Trait Hoarder

Wraith King — Part 4

I charged forward.

No hesitation.

Right from the start, I unleashed my trump card.

I dove in with Aerial Raid, following up with a relentless barrage of Mars Swordsmanship.

[So, you truly are the Omnipotent One.]

The Wraith King radiated a cold psychic wave.

It swung its Bone Greatsword in a wide arc.

From the edge of its blade, a gray sword aura sneered ominously.

The battle erupted in an instant.

Sword aura clashed against sword aura.

Explosions echoed back to back.

Shockwaves pushed against me, but I only pressed in harder.

The Wraith King was a warrior, a mage, and a priest all in one.

Even in its weakened state, it was at least level 7.5, bordering on level 8.

A triple-class hybrid with dual power scaling—even with my Mars build, I was struggling to match its sheer physicality.

‘If only I had access to my [Hero] trait.’

It was still sealed. I had to reach level 8 before I could use it.

Frustrating.

But I kept going.

Gritting my teeth, I swung my blade again.

My trait cycle-switching was running at full throttle.

[Nephilim’s Sword] [Master of the Blade] [Sacred Knight]

[Mana Soul] [Thor’s Cultivation Technique] [Supreme Flame]

Black-and-white sword aura wrapped in golden fire clashed against its Bone Greatsword.

For just a fraction of a second, the undead’s weapon was pushed back.

A tiny opening—barely a needle’s width—appeared.

[Mars Swordsmanship] [Master of the Blade] [Sacred Knight]

[Giant’s Strength] [Vajra Body] [Undying]

I drove my blade into the gap.

The tiny opening widened, giving me just enough room to land a proper hit.

[Kalaratri] [Thunderbolt] [One-Man Army]

[Sacred Knight] [Supreme Flame] [Master of the Blade]

I became lightning itself and struck.

Sword aura blazed from my blade.

Supreme Flame burned violently.

A holy crown of light extended from my head into the heavens.

This was the strongest attack I could land on an undead.

My blade pierced deep into the Wraith King’s chest—

Yet, it only let out a short scoff.

[Pathetic.]

Magic circuits flared.

Through my Golden Eyes and Prophet’s Ring, I saw six layered magic circuits surrounding its heart.

The largest and most complex among them was—

A trait.

Emitting a sinister glow.

[Heaven Defiance]

Its effect was simple.

It negated laws.

In game terms, it canceled active traits.

If an opponent used invincibility, it nullified invincibility.

If they used sword aura, it erased sword aura.

And right now—

A flicker.

Kalaratri shut down.

Along with it, my sword aura, my Sacred Knight, my divine lightning, my Supreme Flame—

Everything Kalaratri had been binding together.

The Black Tiger Sword, once poised to pierce its heart, lost its power and reverted to an ordinary blade.

Oh, well.

That was expected.

I had been planning to trigger Heaven Defiance from the very start.

Only an idiot would have walked into this fight without preparing for it.

Whoosh!

Golden flames erupted, as if they had been waiting.

Black-and-white sword aura surged.

I swapped out Mana Soul and added lightning into the mix.

This wasn’t as explosive as Kalaratri, but in terms of armor penetration, it was far superior.

[Impressive.]

The Wraith King’s gaze sharpened.

[So, this is the power of the Omnipotent One.]

At some point, its left hand had grabbed onto Black Tiger Sword.

The skeletal gauntlet it wore shimmered with gray aura.

A complete defensive artifact.

If my Golden Fleece granted immortality and resurrection, then the Wraith King’s Skeletal Gauntlet was a perfect defense—it could not be destroyed by any means.

[But now that I have you in my grasp… hmm?]

That was its greatest strength.

Once caught in its left hand, there was no escape.

But every power had a weakness.

And in the game, I had abused that weakness countless times to toy with the Wraith King.

I tilted my body.

Let the hilt of my weapon touch my armory.

Then—

Weapon swap.

Quickslot activated.

