Chapter 150
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Skill Heist at Jamsil Gym
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I decided to start by using Skill Theft on the guy with Blink.
"Bon appétit~"
Then a system window popped up in front of me...
[Skill Theft has failed.]
Huh?
It failed?
Since I'd already gotten the skill's info and confirmed it was something I could have, I'd subconsciously assumed I could steal it and forgotten for a moment.
My current success rate for Skill Theft is a whopping 20%.
In other words, out of five tries, it'd succeed about once.
Last time with Silence, it worked on the first go, so I'd gotten used to treating it like a sure thing. But now it fails?
In gacha games, a hard pity at 20% is basically a guarantee, right?
Thinking like that, it should've succeeded, but failing instead is kinda stressing me out.
On top of that, each attempt burns through 1,000 of my precious Coins.
These Coins don't just sprout from the ground while I sleep.
The fact that one little click just vaporized that many Coins is kinda ridiculous.
Any other Awakener would be screaming, "Are you insane?"
Earning that many Coins would take them all day hunting zombies nonstop, and they'd still fall short.
It's really only possible because it's me.
That doesn't mean I can just fail without consequences, though.
Now I need to think twice before using Skill Theft on just any useful-looking skill.
Coins aren't infinite, after all.
Still, Blink and Mana Sharing here are definitely worth having, so I'll snag them.
I'll be more careful from now on.
Steeling myself, I tried Skill Theft again, and...
[Skill Theft has succeeded.]
I successfully stole the Blink skill.
Skills stolen via Skill Theft always reset to Level 1, no matter their original level.
It sucks that a Level 3 skill drops back to 1, but snagging a skill from who-knows-where is way better.
Levels are something I can raise myself anyway.
"Wh-what? What's going on?"
After stealing his Blink, the guy's face twisted up—the one who'd originally had it.
"Blink skill stolen? What the hell does that mean?"
He frantically opened his Status Window in a panic, like he couldn't believe it.
And the moment he confirmed reality, despair washed over his face.
"It's gone! Gone! What happened to my Blink skill?!"
He screamed like he couldn't accept what was right in front of him.
From his reaction, it looks like when I steal someone's skill, the system notifies them directly.
I didn't notice with Silence because that guy was half-dead already, but this dude just gave me some good intel.
So, stealthily stealing skills without anyone knowing is off the table.
I could've watched an enemy charge in cluelessly after suddenly weakening themselves, but nope.
"Hey, what's wrong? What're you talking about?"
"I don't know! A message popped up saying my Blink got stolen, and when I checked, it's really gone! What the fu— what the hell is happening..."
In full panic mode, he whipped his head around, then locked eyes with me staring right at him.
His eyes widened in real time.
"N-no way..."
This guy's no idiot.
I hadn't said a word, but he'd figured out I was the one who took his skill.
Well, after showing me his Status Window, it's not impossible to deduce once he realizes it was stolen.
"Yeah, I took it. I'll put it to good use."
I blatantly used Blink right in front of him, teleporting around to show off.
Testing it out, it's amazing—I can teleport freely without even using Demonic Energy.
Ignoring the guy staring in denial, time to steal Mana Sharing next?
"N-no! Stay back! Don't come closer!"
The Mana Sharing guy, having just seen the Blink victim next to him, tried to crawl away on his mangled legs as I approached.
"Where do you think you're going!"
No way was I letting him escape, so I strode over, grabbed his neck, and fired off Skill Theft.
[Skill Theft has failed.]
Ugh, failed again?
Can't it just work first try? Failing pisses me off.
Ignoring the window, I tried again...
[Skill Theft has failed.]
What the—?
Failed again?
This is driving me nuts. How does it fail twice in a row?
"G-guhk!"
The consecutive failures made me grip his neck harder without thinking.
Almost killed him by accident.
Would've wasted a good skill.
I loosened my grip quick and refocused.
This time it better work, or I might snap and go on a rampage.
Worst case, skip all Awakeners tied to me and massacre the rest across the country?
Half-threatening the system in my head, I tried Skill Theft once more.
[Skill Theft has succeeded.]
Was it my threat that worked, or just luck? Either way, I got Mana Sharing.
Now I can share my unused mana with others.
I could give some to Yejin—she still seems short on mana—to heal more people, or supplement someone else's skills with my mana.
I don't know how much mana I have, but with my Mental Power stats crushing everyone else's, I figure I've got plenty.
Though it might be high because I'm a Black Magician who handles Demonic Energy.
"N-no... My skill!"
The guy who'd just lost Mana Sharing had the exact same reaction and face as the Blink victim.
I get why his mental game's crumbling—losing his bread-and-butter skill to someone else.
Doesn't mean I care, though.
Turning around, I spotted the other guys who'd been crawling away earlier, staring at the two whose skills I'd stolen, their own minds broken.
They scurried faster when our eyes met.
Probably scared I'd steal theirs too.
They didn't know the system blocked me from taking theirs, hence the freakout.
Then I remembered something and headed to the bomb-maker guy.
"N-no! Don't take my skill!"
"Shut up. I'm not taking your skill. Hand that over instead—the switch for detonating the bombs you set up here."
"Uh, what?"
He gawked at me mentioning something totally unexpected, so I raised my fist.
"No chit-chat. Hand it over now. You have the switch. Or do you wanna die?"
"O-okay! Here, this is it! But why..."
I yelled, and he quickly pulled out the bomb switch and handed it over.
"Good, thanks. Now, let's test it."
I already had his bombs, but remote detonation via switch is more efficient, so I took it. To check if it worked, I pulled one from my Subspace.
"Th-that's... one of my bombs?"
"Yeah, I'll make good use of it."
I tossed it at the wall from Subspace and hit the switch.
Boom!
A massive explosion ripped a huge hole in the building wall amid the deafening roar.
"Nice. This destructive power will come in handy."
Confirmed the bomb's potency and stashed the switch in Subspace.
"N-no way... Why my bomb... Did you take them!? My bombs!!"
The guy stared blankly at the hole before snapping to and yelling at me.
"Yeah, your bombs rock. Take care~ I kept my promise and spared you, so no hard feelings?"
I bolted out of Jamsil Gymnasium.
Their resentful voices trailed after me—we'd crippled their legs too—but I ignored them.
I'd come here just hearing zombies were gathering, but scored unexpected gains.
Coins took a hit, but new skills and useful bombs more than made up for it.
The Coins spent today were covered by what I'd earned killing the zombies here anyway, so it's like I got the skills for free.
Pondering my next move as I stepped outside, I saw a zombie horde heading to Jamsil Gym—drawn by the blast.
"Perfect, just as planned."
The horde would storm in and deal with those four crippled guys.
Through the hole I'd made, no less.
I'd promised to spare them if they showed their Status Windows, but no reason to let them live.
Word about me stealing skills could spread.
But a promise is a promise—I couldn't kill them myself, so this works.
Hey, if they're lucky, they might survive?
Even if they're stuck crawling on ruined legs.