I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-35

Ch-35. **Mythic-Rank**

—

The Brain-Dead Hunter.

He was a character I half-jokingly created, just to check whether a game company this huge was really operating the game at all.

Despite starting as a joke, I invested a lot of effort into him. But since he was the textbook definition of a “troller,” he roamed the entire continent committing every foul deed imaginable.

Stealing from named NPCs, joining wartime cities as a mercenary only to plunder his own side’s supply lines, mugging the priesthood of the Goddess Church…

*That was child’s play, really.*

Even after all of that, no restrictions were issued, so the Brain-Dead Hunter’s antics only grew bolder.

He cut off every resource flowing into a city, assassinated all the key figures, then froze the warp gates and triggered a monster wave.

It became recorded as the first monster wave ever triggered by a player. An entire city sank into the Abyss as a result… and yet, nothing—no penalty, no warning.

*Back then, I thought the game company had abandoned the game entirely.*

Why make such a great game and then refuse to advertise it?

Watching the concurrent user count drop day by day—how many times did I fret over it?

…Thinking back, it must have been because those numbers were being summoned *into the game world*.

But there was no way I could’ve known that then.

If I *had* known, it would’ve been a horror game—watching players disappear one by one in real time.

In any case, after that, I practically went berserk with a “let’s see how far this goes” mindset.

The result: I became unable to even log into the Brain-Dead Hunter.

…Because there wasn’t a single region on the continent where he wasn’t wanted.

*It’s been about a year since I last logged in.*

Yet here that year-abandoned character was now.

Granted, half of that year was spent solely preparing for the Demon Realm Grand Expedition with Wilhelm, so most of my characters had been left idle for at least half a year.

But the characters I abandoned were now moving freely on their own.

As if they’d become NPCs.

*So this is where you hid.*

Cramdel—the city of monsters.

If you were here, no matter how desperately the continent searched, they’d never find you.

A smart choice, in its own way.

—

—

“Meeting a half-dragonkin here, caw. Isabella—has it really been 150 years, caw?”

“…Yes. It has indeed been 150 years since I last met one of my kin.”

Maybe it was because she’d been through so much in such a short span.

Isabella no longer panicked at sudden events.

She even had the composure to match my tone.

*She’s grown.*

Isabella—once trapped in the desert—was learning the world.

“150 years?”

Isaac was startled.

A hundred and fifty years.

Humans simply couldn’t live that long.

Besides, the King of Corpse Crows—that was me—was standing beside her. A monster myself, testifying on her behalf, making her words all the more credible.

If Isabella had truly become a half-dragonkin through me…

Then Isaac was still the fake—just pretending to be one.

And this was Cramdel.

If he was exposed as human, he’d die instantly.

Inside the fortress city of Cramdel, there was nowhere to run.

I saw confusion flash through Isaac’s eyes.

“But I am puzzled, caw. I’ve heard of humans pretending to be half-dragonkin, caw?”

“Yes. There were humans who used the weapons of the exalted Celestial Dragonkin to impersonate half-dragonkin.”

“And what became of those humans, caw?”

“…We killed them all.”

Fwoosh!

Isaac shot to his feet.

Wearing nothing but a small towel covering his vital parts.

Yet his wings remained active—the reason was simple.

*He used an Equipment Transparency Potion.*

Isabella was using the same thing, so it was clear.

They’d hidden their equipment appearances using the *Equipment Transparency Potion*.

[Michela’s Helm]
[Michela’s Sword]
[Michela’s Armor]
[Lightning-Flash Boots]
[Ring of the Thunder-Guide] [Ring of the Storm-Guide]
[Thunder-Goblin Mystery]

But of course, to my eyes, every item Isaac was wearing was clearly visible.

*The items are unchanged.*

The treasure-grade items I’d equipped him with in the past were still there.

Hesitation flickered in Isaac’s eyes.

*He’s thinking of running.*

But this was Cramdel.

Even if Isaac was covered in Level-10 treasure gear, once you entered this place, escaping on your own was impossible.

The moment Medusa’s Eye spotted you, you turned to stone.

Medusa’s eyes scanned Cramdel, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

There was no warp inside Cramdel, nor could you use teleportation tomes.

Escape was something that only happened in dreams.

