The Curse of Fate

Saad's heart raced as he continued to explore the depths of his character's progression. The Mysterious Fate that had finally unlocked intrigued him deeply. He expanded its details, revealing a single enigmatic line: "The tome of time is forgotten and being fed to butterflies." The cryptic message sent shivers down his spine, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

His thoughts were interrupted when a new quest notification popped up before him.

[The Curse of Fate - 1]

The mysterious fate tied to the curse eating you out is pointing to a forgotten book.

- Quest Details -

Tome of Time: 0/1

Lore-seeker Lepidoptera: 0/1

Difficulty: SS

Rewards:

The key to Ancient Library of Argenis x1

S Rank Familiar egg x1

Limitation release 10%

+1000EXP

The weight of the quest's difficulty struck him like a hammer blow. SS-level difficulty quests were considered to be the most challenging, often reserved for the most skilled and experienced players. Saad was no stranger to overcoming challenges in the previous games he had played but he knew that with his current abilities, there was no way for him to do this absurd quest, even though the potential reward of lifting the curse that had plagued him pushed him forward, he felt a little uneasy. It wouldn't be SS grade if it was so easy.

On the other hand the thought of obtaining an S Rank Familiar egg was also tantalizing. Familiars were powerful companions that could aid adventurers in various ways. And the Ancient Library of Argenis key hinted at hidden knowledge and treasures waiting to be uncovered.

The Limitation release reward intrigued him further. Could this quest hold the key to unlocking his character's true potential or perhaps it could finally unlock his vitality? Wouldn't that mean that he wouldn't need to change the character. But for now he wanted to equip the items and also open up the chests.

Saad's gaze shifted to the various items he had acquired from the previous well. He checked the [Widow's Eyes] that he had gotten from the quest [Wells of despair].

[Widow's Eyes]

Pendant of Nocturnal Insight

Description: The Widow's Eyes pendant is a rare and coveted item of mystical origin. Crafted with intricate detail, it exudes an aura of mystery and power.

Rank: Rare

Durability: Infinite

Effects:

Night Vision: When worn, the pendant grants the wearer the ability to see clearly in complete darkness.

Perception: +50

Night Evasion: 50%

Darkness Shield: A Dark energy envelops you. Defense +50

Penalty: Prolonged use may gradually attune the wearer to the night, making them more sensitive to daylight.

Saad groaned internally as he saw the penalty. It really was a shame. But was there no way to counter this problem because for now, that defense bonus that the Widow's eyes offered was really making him drool. He decided to use it only when absolutely necessary for now.

The [Abyssal Fragment], however, he decided to keep in his inventory for now. It might have some use in the future, and he didn't want to squander such a valuable item with unique rank. Unfortunately, it seemed that he needed to actually get 49 more abyssal fragments to get the actual item. He quickly learned the soup recipe and a message popped up.

[The book of Alchemy for Novice has been added to the collection.]

Saad saw a glowing soft green button in the corner of his character window and checked it briefly. The collection seemed to hold the data for different things that he had been doing. It made it easier to keep up with his progress.

His attention turned to his shield, and he opened the description of his new shield skill, eager to learn how it could aid him.

[Shield Bash]

Level: 1

Rank: Common

Activation Requirement: Must have a shield equipped.

Skill Effect: The character delivers a powerful bash with their shield, stunning the target for 2 seconds and dealing moderate damage, with a 25% chance to interrupt enemy spellcasting or channeling abilities.

Proficiency: 0/50

Stamina Consumption: 5

Cooldown: 10 seconds

The newfound skill made him feel so accomplished. He quickly opened the Quest by Lavinia and looked at it. It took him four days to complete two of the requirements. He was going to get his class assigned at the adventurer association and that would just leave, defeating an opponent above his level and that was what worried him. Knowing that he had to fight someone was the biggest issue. With his current state where he had defense of 6 points and that was only because he had equipped shield, his defense was only 4 points. How would he take on anyone? He didn't even have mana yet. All he could do for now was to level up more and more.

Now that this was out of the way, he checked the other two skills too. To think he would be so busy that he wouldn't have time to check them until now.

[Lash Strike]

Rank: Common

Activation Requirement: Must have whip equipped

Skill Effect: The character cracks their whip with precision, delivering a swift and powerful strike to a single target. Lash Strike inflicts 50 damage and has a 15% chance to temporarily reduce the target's movement speed.

