I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-51

Ch-51

—

But even so, it still couldn’t compare to the White King’s definitive reward proposal.

For him to declare that he would hand over *any* city—those words alone were outrageous.

It meant he was willing to make enemies and accept the consequences.

Moreover, even if I became the ruler of a city, Mysteries and Titles would follow.

In truth, the answer had been decided from the very beginning.

*“In many ways, siding with the White King is more advantageous.”*

The White King was a living legend.

The Star Guardians?

Aside from matters concerning the stars and the goddess, they never stepped forward.

In contrast, the White King had no constraints. He imposed none upon himself. That was why he was free.

If I managed to build enough favor, even his subordinates (Four Pillars) might eventually lend me their strength.

With the help of such monsters, toppling an entire kingdom would not be a difficult task.

Sheer, overwhelming force.

*“The problem is, the moment they discover I’m either human or just some insignificant nobody, I’ll die instantly.”*

I had managed to cover things up until now, but in terms of raw ability, I was still lacking compared to them.

The moment my bluff was exposed, my head would roll.

Same if they found out I was human.

*“But that, too, is a problem that disappears once I grow stronger.”*

Rapid growth was the only answer.

And looking toward the future, siding with the White King was the correct choice.

As long as I didn’t get exposed as human, that was enough.

“Come to think of it, I think I prefer the White King and you lot, *kraahk*.”

“…Then?”

“Let’s get along well, *kraahk*.”

“Ha! I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t be swayed by some petty Star Guardians!”

The Death King laughed heartily.

He was genuinely delighted.

He had been favorable to me from the beginning, so naturally he was pleased I hadn’t betrayed his expectations.

Such decisions were best made swiftly—moving too cautiously would only lower one’s trustworthiness.

If I hesitated or wavered, that alone would damage my credibility.

<You have received the ‘Recognition of the White King.’ Warp is activated under the qualification of ‘Fifth Pillar.’>

<A waypoint has been created in ‘Cramdel.’>

<Achievement ‘One Recognized by the White King’ has been added.>

<Honor increases by 100.>

…All of this, too, was exactly as expected.

The White King had also been listening to this conversation.

Judging by his instantaneous response, it was certain.

Under the White King’s protection, warp within Cramdel had originally been impossible except from designated locations.

But now, with his recognition, a waypoint had been created.

It meant I could go to the teleportation book whenever I wished.

Since I had made a decisive choice, he returned a decisive answer.

*“If I had chosen the Star Guardians, they probably wouldn’t have let me leave quietly.”*

The picture became clear.

The Cramdel King sensed danger from me and issued a warning.

He believed that if I became a Star Guardian, I would eventually become a threat.

Thus, with rewards in hand, he waited for my decision.

If I had chosen to become a Star Guardian, I likely wouldn’t have left Cramdel in one piece.

And whether the Star Guardians would have actively protected me was also doubtful.

From the beginning, the White King had aggressively stepped forward—he even threatened the Giant of ruin.

On the other hand, the Star Guardians’ reactions had been lukewarm at best.

*“Had I not known him, I might have mistaken this attention for goodwill.”*

But illusions were dangerous.

The White King did not know me, but I knew *him*.

His danger-sensing instinct was astonishing—almost like seeing the future.

All of this was not rooted in pure trust, but in cautious goodwill.

He had probably listened in on my conversation with the Death King as well.

*“I’m standing on thin ice right now.”*

From here on, if the White King felt threatened by me or thought I *might* become a threat, he would eliminate me without hesitation.

Just as I could not fully trust him, he likewise would not trust me completely.

It was truly walking on thin ice.

One wrong step, and I would plunge through.

*“No matter how well I act, he must harbor at least some suspicion.”*

Above all, I was human.

Not even a human from Pangaenia, but a player.

Even if I perfectly imitated a corpse crow, even if the Iron-Blood Monarch’s heart concealed my emotions, the White King did not trust only what he saw.

Thus, he kept me close to judge me.

A double-edged sword.

