I Start with 13 Hidden Traits- Chapter 12

CH-12   (Golden City Arcana)

 

 

—

 

Kim Seo-yeon’s face, sitting alone in the cafe, turned red with irritation.

‘I don’t know what you’re thinking.’

It was like that from the beginning.

They were sitting across from each other, but it felt like his soul was somewhere else.

Unlike before, when he was completely focused on her, Park Hyun-myung now didn’t seem to be listening to her now.

‘I even cut my hair.’

She cut her hair from long to short. She spent two hours thinking about finding clothes that would suit her. But he didn’t even mention it.

A drastic transformation. There was no way she didn’t recognize it.

-You don’t look interested?

-Can I get up now?

He even declared that he would get up before him.

It wasn’t a simple declaration. He wasn’t even pretending to get up. He really left the seat to leave. It was an attitude you’d never seen from Park Hyun-myung before.

There was no emotion in the eyes looking at her.

It was as if she was looking at someone else.

‘It’s not like we’ve never broken up before, right?’

They had broken up more than five times in their five-year relationship. But even after they broke up, he always held on to himself.

But this time was different.

Even though she came all the way to see him in person, his attitude was incredibly cold.

This had never happened before.

‘How could he do that in front of me?’

Yeah. Let’s say I can understand what happened before.

It’s true that she said harsh things to him when we broke up.

What made me the most angry was that he turned her eyes to another woman in front of me.

-Not at all, we’re not related at all.

He denied it more strongly than anyone else in front of her.

Not at all. We’re not related at all.

He wrote down his number and took her business card. He even made a date. Like it was nothing, in front of me.

“On the topic of Park Hyeon-myeong······.”

If Kim Hana was ugly, she wouldn’t have cared at all. She would have snorted and cheered for them to do well.

However, Kim Ha-na was revered as a ‘goddess’ on YouTube.

Goddess. A righteous goddess.

It was ridiculous. Why would a woman like that great meeting Park Hyun-myung? It was clear that they would just have a cup of coffee and part ways. Park Hyun-myung, who had nothing special about him.

He doesn’t have a lot of money at home, he doesn’t have a good job, and he’s not handsome or tall.

Does he have a good body or a funny sense of humor?

Who would want to date a hikikomori who only plays games at home except when he’s working or on dates? I met him because he’s my type.

Ding!

At that moment, her phone rang.

The name saved as “Jinwoo Oppa” appeared on the screen.

Kim Seo-yeon smiled as she looked at the name.

He was a man who was 180
degrees different from Park Hyun-myung. He was the complete opposite in everything.

He wasn’t an office worker, but he had a lot of money thanks to his big business, and he was handsome and tall. He was also good-looking, humorous, and active, so there was nothing I could find fault with him.

Except for one thing.

“Hello? Jinwoo Oppa? What? Please forgive me? Don’t you have any secrets you’re hiding from me?

How can I trust you when you’re hiding the fact that you can ‘transform’? You seemed like a completely different person, so I was so scared. You’re not going to do that anymore? Hmm, I get it.

This is the end. One more time and it’s really over, over. So come pick me up. Here’s the address… “

*
*
*

“Hey, our broadcasting station’s most dignified Kim Won. You said you got into trouble again?”

“… It’s Kim Ha-Na. Please don’t call me Kim Won.”

Kim Ha-Na sighed deeply and sat down in her seat. She was exhausted from going in and out of the police station.

She had already gone once, but they had more questions to ask, so she was called again the next day during work hours.

Seo Jeong Ah, who was sitting next to Kim Ha Na, turned her chair to the side and asked.

“Who is it this time?”

“The director of a plastic surgery hospital.”

“He must have seen a lot of beauties, so why did he do something like that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, our Kim Won is a natural beauty.”

“Don’t talk to me. I feel like I’m going to die.”

It was really killing me.

The happy days she had been hired as a regular employee were short-lived.

After ‘that incident,’ the work at the broadcasting station increased tenfold.

“The manager left this to you when he went on a business trip?”

“What? Ah······.”

Kim Ha-na, who received the file folder, closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“Isn’t this person ‘Gracia’ American? Why are you giving this to me?”

It was a file containing information about a person called Gracia.

He was a superhero who split a mountain and blasted away ten monsters at the same time as soon as he appeared.

