I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

Chapter 141:

Why Do I Keep Getting Stronger

***

Former Heavenly Pivot Star, Durandal.

Listing his accomplishments alone would leave anyone in sheer astonishment.

He fought the Heavenly Erosion Species with his bare hands, inflicting an unhealable wound on it.

He single-handedly entered the floating World Erosion, the Sky Castle, and sealed it.

In the sacred and forbidden Fortress of Arone, he defeated a 10-star level Erosion Species.

All of his deeds seemed more like tales from another world.

Yet now, he had retired.

He was a Headmaster who was far from kind to the students, though.

Today, as usual, he was spending a leisurely day in his office.

However, it appeared that today would not be so peaceful after all.

He heard footsteps approaching the Headmaster’s office from the hallway outside.

Durandal remembered the sound and presence of every staff member’s footsteps.

But these footsteps were unfamiliar.

was about to happen again today.

“Well then, who could it be?”

With a look of interest, Durandal turned his gaze toward the door of the Headmaster’s office.

Soon, there was a knock on the door, followed by his response.

“Come in.”

The door opened, revealing a young boy.

The boy, who had just turned fifteen, had strikingly deep blue hair.

Durandal was very familiar with that hair color.

It was none other than the symbol of Balheim.

The one person who had dared to file a petition with him was Charlotte Balheim, the first-year student.

And this boy was her younger brother, Kraush Balheim.

‘The siblings are alike.’

From the moment they entered Rahelrn Academy, they had both caused a commotion.

And now, he had come to file a petition.

Durandal slowly smiled as he rose from his seat with a thud.

The entire office shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Despite his age, his body was far beyond human proportions—immense and towering.

Some even likened him to a mountain, calling him ‘Durandal the Mountain.’

“What kind of petition do you have in mind, Mr. Kraush?”

There was only one reason why students sought him out.

Petitions.

Durandal had no intention of entertaining any other conversations.

He was as straightforward as ever.

But Kraush thought that was for the best.

It meant he could get straight to the point.

“Please approve missions for students to hunt World Erosion.”

“Very well. Mr. Kraush, if you can prove your strength, I will accept your petition.”

Durandal answered without any hesitation.

After all, if the petitioner couldn’t prove their strength, the petition would be immediately rejected.

However, once that strength was proven, any petition would be accepted.

“But let me tell you one thing.”

Durandal removed the watch strapped to his wrist.

Placing it on the desk, it landed with a heavy thud, causing the desk to creak.

Even his watch had an incredible weight.

“The difficulty of proving your strength will depend on the seriousness of the petition.”

With that, Durandal began to walk toward the door.

He stood towering over Kraush by several heads as he looked down at him.

Then, he grabbed the door handle.

Crack!

The door splintered as he held it, sending wood dust flying.

“If you want to take on a mission involving World Erosion, it will be quite arduous.”

It was a warning to turn back quietly if he had come unprepared.

Any other student would have been frightened and backed off by now.

However, Kraush stared at Durandal without a hint of fear.

Durandal looked down at Kraush with a curious gaze.

His presence alone was overwhelming.

In fact, he was exerting enough pressure that Kraush could have easily turned back.

But Kraush showed no signs of being intimidated.

‘Hmm, this is something I usually see only in seasoned warriors.’

How could a mere fifteen-year-old exude such an aura?

Durandal’s interest was piqued.

He had always enjoyed nurturing students with potential.

If not, he wouldn’t have established Rahelrn Academy.

The reason he created this relentless petition system was simple.

To discover and cultivate the most valuable gems from even the brightest students at Rahelrn Academy.

And he was willing to pass down everything he knew to polish those gems.

“Let’s head to the training ground.”

He wondered if this boy could be that gem.

With that thought, he moved forward, hoping the boy wouldn’t disappoint him.

***

The arena training ground was empty, having just finished hosting the day’s training sessions.

Kraush and Durandal stood facing each other.

In the audience seats, a few others were watching.

They were none other than Charlotte, Sizelry, and Haring.

After their meeting, Kraush had moved immediately.

Naturally, the three of them knew Kraush would head to the arena training ground.

“What do you think, Charlotte Balheim?”

Sizelry asked as she observed Kraush and Durandal.

Her intelligence was, without a doubt, worthy of the title of genius.

However, her intellect was her only strength.

Sizelry was physically weak and had no combat abilities.

She couldn’t gain any expertise in Martial Arts because of her physical limitations.

So, despite her genius, her knowledge of Martial Arts was shallow.

This led her to ask Charlotte, who possessed a natural talent for Martial Arts.

“Fifty-fifty.”

Charlotte gave a realistic assessment.

“Including a mission involving World Erosion in a petition is the most difficult task. That old man is going to be serious.”

Charlotte slowly brushed her hair to the side.

“To be honest, even giving it a fifty-fifty chance is generous.”

It was a typically arrogant response from Charlotte.

“Then he will win.”

Sizelry’s unexpected answer surprised Charlotte.

Sizelry looked at Charlotte with a mischievous grin.

“That boy is the strongest person I know.”

Sizelry’s voice carried a tone of certainty as she looked at Kraush.

“That’s right.”

At that moment, Haring’s voice joined the conversation.

When Sizelry and Charlotte turned to her, Haring was staring at Kraush with serious eyes.

“Kraush is strong.”

Haring had seen Kraush’s unyielding determination during missions.

She believed in his mental strength, which far surpassed his abilities.

Amid everyone’s expectations, Kraush quietly observed Durandal.