I had gained the strongest ally, yet I now occupied a position where I could never reveal a single crack.

“Tomorrow, watching those Star Guardian bastards’ faces crumble is going to be *glorious*!”

The Death King roared with laughter.

As if nothing delighted him more than the future my choice would bring.

*

*

“A corpse crow became the Fifth Pillar?”

“Not an ordinary corpse crow—one that passed the ‘Coffin of Myth.’”

“If the White King personally acknowledged it, then there’s no room for doubt.”

“Huh…”

Murmur, murmur.

The plaza of Cramdel was packed with monsters.

The announcement of the fifth pillar was to be made in front of the White King’s palace.

The monsters who saw me were conflicted.

Some clearly doubted whether I was truly comparable to the other pillars in strength.

But if both the White King and the Four Pillars had acknowledged me, then no one could object.

“…You will surely regret today’s decision.”

The Giant of ruin and the other Star Guardians left Cramdel with faces as sour as if they had chewed dung.

At the end, Dramut glanced at me with a complicated expression, but I didn’t care.

He wouldn’t have wanted me to become a Star Guardian anyway.

He knew I was human, after all.

Besides, even without their recognition, I was still the owner of the star. I was a ‘Star Successor’ who possessed two stars.

Before that truth, I needed no one else’s validation.

“The Fifth Pillar of Cramdel—the King of the Corpse Crows, Randolph.”

The White King spoke from the front.

Instantly, the surroundings fell into dead silence.

Watching the Star Guardians depart with twisted expressions, the White King and the Four Pillars looked extremely pleased.

Before the Star Guardians completely left—

“Give him a warm welcome!”

“Randolph! Randolph!”

“Our new pillar!”

“Glory to Cramdel!”

The monsters roared in celebration, all of them cheering.

Simultaneously, the Star Guardians’ faces darkened further.

It felt as though I had crossed a river I could never return from.

*“I never thought a day like this would come.”*

Still, the situation felt surreal.

Who would’ve thought I’d live to see monsters cheering for me?

The number of monsters I’d hunted probably exceeded the number gathered in Cramdel right now.

And Cramdel itself had nearly been destroyed because of me.

…It was a brief but unforgettable, intense welcoming ceremony.

*

*

Leaving the ceremony behind, I exited Cramdel.

Choosing a city as a reward was something to think about later—for now, returning to the Garden of Knights was urgent.

If I lingered in Cramdel too long, my cover might be blown.

“This is…? Isn’t this the Garden of Knights?”

Isaac, who warped through the teleportation book, tilted his head.

His expression said he couldn’t understand why a corpse crow would willingly come to a human city.

Riiip—

I removed the core from my chest.

“Gah—?!”

Isaac froze in shock.

A monster removing its own core—he could never have imagined it.

And what came next split his eyes wide open.

“A… a human…!!”

Because I had reverted from a corpse crow to a human.

After fully returning to my human body, I stretched a little.

*“Yes… this body really is the best.”*

Remaining in corpse crow form for too long made my body numb. Returning after so long felt like every muscle was singing.

Then I spoke to Isaac, who was still horrified.

“Nothing has changed, Isaac.”

A promise of one year of service.

That promise remained.

Whether I was human or corpse crow.

“A-are you truly human?”

“Yes.”

“…After causing all that chaos?”

His expression still screamed disbelief.

It was reasonable—believing that the king of corpse crows who wreaked havoc in Cramdel was actually human would be hard for anyone.

I’d have been the same.

“Then perhaps…”

Isaac looked toward Isabella.

And the wings of a half-dragon disappeared from Isabella’s back.

“You… you frauds!”

“You’re the last person who should say that.”

Isaac himself was human but pretended to be a half-dragon to live in Cramdel.

Leaving the jaw-dropped Isaac behind, I looked around the Garden of Knights.

*“The atmosphere is bleak.”*

For some reason, the place felt far more desolate than before.

All the windows were shut.

Closed windows meant something dangerous lingered in the city.

