I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 41

[EP.41] A Way to Regain the Arm

As the morning sunlight streamed in, Kraush opened his eyes.

Perhaps it was due to the lingering fatigue from the battle with Berkman.

He only realized belatedly that he had fallen asleep again.

“At your age, to be sleeping while clutching a girl. How disgraceful.”

The moment he heard those words, Kraush turned his head.

Sitting by the bedside was the crow, Crimson Garden.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Look to your side.”

As Kraush, who had shown a baffled reaction, looked to his left, he saw someone lying next to him.

It was none other than Bianca.

Her eyes were swollen from holding his left arm so tightly.

It made sense since she cried so much at dawn.

He’d have to apply some ice to her face when she wakes up.

Hardenhartz always has snow; it will be just the thing.

“How’s the arm?”

Hearing the question from Crimson Garden, Kraush looked at his right arm.

An arm that was no longer there.

There was nothing to say about its condition.

“It doesn’t feel like anything.”

“Well, with the arm gone, that’s only to be expected, isn’t it?”

Then why ask?

“What will you do now?”

Crimson Garden tossed another question his way.

Kraush had promised to make her powerful by stealing the immortality she possessed.

But now, with his arm severed, it was clear he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise.

“Don’t worry.”

But Kraush was not the least bit concerned about his current predicament.

“There is a way to restore the arm. I know of one.”

“Ha-ha.”

Crimson Garden looked at Kraush and let out a chuckle as if his calm was amusing.

“Is this the leeway of a regressor?”

“There’s always the Sacred Kingdom if it comes to the worst. Arms like these can be easily replaced there.”

One of the four great kingdoms—the Sacred Kingdom of Freiman.

It was said that there, a saintess existed who could even bring back the dead.

‘Though bringing back the dead is more of a propaganda created by the Sacred Kingdom.’

Regardless, it was true that the saintess possessed such power.

From infancy, she was bathed by the Sacred Kingdom themselves in the holy relic, the Grail.

Thanks to that, she was nearly a monster imbued with sacred power, full of divine energy.

But it’s not like he could borrow the saintess’ power right away.

Despite recent treatment changes, he was considered a half-penny.

There was no way the Balheims would cough up such an enormous sum to hire the saintess for a half-penny like him.

The Balheim family wasn’t so benevolent as to spend money on someone like him.

At best, they might call for a clergyman.

“That said, you don’t plan to borrow the power of sacred energy, do you?”

Crimson Garden showed an intrigued reaction.

Seeing that, Kraush felt a bit queasy about being treated as a regressor, but still revealed his plan to restore his arm.

“If I already lost my right arm, I might as well replace it with the finest available.”

“Ha-ha, if replacing an arm was that easy, everyone in the world would do it.”

“There’s someone who can do it for me.”

As Kraush grinned, Crimson Garden stopped her mocking laughter.

“…Did you save that creature for this purpose?”

The one Crimson Garden referred to was none other than Ebelasque.

The world’s sole necromancer.

A woman who also handled deceased bodies.

To her, adding an arm was almost trivial.

“This is totally a coincidence.”

Even for Kraush, cutting off his own arm was not a lunacy he desired.

This event was a mere coincidence.

Ebelasque just happened to be there, and his arm was severed at the time.

So naturally, he intended to make use of her.

‘I’ll have to deal with her once more though.’

He worried what she would demand in return for attaching a new arm.

But for now, getting an arm was the priority.

“So, what kind of arm are you planning to attach?”

“Sword Demon.”

The moment Kraush replied, Crimson Garden stiffened.

Looking at her reaction, Kraush slowly smiled.

Sword Demon.

Once a peerless fighter who stirred up the world, called a genius of fusion arts.

A swordsman so skilled that no one else in this world could hope to follow the fusion techniques he wove.

“This rotten brat.”

And that Sword Demon was none other than Crimson Garden’s minion.

The one she treasured most.

“So give me the arm.”

“No! Live your life as a one-armed man!”

“We made a deal. You have to make me stronger.”

