I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-74

Ch-74

*

*—This makes no sense…!*

Greed despaired.

In a game he had assumed he would naturally win, suffering defeat after defeat was reason enough for despair.

A simple game of probability.

If it was a fight over who had better luck, then I would never lose.
Being crushed by some overwhelming absolute value?
Such tricks didn’t work on me either.

Because I could *see* it.

《The hidden trait ‘Golden Grace’ manifests.》

《Odd 36.1% / Even 63.9%》

Probability.

No matter how he dazzled the eyes or hid the outcome, *Golden Grace* would pinpoint the odds.

It wasn’t 100%, but with accuracy like this, it was more than enough.

《You bet 5,000 value on Even.》

《Result: Even.》

《Your total value has reached 37,000.》

I had started with seven thousand and now it was thirty-seven thousand.

In pure coin, it was worth three hundred seventy million gold.

*—…Let’s change the game.*

Greed raised a white flag.
He realized he could never win at odds-and-evens.

For a wise man, it was a wise decision.

But the next game was no different.

*—Next is High or Low. Guess whether the gold I pull out is above a certain amount or below it.*

After Odds-and-Evens came Up-Down.

Was this guy actually a golden goblin in the truest sense?

If this were a casino, I would’ve suspected trickery or cheating.
But Greed was pursuing gambling in the purest meaning.

A game of crushing your opponent with nothing but overwhelming gold and value.

Of course, even then it wasn’t 100%, so I couldn’t completely relax.

*Splash!*

A massive heap of gold coins floated up from the mountain of treasure—far more than during the previous Up-Down.

*—Now, bet. You have five seconds.*

“All in.”

*—…?*

Wait. All in?

Greed doubted his own ears.

*‘What is this brat doing?’*

It wasn’t as if I had been winning continuously.

I had been alternating wins and losses just cleverly enough to keep gaining profit.

He thought I was some gambler who only aimed for safe games at safe margins.

All in?

*—Think carefully. The moment you lose all your value, the only thing left will be your pathetic body!*

To leave this place, one must either lose everything or possess everything.

And Greed had never once lost everything in his own domain.

Even with good luck, a single mistake in such a game could cost you everything.

“All in.”

I confirmed it.

As if I had no intention of taking it back.

Greed smiled faintly.

*‘You’ve stepped right into it.’*

The first game had only been a warm-up.

Would I really be able to guess this one?

*Kurung! Kurururung!*

Even more gold coins floated up—so many that no living creature could possibly count them all.

*—One billion gold. Higher or lower? Ten seconds.*

Think carefully.

But if you really thought about it, the answer was obvious.

Greed had originally possessed around two hundred thousand in value.

Of that, the Golden Essence and Greed’s Jar were worth sixty thousand together.

Add the thirty thousand I’d won so far.

A total of ninety thousand—so in terms of pure gold, of course it was *below* one billion gold.

Since the game was being played using gold only, excluding all other treasures.

*—Ten, nine…*

“Neither higher nor lower.”

Greed’s brow furrowed.

*—…Neither? What do you mean?*

“It is exactly one billion gold.”

Greed was inwardly shaken.

*‘How did he know?’*

Observation-type skills could not be used in front of Greed.

Which meant counting each coin manually—but no human could count a billion coins in ten seconds.

No one could.

Not one million, not ten million, not a hundred million—but a *billion*.

How could anyone count that in ten seconds?

*—Are you certain?*

“I am.”

*—I’ll give you one last chance to change your answer.*

“You talk too much.”

*—…Correct…*

He couldn’t understand it.

But one thing was clear: he could never beat this man in a numbers-based game.

*—Next. Let’s do the next game.*

A game of far higher difficulty would be necessary.

*

《You bet 37,000 value on one billion gold.》

《Result: One billion gold.》

《Your total value has reached 74,000.》

Sweet.

So sweet my teeth felt like they might rot.

*‘Golden Essence.’*

At last, the crafting material for a Unique-grade item was mine.

Now the only thing left to take was Greed’s Jar.

My thoughts of dungeon exploration had already vanished.

That no longer mattered.

What mattered was squeezing every last drop from this sucker.

*‘Golden Grace isn’t the only thing. I have the Great Sage as well.’*

In addition to the hidden trait Golden Grace, I had the Great Sage.

It provided accurate information alongside probability.

Observation skills were sealed, but no matter who Greed was, he couldn’t seal hidden traits.

Unlike Odds-and-Evens, Up-Down had been conducted without hiding anything—so the Great Sage’s function was absolute.

The precise figure of one billion gold was shown clearly before me.

*—A-ah…!*

In the end, Greed kneeled.

《Your total value has reached 237,000.》

I had sucked Greed dry to the very last drop.

His treasure vault was now empty.

The Golden Essence, Greed’s Jar, all coins and treasures—
I had swept them all away.

But I was not someone who would be satisfied with just that.

*—M-my treasures…!*

“You still have one thing left to wager.”

*—What do you mean?*

“Your body.”

The body of the golden goblin called Greed still remained.

Greed stared at me in disbelief.

*—…*

As if to say: what kind of greedy bastard *are you*?

Greed thought.

He had never been cornered this far before, so he was flustered—but one thing still remained.

