I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-41

Ch-41

 

······A gap more than twice as wide.

He had seized a mystery so unfathomable that no one could even begin to guess how he earned it or what he obtained.

*‘Phantom.’*

Phantom…

The king who was once called the pinnacle of Pangaenia—now a fallen monarch.

Having lost everything and plunged to the bottom, he was now struggling in desperation.

“What will you do?”

The Master rose from his seat and looked out the window.

The tallest building on Wall Street.

It had changed owners just moments ago.

*‘This world is divided into those who rule and those who are ruled.’*

Step by step, the Master was becoming a true king.

The power of another dimension granted only to the chosen. It was only natural that the one at the pinnacle of that hierarchy would stand at the top of this world as well.

*‘I am the one who reigns. And the world ahead will be ruled only by those who possess ability.’*

The world was about to change.

A convulsion completely unlike any previous upheaval.

Players capable of dealing with the monsters of Pangaenia would become the true rulers of Earth.

And this was the beginning.

At a time when everything should have been perfect, the Master was tasting the worst possible displeasure.

Falling one tier behind in the rights to Main Quest 5 was quite a critical blow.

*‘What should I do about this?’*

But Phantom was already a fallen king.

His feat of demolishing half the Demon Realm was acknowledged, but players at the very top—Master included—no longer feared the Demon King.

If anything, they were planning to use the Demon Realm and the Demon King to secure a foothold in Pangaenia and become the kings of Earth.

Above all, Phantom was dead.

If one becomes a player after dying, there is a limit to how strong they can grow.

Moreover, Phantom was notorious for lacking any factional influence. How could he possibly catch up to them?

*‘I wanted to capture him alive and extract the information he alone knows.’*

The Master had intended to capture the fallen king alive to tear the secrets out of him.

But despite searching for years, Phantom had never been found.

Meaning—there was a limit even to the Master’s strength alone.

“······We must summon the ‘Round Table Conference.’”

“I’ll contact the Eight Heroes at once, Master.”

The shadow vanished.

Slowly, the Master gazed beyond the window.

*‘He’s starting to get on my nerves.’*

Bit by bit, irritation grew.

That fallen king’s movements.

It seemed it was time to correct them.

*

*

 

《There are no longer any rewards available in the Tower.》

《The Tower’s reward list is being replaced with the reward list of the Constellations of the Ancestral Hall.》

《You may choose one reward out of a list of 100.》

The first line meant that since he had acquired the best mystery available in the Tower, there existed no substitute reward within it.

*‘Replacement reward?’*

But the next lines made him tilt his head.

Replaced by a Constellation reward list?

Yet the moment the list appeared, understanding came naturally.

《Sands of the Hourglass – Constellation of Clockwork》

《Ring of Adventure – Constellation of Exploration》

《Four-leaf Clover – Constellation of Fortune》

《Spear of Battle – Constellation of War》

《Armor of Moonshade – Constellation of Moonlit Heroics》

《Invention – Constellation of Alchemy》

《Strand of Hair – Nameless Constellation》

《Weapon Blueprint – Constellation of the Blacksmith》

······

A hundred reward options appeared, each bearing a Constellation’s name.

*‘I can’t tell what the actual rewards are.’*

No descriptions of abilities or options.

He had to choose purely by the name of the Constellation.

*‘This isn’t something I need to choose right away.’*

It required careful thought.

If a Constellation directly offered a reward under its own name, each one was doubtlessly a world-shaking treasure.

He could not choose lightly.

*‘More importantly…’*

He had already gained plenty.

First of all, he had definitely earned 300 hours of the Broken Golden Scale.

His Fame had risen by 500. Considering most honor-related quests only granted between 10 and 30, 500 was a number that naturally made one gasp.

And more importantly—

*‘Randolph of Eternity.’*

An out-of-standard grade mystery—Randolph of Eternity!

When it had been unique grade, it bore only his name, but once elevated beyond standard, it gained the prefix *Eternal*.

It was the first prefix of its kind he had ever seen—piquing his interest immediately.

A mystery without color, scent, or shape.

But he could clearly sense the mystery that had been bestowed upon him.

【Randolph of Eternity (Out-of-Standard)】

★ A mystery granted to one who surpasses all standards.

★ Permanently destroy any mystery of ‘Randolph of Eternity’ grade or lower (destroys manifested mysteries; once per target).

★ Indestructible (cannot be destroyed even by the Hammer of the God of Destruction).

★ Interference-Immunity (blocks all effects capable of interfering with mysteries).

★ Permanently active (persists in all circumstances).

★ Hidden Trait Added: ‘Randolph (Eternal)’

For a mystery, the description was both long and short.

*‘······Insane.’*

But its contents were anything but ordinary.

He froze, his heartbeat pulsing up into his face.

*‘The ability to destroy an opponent’s mystery…?’*

Moreover, being able to destroy anything of Randolph-of-Eternity grade or below meant he could permanently erase even unique-grade mysteries if he wished.

And it contained the three supreme options said to embody the pinnacle of unique-grade items—Indestructible, Interference-Immunity, Permanent Duration.

*‘A new hidden trait, too.’*

His thirteen hidden traits became fourteen.

Adding a trait via mystery rather than talent—he had never seen such a thing.

Not one option was wasteful.

A supreme mystery that even the Knight King Wilhelm could never obtain.

It was, in every sense, *the strongest*.

There was no better word to describe it.

He savored the lingering awe for a long while.

He had never seen anything like this.

He had collected eight unique-grade items while playing the game, yet even then he had not felt anything close to this lingering thrill.

*‘Time to go.’*

After savoring it for about ten minutes, he finally began moving.

He had leveled up, restoring his health and all conditions.

