As Nikolai read the panel in front of him, he realized that fate can be stolen directly and indirectly. The direct way for that is by changing people’s future, by either hindering them or killing them.

The indirect way is by helping them, thus stealing it from others. The more that Nikolai refused to go with the flow, the more fate he generates. It seems as if the system was telling him to cause an impact on the world.

‘Have I become a vile person now?’ Nikolai wondered to himself. It was as if the system wanted him to be a villain, but that’s not important. What amazed him was that he didn’t care.

If anyone went through what he went through before his death, they’ll lose their moral compass as well. He, no matter what, didn’t want to be used or trampled on again.

“I’ll be waiting for that crystal,” Nikolai told Lan before grabbing a notebook and shoving it into his bag. “If you’re thinking about going back on your word, then that’s fine by me. I’ll just spread rumors about your character in the academy. It’ll be good publicity for your father’s next campaign.”

Without saying anything else, Nikolai took his bag and headed toward the library. Even though his body was begging to rest, he couldn’t just yet.

The memories were still fresh in his mind, so he needed to write them down. When he got to the empty library, he took out several books that recorded legends and myths.

Soon, some of these legends that are now considered folklore will be as real as anything else. Skills, artifacts, and anything that has made the Lords who they are.

Nikolai plans on stealing whatever he can get. He opened the first book about the greatest emperor to have lived in their world, Nadalian. He had died a thousand years ago and left behind and seven artifacts. Nikolai knew the general location of the two. This was only the beginning.

Time flew by as his notebook became more and more detailed. Scrabbles, locations, dates, names, and anything that can be used were filled on that notebook.

The last three pages had a list of things he would aim to get. The first was simple, a ticket to the Lost Garden. Every semester, the academy had nine slots to enter the Lost Garden, meaning three per year.

The Lost Garden was a place that the first founder of the Rosia kingdom created. It was a place that was like a heaven to anyone below the D-rank. Nikolai didn’t only aim for the benefits he would get in terms of stats, but the hidden treasure in the Lost Garden.

However, it was a dream to think he would get the slot with his current stats. In his first semester, Julian was among those that got in. That meant he would have to fight against him if he wanted that slot, which meant death.

This time, however, he knew the future and could manipulate it.

It was late at night when Nikolai was done with planning. The library was empty of people except for him. He was reading a book about the history of kings. He was trying to remember who would die soon, and he had a single picture in front of him.

By habit, he was playing with the small pouch around his neck. Feeling the outline of the crystal, which was useless until he lost it three years before he died. He had to wear a pendant after that just to satisfy his habit.

‘The current King of Rosia Kingdom, George Ver Rosia.’ Nikolai read the biography. ‘Ruled for eight years now, not for long.’ He recorded that information.

After going through all of it, Nikolai started rereading the notebook. After reading it once, he reread it. After reading it twice, he did it again. When it was daybreak, he was repeating it zealously like a mantra.

He was afraid he would forget this information and didn’t want to keep a physical copy of them. After reading it almost ten times, Nikolai was ready to dispose of it.

He left the library and took a matchbox from the cafeteria. He headed to the roof of the dorm as everyone was either asleep or training. The roof was empty.

Nikolai sat on the ground with the notebook in hand. With this, the information will only be in his head. He lit several matches to burn the notebook.

As it turned to ashes to be carried by the wind, Nikolai watched it slowly. The sun peeked from beyond the horizon as the notebook turned to ashes.

‘Now, it’s time to get stronger and get rich.’

Nikolai dusted off his jeans and stood up. He undid his necklace and looked silently at the pouch. This was the one item that was with him most of his life, even though he had no idea what it was.

Nikolai turned the pouch upside for the crystal to fall in his hand. In a world where crystals were strength, this thing was truly useless.

[Crystal has been detected.]

A panel appeared in front of him, making Nikolai’s pupils constrict. The words didn’t change for a few moments. When they did, they revealed a piece of shocking information.

[Bloodline Awakening Crystal (Fragmented).]

[Requirements to use: Bloodline. 25 points in all stats. The success rate of awakening: 2%]

Nikolai let go of a breath that sounded like a gasp. His thoughts turned slower and slower like a snail. He couldn’t wrap his head around this even with his years of experience.

‘What is this?’ Nikolai had so many questions, but only one place to find the answers for them. ‘System, can I use this?’

[Stats are insufficient.]

‘What about the bloodline?’ Nikolai asked with a frown. He had an ill forbidding about this matter.

[Detecting…]

[Bloodline has been found.]

These words brought thunderclaps to Nikolai’s mind. He was shaken to the core. The fact that he wasn’t purely a human astounded him, as he never thought of himself as anything else.

‘System, what am I?’

[Generating new information…]

[Name: Nikolai Yaran. Age: 17. Species: Half-human. Bloodline: Half-awakened.]

Nikolai needed to process this, so he sat down on the floor. He clenched his fist around the crystal as if this action would hide what had just been revealed.

‘I’m not a human…’

Nikolai furrowed his brows deeply. It wasn’t that he loved being a human, he didn’t feel anything about it. He was who he was. He was what he felt. However, the fact that he didn’t know what he was troubled him.

‘System, what do you mean half-awakened? I’m still the same. Nothing is weird about me.’

This time, he didn’t receive an answer. No matter what he asked, the system didn’t reveal anything. Nikolai snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the loud clamor the students made.

Nikolai grabbed his crystal and returned it to the pouch. This time, however, it felt heavy around his neck.

***

“Have you seen anything abnormal during your training?” The man in the black suit asked him. Nikolai sighed and answered.

“No, nothing. If you count a few crazed rabbits as abnormal, then yes.” Nikolai answered again.

“Tell me about your training session, spare no details. How many bullets you’ve used, what monsters did you encounter, and how did you manage to hunt a rabbit on your own.”

“I’ve used twelve bullets. I’ve returned the magazine, you can check. I encountered two crazed rabbits. One of them was injured, but I ran away from it because it was too close. As for the other, it was down a hill and I kept firing at it.”

“Twelve bullets for a single rabbit?” The man frowned. “Why did you need so many?”

“I’m an amateur. Only two bullets managed to strike the rabbit. I used my dagger to finish it off.”

“Would we find the traces of the bullets you’ve fired?”

“Sure, but I don’t remember where it was. I was in a fog and all I saw was a shadow. A few bullets went into the stream, so you might need some divers.”

The man sighed and said it’s not necessary. He then dismissed Nikolai and allowed him to leave. As he did, he saw Julian waiting, in turn, to be questioned. When their eyes met, Julian mouthed a single sentence.

“I will kill you.”