I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-78

Ch-78

—

I naturally frowned.

…There’s no way.

“Hmm.”

……It’s the Saintess of Seia’a.

Without a doubt.

The memories of Wilhelm inherited from the Star.

The face in those memories and the face before my eyes matched exactly.

Not only that— the sacred aura radiating from her was unmistakably that of the Saintess of Seia’a.

I had reunited with her in the most unexpected place, at the most unexpected time.

“How dare you threaten Her Majesty!”

“Die!”

Isaac and Isabella began fighting the barbarians.

Even so, I couldn’t move.

It had been a long time since I’d felt a shock like this.

*How is she alive?*

She survived *that* curse and collapse?

Then why is she alone in the labyrinth?

I shook my head.

Because I realized that *how* she survived wasn’t what mattered.

*Why is she alive?*

Why?

Who? And with what intent?

In that final moment of the Great Expedition that I remembered, there was only one being who could have saved the Saintess of Seia’a.

*The Demon King.*

Could the Demon King have interfered?

Could he have placed her here in the labyrinth with some purpose?

“Mmm…”

Right then, the Saintess of Seia’a let out a faint groan, as if she was waking.

I reached out.

Thwack!

The Saintess of Seia’a fainted again on the spot.

*

*

 

I had been somewhat curious about the extent of Greed’s combat ability.

Its level was high, but if most of its points were invested in gambling-related stats, its actual combat prowess might be disappointing.

But contrary to my expectations, Greed subdued the Desert Queen without difficulty.

And it clearly understood the meaning of “subdue”—it did not kill her.

Tearing away the leather-like wings, gripping her nape, and pinning her body with its knee—this was complete domination.

*Excellent.*

A rotten fish is still a fish.

Greed was once a ruler of the Abyss. I reflect on my past doubts of its combat ability.

I turned toward Isabella.

“Isabella. You kill her.”

I handed her the authority over the Desert Queen’s life and death.

Unlike before, her body no longer trembled with fear.

–S-spare me. My beloved child… I truly love you…

“It’s fine. I’m no longer afraid of the queen.”

Isabella shook her head.

She refused to simply put a spoon on a meal already cooked.

But the Desert Queen had been her eternal trauma.

I had intended for her to end that trauma herself, but it seemed she had already overcome it.

Instead, the only change was the intensity in her eyes as she looked at me.

If she said she was fine, I couldn’t force her.

Shrugging, I took out the Bow of Satyrus.

Whoosh!

Thud!

–Ack!

With a short scream, the Fear effect engraved itself.

Ten points of a random stat must have been shaved off.

Whoosh!

Thud!

I kept firing arrows.

Each time one hit, a random stat was reduced.

–S-stop! Please stop! Please! Agh!

It was truly horrific.

To die while fully conscious of one’s weakening.

To bleed, tremble before an irresistible death—what a dreadful thing.

After dozens of shots, the Desert Queen could no longer scream.

All her stats had fallen to zero.

Only once she hung limp, unable even to twitch her lips, did her life finally end.

**《You made a decisive contribution in eliminating ‘Desert Queen’!》

《You have acquired the achievement: “Challenger Who Killed an Enemy of Another Class.”》

《Honor +200》

《You obtained ‘Essence of the Mahyul-blood.’》

《You obtained 226h of Broken Golden Rule Shards.》

《1,000 points have been added.》**

A thousand points.

This brought me to 2,350.

Slightly lacking, but nothing to worry about.

“We still have to clean up the remaining barbarians.”

There were still plenty left to deal with.

*

*

 

Users of Player Talk poured out their despair on the forums.

–Looks like almost everyone logged out

–Weaklings shouldn’t be there anyway…

–What’s Gracia doing? Anyone know him?

–Maybe he’ll regroup and try again?

–What happens if we fail to clear the labyrinth?

–I think the erosion speed is getting faster

–Shit, seriously?? It’s already 13%?

–It went up 1% in a single day???

Because the labyrinth clear had stalled, Pangaenia’s erosion rate began to accelerate.

More precisely, after Sword Saint Riley entered Phase 4, the erosion rate picked up speed.

Just a day ago it had been 12%, now it was 13%.

At this pace, it would hit 20% in seven days.

–So Riley’s seal removal and erosion speed are connected?

–If it reaches 20%, won’t the second invasion start?

–Second invasion in a week? That’s too fast

–Randolph stopped the first invasion, but this one seems impossible

–What’s the Master doing? Pretending to be strong every damn day

–Busy managing the interdimensional community lol

–No but seriously;; if erosion was speeding up, they should’ve told us earlier. I wouldn’t have logged out

–And what difference would your not logging out make, idiot

There were more players worried about dimensional erosion than expected.

But their concerns were buried by those who saw it as an opportunity.

–Someone post on the interdimension comm that erosion speed increased

–Instant deletion

–Why delete it?

–Probably because Gracia failed so nobody wants to try again lol

–What about the other heroes?

–Most already left the labyrinth

–Darkstar saw the Four Pillars and ran

–Honor without responsibility? Ridiculous

–Why don’t they just team up? Why act on their own?

–That’s what I’m saying zzzz

–How to get to the underground labyrinth: buy a ticket from the labyrinth merchant, break the sealed wall, go down the stairs

–And what’s the point telling us now when everyone already left

A few players had tried again several times, but even they stopped now.

