Trait Hoarder

Wraith King — Part 1

My hands were trembling.

My heart was pounding.

I inserted the magic chip into the newly purchased laptop.

I had deliberately cut off all internet access and ensured complete security.

Wuuuuung.

The laptop made a low hum as it read the magic chip.

Soon, the screen lit up.

“Alright!”

The High Priest had kept his promise.

He had provided me with undeniable evidence of the secret alliance between the Old Father’s Cult and the Dark Jaguar Cult.

To be honest, I had my doubts.

Would he really hand over the proof?

But just look at what’s displayed on the screen.

Not just anything, but an actual copy of the covenant signed between past Saintesses and past High Priests.

They had even sworn upon their gods’ names.

The seal of the Dark Jaguar was prominently stamped on it.

[One, the Old Father and the Dark Jaguar shall cooperate with each other.]

[Two, the Old Father shall assist the Dark Jaguar in ascending to its rightful divine status.]

[Three, in exchange for its resurrection, the Dark Jaguar shall serve as a subordinate deity under the Old Father.]

[Four, this covenant shall remain valid for one thousand years from its inception.]

[Five…]

The document was filled with additional clauses.

None of that really mattered.

The fact that these two had formed a secret alliance was already a massive revelation.

The Dark Jaguar Cult, no matter how you looked at it, was a heretical sect worshipping an evil god.

‘Just revealing this would be a fatal blow.’

I continued reading through each section carefully.

The High Priest of the Dark Jaguar Cult was undeniably meticulous.

Twisted in his fanaticism, sure, but still a man capable of executing his plans.

All the various forms of support the Old Father’s Cult had provided over time were laid out in an orderly fashion.

Economic, political, and social support.

Money and resources were a given.

They had also discreetly wielded influence within Brazil and leaked intelligence on impending purges.

Even going so far as to introduce high-ranking officials as potential initiates.

It made sense how they had survived for centuries, even while hiding deep in the Amazonian jungle.

‘This is irrefutable. Absolutely irrefutable.’

I imagined the possibilities.

What if I reported this directly to the President?

What if I gathered all our allies and exposed it publicly?

Public outrage would explode, demanding the eradication of the Old Father’s Cult.

A coalition would be formed, and together, we could wipe them out—

‘Wait a second.’

A strange sense of unease suddenly pricked the back of my neck.

Could that really happen?

Would the Old Father’s Cult be destroyed that easily?

The same cult that, in Episode 3, had single-handedly turned Seoul upside down, pushed the South Korean government to the brink of collapse, and crushed four major factions on its own?

Let’s break this down logically.

Even if I were to hold a secret meeting or a press conference and expose everything right now—

Would the four major factions truly unite against the Old Father’s Cult?

‘Of course not.’

Unfortunately, humans don’t come together that easily.

They would just continue their cycles of alliances and betrayals, dictated by their existing relationships.

Even if I revealed the secret alliance, the outcome wouldn’t be so simple.

I scrutinized the files within the magic chip with sharp focus.

‘There’s nothing about the zombie incident.’

There were records of significant funds being funneled into the Seoul branch—the very organization I had obliterated beneath the Han River.

There were traces of large quantities of rare materials being moved.

But that was it.

The citizens of Seoul knew that Seong Huiyeong had been attacked, but they didn’t necessarily see the Dark Jaguar Cult as villains that needed to be exterminated.

To them, the cult was just another distant criminal syndicate based in South America.

The Terror Alliance might be a different story.

However, the files on the magic chip contained no mention of the Terror Alliance whatsoever.

There was no hope of uniting the entire nation, and at best, only those with past grudges against the Old Father’s Cult or those with ties to me would join the fight.

‘Eastern Army, Geumo Group, Sun Mage Tower, Thor’s Cult, Gaia’s Cult.’

Perhaps even the Western Army and the Mama Quilla Cult.

I counted potential allies on my fingers, and my expression hardened.

‘Not enough.’