Black Tiger Sword vanished—

And in my hand now—

A blunt hammer.

Mjolnir.

[Giant’s Strength] [Mana Soul] [Close-Combat Mastery]

[Sacred Knight] [Lightning] [Tactile Perception]

Boom! Boom! BOOM!

I slammed Mjolnir down.

Blow after blow rained upon the Wraith King.

But I didn’t stop there.

Every time my hand brushed my armory, my weapon shifted.

Black Tiger Sword and Mjolnir switched back and forth in rapid succession.

And my left arm? It wasn’t idle.

[Shield Master] [Sacred Knight] [Earth]

[Giant’s Strength] [Vajra Body] [Close-Combat Mastery]

I deployed Aegis and bashed the Wraith King with it.

Both my hands moved in a blur.

Three Great Sword Arts unfolded.

Mjolnir crackled.

Aegis flashed in prismatic light.

And then—

The King Jeongjo Gun.

I switched to Exorcism Mode and fired its holy bullets.

[So, you truly are worthy prey!]

The Wraith King roared.

But it did not fall.

Its Bone Greatsword struck back with terrifying precision.

Every time I forced an opening, its Skeletal Gauntlet blocked the strike.

And now, it was layering countless enhancement spells onto itself.

It was casting every dark magic buff in its arsenal—

As both a mage and a priest, it had an endless supply.

Gradually, I started losing ground.

Even in close combat.

And then—

It began sacrificing nearby zombies to replenish mana.

Snowstorms and swirling darkness lashed at me.

Relentless magic bombardments.

The cold froze my body.

My mana shuddered, on the verge of breaking apart.

[Magic Resistance] [Indomitable] [Vajra Body]

[Undying] [Sacred Knight] [Aerial Raid]

I pulled back.

Creating as much distance as I could, I activated Eyes of Insight to scan the battlefield.

‘Phase One is over.’

The first rule of defeating the Wraith King—

I had to survive until it unleashed its first wave of wide-area magic.

If I killed it too early, it would use its stored mana to fully heal itself in its final moments.

At least this time, it hadn’t summoned Wraith Knights, Wraith Mages, or Wraith Priests.

[The Dark Jaguar speaks to me.]

The Wraith King locked eyes with me.

[Omnipotent One. You have no patron deity. Why not offer your allegiance to the Dark Jaguar here and now? He would elevate you above all others, at least to my rank. A demigod. A War King.]

The Wraith King didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic.

Like a predator being forced to give up its prey to a superior.

Well, this bastard had made the same offer in the game.

And the response had always been the same.

“Fuck off.”

[Good. Let’s enjoy this, then.]

It raised its sword.

A massive spell activated.

Gray mana surged outward, forming an isolated dimension.

Buildings collapsed, leaving only an empty battlefield.

An extra-dimensional space.

I could still escape using the Ring of Grand Escape—

But then, the surrounding citizens would be slaughtered.

And worse—

I would lose my one chance to acquire Heaven Defiance, a trait that wasn’t supposed to be obtainable at this stage.

‘Not happening.’

I had only one option left.

A head-on battle.

I ran a hand over my armory.

With Mjolnir still in my left hand, I pulled out a Magic Chip.

A blood-red Magic Chip.

One of the highest-tier Frenzy Magic Chips, secured through black market connections at Shinwon Market and the Colosseum broker.

Even the broker had warned me never to use it.

I activated it anyway.

And I stacked One-Man Army and Berserk on top.

A triple-layered berserker state.

The world turned red.

Raw power surged through my veins.

An overwhelming sense of omnipotence flooded my mind.

My skin steamed as blood and sweat evaporated.

Mana poured out like a raging flood.

My heart was pumping both blood and mana like a pressure engine.

I barely felt like myself.

Not just Frenzy—

This felt like when I activated Mutant Body.

If I hadn’t equipped Cold Rationality or if the Dragon Monarch’s Crown didn’t have its Will of the Tyrant, I would have lost myself completely.

