I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-298

Ch-298. **Awakening**

—

Wilhelm’s expression stiffened slightly as he spoke.

*“…The Forest of Nibelung.”*

An answer that slipped out before he could stop it—his response to Randolph’s question about when and where he had met *that being*.

The name *Forest of Nibelung* spilled from his lips like a conditioned reflex.

Yet the Forest of Nibelung was where Wilhelm’s memories began.

The problem was that, in that place, Wilhelm had no recollection of meeting anyone.

*I was merely trapped there.*

A pitch-black swamp of the mind.

In that place, he had done nothing but struggle day after day.

For more than a month, he had swung his sword while cursing the damn god that had seized his body and moved it at will.

Yet it wasn’t only the answer that puzzled him.

A stabbing headache, as if needles were pricking his skull again and again, refused to stop.

《Remaining descent time of the ‘Complete Golden Scale’: 1h 1m》

There was no time.

After climbing the tower, barely an hour remained.

If he failed to decide the outcome within that time, the trial would end in failure.

At the same moment, murderous intent bloomed in Randolph’s eyes.

“…You must never be allowed to live.”

Saaaaaaa—!

Mana orbs rose into the air like droplets of water.

Each and every one of the hundreds of them was a sword ring formed of pure force.

With power enough to annihilate even gods, a single touch would erase Wilhelm completely.

But that was not what Randolph desired.

Sssssss—!

The sword rings gathered one by one, beginning to take shape.

At last, they fused together into the form of a gigantic hand.

“‘The Supreme Sword.’”

Krrrrraaaaaack!

The heavens split open.

The void itself was torn apart.

From the rift in the dark space emerged—

A truly *colossal sword*.

The blade known as the Supreme Sword.

The one and only unique skill—and hidden skill—of the hidden class *Supreme Sword Saint*.

A weapon granted only to those who stood in absolute supremacy among sword saints, a *god’s sword* that only a being bearing the *rank of a god* could wield.

The very sword that had once crushed the Demon of Jealousy, Sansha, with a single gesture when he reached completion—now revealed itself to the world once more.

“……”

Wilhelm silently gazed at the summoned blade.

It was overwhelming beyond comparison to any sword he had ever faced.

Randolph intended to pulverize Wilhelm with this sword.

Grasping the Supreme Sword with the massive hand formed of sword rings—

“Isn’t it beautiful? This is the *Sword of Fate*, once wielded by the God of Death. A work beyond classification—*outside the system*.”

“A sword born of two destinies—death and life,” Wilhelm said quietly.

“…You can see it? As expected—you have *talent*!”

Randolph let out a brief laugh of admiration.

Wilhelm had instantly grasped the story bound to the Supreme Sword—

How that Sword of Fate could even be summoned.

The Abyssal Labyrinth.

Riley, the hexagonal hero of the old empire, summoned there as its boss.

He had existed in two forms.

When he lost his reason, he transformed into the *Supreme Dragon*, a being of death itself.

When he retained his reason, he became the radiant hero *Riley*, savior of humanity.

Riley accepted his other half—the Supreme Dragon—and through that acceptance, was completed as the *Supreme Sword Saint*.

The sword born from the union of those opposing destinies—

That was the blade before him: the Supreme Sword.

Death and life.

A sword bearing two fated names.

*Why can I see all this?*

Even Wilhelm found it strange.

How could he see the trials Randolph had passed through?

Moreover, he knew that the one who had conquered the Abyssal Labyrinth was not the Randolph standing before him.

The damn god.

This Sword of Fate—

It was *his* achievement.

Randolph smiled faintly.

“Then you must also know that this sword cannot be stopped.”

Wilhelm’s expression hardened further.

Randolph had chosen *death*.

To deliver death itself to his opponent.

The death bestowed by the Sword of Fate was absolute.

It could not be avoided.

It could not be blocked.

This was a definitive sentence of death.

“It was rather enjoyable, Wilhelm.”

Goooooo—!

The Supreme Sword began to plunge toward the ground.

Wilhelm raised his blade.

And then the Supreme Sword swallowed him whole.

KWAaaaaaAAAAAAANG—!!

*

*

 

“Please stay here, Your Highness. I will lure the soldiers away.”

“D-don’t go. How am I supposed to stay alone in a dark place like this?”

“Endure for a few days. I will return—no matter what!”

It was a dark cave.

Somewhere within the Forest of Nibelung.

There, an old knight gently patted a young boy on the head, then disappeared into the distance.

But for a boy whose body had yet to fully grow, surviving for days on end—naked—in a forest crawling with monsters was impossible.

“I’m… hungry… thirsty… cold…”

Even before a single day had passed, the boy was already in agony.

He couldn’t understand why he had to suffer such humiliation.

The Arhon Empire.

The mightiest and greatest empire in Pangaenia—

And he was the son of its emperor.

“I’m the real one… I really am…”

He had been driven out.

By a fake.

The boy bit his lip.

A counterfeit, meticulously crafted in his likeness, was now living as the real one.

And yet, no one believed him.

On the contrary, they called *him* the fake and tried to kill him.

If not for the old knight, he would have died on the spot.

But even after barely escaping alive—could this really be called living?

“I don’t want to do anything. Why do I have to go through this?”

Slumped against the cave wall, the boy gave in to despair.

He was a prince.

A being who shone without effort, who could obtain anything without striving.

This filthy, damp cave—being naked here—did not suit him at all.

Blisters covered his feet, grime coated his body.

This was how slaves lived.

*It’s a dream. A terrible dream.*

The boy closed his eyes.

If he opened them, he would return to reality.

Back into the empire’s embrace, basking once more in former glory.

