I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

On the snowy mountain where a snowstorm was raging.

A man with long crimson hair, sitting at the edge of the cliff, sneered.

The red scarf wrapped around his neck fluttered slowly in the wind.

He liked this moment the most.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

When the yellow sky unfolded.

The sensation of the entire world writhing as if on edge.

This sensation reminded him of his old homeland.

“What the hell are you doing? Why did you mess with Hadenhartz!”

It was at that moment.

The man, lost in pleasant thoughts, slowly turned his head to the side.

Standing there was a woman with long, disheveled black hair.

Instead of her usual attire, she wore a robe entirely black in color.

Clenching her fists tightly, she glared at the man with eyes full of unyielding anger.

The man, however, tilted his head, as if he couldn’t understand her frustration.

“Well, isn’t it the best opportunity to gain high-quality World Erosion power?”

His alias was the Mad Sword Emperor.

He was a world eroder affiliated with Ixion.

The Mad Sword Emperor’s world erosion became stronger as he fought against more powerful opponents.

Naturally, the higher the level, the greater the power of the world erosion he could obtain.

Currently, in Hadenhartz, there was none other than the Sword King Rai Valheim.

With such an opportunity to gain top-quality world erosion, there was no reason not to act.

“I’ve heard about your power. If it’s like that, why don’t you fight me instead!”

“Hahaha, that’s impossible.”

The Mad Sword Emperor shrugged exaggeratedly.

“You, being a world eroder yourself, know full well how world erosion is created, don’t you?”

Ebelasque bit her lip hard.

World erosion was, quite literally, erosion.

World erosion is created by consuming and eroding parts of the world.

Therefore, even if those unrelated to this world band together, world erosion will not be produced.

Ebelasque was well aware of this fact.

“If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have been chasing after the strong like this, would I?”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

Ebelasque scowled and glared at him.

“You just want to fight. All those excuses are just a cover.”

As she glared at him with a furious expression, the Mad Sword Emperor, who had been silent, covered his mouth.

Then, he let out a short chuckle.

“Yeah, so what? Why does that matter?”

The Mad Sword Emperor laughed as if there was nothing surprising about it, and the power of world erosion surged from Ebelasque’s hand.

Even as the jet-black energy began gathering around her, the Mad Sword Emperor remained unperturbed.

“I don’t get you, new recruit. I move because it benefits Ixion.”

At the mention of Ixion, Ebelasque faltered.

Ixion—a group that came together to use world erosion to create a god.

They sought to recreate their lost world.

“But how does stopping me benefit Ixion in any way?”

“…The opponent isn’t Hadenhartz. It’s Valheim. How do you plan to deal with the aftermath? Valheim will come after Ixion.”

“Hahahahaha! Even better! Wouldn’t we get higher-quality world erosion? It means our world would come closer, even faster!”

The Mad Sword Emperor burst into maniacal laughter.

From the look on his face, he seemed completely sincere.

“…You’re insane.”

Ebelasque stared at the Mad Sword Emperor with disbelief.

Meeting her gaze, the Mad Sword Emperor slowly ceased laughing.

“How surprising. We, who’ve already experienced the end of our own world, went mad a long time ago.”

The Mad Sword Emperor’s crimson eyes glowed faintly as he reminisced about events from long ago, his smile turning twisted.

“Recruit, since there seems to be something in Hadenhartz that matters to you, let me say one thing.”

With a rumbling boom in the sky, lightning struck.

It was the sound of world erosion beginning to move in earnest.

“This world isn’t ours.”

With the lightning striking behind him, he spread his arms wide, as if telling her to face reality.

“It’s just a land of nutrients to save our world.”

Yellow rain began pouring from the sky.

“Shouldn’t the insects living on this land be ground up finely to make fertilizer?”

The yellow raindrops slid down the Mad Sword Emperor’s cheek as he spoke.

He genuinely regarded the humans of this world as mere fertilizer.

Just as they didn’t see world eroders as humans, world eroders also didn’t see them as humans.

Ebelasque, feeling the weight of this reality, bit her lip.

Perhaps in the past, she might have thought the same way.

But things were different now.

Unlike before, she had met someone decent.

Ebelasque pressed firmly against her chest.

She had made a promise to him.

A promise to protect Hadenhartz.

That promise was to the one she owed her life to.

It was to a person that freed her from a curse she thought would bind her forever.

“Even so, I can’t…”

Just as she was about to speak again to stop the Mad Sword Emperor, the space beside him suddenly began to twist and warp.

Seeing this, Ebelasque instinctively held her breath.

Soon, through the distorted space, a single black frog popped out.

The Mad Sword Emperor, upon seeing the frog, smiled as if he was delighted.

“Oh, Commander of Ixion, what brings you here?”

“Bringing ruin, crimson, descending.”

At that moment, meaningless words poured out from the frog.

Its voice, mixed with noise, was unpleasant to hear.

The Mad Sword Emperor, after listening to the frog for a moment, tapped it lightly.

“Commander, the translation isn’t working.”

The frog fell silent for a moment.

Then, after a few croaks, its voice changed.

“…I came because it seems there’s been a disturbance.”

The new voice was smooth and clear, like the sound of a polished jewel.

Hearing this voice, the Mad Sword Emperor grinned.

“A disturbance? Nothing of the sort. I’m just getting some work done.

By the way, the Sword King is here. I’ll just pick up some world erosion and leave.”

“There’s no guarantee it will go as smoothly as it did with the Poison King.”

“It’ll be fine! This time, we even have the recruit!”

The Mad Sword Emperor, grinning, swiftly pointed at Ebelasque.

Ebelasque opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, over and over.

Because she knew exactly who that black frog belonged to.

The Black Witch.

