an: holy fudge, to think my random decision to make Daniel a Marquess would come to unexpected fruition. Heh.
And one of these days, I wanted to try out titles based on Konosuba. That strange title that you can hear excitement, optimism and happy go-fun when you read them. It's nice.
And please add me in Konosuba: Fantastic Days (ID: 597007543144) Thank you!
A Lesson Upon This Thief From An Undercover Sinner!
"Eh... What business do you have with our superior, if you don't mind me asking?"
The sin harbourer before her showed an aggrieved look and shook his head, "I apologize, but it was a sensitive topic, so I cannot tell you."
The waitress nodded in understanding. As a worker, she knew that Kazuma had quite an interesting title. So for her, letting him meet her superior isn't strange at all.
"It is fine. Alright, wait for a bit, Kazuma-san. I have to come in contact with Mistress first."
Kazuma nodded as the waitress went to the back of the room and took on the stairs. On his waiting, he inspects the various things behind the considerably big receptionist's table. He couldn't help but reveal a strange look upon noticing a caged transparent ball on the rack.
'Odd.'
"Hey hey! I think I know you!"
A pitched voice from behind suddenly assaulted his ears. At first, Kazuma thought it wasn't directed at him, but when he felt a presence behind him, he couldn't block the urge to turn around out of curiosity. So he did and was surprised.
"You're the famous Intermediate Killer, Satou Kazuma, I believe?"
A smile adorned a fair, beautiful face harbouring a pair of big, glistening blue eyes and a cute, pointed nose with a pair of pink lips below, framed by two silver bangs that reacher her mid-neck.
The girl who looked like in her fifteen wore a simple piece of black clothing to cover her modest chest that was overlayed by a collarless dark-green mantle, not bothering to cover her mid-section at all. A leather belt securely tightened her mid-thigh jeans and her pouch, that harbour a sheath covering a thievery knife.
Completed with a simple pair of fur boots that covered her black stockings, she looks like that naughty thief girl who Kazuma can't hate. A quite contradicting expression.
"Ah, you meet the right person. Might I ask, what do you need?"
Kazuma politely smiled back, nodding in her direction. The girl before him isn't inferior to his party members in terms of looks. Inwardly, he couldn't help but be concerned, palming his forehead wryly in distress.
'Sin of Greed, please do not do anything stupid.'
As long as he hasn't figured out a way to refrain from this sin from acting freely, this is all he can do. What a pitiful existence he is, huh? Kazuma thought in grief.
No man doesn't like beautiful girls. But being excessive makes everything bleak.
"How about we discuss it as we drink?"
The silver-haired thief winked, exhibiting a youthful, unrestrained ambience. With no reason to reject, Kazuma followed her to the barstool. The waitress would call him when she was done, so no worries.
"Ah? Kazuma? Don't you have to do something?"
The munching Megumin blinked her large crimson eyes when she noticed her leader's presence. The person in question just waved his hand, indicating to her not to worry.
"One Sky-bringer Light-blue Beer please!"
The thief glanced at Kazuma, and the latter nodded,
"Make it two!"
"Coming right up!"
After ordering their drinks, they sat on the barstool, near where Megumin and Aqua enjoyed their meal. The former subconsciously moved her seat closer to Kazuma, curious as to what they wanted to talk about.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Eh, before we continue, I haven't introduced myself, weren't I?"
His conversation partner showed a playful shy look, which received a flat look from her counterpart. She coughed,
"Ehem, anyway, my name's Chris. Nice to meet you!"
An odd name for a girl, but maybe that's just his standard.
"The feeling's mutual."
"So, you wanna bet?"
The girl, Chris, feels strange when she received a look expressing "Are you stupid?" from Kazuma. She couldn't help but feel wronged.
"Hey, you choose an Adventurer class, right? So I am sure you're in dire need of skills! Look, I have plenty of thief skills in my arsenal, what do you think?"
Kazuma doesn't immediately answer her. He stared at her suspiciously. Can't blame him though, after all, when you met a stranger and were invited to bet immediately while being introduced to some benefits couldn't be a good thing.
"Kazuma, Kazuma, this is too suspicious, I think you should get away from her."
His companion seems to have the same thought, and narrowed her large eyes at Chris with her bulging cheeks, full of fried giant frogs meat.
Bearing gazes full of suspicion, Chris couldn't help but feel wronged again, "H-Hey! I'm not tricking you!"
"That's what they would say."
Megumin retorted, narrowing her large eyes even further while munching on her food with her bulging cheeks. In Kazuma's eyes, she looks like a little squirrel.