The Eastern Army and the Sun Mage Tower were both considered among the Six Great Powers, just like the Old Father’s Cult.

However, the Old Father’s Cult in the game had demonstrated strength far beyond that.

They had concentrated their global forces entirely on Seoul.

While the Eastern Army and the Sun Mage Tower were powerful within South Korea, they weren’t dominant on a global scale.

‘Even the Legion Commander wouldn’t be able to handle the Saintess.’

Maybe if he were at his peak.

The real problem was the Saintess’s third phase.

In Phase 3, the Saintess, despite being incomplete, would attempt to revive the Old Father and the Ancient God.

Even in a weakened state, the Ancient God was still level 9.

At the time of Episode 3, the level cap was 8.

We had barely managed to win after exhausting every possible strategy and leveraging multiple pre-prepared mechanisms.

But the Legion Commander?

Right now, he was weakened.

Because of me.

He had used his core combat power to pass on the [Hero] trait to me.

If he couldn’t win at his peak, how could he possibly win now?

‘The Sun Mage Tower Master… yeah, no.’

Even if he had an impulsive streak, he was still a mage.

He would declare an alliance out of obligation, but he would definitely hesitate.

And in any case, the Mage Tower Master was weaker than the Legion Commander.

Even if the two of them joined forces to attack the Old Father’s Cult, they would be stopped by the Saintess alone.

No, not even the Saintess.

The Black Reaper, Seo Woojin from the game, would put an end to them.

Right now, Seo Woojin was busy crossing the Pacific with the Sky Ship and Red Cougar, meaning the Black Reaper had been erased from this timeline…

“Hah. Life’s never easy, is it?”

I leaned back in my chair and sighed.

I had thought that finding evidence would be the end of it.

But no.

No matter how many times I ran the scenario in my head, the conclusion was always the same.

Announcing this information publicly or consulting with someone would be a terrible idea.

Tell the Legion Commander?

He’d charge in recklessly without a second thought.

The Legion Commander could never stand idly by in the face of injustice.

And if he found out, war would break out, turning Seoul into a battlefield.

The Mage Tower Master? Not even worth considering.

Should I talk to Seong Huiyeong?

The problem was, Seong Huiyeong was only level 7.

That was more than enough to inherit the Geumo Group, but not nearly enough to take on the Old Father’s Cult.

‘I need to get stronger.’

If the Pope of the Thor’s Cult or the Pope of the Gaia’s Cult were to step in, that would be ideal.

The Elders of the Mama Quilla Cult or the Blood King, the head of the Protector Alliance, would also be excellent reinforcements.

The issue was, none of them moved easily.

Even if I revealed the secret alliance, they’d probably just shrug it off with a, “Oh, that’s just the Saintess being the Saintess.”

I carefully examined the files in the magic chip.

Was there something I missed?

Unfortunately, no.

Everything I had uncovered so far was all there was.

‘The Seoul terror attack happened on December 24th.’

And right now, it was early summer—late June.

The weather was gradually getting hotter.

Episode 2 had been triggered just six months after Episode 1.

As I had predicted, the pacing of the episodes was accelerating.

In the game, there had been nearly a year between each major event.

‘Episode 3 will probably happen even faster.’

The minimum gap was six months.

That meant the Ancient God’s resurrection would be attempted on Christmas.

But what if it happened even sooner?

What if the Saintess sped things up even further?

‘September.’

I checked the calendar.

Four bright red numbers stood out immediately.

Chuseok, the great national holiday.

I had a strong feeling that was the most likely date.

“Haaah.”

Frustration welled up inside me.

I ran a hand down my face, rubbing away the tension.

The grand finale—this world’s greatest crisis—was approaching me at full speed.

If I could overcome it, I would reign supreme in this world.

By claiming a fragment of divinity from the fallen Old Father, I would reach level 9.

All I had to do was deal with the Tower of Truth in advance and prevent the Grand Dimensional Research Lab from meddling.