Isaac surely knew this.

“Haha! I, a half-dragonkin of my level, was simply startled to see a fellow kin after so long. Isabella, was it? I am Isaac.”

Giving up on escape, Isaac laughed boisterously and extended his hand.

Isabella only stared blankly at it.

“Strange, caw. Handshakes are not a greeting method of half-dragonkin, are they, caw?”

“No. That is the human way.”

At Isabella’s reply, the surroundings instantly grew rowdy.

“What? Human?”
“He’s a transformed human?”

Especially the snow maidens with Isaac.

With translucent skin and twin horns on their foreheads, the snow maidens were one of the monsters who despised humans the most. If they learned Isaac was human, they’d tear him into hundreds—no, thousands—of pieces.

As suspicion grew, Isaac’s laughter began to thin.

“Haha… forgive me. I lost my parents young, so I never properly learned the half-dragonkin greeting. Teach me now and I’ll do it just right.”

Smooth as ever.

Truly a brain-dead con man.

His tone when speaking of losing his parents was dripping with sorrow.

Even his bitter expression and self-deprecating gestures.

He was a character I had raised—but his behavior patterns remained exactly the same.

But once you knew he was a con artist, there was no opponent easier to handle.

“It’s a joke, caw.”

“…”

“Just shake hands, caw.”

“…”

Isabella clasped Isaac’s hand.

Isaac stared at me with blank eyes.

I ignored him and slowly lowered myself back into the hot spring.

Truthfully, I was curious.

Why evolved monsters were obsessed with Cramdel’s hot springs.

*Hmm.*

I understood the moment I submerged myself.

<By the effect of the low-grade ‘Tears of the Goddess,’ your entire body relaxes and stabilizes.>

…An incredibly steadying sensation.

I felt like I could remain in the springs forever.

Monsters destabilized by evolution could probably regain stability simply by soaking in these waters.

Then—

<The ‘Blind Goddess’s Hand’ begins seeking you.>

Rumble—Rrrrmmble—!

“Caw?”

KWAaaaaaa!!

Shhhhaaaaaaaa!!

…The hot spring exploded.

—

—

Because of the sudden explosion, the **Devoted Springhouse** was forced to close for the day.

Isaac used the chaos to attempt an escape—but fat chance.

“Isaac the Brain-Dead, caw.”

“…You know who I am?”

Outside, at the mouth of an alleyway, Isaac froze.

He hadn’t expected to hear that name *here*.

I shrugged.

“Don’t even think about running, caw. The moment you try to flee with ‘Lightning-Flash,’ I’ll report you to the Keeper of the Door, caw.”

“…!”

The Keeper of the Door—Medusa.

You could not flee from her.

And even if you left Cramdel, you’d die.

The people hunting Isaac would never let him go.

“You approached me intentionally, didn’t you? Then both of you must be human?”

“I am a Star-Bearer, caw.”

“Star-Bearer? A Guide of the Stars?”

I nodded.

Isaac had likely been in Cramdel for quite some time.

His nature wouldn’t have changed, so he would be well-versed in the city’s affairs.

“You know the rumors about the 33rd Star born here, don’t you, caw?”

“…I do.”

At that moment—

<‘Medusa’s Eye’ is scanning this area.>

Medusa was looking this way.

Was it because the hot spring exploded?

*Seems only I can see it.*

Isaac and Isabella had no reaction—they couldn’t sense it at all.

If I acted suspiciously, Medusa would carve a curse upon me.

Especially with such a sensitive topic.

We needed to move.

But clueless Isaac opened his mouth.

“That star is…”

“Caw! What’s all this commotion, caw! We’ll go to another hot spring, caw!”

“…?”

Isaac blinked in confusion.

I immediately dragged him away.

“W-What are you doing?”

“We half-dragonkin should catch up properly, caw! You’re coming with us, caw!”

—

—

 

I needed to learn more about that star.

The Blind Goddess’s Hand seeking me…

And the hot spring infused with the Goddess’s Tears…

It all seemed connected to the **33rd Star**.

“Where is this…?”

Dragged along, Isaac looked around.

A shabby underground storage room.

But in Cramdel, there was no safer place.

“Medusa was watching the hot spring, caw.”

“…!”

Isaac’s eyes twitched.

