I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-93

Ch-93

—

“Did you hear? Word is that among the newly-arrived trainees, there’s a human who set their self-imposed limit to the maximum.”

“Every now and then, some lunatic like that shows up.”

“But even so, hasn’t there been no survivor who chose the maximum limit since that ‘spear-bearer’ two years ago?”

Midway up the mountain.

Various kinds of beast-folk were sitting atop a cliff’s rocky ledge, chatting idly.

“Aria, what do you think?”

“······.”

“Oh, right. Your restriction won’t let you speak, huh?”

“······.”

Aria—beast-folk draped in a white-tiger skin—did not move an inch, as though utterly uninterested.

No, it wasn’t that she had no interest; she simply couldn’t hear them at all.

She was seated in meditation.

*‘There is no end to martial arts. There is no ultimate. Only endless pursuit, endless probing. Before the truth of martial arts, I am still so pitifully small.’*

Training to realize oneself.

Her goal was to find her own martial path and surpass her father.

But right now, she had hit a wall.

It had already been a year since her mastery level had stagnated.

*‘There is no enemy here for me. That is why I’m stuck.’*

She vaguely understood the problem.

There was no opponent.

No one on this mountain who could ignite her competitive spirit—*that* was the biggest reason.

But there was nothing to be done.

Not just on this mountain—anywhere in the world, there would be no one capable of stirring her fighting spirit.

A genius beyond genius.

A once-in-an-era prodigy who would someday surpass even the White King—that was who she was.

—

—

 

“Master, you don’t seem very interested in Main Quest 7?”

The unannounced visitor made the Master scowl.

“······ Whether I’m interested or not, what does that have to do with you, Blackflame?”

Blackflame, the nine-tailed fox.

One of the Seven Heroes, she lowered her sunglasses while dressed in a full suit, eyes curling in amusement.

“Actually, I’m here because I heard something fun. Your prized assassination squad got wiped out. Trying to go after Phantom, no less.”

“If you’re here to babble nonsense you heard somewhere, leave. I won’t say it again.”

He had concealed the matter thoroughly, yet the story had leaked.

No—impossible. His subordinates would never.

The fox must have used her bewitching “charm orb” to pry it out.

“How scary~ Seems you don’t want to hear the intel I brought?”

“It’ll be useless anyway.”

“Even if it’s information related to the Black King?”

The Black King.

A being comparable to the White King.

Whenever the White King was mentioned, the Black King always came up alongside—a monster of equal standing.

Naturally, information on the Black King was priceless.

“······ Sit.”

*Tsk.* The Master clicked his tongue.

Because the intel Blackflame occasionally brought turned out to be real.

No one could match her when it came to dealing in information.

“The Black King’s forces are gathering at the Mountain of Trainees.”

Gracefully taking a seat, Blackflame began.

“Why?”

“Because the White King’s daughter is there?”

The Master’s brow furrowed.

“The Black King, who’s been quiet for so long, suddenly targeting the White King’s daughter? That would start a war.”

Such a move would bring the White King and Black King into full-scale confrontation.

Utter chaos.

Every city caught between them would burn to the ground.

But since their clash twenty years ago, the two kings had maintained peace.

A draw—their fight simply would not end.

Blackflame’s eyes sparkled.

“Maybe he’s acquired a ‘secret weapon’ capable of killing the White King?”

“Even if that were true······ what does that have to do with me?”

“Oh, our foolishly clever Master. Think about it. This is the perfect chance to side with the Black King.”

“You’re suggesting we kidnap the White King’s daughter and hand her over?”

He understood exactly what she was implying.

A possibility he’d briefly considered—and should never have.

In other words, turn the White King into an enemy while backing the Black King.

The Master sighed.

“Even if we wanted to, we have no way to enter the Mountain of Trainees. And even if we did, the White King’s daughter would be incredibly strong. Kidnapping her is even more impossible.”

“We can find someone to go. It’s not like only players can enter the mountain. Mercenaries, adventurers, vagrants—if we throw enough gold, we’ll get plenty.”

······ True enough.

If enough gold was offered, Pangaenian folk eager to climb the mountain were everywhere.

