Fate Items were things circulating within the Dark Faction. It was said that Fate Items were typically exceedingly rare, but they often had incredible, wondrous uses.

Legend said that in the dark depths of the earth, countless dark creatures lived, as well as countless ancient tombs. It was a paradise for ghouls, withered bones, and corpses. Evil necromancers chanted their soul-summoning spells in low voices. Plague and disease were everywhere; no one except necromancers could approach.

This Soul Summoning Scroll could summon undead creatures that never saw the light of day from the depths of the earth, even through thick layers of rock.

Some Fate Items were tools used by necromancers to venerate the dead, while others were dark artifacts filled with cursed power. Even necromancers couldn't control these items at will.

Just like their names suggested, fate was something no one could fathom.

Nie Yan looked at the description of the Cursed Skull.

After understanding the introduction of the Cursed Skull, he realized that crushing it would grant the player three Fate Dice. If the total of the Fate Dice exceeded three, they would receive an additional reward. If it was less than or equal to three, they would suffer a curse. The smaller the number on the Fate Dice, the more severe the punishment; the larger the number, the more generous the reward.

Rewards or curses, danger and opportunity coexisted.

If not used, the item would disappear after five minutes.

After reading the attribute description of the Cursed Skull, Nie Yan's heart pounded inexplicably. This thing was indeed difficult to control. Throwing the Fate Dice three times meant it was controlled by the main system, making cheating impossible. In other words, it all depended on luck. There was a 50% chance of a reward and a 50% chance of a curse.

Nie Yan sat down quietly, eating bread to restore his health, but his mood couldn't calm down.

It all depended on luck. Nie Yan wasn't sure if his luck was good or bad. Observing the skull in his hand, the two balls of green fire in its eye sockets leaped and flickered, as if staring at him in some peculiar way.

It seemed to be saying, if given a chance, would you dare challenge your fate?

The future was full of unknowns.

Nie Yan held the skull, hesitating. If he didn't make a decision soon, this Fate Item would disappear without a trace.

Nie Yan constantly questioned himself. At this moment, it was difficult for anyone to make a decision easily.

Time passed second by second. Nie Yan suddenly recalled a story about an old man who came to a small town with a sealed box. He told the townspeople that for just one silver coin, they could open the box and everything inside would belong to them. However, no one was willing to spend a silver coin to open it. Later, the old man left, and the residents of the town tossed and turned in their beds every time they thought about it, regretting that they hadn't spent a silver coin to see what was inside.

The principle was simple. If Nie Yan didn't try to use this Cursed Skull and let it disappear, he might regret not seeing what the Cursed Skull could bring him one day.

What harm was there in giving it a try? Nie Yan's heart became firm. His right hand gradually exerted force. Under Nie Yan's strength, cracks gradually appeared on the Cursed Skull. Gritting his teeth, with a snap, the Cursed Skull was crushed into pieces.

Time within a twenty-yard radius suddenly froze, and everything stopped moving.

Above Nie Yan, a huge bone Fate Dice appeared. The six-sided dice floated in the air, each side written with a large, scarlet character in the ancient language of the undead: one, two, three, four, five, six.

What awaited Nie Yan would be the judgment of fate!

Nie Yan took a deep breath and slowly extended his right hand, touching the Fate Dice in the sky. The dice suddenly began to spin wildly.

Countless numbers switched constantly, dazzling the eye.

"Stop!" Nie Yan said. The rapidly spinning dice stopped, and facing Nie Yan was three, the vivid number as red as blood.

Damn it, so unlucky.

A vile incantation covered Nie Yan's entire body. Strands of strength were slowly drawn from his body by an evil power.

Plague Weakness Curse: Permanent curse, Strength -10.

The terrifying curse effect chilled Nie Yan to the bone. Strength was permanently reduced by 10 points, which was unbearable even for top-tier players.

Every attribute point was a treasure to players, and increasing permanent attribute points was extremely difficult.

The scarlet number on the Fate Dice, like a demon spitting out a red tongue, looked at Nie Yan mockingly.

The number on the dice was three, and the punishment for Nie Yan was a permanent deduction of 10 points of Strength. It was hard to imagine what kind of severe curse he would have encountered if it had been two, or even one.

Nie Yan didn't dare imagine what awaited him next. Would he become a cripple because of this, forcing him to delete his account and start over?

The unknown was like fate.

It was precisely because of the unknown that it was frightening.

But Nie Yan had no way out. The Fate Dice hovered quietly. If Nie Yan didn't activate it, it would automatically cast its curse when the time came.

Did he regret it? Nie Yan didn't seem to have much time. He reached out his right hand and activated the Fate Dice. Fate spun madly. He didn't know if the next moment would bring a dazzling reward or a dark curse. No matter what, Nie Yan couldn't escape the judgment of fate.

If it was still a curse, no, it couldn't be.

"Stop!" Nie Yan's voice wasn't as decisive as it had been the first time he used the Fate Dice, but he still called for it to stop.

The pale dice, like a rope, tightly strangled Nie Yan's heart. The sound of the dice stopping caused Nie Yan's heart to stop for a moment.

It was five points! A brilliant white light descended on Nie Yan's head. Nie Yan's heart suddenly relaxed. It wasn't a curse!

As long as it wasn't a curse, he was satisfied!

Nie Yan regained his composure, glanced at the system notification, and quickly opened his skill bar. An extra skill had appeared in the skill bar.

Undead Rite: Undead Dark Temple skill, skill level 1. Sacrifice 30% of health to command an undead creature. 20% chance to make the undead creature serve you for three hours. The upper limit for the number of undead creatures is 5. Skill cooldown time: 30 seconds.

It seemed that sacrifice had been rewarded. After seeing the Undead Rite skill, Nie Yan's heart involuntarily tightened. It was actually a temple skill! That was fantastic! Undead Dark Temple skills and Elemental Temple skills belonged to the same tier—both were advanced magic. After all, the lost 10 points of Strength could be compensated. With the Chapter of Courage, he could basically erase the effect of the Weakness Curse reducing permanent attributes around level 25. This legendary skill, however, was a treasure that couldn't be bought with any amount of money. With this skill, he would have to go to the lands of the undead to level up more often in the future!

The Fate Dice had one last chance. Nie Yan looked at the dice suspended in the air, his expression filled with complexity. This thing could either make someone soar to the heavens in a single step or consign them to eternal damnation.