It seems like it was the last straw for the thief girl, whose expression darkened, "Just, please! Listen to me!"
"Cool down young lass. Here's your drink."
As if cooling down the heated conversation, a middle-aged waitress smiled kindly as she placed two drinks on the bar table in front of Kazuma and Chris. Chris smiled in thankful, immediately gulping down the beer in one shot.
As the waitress went out to serve other customers, Kazuma showed a peculiar look when he noticed the empty mug Chris drank from.
'What a feisty girl.'
"Anyway, you guys are too vigilant, it's not like I would ask you to do something that harms you."
"Hmph, that's what they would say-"
"And you! You're too suspicious of me!"
Chris accusingly pointed her index finger to Megumin, who furiously munched on her food. The victim snorted, ignoring Chris with ease while enjoying her food.
While these two enjoyed their bickering, Kazuma puts his focus on his Adventurer Card instead. There seems to be a change lately, which puts a bewildering expression on his face.
Kazuma Satou/Lvl 32/Adventurer [Evolve]
STR: 37/INT: 119/AGI: 35/STA: 39/ LUK: 40/HOL: S̶̡̞̙̙̠͗̽̕Ḭ̶͓̄N̴͔̑̀́̾N̴͚̯͇̝̈̋̈́͜͠Ë̷͚̰̂̉Ř̶̤̗̳̋ ̸̤͆̓ͅD̵͎̈̀Ö̶͔̫̞̩̼́̒̆͘Ẹ̵̥͇̾͂Ś̶̼̜N̴̨̛͗'̶̙͓̅͜T̸̢̛͉̭̱̭̓̀͆̇ ̸̫̬̰̍D̶̻͈̕Ĕ̸̫̮͉͓̠Ś̴Ẻ̶͈͗͆R̸̗͉͐͜V̸̮̦̤̙̭̊͆Ę̶̠͖̟̮̇̽̍ ̷͈͉͛͂H̸̼̬̤̥̊Ȍ̵̺͖̿̚͝Ḷ̴̤̣̣̈́̀̓͠Ȳ̸̤͙̜̮̀ ̴̡̳̝̆͋͋S̸͉͇̤̏̅Ą̷͖̞̼̘̉L̷̡͖͇̀V̵̥̞͇̉͊̈́̋̚ͅͅĄ̶̫̮̮͐́͠T̸̑͑̿͌̓͜Ĭ̶̧̛̘̟̂́̄Ò̶̘̭̖͑̚̕N̴̡̲͙̩̔̐̓!̸̨̧̨̣̽̀͘!̴̲̬̺̞͇̆̃̔̌́!̸̧͔̖͒̉!̴̮̉͌͑́/
SP: 26
Skills:
• Dash
• Sword
• #̴̛̻̹̮͈͊̐͆̔̒̂̌͐(̴̛̱̣̗̪̖̙͋̒̐̈͂́͗͜͠͠ͅ£̶̴̸̧̜̘̳͎̜̼̞̫̦̻̥̫͍̱̇̌͒͐̈́̆͑͐̊̅͑͑͠͝͝!̸͓̞͇͇̿̉̕'̴̨̹͊̃ḑ̴̢͔̱̦̦̳͕̺̍̽̌͠j̶̨̧͇̦̣̲͇̲̟͗͐̄̑̄̆̀̽͘ (???)
Another variable appeared within his card, similar to the description of his Holy Magic. But it was far worse, as he couldn't even read a single letter.
Kazuma press his index finger against the indecipherable, golden word that stood out from the rest of the skills to prob if it contains any information. And surprisingly, it was the same as any other skill, as it contains information.
A panel overlayed the skill section, showing him detailed information about the said skill.
[#̴̛̻̹̮͈͊̐͆̔̒̂̌͐(̴̛̱̣̗̪̖̙͋̒̐̈͂́͗͜͠͠ͅ£̶̴̸̧̜̘̳͎̜̼̞̫̦̻̥̫͍̱̇̌͒͐̈́̆͑͐̊̅͑͑͠͝͝!̸͓̞͇͇̿̉̕'̴̨̹͊̃ḑ̴̢͔̱̦̦̳͕̺̍̽̌͠j̶̨̧͇̦̣̲͇̲̟͗͐̄̑̄̆̀̽͘ (???)]
Billions of years ago, an outbreak deep within the deepest of Hell transpired, initiated by the pioneers of Demons. The Divines who have been slumbering for insurmountable years were forced to take action against it.
