I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-3

Ch-3 **Marvelous Results**

—

Coldly.

With a cool head, I scanned my surroundings and assessed the situation.

First, I checked the levels of the slave traders who had initiated the attack.

**【Lv 3】**

Most of them hovered around Level 3—ordinary soldier grade. Unless they were desert warlords, there was still a chance of survival.

“Guhk!”

“Th-there are too many Hydragons!”

The problem was *those* things. Three Level 5 monsters—creatures classified as raid boss monsters.

*‘My level is 1.’*

Meanwhile, I was only Level 1. Every single one of them was higher than me.

No matter how I looked at it, this quest had no conscience. Survive as a Level 1 in the middle of a battlefield like this?

To make matters worse, boss monsters received additional effects besides just level.

*‘Hydragons have poor eyesight. They can’t move their bodies and heads simultaneously.’*

But in this world, as long as you knew the strategy, even a Level 1 could kill a Level 5 boss monster.

In fact, Hydragons were designed to be taken down by twelve Level 1 players grouping up.

Only from Level 7 did one truly begin to feel the difference in level—an uncrossable gap.

Meaning everything before that was something that could be overcome.

*‘I can do this.’*

Even at Level 1, it was too early to despair.

Most importantly, I was the **veteran of veterans** of this game.

Doing the work of twelve by myself? Fine. I’d do it.

KKAANG!

My sword and a scimitar collided.

At some point, one soldier had rushed in and was already radiating killing intent right before my eyes.

*‘This is reality.’*

This wasn’t a game.

Swinging a sword and moving your body didn’t get solved by a simple click anymore.

This was a battlefield of flesh meeting flesh—cutting and tearing. If I didn’t move myself, I would die.

It looked hopeless, but there *was* hope.

*‘I can see the sword path.’*

Was it the influence of **【Weapon Master】**?

I could see the sword trajectory. The exact places where I needed to strike were perfectly visible.

And the moment I gripped the weapon, it felt natural—familiar in my hands as if I had swung it tens of thousands of times.

The actions I needed to take drew themselves in my mind.

And even before they fully formed—my body reacted first.

KWAJIK!

I deflected his sword diagonally and drove my fist into the soldier’s jaw, shattering it.

As the staggering soldier lost balance, I cut through his neck.

No hesitation. No fear.

The sword path—and every battle trajectory—was already being projected before my eyes!

—

—

 

The Snake Princess gazed toward the center of the battlefield with a peculiar expression.

Erasing this place was her mission—an absolute order from the Desert Queen.

It wasn’t a difficult task.

She was the strongest after the Queen herself. Not to mention, their numbers overwhelmingly exceeded the enemy’s.

Yet one of the slaves suddenly began rampaging, slaughtering her soldiers.

Even more astonishing—he had killed a Hydragon by himself.

He was dominating the battlefield alone.

“…What is that thing?”

—

—

 

“Haa… haa… haaak!”

My heart felt like it was about to burst.

Every hot breath scraped the ceiling of my throat with a blade-like sting.

At this point, I couldn’t even tell if what dripped onto my head was sweat or blood.

But one thing was certain: I was still alive.

CHAEENG!

After clashing hundreds of times, my sword snapped.

And the net of enemies surrounding me tightened even further.

Among them, the spearmen proved especially troublesome.

“His sword broke! Kill him!”

“Now!”

Thankfully, they weren’t a trained military unit. They didn’t form structured formations or move as one.

One spearman, drunk on the thrill of victory, broke rank and rushed in.

“Ugh!”

I rolled toward him, sweeping the ground. His foot caught, and he fell, dropping his spear.

Before it even hit the ground, I grabbed it—and soldiers swung their swords at me.

I twisted the spear, hooking the tip of a descending blade and using the rebound force to knock it aside. The soldier’s torso overextended.

“Gkh!”

I drove the spearhead through his throat. Instant death. With a ripping sound, I pulled it free and spun the spear, blocking the approaching attacks. The acrobatic movement resembled a master spearman who’d trained with a spear his entire life, stunning the surrounding soldiers.

Thanks to **【Iron-Blood Monarch’s Heart】**, I could coldly analyze my surroundings and resist fatigue—and paired with another hidden trait, **【Weapon Master】**, I could wield any weapon like an expert without training.

Even **【Dexterity】** created synergy.

