I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-370

Ch-370. **A Monster You Never Want to Encounter**

—

The Black Dome’s hidden entry condition.

It was simple, yet brutal: **possessing eight different, non-overlapping Hidden Traits**.

If one were to enter while ignoring this condition, they would be afflicted by the Abyss’s curse and poison, shouldering catastrophic penalties.

Entering recklessly wouldn’t merely make proper exploration impossible—it would create a situation where survival itself would be in question.

That was why the very first thing Arin did upon taking command of the team was to verify the possession status of **Hidden Traits**.

The others wouldn’t know about the hidden entry condition, after all.

*It was definitely… barely eight types.*

After personally meeting and checking one-on-one, the 500-member expedition team collectively possessed exactly eight kinds of Hidden Traits.

Of course, **Hidden Traits**, true to their name, were mysterious powers with exceptional abilities.

They were more than sufficient as trump cards, so it was reasonable to assume that many people had kept theirs secret.

*Thirteen. A number beyond my understanding.*

Even taking that into account, nine or ten types should have been the absolute limit.

Basara of the Seven Lords knew that **Hidden Traits were a kind of key**.

Not evolved or altered Hidden Traits, but original ones—their number had been fixed from the very beginning.

The total number of Hidden Traits Basara was aware of was **twelve**.

And yet—thirteen?

*That means there exists a thirteenth Hidden Trait… one I don’t know about.*

Was that really possible?

A total that exceeded even Basara’s understanding.

She had never even considered the existence of a thirteenth Hidden Trait.

Hidden Traits—keys—were all tied to what once existed in Pangaenia: the **Origins of Species**.

Hidden Traits were born from the twelve progenitors who had sunk into the Abyss.

Basara recalled the twelve Hidden Traits she knew.

【Void】
【Dexterity】
【All Master】
【Weapon Master】
【Giant’s Anti-Magic】
【Druid’s Affinity with Nature】
【Iron-Blooded Monarch’s Heart】
【Beast Lord】
【Golden Grace】
【Mutant】
【Glutton】
【Great Sage】

…That should be all of them.

And yet—a thirteenth?

Moreover, all thirteen Hidden Traits were gathered here…?

Among them, there were certainly keys that humanity could never obtain, no matter how hard they tried.

For example—**Glutton**.

*…The human body can’t withstand the corruption of Glutton.*

The Hidden Trait **Glutton** allows one to consume monster cores and acquire their forms and traits.

The problem lies in monster venom—and the mental corruption that comes from becoming a monster.

Humans, in particular, cannot endure mental corruption.

Their bodies and brains function far too differently.

Monsters possessing mana cores evolved by storing mana within those cores.

Humans, on the other hand, accumulated wisdom by enlarging their brains, not by developing cores.

As a result, mana is distributed throughout the body.

Forcing the implantation of a monster core—something humans never had to begin with—meant that even the mightiest Transcendent could not escape corruption as long as they possessed a human body.

For the same reason, Basara herself did not possess **Glutton**.

The demon race did not originally have mana cores.

Among beings that do possess mana cores, however, the most representative are **demons**.

They even replicate their mana cores, creating **Demon Hearts** and implanting them into their followers.

In short, **Glutton** is the exclusive domain of demons.

Using that ability, they constantly altered their forms to suit the era.

And yet—

*That means there’s a human who even possesses Glutton.*

An original key.

A human possessing Glutton is here.

No—this meant that not only Glutton, but **every trait she knew, and even traits she didn’t**, existed here as well.

…Just who?

Were all 500 people each carrying rare Hidden Traits?

Or could it be—

One person alone?

*That’s impossible…*

She shook her head inwardly.

Arin currently possessed five Hidden Traits, but even Basara herself—the true body of a Seven Lord—possessed only nine in total.

That alone was enough to shake heaven and earth.

The idea that a human could possess even more Hidden Traits defied her common sense.

If that were possible…

If someone truly possessed **all thirteen Hidden Traits** within a single body—

*They could become anything, do anything… an unprecedented, utterly unique aberration would be born.*

A monster she would never want to encounter.

One whose mere existence would make the mind reel.

*

*

Inside the Black Dome.

The moment they entered the **Bottom of the Abyss**, four colossal mountains came into view.

A blazing volcanic mountain of fire.

A mountain of water formed entirely of steam.

A barren mountain of earth where nothing grew.

And a mountain of wind wracked by raging typhoons.

《The Spirit Kings of the Four Elements are currently in a berserk state.》

《‘Fire Spirit King Agnis’, ‘Water Spirit King Iquerel’, ‘Earth Spirit King Uhm’, and ‘Wind Spirit King Shandi’ are currently corrupted.》

《After 138 hours, they will merge into one and transform into the ‘Spirit King of Chaos’.》

《Subdue or eliminate the Spirit Kings corrupted by the ‘Abyssal Contamination’.》

《Obtain the ‘Elemental Bells’ from the Spirit Kings, and ring all four bells simultaneously to conclude all situations.》

“…Subdue the Spirit Kings?”

“Are you insane? Spirit Kings?!”

People panicked one after another.

Spirits themselves were exceedingly rare, and their power surpassed that of most Awakeners.

