I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-70

Ch-70

 

*

《The battle has ended.》

《A total of 36 points will be distributed according to contribution.》

《Randolph 10 points, Isaac 10 points, Isabella 16 points》

《Points can be earned and used in various events.》

《You have acquired 10h 11m of Fragment of the Broken Golden Scale.》

Once the barbarian was finally brought down, the points were tallied.

“Huff, huff… huhk.”

Isabella steadied her breathing, sweat pouring down her entire body.

Soon after, a golden ripple rose from the barbarian’s corpse and was absorbed into her.

“Isabella. How many hours did the Golden Scale increase?”

“Haa… It increased by 16 hours and 27 minutes.”

Roughly sixteen hours, then.

There seemed to be some connection between total points and the fragments of the Golden Scale one possessed.

And that meant that killing *me* would instantly grant over 900 points.

Sssaaa—!

A hand extended from the wall toward the corpses.

Watching every corpse being absorbed into the walls, I frowned slightly and asked,

“Has the Desert Queen joined the fray too?”

“…I’m not sure. But considering there are barbarians here, we can’t rule out the possibility.”

Even among the desert’s great warriors, only a few become “Barbarians.”

They’re the most honorable warriors who guard the Desert Queen.

For warriors meant to protect the queen to be inside the labyrinth…

And it even looked like they had been *hired*.

Unless the desert city of Faisalmer had fallen into financial ruin, that is.

‘Or maybe being hired is just a convenient excuse.’

If they all entered the labyrinth together, it would cause chaos.

Splitting into groups and infiltrating separately is advantageous in many ways.

So each group was progressing through the labyrinth’s raid after being “hired” by other entrants.

What did this signify?

Why had they begun attacking the Abyssal Labyrinth?

‘If the Queen herself entered, avoiding her is the only wise choice.’

The Desert Queen was half-human, half-demon. She looked human, but a monster lurked beneath.

And I didn’t know what that monster truly was.

No one did—not even me.

Judging by the curse and the way she drank blood, she might be one of the higher vampiric species, but that was only speculation.

If Serengeti were here, it would be different—but for now, avoidance was the only option.

There was no way to face the Queen and multiple Barbarians at once.

“Don’t shake your head.”

“Ah… thank you.”

Isabella almost got forcibly ejected from the labyrinth just now.

This restriction is more troublesome than I expected.

Especially in the chaos of battle—one can barely spare the attention.

‘Players, the desert city, the Goddess Church and the Earth God Church… who else has joined this war?’

And it seemed even more factions than expected had entered the labyrinth.

We couldn’t afford to relax for even a moment.

Just then—

《A Labyrinth Merchant has appeared.》

《The Labyrinth Merchant sells special items in limited quantities.》

《At specific intervals, the Labyrinth Merchant teleports randomly, and their location is shared with all entrants.》

《The current Labyrinth Merchant is located at 114.447》

《Your current coordinates are 114.331》

A Labyrinth Merchant had appeared not far from us.

*

*

Damn it!

The man bit his lip.

His guildmates—all of them—had been slaughtered.

By a single person.

‘What… what the hell *is* that guy!?’

A swordsman wearing a silver fox mask.

Guildmates who had hunted even level-10 elite raid bosses were annihilated by that single man.

Instantly.

Without even a moment to respond.

‘He definitely had a black bell attached.’

He recalled the black bell at the swordsman’s waist.

Wasn’t the black bell the symbol of the Death God Cult?

Then was that silver-fox-masked swordsman connected to them?

“H-Hey!”

Just then—

A woman was passing by in front of him.

She turned her head at his desperate call.

“Are you calling me?”

“Yeah, you! Do you have any potions on you?”

“Potions?”

“No, wait. You’re a priestess of the Goddess Church. Then heal me! I’ll reward you well!”

He couldn’t give up here.

That damned silver fox mask—

He would kill that bastard.

And luckily, fortune smiled on him.

The woman wore a golden-patterned ring, one of the symbols of the Goddess Church.

Only high-ranking priestesses were granted such a ring.

‘I’ve seen that face somewhere…’

But he quickly shook his head.

Didn’t they say Saintess Seia died during the Grand Expedition?

In any case, a priestess of the Goddess Church wouldn’t just ignore an injured person.

The woman nodded and approached him.

“I’ll heal you.”

“T-Thank you.”

She placed her hand on his head.

Then—

Crunch!

She twisted it clean around.

The man died instantly, and the woman smiled brightly as she looked down at him.

“I healed you~”

—

—

 

114.447

The coordinates of the Labyrinth Merchant.

114.331

My current location.

With each unit representing roughly 10 meters, the merchant appeared within a few kilometers.

‘Everyone saw this notice.’

The problem was that I wasn’t the only one who saw that message.

Every entrant saw it—hundreds, thousands of people. No one could predict how many would race toward the merchant.

A few nobodies gathering didn’t matter.

But the real obstacle was the powerful ones.

Gracia, the Masters—player transcendents.

And undoubtedly, other Pangaenian powerhouses like the Desert Queen.

If we crossed paths and competed, casualties would be inevitable.

Whether they died or we died, one side would be annihilated.

…And frankly, the odds heavily favored *us* being the ones wiped out.

‘Avoiding them is the rational choice.’