Durandal hummed a tune as he began wrapping his hands with bandages.

“Age makes the hands ache. If I don’t prepare like this, my bones start to feel sore.”

His hands were as large as a cauldron lid, clearly unaffected by age.

Nevertheless, Durandal said so.

After tightly securing the bandages, he swung his arms lightly.

[Other students are flocking to the arena.]

Crimson Garden’s voice echoed in Kraush’s mind.

It seemed that word had spread, and students were gathering to watch.

‘Sigrid must have moved as well.’

And the fake Arthur too, no doubt.

Kraush decided to reveal his full strength now that things had come to this.

“There’s one thing I want to mention before the battle begins.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Durandal responded with a hearty laugh, clearly eager to see what this gem could offer.

But he didn’t know yet.

He didn’t know just how cunning this gem truly was.

“If I fall, please deliver me to the Saintess.”

At that moment, when his head tilted in curiosity at Kraush’s declaration of falling before the battle even started…

Kraush quietly took a deep breath.

“Hoo.”

With that, a wisp of smoke escaped from his mouth.

Inside his body, World Erosion flared up with Ignis, activating Annihilation Erosion.

As Durandal witnessed this scene, his thick white eyebrows began to slowly rise.

He had heard reports about the type of secret technique Kraush used.

However, seeing it in person was something else entirely.

He was pushing his body to the brink of destruction, enhancing his physical abilities to an extremely dangerous level.

“Hmm, I see. So that’s why you mentioned falling.”

Now he understood why Kraush had declared he might fall.

The way he was forcibly drawing out such power, it was no wonder his mental strength would be drained.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re taken to the infirmary…”

“It’s not over yet.”

Before Durandal could finish his sentence, Kraush interrupted him, taking another breath.

This time, his eyes began to glow a fiery red.

He accelerae of Annihilation Erosion.

Black flames surged within Kraush’s body, burning violently.

Durandal’s eyes narrowed as he witnessed this.

“Aren’t you overdoing it?”

The output was so excessive that it was starting to cause concern.

The air around Kraush was distorting due to the intense heat radiating from his body.

Even at this distance, Durandal could feel the heat on his face, which meant Kraush was enduring far worse.

“It’s… not… over… yet.”

But as those words left Kraush’s mouth, Durandal’s expression shifted to one of slight alarm.

He had already far surpassed his limits, yet he was saying it wasn’t over.

“What in the world…”

While Durandal was taken aback…

Schwing!

Kraush felt the chains inside him snap and break.

At that moment, crimson energy surged wildly around him like waves, spilling out uncontrolled.

The world seemed to teeter on the edge of distortion.

The murderous intent of the Heavenly Slaughter Star clashed with the madness of World Erosion, revealing a precarious middle ground.

Even the smoke billowing from Kraush’s mouth had turned crimson.

Simultaneously, the space around him began to warp.

The power was so overwhelming that the atmosphere around him began to buckle under the pressure.

It was the third stage of Annihilation Erosion.

Annihilation Asura.

The ultimate domain Kraush had reached.

“Mr. Kraush!”

When Durandal shouted, seeing that this was far too extreme, light started to be sucked into the area around Kraush.

The wind around him whipped into a frenzy, as if a storm had arisen.

The heat radiating from the arena was so intense that even the students who had been on their way to the arena could feel it.

Despite it being spring, sweat began to bead on their faces as if it were summer.

“Ah… still…”

Kraush muttered quietly within the flames.

By now, his throat had burned to the point where speaking was a struggle.

The arena floor beneath him was beginning to melt and cave in from the heat.

Yet, even within that searing heat, Kraush held onto his consciousness with sheer willpower.

To prevent a war between the Empire and Starlon, Durandal had to accept his petition.

For that, Kraush was willing to push his body to the absolute limit.

So, deep within himself…

Kraush awakened the dormant night.

The skill of the God of Night.

Nox.

As the awakened night filled Kraush’s body, a crimson full moon rose within him.

The peak moment when Lunar Body shone the brightest had settled within Kraush.

The blazing heat met the maximum yin energy of Lunar Body under Nox’s influence, once again shattering through his previous limits.

Whoosh!

The black flames surged skyward, reaching as high as the heavens.

It was as though the black flames were draping the sky in night, as Kraush’s crimson eyes shimmered brightly beneath them.

And finally.

Kraush bit down on the instant-strength potion he had brought with him to the training ground.

Crunch!

The moment the potion shattered, the curse within it spread through his body, carried by the poison, and seeped into his entire being.

Kraush’s Annihilation Erosion absorbed the curse, turning it into raw power.

The potion, specially designed for Kraush, instantly forced vitality back into his body.

Crackle!

The curse burned within him, spreading throughout his body.

The high-level curses used in the potion were threefold.

Hellfire, Moon’s Rampage, and Island’s Shadow.

And to trigger these, dozens of mid- and low-level curses were also included.

Combined with various poisons, the instant-strength potion was a mass of yin energy and fire magic—an exceedingly malicious concoction that no one would dare to consume, knowing the aftermath.

But Kraush swallowed it without hesitation.

Because only by doing so could he reach his absolute limit.

And within this new realm he had reached…

Kraush’s flame-filled crimson eyes glowed vividly amidst the night.

Annihilation Heavenly Asura.

The fourth and final stage of Annihilation Asura.

Amidst the black flames in the arena…

Kraush drew his glowing red Rain Thunder Prime.

And he spoke a single word.

“It’ll sting a bit.”

A challenge issued to a former member of the Celestial Four Strongest.

End of Chapter