**< Your Sword Mastery has risen to Lv 6! >
< Your Spear Mastery has risen to Lv 6! >**

The hidden trait **【Dexterity】** related to skill mastery. If Weapon Master allowed me to use any weapon proficiently and start at Lv 5 mastery, Dexterity made it *easier* to reach higher mastery.

Skill mastery maxed at 10.
A Level 6 mastery meant skill equivalent to a knight renowned for lifelong training.

And I achieved it merely by picking up the weapon.

Some hidden traits synergized like this—but only a very small group of players even knew that. Hidden traits weren’t widely known.

Swords, spears, blades, bows, scimitars, maces—if it was a weapon, I used it.

“That monster bastard!”

“That monster is finally exhausted!”

“Kill him!”

Along with curses disguised as praise, the net tightened further.

The attackers numbered 500. I might’ve killed one Hydra-gon, but doing this alone was overwhelming.

Considering I was only Level 1 and had killed thirty soldiers plus a Hydragon, I’d done everything possible—minimizing movement, distributing stamina, and utilizing all weapons.

If another player saw me, they’d faint. Even hardened veterans would click their tongues, asking if this was even possible.

But my limit was approaching.

A limit—but—

**< You’ve leveled up! >
< Health and Mana restored. >
< Fatigue restored. >**

A smile tugged at my lips.

I’d been waiting for this.

*‘Round two begins.’*

I rolled my shoulders. My ragged breathing became steady. The movements of the oncoming soldiers seemed slower. This must be what awakening felt like.

“Stop.”

WUUUUUNG—

At that moment—

A woman’s voice thundered across the battlefield and struck everyone’s eardrums.

Her voice froze the soldiers mid-step.

*‘She’s finally here.’*

Like the parting of the Red Sea, soldiers split aside.

A woman, standing atop a Hydragon, calmly observing the front.

Unlike the warriors of the desert, her skin was unusually pale. With elegant, cat-like steps, she approached.

I had been expecting her appearance.

“T-the princess shouldn’t have needed to step in…”

The Snake Princess.

When a captain mustered the courage to address her, she sneered.

“He’s not exhausted. He’s merely *pretending* to be.”

“Th-that can’t be. His breath, the sweat—”

“Look carefully. Does his breath seem labored to you?”

“…”

The captain’s eyes darted to me.

Noticing how I had already calmed my breathing, he grimaced. His expression said, *What kind of monster is this bastard?*

“He pretended to be exhausted… to lure us into lowering our guard?”

“Correct.”

Though unintentional, my level-up recovery had appeared that way to her.

Expression unchanged, I observed the Snake Princess.

“As expected. Few remain unchanged even when facing me.”

A flash of killing intent washed over me, but thanks to **Iron-Blood Monarch’s Heart**, I neither flinched nor shrank.

She was someone whose aura alone could evaluate an opponent. I looked above her head.

**【Lv 8】**

Level 8. A level that would be called “top-class” anywhere.

In Pangaenia, the threshold for power was Level 7. Beyond that, the differences became absolute—level gaps became nearly impossible to overcome.

Level 8—only leaders of renowned factions reached that level. In a metropolis of a million, perhaps one or two existed.

*‘Was someone this strong in Faisalmer?’*

Well, there was—Faisalmer’s Queen. But aside from her, no named NPC reached Level 8, as far as I knew.

This was the starting city. A beginner’s zone.

Yet for some reason, this woman felt strangely familiar.

Familiar—like someone I’d had a deep past connection with.

As she drew close, she spoke.

“What is your name?”

My name?

*‘I didn’t even set a nickname before I dropped in.’*

Right. I hadn’t even chosen one yet. Was this the branching point where I name myself?

*‘Besides, the quest isn’t over.’*

There was no indication that the main quest had ended. Survival—this task was still in progress.

Most likely because of the Snake Princess. Even everyone gathered here combined couldn’t match her. A threat capable of killing me stood right before me—there was no way the quest would end.

*‘In that case…’*

This “name” was important.

“Randolph.”

“…The Great Wolf? Are you from the desert?”

Randolph—the name of the “Great Wolf.” A word only someone from the desert would know. The Snake Princess’s eyes widened.

But that was all.

“Why is a desert-born warrior among the central continent’s expeditionary rabble?”

Blatant disgust.

