I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-176

Ch-176 **What the Omen King Left Behind**

—

Message windows continued to rise without end.

I read them again and again, without missing a single character.

But even as I read, inwardly I couldn’t help tilting my head.

Every single sentence displayed was something that defied common sense.

*‘A star is supposed to scatter when its owner dies. But the Star of the Sun was immediately retrieved. … Is it because it’s a Named Star? Or because it belonged to Wilhelm?’*

It started from the very first sentence.

A message saying the Star of the Sun had been retrieved.

Meaning it had been taken back.

If so, the latter possibility was much higher.

It meant that if you killed someone who possessed Wilhelm’s star, you could “retrieve” it that very instant.

… No, perhaps it wasn’t limited to Wilhelm alone.

*‘All the characters I transcended through gameplay. Could their stars also be retrieved?’*

Rubbing my chin, I recalled the characters I had personally transcended.

*‘PollockConan, Man-Catching Fisherman, Descent of Thunder…’*

But *PollockConan* was dead, and the *Man-Catching Fisherman*’s whereabouts were unknown.

And *Descent of Thunder* was currently with the Reaper Cult.

If I could retrieve the stars of all those characters?

It was definitely worth considering.

*‘Wilhelm’s memories. The Heaven-and-Earth Genesis Swordsmanship has grown stronger.’*

And as Wilhelm’s memories were reinforced, my swordsmanship was affected as well.

Reading consciousness felt far more natural.

I could sense the thoughts of Auril and Karas beside me with much greater clarity.

Even though I hadn’t drawn my sword, it came naturally.

Especially Karas’ consciousness—half-divine as he was—had always been difficult to read, yet now it no longer was.

More than anything, it felt like I had finally grasped a loose thread in that final “wall.”

*‘…A Remnant of the Past, huh.’*

Remnant of the Past—an extra effect bestowed by the Named Star “Star of the Sun.”

Because of it, I could use two unique skills: Heavenly Dragon Kick from *Legend of the Celestial Dragon*, and Sword-Body Unification from *PollockConan*.

Likewise, if I were to find the body of a character I had raised—or if I made that character into a corpse—I could steal their unique skills.

*‘A horrifying ability.’*

I had raised hundreds of characters.

Was I supposed to hunt them all down?

But looked at another way, this was extremely useful against characters who were hostile to me.

In cases like Isabella or Isaac, who had transcended and regained their memories.

Surely, at some point, there would be a character who discovered my identity and came after me.

And if Remnant of the Past activated just by finding their corpses, then…

*‘It’s worth looking into.’*

Several places immediately came to mind.

Characters with excellent unique skills who had died unlucky deaths.

If I searched for their corpses and collected and combined their unique skills, it might produce a surprisingly good result.

*‘…But why Greed, not Gluttony?’*

The last revelation.

The most important, yet the most incomprehensible evolution of a Hidden Trait.

The Glutton evolved—and became Greed.

But if a Hidden Trait focused on devouring evolved, shouldn’t it naturally become Gluttony?

And the only thing that changed upon evolution wasn’t just the name.

**《The One Who Kindles Darkness has acquired the Trait of Greed.》**

It said I had acquired the Trait of Greed.

There was no other explanation.

It meant I was supposed to figure it out by clashing with the world and experiencing it firsthand.

Well, expecting detailed explanations in Pangaenia was a luxury to begin with.

“…The Omen Clan, Wilhelm, the Devil of Greed who devoured Jealousy. What else is there?”

At that moment, Karas asked from beside me.

Having regained his wings, Karas had returned to a complete demi-divine state.

Yet even restored, he seemed half-certain, half-uncertain about my identity.

Come to think of it… yes, I *had* devoured the Demon of Obsession as the Glutton.

“The Devil of Greed?”

“Don’t play dumb. What sleeps inside you is undoubtedly the Devil of Greed.”

Hidden Trait: Greed.

Karas was calling it “the Devil of Greed.”

And he did so with a distinctly hostile air.

Until now he had covered for me because I was from the Omen Clan, but if I were the Devil of Greed, it seemed the situation changed entirely.

*‘Some Hidden Traits were racial traits too.’*

There were cases where they were treated as an entire race.

But this was the first time one was confirmed as a singular entity like the “Devil of Greed.”

Even if I excluded *Randolph (Eternal)*—a Hidden Trait tied to my very existence—Greed was one of the Seven Deadly Seeds.

*‘When a Hidden Trait evolves, it regains its original form.’*

Like the Heart of the Eternal Monarch, or the High Druid’s Great Nature, and now Greed.

The original identities of these Hidden Traits were the qualifications of a High Druid who governed nature, and the Devil of Greed.

This raised several questions.

What exactly did the Eternal Monarch refer to?

Perhaps the true identities of Hidden Traits were fragments of some “Great Dignity.”

The thought of what the unevolved Hidden Traits might truly be filled me with intense curiosity.

“You… what are you?”

Karas asked in an utterly earnest tone.

I had to answer carefully.

If I turned Karas into an enemy here, leaving this tower would not be easy.

I shrugged.

“For now, I am Randolph. And at the same time, Wilhelm, one of the Omen Clan—and the Devil of Greed.”

Just as it was.

There was no point lying; Karas would see through it anyway.

It was better to state things plainly.

Of course, there was no need to mention that I had devoured Baal, or that I possessed other Hidden Traits.

Karas’ expression shifted subtly.

“…You don’t deny it.”

“Even if I did, it would change nothing.”

“What is it you plan to do?”

