I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-21

**Transcendent Reward**

Ch-21. **Transcendent Reward**

—

Discovery.

It means to have found something unknown to the world, something that did not exist until now.

And at this moment, I had ‘discovered’ a celestial spirit.

A spirit whose name even I—a veteran five-year, stagnant-water player—had never once heard before.

Coincidentally, this spirit bore the same name as one of my hidden traits—*Celestial (天上)*.

Was it a coincidence? Or was I only able to discover it because of that hidden trait?

*That isn’t what matters.*

What mattered was that I had discovered it.

At the summit of the Tower of Chaos—toward that being of pure light, that embodiment of the unknown—I reached out my hand.

And from within that light, I pulled out something.

*A Spirit Egg.*

It was indeed a spirit’s egg.

But it was unlike any ordinary spirit egg.

The surface of a spirit egg is usually engraved with marks corresponding to the spirit within it.

A wind spirit’s egg bears scars carved by the wind; a fire spirit’s egg is marked with soot.

But the egg of a light spirit is formed of light itself.

Yet the egg holding the celestial spirit fit none of these categories.

*It was wrapped in feathers.*

It was an egg made of white and black feathers.

The ratio was perfectly half and half.

Hundreds—no, thousands—of overlapping feathers formed the egg’s shell.

I had never seen anything like it. Not only the name was unfamiliar; even the shape was entirely foreign.

I stared silently at the egg.

Then a piece of parchment containing the egg’s information floated before my eyes.

—

**【Egg Containing a Celestial Spirit (???)】**

★ An unknown egg fallen from the Celestial Realm—the end of light, darkness, and chaos.
★ Only a *Celestial Being* can perceive and hatch this egg.

—

The explanation was shorter than expected.

But even within it, I could deduce several truths.

*The Celestial Realm, in common terms, refers to the divine world.*

The divine realm: the domain where the goddess resides.

A Celestial Being refers to the heavenly race.

And the fact that I discovered this egg was proof that *I* was considered a Celestial Being.

Of course, there was no way I was truly one. This must have happened because of my hidden trait, *Celestial*.

*Then… is “Celestial” a trait related to the heavenly race?*

I stroked my jaw.

At first glance, that seemed reasonable.

But that was a simplistic mistake.

*…Even demons call their realm a Celestial Realm.*

Though we usually refer to the divine realm as the Celestial Realm, in truth, the demon realm is also called the Celestial Realm—at least, by the demons.

So based on this description alone, there was no telling whether this egg had fallen from the divine world or the demon world.

The half-white, half-black feathers only deepened the uncertainty.

*I’ll have to hatch it to know for sure.*

There was no answer for now.

But one thing was certain: it was far from an ordinary egg.

The Saints of the Hundred Thrones, the masters of towers, even the Spirit Kings themselves were watching it.

Saints always show interest when something remarkable is discovered, but the most significant attention came from the Spirit Kings.

*A spirit is powerful enough to create and sustain an entire forest.*

Spirits are the vital mediators that uphold the world.

When contracted with a human, they allow the manipulation of nature itself—and depending on the spirit’s rank, even the eradication of an entire mountain is possible.

And the kings of such spirits…

How overwhelmingly powerful must a Spirit King be?

The Saints of the Hundred Thrones, the sovereigns ruling the Abyssal Rift, the giant guardians of the goddess, the Black Emperor and White Emperor who stand at the northern and southern ends of the world… the Spirit Kings were beings who were not inferior even when compared to them.

*No one has ever contracted with a Spirit King.*

Thus, in this world of Pangaenia, not a single person had ever formed a contract with one.

The Spirit Kings are absolute neutrals, never interfering with worldly affairs.

So the fact that *all* Spirit Kings were interested in this “Celestial Egg” carried weight beyond measure.

It meant the egg held value equivalent to—or even surpassing—them.

—

**《Settlement Complete》**

A new message appeared.

The settlement for Main Quest 3 had finally been concluded.

Compared to Main Quests 1 and 2, the settlement time was significantly long.

*It wasn’t a tower you ascend simply by having a high level.*

If it were a level-regulated tower, settlement would’ve been easy, with predetermined standards for points.

But the Tower of Chaos was different.

Climbing it was a battle purely against *myself*.

*My score might end up lower than expected.*

The score for fighting “oneself” was inherently subjective. There was no objective indicator.

I had no idea how points were assigned, but it was certain that the process differed from previous main quests.

Expectations only lead to disappointment, so I let some of that expectation go.

*Just obtaining the Celestial Egg is enough.*

Calming my breath, I looked at the settlement screen.