The commander of Ixion and the woman who could bring back the comrades Ebelasque had longed for with all her heart.

It was because of that woman that Ebelasque joined Ixion.

And it was because of that woman that Ixion could exist.

She was the only one capable of creating the god of world erosion.

“Ebelasque Benapochi.”

At that moment, the Black Witch called Ebelasque by name.

Ebelasque flinched, and the Black Witch continued speaking.

“Don’t get too close to the Mad Sword Emperor.”

It was simple advice.

She didn’t stop the Mad Sword Emperor.

That, in essence, meant she was permitting his actions.

Ebelasque’s eyes wavered.

She wanted to say, Stop immediately, but she couldn’t.

She had spent her entire life pursuing the revival of her comrades, endlessly researching necromancy.

Yet the revival of life was something she had never achieved.

The Black Witch was the only one who could make it happen.

Because of that, Ebelasque couldn’t defy her words.

‘Once again…’

Just as when the Empire had taken her heart, making her a puppet of the Night Raven, she was becoming a puppet of Ixion.

This realization filled Ebelasque with intense self-loathing.

She was making the same mistake all over again.

In the meantime, the Black Witch’s frog turned to smoke and disappeared.

She had truly only come to check what was going on.

“Now then, Recruit, it’s time to get to work.”

The Mad Sword Emperor spoke to Ebelasque, who had lowered her head, with a grin.

He, too, knew that Ebelasque couldn’t defy the Black Witch.

“Of course, you remember your task, don’t you?”

“…To ensure no one approaches while you fight the Sword King.”

“Exactly, that’s it! And just to be clear, don’t interfere. I need to savor this and let it mature.”

Ebelasque pressed her lips together tightly and turned away into the darkness.

The Mad Sword Emperor, watching her retreat, turned his head back with a grin.

Because at the edge of the snowy mountain, someone was racing toward him,

the snow swirling furiously around them.

He drew a crimson blade that matched the color of his hair.

One of the Ten Heavenly Swords.

The Blood Curse Death Blade (血癩死刀).

The crimson, gleaming sword shimmered as if eager for its next prey.

At that moment.

From the snowy field the Mad Sword Emperor had been watching, a thunderous boom erupted, sending snow flying into the air.

“From that distance?”

Even the Mad Sword Emperor reacted with surprise.

At that moment, he caught a glint of something shining in the snow.

Seeing it, he immediately drew the Blood Curse Death Blade.

Clang!

The crimson, blood-like aura of the blade rippled as it deflected something.

The deflected object soared into the sky and then came to a sudden halt mid-air.

The Mad Sword Emperor’s gaze followed it upward.

What he saw was a single sword.

A sword had been thrown.

And not just from a close distance—it had come from the furthest visible point on the snowy mountain.

“Wow, is that a monster?”

But it didn’t end with just the flying sword.

The sword, which had been hovering mid-air, began to grow larger and larger.

The Mad Sword Emperor let out a short chuckle.

He knew exactly what this was—a technique created by the Sword King, Rai Valheim.

The Emperor’s Annihilation Sword (帝王殲滅劍).

Before long, the colossal sword filled the sky, its enormous form reflected in the Mad Sword Emperor’s two eyes.

A massive shadow, cast by the colossal sword in the sky, loomed over the mountain.

In the distance, flocks of birds began fleeing frantically, as if escaping impending doom.

Before this overwhelming sight, it was impossible to envision a future beyond death.

And then, the sky began to collapse.

“Well, well.”

The Mad Sword Emperor licked his lips with his tongue.

“Is it right to stoke my expectations this much?”

At the same time, a crimson aura began to coil around the Blood Curse Death Blade.

The bright red aura extended beyond the blade, wrapping around the Mad Sword Emperor’s arm.

Thump!

The pounding of his heart resounded so intensely it echoed in his head.

The crimson aura gradually took shape, manifesting into a grotesquely oversized arm, stripped of skin.

At the end of this monstrous arm, the Blood Curse Death Blade, held firmly in his hand, transformed into an even more horrifying form.

Muscle fibers and blood vessels intertwined to create the shape of a blade.

At that moment, the black gem embedded in the center of the sword slowly began to open, revealing an eye.

As the jet-black pupil emerged within the gemstone, heat surged from the Mad Sword Emperor’s body.

With a powerful leap, the Mad Sword Emperor launched himself into the air.

His monstrous arm and the grotesque, massive blade that the Blood Curse Death Blade had become stretched toward the sky.

Kagagagagagagagagagang!

The collision of Rai Valheim’s Emperor’s Annihilation Sword and the Blood Curse Death Blade sent out an earth-shattering noise.

The impact tore apart the surrounding forests and mountains, sending debris flying in all directions.

Anyone who had witnessed this spectacle would have been left utterly speechless.

Ka-gang!

And in that clash of power, it was the Mad Sword Emperor who emerged victorious.

He had managed to push back the descending Emperor’s Annihilation Sword.

The Mad Sword Emperor grinned triumphantly.

He relished the numbing sensation coursing through his arm, a testament to his madness.

As he prepared to land on the ground, he noticed something odd—the sky still felt dark.

The moment he raised his head, he realized why.

Another sword loomed above the Emperor’s Annihilation Sword.

Because from the beginning, the Emperor’s Annihilation Sword was never just one blade.

More swords began to appear in the sky, multiplying at an alarming rate.

“Wow.”

The sight of the sky filled entirely with the Emperor’s Annihilation Swords was enough to make even the Mad Sword Emperor falter for a moment.

Under this sky of nothing but swords, he muttered to himself.

“They say Valheim is a den of demons. Looks like it’s true.”

And this time, the sky truly began to collapse.

Translators note: