Chapter 188: Fate Token
At this moment, Sterl was tossing a radiant golden die in his hand, each of its six faces engraved with intricate runes and emitting a faint golden aura.
The die's attributes also appeared.
[Fate Token (Divine Relic)]
[Description: A creation left behind after the fall of the god who held dual divine authority over Fate and Trade. It was born due to [Error] [Unknown Error Data]...]
[Effect: Equivalent to the Essence of Trade. Additionally, you can use this item to activate [Fate Exchange: Initiate a special trade with fate, consuming this token, and then choose one of the following effects to activate—
Increase the probability of a specific event to 100%.
After defeating a specific monster or player, change the drop rate of a particular item to 100%.
For a period of time, the trigger probability of your probability-based skills becomes 100%.
You can select any target or entity that involves probability or luck and increase a specific probability to 100%.]
[Note: The greater the fate involved in the probability change, the more Fate Tokens will be consumed. The fourth special effect, due to its high degree of freedom, will consume additional Fate Tokens.]
"Not bad, the divine relic's added effect is really strong!"
Sterl was in a great mood, commenting on the [Fate Token].
This thing was something he got by adding points to the Essence of Trade.
Sterl initially didn't expect that creations left behind after a god's fall could also be enhanced.
Of course, when he added points, he saw the dazzling rainbow light of reshaping.
It was clear that he could add points to the [Essence of Trade] thanks to his cheat's advanced forced enhancement.
And the [Fate Token]'s effect was incredibly powerful!
Firstly, being equivalent to the Essence of Trade meant that the Fate Token could still allow Sterl to forcefully buy and sell in battle, ensuring the item's baseline utility.
And the new ability [Fate Exchange] was even more practical.
It could turn probability events into certainties!
For example, entering a specific map or instance, or triggering a boss spawn...
Sterl could use the Fate Token to guarantee these events.
Additionally, the ability to make enemy players or bosses drop specific items would drive countless players crazy!
Sterl had heard that some powerful bosses could drop extremely rare skills, equipment, and items, but these drops were highly random unless it was a first-time kill.
Similarly, some players carried incredibly precious treasures, but others dared not attack them because even killing them might not guarantee the treasure would drop; it could be reclaimed by [Transcendence].
However, Sterl could use the Fate Token to reliably obtain desired items, and he had a hunch he could get a lot of valuable stuff with it!
Then, the third special effect amplified probability-based skills, which Sterl didn't have yet, but he could acquire them later, either by learning them himself or using the primary star and deputy star features.
As for the fourth special effect, it initially puzzled Sterl, but he quickly understood—it meant that any probability event could be altered by trading enough Fate Tokens to rewrite the probability.
For example, he immediately thought of a use—
SterlStar Radiance Dragon's [Infinite Evolution] only has a 1/3 chance of triggering, and even when it does, there's only a small chance of drawing those powerful abilities from boss units. More often than not, defeating a strong boss would result in drawing a useless ability.
After all, the stronger the boss, the more varied its abilities.
But with the [Fate Token], Sterl could choose the specific boss ability to absorb, making the probability of absorbing a particular ability 100%.
As Sterl held the Fate Token and sensed its power, he realized that even though the fourth special effect of [Fate Exchange] consumed double the fate power, it would only take one token to select an ability from bosses below god-level for Infinite Evolution.
"Good!" Sterl's mood improved further. However, he also regretted counting the remaining [Essence of Trade] he had. Aside from the one that evolved into the Fate Token, he only had fifteen left.
When the divine authority of Trade was dissipating, Sterl had tried to gather as many purple coins as possible, but the divine authority spread too widely and was severely diluted.
Sterl only had sixteen purple coins in total, imbued with divine power.
"I'll have to use them sparingly," he thought.
Originally, he intended to use the [Essence of Trade] as a trump card in battles, but now Sterl was reluctant to spend them that way. Using them for point additions and evolutions, obtaining rare items, and accelerating his growth was the prudent path!
Sterl toyed with the Fate Token for a few more seconds before storing it in his small world.
He already had a plan for using this item.
Following Gloria's suggestion, Sterl was preparing to participate in the extreme trial of the Hall of Valor.
Although he didn't know the exact nature of the trial,
In [Transcendence], trials or tests usually involved either PvP against other players or PvE monster and boss fights.
