Dante’s Fate [(Part-2) out of 4]

[1 Fate Stat was used up to receive a suitable Common Grade reward for killing a Tier-1 Rat race monster for the first time.]

Then, a dagger appeared beside the dead Lv.2 Cannibal Rat. I went over and picked up the dagger.

Its blade was chalk black, and the holding handle looked like it was made of ruby glass.

After picking it up, the dagger's information appeared in front of me along with another notification that asked me if I wanted to form a bond with the dagger.

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Cannibal Blood Dagger (Common Grade)

A sharp dagger with the ability to absorb the blood of a monster to provide necessary nutrients for the owner's body.

Effect: Agility+3^, Strength+2^

Requirements: 10 Agility, 8 Strength

Condition: Perfect

Durability: 100/100

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After finding that Stats can be added in my Strength and Agility Attributes, I immediately accepted to form a bond with it.

Then, I got another notification asking me if I wanted to add Stats one by one periodically in a Safety Mode to avoid unnecessary pain.

I rejected it and instantly regretted my decision.

That was also when I realised to not add more stats at once because of the pain I experienced during the enhancement process.

After that, I used the Cannibal Blood Dagger to stab a dead Cannibal Rat and used its ability.

Then the chalk-black blade of the Dagger absorbed all the Cannibal Rat's blood, and through the ruby red handle, some kind of energy flowed into my body.

Within a few seconds, the Cannibal Rat dried up and the hunger and tiredness I had till then was reduced in a matter of seconds.

Even my Stamina recovered by 10 points. I used the dagger's ability on another two dead Cannibal Rats and my hunger and thirst vanished completely.

I even felt like I just had a full meal. With the ability of the Cannibal Blood Dagger, I didn't worry about food sources anymore.

I moved further away from the three dead Cannibal Rats' dried-up carcasses and concentrated on the words, 'Undistributed Stats' and found their detailed description.

After learning how to use the Undistributed Stats, I gradually added them to my Strength, Agility and Endurance Attributes. I brought all three of them to 10 Stats.

Following that, I did an introspection on the abilities that I gained from my Unique Category Innate Talent, <FATE INTERVENTION>.

I went through my <STATUS> and the most visible change was the appearance of Fate Attribute in place of Luck Attribute.

When I had a Luck Attribute, there were question marks instead of a specific number of Luck Stats. But when it was replaced by Fate Attribute, I could see a particular number of Stats.

I learned that one Fate Stat is equivalent to 100 Luck Stats. Which meant that I had 8355 Luck Stats before even assimilating with the System.

But I was confused about why I was so misfortunate when I had such a vast number of Luck Stats.

After failing to find anything about my misfortune from the System notifications, I set it aside and moved on and looked at my Fate Attribute.

After that, I recalled how the <Fate Sequence Perception> helped me defeat the Cannibal Rats.

Along with the 'Fate Sequence' which shows a monster's movement path trajectory for the next second, there was another thing called 'Fate Halo.'

A white coloured illusory hoop of light appeared on top of each Cannibal Rat's head.

When Lv.2 Cannibal Rat was about to be hit by the rock in my hand, the Fate Halo on top of its head turned from white to red.

Then it only got injured but didn't die. The Lv.1 Cannibal Rat's Fate Halo turned from white to violet when it was about to take a fatal hit from my attack.

Then the Lv.1 Cannibal Rat died, and the Fate Halo that was the size of its head disappeared. The same process repeated when I killed the injured Lv.2 Cannibal Rat.

I learned that the colour of one's Fate Halo indicates their immediate fate in the next second.

Red colour means that they would be in danger in the next second, but not enough to die.

If the Fate Halo was violet, it indicates that they would face a danger that was enough to kill them in the next second.

As for the white colour, that means they are not in any danger for the next second.

I looked at my 1st Innate Exclusive Skill and found some changes. Because when I reached Lv.1, it meant that I also reached Tier-1.

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<Fate Sequence Perception>

Able to perceive Fate Halos and Fate Sequences of any existence within a limited duration and range around the Host. (Fate Sequence duration and Fate Sequence Range depends on the host's Tier.)

Cost: 0.01 Fate Stat per minute. (Constant)

- Perception Range of Fate Sequences & Fate Halos (Host's Tier - 1): 1000 meters.