—

<‘Main Quest 3: Climb the Tower’ has been completed.> <You have successfully become the first to ascend the Tower of Chaos.>
<Incomparable. A first achievement never before accomplished by anyone.>
<Total score: 240 points. Added to the Main Quest – ‘Hall of Fame.’>

—

It had been added to the Hall of Fame.

Which meant at least a ranked placement.

A never-before-achieved feat—with a score higher than any before it.

Main Quest 1: Survival — 220 points.
Main Quest 2: Obtaining a Class — 230 points.
And now, Main Quest 3: Climbing the Tower — a staggering 240 points.

At this rate, ranking expectations were justified.

But the rewards weren’t over.

—

<Beginner’s luck? The ‘Constellation of Fortune’ is astonished by the result. Reward tier upgraded.>

—

Three familiar constellations, and two new ones.

Five constellations in total had responded.

With the Lucky Die included, the reward tier rose by six levels, and now the system notified me:

Surpass Level 20 → receive **Transcendent Rewards**.

Meaning the rewards I had earned from climbing the Tower of Chaos were at least Level 14 or higher.

I had expected reward tiers, but it seemed far more intricately organized than I thought.

*Transcendent rewards?*

I didn’t fully understand what that meant.

Did it mean I would receive transcendent-class items?

Or that the reward grade itself ascended beyond the usual hierarchy?

But I soon understood.

—

<‘True Blade’>, <‘Dire Demon Saber’>, <‘Extreme Iron Helm’>, <‘Anihilation Gauntlets’>, <‘True Vitality Potion’>, <‘Extreme Wand’>…

—

True, Dire, Extreme, Annihilation.

Any object bearing one of these four titles had reached an absolute extreme.

Even a mundane item becomes a peerless treasure once branded with those titles.

Performance and options transform to match their worth—so valuable that even with money, you cannot obtain them. Transcendent items cannot be traded or transferred.

They respond only to one person.

Their user.

Just as a human eats a star to transcend, these four titles can only appear on transcendent items.

*…So this is what “Transcendent Reward” meant.*

I was so shocked, I almost lost my words.

If not for the Iron-Blood Monarch’s Heart, my own heart might have burst.

To earn even one of those titles normally required effort equivalent to walking around the entire Earth.

No one in their right mind would transcend ordinary equipment or tools… but this wasn’t forged through effort. It was simply *given*.

Receiving even one of them would make anyone scream jackpot—but I could pick *two*.

More than either previous main quest, excitement coursed through me.

To the point I hated the Iron-Blood Monarch’s Heart for forcibly suppressing that excitement.

*Incredible.*

I checked each item, tongue clicking unconsciously.

A flood of rewards. It was overwhelming.

—

I had stepped out of the tower and was crossing the portal when—

—*Impressive, Knight-King.*

The golden spirit who had first permitted me entry through the portal spoke.

A gatekeeper-like being guiding challengers into the Spirit Tower.

But no ordinary gatekeeper would know what transpired within the tower.

More importantly—it called me Knight-King. That was my title from when I had been Wilhelm.

I turned with confusion, but the portal closed instantly.

…Was the golden spirit not actually a mere gatekeeper?

“Ohh! You truly climbed the Spirit Tower!”

A High Dryad stood before me.

Surrounded by numerous dryads standing guard, she looked at me as though her eyes might pop out.

I inhaled and asked,

“How much time has passed?”

“Not even a full day.”

So… less than one day.

Subjectively, I had spent at least a hundred days in the Tower of Chaos.

But here? Only a single day had passed.

Ziiiiing!

Another portal opened—and Hudson and Isabella emerged.

“Huff! Huff! Ueueeegggh!”

Hudson vomited the moment he stepped out.

Who knows what hardships he endured—there wasn’t a single intact spot on his body.

His clothes were rags, and his hair had burned into wavy curls.

Bow.

Isabella gave me a brief bow.

Unlike Hudson, she looked completely unchanged—like she’d simply gone for a stroll in front of her house.

“Druid! I apologize for doubting you.”

The High Dryad spoke with full formality.

At long last, she was treating me as an honored guest.

“As promised—if you give the Spirit Egg to the forest, we shall treat you as our eternal friend. Naturally, we will give you a reward befitting such a bond.”

Ah.

…Right.

I had indeed promised to give the spirit egg to the Dryad Forest.

The problem was—I only had one egg.

Back when I climbed the Spirit Tower as Wilhelm, I obtained five.

I had assumed I’d acquire multiple again… but this time, all I’d gotten was the *Celestial Egg*.

*…Should I run?*

The High Dryad’s eyes suddenly lifted sharply.

“Druid! You aren’t planning to break your promise, are you?”

…Her intuition was terrifying.

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