After the order-shattering event has been solved, these Sinful Pioneers were shackled by the indestructible chains made out of metal left by the faraway Creators. Forever be left within the Infinite Abyss.
Scroll
———
—
Seeing the familiar template of a video game, Kazuma raised an eyebrow. Nonetheless, he followed the instruction with curiosity.
—
———
Scroll
Now, the later Divines have bestowed a shackled sin upon a Sinner. A Sinner who's capable of breaking either the mortal or the immortal limits, creating changes in the foreseeable future.
[Upgrade Cost › 7 SP]
[Effect › Increase in STR, AGI and STA by 3 times]
[Requirement › Harbouring greed, possessiveness and covetousness]
[Effect II › Increase in STR, AGI and STA by x times]
[Requirement › Awaken the Sin of Greed]
[Cost › Incapable in controlling one's actions and thoughts]
"Nothing's ever absolute..."
'Holy... This deep?'
Kazuma thought dumbfoundedly, stupidly staring at this piece of information. Never would've he thought that this new skill possessed such a deep history as its description. It was clear that using this as a basis that the skill was related to the sin.
But that aside, he couldn't help but gape. What an overpowered skill! To increase his overall physical stats using times! And it was three times, nonetheless.
And don't even talk about the second effect. Though Kazuma suspects it was associated with what he experienced when he obliterated the High-ranked Troll. Perhaps the stats increasement depending on how severe the 'possession' state was.
'What am I even talking about?'
Anyhow, this couldn't be called as a curse, but a blessing. That's it, until the cost was included.
In the end, Kazuma could only sigh regretfully. As a rational person, he knew it would be absolute havoc once he activated this skill, whether it was intentional or not. What shocked him is the upgrade option though.
'It could be upgraded even when it was this overpowered?!'
Urged by his intense curiosity and unrestrained by his skill points amount, he upgrade the skill with nothing to lose.
Kazuma Satou/Lvl 32/Adventurer [Evolve]
STR: 37/INT: 119/AGI: 35/STA: 39/ LUK: 40/HOL: S̶̡̞̙̙̠͗̽̕Ḭ̶͓̄N̴͔̑̀́̾N̴͚̯͇̝̈̋̈́͜͠Ë̷͚̰̂̉Ř̶̤̗̳̋ ̸̤͆̓ͅD̵͎̈̀Ö̶͔̫̞̩̼́̒̆͘Ẹ̵̥͇̾͂Ś̶̼̜N̴̨̛͗'̶̙͓̅͜T̸̢̛͉̭̱̭̓̀͆̇ ̸̫̬̰̍D̶̻͈̕Ĕ̸̫̮͉͓̠Ś̴Ẻ̶͈͗͆R̸̗͉͐͜V̸̮̦̤̙̭̊͆Ę̶̠͖̟̮̇̽̍ ̷͈͉͛͂H̸̼̬̤̥̊Ȍ̵̺͖̿̚͝Ḷ̴̤̣̣̈́̀̓͠Ȳ̸̤͙̜̮̀ ̴̡̳̝̆͋͋S̸͉͇̤̏̅Ą̷͖̞̼̘̉L̷̡͖͇̀V̵̥̞͇̉͊̈́̋̚ͅͅĄ̶̫̮̮͐́͠T̸̑͑̿͌̓͜Ĭ̶̧̛̘̟̂́̄Ò̶̘̭̖͑̚̕N̴̡̲͙̩̔̐̓!̸̨̧̨̣̽̀͘!̴̲̬̺̞͇̆̃̔̌́!̸̧͔̖͒̉!̴̮̉͌͑́/
SP: 19
...
[Harbourer £̶̴̸̧̜̘̳͎̜̼̞̫̦̻̥̫͍̱̇̌͒͐̈́̆͑͐̊̅͑͑͠͝͝!̸͓̞͇͇̿̉̕'̴̨̹͊̃ḑ̴̢͔̱̦̦̳͕̺̍̽̌͠j̶̨̧͇̦̣̲͇̲̟͗͐̄̑̄̆̀̽͘ (Beginner)]
...
His eyebrows twitched.
The only thing that has changed is the proficiency and the title, with the 70 increasement in skill points needed to upgrade.
In short, he needs over 77 skill points to upgrade it again.
[Upgrade Cost › 77 SP]
What a ridiculous amount...
What a pointless upgrade!
Simply a waste of skill points!
Well, at least the cost was somehow... mitigated, even though it seemed that it wasn't...