Even Gaia had told me—

I, as an outsider in this world, had the potential to escape or even tear apart the web of fate.

‘I can’t go back to that goshiwon.’

A tiny, two-square-meter room.

It was better than where I had first landed in this world, but thinking about it now, it was nothing short of hellish.

Thin walls with zero soundproofing.

No space to even place a single piece of furniture.

Neighbors constantly yelling, drinking, and getting into fights.

I could never go back to that.

Never again.

I had already grown too accustomed to a life of wealth and reverence.

Now that I had tasted the pleasure of ownership, I had no intention of letting go.

Slap!

I smacked both of my cheeks hard.

A sharp sting snapped me back to reality.

‘I need to level up.’

If I reached level 8, that would change everything.

‘I need to stack traits.’

By collecting more advanced traits, I could handle the Saintess alone and even attempt a time attack on the Ancient God’s resurrection.

Recruiting other level 8s could wait until I was capable of soloing the fight.

For now, I had to focus on the immediate problem.

I removed the magic chip and stored it deep within a secure vault.

This mansion was protected not only by the personal shrines of various cults, but also by numerous high-level security spells.

Far better than carrying it around in a golf bag.

‘I need to find the Wraith King.’

Where could it be?

A place with high mana density.

A place where large numbers of corpses could be hidden in advance.

A place where rare materials and magic artifacts had been heavily invested.

I shut my laptop and turned on my smartphone.

I pulled up a map of Seoul and started scanning it, but nothing stood out.

‘There’s no other viable base besides the Seoul branch.’

The Old Father’s Cult wouldn’t have directly helped.

Otherwise, their secret alliance would have been exposed immediately after Episode 2.

That left only one possibility.

A secret underground facility beneath the Han River, pre-prepared by the Seoul branch.

‘There are a few dungeons that appear after the zombie crisis.’

Similar to the remnants quests that spawn after the Seoul terror attack.

Some of them were large-scale dungeons.

Weaker than the Corpse Dragon, but still housing level 7 bosses as strong as the Four Great Bosses.

One of them had to be the Wraith King’ lair.

If the Seoul branch had prepared for an emergency, this would make the most sense.

‘Five locations.’

I would start by checking those.

I immediately got up.

But the first place I went wasn’t one of the potential dungeons.

It was Gyujanggak, inside Changdeokgung Palace.

Late at night.

The library was completely empty.

I phased into spirit form and silently entered, retrieving the inkstone.

The plum blossom emblem carved into the inkstone emitted a radiant glow.

Soon, the inkstone itself transformed into light.

When the light scattered, what remained was a single, blunt firearm.

‘So this is the King Jeongjo Gun.’

The stock was made of purple sandalwood.

Its deep brown-red hue was striking.

Tiny rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds were embedded throughout the body.

And seamlessly integrated into its structure were Celestial Gold, Infernal Silver, and World Iron.

Whether by chance or design, its composition was eerily similar to the catalyst for empowering sacrificial weapons.

That was why it dealt extra damage to the Old Father’s Cult.

Click. Click.

I grabbed the barrel and the stock, twisting them apart.

The gun split into two.

A pair of multi-shot pistols.

I then combined them side by side and rotated the barrel.

The components interlocked, forming a compact shotgun.

Restoring it to its original state, I then extended the barrel.

Hidden components emerged from within, elongating the weapon into a sniper rifle.

In other words, the King Jeongjo Gun was a transforming and combining firearm.

Four possible forms.

Dual pistols, a shotgun, a rifle, and a sniper rifle.

Just like the Dasan Gun Set.

Even their abilities were similar.

Energy bullets, immobilization, impact, destruction, and death—

It had all the same functions.

Then again, the creator was the same person.

‘This is a jackpot. I’m condensing a five-piece set into just one.’

Just thinking about the extra space in my armory was satisfying.

The Dasan Gun Set used to take up three slots, but now I could free up space for other consumables.

