Chapter 3: Fate Points

Their bus arrived after thirty minutes of traveling across the city. On the way, Nikolai checked his system again just in case he missed anything.

‘Where is the artifact that defies fate?’

The Elven princess asked him for the millionth time. As she did, mana ripped through his disfigured body. And just like the times before, he said that he didn’t know.

Now, it was here. Yet, how? Did he have it all along or was it something he gained through death? As the bus cut across the cities of Rohan with its high and ancient buildings, dating back to a thousand years of culture, Nikolai wondered what would happen from now on.

One thing he knew for sure was that the ability to manipulate probability means everything in this world. His countless years of living through this world made him realize how much chance had a role in strength.

When monsters or humans are killed, there was a chance of their strength crystalizing as long as it’s above ten points in stats. Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Mana, and Vitality were the five stats that humans had. Green, blue, purple, white, and red were the colors of the crystals giving those stats respectively.

The crystals of each rank gave 1-3 points. Rank F Crystals could only be used by the F-rankers. Rank E could be used by the E rank. So on until S-rank.

Meaning, there was a chance involved in a monster or a human dropping the crystals. There was a chance in how much you can absorb from those crystals.

“Get off, now!” Mr. Heartwrath roared and it took only thirty seconds for everyone to be out. They were standing on the periphery of the forest that was sieged by high reinforced walls.

“This is the Rohan Academy Forest,” Mr. Heartwrath explained. “As long as you stay in the outer layer, there will only be pre-adulthood F-rank monsters. There is a chance that these monsters will drop crystals, but it’s very low.”

“How do we split the crystal if it drops?” A girl with dreadlocks asked.

“The same rules as the Hunters Union, whoever deals the finishing blow takes the crystal.”

“That’s unfair for supporters.” The girl grumbled.

“Fairness has nothing to do with this. You risk your life; you get better rewards. If you don’t like it, how about you hunt on your own like our little friend here?” Mr. Heartwrath pointed at Nikolai with his thumb.

“I don’t have a death wish,” The girl laughed and the rest of them snickered. Nikolai was unbothered and looked around.

If he remembers correctly, there should be a weapons supply. As he expected, Mr. Heartwrath pulled a giant box from the trunk of the bus.

The box was two meters by one meter and had a height of one meter. It was all black and had a metallic exterior. Without saying anything, Mr. Heartwrath turned the handle and pulled. The box, like a drawer, opened to reveal a set of weapons of varying types.

“Choose your weapons wisely. I know you haven’t received martial training yet, but it’s better than going empty-handed.”

Julian and Luke were the first to step forward followed by Marcus and his friend, a girl that was only second in strength to Julian. They grabbed their weapons and waited by the entrance of the forest for the teacher to open the gate.

Nikolai stepped forward and picked up two weapons instead of one. His actions made the class’s attention turn toward him as they pointed fingers and muttered among themselves.

“Sir, may I take two weapons?” Nikolai asked the teacher who looked at him with approval and nodded.

With that said, Nikolai strapped the gun to his right side and the dagger to his left. Their weight brought him comfort and nostalgia. These were his weapons in the army.

Nikolai was always someone lacking strength, so he picked up the dagger for close-range and the gun for long-range. As he started walking toward the gate as well, Julian made sure to throw in a comment.

“Make sure nothing happens to you, those weapons are expensive.”

It was a clear threat but Nikolai ignored it. Until now, Julian didn’t have the time to do anything to him. In this training, however, things were going to be different.

That was why Nikolai planned on getting stronger before Julian can do anything. As they waited for the rest to choose their weapons, he asked his system.

‘How do I obtain fate points?’

[There is only one way to obtain Fate Points: To steal fate. Fate can be stolen by interacting with characters of high fate, changing the future, and killing creatures with high Fate Meter.]

‘Do I mean I need to ruin other people’s futures to change mine?’ Nikolai asked again to be sure.

[Yes. You are rewarded with Fate Points depending on your impact on the world.]

‘Fine by me,’ Nikolai strapped three magazines to his belt. ‘Does that mean I get Fate Points from monsters too?’

[As long as they have a high Fate Meter.]

That means to obtain the ability to manipulate probability, he would need to hinder others, kill them, or kill monsters. The earlier encounters, where he got two fate points, proved that.

Fate is something that cannot be changed, but this time it was different. He knows the future and he’s going to change it using the artifact to defy fate.

“Ready?” Mr. Heartwrath asked with his hand on the gate. “You have three hours to kill a single monster. Make it worth it.” He pushed the gate open and the students flocked out in waves.

There were thirty students in his class, so it became quite chaotic when all of them ran through a single gate. Nikolai waited for all of them to go out before he made his exit.

“Are you sure about choosing a gun?” Mr. Heartwrath asked as Nikolai was walking out. “Monsters are different from normal animals or humans. Bullets are almost ineffective unless you strike their weak points.”

“I know,” Nikolai felt slightly grateful for the guidance. “But I think I have a better shot using it than my arms.”

He understood Mr. Heartwrath’s logic. Unless someone had an enhancement skill, guns were a bad choice against monsters. It required great marksmanship to strike a monster in a place a bullet can penetrate.

That’s why cold weapons, coupled with skills and stats, shone in the latest age of modernity. Even so, Nikolai loved guns because they were what kept him alive during the war.

As he entered the forest, he saw no students nearby. The thick trees that were dark grey were known as Fogger Trees, trees that created a fog around them.

It was difficult to see beyond ten meters so it further proved that Nikolai’s choice with a gun was a bad one. However, that’s why he always carried a dagger.

This was the normal get-up for a ranger, a rare class because it was looked down upon for its lacking strength and non-specificity. There was even a saying that devalued rangers.

“If you have none, you’re a ranger. A jack of trades, a master of none.”

It meant that rangers were those that had no unique qualities of their own. No strength or mana to do any damage. Their agility was below those of assassins and their vitality was nonexistent.

For this life, Nikolai didn’t know if he’s going to stick with this class. However, it was all he knew at the moment so he’s going to make the most of it.

As he was traversing the forest, he heard a high-pitched howl. With his dagger in hand, held in his left hand horizontally in front of him, Nikolai held his gun with his right hand and placed the two arms in a plus sign.