I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 31

[EP.31] Martial Arts Tournament Finals

The main event of the Ephania Empire’s martial arts tournament.

Unbeknownst to most, the finals had already ripened to their climax.

Surprisingly, instead of the adult division which should have garnered the most attention, it was the boys’ division that captured the audience’s eyes.

The reason was none other than Kradd, the protagonist of rumors said to belong to the Night Crow.

The boy with a crow perched on his shoulder and his eyes a narrow slit.

His power was as intriguing as his appearance, never once drawing the sword at his waist throughout the whole tournament, overpowering everyone with his fists alone.

It was to the extent that people began to wonder if the sword was merely for show.

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m ki n g m t l.o rg
With various suspicions gathered, the final match began.

“The moment you’ve all been waiting for!”

“Wowooooo!”

A thunderous cheer erupted, shaking the boys’ division stadium.

The largest indoor stadium in the empire was packed full, everyone eagerly anticipating the final match.

“We will now commence the last match of the boys’ division for this martial arts tournament!”

The announcer bellowed as he raised his left arm exuberantly.

“The first of our two finalists! A boy from a rural village with the ambition to one day stop world erosion and protect world peace! Pelei!”

As the announcer called out, a boy entered the arena.

Approaching with a timid posture, he was a simple-looking boy of fourteen.

“Pelei, go for it!”

“Hey man, don’t lose to some Night Crow!”

Several people cheered more than expected because he was like a beacon of hope for the common folk.

Unlike the nobility, he was a plain boy from a rural village who had trained with the sword to reach the final round of the martial arts tournament.

The commoners were inspired by him and supported him even more vigorously.

“And his opponent is…” the announcer continued, perfectly capturing the crowd’s interest with a sly smile, “infamous for being associated with the underworld’s renowned family, rumored to belong to the Night Crow!”

“Kradd!”

Following the announcer’s shout, suddenly a crow took off from the contestant entry tunnel.

“Caw!”

The crow’s intense call drew the attention of the crowd as it took flight.

Crows, a symbol of ominousness, had heightened the anticipation for a moment, and then silence fell.

Thud thud –

From the entrance, a boy slowly emerged.

Beneath his jet-black hair, eyes closed neatly, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking, and the aura about him created an odd tension.

As he ascended to the stage amidst that atmosphere, the crow in the sky slowly alighted upon his shoulder.

“…Understood. I won’t make you do this again.”

Muttering to himself, as he raised his head, the crowd’s cheers surged once more throughout the stadium.

“Night Crow!!!”

“I bet on you winning first place! Win!!!”

“Show them what an assassination house is all about!!!!”

Cheering emanated from all sides as Kraush looked forward. Pelei came into his view.

That ordinary-looking boy he was seeing again.

But despite his appearances, Pelei was part of the Sky Generation and had even attended Rahelrn Academy.

‘I didn’t expect to face him here.’

Those hopeful eyes were just as vibrant now as they were in the past.

Kraush remembered clearly the day that light had faded from Pelei’s eyes.

Unfortunately, right now, he had other matters to attend to than facing him.

Kraush had already achieved his set objective.

“Kradd.”

At that moment, Pelei suddenly addressed him.

“Are you really with the Night Crow?”

Such innocence.

Instead of answering, Kraush simply loosened his neck.

After all, his end of the competition was essentially complete.

The remaining task was to stir things up so that the other side could spring into action on a grand scale.

“It would be better for you to come out and say it then.”

Unexpectedly, Pelei blurted out something surprising.

“The reason for this martial arts tournament is for the Ephania royal family to recruit additional students for Rahelrn Academy. Since you and I have made it to the finals, we’ll surely get the chance to enroll.”

This information had spread far and wide already.

While it wasn’t particularly newsworthy anymore, Pelei relayed it as if proud of the fact.

“Rahelrn Academy is an independent institution, immune to interference from any nation. There, you’ll be able to escape from the Night Crow.”

T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g mt l .o r g
A story filled with dreams and hope followed.