[Cost › Slightly incapable of controlling one's thoughts and actions]
Though after further speculation, his eyes brightened up. Perhaps the upgrade was to increase his proficiency in controlling himself when he was affected by the skill!
On second thought, this upgrade is huge!
Just what he needs this whole time!
Kazuma felt satisfied, intending to take a sip of his Sky-bringer Light-blue Beer, but was confused when he didn't grab anything. He looked around to clarify but it wasn't what he expected either.
Kazuma's mouth twitched.
His mug was snatched by this Demon Variant, who leisurely sip it as if it was her own.
Chris, who was arguing earlier, couldn't help but be flustered, witnessing such an 'affectionate' gesture between the two of them, "Y-You two..."
"So anyhow, now that you calmed down and no longer look suspicious, can you explain in detail what sort of deal you wanted to make with me?"
Kazuma interjected, intending to forget the previous accident. Thankfully, Chris wasn't clueless, so she understood his means and went along with it.
Although Kazuma and Megumin showed suspicion towards Chris, they both knew that she was not really a bad person. Kazuma's horrible experience in being a part of a crippling society and Megumin's horrendous adventures as a Lone Adventurer were enough for them to know which person was worth their trust and attention and which doesn't.
At least at the current moment, it doesn't seem that Chris had any bad intentions.
"Alright, I'll go straight to the point. I want to bet with you. If I lose, I'll give you some understanding towards my skills so that you could learn them. If I win, I... wanted you to take in a friend of mine."
"Hey, you think we're some nannies?"
There goes Megumin again, who was drinking through Kazuma's mug. Chris's expression was darkened again, but she continued, "This friend of mine is a formidable Adventurer who had Crusader rank, equivalent to Arch classes. But because of her background, it was quite difficult for her to join any parties."
Hearing her explanation, Kazuma's eyes narrowed while Megumin showed an unpleasant look. She naturally knew what sort of identity this Crusader held, 'The probability of her being a Noble's Descendant in Training is off the chart!'
And for Megumin, Nobles spell for trouble!
"Hmph, we refu-"
"What rank of the background this Crusader held, if you don't mind me asking?"
As soon as Kazuma asked the question, Megumin immediately caught up. She couldn't help but mentally slapped her forehead. How could she forget! At the same time, it makes her confused.
Usually, she wasn't the one who recklessly make decisions. As the number one of her generation, throughout thinking is not something she would skip. Yet...
"Hoho, you're curious?"
Chris's blue eyes gleamed. She knew that they already identified this person she talked about, with her obvious hint of mentioning the person's background.
"That's a secret, my friend."
Kazuma stared at the mischievous-looking Chris, not amused in the slightest, "So, how do you wanna do this bet?"
Chris, as if already planning things beforehand, smiled indignantly, "Simple. I will give you the skill to seal our deal and all you have to do is steal something valuable from me. If you can, you win."
"Steal? Does your skill has any lining towards it?"
"Indeed. The name of the skill itself is Steal, so obviously, yes."
Nodding in understanding, Kazuma went to discuss the skill Chris wanted to give him.
Initially, it was a useless skill if used by a person with a normal number of LUK, but Chris stated that she possessed an exceptional amount of LUK, increasing its efficiency to an unimaginable degree.
Such a skill is too dependent on LUK. On the surface, Kazuma showed an annoyed look, which Chris seemed to catch and salted his wound by giving him a mocking grin.
'Let's see if you can bear the usage of Steal based on my 40 points of LUK.'
In addition to its cheap requirement to learn, which was 1 SP, Kazuma has no objection to learning it.
[Steal]
A thief-classified skill used to steal a valuable item. Value is based on the density of mana of said valuables.
[Upgrade Cost › 2 SP]
[Requirement › Possessing above 30 LUK, if not, no valuables could be stolen]
[Effect › The higher the user's LUK, the more valuable the item will be. Possessing below 30 LUK would automatically deactivate the skill]
[Cost › 3% Mental Capacity]
The requirement makes this skill basically useless if one does not possess 30 LUK points, so it was rare for someone to utilize it.
As for Mental Capacity, Chris explained that it was something based on the soul. Everyone had 100% Mental Capacity. So, in theory, Kazuma could utilize this skill over 33 times.
It was rare for a skill to cost Mental Capacity. Usually, a skill only demands Magic Power, which was based on INT.
Unknowingly, Kazuma tried to upgrade it, and he was not disappointed.
[Steal (Beginner)]
A thief-classified skill used to steal a valuable item. Value is based on the density of mana of said valuables.
