Chapter 2

I Became a Skill Thief Munchkin - Chapter 2 (2/223)

The world is unfair and rotten.

It was a thought that Krash always had.

He realized this when he was around eight years old.

The day he picked up a sword and followed his older siblings.

Krash realized that the world had abandoned him.

Because he felt incredibly inadequate when he swung the sword.

Actually, it’s questionable whether an eight-year-old kid should even be swinging a sword.

But the family Krash belonged to was a place where average reactions didn’t apply.

The strongest family in the Starlon Kingdom.

Valheim.

Every direct descendant born there was a genius, and every one of them was a prodigy.

Except for one, the disgrace of the Valheim family, the youngest Krash.

Even so, he struggled and somehow managed to make it to the Sky Generation.

But the end was ultimately the betrayal of those he considered comrades.

A body that could only bear curses.

What a pitiful life it was.

Krash thought so.

Until he opened his eyes today.

Flash!

Krash looked at the ceiling through his half-open eyes.

Cold sweat drenched his entire body.

At the same time, he saw his outstretched hand.

The hand he had extended, struggling until the end, toward Arthur.

Krash, who had been staring blankly at his hand, gradually regained his senses.

Chirp, chirp—

The sound of cicadas whispered into his ears from beyond the window.

The light streaming in told him it was currently midday in summer.

The unique heat of summer made beads of sweat form on his forehead.

The world that was on the brink of destruction was an unbearably cold winter, the opposite season.

His eyes focused on his hand again.

"Huh?"

Because the hand reflected in his eyes was perfectly fine.

Krash’s thoughts froze.

At the same time, he realized another fact.

Because the eye that was clearly blind before could now see properly.

Not only that.

His entire body felt unusually light, different from before.

Drip—

A bead of sweat slowly rolled down Krash’s forehead to his cheek.

Looking around, he recognized the room.

Because it was the room he had stayed in when he lived in the Valheim family in the past.

What was going on now?

The answer was simple.

‘Could it be...’

The Black Hood he had used on his outstretched hand toward Arthur.

The vague hope that he could steal skills with his ability.

‘I stole Arthur’s regression.’

The moment he realized this, a chill ran down his spine.

At the same time, Krash looked down at his hand.

He had wondered if it was possible, but he really could steal skills.

Krash clenched his hand tightly.

A thrill of excitement surged through his body, realizing that his last gamble had succeeded.

‘Actually, I could have checked this earlier.’

An ability that could steal curses.

It might have been natural that he could steal skills.

But Krash didn’t bother to test it.

Even if he could steal a skill, he wasn’t confident he could use a skill someone had honed their entire life.

Moreover, by the time he thought he could steal skills, his body was already ruined by curses.

Furthermore, his Black Hood had a clear drawback.

‘The difficulty of stealing is ultimately a relative evaluation.’

A stone picked up from the road could be the most precious thing to someone.

In that case, even a simple stone would be hard to steal with the Black Hood.

‘The lock that appears when using the Black Hood is the condition.’

The conditions for the lock that appears when the Black Hood is activated vary widely.

And only by meeting those conditions can the lock be opened and the contents obtained.

That was the Black Hood.

‘So, abilities are even harder to steal.’

Naturally, an ability is the most precious thing to anyone.

As a result, the conditions are so difficult that stealing is nearly impossible.

‘But how did it work this time?’

When he was stealing Arthur’s regression, Krash didn’t see any lock.

He simply activated the Black Hood and stole Arthur’s regression.

How was that possible?

‘Maybe...’

A thought crossed Krash’s mind.

Krash had a vague feeling from Arthur.

The feeling that he was exhausted and just going through the motions.

Krash thought Arthur had already repeated regression several times.

Regression is undoubtedly incredible, but repeating it several times is beyond what a normal mind can endure.

Especially in a world heading toward destruction.

‘So, Arthur must have chosen to pass on the memories of those three years.’

He might have wanted at least someone by his side if he had to regress again.

The problem was that Krash wasn’t even considered such a person.

‘Anyway, Arthur’s heart must have wanted to erase the ability of regression.’

As a result, he could steal the regression so easily that no lock even appeared.

‘To Arthur, regression...’

It might have been a curse.

A curse he desperately wanted to escape.

"Hold on."

Suddenly, another thought crossed Krash’s mind.

He had stolen Arthur’s regression and regressed to the past.

What about the Arthur he knew?

‘The Black Hood doesn’t leave anything behind in the target.’

If it did, it wouldn’t be considered stolen.

Krash had stolen regression from Arthur, so it was certain that Arthur no longer had it.

So, the Arthur he knew must have been left in the previous cycle, the one heading toward destruction.