T hi s w as c o p i e d fr om k i n g m t l. o r g
“That Sword Demon was a minion I raised from breastfeeding since childhood!”

“So was I. Try raising me a bit.”

Kraush looked at Crimson Garden as if to say what’s the point of constantly scolding without ever doing anything.
Thi s w a s c o pi e d fr o m ki n gm t l .o rg

At that, Crimson Garden spread her wings wide in exasperation.

“You ungrateful bugger! I taught you Dual Swords, a technique that could salvage even your lacking talent, and you dare look at your master with those eyes!”

“Crim, aren’t you acting too much like a petty miser? The Sword Demon has been dead for a long time.”

The Sword Demon was dead.

He died of nothing else but aging.

Old age took him.

Crimson Garden could share the power of immortality.

She actually had given immortality to Sizelry’s attendant, Sera.

‘Well, honestly, that was a bit of a stretch from immortality.’

What Crimson Garden passed on to Sera wasn’t full-fledged immortality but more of a half-baked version.

More accurately, it would be fair to call it a high-speed regeneration ability.

‘And the downside to such immortality is that it’s activated by burning away the recipient’s life force.’

That is why the immortality offered by Crimson Garden was considered half-penny.

True immortality should mean never dying.

Immortality that ends with the loss of all life force was no true immortality.

So, Crimson Garden could not resurrect her dearly treasured Sword Demon with immortality.

“I know you have an obsession with your minions.”

For Crimson Garden, her minions were her only window to viewing the world.

So, she inadvertently pours her emotions into them.

Despite knowing it troubles her, she couldn’t help but overflow with feelings for her minions.

That’s why Kraush knew well that ironically, her weakness was her minions.

‘Arthur directly told me the way to find Crimson Garden’s true body.’

The method Arthur taught Kraush to locate Crimson Garden involved capturing her minions and subjecting them to direct torture.

Here, there’s a saintess.

Her minions won’t die no matter the torture.

Knowing this, Crimson Garden would reveal her true body’s location herself.

Arthur’s eyes held not a hint of color as he conveyed this.

Just doing what needed to be done as if on repeat.

He was broken early on.

“But the Sword Demon has been dead for a long time.”

Crimson Garden twitched.

“However, his fusion techniques are not dead. And you know all about them.”

Kraush showed her his empty right arm.

“If I have the Sword Demon’s arm, I can reincarnate those fusion skills.”
T hi s w as c o p i e d f r o m kingm t l . or g

Kraush was adept at learning forbidden techniques.

With the help of Crimson Garden, he was confident he could master the Sword Demon’s fusion skills as well.

“The Sword Demon would want that, wouldn’t he?”

“…”

Crimson Garden remained frozen with her wings spread.

Then she folded her wings and glared at Kraush.

“You impudent child. Do you think simply by wagging that three-inch tongue, the treasures will just fall into your lap?”

A failure?

While Kraush pondered how to persuade Crimson Garden, she approached the window.

“…Wait for two days.”

To his surprise, that was her response.

She had agreed after all.

Kraush let out a faint smile.

“Thank you, Crimson Garden.”

“Only using my real name when asking for a favor. Wretched boy.”

Crimson Garden, seeming a little miffed, spread her wings and flew out.

Watching her leave, Kraush felt somewhat relieved.

After all, it would be quite awkward to return to the Balheims without an arm.

‘The problem is that Hardenhartz must have reported this to the Balheims already.’

This is the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the main house of the Hardenhartz.

This meant that Hardenhartz also knew about his condition.

There’s no way they wouldn’t have reported to the Balheims.

‘How to spin this?’

T h is w as c o pie d fr o m k i n g mtl . o rg
Getting reported for losing an arm and then showing up with it restored would be baffling for the main house.

‘I could probably work something out if I align stories with Hardenhartz. The problem is finding a way to do that.’

He was confident he could spin the arm story somehow.

T hi s w a s c op i e d fr om k i n g m t l . o rg
But the real problem was the original expectation that he would be at Rahelrn Academy.

If he suddenly shows up at Hardenhartz instead, the Balheims are bound to start asking questions.

‘It’s Aliod that concerns me.’