“I intend to complete what I could not.”

“You speak of the Grand Expedition?”

I nodded.

The one thing I had never managed to accomplish.

If I had any lingering attachment in Pangaenia, it was undoubtedly the Grand Expedition.

“…Very well. I shall believe those words.”

At last, Karas turned his back and spoke.

“Follow me. There is something I must show you.”

*

*

Auril still hadn’t recovered from the series of events.

A sword that had annihilated a demon in an instant.

And then the mention of the “Devil of Greed.”

*‘Lord Randolph is the Devil of Greed?’*

If what she had heard was true, this was a major incident.

Most of the Seven Devils had disappeared or gone into hiding.

But after “Ruin” appeared and countless gods perished or barely clung to existence, the devils began to rampage.

It worsened much more after the two goddesses died.

They seduced humans to plant Demon Hearts, spread plagues, waged wars—their atrocities had long since crossed any acceptable boundary.

*‘The Devil of Greed…!’*

And Randolph himself had admitted it.

That he was the Devil of Greed.

Greed—the most feared among the Seven Sins, vanished in ancient times!

*‘Lord Randolph is a High Druid as well. How can the dignity of a High Druid and the Devil of Greed coexist?’*

She couldn’t understand it at all.

Karas seemed unaware, but Randolph was also a High Druid.

How could a High Druid, guardian of nature, be Greed?

Two utterly opposing beings could not coexist in one body.

*‘And… Wilhelm?’*

Not only that.

Wilhelm!

Even the elves of the Ancient Forest knew the name.

Auril had only known Randolph as “Wilhelm’s successor.”

Everyone in the Marquis Weiser household had called him that.

But for him to be *Wilhelm himself*?

—*A human named Wilhelm is setting out to conquer the Demon Realm?*

—*He must be mad. He’s doomed to fail.*

At first, when elves heard the rumor, they laughed at Wilhelm.

But that was before they knew who Wilhelm truly was.

The uproar ended with a single word from the Queen.

—*Wilhelm is one the World Tree has taken interest in.*

Someone watched closely by the World Tree.

Which meant the Queen was watching him as well.

A person under the Eye of the World Tree could hardly be an ordinary human.

In the end, even though he failed, the Queen called it “a half-success.”

*‘If everything I heard is true…’*

Then Randolph was Wilhelm, a High Druid, one of the Omen Clan, and the Devil of Greed.

Was that even possible?

Short of being a god, it was impossible.

*‘Then… is Lord Randolph a god?’*

Her mind was spinning so hard she felt faint.

“Can you read this?”

Karas brought them before a massive stone monument.

But the writing on the monument was something even Auril had never seen.

Randolph shook his head.

“I cannot read it.”

“…The inscription is written in the script that only the Omen Clan can read.”

Karas’ expression stiffened slightly.

He had believed without a doubt that Randolph was of the Omen Clan.

Yet he couldn’t read a script that every member of the Omen Clan could read?

Even without learning it, they were supposed to read it instinctively.

If he couldn’t read it, that meant Randolph was **not** of the Omen Clan.

“Is that so?”

But Randolph only shrugged.

And then—

“Then, let’s try reading it again.”

Ssshhhh—

Randolph’s body began to change.

Into a pitch-black, shadow-like form.

Seeing that, both Auril and Karas faltered for a moment.

“Ah…!”

“…”

Auril stiffened in terror.

Karas also wore the expression of someone who had just witnessed something he should never have seen.

It was an utterly horrifying shape—because it appeared in the form each considered most dreadful.

Ignoring them, Randolph continued reading the inscription on the stone.

“…So this must be one of the stone monuments left behind by the Omen King.”

“…!!”

Karas’ eyes went round.

This stone was something like the last will left by the Omen King.

Could that terrifying form truly be the Omen Clan?

If so, then that wasn’t an ordinary Omen tribesman.

Among the Omen Clan, it was the one considered the most horrifying.

The legitimate successor of the Omen King, and the one who had effectively ruled the clan.

A being that wielded the Black Sun—death itself!

So terrifying that even divine beings were said to have avoided it.

*‘Could it be… the Dreadful Harbinger…?’*

Ha.

The Demon of Greed, and now even the Dreadful Harbinger?

Unable to help himself, Karas let out a hollow laugh.

*

*

 

It was a curious thing.

Once I transformed into the One Who Kindles Darkness, the letters on the stone became readable.

Perhaps they were letters only a specific race could read.

*‘Is this something like the Omen King’s journal?’*

There wasn’t much to the content.

It was formatted like a journal the Omen King left behind solely to praise himself.

*‘His self-awareness is something else.’*

“I am the greatest”—he had taken those five words and stretched them into five hundred characters.

The self-love was so intense it was painful to read.

Once I finished reading all five hundred characters—

Fwooooosh!

Black smoke began to pour out from the stone monument.

And then—

**《You have read the “Omen King’s Will” inscribed upon the “Omen King’s Stone.”》**

**《“The One Who Kindles Darkness (Greed)” absorbs the “Omen King’s Will.”》**

Boooom!

The stone exploded, and all the black smoke was absorbed into me.

At that moment—

Bubble. Bubble. Bubble.

The smoke that had been absorbed began bubbling beneath me.

Then the bubbles rose and formed a distinct shape.

A black body, black wings, and a black beak.

—*Kaaak! Kaaaak!*

**《A member of the Omen Clan has been revived!》**

…The crow that had left home when I became the One Who Kindles Darkness had finally returned.