Starting With Thirteen Hidden Traits

Level 10.

Hybrid Goblins.

Monsters that were a handful even for newly awakened novices to hunt. Their levels reached as high as 3, and the main content of Survival was to kill one hundred hybrid goblins that moved in packs.

But the moment the warp opened, one man moved.

"Alone?"

"Is he out of his mind?"

The people huddled tight and built a wall. They raised shields, leveled spears, and from behind drew bowstrings taut. Some of them already knew that scattering against goblins meant death. Stepping out alone was a sure way to die like a dog.

"Looks like he's got no attachment to living."

"Hold formation! Trust only me! Everyone can survive this!"

They clicked their tongues and looked away from the man. Right now, stacking a sturdier wall and preparing was the priority.

But once the time limit passed and hybrid goblins burst from the warp, every eye was forced back onto him.

Kyaak!

Kaaaak!

Screams tore through the air. The instant they emerged from the warp, hybrid goblin necks were severed one after another. So easily it felt hollow. No technique. No flourish. Just reach out and cut. Even in a society long desensitized to taking lives, there was not a shred of mercy in the man's hands.

"What the hell is that…"

"Is he monopolizing them alone?"

"Hey!"

Unable to stand it any longer, a muscular man with an axe stepped forward. If they could be killed that easily, there was no reason he couldn't do the same.

They clearly said every reward is decided by ranking. At this rate, even one kill locks in at least second place.

Of course he understood the common sense of Pangenia. He knew every trial came with rankings, and that rewards were paid out differentially according to those ranks.

That guy is dangerous. No need to force a win against someone that dangerous.

The axe-wielder smiled to himself. In this society, this world, the strong reigned. No matter how much an ordinary person bulked up and trained, they could never beat an Awakener. Facing the strong meant bowing first and yielding if you wanted to live. And the man at the front, casually slicing hybrid goblins apart, was clearly the ridiculously dangerous kind. Better to let that sort go first. He had no intention of competing with them. Second place was enough to rule this place.

Kiruk! Kirruk!

Hybrid goblins squeezed out through other warps. Roughly 1.3 meters tall, jet-black skin. A little larger than he'd heard, but nothing he couldn't handle.

"Die, you bastard!"

He roared and brought the axe down with the force to split the thing from crown to sole.

Clang!

A heavy jolt of pain shot through his wrist as the axe bounced clean off.

Wh-what?

He couldn't help but freeze. It felt like striking steel, not hide. But that made no sense.

That guy was cutting them like paper…?

If he'd known they were this hard, he never would have left the line. More than anything—

They clearly said goblin defense is pathetic!

Weren't goblins something even ordinary people could handle if they put their mind to it?

That was his last thought.

Crunch!

In a blink a goblin scrambled onto his body, jaws yawning wide, and swallowed his entire head whole.

A truly grotesque sight.

Thud!

The headless body collapsed to the ground. At the same moment—

"Kyaaaaak!"

"Th-that's a goblin…?"

Everyone recoiled in horror. Its mouth had grown large enough to gulp an adult man's head in a single bite. Not ordinary goblins—hybrid goblins. The fate of anyone who treated creatures born and raised in this Abyss by the old common sense.

This, too, was the picture the fairy Iris had intended.

But—

…How is that even possible?

The man who had first stepped out with a sword was different. The hybrid goblins' bones were hard as steel, yet he read the gaps between them with perfect precision and severed the weakest point—the neck. Grasp the weak points and they weren't difficult opponents, but these people were newly awakened novices. They had never faced monsters of the Abyss. She had expected flailing panic.

Kyaek!

Kaaaak!

Instead, it was the hybrid goblins that were being smashed apart.

He has to be Level ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠1…

Iris could see levels. Every fairy on God's Island could. The man's level was clearly 1. Yet his movements far exceeded that. No matter how easy it looked, a mere Level 1 cutting the necks of one hundred hybrid goblins was impossible.

It had to be impossible.

