I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-85

Ch-85

—

**“It’s the Baal Helm.”**

“A helm… sir? Isn’t it more like a black goat mask?”

“On the outside, yes.”

It was called a helm, but it was closer to a mask.

However, the comfort was better than expected.

It was so light you could forget you were wearing it, and it had excellent ventilation.

Among the two Myth-grade weapons I selected during the survival settlement, one of them was the Baal Helm I was wearing right now.

**【Baal Helm (Ultimate Myth)】**

* The helm once worn by *Baal*, one of the “Four Calamities” who long ago plunged the world into terror.

* **“Curse Amplification”:**
Enhances curse-type skills.

* **“Ultimate Curse”:** Ultimately strengthens one curse-type skill.

* **“Heir of Curse”:** When using curse-type skills, Magic Power +10 (non-stackable).

* **“Underbelly of Curse”:** All proficiencies increase 50% faster.

* Applied permanently while worn.

* Soulbound.

* Equip Requirement (1): Title of “One who Completed Myth” or higher.

* Equip Requirement (2): All stats 90 or above.

* Set Weapon (1/3).

* Additional enhancement when worn with Baal Armor.

* Additional enhancement when Baal Talisman is applied.

How could anyone *not* choose it after reading that?

Every line was practically art. Not a single option was wasteful.

And the biggest reason I chose the Baal Helm was because of **“Underbelly of Curse.”**

A **50% proficiency boost!**

*It’s multiplicative, not additive. It synergizes with Dexterity.*

The hidden trait **“Dexterous Hands”** doubles proficiency gain.

Combine that with the helm’s 50%, and you get **triple efficiency**.

Anyone would call that insane.

It was an insane helm that produced a dream synergy with Dexterous Hands.

Compared to Satyrus’s Curse — which could stack but had no other real function — the item itself was on a completely different level.

If I wanted overwhelming results for the next main quest, it was essential.

Not to mention… it looked like a *goat*.

*“The Silver Fox Mask did tell me to wear a golden goat mask… but this should be fine.”*

Golden goat or black goat — still a goat.

If I was heading toward the Empire where the Reaper Cult resided, this was the perfect fit.

And its performance was excellent across the board.

For curse-type classes, this was a set worth risking one’s life to obtain.

It even gave 10 Magic Power under conditions — an astonishing value for a single item.

Also, proficiency training was especially important for curse-type classes, and outside of Unique-grade items, there was no gear that provided as much as a 50% proficiency boost.

Meaning, once I gathered the other pieces, even *this* effect would be strengthened.

It applied permanently, so even when transforming into the Corpse Crow King, it remained active.

And the Corpse Crow King’s skills were curse-type to begin with.

More importantly—

*“Baal Armor, Baal Talisman. I have a pretty good idea where both are. The Mountain of Trainees and the Empire!”*

One was in the **Mountain of Trainees**.

Why did the Baal Helm raise proficiency?

It was subtly hinting at its connection to that mountain.

There was a location there where I strongly suspected the Baal Talisman lay dormant.

And the Baal Armor was almost certainly in the Empire.

Coincidentally, I needed to visit both places anyway.

*“Collecting all three Baal pieces results in performance beyond Unique-grade.”*

Honestly, I debated heavily between this and the Pureblood Blueprint.

But having the blueprint didn’t mean I could craft it right away, and circling around to find materials would take time I didn’t have.

There was no guarantee I’d get as lucky as this again — I might not be able to obtain it at all.

Between that gamble and a weapon that would make me stronger *right now*, the latter was obviously better.

*“Anything bearing the Baal name is just broken.”*

Besides, the Baal Helm alone was good enough to wipe away any doubts.

Finding the remaining Baal pieces would continuously increase the set’s performance.

Considering my torturous leveling pace, it was a blessing of light.

And once I had all three, the completed set would outperform Unique-grade.

Reading the records of Baal, one of the Four Calamities, offered enough clues as to the set’s final stature.

The Four Calamities — once the greatest scourge of the Old Empire.

There were even tales that the Old Empire fell due to the joint effort between them and an apocalypse.

*“The old Four Calamities are basically equivalent to today’s White King.”*

The White King in the north and the Black King in the south.

The Four Calamities matched — or surpassed — their level of infamy.

Smiling faintly, I reread the Baal Helm’s magic stat bonus.

