I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-159

Ch-159

—

“…Ah.”

Auril let out a dying gasp.

Why hadn’t she seen it?

With a “desire” of that magnitude, it should have been visible from the very beginning.

*Too big…*
That was it.

It was so immeasurably enormous—so vast it seemed it could warp the world—that it had gone unseen.

Only upon facing it head-on did she realize it.

Just how absurdly huge that desire was.

But sheer size alone could not possibly be the reason elves were this horrified.

*The desire… is alive…?*

It moved.

That colossal desire.

A mass that felt like the combined cravings of hundreds, no, thousands of people.

It surged like a wave, taking on shape as though it were a living being—and it was staring at her.

Not even the Elf Queen had ever spoken of such a thing.

“Auril! Fall back! Before you’re infected by ‘desire’!”

Aruwen.

The elven elder shouted at the top of her voice.

Elves despised beings steeped in desire.

Because such desire polluted elves.

It infected them, and triggered unthinkable acts.

For example… bearing children with humans.

But the “Warrior of Laurel” could never be infected by desire.

The problem was that *man*.

“You attacked first, and now you treat me like a plague.”

The man’s desire was nothing like that of ordinary humans.

What *was* that desire?

How intense must it be for it to be so enormous—so vivid that it took on the form of a living entity!

That man was the natural enemy of elves.

If he ever set foot into the Primordial Forest, the elves would perish that very moment.

Crack.

Auril bit down on her lip with all her strength.

Her mouth split open and blood spilled out—finally allowing her mind to clear.

“O Lord of the Laurel!”

Shrrrip!

Laurel sprouted from Auril’s entire body.

Like wings. Like a helm. Like armor.

She had become a true Warrior of Laurel.

Auril raised her sword.

It lengthened sharply, its point now aimed squarely at the man.

Swhiiiiish—!

“Tsk.”

The man clicked his tongue softly and lifted *Winter*.

At the same moment—

Kaaang!

“…?!”

With a single slash, Auril’s entire body was flung back.

It wasn’t even comparable to before—her wrist throbbed painfully.

Was he stronger than she was, even in her perfected form as a Warrior of Laurel?

Yet he didn’t even seem far above that woman called Serengeti.

Kang! Kang! Kaaaang!

She moved like lightning, but couldn’t so much as scratch him.

It was as if he read her every move.

Auril bit down on her lip again.

*The duration…!*

It was a technique akin to awakening.

Naturally, its duration was short.

After barely thirty more exchanges, Auril’s awakening faded.

*Impossible! There can’t be a human stronger than me when I’m awakened!*

She could not believe it.

She had heard it clearly.

The Queen had said there would be no humans who could match her.

But that was wrong.

Because one was now standing right before her.

“Ah…”

A human stronger than she was.

Their abilities were not drastically different.
She did not believe she was inferior in swordsmanship either.

Yet she could not touch him.

Victory was impossible.

And when her awakening collapsed, she could no longer move at all.

Tap.

The man slowly approached her.

“S-stop!”

“Auril! Don’t!”

The elves screamed.

But Auril could put up no resistance.

All she could do was accept the man’s slowly outstretched hand.

“P-please… stop…”

She barely forced the words out, begging him to halt.

But he did not.

Tap.

His hand touched her head.

In that instant—

Swaaaaaaa—!

The man’s colossal “desire” began infecting Auril.

That horrifying, sickening desire crashed over her like a tidal wave, engulfing her whole body.

*

*

I quietly placed my hand on Auril’s head.

Immediately, the elves let out shrieks like they were being torn apart.

*…My treatment is getting ridiculous.*

This was beyond being treated like a disease.

I had no idea why elves reacted like this whenever they saw me.

So, half jokingly, I had put my hand on her head.

Then—

【Randolph’s ‘Desire’ begins influencing Elf ‘Auril’.】

【Hidden Trait ‘High Druid of the Great Nature’ dominates Elf ‘Auril’s’ ‘Laurel’.】

…Hm?

When I placed my hand on the elf’s head, not only did my desire begin infecting her, but the evolved Hidden Trait—*High Druid of the Great Nature*—activated.

Elven chieftain Aruwen—

She was bewildered when a human suddenly spoke her name.

Because of that distraction, she failed to stop Auril from charging, and could only watch as the two clashed in an instant.

*That desire…*

There was another reason she could do nothing but watch.

She had seen it the moment she laid eyes on him.

The desire emanating from that man was fatal to elves.

Not merely oppositional—it was a lethal dose.

A toxic desire that infected and warped elves.

But she had never heard of desire existing at such magnitude.

*A living desire—?!*

Even a long-lived elder like her had never seen such a thing.

Pitch-black desire, alive and writhing, seemed to stare directly at her.

She couldn’t bear to meet its eyes.

*Ah.*

But there was a way to escape its influence.

Awakening.

If one received the blessing of the Laurel, even for a short moment, it was possible.

*The Warriors of Laurel are personally trained by Her Majesty the Queen.*

Elven warriors had ranks.

