I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-241

Ch-241. **Rule Breaker**

—

Now I understand.

The hidden intention behind this game.

*“You take back what was stolen. That is all this game is.”*

What does it feel like when the thing most precious to you is taken away?

It would force you to taste an indescribable fury and sense of loss.

And if you were locked in a prison where you could do nothing in that state?

*“You’d go insane.”*

You would grow restless. You would break.

The thought of taking it back would only burn more desperately in your mind.

Gathering starlight and going on expeditions—those are nothing but excuses.

This game is solely about stealing other people’s precious things, and reclaiming what has been stolen from you.

And the moment you face the hidden “truth” behind that process… the “most precious thing” inevitably collapses into the “most meaningless thing.”

Isn’t that so?

Would the Heavenly Demon still be able to hold the Heavenly Demon Blade after learning the evil god’s true intention?

Would the master of the Tomb continue living once he realizes his master has died?

Raiga… would he continue inheriting the Fang legacy after learning it was they who killed everyone related to his parents?

The same goes for the other participants—including me.

The moment we face the truth, we will despair, break down, and regret the years we passed knowing nothing.

*“Even so, I must know.”*

Even if it is like throwing myself into a pit of dust—if it gives me the chance to correct something wrong, then I will do so without hesitation.

If I realize too late, there might not even be a chance left to fix it.

So what if my memories are faded, torn, and ripped to pieces?

It is still better than being left with the regret of doing nothing.

—

—

“…My body is intact.”

Pitch-black darkness.

I ran my hands over my arms, legs, neck, and face, confirming nothing was missing.

My body was fine.

My heart was beating normally.

*“Winter and the Primordial Armor are intact as well.”*

If the body is fine, the next thing to check is equipment—

My most precious possessions.

The strongest among them are, of course, *Winter (Last Twilight)* and the *Primordial Armor*.

I also have the Throne of Light, but unless I reinforce it, it falls slightly below those two.

*“Everything is still here.”*

Nothing has vanished.

Yet I definitely saw the system message stating that my “most precious thing” had been stolen.

Since I have repeatedly stolen from others, it was only natural to assume I had lost something in return.

*“Then what is missing?”*

…Strange.

Nothing is gone.

My body, my equipment, my tools—my memories—none show any sign of loss.

*“All connections are intact.”*

To be sure, I checked the “links” with Hel, Baal, and the Blade Queen Hana.

That subtle sense of their presence—once confirmed…

*“Something even more precious exists? Something I don’t know about?”*

What could it be?

Something more precious than them…

More precious than Winter, than the Primordial Armor…

More precious than my own flesh and life?

I went through every person tied to me.

Wilhelm.

His memories, his habits, even his star—I remember all of it.

Isabella, a presumed Night Wraith, who entered the Abyss with me.

Serengeti, my closest knight, who never fails my expectations.

Hudson, the workaholic who always devotes himself to me.

My swiftly growing secondary characters Isaac and Balte.

Earth’s Dragon God, and the Blade Queen Hana.

My precious trump card—my two adorable children, Issera and Lucaria, who call me *father*.

By now, I trust they have successfully completed the affairs in the Valan Kingdom.

Anyone else?

I squeezed out the remaining names.

Priest Andrew, who should now have reached the elven forest known as the End of the World.

Marquis Weiser, Serengeti’s father. And Andasar, Andrew’s child, now an Arch Lich.

The White King in northern Cramdel and his daughter Aria.

The Four Pillars—the Great Earth Dragon, Gunggi, Medusa, and the Death King captured by the Black King.

Saintess Seia.

And, of course, the most recent addition—Auril the elf.

*“My bonds are intact. I have forgotten nothing. I have lost nothing.”*

So does that mean something so commonplace, so ordinary I don’t even realize I had it, yet precious—has disappeared?

Will I understand once I leave this prison?

—

—

【You have been transferred to the ‘Star Prison’ for the first time.】

【We will now explain the basic ‘rules.’】

Numerous rules appeared.

All things I had already learned or deduced.

*“So that’s why the Heavenly Demon and the others behaved differently after entering the prison.”*

Only once you experience defeat and step into the prison do they finally tell you the truth.

It means the game expects its participants to taste defeat before they can properly engage.

But there were a few rules I had not known.

—

—

【If you succeed in a ‘Starlight Expedition’ against the one who stole your precious thing, you may either steal *their* most precious thing or retrieve what was stolen from you.】

Steal, or reclaim.

You choose one of the two.

If you want your precious thing back, then devote yourself to the game completely.

—

—

【If you are the first to defeat *every* participant in a Starlight Expedition, you may become the master of the ‘Island of God’ and the ‘Holy Star.’】

But here arises a question.

“All participants”—does that include the Lords of the Abyss and the Primordial Beings?

Or… does it also include Night Wraiths?

If it’s the latter, then things become far more dangerous.

A Night Wraith is erased from existence upon losing a Starlight Expedition.

*“The Hybrid of God’s skin…”*

I stroked my chin, thinking of the game’s host.

Master of the island, god of the hybrids.

Other participants had already confirmed that the island’s master was the Hybrid of God’s skin.

But the question remained—

*Why create such a game?*

People of Pangaenia and players are familiar with games like this.

Dungeons, towers—endless rules and gimmicks.

But this place is not.

