Chapter 1

I became a Skill Thief - Chapter 1 (1/223)

“Shit.”

A man spat out a curse.

It was a situation where he couldn’t help but curse.

His body was covered with stained curse marks in various places.

His right eye had already lost its sight due to a curse long ago.

Moreover, he could hardly feel half of his body.

His name was Krash Balheim.

A man who was called the disgrace of the Balheim family.

‘Disgrace, my ass.’

But even that word, "disgrace," was a thing of the past.

He was one of the Sky Generation who fought against the world's erosion, a catastrophe.

He was quite recognized even by the family that had always treated him as a halfwit.

Because of that, driven by his long-thirsted desire for recognition, he struggled desperately.

However, the result was tragic.

Meteors were pouring down before his eyes, and the world was on the brink of destruction.

The ultimate evil had grown to an uncontrollable size, swallowing everything.

Krash looked at this destruction helplessly.

Then, he turned to look at the person beside him.

“What are you going to do now... cough.”

Krash’s voice was barely audible due to the curse.

But the reproach in his voice was unmistakable.

“What am I going to do?”

At that, a man with platinum blond hair, as dazzling as the sun, lifted his head.

Even as the world was on the verge of destruction, his face, filled with sorrow, was so handsome that it seemed unfair.

Arthur Grammate, the most outstanding of the Sky Generation and known as the Hero King.

The words of the Hero King, whom the empire boasted, were truly laughable.

Because three women were surrounding him, each trying to comfort him.

He wasn’t the Hero King but the Harem King.

“The world is ending. It’s over.”

Arthur answered very calmly.

Despite the fact that many people had died to send him here, his tone was as if the destruction of the world had nothing to do with him.

“Is that what you think? Cough, cough, how many people...!”

“Krash, shut up! Arthur did his best!”

At that moment, a woman with sea-colored hair shouted.

Krash frowned deeply.

Her name was Sigrid Efania.

The third princess of the Efanian Empire and the one who had brought Arthur to the position of the imperial candidate of Efania.

A princess who was so infatuated with Arthur that she was blinded.

But in terms of swordsmanship, she was an incredible expert, capable of matching Arthur.

“Shit, cough, cough! Princess Sigrid, I managed to make you open both your eyes after you were crying because you couldn’t see with one eye. Shut up? Is that what you’re saying?”

Unlike his usual self, Krash spoke with a sharp tongue.

Sigrid gave him a contemptuous look.

“Are you daring to speak like that in front of this Sigrid? Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?”

“Consequences? Consequences!”

Krash spat out blood from his mouth and raised both hands to the sky.

“The world is ending, and you’re talking about consequences?! Shit, bitch! The Efania that cherished you is gone, cough, cough, it’s over!”

Sigrid’s eyes widened at his words.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

But seeing her like that, Krash’s expression became even more contemptuous.

She had always believed in her royal status and treated everyone except Arthur with disdain.

Among them, Krash was treated the worst.

The main reason was that Krash belonged to the Balheim family, which had the greatest power in the Staron Kingdom.

“Ah, you’ve been causing trouble since Cademia!”

Her bitter enmity with him began at the Rahelren Academy.

Sigrid, with her innate talent in swordsmanship, received all the expectations of everyone.

On the other hand, Krash, despite being from the Balheim family, which the Staron Kingdom boasted, was a halfwit who couldn’t do anything right.

If it were just a matter of being compared, he wouldn’t have cared.

But Sigrid, as the leader of the Imperial faction in the academy, relentlessly bullied Krash to crush the Kingdom faction.

Thanks to that, Krash was not only ignored by the Imperial faction but also ostracized by the Kingdom faction, who called him a disgrace.

The phrase “disgrace to the kingdom” had become so common that it was like a second nature to him.

Yet, Krash endured.

He was indeed a talentless halfwit.

And she was a crucial member of the Sky Generation who would save the world.

“Losing your eye, you started to hate me even more!”

But that was about to end.

The world was ending, the empire had evaporated due to the world’s erosion, and the kingdom was no different.

Therefore, Krash pressed his right eye with his hand, his voice filled with hatred.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have stolen the curse from that crazy woman’s eyes.

“Thief, you’re nothing but a piece of trash who can only steal!”

At that, Sigrid’s eyes turned wild.

She drew her sword, the White Dragon’s Fang, a white sword.

The cold aura emanating from it seemed ready to freeze Krash at any moment.

But Krash sneered.

A thief who can only steal.

“Yeah, cough, cough, that’s right.”

Krash hated his ability.

As she said, he could only steal.

He stole what the target valued.

*Conditions

1. The value of what the target possesses is determined by the target.

2. The conditions for stealing are determined based on the target’s judgment of value.

It was a skill given to him by a god who made a contract with him, a skill that literally only stole.

