I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

Chapter 36 Longing for Someone

As Berkman and Bianca fell, the goddess of fortune favored Bianca this time.

The place where she landed was covered with thick layers of snow that had slid down the cliff.

On the other hand, Berkmans landing was on a slippery downhill slope of frozen snow.

Woaaah!

Already struggling to keep his balance from falling off the cliff, Berkman slid down the slope.

Meanwhile, Bianca raised her head from the snow with a plop.

Ugh.

She grimaced with a sharp pain in her ankle.

Considering the height she had fallen from, it was fortunate it wasnt worse, but it hurt nonetheless.

Bianca lifted her head to look up the cliffa dauntingly high wall.

Jenica was nowhere to be seen, indicating the extent of the distance.

What should I do?

Bianca was not well-versed in mountain climbing.

With night already falling, moving recklessly with this injury would only increase the chances of getting lost.

Yet, she couldnt just stay put.

Berkman would be grinding his teeth, furious at being outwitted by a young girl like her, and would search for her tenaciously.

I need to hide first.

Dragging her slowly swelling leg, Bianca began to walk through the woods.

Her breaths formed white puffs in the cold air, evidence that her body temperature was dropping.

Despite being dressed thoroughly, she had rolled in the snow.

Her wet clothes were heavy and stealing her warmth.

Without action, hypothermia would come first.

She needed to find a way to warm up her clothes and body.

What came to her mind then was the The White Snow Hot Yang Spore.

Carrying the spore alone maintained body heat.

Her eyes busily scanned the forests interior.

Bianca knew the conditions for The White Snow Hot Yang Spores to thrive.

Firstly, they would be on top of snow where sunlight hit.

Secondly, there would be presence of old trees, over a hundred years in age, for nutrients.

The large trees were easy to spot due to their size.

She started looking for a place to hide and The White Snow Hot Yang Spores simultaneously.

Not long after, she fortuitously found a massive old tree.

Biancas breathing quickened.

The pain and hypothermia were causing her eyelids to droop heavily.

She had reached her limit.

I have to find it.

With her lips tightly bitten, she arrived at the old tree and let out a sigh of relief.

For there, attached to the tree, were The White Snow Hot Yang Spores.

Mushrooms bathed in white, soaking up the sunlight.

Just being near them provided warmtha characteristic of The White Snow Hot Yang Spores.

She was truly lucky.

Bianca took a small knife from her waistband and cut the base of the spore.

Hugging it close, she felt a warmth envelop her body as if bathed in sunlight.

Its warm.

Having resolved the issue of hypothermia, Bianca headed for a cave she had noticed earlier.

It was a cave without signs of wild animals, likely a sufficient shelter.

On her way to the cave, she spotted red mountain berries and quickly collected them, arriving safely at her destination.

Huff, hah.

She then flopped onto the ground.

Bianca took heavy breaths and checked the inside of her shoes.

There she saw her injured leg, swollen and red.

She took off the shoes and removed her overclothes to use them as a blanket.

Holding on to The White Snow Hot Yang Spore, the warmth would quickly dry the clothes.

Afterward, she used snow that had entered the cave to soothe the wound and fastened a sturdy branch to her leg as a splint.

Luckily, she had brought along emergency bandages.

Efficiently finishing the first aid, Bianca used the shoes to elevate her foot above heart level and then lay down.

It was first aid based on actively utilized knowledge from a book.

But emergency treatment was not enough; proper medical care was needed.

I dont know about that.

Her knowledge ended there.

She noticed her eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

She had stabilized herself.

Just in case, she had covered the entrance of the cave with snow to erase her footprints, and the only thing left was to recover her strength.

Kraush.

Somehow, she found herself longing for Kraush.

Thinking of him petting her head gently, Bianca drifted off to sleep.

***

Time passed since she had become stranded.

Below Hardenhartz mountain, a massive avalanche created difficulties for the rescue effort, delaying the search for Bianca even further.

Isolated, Bianca managed to survive by eating mountain berries and herbs she had read about in books.

She had even found herbs good for sprains and ground them with a stone to insert into her bandages, but that was all she could do.

Even so, the pain only slightly lessened; her ankle showed no signs of recovery.

Its either fractured or broken.

Neither option spoke to a good prognosis.

The real trouble began when she spotted footprints which likely belonged to Berkman while picking berries.

Hes close.

He was tracking her.

From the moment she realized this, Bianca reduced her range of activity even further.

Getting caught by him would spell the end.

Ideally, the rescue party would reach her before he did.

But Bianca was skeptical about that.

Because of Berkman, she was hiding, which made it very likely that the rescue party would have difficulty finding her.

Moreover, she could feel her body weakening as the days passed.

Despite having The White Snow Hot Yang Spore, she was only thirteen.

Enduring outdoor winter life with insufficient nutrients was not easy.

I dozed off again.

Recently becoming more prone to sleep, Bianca rubbed her eyes.

Sleeping on the cold stone floor hardly rejuvenated her, only emphasizing her tiredness.

It was bad.

She felt that if she were to fall asleep again, she might never wake up.

It was then, while contemplating movement, that she heard it.

