'Now, activate the secondary system,' Lecan stated, his voice calm despite the danger of the wolf ahead.
The key to any battle, more than power, was understanding the enemy.
And right now, with the memories he had awakened—memories that revealed this world's reality, where everything had a destiny, heaven's influence, and fated children of heaven—he noticed the subtle layers often overlooked.
All of it made him more confident.
For someone born with a weak blood core—which, in truth, grants a vampire the ability to utilize blood arts—it made him much more vulnerable, especially within the web of family politics.
Surrounded by powerful bloodlines, he had been abandoned as a child, cast away from the main battlefield to live a life akin to an orphan.
So for him to survive, his greatest weapons were his mind and knowledge.
Even now, after losing all of his body fat—which might return once he starts drinking blood—his body remained weak.
Yet, he was more confident than ever.
He knew the path, the route he needed to take to transform himself into what he had always dreamed of becoming.
Above everyone.
He looked at the wolf, who had triggered the system.
Gathering all the information available, he combined it with his knowledge of the wolf race and the new insights he had just received.
With that, he could at least predict and understand the dynamics at play.
This wolf standing before him was likely a heroine—Velmira Starlight.
According to the lore, wolves with royal bloodlines, especially newly awakened ones, had no control over themselves during the full moon.
It intensified when they smelled the scent of a vampire.
That might be the case with this woman too—who, upon catching that scent, lost control and ended up here, in front of him.
Talking to her would be pointless.
She wouldn't listen—wouldn't even remember.
So rather than wasting time trying to convince her not to fight, he would use this opportunity to turn someone with her bloodline into his own asset.
> [Secondary System—?]
As his orange screen was about to prompt a question, it was suddenly overwritten by a purple window that overlaid it, changing its color as a new notification popped up.
> [Fate Devouring System—ERROR—Activated]
[Calculating reward for changing the fate of Heroine Velmira Starlight]
[Plot Detail: Velmira Starlight, a late awakener at the age of forty, lost control of herself after being intentionally brought into the Forest of Gade.
She killed four vampires, including one of royal lineage, which led to her losing her standing in the clan battle and eventually being forced into an engagement with the Son of heaven. ]
[Fate Change Detected: Fed the Heroine the Divine Blessing Pendant and granted her the Soulguard Blessing.]
DING!
[EVENT: Severed the link of the heroine from her destined path — Reward: 6,000 Fate Value]
'Now, this is the turning point,' Lecan thought as he stood there, listening to the system's reward.
After receiving the 10× rebate for his pendant, he gained this system due to a key event: he had killed the invading soul that tried to take over him.
Rebate System, which was linked to him, gained potential too and eliminated the consciousness of the rival system that attempted to dominate it.
Now, the ability to turn fated paths into Fate Value was freed—no longer restrained or under control of the fate devouring system.
The question was, who would control that power: his newly arrived system, which he did not trust, or himself?
He knew exactly who it would be.
> [ERROR!]
[No Consciousness of Holder Detected]
[Searching for Most Compatible Bond...]
As expected, the free energy, now without a host consciousness, began searching for a compatible vessel.
Naturally, it would be between him and his current Rebate System.
Given the Rebate System's first rebate which gave him power to survive, he already knew where this new ability would go.
> [Host Found: Ability is transferring to Lecan Bloodmoon]
"ROOOARRRR!"
While Lecan was observing the system's transfer—knowing it had chosen him over the primary system, just as he expected—he felt reassured.
The Rebate System's first rebate after sharing the crystal pendant he had since early age, passed down by her parents, granted him the power to rewrite fate and convert heaven's will into his own growth.
It was naturally aligned with this new system's mechanics, unlike the primary one, which merely gave rewards or rebates for sharing things.
He didn't want this ability transferred to the primary system because, through the memories he had regained, he knew systems often possessed their own consciousness.
And they could betray their hosts.
Now, this fate-altering ability was his and his alone—not just a part of a system.
SKLCHT
His shoulder was suddenly punctured by the wolf's canines.
She bit him, and yet he didn't react—his expression calm despite the pain.
Years of training had enhanced his pain tolerance, and after brushing so close to death just hours ago, no physical pain could truly faze him anymore.
Blood gushed from the wound, the wolf's jaws locked onto his shoulder.
Her blue eyes reflected the man with crimson eyes, who was simply looking straight ahead, ignoring her entirely.
This was the moment her instincts kicked in.
Even though she was thrice his size and her fangs were nearly piercing his heart, this young man stood unbothered.
He lifted a single finger in the air, interacting with something invisible, disregarding the beast latched onto him.
And that made him terrifying.
As the wolf prepared to increase pressure—to bite off half his body, either to kill him or escape—Lecan finally turned and looked into her eyes.
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
He spoke in a soft, devilish tone with his crimson gaze finally meeting her sapphire ones, even though she was in her beast mode and completely out of control, but his words directly triggered the deep wild instincts within her survival mode.
"Bite harder. Let's see what happens if you rip out my heart... Velmira."
'!'