I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-305

Ch-305. **Award Ceremony**

—

Randolph’s class had originally been twofold.

**Successor of the Star**, and **Supreme Sword Saint**.

Yet those two classes vanished, and out of nowhere appeared a name called **“Another Destruction.”**

*Another Destruction… Is this the influence of the other Randolph?*

Whether the class had been altered or evolved—

even if the existing classes had gone through countless transformations, it was hard to believe they would culminate in something called *Another Destruction*.

If there was a reason, it was undoubtedly the influence of the *other Randolph*.

The “other Randolph” trapped within the Gate of Truth had become connected to **Heaven (天上)**.

He had nearly become an ego of destruction itself—so it stood to reason that a related class would manifest.

*…Still, it’s ironic.*

Honestly, it was a ridiculous situation.

I stopped myself from becoming Destruction, only to become *another* Destruction instead.

However, it seemed that not everything was finished yet.

《‘Park Hyunmyeong’ has completed the 2nd Shedding.》
《‘Randolph’ has completed the 2nd Shedding.》
《Classes evolve and are added.》
《‘Star Lord’ class has been added to ‘Park Hyunmyung’.》
《‘Primordial Heavenly Demon’ class has been added to ‘Randolph’.》

Messages surfaced once more.

Only now had the shedding truly, completely ended.

*Star Lord? Primordial Heavenly Demon?*

I had surpassed the level of a mere Successor of the Star and become a **Lord who rules the stars**.

Me—Park Hyunmyung.

As for Randolph, he received the class **Primordial Heavenly Demon**, a Heavenly Demon in its original, archetypal form.

Something I had never even imagined.

Yet once I saw it, it made a certain kind of sense.

*The alignments have separated.*

Light and darkness.

Park Hyunmyung aligned with light, Randolph with darkness.

The chaotic energies each of us once carried had finally returned to where they belonged.

Randolph and I share experience—but this ultimate alignment cannot be shared.

Hadn’t I personally experienced what confusion and chaos bring about?

*Chaos creates gaps. I’ve erased those gaps.*

The first benefit gained through separation.

Incidents like what happened in the Tower of the War God would never occur again.

A perfectly unified alignment leaves no room for interference.

Even for Chief Gods.

Gods like Omen and Ash could no longer influence my body.

*After all, the “other Randolph” was also an ego born from chaos.*

Likewise, there would be no chance of another “other Randolph,” or an “other Park Hyunmyung,” ever appearing again.

Egos born of chaos inevitably invite ruin.

*It blocks all intervention—from Chief Gods, and even Heaven itself.*

That was precisely why alignment separation was something that had to be done.

Until now, I had simply left it alone because I didn’t know how.

Without the enlightenment of Heaven and Earth Genesis, and without Wilhelm’s help, I would still be in a state of chaos—

a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

*…I can see the ultimate. I truly can.*

And that wasn’t the only advantage.

The path toward the ultimate had become far simpler.

Before, it was like a staircase scattered in every direction.

The steps leading to the ultimate were so distant that I couldn’t even step onto them.

But now, the staircase had finally been aligned into a straight line.

All I had to do was step forward.

Slowly—trusting myself—and keep moving.

“Are you tired? Do you want to rest a bit more?”

“……No. I’m fine.”

Raiga’s question pulled me back to reality.

At the moment, I was *Adrium’s Hyun*.

“Why am I here?”

“You don’t remember? You were unconscious at the entrance of the tower.”

At the entrance?

I tilted my head slightly.

Had I been thrown back to the entrance after conquering the summit?

Then what happened to Isabella, Serengeti, and the others?

“The award ceremony will be held tomorrow. Recover a bit more until then.”

Raiga slowly turned his back.

I spoke to him as he did.

“Do you not need me to explain the remaining part of the *Life-and-Death Manual*?”

“……”

He froze mid-step.

The final test of the tournament.

It was about reading and mastering the Life-and-Death Manual—but the book had only been half complete.

However, I knew the missing half.

Which meant that I alone could fulfill the long-cherished wish of the Eight Houses.

“…It’s fine.”

With that, Raiga left the room.

If he said he wasn’t interested, it would be a lie.

And yet, despite that, he turned away from it.

Why?

*Death must finally feel real to him.*

Raiga’s condition was dire.

So dire that it wouldn’t be strange if he died at any moment.

He was already in poor shape, and the battle with Wilhelm had likely worsened it further.

For a man once called the strongest in the Empire—and the strongest of humanity—

his retreating figure looked pitiful.

But that didn’t mean he was weak.

*Wilhelm was just too strong.*

Raiga is strong.

Strong enough not to be overwhelmed even when facing primordial beings or lords of the abyss.

His opponent had simply been the worst possible.

Wilhelm was stronger than them—

and so was the other Randolph.

*Repeated defeat, and a death already decided…*

Perhaps the string of losses and the certainty of death had crushed Raiga’s spirit.

I clicked my tongue quietly.

There was nothing I could do for him.

Raiga’s death was, quite literally, inevitable.

I had seen a sliver of possibility with the *Sunken Emperor*, but finding him would be harder than finding a needle on a beach.

If Raiga himself had no will to live, the chances were even slimmer.

All that remained was regret.

Raiga undeniably served as a stabilizer within Pangaenia.

He kept the Reaper Cult in check and contributed, in his own way, to humanity’s peace.

And above all—

*…Heart Sword.*

Though incomplete, Raiga had reached the realm of the **Heart Sword** on his own.

A completely different lineage from Wilhelm’s.

Wilhelm had also reached the Heart Sword realm, but his version focused on turning the opponent’s power against them—

closer to defense.

Raiga’s Heart Sword, on the other hand, was a sword in the truest sense.

Pure offense.

