I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-450

Chapter 450. **The First Completed Work**

—

The three kings who rule this primordial world.

Among the knights who have existed since the dawn of time and evolved without end, they stood at the very pinnacle.

In other words, Apsel’s true identity was said to be one of those **“Three Kings.”**

*Magic Sword Satan… that thing has existed since the beginning as well, so it’s not necessarily wrong.*

Though the direction of evolution differed, the magic sword Satan had lived through a history similar to that of the Three Kings—an actual witness to ages past.

Even so, it found it incomprehensible why one of the kings would now exist here in the form of a **dwarf**.

“Could it be because he consumed a dwarf’s rune that his appearance changed?”

Baek’s words lingered in my mind.

To steal the dwarves’ craftsmanship, the knights had abducted and devoured them.

Perhaps Apsel’s appearance had changed during that process.

—No. Even if he consumed dwarf runes for the sake of evolution, there’s no reason for one of the Three Kings to evolve into the form of those little folk.

That was true as well.

The kings were beings who had spent countless ages evolving into their optimal forms.

There was no reason for them to suddenly take on the shape of dwarves now.

“Then could it be that you’re mistaken?”

—No. This one is definitely one of the Three Kings. He’s the one who once wielded me.

“Your former master?”

—Hah! There’s no one who could rule over me! There was just a time when those fools fought among themselves over who would wield me!

So there had once been a struggle over the magic sword Satan.

In any case, my interest was piqued.

The current situation—where Apsel, one of the Three Kings, was being treated as the savior of the dwarves—was intriguing.

After pondering for a moment, the magic sword Satan spoke again.

—It seems a portion of his rune was eaten.

“A king had his rune eaten by someone?”

—Probably by one of the others. That’s why he weakened to the point of taking on a dwarf’s form, don’t you think?

“So they’re hostile enough to devour each other.”

—It’s been a long time since they joined forces to oppose the ‘Heavens.’ Desire may have grown in that time…

“…Did the Heavens close the ‘Gate’ themselves, or did the kings force it shut?”

I myself had once closed a Gate.

When I killed Annihilation, and the Heavens tried to claim the Essence of Annihilation, I had forcibly shut the Gate they opened.

But that had been no easy feat.

From the Heavens’ perspective, I was an unknown existence—so they had simply chosen not to provoke me further.

That was why I was curious.

Did this primordial world also possess beings capable of driving the Heavens back?

—It happened long ago. The Three Kings joined forces and succeeded in closing the Gate. After that, the Heavens could no longer interfere with our world.

*Kings* strong enough to do that?

If what the magic sword said was true, then the Gate had been forcibly closed—not voluntarily withdrawn by the Heavens.

I stroked my chin.

*They’re on a completely different level from mere upper-rank knights.*

To be honest, I was curious.

Beings that had evolved to the ultimate stage simply by devouring runes.

And if Apsel—suspected to be one of the Three Kings—had lost part of his rune, then whoever consumed it must have grown even more powerful.

—But something’s strange. It’s an unspoken rule among the Three Kings not to interfere with one another. If they went to war, the world itself might be destroyed.

“Then the fact that part of his rune was eaten already means the balance has collapsed.”

—Exactly why it’s strange. They do love this world in their own way. They may not like each other, but they don’t wage war. Unless… the sudden appearance of those little ones caused a change of heart? And if he was eaten, why has everything remained so quiet until now?

Even the magic sword couldn’t make sense of the current situation.

Apsel’s existence had thrown it into deep confusion.

I looked at Apsel, who was still lying there with his eyes closed.

*Why are you here, King?*

One of the Three Kings, yet reduced in power and evolved into the form of a dwarf.

Was he connected to the captured god of the dwarves?

And the other “King” who had devoured him—what was he preparing right now?

*They move only when all preparations are complete.*

I was curious, but it wasn’t the time to act rashly.

If I moved in earnest, the remaining two kings would move as well.

Just like when the dwarves first appeared, another war might break out.

And if they truly were the monsters who had forcibly shut the Heavenly Gate, then that war would likely end in the **destruction of the world**.

Unless one side crushed the other outright.

No matter how earnest the dwarves’ request was, the true natives of this primordial world were those knights.

Unless they tried to destroy me or my world, I couldn’t arbitrarily destroy theirs.

Which meant—

*I need greater power. Power strong enough to forcibly mediate between them.*

And so, I needed to prepare thoroughly as well.

Fortunately, this underground tunnel held everything I needed for that preparation.

*I will create the Primordial.*

My objective remained unchanged.

To create **Primordial**—here, in this world.

Even if the outline was still vague.

If I continued to study and master the magic sword, Apsel, and the techniques of the Blacksmiths… I felt a powerful certainty that I could reach **Primordial** on my own.

At present, all my effort and focus were devoted solely to creating Primordial.

…As long as they didn’t set their sights on what was mine—on my world.

