From the actions of the woman who tried to sell me drugs, I could tell.
That I had unknowingly stolen her ability.
…What did I even do?
Let me recall my actions.
All I did was touch the knife she was holding.
That caused me to get cut.
Does it activate when someone injures me?
If so, does that mean my ability to steal powers requires me to be harmed by the other person?
But if that were true, then I should’ve also stolen V’s word magic ability.
I started thinking of other possibilities.
…Blood?
This time, I focused on the idea of “blood”.
Just a moment ago, I had cut myself with the same knife the woman had used to injure herself.
At that moment, the dagger she held had her blood on it.
So when I cut myself with it, her blood must have mixed with mine.
Also…
No way…
At the house of the three villains who tried to assault Pyro Bomber, I had once drunk the blood of a reflective ability user.
During the port terror attack, while killing that supernatural strength ability user, I had unintentionally ingested his blood that splattered from his corpse.
And the regeneration ability student I killed at Hero University… even while his head was being blown off, he bit my hand so hard that his blood mixed into the wound.
What about the summoning ability user…?
There was just one problem with this hypothesis.
If the condition for stealing an ability was blood, then how had I managed to steal the summoner’s power from that time at the parts factory?
Was that guy’s blood on the dagger back then too?
.
If the dagger he threw at me had his blood on it…
Then perhaps the true condition for me to steal an ability is this: the ability user’s blood has to be absorbed into my body.
“…Why isn’t it working…?!”
“Would it be alright if I asked what kind of ability it is?”
To make this hypothesis more precise, I had to confirm whether I had really stolen the drug dealer’s ability.
So I asked her what her power was.
“…Do you think I’m crazy enough to tell you that?”
“Huh?”
“What kind of idiot just gives away their ability like that?”
“Ah… Hahaha, you’re right. My bad.”
“You’d better watch yourself. That question just now…was this close to crossing the line. And I’m a little on edge right now.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Unlike the fools I had dealt with before, she was a sharp one.
However…
What could you possibly do if I threatened you with force?
I could easily rise from my seat and pressure her into revealing her power.
I had just started to stand up when—
So she could not sell me the drugs after all.
I realized I had no idea where she was hiding the drugs.
I suddenly thought, what if, by making threats for no reason, I ended up failing to get the drugs I needed for V?
“Well, maybe it’s just because your body’s tired.”
“…Abilities don’t just stop working because you’re tired.”
“I wouldn’t know about that.”
“Haah….”
“Anyway, I’d like to buy the drugs now. Like you said, I know the drugs here are clean and good, so I’ll pay 200 up front.”
“Hmm… Alright. You’re trying to buy 25, right?”
“Just give me 20. It’s good to stay on a villain’s good side, isn’t it?”
“Hm~ I like that. Got it.”
For now, I decided to become a VIP here.
“Is this club yours?”
“It’s my brother’s. I’m just helping him out.”
“If I spend a lot of money, would that help you?”
“Hmmm~ I think I’m starting to like you.”
“Looks like I’ll have to spend some money today. I’ll be using this room for the next three hours.”
“Welcome, dear guest~.”
…
I turned down the club staff’s offer to bring in a girl,
And kept ordering the most expensive drinks they had.
“You’re an odd one. Do you like men?”
“…Is that how I come across to you?”
“No, I’m just doing my best to make money.”
“I’m just a regular straight guy. I just happen to have a lot of money. Please send this 300,000 won bottle to everyone over there in the club.”
“Love it~ I’ll go right now!”
The easiest way to win someone over was with money.
Overwhelming money.
If I kept opening my wallet like this, even someone as on edge as her and whose ability had vanished would eventually warm up to me.
“””””””Wooooah!!”””””””
Hearing the cheers rising from below, I knew the drinks I’d sent around were making their rounds just fine.
Tap— tap— tap— tap— tap—
From the cash I had in my bag—about 50 million won—I took out 45 million and laid it out on the table.
Then, I waited for the woman to return.
And since she’d had some of the drinks I bought, when she came back, she was a little tipsy.
“How much… is all this?”
“45 million won.”
“Huh… 45 million?”
“And here’s a 500,000-won tip for keeping me company tonight.”
“Our VIP… you’re amazing.”
“I’ll be visiting again.”
“I’ll be waiting! Next time, let us know in advance, okay? Whether it’s girls or drugs, we’ll have whatever you need ready!”
Having laid the groundwork just right,
I casually brought up her ability again.
“Ah, I’m a little drunk, so I don’t remember clearly… What was your ability again?”
Now clearly feeling comfortable around me,
She started explaining her power willingly.