[Upgrade Cost › 4 SP]
[Requirement › Possessing above 30 LUK, if not, no valuables could be stolen]
[Effect › The higher the user's LUK, the more valuable the item will be. Possessing below 30 LUK would automatically deactivate the skill]
[Cost › 2,5% Mental Capacity]
It seems like every upgrade would increase the SP requirement by 2 times.
Upgrading it decreases the cost by 0,5%. Now, he could theoretically use it 40 times!
Kazuma was tempted to upgrade it again, but another curiosity peaked, wanting to probe the information of his two previous skills, Dash and Sword. But currently, he had to focus on the bet, so he could only postpone it.
After the discussion, they went out of the Guild and use a vacant road at the back of the Guild. Megumin wanted to be the witness but Kazuma reminded her of Aqua. In the end, she dejectedly eats her fried giant frogs, looking over Aqua who was immersed in her newly-learned sewing skills the whole time.
Unknowingly for both of them, Chris flashed a strange look when she glanced at Aqua.
Arriving on the vacant road, they stood opposite each other. Slowly but surely went to their respective positions.
Kazuma and Chris looked at each other solemnly.
"You have three chances, Kazuma."
Kazuma merely nodded. Taking a deep breath, he let it out and slowly brought his right arm forth, strongly blooming his palm towards Chris. Then, a shocking transparent light manifests itself within the palm.
Skill truly works wonders. Every time he learnt a new one, he would magically receive the way to utilize and activate them. Truly, a magical phenomenon.
'Steal.'
Like a sudden force, having undeniable similarities to a vacuum, Kazuma felt like the light pulled something. Then, a small, rough feeling touched upon the skin of his palm.
Kazuma's expression changed.
'A... pebble?'
"Wait..."
Upon noticing an evil smirk that adorned Chris's face, he came to a realization.
"I cannot believe you've done this."
"Hahah! Kazuma, oh, Kazuma, you're too amateur to bet with me!"
Chris evilly revealed the numerous pouches hidden within her jeans. One of the pouches falls, revealing countless small pebbles within them.
Her opponent couldn't help but twitched his eyebrows, "You're this prepared?"
At the same time, a scheme was already formed within his head. Though it was stated that Steal stole something from the target, he had a suspicion that it only stole the things that touched upon the target's body.
Those pouches were loosely tied. Noticing this, Kazuma mentally grinned.
"Hengh! Now, what are you gonna do, huh?"
The silver-haired thief smugly smirked, bringing her chin up as if victory was already in her grasp. No matter who, it must be irritating to see that their opponent was already feeling victorious when the match was still going.
Thankfully, she looks good. If not, perhaps the annoyance would grow exponentially.
Distracted by the feeling of being victorious, Chris didn't notice an ambiguous smile on Kazuma's face.
"Alright, just use the rest of the chances and get this over with- Kya!"
Amid her arrogant words, Kazuma seamlessly utilizes Dash.
Before he killed the High-ranked Troll, it was already so fast. But with his current stats, it already overwhelmed the speed of the past.
Too fast!
In a second, Kazuma arrived before Chris, the shockwave of the wind created by the resistance of the wind hits her, forcing her to take a few steps back. Amid her shocked state, she didn't realize that Kazuma's hands pulled the string that tied her pouches, making them fall to the ground.
The sound of the numerous pebbles hitting the ground awakens her, and when she saw the grin in front of her, her eyes twitched.
This guy-!
'How could he be so fast?!'
"Ah, I apologize, I did not expect that my legs would be so restless, initiating a skill on their own."
Seeing that the grin widened, Chris grits her teeth, "Only three years old would believe that!"
'Steal.'
For such a tricky person, Kazuma decided to not show any consideration. Not like it would cause a devastating effect in anyway-
Suddenly, a soft, pleasant feeling assaulted his palm. What accompanied with it is an amazing smell, making his heart skip a beat.
No doubt, what he got is a priceless item.
He did not notice the drastic change on Chris's face, which slowly turned red. The latter stretched out her hand to prevent what would happen but alas, she was too late.
Kazuma opened his palm, and his grin turned into a burst of full-blown laughter.
"A priceless item, indeed!"
"NOOOO! Give it back!"
The uncomfortable feeling of having her measly jeans as the only protection is too unbearable for Chris. Unfortunately, no matter how high she jumped to snatch the 'priceless item' back, she was no match for Kazuma in terms of height.
In the end, she was forced to yield.
An2: damn, i did not expect myself to complete this chapter so fast. heh, lucky you!