Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

I ran my hand through my empty head.

The kettle hat, which had soared into the sky with a loud bang, had now fallen to the ground, revealing its inner workings.

“Huh,” I muttered, staring at the pathetic sight of the overturned pot with its straps torn off. I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Not only was Mick, who was choosing his reward for the fourth time, startled, but Martin and Marianne, who were happily selecting their desired items, were also taken aback. Even Dietrich, who had been consistently serious, was surprised and rushed towards me.

“What the hell! It’s so annoying! What’s going on now?”

“Ahren, what was that sound just now? Why is your helmet like that?”

“Is it an ambush? Point to the direction of the attack. I’ll buy you some time!”

“Of all times, my magic power is almost depleted…”

-Bang!

With a heavy stomp, I stopped the commotion.

“Haha, I accidentally startled everyone. Don’t worry, the helmet flew off because of a trait. It’s nothing serious.”

Martin, as the representative of the group, asked, “Is it really nothing serious? Let’s not hide anything or change our minds now that we’re almost done.”

“Of course. It seems that there was some incompatibility between the loot I chose and a trait, and I ended up wasting a precious helmet.”

“Are you hurt anywhere? Does your head or face hurt?”

I shook my head at Marianne’s concern.

“No, I’m perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern.”

“No problem. It’s only natural to be worried when such a loud noise occurs.”

“Yeah, I know. I was in front, thinking about what to choose, and the sound was so vivid, as if it had exploded right next to me.”

It seemed that with the increase in rank, there were no external changes.

Martin patted Mick’s back and gestured with his chin.

“Alright, the person involved says he’s fine. Let’s calm down and finish distributing the loot! Mick, have you decided yet?”

“Damn, they all look so good from the appraisal that I can’t choose easily. Give me a little more time!”

As I watched Mick walk back to choose his item, I spoke up.

“Please bear with me a little longer, as there might be a few more sounds. I have something I want to test!”

‘I managed to get through this somehow. What a stroke of luck. Let’s see… Did I say I couldn’t wear the helmet earlier?’

I sighed and pulled up the information for the upgraded Golden Crown.

────

[Golden Crown (A)] [P]

Absorbed from the Golden Goblin Gornot.

The crown of Gornot, made of mystery, has grown even more powerful in conjunction with its twin.

Instead of rejecting and destroying equipment worn on the head, the rank embedded in the Golden Crown provides absolute defense to the head at all times.

When reflecting status effects or using built-in skills, the image of the Golden Crown appears above the head.

-Very rarely, all types of status effects are reflected regardless of rank.

-Positive adjustments are added to luck-related items in all traits.

-The skill ‘Golden Ruler’ can be used by consuming a large amount of life force, energy, and magic power.

-Charm increases and luck is raised by one level.

-Very rarely, item effects are maximized.

────

‘So that’s why.’

It was the first time in my adventurer life that I had obtained an A-rank trait. I should have been jumping for joy, but surprisingly, relief came first.

After all, I had already seen the line about not being able to wear the helmet somewhere else.

Veronica’s Celestial Halo.

When I thought that I, like her trait, would have a shining crown permanently on my head, I felt my vision darken.

‘It’s really fortunate that, apart from the defensive options, the crown is usually invisible to others.’

Otherwise, the halo… people would just find it fascinating, beautiful, or like something out of a book about angels.

The concept of a golden crown could be sensitive to those in power, and I thought it might cause problems later on.

‘Damn, I heard that there’s even a royal family from the empire in the first district. If they pick a fight, it’ll be a headache for sure.’

I shook my head to dispel these negative thoughts and proceeded with my next action.

The essence, a golden orb, which, when consumed, would grant me one of the traits of the dead Gornot at random.

I slowly rolled the golden orb in my hand.

The Full Serpent’s Essence had given me the C-rank Water Blessing, and I wondered what I would get this time. Surely, it wouldn’t be a duplicate of the Golden Crown.

