Chapter 6: Stealing Fate

Mr. Heartwrath was back with a grim face after fifteen minutes of waiting. However, he simply shook his head and said the rain washed away any trail. They would need to bring a tracker from the academy if they wanted to find him.

For every rank, a person can only learn one skill. One superpower that would differentiate him from the others. Given such circumstances, most people tended to specialize. They didn’t waste away their Skills slots for a what-if.

This was the reason that the party’s system was so widespread throughout the kingdoms. The Rosia Kingdom, which Nikolai lived his whole life, had a diverse class system. These classes were the manifestation of the trial and error of the previous generations.

They would test which skills complimented each other to achieve a certain specialty, an advantage that a person can use to win a fight and record different skills under different classes.

With the need for a tracker, a specialty in picking up clues, and someone with a high intelligence stat, there was nothing the class can do but to go home.

Nikolai noticed that Mr. Heartwrath’s mood was foul, as it was obvious why. However, he didn’t have a lot of worries about being found out.

At most, they would realize that he was killed, even though that was unlikely. With a colony of foxes to attack him and the fact that he fell into a hole, it was understandable why he died.

The rain turned the soil muddy, making it a real chance that the body has sunk underneath. This will further delay the investigation and by the time they find the body, there will be no traces left that would like back to Nikolai.

‘Now, I need to get a lot of money.’ Nikolai pondered as the bus cut across the city. ‘If I want to find that island, I’ll need to buy or rent a ship and a crew. This would need a lot of money.’

With the knowledge that he had of the future, Nikolai had more than one plan on how to grow stronger. One of them would be to invest in guilds that would rise ten years from now. Another one was to dig up Legendary Skills and hidden flying islands.

For both options, Nikolai needed money and resources. He also needed to get stronger and gain more fate points, so his agenda was fully booked.

‘Should I leave the academy?’ Nikolai considered. ‘No, it would be a waste. After all, there’s a person that would rise later on to be a Lord.’ A grin broke on his face. ‘If I can make them submit, then…’

There were other benefits to the academy, one of them is the access to information. He had been accepted in one of the most prestigious academies in the kingdom, one that is considered to be only second to the Royal Academy.

It would be a waste to miss out on the martial arts lessons and the dungeon training. Even though he’ll be more restricted this way, this also provided him with an identity other than an orphan.

He needed to be acknowledged by the system for him to beat it. He wasn’t talking about his Fate System, but society.

The bus stopped at the academy’s ground where medical staff was prepared. Even though there were no injuries thanks to Mr. Heartwrath’s ability to cure aliments, the staff ran some tests on them to ensure none of them has been poisoned or cursed.

They were asked to wait in their dorms for the rest of the day without anyone leaving the academy, for safety reasons. Nikolai suddenly remembered his roommates, who weren’t so kind to him.

Just like the others in his past life, his roommates hated him. It was very easy to hate someone who you felt has devalued your hard work through luck. After all, that’s how Nikolai got into the academy.

He went back to his lockers to wear his uniform again and grab his bag, which mainly had textbooks. As he was walking back, he bumped into Julian and Erza who were talking to a teacher.

“Excuse me, sir.” Julian left the teacher and came his way. “Hey, Nikolai. Let’s talk!”

“No thanks! I’m tired.” With this, Nikolai fled to his room. He opened the door using his card and slammed it behind him. He started gathering his breath when he saw his roommates were already there.

“Be quieter,” His roommate, Lan, adjusted his glasses as he reprimanded. “Unlike you, we have studying to do.” With that, he went back to his book.

Nikolai frowned as he looked at his roommates, who ignored his existence other than talking down on him. He grabbed his bag and went to his bed to empty it.

“Have you seen the look on his face?” His roommate, Ro Za, said to his Lan. “You should beat him up, he’d think twice before being upset.” He was referring to Nikolai.

“I don’t care,” Lan kept reading his book. “If I waste my time on trash, I’m afraid I’ll become one too.”

Nikolai had to clench his fist lest he explodes. Every year, their roommates changed. It was a policy to increase connections among students and encourage teamwork.

In his third and last year at the academy, he was bullied by these three after they grouped up with Julian who got a Grand Skill using his father’s connections.