*“Abyssal beings are not used to games like this.”*

At best, only I or Raiga would be familiar with such structures.

But Raiga wandered the Abyss for so long—only I am truly accustomed to such systems.

…Was it made for me?

*“Nonsense.”*

I shook my head.

The Hybrid of God’s skin—

It is not that I have *no* connection with it.

I’ve seen it twice.

First, during “Main Quest 4: Seal the Rift of Darkness” when it nearly appeared at the Weiser estate.

Fortunately, we cleared the quest before its summoning completed.

The second time was after I killed Baal.

When the residents of Jeju Island and players trapped in the Abyss were escaping.

When I awoke inside the “Black Egg.”

Countless abyssal “eyes” were watching me—and among them, I was sure the Hybrid was present.

“…No.”

Wait.

*“How did I know just from seeing an eye that it was the Hybrid of God’s skin?”*

I found a contradiction.

I have never truly seen the Hybrid.

Not its entire body—not once.

In Main Quest 4, it never appeared.

And during the escape, thousands—tens of thousands—of eyes were watching.

How did I identify which eye belonged to the Hybrid?

And worse—I never questioned this before.

I simply accepted it as fact.

A creature I have never seen, yet I *instinctively* know it.

As if that is normal.

As if I am *meant* to know it…

*“Who are you?”*

I stared into the darkness.

A space filled with nothing but pitch black.

This is the Star Prison.

Stars are memories.

And if this is a prison of memories, then there must be something wrong—something I can find.

I reached out.

My hand brushed a coarse surface—a barrier.

*A metal grate.*

A prison for inmates.

What cages them is not the space itself, but these iron bars.

Normally, I wouldn’t be able to tear it apart—

*“But I will not move according to your rules.”*

I am the one who breaks rules.

I am Randolph, the Eternal Monarch—

The Rule Breaker.

**Riiiiip—**

I tore the barrier apart.

And from beyond it, I found the “eye” that had been watching me.

— *How remarkable. No one imprisoned here has ever been able to find me.*

The Hybrid of God’s skin?

…No.

This is the warden.

A monstrous guardian of the prison.

A being that prevents inmates from acting abnormally or escaping.

And at the same time—the Star Prison itself.

I understood who it was.

“…The Monk of Eternity.”

The Monk of Eternity!

The figure central to the quest that appeared when my hidden traits fused and transcended, allowing me to become the Eternal Monarch Randolph.

【‘Origin – Rebuild the Race’ quest updated.】

【‘The Monk of Eternity’ is submerged beneath the Island of God.】

【He will awaken once you become master of the Island of God.】

The Monk of Eternity—submerged under the Island of God.

He had been imprisoned in the Star Prison all along.

A massive eye moved.

— *Indeed. I am the Monk of Eternity. Yet after losing to “Ruin,” my body was taken, and I have been confined here ever since, Eternal Monarch.*

—

—

**Meanwhile**

*Goooooooo…*

The Master of the Tomb tilted his head.

The moment the starlight duel ended, the Terrible Omen vanished.

Baal disappeared as well.

Even the Fragment Hunter was defeated and transferred to the prison.

But one thing remained.

*Gooooooo…*

The Master of the Tomb looked at the object in his hand.

This was the Terrible Omen’s most precious thing.

Something he, too, could never let go of.

Yet he had no idea what it was.

A small, round object that shimmered—

Sometimes golden.

Sometimes emerald.

Sometimes pure white.

*Gooo?*

Hmm. It didn’t only shine.

Sometimes, it turned pitch black.

And it was fragile—so delicate it seemed it might crumble with the slightest pressure.

*Goo. Goooo…*

Indeed. After staring at it for a long time, the Master of the Tomb began to understand a little.

A few memories had seeped in.

Hidden memories—details he didn’t need to know.

But no matter how he thought about it, this object did *not* suit the Terrible Omen.

Should he break it?

*Goooooo…*

The Master of the Tomb hesitated.

The Terrible Omen had given him his coin without asking anything in return.

He had never seen anyone like that in the Abyss.

Even more, the Terrible Omen knew where his master was.

A benefactor.

Its name might be Terrible Omen, but it was a being that radiated dazzling light.

Yet the Omen’s “most precious thing” was unstable.

And it was very likely the Omen didn’t even know this object existed.

His glance through the memories confirmed that.

For the Terrible Omen’s sake, perhaps destroying it would be better.

*Goo. Goo. Gooo…*

The hesitation lasted into the next day.

Just as he was struggling with the decision—

“…Return it now.”

The Terrible Omen appeared.

Had his hesitation gone on too long?

*Goooo…*

The Master of the Tomb wavered.

“Will you not return it? Or… do you also think I would be better off not receiving it?”

*Goo?*

He tilted his head.

*Also?*

Who else had thought that way?

“Give it back. That is undoubtedly ‘my most precious thing.’”

He didn’t understand why someone would cling to something so unstable.

But if he insisted that strongly, the Master of the Tomb had no choice.

He handed the object back.

And the Terrible Omen, receiving it, spoke its name.

“…Park Hyun-myung.”

He spoke Randolph’s most precious thing.

The one who had moved in his stead for so long.

“My most precious existence.”

…More precious than any goddess or Wilhelm.

More precious than any lover.

The most cherished name of all.

—

 

 

 

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