Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: I Stole Something Strange
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Looking back, the root cause of all this was one guy.
-How about trying this game?
It was one of the most popular games at the time.
But I had something more important than that—a project I needed to finish.
A project that had eaten up more than half a year of my time.
It was almost done.
Anyway, after wrapping that up, my friend introduced me to a game.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Arcadia Alphie] The genre was JRPG.
A turn-based game with a story.
I liked games like that.
The story was pretty cliché.
Heroes had to slay the Demon King.
What was unique was that there were heroes for each class.
Warrior Hero, Mage Hero, Thief Hero, Priest Hero.
I picked the Thief.
The reason was nothing special.
Warriors and Priests were lawful alignments, while Mages and Thieves were neutral.
Lawful alignments gave more influence but came with restrictions on actions.
I didn't like that sort of thing.
'Thieves have big burst damage or quick mobility skills.'
So I went with Thief.
Difficulty was set to Very Easy, of course.
My body wasn't what it used to be after becoming a working adult.
'Back in the day, I'd always pick Very Hard.'
But now it was the opposite.
Anyway, after creating the character...
'The problem is that I ended up dropped in this place.'
A terrifying wave of despair washed over me, and I rubbed my face with my hand.
Please, cut me some slack.
What the hell do you want from me to drop me into a world like this?
I let out a few deep sighs, and it calmed me a bit.
'What should I do?'
The path ahead looked utterly hopeless.
Still, I might have to live here from now on.
"Status window..."
I called up the status window with a sliver of hope.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Name: Han Yuseong (Lv. 1) ⚡ Strength: 1 💨 Agility: 1 💪 Stamina: 1 ✨ Magic Power: 1 🧠 Mind: 1 👁️ Sense: 1 ◈ Gifts -[Rogue Mastery (S)], [Plunder (S)] ◈ Skills - '...Good, at least this is here.'
But what were these Gifts?
I tapped on the Gifts section just in case.
[Gift] Rogue Mastery (S) ◇ You'll be able to do pretty much anything a thief can do. [Gift] Plunder (S) ◇ Steals the opponent's possessions. "..."
The descriptions were ridiculously bare-bones.
Still, I counted my blessings.
'At least having a status window means I can grasp my situation.'
These days, some people didn't even get that.
Compared to them, I had a status window and all.
'I did set the game difficulty to Very Easy.'
It was a little depressing not knowing if that would apply here.
'Well, whatever.'
Having something to lean on cleared my head a bit.
The only remaining issue was...
'I don't know anything about this game?'
That was the problem.
I knew the rough outline of the story because the guy who recommended it had told me about it.
There was an Empire, a few kingdoms, and a classic tale of fighting the Demon King.
Plus some info on what the heroes were.
'Holders of S-rank skills, right?'
Owners of skills so rare that even searching an entire kingdom wouldn't turn up many.
In the early game, candidates with S-rank skills competed, and the top four heroes were selected.
Like gathering hero candidates in a solitary confinement setup, then sending the chosen four to slay the Demon King.
'S-rank is proof of talent so rare it's scarce even across the whole continent.'
Mine was specialized in thievery, but that must be why it was special.
'Anyway... I want to test it out.'
If I'd gained abilities, it was only natural to try them.
I scanned my surroundings for something worth targeting.
'My conscience is nagging me a little.'
As a Korean, it pricked at me, but I had to survive here.
I closed my eyes for three seconds of silent prayer for my conscience, then moved.
'I think I know how to do it.'
Was Gift some kind of power?
Knowledge was already in my head.
How to steal, what to do to steal. Courtesy of Rogue Mastery.
'That one's too poor-looking. That guy's too dangerous.'
Based on my judgment, I soon found a target.
A kindly-looking middle-aged man who seemed moderately wealthy.
I approached within a meter of him.
'What can I steal...'
Wig, 37 gold coins, 58 silver coins.
Not just clothes, but even the dagger at his side—I could steal it all naturally.
'This is basically magic.'
The ability was so overwhelming it made me chuckle in disbelief.
Did this guy even have a wig on?
'Now that I look closely, there are subtle signs.'
But that wasn't important right now.
I targeted one gold coin.
Then [Plunder] imprinted its usage in my brain.
'So that's how it feels.'
I moved my hand as the information guided me, naturally.
A distance my hand couldn't normally reach.
But.
I felt my hand slip into something.
And in the next instant, a gold coin was in my hand.
'So this is how the ability manifests.'
I'd thought it was like magic, but I didn't expect it to be actual magic-like.
Suddenly, a realization hit me.