Facing the meteor shower of world corruption?

"Hah, hah."

A hollow laugh escaped Krash’s lips.

"Good for you, Arthur."

Who would have thought that the regression you hated so much would ultimately betray you.

Krash stood up from his seat, sneering at Arthur.

He didn’t feel any sympathy for the one who had treated him as nothing more than a tool.

In fact, he might even owe him a thank you.

Because he had taken the regression that Arthur hated so much.

‘So, what year is it now?’

But Krash also had a problem similar to Arthur’s.

He knew about the end of the world.

The destruction that even the Sky Generation couldn’t prevent.

If he couldn’t stop it, he would die too.

"Damn it."

Krash cursed as he got out of bed.

His body, with a decent amount of muscle, was noticeable.

Despite his lack of talent, he had swung a sword every day, trying to live.

Though he was far from his siblings, he had at least some muscle.

But it wasn’t enough.

Krash’s eyes turned to the full-length mirror reflecting himself.

He looked to be in his early teens.

He was shorter than in his memories, and his bright blue eyes were clearly visible.

‘Can I stop it?’

He, who had only been treated as a tool for absorbing curses.

Could he stop the world’s destruction?

Krash clenched his fists tightly, harboring this doubt.

‘Shut up.’

It’s not a matter of whether he can stop it, but whether he must.

Because if the world is destroyed, he will die too.

There was no choice.

With that, Krash stormed out of the room.

The desolate corridor, which he hadn’t seen in a long time, came into view.

This was the Cheongsong Hall, where he had spent his childhood in the Valheim family.

The Cheongsong Hall, in name, was a place to exile the most useless of the Valheim direct descendants.

It was a small hall, operated with only one butler and three maids.

‘The fact that I’m here means...’

It meant that the proof ceremony he had at around ten years old was over.

"Master? Where are you going in such a hurry?"

At that moment, the butler approached him as he stepped outside.

The butler, with his white beard, was named Aliod.

He was the butler assigned to Krash.

Seeing his face, Krash’s eyes widened.

‘So, Aliod is still alive at this point.’

Because Aliod was the only butler in the Valheim family who had taken care of him.

Krash called his name after a long time.

"Aliod."

"Yes, Master."

Hearing his call, Aliod bowed, and Krash smiled.

"When does the third brother plan to use the poison he gave you to kill me, the disgrace of the family?"

Aliod’s face stiffened.

Krash continued to smile as he saw this.

Aliod, the butler of the Cheongsong Hall.

Around the age of fourteen, he had put the poison given by the third brother into Krash’s stew, the first betrayal Krash had ever experienced.

The mastermind.

* * *

Aliod’s mind was filled with confusion.

Krash Valheim, who stood before him, was a direct descendant of the Valheim family, assigned to him since birth.

The Starlon Kingdom, which could rival the Ephania Empire, the world’s strongest superpower.

The reason the Starlon Kingdom could rival the empire was solely because of the Valheim family.

The direct descendants born there all possessed innate martial prowess.

That’s why the empire couldn’t easily deal with the Starlon Kingdom.

But Krash Valheim was different.

Normally, by the age of ten, the gods would already have marked the Valheim direct descendants and offered contracts.

The more outstanding the contract holder, the higher the status of the god, so the Valheim family’s direct descendants were always the top priority for the gods.

However, Krash Valheim was different.

The proof ceremony.

At the age of ten, the ceremony that showed how outstanding one was in the Valheim family.

Krash failed to contract with any god, even in this ceremony.

His innate martial prowess was also inadequate.

He was ultimately considered a disgrace to the Valheim family and was exiled to the Cheongsong Hall.

This was a heart-wrenching situation for Aliod, his butler.

Because the future of the direct descendant he had to follow for life was already predetermined, and it was bleak.

"Master, what are you talking about?"

Aliod asked Krash with a flustered expression.

Until yesterday, Krash had been pessimistic about his life and acted like a reckless child.

He hadn’t expected Krash to notice the proposal he had received just a few days ago.

Moreover,

‘Something has changed.’

Krash’s eyes usually lacked the will to live and felt completely powerless.

This fact had made Aliod give up even more, but today was different.

His eyes radiated an unusually intense desire.

As if he had completely changed overnight.

‘What could have...’

What happened last night?

The only thing he remembered from last night was that Krash had swung a sword until he was exhausted and fell asleep.

While Aliod was flustered,

Krash slowly wiped his forehead.

His hair, free from curses, felt quite good.

Although he was a disgrace to the family, he was still a noble of Starlon and had been well cared for.

This would probably change soon, becoming as dry as his heart.

‘He’s flustered.’

Looking at Aliod’s face, Krash thought this time might be different.