- Duration of Fate Sequences & Fate Halos (Host's Tier - 1): 10 seconds.

- Automatically activates <Fate Sequence Perception> when Host is in danger.

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Fate Sequence Perception range increased from 100 meters to 1000 meters, and along with that, Fate Sequence Duration also increased.

The duration of Fate Sequence increased from 1 second to 10 seconds. It meant that I could perceive anyone's movement path trajectory for the 10 seconds.

Even the range that I could see Fate Halos also increased to 1000 meters. But the cost to use <Fate Sequence Perception> didn't change even when I reached Tier-1.

When I looked in a direction, I perceived every Fate Halo within the 1000 meters of that direction, disregarding the surrounding maze walls' obstruction.

I was able to perceive many Fate Halos within different parts of the Maze. All of them were of the same size as the heads of the Cannibal Rats that I killed.

From that, I understood that those were Cannibal Rats. I didn't try to actively hunt them since they always stayed in groups of 30.

Since I could perceive the Fate Halos of any Being near me, I was able to move through the Maze without encountering many Cannibal Rats.

Just like that, I searched the Maze for its entrance for 15 hours since I unlocked my Innate Talent.

During those 15 hours, I killed many Cannibal Rats that wandered in small groups of two or three while searching for a way to leave the maze.

Being in Tier-1, I could perceive a Fate Sequence that shows the desired target's virtual trajectory for the next 10 seconds.

But those Fate Sequences keep on changing. I learned that when I was facing an Lv.3 Cannibal Rat.

I could sense it's Fate Sequence. Since I know where it will be for the next 10 seconds, If I get away from that Fate Sequence of the Cannibal Rat, it wouldn't be going in that direction since I moved away from there.

The best way to use Fate Sequences was to know the enemy's move beforehand and to be ready to attack and dodge in the last moment.

After killing many Cannibal rats, I got a hang on utilising the Fate Sequences efficiently.

But I was still in Lv.3. It was because none of the Cannibal Rats that I encountered was above Lv.3.

I also accidentally gained a skill named <Inspect> and it helped look at the levels of the Cannibal Rats.

When I killed the first Cannibal Rat with the Cannibal Blood Dagger, I gained <Minor Dagger Mastery>.

Along with that, Information on some Dagger training methods and how to handle a dagger proficiently was transmitted into my mind.

After that, I practised the Dagger training methods and unlocked something called <Dagger Aura>. By willing it, a grey coloured Aura formed on the blade of the Cannibal Blood Dagger.

I tried my best to improve the Minor Dagger Mastery, and it was mentally exhausting to train for longer durations.

Most of the time, I couldn't train my Dagger Mastery continuously since I had to deal with the Cannibal Rats that attack me.

But still, I managed to increase my <Minor Dagger Mastery> and <Dagger Aura> to Lv.8.

Whenever I was hungry or tired, I used Cannibal Blood Dagger's ability on the dead Cannibal Rats to replenish Stamina and nutrients required for my body.

Another half an hour passed, and I was finally able to find an exit to the maze that I was stuck till then. I was excited to finally feel the daylight.

I looked around myself, and behind me was a mountain range that extended alongside the lake.

The maze that I just exited was at the bottom of one a mountain's slope of the unending mountain range.

The terrain was scarcely filled with trees that were at an average height of 10 meters. In front of me, I saw the line of trees end after around 150 meters.

I crossed those trees and found a meadow field spread beside a lake with clear water. The lake was half a kilometre wide (500 meters), and it extended along with the unending mountain range.

The other side of the lake was densely packed with trees that were as tall as 20 meters and 4 meters wide.

Just then, I could see a Fate Halo approaching the lake from the other side as it moved from tree to tree at high speed. The way I perceive Fate Halo was entirely different since it doesn't depend on my 5 senses.

I could detect the Fate Halo's movement clearly along with the details of its colour as long as it was within 1000 meters of me.

I was on a lookout on the opposite bank of the lake as I hid behind a tree to not be seen by whatever monster in the Trial Zone.

Soon, I saw the owner of that Fate halo. Since I added 5 Undistributed stats to my Spirit Attribute, my senses have gotten sharper and more precise.

To my surprise, the one that approached the lake was not a monster but a human.

That person stood on the opposite lake bank and looked at the lake water for a few seconds and then started gulping down the lake water.

I used my Lv.4<Inspect> on that person.