A Grand Skill, which was the second-highest rank for skills. Getting one meant that every guild will be fighting over you for the next few years. If you befriend someone in a powerful guild, that means connections.

In the end, Julian managed to secure a position in the best guild in the kingdom. From there, his position rose until he became a captain in the guild.

Once the war began, they were drafted to defend against the invasion. As luck would have it, or simply Julian’s twisted mentality and unexplainable grudge, Nikolai was assigned under Julian’s command.

[Choose in ten seconds.]

[Dialogue: I’ll be quieter.]

[Dialogue: There’s no trash here but you.]

[Action: Stay silent.]

[Action: Give guidance to Lan.]

Nikolai was about to insult him when he got a weird sense of déjà vu. This has happened before in his past life, and he insulted his Lan at that time. They ended up fighting and things only went bad from that time on.

It was the day of their training after Julian and Luke had toyed with him, leaving him too bruised to walk normally. At that time, Nikolai tripped on the table and caused a disturbance. This led Lan to berate him as well.

With that frustration building up, Nikolai insulted Lan under his breath. Lan was a person with a higher perception than average, so he heard it.

“You should thank me that I’ve disturbed you, Lan.” Nikolai threw his bag on the table, but he was still being ignored. “Otherwise, you’ll waste your first year of the academy studying that useless crap.”

“What?” Lan finally turned to him with a frown. “Have you gone mad?”

“No, you have.”

“You…” Lan stood up from his seat in anger.

“The book you’re studying is a footwork technique, specialized to give you instantaneous bursts of speed.” Nikolai pointed at the book. “A fine technique, but there’s something that not many people know. It’s a fatal ignorance.”

“You’re blathering,” Lan scowled. “This is a basic technique that many people practice. Don’t bluff your way just to look smart.”

“Disgusting.” His other roommates, who were a usually silent man, spat. His name was Nara, a foreigner that looked nothing like the locals.

“Yeah, yeah.” Nikolai shrugged. “I would lie about something that can be easily tested, I’m very dumb.” He climbed his bed and started taking out his textbooks. “Ignore me, I’m sure you’d love to live as a cripple for the rest of your life.”

His words were followed by silence as the four students did their own thing. Nikolai took out his textbooks, arranging them. Ro Za was busy making a special meal for himself. Nera was writing a letter on his desk.

As for Lan, he stood in the middle of the room glaring at Nikolai. It seems Nikolai’s words have struck fear in his heart. After all, being cripple meant losing half of his future.

“Tell me what’s wrong with it,” Lan said through gritted teeth.

“I don’t follow your commands.” Nikolai opened one of his textbooks. “That’s a way to ask for something.”

“How about you tell me now instead of making me break your arm?”

“Yeah, the school would love it. A student disappears and another with a broken arm.” Nikolai shrugged. “As for you, you’ll live on doubting my words.”

“Fine,” Lan sighed. “I’ll owe you a crystal in return. However, that’s only if what you said was right.”

“Fair deal.” Nikolai nodded and stood up. He walked toward Lan, who was taller than him and circled him. “How are your legs’ muscles?”

“Sore, but that’s normal for this technique. If you’re talking about that, then…”

“For how long have you been training using this technique?”

“A month, since we first got here.” Lan closed his mouth. “Why?”

“Don’t you find it odd that you’re still experiencing sore muscles until now?” Nikolai lowed his body revealed Lan’s leg.

“What are you doing?” Lan freaked out and took a step back.

“The vessels in your legs are enlarged, they can’t keep up with the strain of the technique. The technique is fine only if you have the vitality stats to make up for the strains. Otherwise, you’ll be simply straining yourself.”

Lan was quiet before rushing toward the cupboard’s mirror to see it for himself. He turned around and looked at the reflection of his calves. The veins were swollen and the skin was red.

[5 Fate Points have been generated.]

‘System, but I didn’t steal any fate from him this time.’ Nikolai was confused.

[You have stolen his fate, but your actions stole the fate of someone else. Lan will avoid wasting a year from his life and that means he’ll take opportunities that he couldn’t take otherwise.]