…But reality was cruel.

When he opened his eyes, he was still inside the cave.

“When is he coming back…?”

The old knight who had sworn to return never did.

No matter how long he waited.

In the end, he must have died after luring the soldiers away.

Brrr—!

The boy shuddered.

Cold. Painful.

But outside the cave was dangerous.

He didn’t even dare to step out.

A coward—without the grit to achieve anything.

Only then did the boy realize that alone, he could do nothing.

But realization alone changes nothing.

“….”

The boy was dying.

Quietly accepting death.

A sense of helplessness—knowing he could not survive—dominated his entire being.

*Let’s die.*

There was no will to live.

No need to live.

Perhaps he really was the fake.

Perhaps even his memories and body had been fabricated.

Outside this cave lay only hell.

And even if he escaped the forest, it wouldn’t end there.

The empire’s pursuit would be relentless.

He would die anyway.

Chirp.

Chirp, chirp!

That was when it happened.

A blue bird flew into the cave.

Dying, the boy barely lifted his eyelids.

Why had a blue bird entered the cave?

As he weakly stretched out his hand, the blue bird perched on his finger.

“Do you want to live?”

“…?”

Was it a hallucination?

Had he misheard?

The bird had spoken.

But it wasn’t a mistake.

The bird continued to chirp.

“If there were a chance—just one—to fulfill a single wish, even if you forgot and lost everything… wouldn’t you want to try?”

Fulfill a wish?

Become emperor, perhaps?

Ha.

Death was near—he was seeing things.

“You possess remarkable potential. *Sacred blood*, you see. Wouldn’t it be a waste to die like this?”

Even so, the blue bird did not give up.

The boy barely parted his cracked lips.

“Wh… what… are you…”

The blue bird replied.

“I am the operator of this world.”

“O… pe… ra… tor…?”

An operator.

One who operates something.

But what could a blue bird possibly operate?

“Game master. One who exists erased, behind the world.”

At the same time, the blue bird’s eyes shone a brilliant sapphire blue.

“Won’t you help me destroy the *Heavens*?”

*

*

 

Just before the Supreme Sword swallowed Wilhelm.

In a moment like a blink—

*Ah.*

He remembered.

The memory.

The veil that had concealed it was finally lifted.

*I definitely…*

There.

In the Forest of Nibelung.

*I met the blue bird.*

The nameless being who called itself the operator of the world.

The erased one.

But Wilhelm’s memories did not end there.

Originally, his memories should have been completely erased.

Memory, consciousness, and soul—devoured and sealed away.

Yet he had retained them.

Memory. Will.

He had not been erased completely—he had simply started again from zero.

*I was definitely…*

The boy in the cave was Wilhelm.

But everything about him was different from the Wilhelm of now.

So different it was impossible to believe they were the same person.

A coward who gave up easily, devoid of courage.

And yet—

And yet—

*Are you saying you wanted to become like me—rather than remain yourself?*

Lurch!

The world lurched violently.

Once more, Wilhelm sank into the swamp of memories.

*

*

What is he doing?

With *my* body, this man—

He crawls out of the cave, licking dew from leaves.

He picks up ants and eats them, eats raw grass and gets sick.

After three full days of such absurd behavior, he suddenly starts swinging a sword.

*What a waste of stamina.*

It’s infuriating.

It’s clearly my body, yet I cannot control it.

Every morning he avoids everything, flees, and desperately searches for food.

Then all he does is swing his sword.

What does he want?

*I’d swing it better.*

I swing a sword within the swamp of consciousness.

Watching his movements, I see nothing but excess.

Instinctively, I knew—

Swinging like that would eventually hit a wall.

Wilhelm continued to swing, modifying his swordsmanship as if correcting its flaws.

Perhaps it was rivalry.

The swamp of consciousness was like a bottomless abyss—I didn’t want to do anything at all.

*I won’t lose.*

If he does it, then so will I.

No—I’ll achieve more than he ever does.

I won’t let someone inferior to me hold the reins forever.

*…What an infuriating bastard.*

But as time passed, I had no choice but to acknowledge him.

Even to Wilhelm’s eyes, the one occupying his body was far from ordinary.

Who drives another’s body this relentlessly?

And he lived through a monotonous, mind-numbing routine with desperate resolve.

Still, doubts lingered.

Would this really let him escape the forest?

The Forest of Nibelung.

A paradise for monsters.

Dozens—perhaps hundreds—of species roamed there.

Even mastering all their patterns wouldn’t be enough.

All he could do was crawl along the ground.

It took hours just to move a few dozen meters beyond the cave—

How could he ever leave such a vast forest?

Madness.

*…Ha.*

Yet at some point, *he* began doing that very madness.

Crawling, carrying the food and water he had gathered, inching his way out of the cave.

I thought he would give up partway.

Escaping the forest itself was a chain of trials.

Indeed, life-threatening crises came one after another.

After three days, all his food and water ran out.

Yet Wilhelm could only marvel.

His ability to wait, observe, and seize opportunities was chilling.

*Is this the end?*

But even that should have been the limit.

Supplies exhausted, the base far behind—

Even with extraordinary abilities, it seemed impossible.

And yet he did not give up.

For ten long days, barely sleeping—

He crawled, inch by inch, and escaped the forest.

*He’s insane.*

That was the first moment Wilhelm felt awe toward *him*.

What if it had been me?

Could I have escaped the forest?

Wilhelm shook his head.

The one occupying his body knew everything about the forest.

He himself did not.

Had he tried, he would have died—certainly.

Then—

The one occupying his body—

*…Is he a god?*

…Truly, there was no other name for him but—

*A damn god.*

 

 

 

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