Chapter 399 - 383: Fate Deviation

Chapter 399: Chapter 383: Fate Deviation

[Trait: Soul Stealing]

[Your Spiritual Energy extends like a spiderweb, coalescing into invisible, spectral tendrils. When they silently entwine a target’s consciousness, you can steal and possess one of their inherent traits. However, the success of this act depends entirely on the strength and precision of your own Spiritual Energy. Only when your Spiritual Energy is powerful enough can it pierce their mental defenses like a precise probe, retrieving and Stripping the Trait you desire from the depths of their Spirit.]

[Perhaps it is the muscle memory of a Warrior’s decade of practiced Swordsmanship, flowing into your arms like a warm current. Perhaps it is the obscure knowledge a scholar gleaned from ancient tomes, unfolding as a vivid image in your mind. It might even be a Low Tier Spell Model a Mage is constructing, its swirling Rune paths instantly becoming yours to command.]

[Yet every theft comes at a price. For the brief time the Trait flows through your veins, you will act as a vessel, passively bearing the emotional residue of its original owner.]

[Perhaps the original owner’s suppressed fury will sear your sanity like hot oil. Perhaps a sudden sorrow will make your heart throb with a heavy ache. Or perhaps a bestial, predatory instinct will compel your limbs to move.]

[To steal the light, you must accept the Shadow that follows.]

"Soul... Stealing?"

Reading the information that had appeared in his mind, even with Roland’s composure, he couldn’t help but feel his breath catch in his throat.

The potential and sheer, overwhelming power of this Trait far surpassed any ability he had acquired before.

It bypassed the long hours and arduous practice required for conventional learning, cutting straight to the core essence of Power...

Plunder!

Imagine, in the heat of a life-or-death battle, instantly stealing an opponent’s most trusted combat instinct, causing their Sword Techniques to falter while you moved as if you’d been forged through a thousand trials.

When exploring ancient ruins, to directly obtain critical, forbidden knowledge from a Guardian’s consciousness.

Or even when facing a Mage, to seize their Spell Model at the very instant their Magic is about to coalesce and turn their own power against them...

This was no longer simple imitation or learning; this was "possession" in its most direct and tyrannical form.

It instantly converted the fruits of another’s labor into fuel for his own growth—a truly game-changing shortcut.

Possessing it meant that a shortcut to countless pieces of knowledge, skills, and experiences had been laid out before Roland, its value immeasurable.

However, ultimate power often comes with commensurate risks and limitations.

After the initial ecstasy, Roland quickly calmed down, his mind keenly identifying the harsh conditions and heavy price behind this Trait.

First, the stealing was not omnipotent.

It was strictly dependent on the strength and precision of his own Spiritual Energy.

Trying to strip a core Trait from the soul of an expert with a will of steel and a formidable Spiritual Barrier would be as futile as an ant trying to shake a tree.

If his own Spiritual Energy wasn’t powerful or refined enough, not only would he fail, but he could also suffer a terrifying backlash.

This meant he couldn’t act recklessly. The target’s strength and the Trait’s value had to be commensurate with his own power.

Second, there was the unavoidable "emotional residue."

To bear another’s Trait meant simultaneously accepting the most intense emotional imprint of the original owner, which clung to it.

Rage, sorrow, fear, greed...

These foreign emotional torrents would flood his mind for a short period.

If his own will wasn’t strong enough, he might even get lost in them, leading to cognitive dissonance.

This was undoubtedly an internal trap he had to be constantly wary of when using this power.

’A powerful gift, but also a dangerous contract...’

Roland understood.

This Trait granted him the potential to Plunder all things, but it also demanded he possess the temperament and strength to master such power, and to always be ready to pay its unique and bizarre "price."

Just as Roland was engrossed in weighing the power and price of [Soul Stealing], cold characters cascaded down his vision once more, refreshing without the slightest warning.

[Host detected with Trait: Time Traveler...]

[Commencing deep Trait resonance analysis...]

[Analyzing...]

[Anomalous fate trajectory detected...]

[Higher-dimensional causal disturbance residue detected...]

[Deriving new Trait based on current soul matrix and Trait compatibility...]

[Derivation complete.]

[Trait acquired: Fate Deviation]

[Trait: Fate Deviation]

[As a mere mortal, you can perceive the silver web of possibility that flows between all things—the "threads of probability," as fine as spider silk yet impossibly tough. This is not creation, but guidance; not alteration, but weaving.]

[The moment an Arrow leaves the bowstring, you can see seventeen possible trajectories. All you must do is gently nudge the silver thread that leads it through a seam in the armor, making an Arrow that would have missed "happen" to find the most vulnerable point of entry. When an iron door stands between you and your pursuers, you need only choose, from millions of possibilities of corrosion, the one instant where the bolt jams shut.]

[However, each seemingly coincidental intervention is a struggle against the very foundation of the world. Every thread of probability you pull exerts immense pressure on your soul, like grasping a white-hot Chain with bare hands. Your Spirit becomes tattered and worn with each act of weaving. More dangerous still, this meddling with the tapestry of fate is like dropping a pebble into a silent, deep pool.]

[The ripples will travel far, far indeed—until they stir the unspeakable beings slumbering deep within the folds of reality.]

"[Fate Deviation]..."

This Trait was the ultimate tool for turning the tables in a desperate situation.

Roland quickly realized that while this ability couldn’t grant him earth-shattering power directly, it could make the impossible possible at critical moments, amplifying minuscule probabilities into concrete reality.

Whether in a battle on the razor’s edge of life and death or in a complex, intricate scheme, the strategic value of this power to perceive and guide "possibility" was immeasurable.

Of course, the warnings about "immense pressure on your soul" and potentially stirring "unspeakable beings" also put him on high alert.

This power had to be kept as a trump card, to be used with the utmost caution.

Just as he was lost in his analysis...

"TAP... TAP..."

The faint but clear sound of footsteps abruptly broke the dead silence of the mine’s depths, rapidly approaching from a distance.

After a moment, the footsteps stopped at the entrance to the cave.

Immediately after, Duraga’s familiar figure appeared at the entrance. His sharp gaze swept over the Heartstealer, still bound in Chains and convulsing in agony, before finally landing on Roland.

"How’s it going, old friend?"

he asked gruffly, his tone filled with undisguised impatience.

"Did you manage to pry open this bastard’s mouth?"

Roland nodded lightly.

"Of course."

Upon hearing this, a smile that was a mixture of satisfaction and savagery spread across Duraga’s face. He clapped Roland on the shoulder and praised him gruffly.

"Nice work!"

"So..."

Roland looked at Duraga and asked directly.

"What do you want to know from it?"

Hearing this, Duraga raised his thick eyebrows in surprise. He then shook his head and spoke in a teasing tone.

"Hey, buddy, you really have forgotten a lot."

"Besides their nauseating tentacles and malevolent Spiritual Energy, what’s the most valuable, most coveted thing about these damned octopus-headed bastards?"

He paused, undisguised greed and desire glinting in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, word by word.

"The Shell Ship, of course!"