‘Please! Hopefully, I’ll get the best one!’

I closed my eyes tightly and put the orb in my mouth.

[You have consumed the origin of the Golden Goblin Gornot.]

[You have acquired the trait ‘Dimensional Leap’.]

Despite consuming the origin, I didn’t feel any changes in my body.

So, I slowly opened my eyes… and saw the four characters ‘Dimensional Leap’ proudly displayed before me.

Could it be that I finally had a movement skill that I could use at any time?

────

[Dimensional Leap (C)] [A]

Acquired by consuming the essence of the Golden Goblin Gornot.

Leap through dimensions to close the distance to an enemy or evade dangerous attacks.

Can grow through special experiences related to dimensions or space-time.

-The skill ‘Dimensional Leap’ can be used once a day by consuming a large amount of magic power and mental strength.

After designating a location within a certain radius, the user leaps through dimensions to that location.

During the short time of leaping through dimensions, immunity to most attacks is applied.

────

“Huh,” I exclaimed, quickly covering my mouth to prevent a cheer from escaping as I finished reading the description.

Although there was a limit of once a day and a cost of ‘a large amount of magic power and mental strength’, it was still better than the useless Lightning Walk skill, which I couldn’t even use in normal situations.

Moreover, the description was full of overpowered abilities, such as leaping through dimensions and being immune to most attacks during the short time of movement.

The growth condition was a bit vague, but the fact that it could potentially become even better was exciting.

‘Martin’s suggestion was indeed the best choice. If I had played it safe and gone through the central area, I shudder to think what could have happened.’

[Chaos says that great rewards often follow great crises and bold decisions.]

While Martin sorted through the remaining items using the appraisal scroll bundle, focusing on the more important ones, I also started testing my traits.

‘In order to fight with confidence, it’s important to first understand my own abilities. As the saying goes, know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.’

However, the others only knew that I had consumed the essence and acquired one trait, so it would be awkward to explain the evolution or anything like that.

If I suddenly started testing multiple traits, they would definitely think it was strange.

This was a separate issue from Martin’s belief that I was a high noble or transmigrator.

If I had to choose one, it would be better to test the Golden Crown rather than the active Dimensional Leap.

‘A hat or helmet wouldn’t work, so what about this?’

I took out a rope and a torch from my backpack and tried to put them on my head without lighting the torch.

Paang!

“Damn.”

‘What about this?’

I picked up a branch from the ground and stuck it in my hair.

Whoosh!

Without even touching it, the branch flew as if someone had pulled it out and thrown it away.

“Figures.”

There were still many things to try on my head.

I approached Mick, who was holding the emergency escape device and smiling, and took an unused mask from him.

‘Hmm? If this is considered a head accessory, then I should be able to wear glasses or masks too. That’s an unexpected gain.’

Next…

“Just take it. I can’t take money for this wooden shield after you saved my life.”

I received a spare shield from Dietrich, who was planning to return to the city anyway.

Crack!

I tried to wrap a rope around my chin and the shield to make it look like a kettle hat, but it didn’t work.

‘Is this also considered equipment?’

To test the absolute defense of the Golden Crown, I asked Dietrich, who was looking at the shattered shield with a sour expression, to punch me in the face.

“Are you serious? You want me to punch your head to see if your new trait can block attacks?”

“Yes. Haha, please punch with moderate strength, not too hard.”

“Okay. Hold the potion and clench your teeth.”

His powerful hook struck my left cheek.

Kwang!

“Huh. I swung with enough force to turn your head, but it didn’t even budge.”

Just as he said, I didn’t feel any pain when the punch landed on my head.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll go to Martin now.”

‘Golden Ruler sounds like it will have a big impact on the surroundings, so I’ll have to pass on it for now.’

There was only one thing left to test.

Since I had already been suspected of being a transmigrator and had assured them that I didn’t mind, I could freely imitate the actions of a character from an interesting manhwa I had read on Earth.

