Trait Hoarder – Chapter 242

River’s Servant – Part 3

The council turned into a chaotic marketplace.

[Th-That human!]

[Insolent!]

[Kraaagh! How dare a human!]

Of course they reacted like this.

They had anger issues, plain and simple.

The type to throw punches before exchanging words.

But this time, the fishmen couldn’t attack me.

Why?

Because I had preemptively taken out the Manpasikjeok and played it.

Pirilililil.

The clear flute sound instantly established a forced Peace Zone.

In an instant, their rage, emotions, and mana fizzled out.

The fishmen, bewildered, sat back in their seats.

I stopped playing and looked at the bloated fishman—the council leader.

[Well? If this works, won’t it work on the goddess too?]

[Hmm…]

The council leader, also level 7, extended his webbed hand and brushed through the mana traces.

[Indeed. This would work even on the goddess. But… to say such blasphemy about her… Were you trying to provoke us?]

[That was part of the intention.]

[Tch!]

[Hmph!]

[Think about it. Even if she’s fallen, divinity is still divinity, and the goddess is still the goddess. Do you really think she’ll just sit there, helpless, like you lot, just because I use this artifact?]

If only it were that easy.

I could just keep playing the Manpasikjeok and force a peaceful conversation.

[That’s not how it works.]

The council leader, still tracing the mana, clicked his teeth loudly.

[You might be able to bind her for a moment, but that’s it. She’ll break free with divine power.]

[Exactly.]

I nodded deeply.

[This artifact alone won’t bring her to her senses. In fact, she’ll sense the magical net and struggle even harder. How long do you think it’ll hold her? How many times can it restrain her? We need to use it at the most critical moment—when the goddess briefly regains her mind.]

[And you’re saying… that moment comes from… ugh… committing that blasphemous act?]

[That’s right.]

I raised a finger and tapped my temple.

[The goddess was born a spirit of water, a river spirit, and earned divinity through human worship. Her essence is that of a spirit. And there’s one common trait among mad spirits—they always regain their senses when they’re on the verge of death.]

[Hmm… So you mean to bring her to the brink of death to snap her out of it… There’s some logic there, but it presents one major problem.]

[That problem is easily solved.]

She’d only regain her mind for a moment—literally right before death.

In game terms, HP at zero.

It was good to get her conscious and use the Manpasikjeok to induce peace and start a conversation—

—but even then, the fact that she’d die within minutes wouldn’t change.

That’s why something else was needed.

I reached into my golf bag.

The moment I pulled out a potion bottle, the council leader frowned.

[An elixir? That might work on a normal human. But on the goddess—huh? What’s that?]

You have to listen to a sentence to the end—

Just like you have to look at someone’s hand until the very last moment.

When I pulled out the artifact behind the elixir, the council leader blinked.

Naturally.

Because resting in my hand, proud and still, was the Bottomless Pouch—shaped like a small jar.

[That’s…]

[Such strange mana…]

[Stronger than the flute…]

[It’s imbued with incredibly high-level magic…]

I held the Bottomless Pouch forward like a trophy.

Then, I administered the elixir.

Brrrrr.

The pouch shivered, then spat out a result.

Pop! Pop!

The original elixir I put in.

And a perfect duplicate.

Even with my Inner Eye and intuition, there wasn’t a single difference.

Two flawless elixirs.

[Huh!]

The council leader shot to his feet.

[It duplicated the elixir?!]

[Let me show you again.]

I tossed in both bottles.

Still well within the pouch’s capacity.

It vibrated again—

Then began spitting out results in a row.

Pop pop pop pop!

Even I could hardly believe the sight.

The council leader sank into his seat and laughed in disbelief.

[H-haha… Ha… Hahahaha…]

[Well? One elixir? Please. That wouldn’t even cover one nostril. How about a hundred bottles? Not enough? I’m willing to use a thousand. Ten thousand, if needed. With this treasure, I can endlessly reproduce elixirs.]

[Wooooah…]

[Ahhh…]

The fishmen couldn’t even speak.

They just stared at the pouch with eyes full of wonder.

[Very well.]

The council leader pounded his chest.

[With that, it just might work. We’ll cooperate fully. If the goddess can regain her senses, we’d gladly give our lives. What are you all waiting for? Raise your bone spears!]

[Raise your bone spears!]

[To war!]

[Let’s bring back the goddess!]

The fishmen summoned their bone spears in unison.

Armor, helmets, and shields followed—geared up for battle.

That won’t do.

I quickly stepped in to stop them.

[Stop!]

Not with ice letters this time—

—but with a Dragon Roar.

[Gah!]