*“Conditional magic boost. With +10, I can break past the barrier of 100.”*

It wasn’t just the proficiency option.

A single equipment piece adding +10 Magic Power.

With a conditional +10 increase, I could surpass the threshold known as the Magic 100 zone.

*“Baal Helm and the Ouroboros Brand. I regret neither choice.”*

I was extremely satisfied.

Even if I abandoned the Unique-grade blueprint, I couldn’t give up the Named Star.

Especially not a Named Star that had *never appeared before*.

**Ouroboros.**

A name that stirred a man’s sense of adventure.

*Ssshhhhhh!*

“Hurk! H-Heir?!”

Isaac recoiled in shock again.

Understandably so.

I was suddenly pouring the Holy Grail’s holy water all over the Saintess’s head.

“Mmh.”

Soon, Saintess Seia let out a groan and opened her eyes.

Even after pouring holy water, her eyes remained crimson.

Still, the lingering traces of the curse that clung to her would be completely gone.

Seia blinked awake and asked:

“…Who are you?”

It was only natural she didn’t recognize me.

“Randolph. Heir to the Knight King.”

But what about Wilhelm?

If she truly was the real Saintess Seia, she wouldn’t be able to ignore that name.

“The Knight King’s heir…? What is that?”

…Hmm?

Far from the reaction I expected.

Not even “I don’t know” — but “What is that?”

It wasn’t a false reaction.

Could it be that her memories related to Wilhelm were completely erased?

Something felt off, so I asked again.

“Do you remember who you are?”

“Me?”

Seia blinked, then pointed to herself.

“I’m… who? Ah—! Why do my head and neck hurt so much?”

She didn’t even remember who she was.

But… her head and neck hurt?

I turned to look at Isabella.

“—!!!”

At the same time, Isabella’s eyes began trembling as if struck by an earthquake.

*

*

After quite a commotion—

I thought the situation was going in a positive direction.

Even though she had lost her memories, I now possessed a Saintess whose abilities remained intact.

*“If the alternative was brainwashing, amnesia is much better.”*

I had removed the mysteries and curses the Demon King had implanted, but brainwashing was the last issue.

Even with my mysteries and the Holy Grail, I couldn’t undo brainwashing.

I couldn’t afford the naïve thought that the Demon King had sent her into the labyrinth with only hostile mysteries and leftover curses.

The chances were high that she had been conditioned to act under certain triggers.

For example, if she encountered the Goddess Church or a Holy Knight, she might join them and attack others.

*“If I were the Demon King, I definitely would’ve planted something related to the Goddess Church.”*

If I thought of it, surely the Demon King had too.

“Do we… cross this?”

Seia stared at the crimson warp gate before her.

“Yes.”

“Warp gates are for traveling between intercontinental cities— huh?! The explanation just popped into my head!”

“It’s knowledge you already had.”

“Ah, I see. But… this feels ominous. This warp gate feels different from what I know.”

We were both standing before the warp.

More precisely, we were looking at the warp created by **the One Who Is the Abyss Itself**, for the sake of Devouring.

Though the Devouring was halted, the warp that Hel had frozen in place still remained.

It was the warp connected directly to **Earth**.

One strong enough for the Saintess to call it ominous.

*“It’s a warp made solely for Devouring.”*

It was fundamentally different from normal warp gates.

It had the same feel as the dimensional warp that Ahram deployed during the first invasion.

*“Fifty-fifty chance.”*

Either we could cross, or we couldn’t.

If we could, the Saintess would be able to heal Oliver’s heart.

Hudson of Pangaenia and Oliver of Earth — both were extremely important assets.

*“I cannot run the Labyrinth City alone.”*

Neither Isabella nor Isaac were suited for city management.

If I planned to build and run the Labyrinth City, I absolutely needed his help.

The one person I could trust to manage things while I was gone.

Hudson was a man who built a casino under his own name in the Golden City purely through financial skill.
If his level were merely 10 higher, he’d already be a city councilman.

His talent for moving and multiplying money was undeniable.
Running one of the largest casinos wasn’t something one forgets.

So if we couldn’t cross the warp, I’d have to find another way.

*“Will it work?”*

And more than anything, I wondered whether *I*, Randolph, could travel to Earth.

As far as I knew, no player character had ever directly gone to Earth.