We didn’t even know how many points items required, and countless piranhas would be swarming in.

And even though it seemed close, this was still a labyrinth.

One wrong turn, and we might not even reach the coordinates.

We didn’t even know what items were being sold. If it wasn’t something I needed, it’d be a wasted effort.

It was far wiser to push ahead quickly.

When everyone else was fighting over the merchant—

We would quietly pass by and take the lead.

“What will you do?”

“Run.”

But—life rarely favors caution.

*

*

 

…Gracia flicked the blood off his blade and stared at the message before him.

‘The Labyrinth Merchant…’

He hadn’t expected this to appear so soon.

If the rumors were true—that one could obtain items like the Hydragon’s Soul or other impossibly rare artifacts—

‘I must arrive first.’

He absolutely had to secure it first.

Naturally, he would eliminate anyone who tried to stop him.

This was the Arena of Contest—the Abyssal Labyrinth.

Everyone who entered was prepared for this, weren’t they?

Guruk… gurururuk…

Among the countless corpses, something still lived.

A grotesque chimera.

“What a nuisance.”

He casually threw his sword, driving it straight into the chimera’s forehead.

Instant kill.

But he frowned slightly.

Humans weren’t the only ones in the Abyssal Labyrinth.

‘Why are chimeras and undead here?’

These creatures were present.

Perhaps someone summoned them with a skill.

But the quality was too high for that.

At least level 8.

Some reached level 10.

Only two individuals Gracia knew could create undead of this caliber.

The mad biotechnologist who created the Hydragon, and the player “MintchocoIsDelicious”…

‘But neither of those two ever shows themselves publicly.’

They acted from deep shadows.

If not them, then these things were genuine monsters.

There were several monsters capable of commanding undead of this level.

Eldritch, Dark Lord, Abyssal Patchwork Ghoul, and the Four Pillars’ Death King.

Each one was a nightmare to encounter.

Gracia shook his head.

‘If something blocks my path, I’ll cut it down.’

He didn’t hesitate.

He didn’t care who the enemy was.

His final goal was Swordmaster Riley.

Master of the labyrinth and ruler of the abyss—one who bore the same Swordmaster title as he!

‘I will kill him, prove myself, and become master of this region.’

This was the Abyss.

Riley was the master of the Abyss.

And the Abyss was once the unreclaimed land of Pangaenia’s surface—now a dead land where Riley was trapped.

If Riley dies, the land rises back to the skies, joins the continent, and becomes a city.

Meaning that the killer becomes the lord of this “Labyrinth City.”

Just like all the other abyss territories that became cities after their masters were slain.

Anything that got in his way—he would cut it down.

Swooo—

Swooo—

Swaaaahk—

Behind Gracia, a thousand swords rose into the air.

“Seek.”

Shwik!

Shiiik!

A thousand swords shot across the labyrinth, illuminating the paths as they searched for the merchant.

*

*

Countless entrants converged on the Labyrinth Merchant.

They needed to reach it quickly to buy the “special items”!

Boom!

The sound marked the beginning.

“W-What? Why is there smoke!?”

“Mushroom spores?”

“It’s poison!”

Stepping on something triggered a burst of spores, darkening their vision.

The poison paralyzed their nerves.

Shwiik!

Thunk!

“Agh!”

Arrows flew through the smoke.

Most who were hit died instantly. Those who survived… suffered even worse.

“I—I can’t see!”

“Help me!”

“M-My body…!”

“Aaaagh!! It hurts!! Just kill me, please!!”

Screams filled the air.

Even more horrifying were the ones begging to die.

The agony was unbearable.

The screams fueled the terror of the remaining entrants.

‘Who’s firing arrows!?’

‘Those aren’t normal arrows. There must be a special effect that adds pain.’

‘He laid traps. Charging in is suicide!’

He had set traps and lay in wait.

They were already too late.

And even if they tried surrounding him from all sides—everyone here was a competitor. There was no way they’d cooperate.

‘Damn it. What do we do?’

‘Should we give up and try again next time?’

People hesitated at the perimeter.

When the smoke finally cleared—

“What the? No one’s here?”

The archer had long vanished.

Only the Labyrinth Merchant remained.

A vending machine.

“…A vending machine?”

It stood alone where the merchant should have been.

What followed was a slaughter.

“Kill them!”

“Don’t let anyone reach it!”

They butchered each other, scrambling to reach the vending machine.

Amid the chaos, someone who had been hiding in stealth finally touched it, grinning in triumph.

‘Idiots. Fighting like fools without realizing they’re about to get robbed.’

His heart pounded as he placed his hand on the machine—

A list popped up.

But upon seeing the list, his expression froze, twisting into a grimace.

“…Why are the remaining items total garbage?”

*

*

A divine chance had appeared.

With the merchant so close, ignoring it didn’t suit my nature.

I dashed forward as fast as possible, secured the merchant, and sowed the seeds of discord.

‘Not enough points.’

The merchant appearing as a vending machine was surprising, but I lacked the points needed to buy anything.

‘A few who arrived before us checked the vending machine and left immediately.’

We weren’t the first to arrive.

But we did arrive before the crowds because those earlier entrants lacked the points and bailed early.

This place would soon become a battlefield. That much was obvious.

—

 

 

 

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