Level 10

[ Unlocking System Features.... ]

[ Segmenting the blessing... ?!?.... ]

Asher didn't noticed it, but a small green orb appeared behind him and was absorbed into his nape. Too many notifications appeared at the same time, making it difficult for him to see which notification was saying what.

[ Unlocking Shop... ]

[ Unlocking Synthesis... ]

[ Activating System Storage Access... ]

[ System Calibration started... Wait Time <00:09:59> ]

"Let's check this boss," Asher decided. Seeing that his system needed 10 minutes to calibrate everything, he decided to check out the boss's corpse.

The ground around the boss was covered in a thick blue liquid. Asher ignored the gory scene and crouched down to touch the body of the boss.

"The system is offline, but will this work?" Asher wondered.

"Absorb," he thought, and red mana covered his arm, stretching out to cover the boss's dead body.

Asher felt his strength increase, but without the system, he had no way of knowing how many stats he had gained. He was sure that his current stats were less than what the boss had, but based on his earlier use of his bloodline ability, he knew that he could only absorb a portion of their stats.

Rockeaters were known for their strength, and the fact that he only got one Strength stat meant that either he could only absorb a portion of their stats or he needed to upgrade his bloodline ability to increase the amount.

Asher got up and put the boss's corpse into his storage ring. He didn't want to leave any evidence of his bloodline usage, and he could just tell Emmy that he took it as a trophy. He also took the corpse of the F-Rank Rockeater that he used his bloodline ability on.

"Let's check out the Altar of this dungeon," Asher said, moving further into the cave. He could see some pedestals leading to a tray where a pendant was visible.

This section of the dungeon was called the Dungeon Altar, and there was always a reward whenever a new dungeon appeared. Although, nobody knew the intention behind the structure of these dungeons. Asher wondered why these dungeons were made this way and who structured them, just like many others.

*Step* Step*

Asher moved forward, and the sound of his steps echoed in the empty space around him. He arrived in front of a rocky slate where the pendant was visible. The pendant had a brown-colored chain with a silver-colored center piece of a unique design.

One could see small runes on the center piece. These runes were used to preserve things and identify the artifact's purpose, discovered by runemasters who studied them hundreds of years ago.

Asher picked up the pendant and looked at it.

"Let's wait for the system calibration," he said. He could use the system, or, like many people in this world, have it appraised by a runemaster and they were called Appraisers. Many powerful families made their own children study runes so they could appraise it themselves.

"Let's clear the last cave," he said. There were still about 8 minutes left, so he decided to clear the last cave as well. He quickly left, using his mana to enhance his speed.

Asher's method of enhancing himself was different from Augmenters like Amelia. In the early phases, it may seem like he was better than Augmenters who needed chants to cast buffs, but Augmenters were more complex than that.

Asher was using his Mana Flow skill to actively slightly stimulate his mana veins, which he knew was safe for him unless he went overboard. This was one of the methods he devised to increase his power, but now he was carefully maintaining the amount of mana he was forcing through his veins. His newly-constructed mana veins, after he got his new bloodline, were capable of handling that much.

He arrived at the last cave, but he was a bit surprised to see it.

"How is this possible?" Asher spoke, as he looked around. This cave was also filled with mana crystals, just like the previous one.

He was surprised because the amount that the Williams provided in the market only amounted to the previous, which was quite huge. If they had this many mana crystals, it would not make sense for them to hoard it and not distribute it.

"Is something wrong with this cave?" Asher went deeper into the cave. Unlike his suspicions, this cave was totally normal. This also confirmed that, for some reason, the Williams family never sold this batch of mana crystals to the market.

He looked around a bit more and used his mana sense to sense if everything was right, although using his mana sense at his level took a toll on his body and mind. He bore with it, as he believed that harming himself a bit was better than getting into unknown troubles later.

"Everything is normal," Asher said, as a frown appeared on his indifferent face. He had a lot of knowledge of the inner workings and deals that happened after the downfall of the Greville family, but he never knew anything regarding this.

"Did they trade it secretly?" Asher pondered. This was the only possibility as to why this many mana crystals never made it into the market.

"But who?" he was thinking hard because this one anomaly could become an obstacle in his plans in the future. And he could not investigate the Williams either. This course of history was changed by him, and now he had no way of knowing the secret buyer.

"Well, when we release these in the market, the secret buyer will come to light," Asher's crimson-red eyes shone as the atmosphere grew heavy around him.

[System Calibration Completed]

[Features Available Now]

[ System Inventory is not Accessible <Fate Points Requirement Failed> ]

[ Host has gained +10 Strength Stat ]

[ Host has gained +5 Endurance Stat ]

The system gave him the notifications about his gains from using his bloodline ability earlier.

"Status," Asher muttered,

-----------------| Fate Devourer System |-------------------

[Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville

[Level] - 10 (EXP 0/10,000)

[Bloodline] : Devil's Absorption Rank SSS

[Blessing] : Goddess of Time(Sealed)

[Body Constitution] - Mana Core Rank E

[Shop] [Quests] [Synthesis]

---------------------------------------------------------------

[-Attributes-]

Strength: 45+10

Agility: 30

Endurance: 50+5

Intelligence: 105

Mana: 66

Stamina: 47

Charm: 60

Fate: 6730

[AP]: 40+5 [SP]: 16+2

--------------------------------------------------------------

[-Skills-]: Time Dilution (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Ash-Sword Art (Rank C), Mana Flow (Rank C), Mana Circulation (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank E)

[ Shop function is open ]

[ Synthesis is now functional ]

[ Detecting a new sword style... ]

[ Synthesis possible..... ]

[ Does the Host want to merge the two styles, creating a new one? ]

"How will this merge work?" Asher asked the system.

[ The host will gain insights into a completely new style of sword, a mixture of their own knowledge and the Rune of Eirdin, utilizing hidden features of the system. ]

[ The host will gain knowledge of this sword art, but they will need to practice and increase its mastery themselves. This cannot be increased using Skill points, as a whole new, unique style will be created. ]

[ Does the host wish to continue? ]

"Do it," Asher knew his choice. He could always use his existing sword art, but having a more powerful one was something he would not regret. Unlike his bloodline, this was not a random roll where he could get a wasteful one.

[ Synthesis: Starting... ]

[ Type: Sword Arts, Merging existing arts ]

[ Calibrating with ?I? and Rune of Eirdin ]

"Urgh," Asher groaned a bit as his head started hurting from all the information he was gaining. It was a similar but different feeling from the knowledge he got from the Rune of Eirdin. He was in a trance-like state, and his mind drifted through many thoughts during this. A notification brought him out of it.

[ Node-Art Rank SSS formed, Type-Evolvable ]