They were convinced it was just a waste of shards.

And the remaining shards were all in terrible condition.

Sharing the method to reach the underground labyrinth was useless at this point.

–Someone tell the Four Pillars how to get to the underground labyrinth

–I’d rather jump off a rooftop

–If you get hit by a dump truck you can transmigrate, why go to the Four Pillars to kill yourself

–My friend says official news from Gracia: he’ll try again

–For real? Thank god. His class really is above that Master trash!

–That’s fake lol why believe anything here

Then it happened.

–Huh? Wait is this real?

–Whoa?? MintChocoIsDelicious just appeared!!!

A message suddenly appeared before everyone.

MintChocoIsDelicious had challenged the Sword Saint.

The board exploded instantly.

–Holy shit mint-choco believers were real

–Heroes always appear last

–Go MintChocoMon!

–Honestly mint-choco might be stronger than Gracia

–No way

–Please let him clear it

–If he clears it I’ll join the mint-choco cult today

–I already ordered mint chocolate at Baskin Robbins lol

–I also ordered mint chocolate samgyeopsal

–Another one!

–What now?

But that wasn’t all.

Another message appeared.

–Unique-grade crafting?

–Someone crafted a Unique-grade piece of equipment?

–Who did it?

–…“Brilliant Unique-grade equipment”?

Gracia, having reconnected, looked around.

Not the labyrinth.

The continent.

In front of the Warp.

He had been forcibly expelled.

*This is garbage.*

The thought of having to start from scratch made him scowl.

But there was no helping it.

Sword Saint Riley.

He was nonsensical.

At first, it was easy.

He could inflict enough damage to break three of the Sealing Orbs.

The problem was Phase 4.

Right after the three shackles broke.

*He changed.*

Every time a shackle was released, Sword Saint Riley transformed.

Faster, stronger, tougher—gradually breaking free of the Heavenly Sword’s influence.

But the real issue was the change in Phase 4.

A dramatic shift. A completely different being than before.

*That form was definitely…*

He clenched and unclenched his hand.

Just recalling that form made him tense.

It was an unforeseen variable.

One thing was certain.

*He cannot be defeated without preparation.*

Preparation was needed.

He had underestimated it.

He had assumed he would win.

And that confidence came from the extensive prior research he’d done on Sword Saint Riley.

Over a hundred experts had combed through the Great Library, digging deep into Riley’s legends and myths. They had investigated every instance of Riley’s appearance.

They reconstructed everything and identified Riley’s swordsmanship and habits in minute detail. Only after creating an environment where victory was guaranteed had he attempted the challenge.

On top of that, he had the “Azure Radiance,” so he was confident.

But a variable appeared.

A powerful enough variable that he was forced to log out.

*The Empire’s interference was unexpected, but even they must have been shocked by Riley’s Phase 4.*

The Empire’s Three Swords.

A name he had never heard before, but almost everything about the Empire was shrouded in mystery.

And if anyone knew more about Sword Saint Riley, it would be the Empire.

But even the Three Swords had withdrawn immediately upon entering.

Why?

Because Riley’s dramatic transformation was something even the Empire had never anticipated.

**《MintChocoIsDelicious challenges ‘Sword Saint Riley.’》
《Phase 4 is in progress.》**

At that moment, words appeared before him.

…Seeing the challenger’s name, Gracia’s expression hardened.

*So that’s where he was hiding… he’s challenging the labyrinth.*

MintChocoIsDelicious.

A hidden high-ranker.

Famous for never appearing in public spaces.

So Gracia had assumed he wouldn’t attempt the Abyssal Labyrinth.

It was too easy a place for one’s identity to be exposed.

And yet he appeared.

Not only appeared—he stuck his spoon into a Phase 4 Gracia had painstakingly set up.

*Do you really think you can defeat what I couldn’t?*

Ridiculous.

Laughable.

Gracia knew MintChocoIsDelicious well.

He was a top-tier corpse handler.

To be exact, he controlled “jiangshi.”

Those who animate corpses with talismans are called “necromancers of the talisman way.”

Gracia honestly didn’t know how jiangshi and regular undead differed…

But Riley’s Phase 4 was not something that pitiful jiangshi could handle.

Surely he would log out soon like the Empire’s Three Swords.

Then—

**《A new Unique-grade equipment has been crafted!》**

What now?

“…Unique-grade crafting?”

A world notice appeared suddenly, worsening his headache.

World notifications only appeared for events that shook the world or heralded the emergence of something monumental.

A newly crafted Unique-grade item qualified.

This allowed him to deduce one thing:

*A player crafted a Unique-grade item.*

If a Pangenian crafted a Unique-grade item, a world announcement would **not** appear.

But then—who?

It was extremely important to find out who now possessed that Unique-grade equipment. An item designated as “Unique-grade” might be used by a single individual, but it wielded power comparable to an entire legion.

Also—

*‘A new Unique-grade… That means it wasn’t made using the materials dropped by Wilhelm.’*

The materials Wilhelm dropped after dying during the Grand Expedition.

Several players had purchased those materials from the Golden Scale Shop and used them to craft Unique-grade equipment.

But those had not been *new* creations.

 

 

 

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