Among them, the Warriors of Laurel were Rank 6—an elite force personally trained by the Elf Queen.

And within that group, Auril was among the top three.

It was believed that among humans, she would have no equal.

*Sword Aura. A Rank-7 warrior…!*

But then—

A Sword Aura flared from the human’s blade.

Sword Aura was a secret technique usable only by warriors of Rank 7 or higher.

A weapon of the chosen ones, blessed by the World Tree.

Warriors of Rank 7 were called Warriors of the World Tree, and even among elves they were exceedingly rare.

Among humans?

Impossible.

How could humans, whose level cap was only 10, ever reach the stage of Sword Aura?

Especially without the blessing of a supreme being such as the World Tree.

Their only method of growing stronger was through a barbaric, nauseating act—using the corpse of the Goddess for limit-breaking.

*A gruesome, primitive method…*

Naturally, she had believed no human could reach Rank 7.

Was it because his desire was so great?

If so, then this Sword Aura was certainly not obtained through a proper method.

*If it’s merely a contest of skill, Auril could never lose.*

Auril was a hardworking genius.

Among the Warriors of Laurel, she yielded to no one in ability.

If that human man had obtained Sword Aura through twisted desire, he should struggle to face Auril.

*…*

At least, that should have been the case.

…What was that?

He received the attacks of an awakened Auril far too easily.

As though reading her every move.

Within thirty exchanges, Auril’s awakening collapsed.

That was Auril’s one flaw.

Her awakening time was extremely short even compared to other elves.

The laurel leaves had not grown.

She had not properly inherited the Laurel’s blessing—its talent.

“N-no!”

With her awakening broken, Auril again fell under the influence of desire.

Unable to move, she watched as the man reached out his hand.

And then—

Gwooooooooh!

Desire swallowed Auril whole.

“Elves!”
“Auril!”
“No!”

The elves let out deep cries of despair.

Aruwen as well.

Auril could not withstand such desire.

*Had I known this would happen, I would have brought the Warriors of the World Tree…!*

A grave mistake.

But how could she have known such a human existed?

She had left the Primordial Forest believing this force was more than enough—excessive even.

Only the Warriors of the World Tree could control such absurd desire.

Had they been here, this might have been prevented.

But then—

Something completely unexpected began unfolding before their eyes.

“Wh-what?”

“Auril’s Laurel—!”

“I-it’s growing?!”

Auril, who had been swallowed by desire, began changing rapidly.

The young leaves of the Laurel sprouted explosively across her body.

But how?

Only the World Tree and its guardian—the Queen—could cause the Laurel to grow with just a touch to the head.

And even the Queen could not trigger such rapid growth.

Moreover, Auril—

Auril belonged to the group whose Laurel growth was extremely slow.

Not even the Queen could fix that.

So how was *that man* causing it?

“The Lord of Verdant…”

Ah.

Only then did she understand.

That man was the **Lord of Verdant** who resided within the *Rustling Forest*—
the very figure they had been searching for, the one the Queen herself had commanded them to find,
the man who had climbed the “Tower of Rift.”

She had wondered by what means a human could become the Lord of Verdant.

But seeing him now, she understood.

Because he was… not a mere human.

He was an existence so far above that Verdant itself acknowledged him as its master.

*There was… a race capable of such things, wasn’t there…!*

Neither dryad, nor elf, nor human.

A race of legend.

Among those who were called the masters of all nature, only beings of the highest order could perform such miracles.

*But weren’t they a race that had already vanished?*

Yet they were known only as legend.

Said to have existed even before the continent rose into the sky, but completely wiped out by the “Great Ruin.”

“Ah…!”

Auril, too, was equally shocked.

Her laurel had never grown despite all her efforts.

She had always considered it something determined solely by talent.

She had lived half-resigned to that fate.

But now—Auril was witnessing a miracle.

Laurel leaves that had never grown her entire life were sprouting across her whole body.

More radiant and beautiful than anyone else’s.

Auril turned her head and looked at the man.

At that moment, the man slowly lifted his hand from her head.

And at once, the growing laurel leaves began to wither.

“No…”

Auril’s pupils shook wildly as she let out a trembling breath.

It was growth she had never reached in her entire life, no matter how hard she tried.

She had seen it—experienced it—yet everything was reverting to how it had been.

**Longing.**

A desire that takes precedence over any emotion.

Auril was now completely ruled by desire.

A forbidden state for elves.

For elves must always remain detached, always in harmony with nature.

Without realizing it, Auril reached out her hand.

Even in her desire-stricken state, she could not forget that sensation—
the feeling she’d held as her life’s wish, a moment she had longed for her entire existence.

It still clung to her mind, refusing to fade.

“…Auril, stop.”

But Auril’s longing never reached him.

Aruwen.

The elven elder had stepped forward, coming right up beside her.

She reached out and stopped Auril, preventing her from being consumed by desire.

Then Aruwen turned toward the man and bowed deeply.

“…I apologize. My child was discourteous.”

“E–Elder!”

“How could you bow to a human like that…!”

The elves were struck speechless with shock.

 

 

 

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