Regrettably, Rahelrn Academy wasn’t quite that resplendent a place.

Still relatively new, Rahelrn Academy didn’t possess significant power.

That’s why, except for its initial stage, it eventually got tossed about in the power struggles between the empire and various kingdoms.

‘Looking back now.’

There were several reasons why Rahelrn Academy had been swayed in such a manner.

But resolving this wasn’t immediate, nor was it of interest to Kraush.

“Pelei.”

For the first time in the competition, Kraush drew his sword.

As the audience erupted into cheers once again, Kraush pointed his sword at Pelei.
T h i s w a s c op i ed f r o m k i ng m t l . or g

“Being too full of hope will leave you unable to overcome the despair that crashes down upon you.”

“What?”

“Begin the match!”

The advice was lost on him as the referee’s call announced the start of the fight.

Pelei was the one to open the onslaught in combat.

He approached with an unusual gait, gliding as if sliding across the ground.

‘This is a unique footwork he developed himself.’

The place where Pelei grew up was the coldest region in the empire, near the north.

A place that saw snow all year round.

Having grown up there, Pelei adapted to the slippery ice and snow and, as a result, developed more efficient footwork.

He hadn’t named it yet, but Kraush knew the name.

T h is w a s copi e d f rom k i n g m t l . or g
Ten Thousand Leaps

A footwork that meant you could traverse a thousand Li (The world units of length) with only ten steps.

‘This would certainly startle someone seeing it for the first time.’

Especially since opponents might assume there’s a considerable distance, only to find him closing in quickly.

As evidence of this, Pelei had, in just an instant, approached right up to Kraush’s nose.

Pelei was the only commoner to have climbed into the Sky Generation solely through talent and effort.

At this time, he was as formidable as Anicks had been.

Clang!

However, it was bad luck on who he faced.

“Eh?!”

Pelei, who had aimed for Kraush’s waist with a feint, was caught off guard as his sword was twisted away by Kraush’s.

His eyes flew wide open as if he couldn’t comprehend how his opponent seemed to predict where his weapon would go.

“I don’t think you’re in the position to be giving others advice.”

Provoked by Kraush, Pelei bit his lip and launched into a rapid succession of sword strikes.

A sword honed by swinging a thousands times to cut down trees, and a hundred thousand to cleave through rock.

The calluses on his hand alone told of how diligently Pelei had trained with his sword.

Pelei was indeed shaped by a lifetime of diligent practice.

Yet there was something more valuable than that practice.

‘Knowing your opponent.’
T his wa s c o pie d f r o m ki n g m t l .or g

Someone who, more than anyone else, needed to stay behind the scenes, had the chance to observe the Sky Generation the most.

That person was himself.
T h i s w a s co p i ed f r o m k i n gm t l . o rg

‘My sixth sense.’

An aura surrounding Kraush’s body honed a new kind of sensation.

As a result, Kraush’s sword was already positioned where Pelei’s attacks were destined.

Feints, true strikes, and any small habits Pelei had, including his finishing moves.

Kraush knew them all.

It was the only talent he possessed that he himself hadn’t realized.

A talent to observe and remember every little thing about others, precisely because he owned nothing himself.

Certainly, in the past, this talent had been useless.
T h i s w as c opi ed f r om k in g m t l .o r g

No matter how well he observed others and how quick his intuition was, all he received was a bad reaction.

However, at this moment, that talent began to bloom for the first time.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Every sword that Pelei swung turned to naught before Kraush.

Even the audience involuntarily lost themselves in the sight.

Pelei’s sword, which he handled so deftly, moved so fast it was hard to follow with the eye.

Even the imperial knights would exclaim admiringly at his skill level, hardly believable for his age group.

But Kraush was one step ahead.

Every chain of consecutive strikes that Pelei continued seemed to play into the palm of Kraush’s hand.

None of his assaults ever reached Kraush; they were all blocked.

Dull Sword

Despite moving apparently slower than the opponent, this sword technique arrived first in the opponent’s space.

