I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-319

Ch-319. **Knights of the Round Table…!**

—

The emergence of the second World Tree set all of Pangaenia in motion.

In particular, all those who considered themselves “honorable” flocked to the sanctuary.

To have their honor verified directly by the World Tree—or to undergo a second class advancement!

“There’s no way anyone is more honorable than me.”

“That’s right, Sir Ams.”

“You’re not called the ‘Knight of Light’ for nothing!”

“The World Tree will bless you as well, Sir Ams!”

The Knight of Light, Ams.

He arrived at the sanctuary with his chin held high.

Alongside him were over a hundred knights who followed him.

According to ancient records, the World Tree of Honor was said to have produced countless great heroes.

If one were acknowledged by the World Tree of Honor, they could instantly make their name known across the entire continent.

And that wasn’t all.

The tectonic changes currently unfolding—

The joining of the Abyssal realms—were all effects of the World Tree.

Thus, it was clear that the World Tree would become the focal point of all that was to come.

However, the moment Ams set foot in the sanctuary, he was forced to retract his thoughts.

“…The Goddess Church?”

The first thing that caught his eye was a procession from the Goddess Church.

No less than three saintesses, accompanied by hundreds of holy knights.

Yet only one person reflected in Ams’s eyes.

“Saintess Seia…!”

Gulp!

Saintess Seia!

Wasn’t she the saintess said to have died during the Great Expedition?

He had heard rumors that she had recently appeared in the Kingdom of Valan—but to think those rumors were truly real.

Yet Saintess Seia was only the beginning.

*Radiant Superman Kasim, the Holy Luminary Mage Smith, even the Spiritist of Light, Baraman… I can’t even count them. All the heroes who had been buried in obscurity for ages have appeared.*

His mouth fell open.

Some of them were heroes from hundreds of years ago.

Those thought dead—or those who had vanished without a trace.

All of them had gathered before the World Tree of Honor.

He recognized them at a glance because they were that famous.

They were beings recorded as legends or myths, memorized like required subjects of study.

…If humans were like this,

Then what about non-humans?

*Sea King Turtlem, the Giant of Ruin, the Mother of Flame, the Serpent of the Old King, the White King, the Elf Queen, the Blade Dragon God…*

Even monsters that normally had no dealings with humans had all turned out.

Star Guardians who protected the stars, and kings who sat at the pinnacle of countless races.

Among them, the Blade Dragon God was the Dragon God who had appeared at the Tower of the War God.

She was said to have been slain—so how she could have appeared here again was beyond understanding.

“…I’m going back.”

“Pardon? Sir Ams, you’re turning back after coming all this way?”

Ams nodded and spoke humbly.

“This is not a place for me.”

—

—

 

The Elf Queen.

She and the elves trembled finely as they gazed at the World Tree that reached the heavens.

“Ahh…”

“Your Majesty. It’s the World Tree.”

“If only we could ‘connect’ to it, the Dark Elves would never dare approach us again!”

They were overwhelmed with emotion.

It was unavoidable.

Recently, the elves had gone to war with the Dark Elves.

Countless elves had died or been abducted, and they had narrowly avoided disaster befalling even the Queen and their World Tree.

In such dire circumstances, the appearance of the second World Tree was like a ray of light to them.

The source of elven power is “trees.”

By connecting with trees and forests, they gain immense strength.

That was why they lived gathered around the World Tree in the Forest of Beginnings.

And now that a second World Tree had appeared, it was a chance for retribution.

“We have to save Elder Arwen. I’ll ‘connect.’”

“…Auril, you’re not a High Elf.”

The Elf Queen shook her head.

Auril would not be able to withstand a connection with the World Tree.

Only High Elves could do that.

But too many High Elves had been killed by the Dark Elves.

Or abducted.

Elder Arwen was the same.

They didn’t even know whether she was alive or dead.

“I can do it. Please let me try.”

Auril bit her lip tightly and pressed her case again and again.

The Queen understood her feelings.

Auril was an outstanding warrior among the elves.

After following Elder Arwen in search of the “Lord of Verdant,” she had spent a long time with humans.

And when she returned, the “laurel leaf” she possessed had grown explosively.

As if… she had found the “Mother Tree,” the proof of a High Elf.

But Auril had arrived too late.

By the time she returned, the war was nearly over.

And Elder Arwen had already vanished.

*If not for the White King and Priest Andrew…*

The Elf Queen would have died.

Coincidentally, those two were here as well.

But there were too many eyes watching to approach them.

…That was when—

“Your Majesty?”

“What is it?”

The Elf Queen’s expression stiffened.

Those who had appeared beside the World Tree.

The moment she saw them, she couldn’t help but be shaken.

“Druids…”

The druids—said to have been exterminated—were standing there.

A race that sowed seeds and created forests.

And elves maintained the forests they created.

They had lived in symbiosis for countless years, but the druids were a tragic race whose entire species had been wiped out by “Destruction(Ruin).”

And yet—how could they be here?

The Elf Queen wasn’t the only one startled.

Others, too, were shocked by the druids’ appearance.

“We seek those who are more honorable than any other. Those whom the World Tree acknowledges as holy, without falsehood. The World Tree will grant you your ‘True Name,’ but any who bear false honor—I, Albino, High Chieftain of the Druids, will personally strike down.”

“Albino?”

“High Chieftain Albino…?”

“Could it be that a druid from before the appearance of ‘Destruction’ is still alive?”

There were those who knew Albino’s name.

He was one of the druid high chieftains—and among them, Albino was a particularly legendary druid.

Even if he had fled in the end.