[Interesting.]

The Wraith King murmured in a damp voice.

[But meaningless.]

Once again, Heaven Defiance flared.

Even this undead king had deemed my triple berserker stack a threat.

That was how dangerous Frenzy was.

Not just to my enemy—

But to myself as well.

I charged and twisted my grip on my weapons.

With my mind half-gone, my movements were far more reckless.

But I had one guarantee—

The Golden Fleece’s immortality was fully active.

A golden radiance enveloped me.

And instead of Frenzy, the Heaven Defiance trait was negated.

[Strange… How do you know so much about me?]

Oh, you know.

When you kill the same boss a hundred times in the game, you tend to figure things out.

I leaped into its guard.

Frenzy and Berserk weren’t just instant bursts.

Once activated, they remained in effect until manually canceled.

Even trait-switching wouldn’t turn them off.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

I unleashed Mars Swordsmanship.

Not just my sword.

I slammed Mjolnir down with my off-hand.

And I bashed it with Aegis as well.

KABOOM!

Then came the shockwave.

The moment my cooldown reset, I struck the ground again.

The Wraith King blocked with its sword and extended its left hand.

Was it trying to use the Skeletal Gauntlet?

No.

Its hand was spread open—

It was preparing to cast Wraith’s Grasp, a close-range CC spell.

It forcibly pulled enemies in and restrained them.

A death sentence in a one-on-one fight.

Its skeletal eyes gleamed.

[This is the end.]

FLASH!

Too bad for you—

I had Shield Mastery.

The moment the light flared, I raised my shield.

Magic Reflection—activated.

The gray spectral hand that had been forming—

Turned around and wrapped around the Wraith King instead.

[Huh?]

This was it.

I went all in.

I poured everything into this moment.

Kalaratri! Kalaratri! Kalaratri!

A storm of lightning engulfed the battlefield.

Thunderclad Swordsmanship. Holy Blade. Sacred Flame.

My blade tore through its form, over and over.

I didn’t even waste time retrieving my sword between strikes—

I simply swapped weapons.

Mjolnir crashed into its helmet.

Aegis smashed into its chest.

But it endured.

Even in its restrained state, it was layering defensive spells, reducing my damage.

[Truly remarkable.]

It swung its Bone Greatsword—

Trying to knock me away.

As if I’d let that happen.

I stayed glued to its form.

Kept pouring in attacks.

My head burned.

Even with Cold Rationality and Will of the Tyrant, my body felt like it was boiling.

Without the Legion Commander’s teachings, I wouldn’t have lasted this long.

I had mastered seamless trait-switching.

I no longer fought by calculation alone.

This was pure instinct—

A natural cycle of destruction.

[Fine. Then I, too, shall pay the price.]

The Wraith King—

Entered Phase Three.

Its chest opened.

Its skeletal armor cracked apart, revealing exposed ribs.

WHOOSH!

A violent blast of wind sent me flying over ten meters.

I landed, gripping Black Tiger Sword, and narrowed my eyes.

Beyond its open ribcage—

I saw it.

The heart.

The Wraith King’s true core.

A classic fantasy weak point—

Its life vessel.

Destroying it would end this.

But—

It was a trap.

The moment the heart was exposed, death mana surged outward.

A persistent damage-over-time effect—

And a crowd control debuff.

Even a brush with that mana would paralyze normal humans and stop their hearts within 0.1 seconds.

The Wraith King stared at me.

As if daring me to try.

Then, its skeletal gaze flickered—

Because despite its final trump card—

I was still advancing.

[Magic Resistance] [Indomitable] [Undying]

[Vajra Body] [Sacred Knight] [Cold Rationality]

I pushed forward.

I broke through.

I endured the bombardment of mana tearing through my body.

Pain consumed me.

My mana raged like a storm.

Even with Magic Resistance weakening the damage and Indomitable keeping me on my feet, I felt like I was dying.

