I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-328

Ch-328. **< Just what the hell is that bastard, anyway? >**

—

Countless lines of text floated up, as if to prove the dungeon’s rank and difficulty.

The unprecedented volume and content made one instinctively click their tongue in disbelief.

*‘Forgotten Gods, 370 Miraculous Feats, and the Souls of Forgotten Knights…’*

Those three were the core.

I didn’t know exactly what it meant to “face the Forgotten Gods,” but judging from the context, the goal was likely to clear the trials they imposed.

Then, by resolving the Miraculous Feats, we would obtain the Souls of Forgotten Knights, strengthen the knight orders, and make our way toward the Roots of the World Tree—that was the dungeon’s main structure.

*‘The Forgotten Gods despise evil alignment… fortunately, my evil alignment has been completely separated.’*

At least that was a relief.

The separation between good alignment and evil alignment had already been completed.

Since all evil alignment had been transferred to **Randolph**, unless I transformed, there was no reason for the Forgotten Gods to loathe me.

*‘It doesn’t say we have to clear all 370 Miraculous Feats.’*

That, too, was worth pondering carefully.

The seven knight orders would compete with one another while advancing toward the Roots of the World Tree.

*‘Once someone reaches the Roots of the World Tree, the competition ends. Rankings will likely be determined by arrival time and the number of feats completed.’*

In other words, even without clearing all 370 Miraculous Feats, if one aimed solely for first place, taking the shortest possible route to the Roots of the World Tree could also be a viable strategy.

Charge ahead quickly—or advance slowly but reliably while clearing feats.

It seemed a matter of selection and focus.

“Where… are we?”

“In the sky?”

Those who had finished reading the messages looked around and murmured in awe.

The place we were standing on wasn’t the ground.

All of us—including me—were walking atop clouds.

An endlessly stretching horizon.

Nothing but blue sky and clouds as far as the eye could see.

“Hm!”

“It’s hard to keep your balance.”

“Can we only walk on clouds?”

Walking on clouds that sank slightly with every step was far harder than expected.

It felt like trudging through mud.

Then—

**Swoooosh!**

A single, ordinary-looking door materialized in the distance.

At the same time, another message appeared before our eyes.

【Question 1. Do you consider yourself honorable?】
【If you do, move to the cloud on the right.】
【If you do not, move to the cloud on the left.】
【If you fail to choose within 30 seconds, the cloud you are standing on will disappear.】

A question appeared without warning.

I didn’t know the intent behind it, but I understood the method of solving it.

“It looks like we have to answer the questions and enter that door,” Raiga said.

Just as he said, there was a door at the end of the cloud path.

Perhaps the key was to answer these binary-choice questions while advancing toward that distant door.

If so, we simply had to follow the path of clouds as we chose our answers.

“…The cloud path leading to the door is fixed. The question is whether we choose the predetermined answer, or answer according to our conscience.”

Serengeti tilted her head as she spoke.

Questions with predetermined answers.

But if one followed them blindly, there might come a moment when they would have to choose a lie.

“Seven times to the right, three times to the left, and you reach the door.”

Albino spoke after discerning the cloud path.

Meaning: answer “yes” seven times, “no” three times, and you’d reach the door.

“There’s no time—let’s just go.”

Hudson stepped forward.

More than twenty seconds of the thirty had already passed.

It was time to choose rather than deliberate.

And the answer to the first question was unanimous.

【Moving to the right (1) cloud.】
【All members of the knight order consider themselves ‘honorable.’】

Everyone gathered here had already proven their “honor.”

If they hadn’t considered themselves honorable, they wouldn’t have come seeking verification in the first place.

*Ding!*

【Question 2. You are riding a horse at full speed. Suddenly, three children appear directly in front of you. If you continue straight, all three will die. If you change direction, only one will die. If you must choose one, what do you do?】
【Continue straight → move to the right cloud.】
【Change direction → move to the left cloud.】

Another question appeared without pause.

