Caeran is arrogant, but not an idiot.
Just showing off a blue fireball doesn’t guarantee he’ll copy it.
So, I needed to make sure he couldn’t think straight.
Slash!
Like the saying “Giving flesh to take bones,”
I planned to allow Caeran to hit me in exchange for a solid shot to his head.
This blue fire magic would make him dizzy enough to mistake it for Wind Archery.
And the plan went off without a hitch.
Pruah!!!
Caeran, hit perfectly on the side of his head with my crossbow, rolled to the ground,
Waaaaaaah!!!
The cheers began to swell.
It wasn’t just Caeran who was excited.
But I was the only one who had to stay calm in this situation.
I kept my distance, watching for any movement from him until he got up.
Caeran staggered to his feet and began to stumble like a zombie.
It wasn’t a complete act.
He had surpassed a state of extreme excitement.
It was as if he was daring me to use my ultimate move on him.
And I instinctively felt it.
I shouldn’t give him more time to think.
“Eat this!”
Fwhoosh!
As I unleashed a Parasite Flameball from the crossbow, blue flames began to cling to the firing mechanism.
Not too shabby.
Blue flames are rare after all.
All that remained was for him to mistake this for Wind Archery.
*
“In a life-or-death situation, I make whatever I’ve seen my own.”
This one line shaped the current Caeran.
It all began in his childhood, while he wandered the streets.
In his struggle to survive and satisfy his hunger, a mysterious ability was passed down to him.
Thus, Caeran…
Stole the ability of the strongest among the beggars.
Hahaha… what is this?
After that, it was simple but a bit violent.
Steal, loot, take.
One by one, he stacked them up and at some point became the adopted child of one of the four great noble families of the Empire.
His blood-related brothers and his sister, who was considered more talented than him in magic, along with all the various old men who pretended to be friends of his adoptive father, were merely tools for him.
To Caeran, this instinct was natural and far too familiar.
There was no way he could be anything but strong.
As he only took, how could he possibly grow weak?
However, recently… there was nothing more to take.
He could no longer feel the desire to survive or that sensation of being cornered.
But now, Caeran felt something.
That a B-class loser out of nowhere had something worth stealing.
It was an overwhelming longing he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Even with his head throbbing,
Caeran’s instinctive senses were razor-sharp.
Hissssss!
Once again, he would take his enemy’s skill as his own without any variables.
And when he opened his eyes again, he was already astute.
“What? This is too easy?”
Taking his opponent’s ability was simpler than eating a piece of cake.
And then it happened.
Thud!
“Ugh… what the hell?”
However, it felt like all his senses were dulled more than before.
Being a very sensitive person, Caeran could perceive the shift.
He dismissed it as a simple condition issue.
“What kind of ability is this… I’m really looking forward to it!”
Selena too was interested in his blue Wind Archery.
He was relieved. He had almost taken it from that woman.
It became his so easily.
“Hmmm~, what should I do….”
As Caeran pondered how to humiliate Lev Denec, a brilliant thought struck him.
Among the second circle spells, there’s an arrow based on the four elemental properties.
In other words, there was no need for Caeran to steal his crossbow.
For instance, like a sword master who activates aura and magic with the sword,
He would combine a Fire Arrow with the Wind Archery that only elves possess.
A defiance of the truth that only Caeran could engage in.
He would show the audience the massive difference in class.
“Lev Denec, you’re somewhat useful, huh?”
Seeing the baffled face of Lev Denec, Caeran laughed maniacally.
That was the hearty laughter reserved only for the chosen victor.
And taking aim, he cast Fire Arrow.
Wooaah!!
The audience’s cheers erupted again, anticipating something great.
Famed for his magical prowess, Gra easily manifested the shape of a bow.
Fwhoosh!
Next, with his instinctive senses, Caeran layered the skills he had stolen from Lev Denec.
Fwhoosh…!
Then, a small blue fireball appeared atop his hand.
“What the…?”
No matter how he looked at it, it was a first-circle spell, a Fireball.
Trying again,
Fwhoosh!
“…?!”
Just a single blue fireball sparkled.
As if mocking Caeran.
“Are you kidding me…?”
Suddenly, his dizzy head began to clear.
“!!”
Ow…!
Coming back to after a moment, Lev had extinguished the fire sticking to the crossbow with crude ice magic.