The more valuable the target considered something, the harder it was to steal.

But this ability had one advantage.

‘It can even steal curses from the world’s erosion.’

He could steal curses that even the greatest exorcists in the world couldn’t remove.

Because of this tremendous advantage, Krash was part of the Sky Generation.

As a result, the number of curses on his body was in the triple digits.

One of those curses was a curse that prevented him from sleeping forever, which was why he was still alive.

It was a number that would have been strange if he hadn’t died long ago.

‘I thought I would reach the quadruple digits soon.’

Unfortunately, the world ended before he could achieve that.

All the curses on Krash’s body were stolen from the Sky Generation.

Arthur’s curse of Fear Mastery.

Sigrid’s curse of Darkness.

The curse of Evil Deeds of the Holy Maiden.

The curse of the Source of Evil of the Flame Emperor, and so on.

Krash possessed all the curses of those who were now dead.

Curses are the least valuable to the target.

That’s why Krash’s Black Hood was most effective.

“But, without me, you wouldn’t have made it this far...”

Krash’s one eye trembled with anger.

“Isn’t that right? Cough, Abel.”

He turned to a woman who had been crying in Arthur’s arms all along.

She was a petite woman holding a staff with stars engraved on it.

The best talent from the Magic Tower and a fellow member of the Sky Generation, the Red Witch, Abel.

She was also a comrade who had come here with Arthur.

“Lord Arthur, Lord Arthur, what should we do?”

But she didn’t even acknowledge him.

Since the world’s destruction, all she did was cling to Arthur and cry.

‘Well, that’s how she always was.’

She was a woman who always ignored and dismissed his words.

When he went to the Magic Tower in excruciating pain from a curse, seeking painkillers, they even refused to let him in.

Of course, the humiliation didn’t end there.

From that moment on, he had already cut all ties with her.

“Because of the curse that made you lose your voice, you can’t use magic, cough, cough, but you sure can cry well.”

Yet, she still insisted on stealing curses from him, which was how disgusting it was.

Even now, the pain felt like his vocal cords were being scraped by metal, and the coughing from this pain was due to her curse.

“Stop being so pitiful.”

At that moment, another voice was heard.

A woman standing silently behind Arthur.

She was Mary Diana, the spear of the Efanian Empire and the strongest knight protecting Sigrid.

An attractive woman with long black hair and a tall, curvaceous figure.

But to Krash, she was just another person.

Because many of the curses he possessed were from this dim-witted woman.

The strongest spear, my ass.

Her self-esteem was disgustingly high, and even in the face of the world’s erosion, where immediate retreat was necessary, she insisted on sticking her head out and bringing back curses.

“Pitiful? Shit, you were the one who, to hide your feelings for Arthur, was cursed to tell everything and asked me to steal it, don’t you remember?”

The next day, after the curse was removed.

Seeing her enter the same room with Sigrid and Arthur was truly astonishing.

Because of that, he couldn’t even go on their first date that day.

Now, with the world ending, all those things were meaningless.

“You can only spout such nonsense.”

“I can’t help it! Cough, cough, because part of your curse is still on me!”

If the curses hadn’t canceled each other out, he wouldn’t know what he would have said in this situation.

“At least, you could have saved the world.”

Krash exhaled roughly, as if letting go of everything, and turned to look at Arthur.

The biggest problem was Arthur.

Until now, Arthur had never disappointed him.

He always seemed to know the future and could handle everything smoothly.

But at the end, he panicked and now he’s collapsing.

Despite that, Krash stayed with Arthur.

The people around Arthur were all fools.

But Arthur was at least someone who told him he was needed.

Of course, Arthur didn’t stop the people who treated Krash aggressively.

Krash stayed by the side of the Sky Generation, even as he became a mess, because he thought he was helpful.

“You were the one who could do it.”

Krash recalled the words Arthur had said while watching the world’s destruction.

“It’s over.”

As if a play had come to an end.

His calm words made all of Krash’s efforts meaningless.

“Yeah, but in the end, you failed again.”

Meanwhile, Arthur got up.

A thick stream of blood was dripping from below his chest.

Abel was clinging to him and crying because of that.

Because Arthur was dying.

He couldn’t stop the world’s destruction, just like everyone else.

“This time, too?”

But Krash, pondering Arthur’s words, was puzzled.

It was as if he had already experienced this situation before.

“Don’t worry. This time was different. I obtained the Memory Inheritance card.”

The expressions of the three women changed.

They looked as if they had made a promise with him long ago.

Krash, who found this strange, slowly frowned.

“Arthur, what do you mean? Am I the only one who doesn’t understand?”

“Krash, this isn’t the first time the world has ended. This world has been destroyed many times.”

Arthur’s calm words only confused Krash more.