Even with both Mjolnir and the King Jeongjo Gun stored, I was only using two slots.

The Grand Escape Magic Chipwas still on cooldown, so even after adding the magic chip and elixirs, I’d still have one slot left.

Or, I could just carry the gun in dual-pistol form and still have room for consumables.

And there was one more thing.

The King Jeongjo Gun had an additional trait.

[Exorcism]

It dealt massive damage to all evil beings.

Which meant it would be effective against the Wraith King as well.

I hadn’t sought out the gun first for no reason.

‘Perfect.’

I stuffed the old Dasan Gun Set into my golf bag.

There was no one around to give it to, so I decided to keep it as a backup.

You never know when you might need a spare.

After some careful consideration, I finalized my loadout.

[1] Mjolnir

[2] King Jeongjo Gun

[3] Elixir

[4] Grand Escape Magic Chip

[5] Frenzy Magic Chip

Mjolnir, which had always been strapped to my waist, was now stored inside the armory.

Drawing and throwing it from my waist was slower compared to pulling it straight from the armory.

This way, I could throw Mjolnir almost as fast as I could think, then swap it back in for Black Tiger Sword.

That was also why I stored the Jeongjo Gun there.

‘Frenzy…’

A spell I had prepared specifically for the battle against the Wraith King.

When was the last time I used it?

Was it during my fight with the President of the Cleaner Association?

Other than that, I had never really needed it.

The aftereffects were terrifying.

Even though there were weaker alternatives with fewer side effects, like [Berserk], and its superior trait, [One-Man Army], I had never felt the need to use [Frenzy].

But this time, I would.

The Wraith King was far stronger than the Corpse Dragon.

This was a battle where I would have to put everything on the line.

Calling for backup was never an option.

The achievements—possibly even a new trait—could only be obtained if I defeated it alone.

‘I just have to kill it. That’s all.’

I left Gyujanggak.

With my heart pounding, I moved to check the potential dungeons.

The National Assembly Building.

Namsan Seoul Tower.

Gimpo Airport.

World Cup Stadium.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

According to my calculations, the Wraith King had to be hiding in one of these locations.

“…Huh?”

But something unexpected happened.

I thoroughly searched all five locations, entering the concealed restricted zones and scouring every corner.

Yet, I found nothing.

There were some corpses, a few magic artifacts, and rare materials.

But nowhere near the amount I had anticipated.

It felt as if the summoning had been interrupted midway.

Sure, the game’s timeline was a few years ahead of reality, so the conditions might not be identical.

But with this small amount of resources, summoning the Wraith King was flat-out impossible.

What did I miss?

I perched at the top of Namsan Tower, deep in thought.

Then, absentmindedly, I browsed an online forum.

And that’s when I saw something strange.

[Hey, did anyone else see zombies?]

[Zombies? What zombies?]

[No joke! Real zombies!]

[Tch, must be some superhuman idiot messing around again.]

[Wait, are there actually zombies? Where? I’m going to check it out.]

[You idiot. If they bite you, you’ll turn into one too.]

[Whatever. If I die, I die.]

[So where are these zombies, exactly?]

[I’m in Sangam, saw some here.]

[I saw them near East Seoul Terminal.]

[There too? I live near Sadang Station, and there were a few zombies crawling out. It was chaos—police, fire trucks, ambulances everywhere.]

Zombies?

Scattered outbreaks?

Completely out of control?

If the Wraith King had already descended, this wouldn’t be happening.

No… no way…

I turned eastward, my gaze piercing through the darkness toward the Pacific Ocean—where the High Priest’s corpse would have sunk.

Not in South Korea?

The plan had changed?

The Wraith King wasn’t appearing in Seoul but somewhere else?

If that were the case, then the only possible city…

A place where the Dark Jaguar Cult had the capability and reason to revive the Wraith King…

There was only one.

The place where the Dark Jaguar had lost its divine seat.

Where the Elder God, Poca, resided.

São Paulo.

–TL Notes–

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