Having consumed every mystery within the Chamber of Mysteries, he no longer needed to stay.

He stepped into the warp that had appeared.

And—

*‘······The Four Pillars?’*

He found himself facing the Four Pillars gathered before the Tower.

*

*

The final entrant was merely the King of Corpse Crows.

Among the entrants, one of the least noteworthy.

The Four Pillars couldn’t help feeling puzzled.

All 100 entrants had emerged, yet not a single being worthy of being deemed a transcendent species had appeared.

But then—

“Hm······.”

“I cannot tell.”

None of them could make a definitive judgement regarding the King of Corpse Crows.

The Four Pillars tilted their heads simultaneously.

Was he strong? Weak? Nothing could be clearly estimated.

But one thing was certain:

That King of Corpse Crows possessed *something*—something that made them wary.

“T-that crown…”

“Isn’t that the crown formed when the rings merged?”

“Ah.”

In the murmurs of the monsters lay the answer.

The crown worn by the King of Corpse Crows was identical to the crown formed by the fusion of the Tower’s five rings.

“So you’re saying that shabby corpse crow surpassed *my* mystery?”

But not everyone accepted this.

The Imoogi raised its head again.

It could not accept that someone other than itself had caused the phenomenon and outcome before its eyes.

In a display of threat, the Imoogi unfolded the legendary mystery—*Mist of the Phantom Dragon*.

“Behold! My majesty! I am the true master of a mystery no corpse crow can ever imitate!”

Brimming with dignity and aura, it strode right up to the King of Corpse Crows, intending to show the undeniable difference in class.

“Move aside, kaaak.”

At that moment—

The Imoogi’s mystery, *Mist of the Phantom Dragon*, vanished.

“W-what······?!”

The Imoogi could only be stunned.

Its mystery hadn’t been deactivated.

······It had been destroyed.

But it could not comprehend it.

Mysteries were supposed to be things completely immune to outside interference.

They were immutable truths.

To monsters, mysteries were proof of existence.

They transcended simple power boosts or additional options. They were immutable existential authority.

Yet its mystery had disappeared in an instant.

And the King of Corpse Crows had done nothing.

He had merely looked at it—and the mystery vanished forever.

“Mm······!”

The Four Pillars stiffened.

They, too, were certain.

The mystery had indeed been destroyed.

Common sense collapsed. The balance shattered in a single moment.

“H-how did you destroy my mystery······!”

The Imoogi still trembled.

But shock quickly turned to rage.

One could obtain only a single mystery from the Chamber of Mysteries.

The monsters had challenged the chamber with all their might.

It had been so hard-earned—

“I’ll kill yo—!”

CRACK!

The Imoogi couldn’t finish its sentence.

It turned to stone instantly.

Watching this, the King of Corpse Crows spoke.

“It seems there’s at least one creature here that can think, kaaak.”

Arrogantly.

Standing before the Four Pillars—without yielding an inch.

As if to say: *If you hadn’t held me back, I might have wiped out everything in this area.*

But the words did not sound arrogant.

*‘Majesty.’*

When the King of Corpse Crows spoke, majesty accompanied his voice.

Not something one could ignore.

Not something one *should* ignore.

Even when facing the White King, none of them had felt this peculiar sensation.

If all Four Pillars felt it, then it was no illusion.

But one thing was certain:

*‘He is not an enemy.’*

But neither was he an ally.

What was he?

What exactly was that corpse crow?

And then—the words that followed were even more shocking.

“Bring me the White King, kaaak. My level is not suited for dealing with the likes of you, kaaak.”

*

*

The moment he exited the Chamber of Mysteries, the Four Pillars greeted him.

Seeing countless monsters gathered confirmed it.

They had gathered *because of him*.

The Tower had surely broadcast his challenge.

A situation completely different from when he first entered the city.

【Lv. 12】

He thought the Four Pillars were level 11, but they were 12.

They had apparently leveled up in the meantime.

The problem was that all Four Pillars were unlike normal monsters.

They were **super elite raid boss monsters**.

A difference of one level was greater than the difference of an entire star tier.

*‘If I clash with them, I’ll be killed instantly.’*

He wouldn’t last even a second.

He hadn’t expected this—but he couldn’t back down.

Retreating now would ruin everything. First impressions were crucial.

*‘Given the situation…’*

He had no choice but to see it through to the end.

Fortunately, fortune favored him.

He had destroyed the Imoogi’s mystery, instilling a healthy fear.

And the Four Pillars absolutely could not analyze him.

Fourteen hidden traits.

One of the effects of *Randolph (Eternal)* had become clear.

*‘Species Majesty.’*

It imbued authority into his speech.

The effect was overwhelming enough that even high-ranked monsters could not resist it.

Even the Four Pillars.

*‘······I had never intended to meet him again, but…’*

And so—

He now stood with the Four Pillars before the White King.

The White King—whom he had vowed never to meet again.

“The White King will now appear.”

At the Great Earth Dragon’s words, the half-human, half-centaur-like Four Pillars all knelt one by one, facing the towering throne.

······Now, there was truly no turning back.

**White King**

*Momentum of the Tiger.*

He was already riding the back of the tiger.

Once you climb on, you cannot dismount; once spoken, words cannot be taken back.

Only one thing remained—

Fight to the death.

*‘The final boss, I see.’*

······No matter how calm he tried to appear, the anxiety burning inside could not be helped.

If not for the Ironblood Monarch’s Heart, he might have vomited from the pressure already.

Such was the oppressive presence.

He had managed to deceive the Four Pillars—but the White King was on a completely different level.

Still, the fact that they had escorted him to the White King’s presence meant they acknowledged him.

At the very least—it proved he was a being they could not measure with their own standards.

 

 

 

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