I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-164

Ch-164

—

The classes possessed by sinners all have their originals.

For example, that Sword Saint class is merely an imitation of Riley.

But the owner of this high-level Guardian Wall—he was certain that this one had inherited a class of an entirely different lineage than that Sword Saint.

Perhaps this might even be the very holder of the “class” he had been yearning to find.

Which meant—

“Should I wait?”

If he wanted to break it by force, it wasn’t impossible.

But there was no need to smash it forcefully.

In just a dozen seconds, the Guardian Wall would shatter on its own anyway.

All he had to do was wait, and then face the owner of that Guardian Wall.

It was then.

Tzzhk! Tzzhzhk!

Union’s expression hardened.

It looked like he wouldn’t be able to wait until the Guardian Wall’s duration ended.

With the invasion beginning, the sounds of collapse were erupting across the world.

And amidst that noise, the voice of the Balance Guardian was heard as well.

*Tsk. I raise my level a little and he notices like a ghost.*

Once he restored his strength using stored experience points, the Balance Guardian stirred.

The backlash of crossing dimensions had not yet faded.

*Wait for me.*

It seemed he would have to meet the owner of that Guardian Wall next time.

Yet a deep smile spread across Union’s lips.

Because now he knew exactly where the most delicious fruit was.

Which meant he could pluck that fruit and eat it whenever he desired!

“Inventory—Book of Infinite Teleportation.”

Ziiiiing!

Union leisurely stepped into the portal that opened.

*

*

A brief clash.

Gracia felt his heart pounding wildly.

“Insane…!”

He had never seen such a monster even in Pangaenia.

Someone who summoned meteors like a madman.

Someone who shattered his Heavenly Sword and easily blocked even his secret technique.

Using scissors and a shield he had never seen before.

As if he could summon whatever item he needed at any moment.

More than the man’s own strength, the strength of those summoned items was absurd.

Was that really a demon?

Calling him a player would be far more fitting.

“…I can feel it. Somewhere in this place is my lost ‘youth.’”

Gracia’s impatience grew.

*

*

When I opened my eyes, I was home.

Eunpyeong-gu.

My room—familiar, and unlike before, neatly organized.

After secretly summoning Hydragon to stir up chaos and forcing Hudson to log out, I finally managed to return to Earth.

I immediately used Golden Scale to head outside, but aside from the crowd of people everywhere, there wasn’t a single enemy in sight.

*The second invasion is definitely different from the first.*

I stopped the Undead King Ahram before he invaded.

But the second invasion was different.

They prepared their incursion somewhere I couldn’t see, and even accelerated the Corruption Rate to begin the invasion.

Far more prepared, far more meticulous than Ahram.

There was only one Hell king who came to mind.

*If Issera invaded, it’s going to be a filthy battle.*

Hybrid Issera.

That bastard was definitely the one who invaded Earth.

An extremely dirty fight was looming.

*But still…*

I tilted my head.

I definitely saw a message saying the Guardian Wall was attacked, yet no enemy was anywhere in sight.

Slowly, I shifted my gaze.

*Did the enemy escape through a warp?*

Only a few traces of warp remained.

Perhaps they fled after failing to break through the Guardian Wall.

*Probably just some insignificant creature making a fuss.*

I shrugged.

The level of the one who attacked the Guardian Wall wasn’t anything to be tense about.

If I ran into him again, I’d kill him for sure.

Looking around slowly, it seemed there were thankfully no major casualties.

Then, suddenly, I spotted a man floating in the distant sky.

*Gracia?*

…Why the hell is *that guy* in Korea again?

Hero Alliance Commander Park Tae-woo stared blankly up at the sky.

The meteors falling without end.

If they were hit directly, Korea would not survive.

Even though they were intercepting as many as possible, it wasn’t enough.

Even with Gracia stepping forward, they couldn’t block every falling meteor.

*What is that?*

And just when despair was settling in—

A colossal barrier appeared, large enough to blanket the sky itself.

The moment he saw it, Park Tae-woo instinctively understood.

*It’s a Guardian Wall!*

That massive veil was the Guardian Wall almost every player possessed.

Even the part where it vanished after 30 seconds was identical.

It meant that someone had felt threatened and their Guardian Wall had automatically activated.

And that meant—

*Someone with a Guardian Wall that massive is in Korea.*

Right here, in Korea.

He wasn’t the only one who had realized it, surely.

But… who could it be?

*The maximum level of Guardian Wall is 10. The limit level granted to the first place in the Hall of Fame. You can buy higher levels at the Rights Shop but…*

It was purchasable, but the cost was enormous.

Rights Points were only earned through major achievements or main quests, and the amount wasn’t very high.

*At least level 13. Possibly higher.*

The might of the mage’s bombardment had been roughly equivalent to level 13.

A three-star Transcendent was capable of wiping out a small nation.

And yet the Guardian Wall had blocked that attack.

And not just blocked it—shielded practically all of Korea.

Park Tae-woo had never heard of anyone with a Guardian Wall that large.

“W-What was that just now, Commander?”

“Did the mage run away?”

Alliance members muttered blankly as they stared at the sky.

But Park Tae-woo’s face had gone rigid.

Players with Guardian Wall above level 10 were extremely few.

And among them, there was only one person capable of deploying a Guardian Wall of this magnitude.

The Hall of Fame Usurper.

The strongest being who had rewritten every record!

“…Phantom is in Korea.”

Phantom was here—right here in Korea.

*

*

After the Jeju Island destruction incident, I returned to Korea.

Using a life-support system to stay logged in for long periods didn’t mean much to me.