The thing of greatest value.

Everything he owned had been given value, but there was one thing whose value had not yet been measured.

Greed itself.

Even if you combined every treasure here, none would compare to *his* worth.

Peace returned to Greed’s face.

It wasn’t over until it was over.

*—Insufficient.*

“What is insufficient?”

*—With the value you possess, you cannot play a game against me.*

“Even 237,000 is insufficient?”

Two hundred thirty-seven thousand.

Worth two billion three hundred seventy million gold.

Enough to buy a small city.

Yet insufficient?

Greed nodded.

*—I will bet everything I possess. But then you must also bet everything you possess.*

“And what exactly do you want to wager?”

*—Value!*

He was still talking about value.

But I could tell—once he dismissed 237,000, he was referring to a different *realm* of value.

*—Let us wager your value and my value themselves.*

“You’re saying: let’s bet on which of us possesses the higher inherent value?”

*—Exactly. Whether your value is greater, or mine is greater! The one with the higher value wins. It is only natural that the higher value subjugates the lower!*

Greed was confident.

This was a game he could *never* lose.

To drive him this far was admirable—praiseworthy, even.

Among countless challengers, it was a first.

To have reached the Golden Abyss and come this far.

*‘Your lucky streak ends here.’*

But now it was over.

The ruler of the Golden Abyss.

That title alone carried immeasurable value.

For eons, only one golden goblin had borne the name *Greed*—him.

Even among the golden goblins of the abyss, none held that name.

Why?

Because only he possessed such worth.

He had accumulated every treasure, acted solely out of pure desire, and had become one with the abyss—
thus he obtained dominance, and thus the title Greed.

Could such a being be valued lower than a mere human?

He had never measured his own worth.

*‘I am the king of all gold.’*

Gold had been considered the highest-value treasure since the beginning of time.

As the king of that gold, his value could only be the highest in the world.

“How will our values be measured? By what criteria?”

*—Do not worry. My power objectively measures the value of all things. Even if it were a god, I could judge it.*

He didn’t cheat.

His gambling was pure.

It tested only luck, intuition, and decisiveness.

*‘So accept it.’*

Just as I had done until now.

Go on—accept it with confidence.

Yet no matter how lucky I was, luck alone meant nothing in this game of value.

Only inherent worth would be judged.

No luck, no tricks.

A game unlike the ones before.

Would I accept?

“Hmm…”

*—Are you afraid? I understand. But you were the one who suggested betting everything. If you do not accept, all your victories until now will become meaningless.*

He had chosen the type of game, but I had suggested betting the body—that had pulled the trigger.

So I could not retreat.

If I retreated now, I would lose everything I had earned.

Whether I accepted or not, Greed enjoyed this situation.

*‘He’s thinking hard.’*

…and seeing Greed’s attitude, *I* was thinking as well.

His overconfidence didn’t bother me—he had been like that from the start.

I was simply curious what criteria would be used to judge “one’s value.”

*‘Value differs depending on the standard of measurement.’*

Depending on what you use as the criteria, value changes.

Up until now, every game had measured value using *gold*.

So it was possible this one would also use the same metric.

For instance, if it judged value by “how much gold one could earn until death,” then naturally I would be at a disadvantage.

For Greed never died, while I eventually would.

Greed, who could endlessly accumulate gold, would have an overwhelming advantage.

*‘…Greed has been gambling with surprising purity.’*

I shifted my thinking.

Anywhere else, tricks would be used—eye deception, cheating, intimidation.

But Greed had played by the textbook.

His desire for gambling was pure.

Though he chose favorable games, he never cheated.
Simply having a lot of money and choosing the rules was not considered cheating.

He had played like this the whole time—so should I trust he would do the same?

*‘The rulers of the abyss are mentally rigid. They never change.’*

No—I trusted *my* judgment.

All abyssal rulers I had seen were fixed in their ways.

Having existed in the abyss for too long, their minds never softened.

Once they set something, they pushed it through stubbornly.

I could see that same stubbornness in Greed.

He wouldn’t pull any strange tricks.

I reached a conclusion.

“Very well. Let’s proceed.”

*—Kahahaha! Good! Let us see who holds the true value! A battle of pure value, unprecedented in all this time! Rejoice, cheer, have confidence!*

He talked too much.

…Was this guy also from the Serengeti’s school?

*

*

Gracia cleared his throat once.

*‘That damned woman…’*

Saint Seia.

He hadn’t expected **that woman** to suddenly attack him.

He couldn’t read any intent behind the attack—not even through instinct.

She had attempted to kill him as naturally as flowing water, without the slightest trace of murderous intent.

Had he not been on guard from the beginning, it would have been dangerous.

*‘I don’t know why Saint Seia is still alive, but she’s not normal.’*

He had tried to kill her, but in the end, he’d left her alive out of unease.

Killing a saint with his own hands was troublesome in many ways.

Besides, if she lived, she would probably interfere with other labyrinth challengers on her own.

“…So this is the place.”

While hunting the event monsters with his thousand swords, Gracia swept up every ticket.

Once he gathered all one thousand tickets, a path opened—
and at last, he arrived before the door where **Sword Saint Riley** awaited.

—

 

 

 

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