But that wasn’t how the Master operated.

He would not employ anyone who wasn’t loyal to him.

“Even the White King’s daughter should still be low-level. You know my ability, right?”

“Then why don’t *you* do it yourself?”

“Master. Why do you think I came to you?”

“······ You’re asking for money.”

“Exactly! You catch on fast. I’ll need 20 million gold as operational cost, plus 30 million as my personal compensation.”

A total of 50 million gold.

Losing that much right before the upcoming premium auction would hurt.

“You extortionist fox. And what do *I* gain?”

“Information on Phantom. And the Black King’s favor? I’ll even make sure your name’s attached.”

“You think *you* can extract intel on Phantom?”

Blackflame nodded confidently.

“He’s bound to be in the Mountain of Trainees anyway, right? Phantom’s hard to miss.”

“You’re underestimating him. You’ll regret it.”

Blackflame licked her lips, expression amused.

Hearing such words from the Master was rare.

“Aaah~ So that’s why you left him alone? Because you were scared?”

Killing intent flashed across the Master’s face.

“······ What did you just say?”

“You were afraid that if you poked him again, he’d burn you even worse?”

He had lost much by provoking Phantom.

Not only losing the investment—he kept bleeding losses.

Only now did Blackflame fully realize why the Master had not targeted the Mountain of Trainees.

If it were his usual personality, he would’ve tried several different methods to send manpower already.

······ The Master was afraid.

Afraid that the empire he built would crumble.

“One more useless word and I’ll rip out your tongue.”

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. More importantly, let’s talk about whether Phantom can take Top rank in this Hall of Fame.”

Hastily changing the topic, Blackflame continued.

The Master exhaled deeply and shook his head.

“··· He won’t.”

“Why do you think so?”

“There is a cap on the max mastery level each class can reach.”

“What if Phantom acquired a special class?”

“Even then, he’d top out around level 24.”

“First place is Gracia, right? Level 24?”

“Yes. Even if he obtained something higher-tier, surpassing level 24 on the mountain is impossible.”

It was known that Sword Saint–type classes maxed at 24 mastery.

Even if Phantom had something above that, reaching level 25 within the mountain was impossible.

“Did Phantom maybe not apply mastery scaling adjustments?”

“Even with 1,000% mastery growth rate, it’s the same. You cannot reach level 25 there.”

Starting from level 19, mastery experience requirements increased exponentially.

Reaching 20 was difficult, but going from 24 to 25 was pure hell.

The highest level reachable on the Mountain of Trainees was 24.

Meaning Phantom would struggle to keep first place this time.

And with Blackflame entering the equation, his chances were even worse.

—

—

 

## **The Mountain of Trainees**

*《You have entered the ‘Lava Trainee Zone’.》

《‘Primordial Flame’ massively increases your fire resistance.》

《Sword Mastery has risen to Lv 16.》

《Achievement unlocked: “The Tireless Trainee.”》

《Honor +40.》*

A land choked with smoke.

I was swinging my sword in the Lava Trainee Zone, where molten lava flowed just beneath the ground.

The Mountain of Trainees grew harder the higher one climbed, designed so that only by pushing yourself under extreme conditions could mastery be raised to high levels.

“······ Is he a monster?”

The observer could not believe his eyes.

This trainee had reached the mountain’s midpoint in only three days.

And he had not rested for even a single second.

Of course, some had reached mid-mountain in three days before.

*‘He was completely mediocre when he first arrived.’*

But those people had come to the mountain *after* attaining a certain degree of completeness.

Without any limitation restrictions.

The man before him, however, was different.

He had set his limit to the maximum, and his mastery levels were abysmal at the start.

*Shrrraaaa—!*

Even with constant healing, fatigue should accumulate.

But this trainee did not slow down.

*‘At this point he shouldn’t be able to see anything. Isn’t he afraid?’*

His vision should have been gone by now.

Not only that—every sense, including sight, should have vanished.

Only pain would be left.

A situation any living being should find terrifying.

And yet, the man did not flinch.

He was forcefully suppressing instinctive terror.