Seeing that made a cognitive dissonance wash over Caeran.
“What the hell….”
And his blood began to boil again.
“That bastard…!”
*
[‘Caeran Hiss’ has copied your Parasite Flameball (Expert) magic!]
So effortlessly, Caeran bit into my bait.
“Goodbye, beloved character.”
Well, no way he’s modifying the settings now saying “error.”
I had guided the error fix when I first attained the parasitic skill.
“The author ought to see this.”
I certainly said I would receive the gamer trait.
And there’s even an agreement about the terms in the game.
However, trying to reverse that is clearly a breach of terms.
Even if the story were to change, my ability wouldn’t change.
In other words, checkmate.
Watching Caeran use the blue fireball,
[▶Remove [Parasite Flameball (Expert)] permanently?]
(*Once removed, the skill cannot be restored.)
“Of course, yes.”
I immediately deleted the skill [Parasite Flameball] from the skill menu.
This is the rightful privilege of a gamer, you bastard.
And I turned on my magic eye to check his status.
Ding!
——————————————————
[Caeran Hiss]
▶[Average Status]
: 4.1
▶[Specialization]
Sword Mastery (7)
Circle Magic (5) (Infected!)
▶[Unique Traits]
Resilience (Lv.5) (Details hidden)
Spirit (Lv.2) (Details hidden)
Massacre (Lv.2) (Details hidden)
Immunity (Lv.2) (Details hidden)
Affinity (Lv.0) (Details hidden)
Copy (Lv.0) (Details hidden)
Battle Recovery (Lv.2) (Details hidden)
Absolute Growth (Lv.2) (Details hidden)
——————————————————
“Look at that?”
Surprises were discovered in Caeran’s status checked through my magic eye.
Already, the Parasite Worm was infecting his specialization.
The unique traits were hidden, so I didn’t know for sure, but
If that were the case, other aspects were likely being affected little by little.
Certainly, based on my Fireball, it shouldn’t show much change in a day or two.
There wouldn’t have been any creation of the parasite as there was no drop in skill,
And it would take a decent amount of time for the parasites to breed for the drop speed to accelerate.
But Caeran was different.
Perhaps it was the broken traits he had, like [Absolute Growth], [Resilience], and [Spirit],
Along with the berserker trait [Massacre] that enhances his overall stats depending on excitement that influenced the “Parasite Flameball.”
Unintentionally, my beloved character’s ability was driving him to destruction… I guess.
“I won’t be far off.”
All that’s left for me is to watch him fall apart in real time.
“Caeran!!!”
“What are you doing?!!!”
It seemed Caeran’s clumsy fireball shenanigans were earning him jeers from the crowd.
“That bastard…!!!”
Then, an enraged Caeran rushed at me with dual swords in hand.
Thudthud.
His speed was still fast, but he had lost his rationality.
Swish.
With this kind of feeling, dodging would be like eating soup.
“You think I’m going to lose to an idiot like you?”
“Eh?”
Caeran’s swords swirled.
“Do you really think I’d lose to someone like you just because of this?”
And like a phantom, I elegantly dodged his simple attacks.
At the moment Caeran seemed to be casting magic, I spoke.
“Yeah. You won’t lose to me.”
“What…?”
For a moment, he must have misheard, and he stopped his attack.
Then I looked at Bella and declared.
“I concede.”
.
.
.
“Winner, Caeran Hiss…”
What followed was Caeran’s disgrace.
The once relaxed and sly demeanor had vanished,
replaced by his raging shouts directed at me while Bella held him back.
“The match is over. Do you want to be disqualified?”
And… the reason I conceded was simple.
The big picture I was planning ahead.
That figure sitting in the special seat above.
Rezilus.
The guild he formed was precisely the guild “Crow Pay” where the main villains of the story gather.
According to fanfic content, Crow Pay would scout Caeran during the vacation period due to his high score.
Perhaps the author, thinking it too explicit for Edwin’s narrative, felt guilty and sentenced Caeran to exile for a while,
but anyway, Caeran would return even stronger thanks to Crow Pay.
And since Crow Pay would shift to become a villain guild in the latter part, I needed to pre-emptively take measures.
In other words, what I wanted was a butterfly effect.
“Caeran, please troll.”
A gigantic pile of crap named Caeran must be dropped in Crow Pay.