I put on a mask, just like the character.

Brrr.

“Yuck!”

Ggrr-

“Ptooey. I almost lost my teeth from being stubborn.”

At first, it seemed fine, but after a few seconds, a tremendous vibration emanated from where the handle of Barak and my teeth met.

I immediately spat it out, fearing that I might not only lose my teeth but also have my jaw torn off if I kept clenching my teeth.

‘Of course. It was just an experiment, and even if it worked, it wouldn’t have been useful. Still, it’s a bit disappointing. It looked cool.’

The final test also ended in failure, as expected.

In exchange for obtaining a high-rank passive trait, I couldn’t wear helmets, hats, or any makeshift items I had created by combining various things on my head.

On the other hand, I confirmed that I could wear masks, face coverings, and other accessory items that didn’t touch my head.

Another fortunate thing was that my ears were like those in games, as the Hyenax earrings I had been wearing for a long time were still intact.

‘Phew. I almost lost the gift Master gave me because of the A-rank trait.’

Marianne, who had been watching anxiously from the side, asked if I was done.

“I think I’ve tried everything that came to mind. Should we go over there too?”

“Yes! Let’s go quickly.”

.

.

.

The distribution of the loot was completed without any issues.

The list of things I obtained from this battle included the traits Golden Crown (A), Dimensional Leap (C), and the upgraded trait Purple Lightning (B).

Unfortunately, there were no decent priest or magician equipment among the items.

Veronica already had excellent equipment, so I just took some unique equipment that I could sell later in the city.

I gave up on Demern’s equipment since I had already received a lot. I didn’t want to ruin everything because of my greed for items in front of such good people.

For consumables, I received one medium-grade potion and several low-grade and lowest-grade potions.

I also received extra torches, food, and small daily necessities.

‘I’m satisfied with the money too. Ten gold coins is a considerable amount, even though I felt like I had too much money at the crossroads for a moment.’

[Chaos says it’s time to move on and start moving again.]

Yes, it was time to set off to find my companions.

I gladly bumped fists with Martin.

Thud.

“I wish we could have accompanied you to the village, but it’s a shame we can’t. Take care and see you next time. Do you remember the name of the inn?”

“Yes, I’ll remember the name of the inn in the 5th district.”

[Chaos says it’s ridiculous to hear the name of the inn again and wants to see the face of the innkeeper who dared to use the word ‘dragon’.]

When I thought about it, it was funny that the inn was named Dragon’s Breath, considering there was a Chaos Dragon right here.

I chuckled to myself, and Marianne called out to me.

“Ahrn, I pray to God that you will safely reunite with your companions. May your journey always be filled with light.”

“Thank you, Marianne. Please take care and don’t get hurt. May your journey also be filled with light.”

I turned to look at the others, wondering if they had anything to say.

“To be a true adventurer, you must be accustomed to meetings and partings. Maybe next time we meet, you’ll be even stronger. Anyway, be careful and don’t die.”

“Hmm. I remember grumbling at first, and now I feel awkward. I can’t think of anything to say. Take care!”

“You two should also be careful on your way back to the city. See you!”

After nodding to Dietrich, who was looking at me with a worried expression, and scratching his cheek, I turned my back and said, “Then, I’ll go first!”

We had only been together for a day, so it would be awkward to prolong the farewell.

Let’s go. To the western village.

-Stomp!

I stomped the ground with my magic power.

.

.

.

I ran without stopping.

Faster, even faster. I moved my legs as much as I could to make up for the time lost in the battle.

‘Yeriel! Can you hear me?’

…When will I reach them?

I was almost at the village, but I wondered if they had already escaped. Or if something had happened and they couldn’t respond. As I ran and sent out a telepathic message every minute…

-Ah, Ahren! Is that you? Where are you now?! We’re at the entrance of the western village!

Thud!

I stopped to catch my breath.

On the fourth day,

Finally, my voice reached them.