“Are you a survivor?” Nikolai furrowed his brows and got his answer from the archer’s expression. Her eyes turned wide as she made several gestures. “Yeah, I know sign language.”

‘How did you know I am a survivor?’ The archer gestured.

“In our age group, most mute people are survivors of that Dungeon Break.” Nikolai massaged his forehead. Memories of someone he knew from the orphanage resurfaced. “Anyway, why were you watching me?”

‘Interest.’ The girl gestured. ‘You defeated me in the battle.’

“I can report you to the academy for privacy breach.” Nikolai couldn’t believe this girl would admit it so readily. “Forget it.” Nikolai sighed. “Just leave.” He shooed her and walked away.

It wasn’t a secret to hide, even if she saw him. Nikolai gained Fate by changing things, but he couldn’t change many things while keeping everything a secret. Even in the midterms, he didn’t go lowkey because he needed Fate Points to grow stronger.

He didn’t press the matter because of the resemblance this girl held to his friend from the orphanage. He hasn’t thought about him for a long time, but the resurge of memories ruined his mood.

‘I hope you are in a better place now.’ Nikolai thought to himself as he walked beside the fence. He looked at the poppy fields with eyes tinted with grief. ‘The world was too cruel for you.’

Nikolai shook the sadness away and went back to his room. He found the room to be empty. It seems that his roommates either went out hunting or simply went out to eat.

He took out his Darkmoon Longbow and initiated his system. A panel appeared in front of him, detailing the activation process.

[The System will begin its analysis of the Fate Fragment.]

[Fate Fragment: Darkmoon Longbow!]

[Activation: 5 Fate Points!]

[Activation Rewards: the longbow has a 30% chance of granting special magical effect to the arrows it fires. Activation through Fate Points binds the bow to the user.]

‘Activate.’ Nikolai commanded, and the weapon consumed Fate from his body. The longbow’s black wood began shining as its shape began to change. It grew bigger, and all the protrusions and inconsistencies disappeared.

[Activation successful!]

[Darkmoon Longbow (Tier 1): An ancient being created this weapon as a gift for his son, using the essence of the Darkmoon Tree. Heavens were wrathful and sealed the longbow until a fateful owner awakens it.]

‘Fateful?’ Nikolai was stunned. ‘Does that mean that Fate Points aren’t only about probability but can substitute fate itself?’

This theory means that Nikolai wasn’t the one supposed to awaken this item, but it was fated to be the possession of someone else. However, Nikolai stole it from that person and substituted it using Fate Points.

‘That’s why the system always says ‘Fate has been stolen’ when I use Fate Points to change probability.’ Nikolai pondered.

[The weapons will bind to the user now.]

Suddenly, the longbow began shaking. Nikolai let go of it and watched the longbow float into the air before turning into a stream of dark matter and going inside of Nikolai’s body.

“It itches.” Nikolai grimaced as the bow appeared in his Inner World. “Okay, it hurts now!” Nikolai grabbed his head and fell on his knee.

His Inner World was nowhere near enough to hold a weapon. That’s why the longbow began expanding his Inner World for it to fit. When it finally stopped, Nikolai was on the ground panting.

‘At least, I won’t have to worry about someone stealing it.’ Nikolai stood up and laid on the bed. His mind grew hazy, and he began drifting to sleep. ‘I need to hide my things first.’ Nikolai snapped his eyes open and threw his bag into the vault under his bed.

After that, Nikolai couldn’t handle it, and he fell asleep. However, even when he was sleeping, he was somehow aware of anyone close to him. That included the people going in and out of their dorm rooms, his roommates coming back, and even Ro Za looking through his things.

It was dawn when he woke up. Nikolai looked around the dark dorm room with a smile. Ro Za tried to look through his things for some reason, and Nikolai suspected Julian’s handiwork.

‘What is he looking for?’ Nikolai wondered. ‘Is it the pin?’

It could only be Drunken Stars Pin. Losing it would bring him a lot of trouble, so Julian must have thought of a plan to steal it. It could also be Ro Za trying to steal his money, but it was unlikely.

Nikolai took his bag and left the room, going straight to the academy’s gate. Before leaving the city, he went and bought several regular arrows. Then, he went directly toward the Alm Forest, where he decided to try out his bow.

Like before, the forest was split in two by a river. It was also the same river feeding the farmlands of Rohan in the north, right beside Rohan’s Academy Forest.

He found a secluded spot in the forbidden area to try out his longbow. Making sure that no one was around, Nikolai raised his hand, and the longbow left his Inner World.

Aiming at a tree, Nikolai let go of the arrow. Suddenly, the arrow turned bright and struck the tree, freezing it.

‘Damn.’ Nikolai was taken aback because he didn’t even infuse mana into the longbow. This property wasn’t the norm for Enchanted Item, making him furrow his brows. ‘Does this weapon need no mana to infuse the magical properties?’

Nikolai fired several shots, and the 30% stayed true. However, the arrows had all sorts of effects. There were ice, fire, poison, lightning, healing, and invisibility.

That meant without using mana, Nikolai could fire three magical arrows out of ten. There was more to it, too.

[Fate Fragment linked.]

[Resonance achieved. You can use Fate Points to infuse arrows with desired magical effect. The user can choose the effect through the system.]

‘Fire.’ Nikolai thought randomly, and a new panel appeared.

[1 Fate Points required.]

‘Healing.’

[2 Fate Points required.]

Nikolai grinned. Probability didn’t matter anymore because this was a Fate Fragment. Nikolai could choose the effect he wants, and he would have a 100% chance of obtaining it.

‘Annihilation.’ Nikolai tried something else. This effect should make the arrow a one-hit kill item.

[The Longbow needs to evolve to infuse this effect.]

‘Figured.’ Nikolai sighed as he looked at his longbow. This item was indeed a treasure, but it was expensive to use. Every shot would consume 1 Fate Point at least. ‘But it’s a life-saving item.’