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They say when you're standing on the corpses of your enemies, you're supposed to feel something. Regret, maybe. Relief. Triumph.
Me? I mostly felt bored.
They called it an army.
I called it practice.
Screams tore through the battlefield like music. Steel clanged. Magic burst. Limbs flew. And in the middle of it all—bathed in fire, blood, and stolen power—stood one man.
Me.
"Come on," I muttered, stepping over a twitching corpse, "you're all starting to feel the same."
Another knight charged, his armor glowing with divine enchantments. He shouted something about justice.
I snatched.
One blink, and the light left his body—literally. His blessing now pulsed in my veins.
"Next."
They came in waves. Ten at a time. Fifty. A hundred. I didn't count—I absorbed.
Flames that weren't mine roared from my hands. Wind blades danced around me like hungry pets. Shadows twisted at my feet, whispering in tongues no man should speak.
They feared me.
As they should.
Because I was once nothing. A name without meaning. A weakling with broken ribs and no future. I was the guy who died crying in the dirt—betrayed, pathetic, powerless.
*"They looked through me like I was fog. Back home, I was broke, invisible, and last in the party queue.
I swore—this time, I'd steal a seat at the table if I had to."*
And now?
Now they called me a calamity
Now I was the one gods warned their children about.
But this isn't that story.
This is the story of how I got here. From weak, scrawny nobody… to the guy who whispers one stupid word and walks off with your powers.
Yeah. Let's rewind a bit.
---
When I first woke up, I was…
Cold.
Not spiritually or metaphorically. No, I mean physically cold. My back was pressed against something damp and mossy, and I was surrounded by trees tall enough to make me feel like a bug again. Not ideal.
"Ugh… this reincarnation thing better come with free lunch."
I groaned and sat up, blinking at the light filtering through the canopy. My limbs felt like wet noodles. My stomach growled. My vision was blurry.
"Okay, checklist: Alive? Barely. Memory? Still fuzzy. Powers?" I tried to summon a fireball or do a dramatic transformation pose.
Nothing happened.
"Figures."
I didn't remember dying, but I knew I wasn't in the same world anymore. The air felt different. Sharper. The trees hummed with mana. Birds flew overhead with too many wings and not enough feathers. Definitely not Earth.
And then I heard the voice.
> [Snatch System Activated… Welcome, Host.]
I froze. The voice wasn't in my ears—it was in my skull.
"Oh great. A system. That's never gone wrong in any fantasy ever."
> [Technique: SNATCH installed. Status: Incomplete. Restrictions: Undisclosed.]
"Hey, at least take me to dinner before the cryptic nonsense."
> [Mission: Survive. Unlock. Evolve.]
A blue screen popped up in front of me like a floating hologram. At the top in bold letters:
> Skill: Snatch
Description: Allows user to steal abilities through physical contact. Success rate increases with user level and target vulnerability. Failed attempts will result in a cooldown. Max attempts per target: Three.
Well, that sounded fun.
"Let me guess… catchy word trigger?"
> [Snatch Technique activation word required. Select phrase:]
Oho. Now we're talking. I grinned like a madman.
"How about... SAJIKAI!"
> [Activation phrase confirmed: SAJIKAI]
Hell yeah. Sounds like something a cool anime villain would yell before ruining your life.
Now all I had to do was test it.
---
My first day was… humbling. I tripped over a root, got chased by a squirrel with fangs, and almost drowned in a river that turned out to be sentient.
Eventually, I stumbled into a small village. Quaint. Peaceful. Full of people who looked at me like I was a lost scarecrow.
"You from the woods, stranger?" a young girl asked, chewing on some weird fruit.
"Something like that. I'm new. Just passing through. Definitely not here to steal anything."
I was lying, obviously.
I needed to test my ability.
And that's when I spotted him: a farmer lifting a boulder like it was made of pillows.
"That strength… yeah, you'll do."
I approached, waving like an idiot. "Hey, muscle man. Need a hand?"
He laughed. "You don't look like you got any strength, boy."
"Looks can be deceiving. I'm stronger than I look. Want a handshake?"
He gave me a weird look, but shrugged. "Sure."
As soon as our hands touched, I whispered: "SAJIKAI."
> [Snatch Attempt #1… Failed. Cooldown: 60 seconds]
I didn't feel a damn thing.
"Huh. Guess I need to be sneakier. Or maybe he's too strong."
He stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "You good, kid? You said something weird just now."
"Cough. Just a prayer. Totally normal."
I walked away awkwardly, already plotting my next attempt.
---
Attempt #2 happened when I tried to bump into a drunk guy who claimed he could spit fire.
Spoiler: he could.
Also spoiler: snatch failed again.
My eyebrows were gone for an hour.
It wasn't until later—way later—that I realized the first rule:
> You must make full physical contact with the target. Not just a touch—intent matters.
I didn't understand it then, but the system needed focus. Real connection. Not a half-hearted tap.
So I kept experimenting.
And that's when I made my first mistake.
---
The guy looked like a weakling. Skinny, dirty, coughing blood in an alley. I thought, Perfect. Easy snatch. Probably has some trash-tier ability I can practice on.
I walked over, knelt beside him.
"Hey, old man. Need help?"
He looked up, eyes sunken but alert. He nodded.
I took his hand.
"SAJIKAI."
> [Snatch Attempt #1… Success.]
A rush of heat surged through my arm. My brain felt like it was being rewritten. Images. Instincts. Memories that weren't mine.
> [Skill Gained: Shadow Flicker (F-Rank)]
I gasped. My fingers twitched. I could feel it—a new instinct. A step that didn't follow the rules of distance. A flicker between shadows.
"I did it… I actually did it!" I jumped back, laughing. "I'm a damn magician!"
Then the old man started screaming.
He convulsed violently. His body cracked. Blood poured from his mouth.
I froze.
> [Warning: Snatched target possessed a soul-bound ability. Removing it caused terminal backlash.]
*"I looked down at my hand still half-raised… The man's eyes were wide—like he hadn't expected to die.
Neither had I.
Not like this. Not with a whisper.
Not with 'SAJIKAI.'
'I just wanted his powers,' I muttered, almost apologetically, as if that could rewind time.
Just like that.
The body slumped. I didn't even know his name."*
I backed away slowly.
That's when the second rule popped up:
> [Caution: Some abilities are life-linked. Snatching such abilities may be fatal to the target.]
My hands trembled.
"So that's how it works… I'm not just stealing powers. I'm stealing… lives."
I looked at the corpse.
Then I looked at my hands.
And for the first time since arriving in this world…
I didn't feel like laughing.
Turns out...godhood has a body count
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