I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-366

Ch366. **“So you’re really Park Hyeonmyung?”**

—

The moment the papal election concluded,

the festival of the Goddess Day began in earnest.

Goddess Day was a grand festival held over two days in the Holy City of Adrium.

The first day honored Goddess Leah, and the second day honored Goddess Pina—a time when the entire city was swept up in celebration.

It was the one and only commemorative day when the Church of the Goddess was fully opened to the world.

“What kind of person is Pope Aron?”

“He is Cardinal Johansson’s most outstanding disciple. He’s long been known for his piety and fairness.”

“I heard rumors that he used to be a troublemaker…”

“Heavens, what dangerous words! Even if such rumors did exist, they’re nothing more than youthful indiscretions exaggerated far beyond the truth—something anyone goes through once in their life.”

“I-is that so?”

Powerful figures from countless nations gathered, mingled, and continued to exchange questions about the newly elected pope.

Everyone harbored doubts about the young pope who had appeared so suddenly.

Moreover, the rumors surrounding Aron had never been good.

He had been known as nothing less than a ruffian.

No—a downright scoundrel.

So notorious that the rumors had spread all the way to the Empire.

Arrogant, womanizing, treating people like objects.

And such a man was now the pope?

“…I heard that the Knights of the Round Table were involved in this papal election.”

“They probably set up a puppet. After all, they were the ones who directly conquered the Tower of Destruction.”

“He certainly looks easy to handle.”

Naturally, there were those who revealed their sly inner thoughts.

Most people believed Pope Aron was merely a *puppet* of the Round Table.

Otherwise, such an unprecedented rise would have been impossible.

Hadn’t nearly all the procedures required to become pope been ignored or skipped?

And there was evidence to support their assumptions.

—*Where is the Master of the Round Table…?*

They had heard it clearly.

That dependent tone.

That voice.

Like a duckling searching for its mother.

Yet on such an important day, the Master of the Round Table was nowhere to be seen.

As if utterly uninterested, he did not show himself at all.

No matter how long they waited.

“By the way, who exactly is this new Master of the Round Table?”

“He hasn’t shown his face even once.”

“And was the Round Table really such a great organization?”

Perhaps because of that,

people’s dissatisfaction began to pile up.

To begin with, the Knights of the Round Table were a group that had supposedly been wiped out during the Great Expedition.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and knights had been deployed—and it had ended in failure.

And now they suddenly returned alive and claimed to have conquered the Tower of Destruction?

It was impossible to believe, impossible to understand.

“Maybe the Tower of Destruction itself wasn’t that big of a deal…”

“And maybe this so-called new Master is nothing special either.”

“The authority of the Church of the Goddess has already fallen to the ground long ago.”

“This isn’t the Church of old.”

“We came for nothing.”

“Pack up. We’re leaving.”

Quite a few people indulged in their own conjectures.

They began preparing to leave, devaluing both the newly elected pope and even the Knights of the Round Table.

From the very beginning, they had traveled a long way solely to see the *Master of the Round Table*.

But since he never showed his face, their disappointment was immense.

That was when—

Zuaaaaa—!

Along with a sound that tore at the ears,

Kuuuuung!

A colossal pillar of *light* appeared over Adrium.

All eyes were drawn to it.

And then, splitting the center of that pillar of light, a man emerged.

“I am Kasim, the Knight of Radiance. O Round Table, I deny you.”

The Radiant Transcendent, Kasim!

Having reclaimed all his equipment, he was finally complete, shining with brilliant radiance.

And he was not alone.

More knights emerged, parting the pillar of light.

Twelve Holy Knights!

At that sight, some people shuddered.

“Kasim…? Kasim, you say?”

“The Radiant Transcendent who suddenly vanished three hundred years ago?”

“There’s no way he could still be alive!”

“B-but those Holy Knights… It’s unmistakable. They’re the Knights of Radiance!”

Kasim was a figure who belonged in history books.

Together with the twelve Holy Knights, he had forced every heretical cult that rejected the Church of the Goddess to its knees.

He had accomplished twelve incomprehensible feats, defeated an evil god summoned to the continent three hundred years ago, and then vanished without a trace—a mythical figure.

Had it not been for him, the entire continent would have been consumed by the evil god.

He was the decisive existence that allowed the Church of the Goddess to spread across the continent as the foremost religion.

If he truly was Kasim, even the pope could not treat him lightly.

The problem was—why now?

On Goddess Day, the most blessed and celebratory day of all.

…Why appear suddenly and *deny* the Round Table?

“I challenge you to a duel. To determine who is more fitting to be called the ‘Knight of the Goddess.’ The time is tomorrow at noon. The place is here. If you refuse, I will consider it fear—and surrender.”

With that unilateral declaration, he stepped back into the pillar of light.

The pillar vanished, and Kasim and the Holy Knights disappeared without a trace.

“……”
“…….”

Everyone stood there, stunned.

But the point was simple.

A contest to determine which group was worthy of the title *Knights of the Goddess*.

“The Knights of Radiance versus the Knights of the Round Table…”

“We came at the right time.”

“Unpack your bags. Immediately!”

Those who had been preparing to leave unpacked once more.

Kings of numerous kingdoms, owners of great merchant houses and cities alike—all looked toward the Knights of the Round Table with eyes full of anticipation.

The Round Table was surrounded by rumors alone.

Now, it seemed they might finally grasp its true nature.

“…Things are getting interesting.”

King Friedrich of the Iron Kingdom, the Demon of Pride, smiled faintly.