Kak!

The last hybrid goblin collapsed with a death cry. Watching the scene, Iris couldn't help muttering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠under her breath.

This is truly ridiculous…

How long had it been since the last hybrid goblin fell? The messages above floated into view and the trial ended.

So that's how it works.

Thanks to that, I finally understood the system running God's Island. I slowly laid out everything I had grasped.

First: Park Hyunmyung and Randolph had been completely separated. It seemed this phenomenon had arisen in the process of not abandoning myself. That was why God's Island failed to recognize me as Randolph and let me inside. The Fairy Dragons failing to recognize me fit the same logic.

Second: the moment I transformed here, I would be expelled again. My completed aura apparently had a bad effect on the Fairy Dragons' growth. I had already experienced it once, so I would have to refrain from transforming into Randolph unless absolutely necessary.

Third: the Fairy Dragons fed on the time of the unawakened and grew. They were currently gorging on the time of the hundred thousand people who had entered God's Island and undergoing explosive growth.

Fourth: this island was still in the Abyss. That was why it summoned monsters of the Abyss.

And last, fifth:

…I had awakened.

Learning that fact had left me more than a little shaken. I, who had already awakened as Randolph in Pangenia, had now awakened separately as Park Hyunmyung. Originally, no Player could enter God's Island. Even Randolph, the island's master, had been barred. So my entry and awakening had to be an unintended result.

That wasn't the only unsettling part.

Status window.

…Because the state of the status window was a long way from that of a simple Awakener.

Proof that I had been cleanly separated from Randolph. Not Randolph's status window—Park Hyunmyung's—had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared, and it started from Level 1. Surprising enough, but even more surprising was the state of the stats themselves.

I'm inheriting Randolph's ability scores.

I knew the moment I saw them. This absurd rate of growth was connected to Randolph—and every single point was pure base stats!

Even the bonus stats Randolph gained from equipment and stars are all being reflected.

Insane. If this was real, the advantage was beyond imagination. And there was plenty of evidence to back the thought. For example:

…Natural regeneration and experience gain rate. Both were abilities obtained through Molting. A shame there was nothing like curse penetration, but this was more than enough. I shifted my gaze to the next window.

Special Notes 1 and 2 were already reflected in the stats. What puzzled me started from number 3. Cheonma Shingong had transferred not to Randolph but to me—Park Hyunmyung. The fact that Heavenly Demon Dominion Step had activated while I fought the hybrids hadn't been my imagination. And on top of that, Inheritance and Share? Randolph's stats and experience were both affecting me.

Proficiency is intact too.

Proficiency—literally the realm reached through experience. But it wasn't only proficiency that remained.

My body trembled. The talents were intact as well. Looking again and again, I had nothing to say. A status window that could not possibly be called normal. …It was several times better than even the situation when I had first created Randolph and begun.

Just as Randolph influences me, I influence Randolph.

Most of this status window was the experience I had accumulated as Randolph in Pangenia, brought over intact. Yet my current state also affected Randolph—and in a way that might be more important than anything else.

When my level rose, Randolph's experience jumped by 10%.

At first I thought it was a mistake. That I had misread it. The moment I leveled up after hunting a hundred hybrid goblins, the status window changed. The experience listed under Randolph in the Special Notes suddenly rose—by a full 10%. Proof that my level, my experience, was shared with Randolph. It seemed one level of mine, Park Hyunmyung, was recognized as 10% of Randolph's experience. In other words, once I reached Level 9, Randolph would also hit Level 10.

I can reach Level 10…

Ah. My fists clenched on their own. Even all the rewards from clearing Main Quest 11 combined could not compare to this joy. The wall of Level 10 I had thought forever impossible to climb. I had resigned myself to remaining at Level 9 for eternity. And now I had finally found a way to break that wall. I had found the path to Level 10. Reach Level 10—and transcend!

…But even all these miracles, all this unprecedented joy and triumph, ultimately converged on this final window.