I was willing to resolve this matter as peacefully as possible.

*

*

“…An upper-rank knight, Alchaka, was killed by an unknown existence?”

A king who divided the world in two.

Within a colossal palace that seemed to touch the heavens themselves, **Rundmal** spoke lazily as he looked down at the knight delivering the report.

“…Yes, Great King Rundmal. It is presumed that the being is currently with the dwarves.”

“You wanted to report this directly to me. Surely you didn’t make a fuss just because a single upper-rank knight died?”

Several days had passed since the report was received, but this was the first direct audience.

An upper-rank knight alone would never be granted an audience with the king.

Unless, of course, the matter truly warranted it—like now.

But if the report turned out to be trivial, the knight would pay with his life.

*Gulp.*

The reporting knight swallowed nervously and spoke carefully.

“…It appears the dwarves have brought in ‘another god’ from outside.”

“Oh? ‘Another god,’ you say?”

“He killed Alchaka in a single blow. With the techniques currently possessed by the dwarves, such a feat is impossible. Moreover, the lingering traces of mana were… anything but ordinary.”

“I did sense that something strange had appeared. But to that extent?”

The king showed a flicker of interest.

In truth, Rundmal had vaguely felt it as well.

That alien existences had appeared in this world.

But he hadn’t paid it much mind.

Not until hearing this report directly.

The knight before him had evolved to track prey by scenting mana.

He could detect even the faintest residual traces.

For such a being to say the aura was *ominous and extraordinary* carried weight.

“We must exterminate the remaining dwarf remnants. They crawl into tunnels and disrupt the balance of the world.”

“Why? Left alone, they develop technology at a remarkable pace. Hasn’t our world advanced dramatically thanks to their techniques?”

“…Even so. They are dangerous.”

“Do not worry. They are the ones who will guide us to **Pangaenia**—the insects we need. Or are you afraid of mere insects?”

“That is… not the case.”

“I understand your concern. But as long as their ‘god’ is in our possession, they can never defy us. Still… I am curious. This ‘other god.’ He must have crossed over from Pangaenia, yes?”

“Judging by the similarity of the scent, that seems likely.”

“I will assign three Guardian Knights. Investigate separately.”

“Ah…!”

“If the results are satisfactory, I will reward you handsomely.”

“Th-thank you!”

The reporting knight bowed deeply, trembling with excitement.

“You may go now.”

“Yes! Great King Rundmal!”

With a loud cry, the knight left the palace.

Watching his retreating figure, Rundmal stroked his chin.

*Another god from Pangaenia…*

Honestly, he was curious.

How strong could such a being be?

The god of the dwarves hadn’t been particularly powerful, but through his technology and overwhelming potential, the dwarves had achieved unprecedented evolution.

He had rekindled desires long stagnated.

Because they had been half-resigned.

They believed their world had no future.

Even the kings themselves had already reached their ultimate state—unable to evolve any further.

If time continued like this, the world would stagnate, then collapse.

But everything changed when the dwarves appeared.

They saw hope in them.

They were captivated by the dwarves’ technology and the overwhelming potential of their god.

They realized they could evolve further. Become stronger.

More than that—

They even confirmed the possibility of abandoning this dying world and moving on to a new one.

*We will rule Pangaenia.*

To do so, certain preparations were required.

To reshape Pangaenia into a world like this one—to change the **rules of the world** itself.

That world, Pangaenia, would first need to be destroyed once.

Naturally, such a task required preparation.

And King Rundmal had been spending an immense amount of time on that preparation.

Rundmal smiled.

*The greatest obstacle has already been removed. Now, only one remains.*

Once that was done, he would reign as the sole king of all worlds.

Just imagining that audacious future was enough to fill him with satisfaction.

*

*

“….”

Baek stared at Phantom with eyes that could not comprehend what he was seeing.

Learning blacksmithing techniques was one thing.

But Phantom was doing more than that—he was absorbing **everything**.

He mastered even the handling of runes in the blink of an eye.

*What kind of monster is this?*

At this rate, every last secret would be stripped bare.

Still, a promise was a promise.

Baek taught Phantom with sincerity.

Apsel’s training was continuing day after day as well.

The problem was that Phantom’s growth far outpaced even Apsel’s.

In just over seven days—

“….”

“…N-no, what in the world…?”

“He already made a **Gigant**?”

Baek and the other Blacksmiths stared at Phantom with trembling eyes.

Or rather, at the **Gigant** completed at Phantom’s fingertips.

An evolving weapon.

That miraculous piece of equipment—something no one had been able to create since the god was abducted—had been forged by Phantom.

*Easier than I thought.*

Looking at the first completed work, Phantom—Park Hyun-myung—smiled.

With the magic sword assisting him and his deep study of Apsel’s body, his understanding of runes had naturally deepened.

Thanks to that, creating a Gigant had turned out to be far smoother than expected.