*…A dilemma.*

I understood the intent now.

Questions with no correct answer—dilemmas where the answer changed depending on one’s conscience and moral judgment.

They were presenting nothing but dilemma questions.

The intent was obvious.

They wanted to create division.

To shake each knight’s beliefs and values, and sow distrust.

“After opening with a question about honor, they follow it up with this…”

“Disgusting.”

Albino and Raiga clicked their tongues softly.

“Shouldn’t we just go right anyway?”

“Hudson. Are you saying it’s fine if more people die?”

Serengeti challenged Hudson’s stance.

Hudson hurriedly shook his head.

“No… I’m saying the answer’s fixed, so let’s not overthink it.”

“Even so, that’s not honorable.”

“Either way, someone dies.”

“A knight has a duty to minimize civilian casualties.”

“No matter which you choose, an innocent child dies. And it’s just a riddle anyway. They’re not really dying.”

The sharp exchange had already begun.

“Enough.”

I stepped forward.

If this continued, we’d run out of time.

Hudson and Serengeti fell silent.

Perhaps it was the first time they had experienced such a clash of values, despite being so compatible otherwise.

But it wasn’t as if I had a clear answer either.

…What should I do?

“Wouldn’t it be better for everyone to follow the commander’s choice? A knight order is meant to act as one.”

Balte, who had been quiet, offered his opinion.

“That might be best.”

“It would also prevent unnecessary conflict.”

One by one, voices agreed.

They decided to follow my choice completely.

But even that was a dilemma.

Is entrusting one’s choice to another truly honorable?

And in the choices to come, could they really hold no grievances?

Could I be certain everyone would faithfully follow my decisions?

“Golden Scale Druid, what will you do?” Albino asked.

I pondered briefly, then nodded.

“I’ll make the choice.”

…If it were Wilhelm and the Knights of the Round Table, they would have done so from the start.

They wouldn’t have agonized over such vile questions.

No matter what Wilhelm chose—even if it led to his own destruction—they were the kind who would willingly throw themselves into the fire with him.

I chose.

【All members of the knight order move to the right (2) cloud.】
【At this moment, three innocent children have died.】

…An utterly unpleasant message.

Just reading it made my skin crawl.

I didn’t know who devised these questions, but one thing was certain—their character was trash.

*‘This isn’t just low-grade—this is bottom-of-the-barrel filth.’*

Not merely vile, but exceptionally so.

There was no doubt the one behind this had several screws loose.

“…From now on.”

I slowly opened my mouth.

I had no intention of dancing to the examiner’s tune.

Especially not with questions that had no answers.

More than anything, they said the beginning was half the battle.

We couldn’t keep running forward while distrusting one another from the outset.

【Question 3 …】

“G-Golden Scale Druid?!”

“…!!”

Everyone stared at me in shock.

Before the question even fully appeared—

I stepped onto the next cloud without even looking at it.

【Warning. If you do not properly read and solve the questions, the ‘door’ will not open.】

A warning message appeared.

But I didn’t stop.

We had confirmed that stepping onto the next cloud without answering didn’t cause any immediate issue.

Which meant there was only one answer.

“All of you, follow me.”

We keep moving forward.

【Question 4 …】

【Warning!】

【Question 5 …】

【Warning!】

We charged ahead without stopping, straight toward the door.

I ignored every warning.

The members hurried after me, wearing expressions that clearly said *Is this really okay?*

When we finally reached the door—

【The ‘door’ is closed.】
【To open the ‘door,’ you must return and solve the ‘questions.’】

As expected, it didn’t open.

However, just like the dilemma questions, there wasn’t only one way to open it.

I drew my sword.

《‘Martial God’s Heart sword (Disarm)’ is activated.》

**KRRRAACK!**
**THUD!**

The door split cleanly in half and collapsed to the ground.