The video was quite a sight. It was enough to make you wonder if it wasn’t a real movie. The scene where he combined the flashes of thousands and tens of thousands of swords into one was particularly impressive. he killed a monster that couldn’t be killed even with guns or bombs.

Why was that person suddenly in Korea?

“He said he wanted to meet you.”

“What? Why?”

“I guess he fell in love at first sight.”

“Don’t joke around.”

“I don’t know. Anyway, that’s why it’s causing a fuss. The US is also keeping a close eye on him, so I think it’ll be more than a state guest-level ceremony.”

“······ I don’t really want to do it.”

There was no way that she, who had just been hired as a regular employee, could interview such a big shot. The most notable person in the world right now.

It was widely rumored that other Dimension Warriors respected Gracia.

The ultimate big shot suddenly came to Korea to see her.

“Then what about him? Your boyfriend.”

Seo Jeong-ah pulled her chin and pointed to the photo on Kim Ha-na’s desk.

There was a man in the photo.

To be exact, there was a man’s back.

A warrior with a muscular body. Kim Ha-na herself took the photo of the back of the man who had subdued the monster in an instant and disappeared.

Kim Ha-na opened her mouth and scolded Seo Jeong-ah.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a talisman.”

After that incident, everything went well. For Kim Ha-na, that man was truly a lucky talisman.

She didn’t know his name, where he lived, or anything else, and all that was left was that photo, but that was still good.

“But it’s no joke that you kiss it and suck on it every day?”

“No, is that how you describe wiping off the accumulated dust?”

Seo Jeong-ah snickered.

Kim Ha-na was a junior who had a sense of impact.

“I had a meeting with the entertainment reporters tonight, but?”

“I have an appointment.”

“A man?”

“Yes.”

Seo Jeong-ah shook her head as if she was genuinely disappointed.

But she was curious. The world-class Kim Ha-na, who had never accepted countless love calls, was suddenly making a dinner date with a man?

Regardless, Kim Ha-na was focused on her work.

If she didn’t want to die from being buried in work, she had to clear it out a little while she was still conscious.

*
*
*

 

“Kill the traitor!”

“Kill the wicked snake princess!”

When I opened my eyes, I saw Isabella covered in blood.

Corpses were strewn around. They were all Faisalmer soldiers.

The battle was still in full swing.

I turned my head to look behind me and the warp gate was active.

She could have gone over a long time ago, but Isabella had kept my trust.

‘The Queen’s Guard.’

A pursuit force including great warriors.

If I had been a little later, I would have gone to the underworld.

“Have you finished ‘Communication with the Stars’?”

“Yes.”

The only good thing was that the queen was nowhere to be seen.

Well, if the queen had stepped forward herself, Isabella wouldn’t have been able to hold out for long. 　It was like luck was on our side .

But you can’t rely on luck forever.

“I’ll clear the way.”

Dozens of warriors were blocking the path to the warp-gate.

Isabella was also exhausted.

【Lv.6】

The levels of the great warriors was almost 6.

If Isabella were in normal condition, it wouldn’t have been difficult to kill them, but she had already endured this for half a day.

She had protected someone and endured indefinitely.

It would be shameless to ask her to clear the way.

‘Star Scratch.’

The main skill I gained after becoming the successor of the stars.

The skill that I had never used before finally activated.

<<Burn all ‘star power.’>>

<<Duration 41 seconds>>

Countless starlight seeped into my fist. After that, as if I was wearing a claw made of starlight, a sharp blade grew on my fist.

For a moment, I felt like I had become Wolverine.

Star Scratch, as its name suggests, was an area-of-effect skill that could even scratch stars. Of course, it could be used as is, but the duration was too short.

“Kill the wicked traitors and distrustful heretic!”

“It is the will of Her Majesty the Great Queen!”

The wicked traitor was Isabella, and the distrustful heretic seemed to be me.

I swung my fists at the warriors blocking the path to the warp-gate.

At that moment.

WHACK! WHACK!

There was an explosion that made my eardrums hurt, and a pillar of fire rose up. However, the pillar of fire was not real fire, but starlight.

All the great warriors within the starlight had evaporated.

“······.”

“Go.”

I said to Isabella, who was speechless and staring at the starlight.

It was a star pillar that lasted for 41 seconds if you shot it right away.

‘Star Scratch’ burned all the star power at once, and had the effect of blocking and destroying intrusions in a wide area during the duration.