Rustle-

Amidst the bushes outside the cave, footsteps echoed.

Biancas face hardened.

Those were the footsteps of an adult malefar from belonging to a rescue team.

Ive found you.

Her heart dropped at the softly whispered words, prompting Bianca to sprint with all her might.

Immediately, footsteps pursued her from behind.

Bianca used routes she had observed before to sprint the shortest distances.

Intentionally running through densely wooded areas difficult for larger people to pass through, she evaded pursuit.

However, her injured leg kept holding her back, slowing her down due to the pain.

Crack!

Behind her, the sound of tumbling trees filled the air.

Ugh!

Hearing this, Bianca instantly changed direction, but her ankles pain curtailed her escape.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

A fallen tree rolled down and struck Biancas frail body.

The impact sent her rolling across the snow.

Sob, h-huh.

A weak whimper escaped her, pain radiating from her entire body, rendering even her fingers immobile.

Blood trickling across her forehead dampened her eyes, as if the tearless Bianca was shedding her last bloodied tears.

The young lady sure is persistent in fleeing.

Berkmans low voice reverberated as he landed with a light step on a tree before descending in front of Bianca.

He then grabbed Biancas snow-white hair and yanked her up.

Argh

Well, arent you a tough one, not even changing your expression. Quite the stubborn lady, arent you?

Bianca couldnt resist as Berkman pulled her up.

The accumulated fatigue and the recent pain had drained all her strength.

Its too bad youre causing me this much trouble. Before I use you as a hostage, you need to be taught a lesson!

Berkman rose to his feet, maintaining his grip on her.

Consequently, Bianca felt the agony of having her hair nearly ripped out.

Simultaneously, Berkman ripped out her hairpin, intending to sell it as it seemed valuable.

As Bianca watched the hairpin with her fading consciousness, she began to close her eyes slowly.

She had given it her all.

There was no strength left to carry on.

With her eyes closing, Kraush seemed to appear before her.

Him, who had completely changed one day.

Kraush, initially suspected to be suicidal due to depression, whom she began following around.

However, that became a part of her routine.

He never felt uncomfortable around her, even though she was cursed.

Though he sometimes looked apologetically, fundamentally, he saw her and others differently.

Was that the reason?

Over the past year, she had felt more at ease by Kraushs side than at Hardenhartz.

Him training and her reading next to hima simple daily life but undoubtedly pleasurable days.

Pleasant, you say.

She never expected to consider her own experiences as pleasant.

Pleasure certainly must be an emotion.

For the first time, Bianca questioned whether she indeed lacked emotions.

One thing was certain; she found it regrettable that she did not possess emotions.

Had she been able to feel, she could have better grasped the comfort and joy of those times.

And she might have shared more with Kraush.

Bianca realized that he had become quite significant to her.

So Bianca spoke out, one last time.

Kr-Kraush.

It was a whisper that could not reach him.

Thats when it happened.

The sound of someone dashing through the snow resonated.

Huh?

Catching Berkman off guard, the next instant unfolded.

Thump!

The fist of a young boy struck Berkmans ribs with all his might.

Argh?!

Caught off guard, Berkman suppressed a cry of pain as a secondary shockwave spread inside his body.

But it was too late.

Crash-thud-thump!

A succession of blows caused his body to buckle in an instant, releasing Bianca as he rolled across the ground.

In the midst of rolling, Bianca felt a warmth embrace her.

Bianca opened her blurry eyes to find the face she had longed to see before her.

Upon seeing that face, she felt a profound sense of relief wash over her.

Bianca.

A voice called her name from lips parted with careful deliberateness, tinged with frustration and a medley of emotions.

Hearing it, Bianca slowly lifted her hand and cradled his cheek.

Kraush, Im okay

Her hand gently caressed his cheek before her eyes slowly closed.

The sounds of her ragged breathing filled the air.

Feeling relieved, she had reached her limit, and her consciousness faded away.

Watching this, Kraush gathered her up in his arms and began to walk slowly.

He leaned her against a tree comfortably, and a crow perched itself before her.

Will you be able to win?

The crow spoke, posing the question.

The opponent was Berkman, the Butchera figure already renowned for his significant capabilities.

Even as a fugitive from the empire, having met a world eroder, his strength had increased further.

Frankly, Berkman was a clearly stronger opponent than Kraush.

And Ebelasque cannot assist.

Crimson Gardens kin were not present in Hardenhartz.

Their only kin here was this crow.

Though they could use magic, it was limited to low-level spells.

Even with the Crimson Gardens prowess, they could not face the enemy with such limited power.

On the other hand, Ebelasque was restrained by the unspoken rules among the world eroders.

The rule: if you dont wish for war, dont interfere with anothers kin.

Recklessly provoking could lead to war with Berkmans master, the world eroder, as a consequence for breaking this rule.

Ebelasque would naturally not want to carelessly choose such risk.

Although some deal existed between Kraush and Ebelasque, there was no reason for her to help Kraush to the extent of accepting such peril.

Thus, Kraush had to face Berkman alone.

Kraush, well aware of this fact, drew his sword from his waist.

His blue eyes shone with an unmistakable determination.

I will win.

His words were full of unwavering sincerity.