Was such a thing possible?

More than that—he had *adapted*, replacing his lost senses with imagined perception.

The observer was speechless. He had never heard of such a case.

*《Sword Mastery has risen to Lv 17.》*

Another level.

Only half a day after reaching 16.

The observer checked the man’s mastery and stiffened in shock.

*‘Too fast. Far too fast.’*

Some failed to reach this level after a month. Some after half a year.

Who would believe it was achieved in just three days?

He himself could hardly believe it.

The man soon left the lava fields.

And then reached a higher zone—

*《You have entered the ‘Storm Trainee Zone’.》

《‘Primordial Wind’ massively increases your wind resistance.》

《Achievement unlocked: “The Unstopping Trainee.”》

《Honor +50.》*

He had reached the Storm Trainee Zone.

A place where wind currents were so fierce that even swinging a sword properly was difficult.

A single misstep could send you flying to instant death.

One of the four elemental zones known to be the harshest mid-mountain.

*‘He’ll struggle here.’*

The freedom of one’s sword vanished in this zone; its difficulty was incomparable to the earlier areas.

But again—wrong.

*Shff! Shwish—!*

He swung his sword in perfect alignment with the wind.

Reading the wind, cutting through its resistance.

*《Sword Mastery has risen to Lv 18.》*

······ Only one day.

That’s all it took for him to raise his mastery and leave the zone.

*《You have entered the ‘Deep Sea Trainee Zone’.》

《‘Primordial Water’ massively increases your water resistance.》

《Achievement unlocked: “The Trainee Who Challenges Limits.”》
《Honor +50.》*

Eventually, the observer gave up thinking entirely.

—

—

## **Hidden Trait: High Druid’s Great Nature**

Thanks to the evolved elemental properties from *High Druid’s Great Nature*, my resistance to all elements was absurdly high.

That was the reason I could pass through the four elemental trainee zones—considered the mountain’s greatest obstacles—with ease.

*‘Up to level 19, the fundamental method is to grind through the elemental trainee zones.’*

I could not see.

I could not smell or hear.

And yet, I advanced unhesitatingly.

‘Hidden Trait: Mutant.’

Because of Mutant, I could sense the path even with my eyes closed.

It was nothing more than a simple awareness—like dots appearing on a radar—but it was more than enough to climb the mountain.

*《Sword Mastery has risen to Lv 19.》*

*《You have cleared all “Four-Element Trainee Zones.”》*

*《Achievement unlocked: “Challenger Who Witnessed the End of the Elemental Zones.”》*

*《Honor +100.》*

*《At your staggering rate of growth, the new constellations of the War of the Hundred Stars open their eyes wide.》*

*《Three constellations offer you an Apostle Contract.》*

Normally, clearing a zone didn’t grant an achievement.

But perhaps because I had set the limit to the maximum, additional achievements were being generated.

I continued up the mountain.

*《From the next trainee zone onward, the attendant can no longer offer guidance.》*

*《Depending on the trainee’s traits, the next zone may differ.》*

*《You will now challenge the next trainee zone.》*

*《You have entered the “Chaos Trainee Zone (10).”》*

The moment my foot touched the ground, everything around me changed.

The Chaos Trainee Zone.

No attendant beside me. No Saintess Seia.

This was a section where one had to advance completely alone.

*Swish!*

*Shrrrk!*

*Clang!*

But soon, I couldn’t help but feel perplexed.

*‘I didn’t expect someone else to be here.’*

This was the furthest point within the Chaos Trainee Zone.

A place one could reach only after setting the limitation to its maximum and attaining a certain mastery level.

Yet there was someone who had arrived before me.

A person?

Or was this a trial the zone had prepared specifically for me?

I couldn’t see them clearly.

But based on what my Mutation could sense, I could define them in my own way.

*‘A spear-bearer?’*

There was a distinctly sharp impression at the end.

Through their movements and subtle micro-gestures, I could tell the opponent was a spear-user.

Their movement wasn’t as fast as I expected.

They were clearly someone who, like me, had set their limitation to the maximum.

But I didn’t have much time to think further.

—