At the same time—

《You have severed a ‘Indestructible’ door.》

《Miraculous Feat (1) – ‘The Knight Order Is One’ has been achieved!》

《Miraculous Feat (2) – ‘The One Who Creates Answers’ has been achieved!》

《Across all knight orders, a total of 2 Miraculous Feats have been completed so far.》

《Completed Miraculous Feats cannot be duplicated by other knight orders.》

《You have obtained ‘Soul of a Forgotten Knight (Banyan).’》

《You have obtained ‘Soul of a Forgotten Knight (Trebia).’》

Just as expected.

If we had slogged through the questions one by one, we’d have fallen behind.

*‘Every action leads to a Miraculous Feat.’*

Two feats were completed simultaneously.

Which meant that both my actions and the actions of the entire knight order were being counted as feats.

*‘If the 370 feats aren’t individual, we might finish much faster than expected.’*

Good news.

But I froze at the final line.

*‘Banyan?’*

The name attached to the knight’s soul was eerily familiar.

Banyan.

The name of one of the Knights of the Round Table.

Was it a coincidence?

—How dare you destroy the door at will!

**KURRRRUMBLE!**

At that moment, a single mass of dark clouds suddenly appeared.

《A ‘Forgotten God’ who refuses to accept the result has appeared.》

The Forgotten God roared in fury.

—Solving problems by trickery without answering them is not honorable.

—You have effectively lied, which is truly ‘evil.’

—If you possess even the slightest trace of ‘evil,’ you will never pass through this door!

They were saying they would judge whether we possessed evil alignment.

If even a single grain of evil existed, we wouldn’t be allowed through.

“No being is purely good. Not even a god.”

Albino spoke with absolute conviction.

A druid—the most sanctified race.

And among them, a being hailed as a legend.

Even gods did not possess only “good,” he asserted.

—I don’t care.

…Truly, this was a question befitting its creator.

I could see exactly why it had become a “Forgotten God.”

What kind of followers would worship trash like that?

The Forgotten God continued.

—Still, I am a benevolent god, so I will show mercy. Soon, a value representing ‘evil’ will appear above your heads. If the total does not exceed 500, I will allow you to proceed to the next tier.

I shrugged and asked back.

“And if it exceeds that?”

—It ends.

“Does that mean we die?”

—An end signifies eternal loss.

Loss.

An ambiguous answer.

I had to ask again.

“On what basis is the evil value determined?”

—Everything you possess. All that is unholy and destructive. All of it will be combined into a number. Hiding it is useless. Everything will be revealed.

This wasn’t about honor.

It was purely about alignment—or attributes.

In simple terms, if one possessed any evil-related attributes, they wouldn’t be allowed through.

“…And if we refuse to be judged?”

—That too is an end. However, since I am merciful, I will offer another path.

“Let’s hear it.”

—Hand over all the ‘souls’ you have obtained. Then you may proceed to the next tier.

Be judged by the evil value, or give up the Souls of Forgotten Knights.

Another forced binary choice.

I didn’t know why the Forgotten God wanted those souls, but regardless, handing them over was the most rational option.

There was no telling how high everyone’s evil values might be.

And I had no idea what a total of 500 even represented.

A brief moment of thought.

Then I spoke.

“We’ll be tested. Judge all of our ‘evil.’”

—Keh! Foolish fool.

The Forgotten God sneered.

—Don’t regret it!

At that instant—

Numbers made of smoke began to appear above everyone’s heads.

The Forgotten God, who had been sneering all along, looked at the numbers with smug satisfaction.

50, 75, 90…

At this rate, it was obvious the total would far exceed 500.

And as expected, after checking just eight people, the total had already surpassed 500.

*Tsk. You should have handed over the souls from the start.*

The Forgotten God clicked its tongue at what it believed to be a foolish choice.

But then—

Its smile began to fade.

—Huh…?!

It swallowed nervously, as if something was terribly wrong.

The total had clearly exceeded 500, and yet—

—T-this makes no sense…!

……