He had been able to enter Adrium by exploiting the weakened Goddess’s barrier.

*So he was still alive.*

But still… unexpected.

To think that *Kasim* was alive.

Three hundred years ago, it had been Friedrich himself—the Demon of Pride—who led the summoning of the evil god on the continent.

Or rather, *the demons* had.

But Kasim, the Knight of the Goddess, appeared and thwarted it.

Afterward, the demons scattered, each pursuing their own path.

Even back then, Kasim had been monstrous.

*That monster… he’s grown even stronger.*

Had he done nothing but swing his sword in seclusion for three hundred years?

Judging by the magnitude of his light, he seemed far stronger than before.

Having reclaimed all his divine armaments, he would easily surpass his former peak.

The Holy Knights who had followed him through the completion of his feats were still standing strong.

But what about the Knights of the Round Table?

*Destruction has appeared. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has returned to us.*

Long ago, when Destruction appeared, the demons had surpassed all the gods.

They had not hesitated to look up at the heavens.

If Destruction had truly appeared again, it would be a festival beyond compare for the demons.

Yet the Round Table had conquered the Tower of Destruction, and *Destruction* itself was nowhere to be seen.

What was going on?

Had this new Master of the Round Table actually annihilated Destruction?

*No one can defeat Destruction.*

Nonsense.

That was impossible.

No one could defeat Destruction.

Even if Greed appeared again, it would be the same.

And hadn’t even the goddesses who aided Greed already fulfilled their destinies?

…In any case.

*If the Master of the Round Table doesn’t appear, they won’t be able to beat Kasim.*

Things were becoming quite entertaining.

Whether the Round Table could truly stand against the monstrous Kasim, who had grown stronger over three hundred years.

King Friedrich believed it would be difficult unless the Master of the Round Table revealed himself.

So—

*Show yourself now, Master of the Round Table.*

—

—

All members to be dispatched for the *Black Dome* exploration had been decided.

The party assembled by Vice Leader Ia Arin numbered ten in total.

Most were powerhouses representing Korea, including several rapidly rising second-generation Awakeners.

But there was one person—

someone no one had expected.

“That man…”

“Is he really Park Hyeonmyung?”

The expedition team murmured softly as they looked at a single man.

A man who had boldly come to the Alliance and introduced himself as *Park Hyeonmyung*.

The Alliance had been thrown into an uproar immediately.

Because Park Hyeonmyung was the man writing a new history in the Hall of Honor.

Everyone had been curious about who he truly was.

The man who had completed the tutorial on the Island of the Gods—and then vanished.

They had searched relentlessly, yet he had disappeared as if he had evaporated.

And now, he had suddenly appeared before the Alliance of his own accord.

*He looks…*

*Pretty ordinary.*

*Doesn’t look that strong…*

Those were their honest impressions of Park Hyeonmyung.

He had a solid, muscular build—but that was all.

He didn’t look anything like someone who had cleared *Main Quest 6* with an absurd score.

The same went for his results in the previous main quests.

Park Hyeonmyung—the rising powerhouse who appeared after Wilhelm and Randolph.

Could he be a fake?

There were countless people who claimed to be Park Hyeonmyung.

But not a single one of them had been real.

“You…”

That was the moment.

A man approached with an arrogant gait.

Choi Kang-nam.

The hottest second-generation Awakener in Korea, a treasure even dubbed *Korea’s future asset*.

And yet, he had suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Park Hyeonmyung.

By a score gap so vast in the Hall of Honor that it was impossible to close.

He had screamed, unable to accept reality, and even fainted.

That was why he had rushed over the moment he heard Park Hyeonmyung had appeared.

“So it really was you, Park Hyeonmyung. That monstrous bastard from the Island of the Gods!”

Choi Kang-nam ground his teeth.

What he had thought impossible had become reality.

On the Island of the Gods, in the final trial, Park Hyeonmyung had knocked down the powerhouses ranked second through ninth in mere seconds.

Choi Kang-nam had been among them.

Yet at the time, he had refused to acknowledge that man as *Park Hyeonmyung*.

But the man standing before him now was unmistakably the same one he had seen on the Island of the Gods.

Which meant—

…that monstrous bastard really *was* Park Hyeonmyung.

“You… I’ve been dying to meet you. Let’s fight again. Let’s settle who’s truly the best in Korea this time!”

Choi Kang-nam openly provoked him.

*I’m not the same as I was back then.*

Compared to when he had entered the Island of the Gods, he had grown incomparably stronger.

Even if his rank in the Hall of Honor lagged behind, that could never be an absolute measure of strength.

If they fought again, he was confident he wouldn’t lose as miserably as before.

No—he didn’t think he’d lose at all.

He had been intensively cultivated, enjoying every benefit the nation and the Alliance could offer.

Among second-generation Awakeners, he had no equal.

Even among first-generation Awakeners, he was confident that given time, he could break into the top hundred.

*I’m the one destined to be the first Korean to enter the Top Ten.*

Officially, Korea had no one in the Top Ten.

But he was certain that in the near future, his name would be there.

“I don’t know what tricks you’ve used up until now, but they won’t work on me. I’ll personally see whether you’re worthy to join the expedition with us.”

This was his chance.

A chance to repay all the humiliation he had suffered until now in one fell swoop.

To prove to the world that he was the greatest second-generation Awakener.

To set everything right.

Choi Kang-nam had no intention of letting this opportunity slip.

He curled one corner of his mouth upward.

“What? Not confident? I could tell the moment I saw you on the Island of the Gods. ‘Bug user,’ Park Hyeonmyung.”