If we’d kept talking there, the consequences would’ve been dreadful.

“How did you detect Medusa’s gaze?”

But no creature could sense Medusa’s sight.

Not any monster he knew.

“For a Star-Bearer, nothing is impossible, caw.”

“…Ridiculous. So this place is safe?”

“A place Medusa’s Eyes cannot reach, caw.”

“There’s a place like that in Cramdel?”

Isaac asked in genuine surprise.

There were several such places. But no need to inform him of the others.

“Speak of the star, caw.”

“And why should I?”

Having regained his senses, Isaac became prickly.

But he was just the Monkey King on the Buddha’s palm.

“I know where the ‘Appearance Alteration Potion’ is, caw.”

“…And you think I’d want that?”

“Don’t you want to roam the continent freely, caw?”

Just like Isabella, Isaac had desires.

Isabella wanted to lift the queen’s curse and leave the desert.

Likewise, Isaac surely wanted *true freedom*.

Both their lives had been restricted by the way I played them.

As expected, Isaac’s expression subtly shifted.

“…It must be a *highest-grade* Appearance Alteration Potion.”

The highest grade.

A potion that altered not only appearance but even the name etched into the soul.

Changing appearance alone was useless—Pangaenia had dozens of tracking methods based on observation, names, appearances, and evidence.

The only perfect solution was the highest-grade potion.

Using it was like being born anew.

But it was nearly impossible to obtain.

The ingredients were insane.

*Wish Orb, Valkyrie’s Scale, Giant’s Finger…*

Each one a top-tier treasure.

It was basically designed to be uncraftable.

But I knew where the continent’s *only* highest-grade potion was.

“Of course that one. Will you trade, caw?”

“And why should I trust you? You could be lying.”

“Believe or don’t—it’s your choice, caw.”

“…Pleasure meeting you. Let’s not cross paths again.”

Quick refusal. Isaac turned away.

I spoke slowly.

“‘The Mining City’ was a place that needed to disappear, caw.”

“…!!!”

Isaac froze.

He turned, shock rippling through his eyes—he had never imagined I would know *that*.

“If left alone, more people would have been kidnapped and worked to death in the mines, caw.”

“I don’t know where you heard that, but don’t pretend you know.”

“The corrupt priests of the Goddess Church, the city lord who forced a war for personal profit… each case had its reason, did it not, caw?”

“….”

Isaac’s eyes trembled.

The Brain-Dead Hunter *had* been something of a vigilante.

At least early on.

He committed evil, yes—but he acted by a certain personal rule.

He went berserk later, of course… but no need to mention that.

“Serve me for one year, caw. After that, I’ll grant you true freedom, caw.”

“Serve? Hah. I don’t move without payment.”

“Then here is your down payment, caw.”

I pulled an item from my coat.

Isaac’s whole body trembled when he saw it.

“…A Cataclysm Talisman?”

“With luck, you might even roll the ‘Complete Transformation’ option, caw.”

**The Talisman of Cataclysm!**

It was something I’d purchased from the Golden Scale Shop.

A talisman that rerolls all options at random—and, at an absurdly terrible probability, there was even the chance of rolling a complete transformation option.

It was almost impossible to obtain, true, but for me it was nothing; I could just buy another one from the Golden Scale Shop.

Getting Isaac on my side was the priority.

When I handed over such an outrageously rare item without hesitation, Isaac looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“On what basis are you giving *me* a Cataclysm Talisman?”

“I believe in everything about you, kaaak.”

He was a character I’d raised myself—if *I* didn’t trust him, that would be a contradiction.

Isaac stared quietly into my eyes.

‘What kind of guy is this?’

Isaac couldn’t make sense of the situation.

It felt like I knew everything about him.

But a King of Corpse Crows—no matter if he was a Star-Bearer—shouldn’t possibly know all of this.

‘It’s an extremely tiny probability—practically zero—but…’

Isaac looked at the Cataclysm Talisman in his hand.

The chance was minuscule, but the Cataclysm Talisman represented possibility.

It was the hope he had searched endlessly for.

“…Damn it. I can’t make heads or tails of you. Fine. As long as you’re in Cramdel, I’ll help you.”

That alone was more than enough motivation for Isaac to move.

