increased the body’s speed.

“This powerful…”

Mary’s skill was one she had heard about, but she never imagined it could outpace her own eyes even when Rampage Transformation was activated.

Excel, when wielded by a master-class combatant, exhibited absurd power.

She could be certain now.

Once she grew more powerful and eventually reached the next level of Emperor, no one in the world would be able to withstand her spear.

“Sera Betella, take joy in dying for the Empire.”

As her vision blurred and blood rang in her ears, Mary’s voice resonated with Sera.

Simultaneously, she recalled the words of the crow from before.

‘Play dead, it said?’

When she was actually dying.

Sera’s consciousness faded to nothing after that.

＊ ＊ ＊

After impaling Sera’s heart and realizing she had ceased breathing, Mary retracted her spear.

Then, catching the collapsing body with one hand, Mary sighed.
T h is wa s co p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l. or g

She felt a slight throb in her body from using Excel, but it was bearable.

Although she had not reached her peak level, facing a master-class opponent like this was always going to come with acceptance of such consequences.

T hi s w a s co p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l . o rg
‘Has it already been a year since I returned to the past with memory transference?’

After her memory was transferred back, she had immediately joined Sigrid, her closest ally.

Thankfully, Sigrid had also successfully had her memories transferred.

The two of them went straight in search of Arthur.

Their beloved hero, whom they desperately wanted to find and protect the world alongside.

However, somehow, Arthur was nowhere to be found.

Thi s w a s c o p ied f r om k i ng m t l. o r g
Even though he had promised to be there when they all awoke after he led the regression that night.

‘Lord Arthur, where have you gone?’

Mary bit her lip in frustration.

Even after waiting days, Arthur did not return, and she scoured the entire Empire looking for him, but he was not to be found.

Moreover, for some reason, Abella hadn’t appeared either.

Inquiries at the Red Magic Tower led to the discovery that she had suddenly vanished.

‘What on earth…’

What was happening?

At least Sigrid was being reassuring, saying that if it were Arthur, he would soon come back.

Mary had nearly spent her days in despair, thinking Arthur had disappeared.

‘The only thing I can do now.’

Is to support Sigrid, the Third Princess, and become the mightiest spear.

And so, she killed Sera in accordance with Sigrid’s instructions.

Sigrid was currently away on other business.

Thus Mary had to ensure the job was done properly, entrusted by Sigrid who believed in her more than anyone else, for the future of their Empire.

Thunk, thunk-

At that moment, footsteps resounded.

When Mary lifted her head, there was a giant man with stitched marks all over his face.

He was none other than Ebelasque’s 13th corpse.

Holding Sera’s heart now was Mary.

As the heart was entrusted to her by Sigrid, Ebelasque had no choice but to obey her commands.

Following the orders he’d received earlier, he carefully placed Sera’s body inside the sack he had brought.

Then, shouldering the sack, he turned to leave.

“Wait a moment, please.”

Mary called out to detain Corpse No. 13.

T hi s w a s c o pi e d f ro m k i n g m t l. o r g
Caught by surprise, No. 13 paused in his tracks.

Corpses do not have emotions, but the one controlling No. 13 was none other than Ebelasque.

With cold sweat dripping down her brow, Ebelasque, watching from beyond the corpse, grew increasingly nervous, fearing she had been found out.

“I still haven’t been informed who among the corpses attended the martial arts tournament.”

One of the Night Crow’s corpses had participated in the martial arts tournament.

On the surface, it was under the order of the Second Prince.

The Second Prince intended to expand his influence, making it known that he controlled the Night Crow – his choice of demonstration was the martial arts tournament.

Of course, that was a plot designed by Sigrid and Mary in advance.

To clearly show the entire Empire that the Second Prince had control of the Night Crow.

Thus, after having Sera kill Sizelry, they planned to frame the act as done by the Night Crow under the Second Prince’s command.

Needless to say, they had already constructed a motive for the Second Prince to kill Sizelry.

Now if Sizelry were to die, the Second Prince would be unable to escape imprisonment.

“Still, after watching the martial arts tournament, I have a good guess who it might be.”

So, Mary knew that the Night Crow had been competing in the tournament.

The issue was that she had been too busy with other matters to inquire about the identity of that Night Crow member.

“Is he the boy who goes around with a crow?”

She asked for confirmation.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The reply came promptly from Corpse No. 13.

“You have taste. To openly flaunt the identity of the Night Crow by using that crow. Ah, was that Sigrid’s command? You wouldn’t possess such ingenuity.”

Though she maintained a facade of elegance, Mary was a sharp-tongued critiquer and smiled wryly at the remark.

However, No. 13 showed no expression, leaving Mary feeling discontented.

“You may go now.”

No. 13 bowed his head and began walking away.

Ebelasque, controlling No. 13, may have been tense, but Mary did not really suspect her.

Since Mary was holding her heart, Ebelasque could not afford to betray her.

‘On that note, Ebelasque had a pretty cute one in tow.’

Mary remembered the boy named Kradd for a moment.

Ebelasque, who typically managed only grotesque corpses, also had such a corpse in her collection.

‘If only it wasn’t just a corpse…’

Mary pondered for a while before shaking the thought from her head.
s
It must have been too long since she’d been apart from Arthur for such buried proclivities to resurface.

‘Lord Arthur, please show yourself soon.’

Wishing for his return, Mary began to walk on.