The direction of will behind their Heart Swords was completely opposite.

*I want to learn that.*

Precisely because it was so different from Wilhelm’s, it intrigued me.

If I could learn it and make it my own, I might create a truly perfect Heart Sword.

Which was why it was all the more regrettable—

that Raiga had already accepted his death.

*For now… I should focus on myself.*

I shook my head once.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on Raiga—it was time to examine my own changes.

**Star Lord**, and **Primordial Heavenly Demon**.

I hadn’t even properly checked the options on the Gloves of Omen and Ash yet.

I took a deep breath and looked back at the status window.

And after confirming everything—

“…Hah.”

I laughed again, dumbfounded.

—

—

Raiga was certain.

That with each passing day, he was dying.

That less than a month of life remained.

He had glimpsed the ultimate of martial arts, felt awe, and yearned to reach it himself—

but in the end, it was all meaningless.

He was going to die anyway.

Especially the sword Wilhelm had shown at the end.

*I can’t reach it. With my talent, it’s impossible.*

That sword—

a single swing—

had hurled him into the abyss of despair.

The moment he realized he could never reach it, crushing hopelessness washed over him.

He couldn’t even understand it.

The Wilhelm he had seen while climbing the tower was comprehensible.

But that final sword—he couldn’t grasp it at all.

In other words—

there was a gap of dimensions between Raiga and Wilhelm.

Wilhelm’s rank, his understanding of the sword—

surpassed Raiga’s by an overwhelming margin.

That was why Raiga no longer sought the missing half of the Life-and-Death Manual.

What use would it be to him anyway?

He was a man already marked for death.

“The winner of the tournament is *Adrium’s Hyun*.”

Clap, clap, clap.

Raiga applauded as he welcomed Adrium’s Hyun.

But the cheers were sparse.

“You faithless wretches! Why aren’t you cheering?!”

Only one man—

Aaron, son of a cardinal of the Church of the Goddess—

raised his voice.

It couldn’t be helped.

There was no one who would sincerely celebrate the victory of a man with no proper background.

And this was the Empire.

When the winner hailed from the Church of the Goddess’s territory, public sentiment was bound to turn even colder.

The award ceremony ended quickly.

As promised, the winner received the **Path of Light** and the **Holy Path**—

the very equipment Wilhelm had once used in life.

Raiga had also intended to take Adrium’s Hyun as his disciple.

But instead of excitement, his heart felt cold.

Even though it was about choosing a successor for the Eight Houses.

*Even so, he’ll never reach it.*

No matter how overflowing his talent might be, he would never surpass Wilhelm.

—

—

“…Isn’t this insane?”

“He’s crossed the line.”

“I suspected it, but still…!”

Executives of the Reaper Cult gathered in the heart of the Empire—the Imperial Palace.

They had been searching for the **Golden Spirit King**, yet they all assembled for one reason:

the award ceremony.

Because Raiga had truly chosen someone from the Church of the Goddess’s territory as the winner.

He hadn’t just crossed the line.

He had shattered it.

“Do you intend to just sit by, Golden Mask?”

“……”

At the center of them all, Golden Mask remained silent.

He had received the *Heart of Greed* from Raiga as a condition for holding the tournament—

but even so, this outcome had been unexpected.

That Raiga would choose someone not of the Empire—

worse, someone raised in the Church of the Goddess’s domain.

Then the man wearing the lion mask spoke.

“I looked into Adrium’s Hyun. He’s like someone who sprang from thin air.”

No identity could be confirmed.

If even *his* intelligence network couldn’t find anything, that meant it was true.

“Someone with no proper identity?”

“Don’t tell me… a slave?”

In most cases, that meant only one thing.

A slave without status.

Naturally, they were furious.

“…Did he feel some kind of kinship?”

“This is insane. A slave?”

“The Eight Houses again…!”

When the previous head of the Eight Houses had brought Raiga in and branded him as successor, a bloodbath had followed.

That head purged all retainers who distrusted Raiga—

even knights who had once followed him.

That was why the Reaper Cult had kept quiet.

They saw no need to interfere while the Eight Houses cut off their own limbs.

After the previous head died, they pushed Raiga into death traps—

sending him endlessly on abyss explorations.

Only later did they realize Raiga was truly a lion cub—

but by then, it was already too late.

“This time, we can’t allow it.”

“We must cut it down at the root!”

The executives’ voices rose.

Allowing a slave to breathe the same air as the Imperial Palace once was enough.

They had watched silently with Raiga—

but they couldn’t allow it to happen again.

“…For now, leave it be.”

But amid the uproar, Golden Mask voiced his stance.

The commotion only grew louder.

“What kind of deal did you make with Raiga?”

“Golden Mask—don’t tell me you’ve grown attached to Raiga?”

A deal *had* been made.

But that wasn’t the reason.

Golden Mask spoke.

“Raiga will die soon.”

“…Couldn’t that just be an act?”

“No. I’m certain. Raiga will die. Soon.”

At his conviction, the room fell silent.

Raiga’s death.

A power vacuum within the Eight Houses.

Golden Mask continued.

“At most, a month. Even if the power is inherited within that time, there are limits. Dealing with Adrium’s Hyun afterward will be sufficient. There’s no need to provoke the Eight Houses by touching Raiga now, is there?”

The power of the Eight Houses.

They are not merely a knight order led by Raiga.

Behind them lies the true Eight Houses family—their real power.

Monsters who rarely step into the world, yet undeniably exist.

Even Raiga himself had not been fully acknowledged by them.

Let alone *Adrium’s Hyun*.

Golden Mask, having organized his thoughts, emphasized once more:

“If we leave them alone, they will destroy themselves. Both Raiga—and Adrium’s Hyun. So leave them be.”