But with this special warp, it might be possible.

*“A warp left behind by the One Who Is the Abyss Itself. Worth attempting.”*

When the Abyss completed itself, it triggered a single “forced Devouring” via this warp.

Hel stopped it before it vanished.

It was absolutely worth the attempt.

*Kya-kya?*

“Hel, activate the warp properly.”

*Kya-kya-kya-kya!*

Hel spun around the warp in circles.

*Suuuaaaah!*

The blue light returned, and the warp began operating again.

But it was shrinking by the second.

With the Abyss gone, the warp it created naturally needed to disappear.

At most, it would last 30 minutes.

If not for Hel, it would’ve vanished instantly.

“Let’s go.”

Together with the Saintess, I crossed the Abyssal Warp.

—

**Author’s Note**

++ 04:48 Curse option of the helm has been removed, detailed descriptions added.
+++ 05:05 The writing has been polished overall.

—

 

Edinburgh, the heart of Scotland in the United Kingdom.

Outside the warp gate on the outskirts of Edinburgh—

A place normally under military control, yet only two figures stood there.

“Young master. This is dangerous.”

Melson looked at Oliver with a face full of worry.

But Oliver shook his head with a stubborn expression.

“I promised to wait.”

“Promised? With who, and when? Don’t tell me… him again?”

“Him.”

The man currently inside the castle — Park Hyun-myung.

Melson still couldn’t understand.

At first, he thought he was just a gaming friend.

But now he was certain Park Hyun-myung was *not* a simple gaming friend.

After all, the man had been inside a life-support capsule for days without waking even once.

That alone was concerning, but the bigger issue was his displayed *data*.

*“He’s beyond human. Every value displayed is beyond any human range.”*

Overwhelming vitality and regenerative ability.

His muscles were continuously consumed and rebuilt even stronger.

Every other stat far exceeded normal values by an impossible margin.

These were data points that could not be found in any known lifeform.

*“Just like a Dimension Warrior.”*

The only beings capable of this were transformed and descended Dimension Warriors.

Melson had once received the data of such a descended form — and it matched Park Hyun-myung’s almost perfectly.

So he had assumed Hyun-myung was in a descended state.

However, as far as Melson knew, the time one could maintain a descent was extremely limited.

Maintaining it for more than five days was virtually impossible.

Then… was he exhibiting the abilities of a Dimension Warrior **without** descending?

Melson wanted to examine him more thoroughly, but Park Hyun-myung was young master Oliver’s guest.

*“And young master Oliver himself is a Dimension Warrior.”*

There was nothing Melson did not know.

He was aware of everything that transpired within the castle and throughout England.

He merely refrained from acting like he knew, out of respect for his master.

The reason Oliver had come to this warp point must also lie along the same lines.

Even so, he couldn’t help but be curious.

He had no grasp whatsoever of what might be appearing here.

*Fwwaaaaaaash!*

At that moment—

The warp rippled violently as someone emerged.

“Ah… ah…!”

Upon seeing that figure, Oliver’s entire body began to tremble.

As if he were witnessing something that should not be possible.

As if a miracle had manifested before his very eyes.

*

*

 

**《You have been logged out.》**

When I opened my eyes, I was in the castle.

I rose from the life-support capsule and looked around.

Then I clicked my tongue softly.

*“I expected as much.”*

I had attempted this because if entering Earth in the state of Randolph were possible, I could conserve the fragments of the Broken Golden Scale.

But I hadn’t been able to cross.

I had been forcibly logged out, experiencing a severing effect in the process.

*“What about the Saintess? Did Saintess Seia also fail to cross?”*

Seeing that Oliver and Melson were nowhere nearby, they must have moved to the location of the warp as I had instructed in advance.

At that instant—

**《‘Erosion’ is occurring at the specified coordinates.》**

**《If ‘???’ is not eliminated within 30 minutes, ‘Forced Erosion’ will occur.》**

A system message abruptly appeared before my eyes, accompanied by a projected map.

*“That location is…!”*

A terrain I knew all too well.

It was the location of the warp I had attempted to cross.

The warp created by the One Who Is the Abyss Itself.

It seemed the Saintess, who had passed through that warp, was now being recognized as a target of “Erosion.”

 

 

---

 

• Enjoying the story? Don’t forget to rate this novel on NovelUpdates!

---