The only druid who had caused new sprouts to grow again on lands annihilated by Destruction.

That was Albino.

Normally, lands destroyed by Destruction never give rise to life again.

He had turned the impossible into the possible—no wonder he became legend.

“So he didn’t flee… he was guarding the World Tree…”

The Elf Queen nodded.

The druids were alive.

And not just any druids—the legendary Albino himself.

Guarding the World Tree, and perhaps even capable of restoring it.

However, the Elf Queen shuddered at what Albino said next.

“And also—those with honor loftier than all others. Those with pure souls. The ‘High Druid’ will personally receive them.”

“…!!!”

“A–A High Druid?”

High Druid!

The one and only sovereign who leads all druids.

Druids create trees and forests.

And the High Druid creates the World Tree.

It is said that in the distant past, when the world was born, the High Druid created eight World Trees to support the world.

But since then, no High Druid had ever appeared again.

There had been druids who claimed to be High Druids—but none had truly caused a World Tree to sprout.

At best, they merely communicated with one.

“Druid—are you saying the High Druid truly exists?”

Thus, the Elf Queen could not help but ask.

She had to understand the intent behind those words.

“The High Druid caused the ‘World Tree of Honor’ to fully bloom. Elf Queen, you of all people should know.”

Albino answered without embellishment.

And at that reply, the Elf Queen could not help but nod inwardly.

The World Tree of Honor.

The power it possessed—the life force itself—was utterly different from the World Tree of Origin in the Forest of Beginnings.

Its petals were in full bloom, and its roots stretched down into the Abyss.

Moreover, natural power overflowed all around it.

Across the entire area now called the Sanctuary of Honor, green shoots were sprouting.

Spirits were being born, and the trunks of trees were growing.

It was overwhelming.

If the elves moved their homeland here, they would gain far greater power.

Power incomparable to before.

…No—wait.

If it was a High Druid, then even the World Tree in the Forest of Beginnings could be made to fully bloom.

“Please… allow our elves to ‘connect’ to the World Tree of Honor.”

“That is for the High Druid to decide.”

“So that means we must first have our qualifications verified.”

“You understand quickly, Elf Queen.”

Verification of qualifications.

Who would dare to verify the qualifications of the Elf Queen?

But it couldn’t be helped.

The ones who were thirsty now were the elves.

“High Druid…”

“If this is true, then we must confirm it.”

“You said you are seeking the honorable, didn’t you?”

Yet it wasn’t only the High Elves who were eager.

The exterminated druids were alive.

And there was even a High Druid.

There had to be a reason for a High Druid to appear now.

And that reason might be even more important than the appearance of the World Tree itself.

Everyone rushed toward the World Tree.

To have their honor verified.

To contend over who was the more honorable being.

Tap.

…Yet even so, there were those who could not easily approach.

“Waiting around like this really gets on my nerves.”

One of them was the White King.

Ignoring the crowd, he strode forward.

Reaching the very front, the White King declared,

“I’ll go first.”

Boldly.

With an attitude that brooked no objection.

—

—

Human honor.

And the honor of those who are not human.

Their standards could never be the same.

Their lived environments were far too different to pursue the same notion of honor.

Even so, everyone had their own “criteria.”

The White King was a prime example.

The White Tiger clan had ruled over other species since ancient times.

Just as the White King ruled the North and Cramdel, governing monsters.

The honor of the White Tiger clan lay in how well they ruled those under them.

And now that he had regained his power, the White King’s confidence soared sky-high.

“Verify my qualifications.”

Whooooong!

The petals of the World Tree began to flutter.

Then their color shifted, turning red.

Red.

Orange.

And then yellow.

“King of a Hundred Beasts…?”

A voice could be faintly heard.

A true name—“King of a Hundred Beasts.”

Immediately, the White King’s snow-white mane grew even more luxuriant.

“…Impressive.”

The “True Name” bestowed by the World Tree carried power.

It was akin to a second class advancement.

《Class advancement to “King of a Hundred Beasts” is complete.》

《10% of owned honor—‘2,500 points’—has been reclaimed by the World Tree of Honor.》

《Of that, 250 points have been transferred to the “Master of the World Tree.”》

Of course, it wasn’t free.

The World Tree reclaimed 10% of his honor.

And 1% of that was transferred to the “Master of the World Tree”—presumably the High Druid.

“Not bad.”

At least it felt like the World Tree had acknowledged him.

Shrugging his shoulders, the White King left the World Tree’s domain.

After that, verification continued without pause.

But most stopped at red—or orange.

No one reached yellow like the White King.

So he asked,

“Druid, how many stages are there to verifying honor?”

“There are seven stages.”

“…Then I’m at stage three?”

Albino chuckled.

“Don’t worry. Only a handful in a century can reach stage three.”

“Hm, I see.”

“Of course, the High Druid has surpassed stage seven.”

“……”

If he himself was only at stage three, and the High Druid had surpassed stage seven—

It was unbelievable.

High Druid.

Just what kind of being was that?

He wanted to see their face immediately.

But then something even more unbelievable happened.

“Green?”

“Oh—someone reached stage four. Who is that woman?”

One of the humans had entered stage four—the green light.

It was hard to believe.

Stage three was enough to become the head of Fang.

Stage four was a level that might not appear even once in a century.

Who in the world possessed such honor—and such a soul?

Thud!

However, the woman who had reached the fourth stage collapsed immediately.

Serengeti.

Known as the Knight of Pure White, and famed as Wilhelm’s closest companion, she went pale as a sheet and lost consciousness.

 

 

 

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