Kraush pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

If it wasn’t something to be solved with worries now, then there was no use in thinking over it.

That was his way.

Whatever comes up, he could always spin a tale.

When push comes to shove, he could just unleash his true nature.

‘If I act up, what would they really do to their disowned child?’

After all, what does it matter where a renounced child pops up?

For now, he just needed to wait until Crimson Garden brought the arm of the Sword Demon.

‘I’d also like to research the Erosive Flame Eater Art a bit more.’
Th i s w as c op i e d f r o m kin gm tl .o r g

The Erosive Flame Eater Art, a creation fusing Ignis and the Extreme Blood Poison Art.

In a way, it was Kraush’s original art, unique to him.

Judging by the power it had last time, it was sure to become a formidable asset in the future.

‘The issue is duration.’

At the current level, even if his body transcended its limits, it would only last three seconds.

Such a restriction made it as limiting as a single strike.

‘No choice but to train more, I guess.’

Still, he had resolved the problem of the Extreme Blood Poison Art causing madness.

The Snow Doll curse he had stolen from Bianca would suppress that frenzy.

‘The effect of the Snow Doll is…’

Kraush tentatively brought to mind some of the most rage-inducing memories.

Indeed, the anger rising within was less than before.

But it didn’t eliminate the emotions entirely like Bianca’s absence of feelings.

It felt more like the emotions were forcibly subdued a bit.

‘A curse effects diminish when the target is changed.’

On top of that, Kraush had a realization after acquiring the Snow Doll.

‘The Snow Doll was more about suppressing emotions than completely erasing them, huh?’

The reason Bianca occasionally felt devoid of emotions was likely due to this.

‘Back then, more dominant curses must have completely consumed the Snow Doll, rendering it imperceptible.’

Vaguely, he had thought the curse was about erasure.

But from Kraush’s perspective, this was more welcome.

‘With this…’

Th i s was c o p i e d f r om kin g m t l . o r g
Kraush’s eyes gleamed brightly.

‘I can control it.’

Kraush had contained countless curses in his body over time.

As a result, there was nothing he could do about the highest-tier curses, but he knew how to handle the ones below.

He didn’t call himself a curse expert for nothing.

That was why Kraush had boldly chosen to steal the Snow Doll.

Kraush slowly roused the frenzy he had been suppressing with his intuition.

‘I’ll counteract the frenzy along with the Snow Doll.’

As he did, he began to feel the world tinting progressively red.

The frenzy typical in its eagerness to rampage as soon as he let go of his senses.

But here, Kraush awoke the curse of the Snow Doll.

Like putting a leash on an unruly mutt, the Snow Doll forcibly subdued the frenzy.

And as the world turning red was increasingly pressured back, it returned to its original color.

A single laugh, sharp and short, escaped from Kraush’s lips.

That laughter was evidence that he had achieved complete control over the Snow Doll.

“It’s nothing much at all.”

The madness of the World Erosion that Kraush harbored was correlated with the increase in that power.

Someday, there’ll come a time when not even the Snow Doll can suppress it, but when that happens, he’ll counter it with another curse or skill.

At least for a while, he can live without worrying about the madness alongside the Snow Doll.

So Bianca needn’t worry about him being devoid of emotions.

Rustle—

It was in that moment.

T h i s w as c o p ie d f r om k i n g m tl . o rg
Kraush sensed some movement on his left.

Turning his head in that direction, he saw Bianca curling up as she slowly stood up.

“…Mr. Kraush.”

Upon waking, she sought him first.

But her eyes were so swollen that she didn’t seem to see well, fumbling around for Kraush.

Seeing this, Kraush took her hand, a mix of amusement and exasperation in his gesture.

Only then did Bianca’s expression relax.

“Can you see at all?”

“My eyes hurt.”

Well, no wonder they hurt, being so swollen.

“How about your stomach?”

T h i s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m tl.o rg
“I’m hungry.”

Thankfully, on that aspect, typical, dutiful her.

“Let’s get some food.”

T his w as cop i e d f ro m k i ng m t l. o r g
One has to fill their stomach.