People of the desert depicted central continent humans as demons.

If captured, they were enslaved and eventually killed.

I was no different—she’d kill me once she grew bored.

But something didn’t add up.

*‘She knows they’re the expedition. She destroyed them anyway.’*

The desert tribes never wiped out prisoners *before* enslaving them.

Yet she had slaughtered everyone—including desert tribesmen among them.

*‘Evidence removal. She’s erasing all traces that the expedition reached the desert.’*

The Eight Heroes and the great expedition… it likely referred to the demonic realm expedition I mounted after equipping the eight unique-grade items.

But I failed. Despite all preparations, I couldn’t reach the Demon King’s threshold. There were many reasons—but the Demon King being overwhelmingly strong was one.

*‘The central continent instills fear.’*

I concluded.

The Desert Queen feared any link between the expedition and the desert.

When discussing the failed expedition, getting tied to it would bring a storm of blood. Armies from nearly every major city had been pulled into it—but Faisalmer, the desert city, had not.

A perfect target for a witch hunt.

Thus she was eliminating anything—even 0.1 grams of connection.

After roughly grasping the situation, I opened my mouth.

“I was observing the central continent’s movements.”

“…A spy for the central continent? Who sent you?”

“I went on my own.”

“On your own? Speak sense. More importantly, I’ve never seen a warrior like you in the desert. Your skin isn’t from any tribe, and you bear no markings. If you’re trying to bluff with scraps of knowledge—”

“The stars told me.”

*Thud!*

The Snake Princess froze as if someone had pulled her plug.

Then, with an eerie look, she asked:

“…Stars?”

Shock. Panic. And longing.

*‘So I was right.’*

Her reaction confirmed why she seemed familiar.

The Snake Princess was the person I knew.

And the reason for her reaction was simple.

The stars—were her weakness.

And simultaneously, my only path to survival.

Convinced, I began “acting.”

“Starbearer. I belong to no tribe. I never said I was desert-born—where did that assumption come from?”

“…!!!”

Starbearer. One who reads the stars and is guided by them.

They were prophets—true wanderers, few in number. They moved and prayed for the stars.

And for the Snake Princess, this name was indispensable.

“Snake Princess Isabella. Isabella von Dersian.”

“H-how do you… know my full name?”

“A Starbearer can hear the voice of the stars.”

Meaning: the stars told me.

Of course, they didn’t.

Starbearer was a class players could never obtain. Only chosen NPCs could have it, and players seeking their stars beyond Level 10 were required to find Starbearer.

Isabella von Dersian was similar.

She longed more than anyone to escape the desert.

She was bound by the Queen’s curse. She wasn’t even originally from the desert tribe. But to escape, she needed the stars—their blessing.

How did I know all this?

*‘Why is the character I made turning out to be the Snake Princess?’*

It sounded absurd, but absurdity had come true.

The worst starting point.

A character I made casually, just to try things out, was now standing before me.

A character with clear limitations, with no viable growth path in the desert, so I had abandoned her.

More precisely—because of the Queen’s curse, without the “Star’s Blessing,” she couldn’t progress. But finding a Starbearer in the desert was impossible, so she was abandoned.

Yet now that abandoned character was here, as the Snake Princess, right before my eyes. How could I *not* be thrown off?

At that moment—

**<‘Main Quest 1: Survival’ has been completed.>**

…A notification that I’d survived.

I had killed dozens of soldiers and even slit the Hydragon’s throat, yet the quest that had stubbornly remained incomplete finally announced its conclusion.

And that wasn’t all.

**<Calculating results.>**

**<Unprecedented! A result so perfect it borders on the miraculous.>**

**<Total score: 220 points. Updating to Main Quest – ‘Hall of Fame’.>**

**<Beginner’s luck! The ‘Constellation of Fortune’ smiles upon you. The reward tier is upgraded.>**

**<The ‘Constellation of Battle’ scratches its nose, saying it’s impressed. The reward tier is upgraded.>**

**<You have acquired ‘Fragment of the Broken Golden Scale’.>**

**<You have acquired ‘Soul of the Hydragon’.>**

**<You have acquired ‘Michela’s Swords’.>**

……

After checking the contents, I couldn’t help but be stunned.

“…Insane.”

Because the rewards were so outrageous that the word came out on its own.

 

 

 

---