Yet Marquis Weiser was surprisingly a noble who cherished his people. The townsfolk were not afraid of him.

Which meant something—or someone—else had appeared.

A third party.

Who could it be?

Likely not an individual—something dangerous enough that an entire group was considered a threat.

Or perhaps… the ruler of the city had changed.

Unlikely, but considering Marquis Weiser’s circumstances, not impossible.

With questions piling up, I headed further toward the city center, where I finally saw someone.

A man filling water while cautiously checking his surroundings.

“You there.”

“Who… Ah! Successor?!”

The man recognized me.

The townsfolk here knew me as the “Heir of the Knight King.”

One who protected the city, prayed for the engraved knights, and was respected by Priest Andrew.

But his expression was strangely stiff.

“Has something happened?”

“T-the thing is… you should return for now.”

“Why?”

The man looked around nervously.

Then he approached and whispered in my ear:

“…One of the Eight Heroes is in the city.”

Instantly, my brow furrowed.

The Eight Heroes?

Could it be *those* Eight Heroes?

The ones pretending to be heroes while Wilhelm was away in the Great Expedition to the Demon Realm?

The man wasn’t just gloomy—he was frightened.

Which of the Eight Heroes had appeared for him to react like this?

“Which one?”

Gulp.

“M-Maxim. Maxim is here. If you enter now, Successor, you might be in danger. Before the soldiers notice—hurry…”

“You there! Who goes there!”

“Ah!”

Startled by a shout from nearby soldiers, the man flinched violently.

Reunion.

Two heavily armed soldiers approached.

*Not Weiser family soldiers.*

Their armor and insignia were different.

*Maxim… Maxim, huh.*

He must have brought these men.

He had taken control of the city with his forces.

But why was *he* here?

He was one of those called the Eight Heroes, supposedly studying as Duke Cyan’s successor.

But Maxim was no true hero.

*“Just a coward who abandoned us and fled the moment things got tough.”*

Even thinking about it made my teeth grind.

Maxim had been the captain of the ‘Kaiser’ mercenary corps.

He led 300 men and was famed across the continent—so I trusted him and signed a contract.

And then paid the price.

The moment Ahram appeared in the First Hell, the ‘Swamp of the Dead,’ he abandoned us and ran without looking back.

That such a man was now one of the Eight Heroes—laughable.

*If Maxim is here, it must be because of Duke Cyan.*

If Maxim had come here, the reason was obvious.

It was surely due to dealings between Duke Cyan and Marquis Weiser.

Likely to resolve matters involving Serengeti.

But even considering how much Marquis Weiser’s fortunes had crumbled, this was strange.

Allowing foreign soldiers to roam freely meant he had effectively surrendered his territory.

*Or he has been driven into a situation so dire he can no longer manage his own domain.*

Either way, it wasn’t good.

“What is this little group?”

“Never seen those faces before.”

As the soldiers swaggered forward, I spoke quietly:

“Knock them out.”

“What are you—gah!”

Swish—

And that was the end.

They collapsed without even a proper scream.

Isaac and Isabella.

Their speed was on par.

Both knocked their targets out almost simultaneously.

But normally, this wouldn’t be possible.

Isaac’s level was 10, and in speed alone, he was unmatched.

For Isabella to match him so closely, the reason was simple:

【Lv. 9】

Her level had increased.

She had been level 8 when we first met in the desert, and after everything in Cramdel, it rose.

She also obtained a valuable Mystery after passing through the Coffin of Mystery.

*“To think she’d obtain the True Dragon’s Mystery…”*

It was one of the Mysteries I had originally hoped to acquire when entering the Coffin.

Though things changed due to it transforming into the Coffin of Myth, I never imagined Isabella would be the one to bring it back.

Thanks to that, she could match Isaac in speed.

Assassins were naturally agile, after all.

I turned toward the still-shaken villager.

“You didn’t see us.”

“Ah—yes! Yes, I saw nothing!”

The man nodded frantically.

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