If it was the latter, given the difficulty of the extreme trial, it was very likely that an extremely powerful boss would appear, perfect for Sterl to use [Fate Exchange], either to select a boss ability to absorb through Infinite Evolution or to choose a boss drop.
So now, Sterl needed to prepare.
He planned to wander around the world of the Hall of Valor to put Star Radiance Dragon's Infinite Evolution in a guaranteed state (the next boss would definitely trigger the ability absorption).
Otherwise, Sterl would have to use two Fate Tokens—one to trigger Infinite Evolution and one to select the ability, which seemed wasteful.
Soon, after sensing his surroundings, he sped off towards the northwest, activating Divine Flame Frenzy.
...
Boom!
Amidst the blazing flames!
In the sky, a giant dragon with a massive wingspan was roasted by rainbow-colored fire, wailing as it plummeted to the ground.
By the time it hit the ground, it had already turned into a skeleton!
Afterward, Sterl, shrouded in seven-colored divine flames, slowly descended.
He didn't even bother to look at the few second-class platinum items the boss had dropped, casually picking them up and tossing them into his small world.
Sterl turned to look at Star Radiance Dragon, nervously checking the attribute panel.
"No new skill!"
Sterl let out a sigh of relief.
"Not bad, I knew my luck couldn't be that terrible!"
He looked somewhat exasperated.
To get Star Radiance Dragon's Infinite Evolution into a "guaranteed next trigger" state, Sterl farmed over 10 bosses, all second to third-class trash.
And guess what...
Almost every two bosses gave an ability, forcing Star Radiance Dragon to acquire—
"Strength +10."
"Flight speed increased by 15%."
"Fire magic damage reduction by 10%."
"Digestion ability increased by 20%."
"Agility +5."
A total of 5 abilities. Not completely useless, but practically negligible in effect, and they kept Star Radiance Dragon's Infinite Evolution from hitting the "guaranteed" state.
Luckily, this wyvern and the previous boss didn't yield any abilities, allowing Sterl to finally smile.
He was now ready to attempt the trial and use the Fate Token to draw a super-strong ability.
"Even if there are no bosses in the trial, the Hall of Valor's wild areas have plenty of legendary boss auras. I can wait until my strength increases a bit more and then trigger Infinite Evolution with a guaranteed boss."
Sterl muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Star Radiance Dragon reverted to its smaller form, playfully biting its owner's finger.
At this moment, a notification appeared before Sterl—
[Strong warrior from a distant world, please accept the trial and become a heroic spirit!]
The grand voice made Sterl's heart tremble, leaving him unsettled for a long time.
Then, another notification popped up—
[Based on your previous performance: over-level killing of a legendary unit, you have qualified for the extreme trial. In this Hall of Valor trial, you can choose to participate in either the ordinary trial or the extreme trial.]
Sterl didn't think much about it and confirmed the details. The extreme trial indeed allowed the use of the Hall of Valor token for protection and provided the option to restart the trial by paying a second token.
So, he decisively chose the extreme trial.
A light screen appeared before Sterl again.
It displayed a grand painting featuring various figures: heavily armored warriors, robe-clad mages, agile archers hiding among trees...
It had an air of a fantasy novel cover.
Below were the subtitles.
[Extreme trial initiated. This trial requires matching with a stronger unit; please wait.]
[Estimated wait time: three years and seventeen days (this is the average matching time for the extreme trial).]
"???" Sterl was speechless.
Seriously, I have to wait three years??
Will the Hall of Valor even let me stay for three years??
However, Sterl had misunderstood, as another notification swiftly updated.
[Your potential is sufficient. Before the extreme trial begins, you may directly enter the Hall of Valor as a full member.]
"Quite generous, huh?"
Sterl was a bit speechless.
He realized that it wasn't Gloria tricking him. For the goddess, a century was just a blink of an eye, let alone a mere three years...
And for normal players, three years would only see slight level improvements, making that time relatively insignificant.
But how could Sterl accept that?
Three years?
By then, he might not even need the extreme trial's rewards...
Might as well go for the ordinary trial and get the rewards immediately.
Sterl decisively chose to cancel the matching!
But before his finger could touch the screen...
A new message appeared before Sterl—
[Congratulations, you have completed the match!]