What does he mean, it’s been destroyed many times?

Has Arthur gone mad at the end?

“But it’s okay. I can go back.”

“Go back? Go back? What nonsense! Arthur! Sigrid, Abel, Mary, you know something!”

Despite Krash’s cries, the three only looked at Arthur.

As if the world only existed for Arthur.

“Since we’ve come this far, I’ll tell you the story.”

Finally, Arthur gave the answer.

“Regression.”

Regression?

Krash’s one eye shook violently.

It was a word that seemed to come from a story, and it came out of Arthur’s mouth.

Moreover, the other three seemed to already know about his regression.

“Re, regression?”

With that, Krash felt as if all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.

Because he finally understood why Arthur had always acted as if he knew the future.

Arthur’s eyes were sincere.

He was really regressing.

“And this time, I obtained Memory Inheritance. With this, I can inherit the memories of Sigrid, Abel, and Mary when I regress.”

“Are you saying you’ll regress and start over?”

If he couldn’t stop the destruction alone, he could bring others back with him to stop it.

Krash’s one eye widened as he realized this.

If that was the case, he might really be able to stop the destruction.

Even though this round failed, if he worked with these three, who had good skills despite their bad personalities, the possibility would increase.

A glimmer of hope began to appear.

The light of the world, which had been darkened by destruction, began to shine.

“Yes, I’ll start over with everyone.”

Then, Krash suddenly lifted his head at the word “everyone.”

The three people beside him had already known this fact.

But what about him?

He had survived while the Sky Generation was dying, enduring and stealing everyone’s curses.

“Wait. Arthur.”

So, Krash decided to ask.

Didn’t you recognize me?

“...Me?”

As he asked, struggling to open his lips, Arthur, who had been silently looking at Krash, finally began to laugh.

“Hahaha.”

Hearing his sudden burst of laughter, Krash was stunned as Arthur slowly lifted his head, wiping away the tears Abel had wiped away.

His golden eyes shone brightly.

“Krash, what’s the point of inheriting the memories of a body and mind that are already ruined?”

Arthur looked down at the dazed Krash and said.

“Don’t worry. I quite like you. Without you, the Sky Generation wouldn’t have made it this far. Your ability to steal curses is very useful. But that doesn’t mean you’re necessary now. What I need is a clean mind to follow me.”

Those words made Krash feel like he was being treated as a tool.

A disposable tool used once and thrown away.

A tool that was needed with each regression, but nothing more, nothing less.

“See you later, Krash.”

With those words, a bright light began to emanate from Arthur’s body.

Realizing that Arthur was starting his regression, Krash, with a panicked expression, tried to stand up but fell to the ground.

One of his legs, affected by the curse, couldn’t move properly.

Rolling in the mud, Krash, spitting out blood, shouted at Arthur.

“Wait, wait! Wait! Arthur! Take me with you! Shit, take me with you!”

But Arthur’s expression remained unchanged.

From the beginning, Krash had no value in Arthur’s life.

The reason he pretended to recognize him was only because he thought Krash would be useful.

He had never recognized him as a comrade.

Did he only realize this now?

‘That’s already...’

Hadn’t he realized this long ago?

When the members of the Sky Generation ignored and humiliated him, Arthur had just watched silently.

As if such treatment was justified.

If he had truly considered Krash a comrade, he would have intervened and worked with him.

Instead of recognizing his contributions, he had treated him as a tool.

‘I was just...’

Fooling himself.

Thinking he was helping the Sky Generation, thinking he had to stop the world’s destruction, filling the self-esteem he lacked from his family in this way.

Is this really the end?

Really?

As Krash’s mind began to fade, he looked down at his hand.

The world’s destruction.

Arthur’s departure.

The ability to steal what the target possesses.

Although he had never thought about it because his body was already ruined by curses, he had always wondered.

Could he steal a skill?

Of course, a skill is the most important thing to a person, so it wouldn’t be easy to steal.

But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Krash raised his hand toward Arthur.

Had he done the same thing in Arthur’s previous rounds?

If he had succeeded, he would have regressed with this round’s self.

If he hadn’t, it meant he had failed.

But it didn’t matter.

If he didn’t do this, everything would be meaningless in the destroyed world.

“Shit!”

With a curse, as Krash’s outstretched hand glowed, he lost consciousness in the bright light.

* * *

“Huh?”

As the bright light disappeared, a single word of confusion echoed.

In the midst of the meteors raining down to destroy the world, a person slowly lifted his head.

He realized no one was beside him and his eyes gradually widened.

“Wh, what is this?”

He wondered why he was here when he should have regressed.

Just as he was about to think about it, his thoughts were cut off by the meteors raining down on him.

Arthur Grammate, who should have regressed to the 10th round, was truly dead on the 9th round.