It was truly an absolute domain.

‘This is beyond my imagination.’

I was honestly surprised.

Although it was a one-time thing, a level 1 skill had this much effect.

I couldn’t even imagine how much more amazing it would be once I reached 10 and my skills evolved.

“Follow me. Those who are blessed can cross this ‘star pillar’.”

As I crossed first, Isabella swallowed and crossed the star pillar.

However, the other warriors were unable to cross the star pillar and were evaporated to their bones.

They finally gave up the chase after more than ten warriors died.

Now all that was left was to cross the warp-gate.

Isabella’s eyes began to tremble violently as she looked at the activated warp-gate.

“Isabella. If you want to go back now, I won’t stop you.”

The freedom she had long dreamed of.

She had always prayed and wished to cross the warp-gate and head to another continent.

However, when she was about to leave the desert where she had spent her entire life, her feelings of arrogance mixed.

still.

“··· No.”

“Then, it is the moment of liberation. Rejoice.”

“Yes.”

Isabella chose freedom.

With an awkward smile.

《’Warp’ has been activated.》

《Warp-gate of the ‘Starting Point’ is free.》

《 Isabella’s ‘Curse of Limits’ has been nullified by ‘Blessing of the Stars’.》

《There are 12 cities that can be warped to in the ‘Kaltzman Desert’.》

《’Arcana’ has been selected.》

《Starting warp.》

*
*
*

《You have left the ‘Kaltzman Desert’ and warped to the ‘Central Continent’.》

《Welcome to the golden city of ‘Arcana’.》

《Tip: ‘Arcana’ is a city of extreme materialism. I recommend that you do not even set foot there unless you have gold equivalent to that of a super-rich person.》

As you pass through the warp-gate, you see countless people.

You can see people wearing golden turbans and riding in carriages made of gold.

The next warp location connected to the Kaltzman Desert was the metropolis of Arcana.

‘It is one of the major cities connected to the Starting Point.’

The starting points were all connected to several cities.

This place, Arcana, was the wealthiest city among them.

‘It’s also a place that the Queen would never be able to keep up with.’

The Queen’s pursuit party would not give up. Perhaps the Queen herself could have chased Isabella and me to kill .

However, this place, Arcana, was on very bad terms with the desert city of Faisalmer. It was so bad that a war would break out if the Queen and her guards entered.

The irony was that it was connected to the warp.

“The city… is so splendid.”

Isabella looked around in amazement. She was overwhelmed by the tall buildings and the surrounding architecture.

It was a natural reaction since it was her first time visiting a city outside of the desert.

“Arcana is a place where gold is everything.”

“If it’s gold, I brought some.”

Isabella took out a leather pouch.

Judging by the weight, it was about 300 gold.

It was gold she had saved up in preparation for crossing to the Central Continent.

“With 300 gold, we can eat and sleep for one night.”

Of course, this was a lot of money for a beginner, but here in Arcana, it was an amount that could not even be put into words.

Isabella opened her mouth with a look of disbelief.

“T-That can’t be true. In the desert, you can buy ten slaves for 300 gold······.”

That was because the Kaltzman Desert was the starting point.

In the desert, bartering was the main activity. The only slaves that could be bought with gold were hunting slaves.

“Look over there.”

I reached out and pointed to the sign in front of the bakery.

“Bread… is 50 gold each?”

“Because it’s made with the highest quality wheat presented to the king. That’s why they’re advertising it as cheap at 50 gold.”

“You can sell my dagger.”

A dagger with amber inlays . If you sold it, you’d get tens of thousands of gold.

Although it was admirable that she was willing to sell her beloved dagger, I shook my head.

“No need. Just give me the 300 gold.”

“… What do you mean? Are you saying you’re going to do business with this money?”

“Casino.”

… Huh?”

Blink, blink.

Isabella blinked as if she had misheard.

I said again.

“I’m going to a casino.”

“What is that…?”

Isabella looked at me in shock.

The way to make money is through gambling. How could you be crazy!

Above all, a saint who is synonymous with piety gambles?

That was exactly what she said.

But, there was a part of her that believed in him.

That was [Golden Grace].

One of the 13 Hidden Traits!

“I’m pretty lucky, so don’t worry.”

“······.”

Isabella looked at me with eyes that seemed to say she was worried to death.

 

 

---