[Urk?!]

The fishmen turned to me in shock.

Some even fainted outright.

They may not have understood the meaning—

—but my mana overwhelmed them.

I then calmly explained again using ice letters.

[Rushing the goddess blindly will only ruin everything. Half of you will die, and all that precious blood will be wasted.]

If everything went according to plan, these fishmen would become my soldiers—and my slaves.

I couldn’t let them die.

Each one was a precious future asset.

The council leader gripped his bone spear and flapped his gills.

[What’s the point of dragging this out? Let’s charge right in!]

[Then half of you will die.]

[That’s a bargain worth taking.]

[Charge!]

[To war!]

[Do you think the goddess would be pleased after regaining her senses—only to realize she slaughtered half her own children?]

[Ah…]

[That’s…]

Mentioning the goddess finally quieted them.

As their bulbous eyes rolled in confusion, I assembled ice letters.

[I have a better way. If you just follow my instructions, not only can we help the goddess recover, we’ll also minimize your casualties. I know you are all faithful enough to sacrifice your lives and souls for her, but surely the goddess would suffer less if fewer of you died, wouldn’t she?]

[The human is right!]

[The goddess is infinitely compassionate!]

[Let’s trust him—he’s a human with such a powerful soul!]

A powerful soul, huh.

The patrol captain and the guard captain had said the same.

Looks like these fishmen can see a person’s soul.

Thump!

The council leader slammed the butt of his bone spear into the floor.

[Very well! Then I call for an immediate vote. All in favor of entrusting this human with the fate of our race and the future of our goddess—pound the floor! If you oppose, speak now. After this moment, no objections will be accepted!]

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Before he even finished speaking, someone began pounding the floor.

It was the guard captain.

Having already encountered me once, he grinned grotesquely and struck the floor with his spear.

It was all good.

Except…

Could he please do something about that horrific face?

He looked like a serial killer from a horror game.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Maybe because the guard captain started—

The entire council building soon trembled.

Fishmen pounded their bone spears in perfect unison.

Same movement. Same rhythm. Same intervals.

Not just the council hall—the pounding even made my heart thump in sync.

[Enough!]

The council leader raised his spear so high it nearly tore his armpit.

[With this, we shall proceed with the goddess recovery operation proposed by the human! Until the goddess is restored, our people will give him full support!]

[Waaaah!]

[Glory to the goddess!]

[Let’s do it!]

[Let’s bring her back!]

The council was dissolved.

Only the main figures remained—the council leader, the guard captain, the sages, priests, and administrators.

Everyone else cleared out like the tide.

A smaller meeting.

All participants were level 7.

Facing them, I formed ice letters—and an ice map.

[To save the goddess, we’ll first need your sacrifice.]

[Don’t worry. We’re ready to offer our hearts at any time.]

The key item for the River Goddess battle:

The fishmen’s mana cores—in other words, their hearts.

Destroying one near the goddess would briefly paralyze her.

Not for long.

About three seconds.

But that alone would be a massive help.

I waved my fingers side to side.

[There’s no need to die.]

[Hm? But if the heart is destroyed, then—]

[We have elixirs, don’t we?]

[Ah!]

Elixirs—the potion of resurrection.

Even if your head’s cut off or your heart is crushed, you can be revived.

As long as the soul hasn’t left the body.

As long as brain activity hasn’t stopped.

But it’s painful.

Crushing your own heart and getting revived over and over—who wouldn’t go insane?

[I will provide an infinite supply of elixirs.]

I etched the ice letters with firm, unwavering mana.

[It will be incredibly painful and grueling, but please form a sacrificial unit to stall the goddess as much as possible.]

[We’ll gladly do so.]

[To offer our hearts to the goddess while still alive—volunteers will flood in like clouds in the sky.]

They were visibly excited.

Their eyes gleamed like bursting explosions.

[And the battlefield will be on the surface of the lake.]

[Is there a reason for that?]

[The goddess’s power doesn’t change whether she’s above or below the lake.]

[But we’re weaker on the surface. Wouldn’t underwater be better…?]

[Because of me.]

I activated Supreme Flame.

Golden fire erupted from my body.

The river boiled, bubbling violently.

The fishmen recoiled in shock, instinctively backing away from me.

I pointed to my body, engulfed in golden flames.

[Well? Think this would work on the River Goddess too?]

[No doubt about it…]

[That firepower is incredible.]

[If it boils the river here, imagine what it would do at full blast.]

They all seemed convinced.

But that wasn’t even the full extent of it.

What if I used Supreme Flame with Mountain Cry?

Just like when I shattered the Arctic ritual’s mana core.