Kraush had now completely stepped into this realm.

“You can’t reach me.”

“What’s that?”

As people saw this, they began to fall into silence.

Those who were quietly rooting for Pelei gradually started to quiet their voices.

It was an overwhelming force.

T his w a s cop i ed fr o m k in g mt l. or g
An overwhelming presence that suggested Pelei could do nothing to win against Kraush.

Everyone present was experiencing that overwhelming feeling with their own eyes.

[Ha ha ha hah.]

All of a sudden, the loud laughter of Crimson Garden burst forth in the sky.

T h i s wa s c op i ed f rom k i n g mt l . or g
[Yes, my boy.]

She spread the wings of the crow in the sky as if rejoicing over the current situation.

[That’s your only trick. If you have nothing, then take everything from your opponent. Show them all your greedy moves.]

Dull Sword is a sword technique that takes the opponent’s space.

The opponent’s sword might be headed somewhere, but this technique seizes the space first.

Ironically, Dull Sword suited Kraush better than anyone else.

He needed to take everything to rise above.

“Urgh, ihrk!”

Pelei’s choked sounds echoed.

Surely it was he who was on the offensive.

Yet he kept retreating step by step.

No matter how vigorously he swung his sword, he couldn’t advance forward.

Because Kraush’s sword had seized all the space he possessed.

Kraush was slightly shorter than him.

Yet, for some reason, whenever his sword was blocked, his presence seemed to grow larger and larger.

Pelei felt the same sensation of swinging against a rock when facing Kraush.

Could he ever split this rock?

That immense feeling consumed him.

“Pelei.”

At that moment, Kraush’s voice echoed.

As Pelei lifted his head, he suddenly saw that Kraush’s sword was already before his throat.

“Hah, ha.”

Pelei gasped for air.

The sword that Pelei swung advanced only about 1 cm from his throat.

Although it was Pelei who swung it.

The cold sweat running down Pelei’s cheek reached Kraush’s sword.

They were that close.

“Grow stronger.”

And to Pelei, Kraush spoke.

“So that even if your hope shatters, you’ll still leave behind an ember.”

Leaving behind these enigmatic words, Kraush then drove his fist into Pelei’s solar plexus.

Inch Power

With two resounding impacts, Pelei spit out saliva and collapsed.

With that, Kraush turned around.

Using Dull Sword also impacted Kraush, his breath filling his mouth, jabbing his lungs haphazardly, but he maintained his poker face.

And at that moment.

“Woaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

An unprecedented cheer erupted throughout the stadium.
Th is w a s c o p i ed f rom k i n g m tl .or g

It was indeed an overwhelming display of Dull Sword.

Nobody could watch that and not shout.

“Ah, the winner is—”

Coming back to his senses belatedly, the announcer raised his hand.

“Kradd!”

The announcer declared the victory, and another enormous cheer blasted through the stadium.

“Kr, add!”

At that moment, Kraush turned his head toward a voice he heard behind him.

He hadn’t expected Pelei to regain consciousness so quickly after being hit with Inch Power.

“Will we, meet again?”

Really, it’s no wonder you were part of the Sky Generation.

Seeing him doggedly hold onto his consciousness, Kraush said.

“Yeah, if it’s the academy.”

“Go, t it.”

With that, Pelei completely lost awareness.

They would meet again.

Although, it might not be in the same guise next time.

‘Thank you. Kraush, I’ll work harder than the curse you took from me. I’ll show you I can protect the world.’

For a brief moment, a memory surfaced.

It was what Pelei had said when he returned cursed with world erosion, and Kraush had stolen his curse away.

It was a thanks he hadn’t heard in a long time.

But just a month later.

Pelei slowly met death, torn limb by limb by the world’s erosion perpetrator.

Kraush’s fists clenched tight.

‘Don’t worry. Pelei.’

Then, slowly, Kraush’s head lifted.

“This time, it’s my turn to protect.”

Not others, but himself.

And for that purpose.

‘Sigrid.’

He would have to thwart her plans.