He didn’t even ask what this was about. Whatever it was, he would help—at least for now.

Isaac was level 10 and equipped with treasure-grade items from head to toe.

If he helped, my upcoming plans would speed up considerably. This investment was worth every coin.

*

*

 

Rumors about the 33rd Star began circulating when the “Star Guardians” started visiting Cramdel.

More than ten Star Guardians had already gathered here, and word spread that they were investigating the hot spring waters.

It also seemed deeply connected to Dramut’s appearance.

‘I need to find Mysteries first.’

So I had to determine my priorities.

There were many things I was curious about, but the most urgent was, of course, Mysteries.

《You have satisfied the entry conditions for the “Shrine of Mysteries.”》

《In the Shrine of Mysteries, you can obtain special Mysteries.》

《Main Quest 5: “Obtain a Mystery” has begun.》

《This quest ends the moment you obtain your first Mystery.》

《Rewards: Vary depending on the Mystery obtained.》

《TIP: You can also purchase Mysteries from the city’s Mystics.》

The Shrine of Mysteries.

That was the name of the massive tower located here in Cramdel.

As the name implied, nothing was known about it. Among gamers, information about it was virtually nonexistent.

‘Only non-human races can enter the Shrine of Mysteries.’

Since humans couldn’t enter at all, this was expected.

Cramdel itself was a city untouched by human hands. Even among gamers, Cramdel was spoken of like a legend.

Naturally, even less was known about a tower built in such a place.

‘The strongest Mysteries—those said to be unmatched—are obtainable *only* in the Shrine of Mysteries.’

And I alone knew that the Mysteries described as the strongest could be obtained here.

It couldn’t be helped.

One had to use the Michela Set to transform into a Half-Dragon to even qualify.

Obtaining Michela’s Sword, a piece of the set, was brutally difficult.

And there was no human willing to risk their life entering Cramdel.

Only someone like Wilhelm would even consider doing so.

‘When I played as Wilhelm, I didn’t know you could only obtain *one* Mystery.’

And even with Wilhelm, I couldn’t obtain the strongest Mystery.

Because of another damn hidden condition.

You could only obtain a single Mystery from the Shrine of Mysteries.

Had I known that, of course I would’ve chosen a better one.

I made the mistake simply because there wasn’t enough information.

I just accepted the first Mystery the tower gave me.

‘And later, I absolutely regretted it.’

I climbed the Shrine of Mysteries multiple times, but I couldn’t obtain another Mystery.

It was like having a steaming bowl of delicious Ox bone soup right in front of me and not being able to take even one bite.

Even now, thinking about it made my teeth grind.

‘That won’t happen this time.’

One mistake was enough.

I would *never* repeat the same mistake again.

With firm resolve, I stepped into the Shrine of Mysteries.

《Entering the “Shrine of Mysteries.”》

《Hidden Tip: Depending on your race values, the state of the Shrine you enter may differ. Humans excluded.》

《Detected races of the entrant: Void (10), Giant (10), Druid (10), Celestial (20), Corpse Crow (5).》

《Race Value: 55 points. You have fulfilled the tower’s hidden final condition.》

《A “Hidden Quest” has been granted by the Shrine’s Master.》

《Hidden Quest: “Clear the Mythic Shrine of Mysteries.”》

《Would you like to attempt it?》

《If you choose not to, the quest will vanish and you will enter the standard Shrine of Mysteries.》

‘A Hidden Quest?’

Faced with something I had never seen before, I couldn’t help but pause.

Was there ever such a condition?

Even the names of the races listed seemed strangely familiar.

It looked like every related hidden trait had been fully applied.

‘Mythic, huh.’

But if I had to choose the most important thing from all this, it would unquestionably be the fact that this was the *Mythic* Shrine of Mysteries.

Anything bearing the name “Mythic” possessed a difficulty beyond imagination.

A height one could not dare climb, a realm one could not dream to reach.

…But, there was no need to hesitate.

《Entering the “Mythic Shrine of Mysteries.”》

The adventures I found here were the light of my life, the fire of my body, and the very essence of my soul!

《Achievement Unlocked: “Adventurer Who Challenges Myth.”》

《All Constellations of the ‘Folk War’ begin to watch you.》

 

 

 

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