It was a pain akin to burning fever.

Like having microscopic crystals of uric acid clogging every single capillary in my body.

Mana had crystallized, turning solid inside me—ripping through my mana circuits, blood vessels, and nerves like razor blades.

But I endured.

I overcame it.

With the willpower I had forged in this world.

With the power of my triple-layered berserker state.

With the assistance of Cold Rationality.

I clenched my teeth and endured.

Crunch!

My teeth shattered.

I had clenched so hard that my molars had been ground to dust.

Drip.

Blood tears streamed down my face.

Not just from my eyes—

Blood was seeping from every pore in my body.

My nose. My mouth. My ears.

Even my sweat glands.

I didn’t have to look back to know.

The path I had walked—

Was stained red.

Crack! Crackle!

Every joint in my body was breaking in real time.

The sickening crunch echoed through me.

My mind blurred.

The triple-layered berserker state was about to expire.

The potions I had taken beforehand were wearing off.

Even Cold Rationality and Will of the Tyrant were reaching their limits.

Just ten meters.

That was all I had left to cross.

And yet, it felt impossible.

And the worst part?

Even while unleashing this massive area attack—

The Wraith King was still moving freely.

[Truly remarkable.]

The Wraith King admired me as it gazed down.

[You surpass any hero I have ever seen.]

It gripped its Bone Greatsword in both hands.

In its third phase, the Wraith King stopped using magic.

It now relied only on heavy physical strikes.

Each blow was on par with the Massacre Empress’ Heaven-Crushing Strike—

A level 8 tank would struggle to endure even one hit.

BOOM!

Its greatsword smashed into Aegis.

CRACK.

My bones shattered.

My arm went limp.

Mjolnir slipped from my grip, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Even after trait-switching, the damage was this severe.

The next attack—

I wouldn’t be able to block it.

[Farewell.]

The Wraith King pulled back its Bone Greatsword.

I stood frozen.

Completely paralyzed.

No way to dodge.

No way to block.

The Wraith King was completely relaxed, convinced of its victory.

It had drawn its sword fully back, preparing for a full-power swing.

The exact moment I had been waiting for.

Flash!

The Golden Fleece activated.

Its immortality effect had already been used.

But its resurrection effect remained.

To put it simply—

It was a rechargeable elixir.

And elixirs—

The ultimate healing ability—

Did not just restore the body.

They also provided complete purification.

My body awakened.

My mana circuits were cleansed.

My broken arm healed instantly.

And Mjolnir flew back into my left hand.

[You wretched insect!]

The Wraith King roared.

It swung down its final attack—

A blow strong enough to shatter mountains.

Blocking it would require every defensive trait I had.

But I didn’t choose defense.

I chose attack.

[Mars Swordsmanship] [Nephilim’s Sword] [Kalaratri]

[Master of the Blade] [Mana Soul] [Sacred Knight]

It was the same trait combination I had once demonstrated before my disciples.

An extremely inefficient build—

But the most powerful set I possessed.

I didn’t even consider the recoil.

Instead of Vajra Body, I used Sacred Knight.

BOOOOM!

A deep thunderclap rumbled.

Black-and-white lightning struck down.

The sword techniques I had accumulated—

Landed directly onto the Wraith King’s heart.

Its core evaporated.

Its mana rapidly dissipated.

The Wraith King was dead.

But it wasn’t over.

There was still one final attack.

[Die.]

A blow I could not block.

A blow I could not dodge.

There wasn’t even time to reach for my armory.

I had only one option left.

A trait switch.

Something faster than thought.

A trait I had never used before.

One I had acquired months ago—

After my duel with Swordmaster Gu No-in.

The same starting trait that Baek Sorin had.

CRASH!

Impact.

My body shattered.

My mind blurred.

The world slipped away.

Death came for me.

But within my heart, a single trait shone brightly.

[Nine Lives.]

And so—

Fate was overturned.

–TL Notes–

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