Gift, Plunder.
It "stole" things the target possessed.
So then.
My eyes began to gleam.
If this Gift had the power I was imagining...
'Could I steal another person's Gift too?'
It'd probably have restrictions or whatever if it was that strong.
But S-rank—what did that mean?
Human resources so rare even scouring the entire continent wouldn't yield many.
Even if it was just stealing, wouldn't it have power to match?
It was a perfectly logical thought, a solid idea.
Then I wanted to test it on someone else.
'Anyone with outstanding talent around?'
To prepare for any mishaps, I needed the most exceptional person I knew of.
But I hadn't played the game.
'I heard a few things from that guy.'
Finding someone by name alone was too hard.
As I was stamping my feet wondering if there was a way...
I spotted a woman.
An incredibly familiar face.
Blood-red eyes like they held blood itself, matching crimson hair. Skin pale to the extreme, clad in a red dress. A woman with a subtly seductive air, and she was looking right at me.
The reason I knew her despite not playing the game.
'She's one of the characters on the game title screen.'
My friend who recommended it had gushed about her name endlessly.
'Lucia, was it?'
There was one character illustration plastered prominently on the title screen.
'Definitely an important figure.'
And most crucially.
She was the villainess who influenced the story throughout.
'I don't know the full story yet.'
A villainess trying to stop the heroes heading to defeat the Demon King.
That meant she wasn't helpful to them.
As those thoughts crossed my mind.
A blue window unfolded in my vision.
📜 NEW QUEST 📜 [Encounter Quest]
You have encountered the Villainess, Lucia.
Capture her interest somehow, or make her lose it.
🎁 Reward: ???
⏰ Failure: No penalty.
"..."
Usually, these had something like "Death on failure."
Maybe because I set it to Very Easy.
The lack of penalties eased my mind a bit.
'I'll skip this quest.'
Whether capturing her interest or whatever, I gave up on it.
The reward tempted me, but survival came first.
'And.'
I wanted to test the limits of my ability.
My power was stealing.
So wouldn't stealing something from her be a gain?
'Talent or whatever.'
There were no stated limits on what I could steal.
So that meant I could steal anything.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have gained favor from Villainess, Lucia.] [The upper limit of what you can steal from her increases.] As I resolved myself and started toward Lucia...
I froze.
'Gaining favor increases the steal limit?'
Two questions popped up.
Why did gaining favor increase the steal limit?
'And why did I gain favor?'
I looked at Lucia.
She, with her blood-like eyes, was smiling brightly and waving at me.
"You there, sir?"
"Y-Yes? Me?"
"Yes."
Her voice was soft and gentle, her posture noble.
Every movement seemed designed to raise affinity.
"If it's not too rude, I'm interested in you. Could you spare a moment?"
"That's inappropriate."
"Eh?"
I flashed a smile and said it.
Leaving her with a dumbfounded look, I activated the Gift.
Having used it once, I clearly knew what I could steal from her.
'But.'
It was different from before.
Among the stealable items from her, there was one marked with a ??? feeling.
'Did the increased limit unlock this?'
I didn't know what it was, but I used the Gift to 'steal' it.
The bizarre sensation of my hand slipping into something.
I snatched it.
'A gem?'
That was the tactile feedback in my hand.
"Huh? Wh-What?"
Her soft voice sounded flustered.
I bolted before things got annoying.
After running for a bit...
I stopped in the middle of an alley.
'This should be far enough.'
No signs of pursuit.
I pulled out the gem from my pocket.
'Oh.'
It was a red gem infused with a blood-like hue.
Crystalline and truly beautiful.
I didn't know much about gems, but this had to be valuable.
'Wait, all I stole was a gem?'
I thought it was something big because of the weird vibe.
'Well, a gem's not bad, I guess...'
I stopped thinking.
The item's name appeared above the blood-red gem.
But seeing what floated there, I couldn't help but panic.
Steal the opponent's possessions.
So I'd tried to steal one of her talents. She was the villainess from the game, after all.
I figured stealing something from her would make things easier for the heroes, whatever it was.
'And since she's evil, it'd ease my conscience.'
That's why I decided to steal from the villainess.
Conveniently, she took a liking to me, raising my steal limit.
I thought I could steal a skill or something.
'But why.'
[Villainess's Obsession] Why the hell did I steal something like this?
It was utterly baffling.
'Well, maybe it has some good effect.'
I checked the item. And as I read the description, my eyes slowly went dead.
[Villainess's Obsession] ◇ You will receive all the obsession the owner had for their target. What? Fuck?