Unlike Hudson, I could stay logged in long-term even without one.

*The biggest obstacle was the second invasion.*

The second invasion was drawing near.

I couldn’t stay in England forever.

So I returned to Korea and stayed again in Eunpyeong-gu.

*The Golden Ratio Mage. What he used was an inventory.*

And now—

I hadn’t faced him directly, but I was compiling information.

About the mage who had attacked Korea with meteors.

There were people who clearly heard the mage refer to his ability as “inventory.”

*At present, no player can use Meteor.*

The problem was that Meteor was a deleted skill.

One of the skills the Goddess erased for being too dangerous.

Which meant the attacker was not a current player.

*A former player.*

…but if someone from the ancient past had been a player—

Then they might possess both Meteor and inventory.

*He’s not a demon. He’s a player—or someone who used to be one—who knows how to use skills and items.*

I stroked my chin.

Only Issera and his legion could cross the invasion warp.

But now a human who was not a demon had come through as well.

*Which means Issera permitted it.*

That obsessively thorough bastard would never let someone in without checking them.

Meaning the Golden Ratio Mage passed through the invasion warp *with Issera’s approval*.

Which meant their interests aligned.

And when interests aligned—

*The destruction of Earth.*

It meant the mage had goals that aligned with Earth’s destruction.

I nodded as I reached a conclusion.

*Someone who harbors deep resentment toward players—that’s the Golden Ratio Mage.*

He had come to Earth through Issera to judge the sinners, the players.

He might even have ties to the Reaper Cult.

No—

*The Empire and the Reaper Cult couldn’t possibly be unaware of the Golden Ratio Mage.*

It might be more than ties; they might have sent him themselves.

And if my guess was right—

“I can use this.”

– Kyakya?

Summoned suddenly, Hel poked her head out of the folds of space, tilting it.

“Hel. Can you tell where that warp leads?”

– Kyakyakya!

Using the Teleportation Book, the Golden Ratio Mage had vanished.

After leveling up thanks to the raised talent stat, Hel could now track warps as well.

Now that I knew where he was, that part was settled.

*The remaining issue is Issera.*

I looked out the window.

Korea was quiet.

But this was only the calm before the storm.

The opponent was Issera. Him staying quiet was more unsettling.

*The Second Hellfire King, Issera.*

Issera was a master of muddy, dirty warfare.

The second Hell King.

A half-dragon, half-human possessing crescent horns and a crimson human body!

An immortal monster who wouldn’t die no matter how many times you killed him—and one of the three most troublesome enemies.

Though the most troublesome of the three was actually his sister.

*To kill him, preparations are needed.*

First was the Undead King Ahram.

Second, the Hellfire King Issera.

Ahram had been sealed within Golden band. But such tricks would not work on Issera.

However—I had a secret trump card Issera didn’t know about.

“Ahram. How is it, breathing outside air after so long?”

– KRAAAAAH! YOU DAMNED—

—

When I took out the hidden strand of hair and swung it, *pop!*—the hair burst, and a mini Ahram appeared.

The shrunken Undead King, wearing Golden band on his head.

He was thrashing wildly, spewing curses of every kind.

“If you do what I ask, I’ll lift the Golden band seal.”

—Nonsenseeeeek! Kkyaaaaargh!

“Don’t you want to be freed from that pain?”

The torment inflicted by the Golden band was beyond imagination.

The more wicked thoughts Ahram harbored, the more the pain doubled, and seeing how he was still resisting, it made me wonder if he actually enjoyed the pain.

—Ggkeheheurk! F-Fine, let’s hear it…!

“What is the weakness Issera has currently set?”

Issera could assign himself a weakness at fixed intervals.

And the only ones who knew that weakness were the Hell Lords and the Demon Kings.

Considering the enormous sacrifices made in the past just to uncover that weakness, knowing it in advance was unquestionably the wiser path.

—You thought I’d just tell you thaaat?!! Kkyaaaagh! Stop that!

“Do you not trust me? I said I’d release you.”

—R-Really?

“I’ll swear everything I have on it. I’ll release the Golden band.”

—Why should I trust anythiiing you saaaay?! It hurts! It hurts!!

Ahram calmed down again.

Just how much must it hurt for a Hell King to spit out that it “hurts” without hesitation?

Or perhaps his mind had simply broken from the prolonged agony.

Either way, unlike before, Ahram was being obedient in his own way.

—It’s… it’s self-destruction!

“Self-destruction?”

—I can’t say any more than that!

Self-destruction.

A suicidal charge to explode oneself.

As expected, Issera had set another troublesome weakness this time.

Ahram cried out.

—Now release it, as you promiiiised!

“Very well.”

Sssshhh—pop!

—You con artist basta—…!!

The Golden band returned to its hair form and sealed him again.

Ahram noticed what had happened and unleashed a stream of curses, but that was none of my concern.

Tsk. Foolish thing.

Who in the world keeps a promise made to a Hell King?

*“Self-destruction,” huh.*

In any case, to attack Issera, I would need living beings to throw in like bombs.

And fortunately, I had just the right candidates.

I lowered my head and looked down at the shadows.

Within the shadows were countless “eyes” visible only to me.

…They were the Bloodspawn.

For sacrificing-type skills were nothing less than self-destruction skills.

【Bloodspawn Population: 512】

However, due to the large-scale skill I had used earlier, their numbers had been reduced by half.

*I suppose I’ll need to increase their numbers.*

To attack Issera, it seemed necessary to expand the Bloodspawn population.

But to tame more Bloodspawn, I would first have to climb the Tower of the Rift.

 

 

 

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