Proficiency: 0/50

Stamina Consumption: 3

Cooldown: 8 seconds

[Lore Lexicon]

Level: 1

Rank: Uncommon

Activation Requirement: Must have spent at least 3 hours reading books every 3 days

Skill Effect: The character taps into their extensive knowledge gained from reading books, granting a temporary 20% bonus to intelligence, perception, and critical thinking. These bonuses last for a duration of 10 minutes.

Reading speed is increased by 30%

Chances of gaining permanent intelligence stat points: 0.01%

Proficiency: 0/80

Activation time: 1 hour

Stamina Consumption: None

Cooldown: 30 minutes

Saad read the skills and felt appreciation for lore lexicon and the enchanted pen. He had no idea then but seeing as he had to find a tome, he was going to spend a lot more time in the library and he had never really liked books that much. He was more of an extrovert than reading a book kind of guy. Who read books anyways? But- If it was for the sake of an SS grade quest and raising his character, than he was willing to read a thousand books.

Saad opened up rest of the rewards and first checked the reward for level 8, which was a potion, but the other 'three' rewards, really had his heart leaping out of his chest.

[Level 8 Reward]

[Potion of Resilience]

Durability: Single-use item

Rank: Common

Type: Consumable

Description: The Potion of Resilience is a valuable elixir designed to fortify the character's defenses in the face of adversity. Upon consumption, this single-use potion bestows a temporary boon, enhancing the character's resilience and providing them with added protection during combat.

Effect: Grants temporary damage reduction by 50% and increased resistance to status effects by 40%.

Duration: 15 minutes

[Level 9 Reward]

[Tome of Elemental Mastery]

Durability: Indestructible

Rank: Common

Type: Book

Description: The Tome of Elemental Mastery is a profound and ancient book of arcane knowledge.

Consumption: 20MP

Effect: Enables the character to harness the power of a random element. It granting resistance and additional damage with corresponding spells or abilities.

Intelligence: +20 *Permanent

Wisdom: +10 *Permanent

Saad sighed heavily. He was unable to learn it until he awakened. He wished that they hadn't given this to him. Wasn't this a really stupid reward to give to a person who hadn't awakened yet? Maybe the rewards weren't that inclusive after all. But he was really ecstatic about the rewards from the Abyssal chest. The reward to gain level 10 had him most excited.

[Level 10 Rewards]

[Serpent's Scale Whip]

Durability: 90/90

Grade: Rare

Type: Whip

Description: The Serpent's Scale Whip is a rare and coveted weapon, part of the esteemed Serpent's Benevolence set. Crafted with meticulous precision, it embodies the essence of serpentine prowess and strikes fear into the hearts of foes.

Effect:

Damage: 30-45 (Slashing)

Critical Damage: x4.5

Venomous Damage over Time: 8 damage per second for 5 seconds

Debuff Effect: Reduces enemy defense by 30% for 20 seconds

Attack Speed: 2.2 attacks per second

Set Effect: Venomous Ensnarement [Locked]

Description: When the Serpent's Scale Whip is combined with the other pieces of the Serpent's Benevolence set, it unlocks the Venomous Ensnarement set effect. This effect grants the wielder the ability to ensnare their foes with serpentine power.

Venomous Ensnarement Effect:

On a critical hit, there is a 25% chance to ensnare the enemy in serpentine coils, immobilizing them for 3 seconds.

While ensnared, the enemy takes an additional 20% damage from all sources.

The ensnarement effect has a cooldown of 10 seconds.

Saad was shocked over the amazing effects of the Serpent's scale whip. He wondered if he was going to see this set a lot more because it seemed to be a newbie gift set. The effects really made it so good and now for the second item given by the Abyssal chest.

[Divine Relic of Ascendance]

Usage: 5

Grade: Unique

Type: Relic

Effect: Ascendant Power

Description: The Divine Relic of Ascendance is a powerful artifact that grants a temporary level boost to the user by invoking the power of forgotten Gods. When activated, it provides a boost of 10 levels for a duration of 3 minutes.

Ascendant Power Effect:

Temporarily increases the character's level by 10.

Enhances the character's attributes, such as health, mana, and damage output, in proportion to the boosted level.

The effect does not stack with other level-boosting effects.

Time limit: 2 hour

Cool down: 48 hours