High-ranking spirits sometimes displayed strength exceeding even Transcendents.

Moreover, the **Fire Spirit King Agnis** had appeared on Earth once before.

He had been summoned and used by Issera, the Second Lord, during the second invasion.

His power alone had been enough to kill Lucaria, Earth’s Dragon God.

And now they were being told to subdue—or eliminate—four Spirit Kings?

《Eight ‘Abyss Kings’ have currently entered the ‘Bottom of the Abyss’.》

《They are emitting powerful ‘Abyssal Poison’.》

《If the number of Hidden Trait types possessed by the party is fewer than the number of Abyss Kings, the entire party will be afflicted with ‘Abyssal Poison’.》

《You must protect the Hidden Trait holders at all costs.》

《Additionally, consumption of ‘Fragments of the Broken Golden Scale’ is doubled based on entry time.》

《The longer the entry time, the faster the fragments are consumed.》

《If all ‘Fragments of the Broken Golden Scale’ are consumed, you will be afflicted with ‘Abyssal Poison’.》

“Abyss Kings…?”

“Could they be the nightmares that surfaced in Pangaenia?”

When the Second World Tree bloomed, regions of the Abyss were incorporated into the continent of Pangaenia.

They were called **‘Surfaced Nightmares’**.

Did that mean they were here?

Not a single person who entered a Surfaced Nightmare out of curiosity or for exploration had ever returned alive.

If these truly were them, then this would be the first decisive battle between humanity and the lords of the Abyss.

“…We need to get out.”

“Facing Spirit Kings alone is already overwhelming—now Abyss Kings too?”

“…I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t think it’d be this bad.”

It was only natural for panic to spread.

Though those gathered here were the elite, that was precisely why they were cautious.

They could already guess how powerful the named entities were.

“Once we’ve entered, no one can leave until the situation is resolved.”

Arin spoke firmly.

And in truth, there was no way out.

From the moment of entry, the only way forward was to subdue the Spirit Kings and obtain the four **Elemental Bells**.

Leaving by dying could technically be called a method—but only technically.

“What if we run out of Golden Scale fragments?”

Another unexpected problem emerged.

No one had anticipated that simply entering would cause **Fragments of the Broken Golden Scale** to be consumed so rapidly.

Almost no one had fragments to spare.

“Use the **World Tree Community**. Post a guide and receive help.”

It was the only way to exchange Broken Golden Scale fragments.

Though it came with fees, informing the World Tree Community would surely bring external assistance.

However, that solution immediately ran into another obstacle.

“…Even if we post a guide, it says that settlement of Golden Scale purchases by external buyers can only be received after leaving this place.”

This was the Abyss.

The very bottom of the Abyss.

A place the roots of the World Tree could not reach.

Even if someone bought the guide outside, the Golden Scale couldn’t reach here.

Arin spoke again.

“Then internal buyers are fine?”

“Uh… just a moment. I’ve posted a one-hour guide titled ‘Help’. Could someone try purchasing it?”

Barely ten seconds passed before the purchase count increased by one.

The man who had asked the question clapped his hands.

“I—I got settled! Looks like transactions among party members here work!”

“That’s a relief.”

They had found a way to replenish fragments.

Limited to the 500 people here—but better than nothing.

After a brief pause, Arin spoke.

“I will assess the party’s **Fragments of the Golden Scale** holdings. Answer honestly—no exceptions.”

At this moment, they shared a single fate.

Everyone lives—or everyone dies. There was no other path.

Some may have lied about Hidden Traits, but fragment holdings were directly tied to survival.

One by one, people began reporting.

By the halfway point, the average was about **172 hours and 30 minutes** worth of fragments.

With consumption doubled, that meant they could endure about **86 hours** here.

…Less than four days.

The situation was far from lenient.

No one possessed an overwhelming amount of fragments.

“They’re all about the same.”

“Damn it…”

“That means we have to subdue at least one Spirit King per day.”

“At least we won’t have to see the Spirit King of Chaos after 138 hours.”

For Awakeners, the average was high.

Even so, it was nowhere near enough.

Surprisingly, the one with the most fragments was **Gracia**.

“Gracia. How many hours’ worth do you have?”

“Hm. Roughly 3,871 hours.”

He had posted countless guides under his real name on the World Tree Community.

Possessing close to four thousand hours wasn’t strange.

What *was* surprising were the other Hero Council members.

Darkstar had only 100 hours.

Blackflame and Banhee had just 120.

Only Lucifer had close to 300.

“Damn it…!”

Choi Kangnam bit his nails.

He had only **40 hours** worth—dead last.

He had wasted too much over time.

At this rate, he wouldn’t even last a day.

In the end, only those with large fragment reserves would hold the initiative.

Choi Kangnam had no choice but to cling to them.

Even Arin herself didn’t have a comfortable surplus.

“…And you. How many ‘Golden Scale fragments’ do you possess?”

Choi Kangnam looked at the man Arin had just called on.

…Park Hyunmyung.

How many fragments did he have?

He had overwhelmingly cleared several Main Quests—surely he possessed a decent amount.

Better than himself, at least.

Maybe similar.

There was even a chance he had less.

Slowly, the man opened his mouth.

“Ten thousand hours.”