Same with Hailstorm.

If I fired ice grenades from underwater, they’d be useless.

They’d freeze a bit of water on impact and that’s it.

To use my power properly, I had to fight outside the water.

[Here’s the plan.]

I sketched the battlefield.

A frozen riverbed.

Supreme Flame traps hidden throughout.

Ice Carving barriers to restrain the goddess.

An altar to lure her in.

And shelters where fishmen would crush their hearts.

The council leader looked over my plan and spoke.

[This will go down in history.]

[Exactly. A historic operation.]

Still, it beat a mindless charge.

I quickly refined the concept sketch.

The initial layout was crude, just a general idea I’d thrown together alone.

To actually execute it, we’d need more than a concept or a draft.

We’d need a precise blueprint.

[Here, we should…]

[Increase the Ice Carving output…]

[Condensing the Supreme Flame…]

The council leader and guard captain were speechless, but the sage, priest, and administrator were actively engaged.

So was I.

Since the plan relied on my traits, I gave it everything I had.

[Understanding] [Cold Rationality] [Clarity]

[Focus] [Tactics] [Trap]

By deploying all the relevant traits, even with my meager magical knowledge, communication with the fishmen went smoothly.

The fishmen exchanged surprised glances.

[Human, you’re smarter than you look.]

[Are you not a warrior, but a spellblade?]

[He brought a method to restore the goddess. He’s no ordinary human.]

[You can tell just by looking at his soul.]

Yeah, it’s all traits.

The planning was wrapped up quickly.

Then we moved onto the lake to begin constructing the massive battlefield.

It was a grueling task.

‘My brain’s melting…’

[Drug Dependency] [Potion Addiction]

I drank top-tier mana potions and top-tier holy water.

[Ice Carving] [Mana Fusion] [Thor Cultivation Technique]

Mana Concentration Arrays transferred the fishmen’s mana to us.

[Supreme Flame] [Mana Fusion] [Focus]

[Understanding] [Clarity] [Cold Rationality]

Under the frozen river, we laid down mana circuits.

The Supreme Flame had to melt the ice precisely in the shape of a magic circle so the fishmen could install the spell formations correctly.

[Dragon Roar] [Command] [Leadership]

[Tactics] [Strategy] [Trap]

“[Not there!]”

“[Place it there! Right there!]”

“[More mana! Pump it in—more!]”

I couldn’t give detailed orders—

—but thankfully, the fishmen were quick on the uptake.

[Heaven Defiance]

Meanwhile, I duplicated elixirs endlessly.

Resetting the Bottomless Pouch’s misfortune gauge every time the reuse cooldown finished.

It was truly a grand construction effort spanning several days.

By the time I had consumed enough top-tier potions to drown a horse, the frozen battlefield finally emerged.

And my overworked brain—

After pushing magic and mental calculations to the absolute limit for the first time in my life—

suddenly awakened.

My mind cleared, thoughts accelerated, and understanding of spellcasting and predicted outcomes came with ease.

[Intelligence] trait.

And also the [Mental Calculation] trait.

If strength and toughness were core traits for a warrior—

these two were the foundational traits of a mage.

‘It’s done!’

I cheered inwardly.

[Intelligence] [Mental Calculation] [Understanding]

[Clarity] [Cold Rationality] [Focus]

A new trait combination.

Acquired the trait: [Magic Brain]

It was a strange feeling.

As if magic scripts and mana circuits were being engraved directly into my brain.

There was a brief, terrifying surge of pain, but my level 7 body—

this legendary body that had consumed the Reconstruction Elixir three times—held strong.

When blood pressure spiked and threatened a cerebral hemorrhage, it healed.

When the flow cut off and ischemia threatened, it cleared.

I sighed in relief.

‘If I’d formed Magic Brain at a lower level, I’d be dead for sure.’

Building out high-level warrior traits first had really paid off.

With Magic Brain complete, all preparations were finished.

The river had frozen over.

Supreme Flame traps, Ice Carving barriers, large-scale suppression magic circles, and even modern arcane weaponry were all ready.

Atop the altar—

The key level 7 fishmen took their positions.

The council leader, guard captain, sage, priest, and administrator.

The priest settled in place and looked to me for confirmation.

[Begin?]

[Begin.]

The ritual began.

The traditional summoning ceremony of the River’s Servants to call their goddess.

She answered quickly.

KWAA-KWAA-KWAAANG!

Ice exploded in a burst.

A spray of water surged high into the sky.

And within the trembling mist—

A titanic shadow loomed.

The River Goddess.

The mad high spirit of water had arrived.

–TL Notes–
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