“My ability? It’s a bit complicated to explain, but… it lets me see and hear everything happening within a 15-meter radius around me.”
“So it’s not a combat-type ability?”
“I mean, you can use it in combat. Kind of like a game. Seeing through walls in third-person view.”
“Oh…”
“Thanks to that, I knew you were trying to get drugs in the bathroom, VIP.”
“So you can see through walls and floors too?”
“That’s right.”
It was an ability that let her see herself from a third-person view, like controlling a character in a game.
That seemed like it could be pretty useful in its own way.
“You said the ability doesn’t work now. Can you tell me how you used to activate it?”
“Hmm~ okay, but just telling you, VIP. Got it?”
“I’m honored.”
She even kindly taught me how to use the ability.
…
“I see. I now fully understand how to use it. Thank you.”
A woman who smiled brightly as she kindly explained how to use her ability.
Casually…
She started moving her hand toward my bag, which was sitting on the table.
“I don’t usually tell people how to use my ability like this.”
Then…
“Since I told you my weakness, I guess it’s fair if I take this as a tip~?”
She naturally began taking out stacks of cash from inside the bag.
“Don’t cross the line.”
“Huh?”
I firmly took the bag from her hands as she was rummaging through it…
“Can’t I just take this much?”
Even as she said that, holding two million won in cash, I let out a dry chuckle.
“You’re a very lucky person.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because you gave me the knowledge I needed most. That’s why I’ve decided to let you live.”
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Summon.”
“Huh?”
Wearing the villain-hunter mask I summoned,
I grabbed the chin of the woman who was still frozen with the cash in her hand and said something I’d been dying to say.
“Bring me all the drugs you’ve got. Every last bit of it.”
“Th-That… th-that’s…”
“I’ll let you pay with your life. By that, I mean I’ll let you live.”
…
“Babe?”
“I’m back…”
“Are you okay?”
“First, I need to throw up… ugh…”
As soon as I returned to the base, I rushed straight to the bathroom and clutched the toilet, throwing up all the alcohol I had consumed.
“Uugh… ha…”
It might’ve looked disgusting, the state I was in.
But Pyro Bomber followed me into the bathroom as if none of that mattered and began patting my back.
“Uurgh… ugh…”
After nearly twenty minutes of emptying everything inside me…
“Water, please…”
“Here you go.”
Gulp… gulp…
“Haah… thank you…”
I finally started to feel a bit better.
“…Why did you drink so much?”
“I never imagined it would take this long just to get my hands on a single dose of drugs…”
“You didn’t get it?”
“No… haah… I did. Although this time, unlike last time, there were only 5 kilograms available.”
“…5 kilograms of drugs is enough for one person to use for ten years.”
“Ah… is that so? I dumped 10 kilograms into that hero who tried to kill me before.”
“Then he must’ve died on the spot.”
“Nope. He’s still alive. Which just makes me want his ability even more.”
“…You’re way too drunk, babe. Let’s sleep for now.”
“Hehe… Is that so?”
Even if I tried to deny it, I could tell I was drunk.
I drank that much just to try and figure out how to use that damn third-person perspective ability…
“Come on, sleep for now. You can tell me everything tomorrow. It’s not urgent, right?”
“No, it’s… not that urgent.”
“…I just saw it now, but that blood on your clothes—it’s not yours, is it?”
“Mine…? No. The guys over there came at me, so I killed them all… Must be theirs… Ah, I’m not sure.”
“Let’s just go to bed. You’re clearly not in your right mind, our little villain hunter.”
“Hehe… Sorry. Yeah, I think I need to sleep a bit.”
With Pyro Bomber’s help, I walked into the bedroom.
Without even changing clothes, I collapsed straight onto the bed.
And then…
“Hey…”
“Mhmm, go on.”
“That club bit*h over there… she had the nerve to go through someone else’s money bag, can you believe it?”
“…What a nasty piece of work.”
“Right? Pyro Bomber, you used to mess with my money bag too, back in the day.”
“Are we getting flashbacks now?”
“Ahahaha, I guess so. But, something strange happened today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Back when you used to take money from my cash bag, I was just left speechless… like, seriously.”
“I’m sorry about that. I really am.”
“But today, when that assistant manager or whatever touched my bag, I couldn’t stop thinking about killing her… Ahaha.”
“…Huh?”
“Maybe… from the start, I’d already opened up to you a little, without even realizing it.”
“…Babe?”
“Maybe I just needed a teammate. Maybe I just needed someone to lean on…”
Rambling.
I kept blurting out whatever came to mind—
And before I knew it, I was fast asleep.
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