Nikolai looked at the bloody camp. Three of the pirates dropped a crystal each, reminding the reason nations waged wars. There was a rule that made killing so desired.

The stats obtained are not yours.

This phrase didn’t mean that stats are useless but that those who use many crystals have a higher chance of dropping them once they die. However, those who follow the path of slaughterers will be hunted down later on.

Nikolai walked toward the crystals and picked them up. Two Agility Crystals and one Strength Crystal. Nikolai pocketed them as he looked in the bags of the pirates.

He found a rough outline of the surrounding mountains and forest. The mapmaker made sure to pinpoint the location of their ship on the drawn map. It seems they abandoned their ship for now and decided to camp here.

That means there were dangerous monsters near the ship. Otherwise, they wouldn’t camp in the wild for no reason. Nikolai took the map and left the camp because he knew the scent of blood would attract wild beasts.

Nikolai traversed the forest until he reached the tree he slept in the day before. He leaned on the distorted wall as he took out the three crystals he obtained.

From his 65 Fate Points, Nikolai decided to use 6 to use the crystals. He raised the probability of obtaining 2-points to 75% and crushed the strength crystal.

[1 Strength Stats Point has been absorbed.]

“Fuck!” Nikolai slammed his fist to the ground with fury. “What dog’s shit luck do I have today?” Even though he wanted to stop, Nikolai kept trying.

[2 Agility Stats Points have been absorbed.]

This time, it worked in his favor. Nikolai calmed down when he remembered it was only a 2x% chance of getting 1-point from a crystal.

[2 Agility Stats Points have been absorbed.]

Nikolai sighed in relief. With these four points, he was an inch closer to meeting the minimum requirements to awaken. His stats now looked like this:

[Vitality: 18]

– [Blood Energy: 5.] 

[Strength: 19]

[Agility: 18]

[Intelligence: 21]

[Mana: 12]

He had four stats above 18, and only mana was a problem. He should be able to reach 25 in all stats once he finds a proper hunting spot.

‘I guess I’ll go and explore the pirate ship after I wake up.’ Nikolai decided as he fell to sleep. When he opened his eyes again, dawn threw its first rays into the world.

Nikolai stretched his body and stood up. He walked out into the orange forest, where the light took unnatural routes, giving it a mystical ambiance.

He saw that a druid was wandering, but Nikolai didn’t want to waste his time here. Avoiding it while looking at the map, Nikolai made his way toward the pirate’s ship.

It was in the opposite direction of the Vultra Clan, luckily for him. Rocky landforms began appearing as the number of trees dwindled. He found himself entering a maze.

‘What monster inhabits this place? And why didn’t the pirates take any of their loot with them?’ Nikolai wondered as he saw the edge of the hull make an appearance from behind a hill.

The pirate ship was almost five times as big as Alias and had better parts too. Even with its damaged core, it didn’t crash into the ground. It remained floating a short distance away from the rocks.

‘The meteorite fragment must be unstable.’ Nikolai realized when he saw that the ship was tilting to one side. He walked closer to it with caution as his eyes looked for any abnormalities.

“Aaa,”

A scream came from above, and Nikolai rolled on the ground and hid behind a rock. He looked at the ship and saw a figure emerge from the hull. It was a spirit.

‘I see, the pirates couldn’t grab anything because spirits attacked them.’

Things got more complicated with this realization. The maze was the perfect terrain for spirits who could pass through objects. Nikolai looked at his remaining magazines with a frown.

He only had two magazines left of enchanted bullets and four of standard ones. The rest were on Alias. These were the ones that he took when he decided to go through with his plan.

‘I need to make every bullet count.’ Nikolai thought to himself as he peeked from behind the rock at the ship. He looked up and found a bony arm above him.

The bony hand slashed as if it tried to rip his face off. Nikolai pulled himself back in time as the hand disappeared into the ground. He stood up and began running as his instincts screamed in alarm.

The arms protruded from the rocks and tried to grab him. Nikolai rolled on the ground, dodged to the side, or jumped to avoid them.

‘This is the work of a summoner!’ Nikolai realized as the arms multiplied and began to corner him. He noticed that they directed him toward the center of the hill as if something was luring him in.

‘It’s either I see the end of this path or that I waste my bullets trying to destroy the arms.’ Nikolai weighed both options with a heavy heart. ‘It’s better to avoid playing into their hands.’

Nikolai was about to aim his gun at the arms when a panel appeared in front of him. It was from the soul fragment of Val’s servant.

[The Soul Fragment resonates with a statue.]

He paused as the Soul Fragment lit up to guide him. The direction it pointed in was the same direction the summoner was luring him to take. After this change in events, Nikolai decided to explore the hill.

‘The more statues that I find, the better chance I have of obtaining Val’s powers.’

Nikolai ran in the direction of the hill as the rocks became larger and larger until the road turned into a tunnel. The arms followed after him as if they feared he would change his mind.

Nikolai was betting on the fact that a summoner was weaker in close-range combat. This way, he’ll be hitting two birds with one stone.

The arms disappeared as engraved walls appeared in the tunnel. Nikolai ran further inside the temple-like structure. The path grew darker the farther he went inside, and the arms disappeared once he reached a giant door.

“I guess you are here.” Nikolai took out his dagger as he walked through the doors. Beyond them lay a grand hall full of spirits and a single throne in the middle.

“Human, your arrogance will spell your doom.” The bony monster, a lich, sat on the throne as his mouth let out a menacing laugh. “You chose to wander into my abode on your own, prepare to leave your soul and Val’s fragment.”

Nikolai ignored the lich and looked at the statue behind the throne. It was another statue of Val, God of Lost Souls.