The Devil's Cage

The snapping of the chains lingered in his ears, yet the energy from his heart gushed out and flowed to every inch of his body.

Kieran squinted his eyes pleasantly.

It had been a while since he’d experienced a fully energized body.

The Devil Force roared.

The Cardinal Sins Force cheered.

The Dawn Force was warm.

The Plague Force was strange as usual.

The Saint Thorn Force was hidden and mysterious.

All kinds of Origin Forces came from his hearts and were moved outwards.

This sensation was nostalgic to Kieran and his gains were more than just returning to his prime.

A scorching hot sensation flowed out from one of his hearts, going through his left arm and into his palm. There was no Devil Flame on his palm, but the air around his left palm was distorted because of the heart. Lines of words popped up in Kieran’s vision.

[Shattered the wall, Devil Burning Musou leveled up to Transcendence]

[Name: Devil Burning (Transcendence)]

[Related Attribute: None]

[Skill Type: Offense]

[Effect: Create a rank III attack Devil Flame from your left hand. Able to burn continuously and can not be extinguished by water, sand or other elements. Has the ability to burn souls and consume life energy.]

[Effect: Devil Flame (Your bloodline contains fire, it is your natural gift and also the proof of your identity. You can trigger Devil Flame at will with attack ranks that varies from None, Feeble, Weak, Average, Strong, Powerful, Extreme, rank I, rank II, rank III. When charged up to 4 seconds, +1 fire elemental damage, has Great chance to trigger Flame Burst effect)]

[Transcendence Option 1 (Devil Burning): Rapid Accumulation (Shorten charge time to 2 seconds)]

[Transcendence Option 2 (Devil Burning): Malicious Spread (After using a charged up Devil Flame, the flame will linger for a certain amount of time (Depends on your Spirit, Basic is 1 second, Advanced Rank is +1 second, rank II +1 second and so on). You can control the lingering flame at will.]

[Devil Mastery 1: You can create 3 fireballs at once or alter the original shape of the fireball based on your will. (You can only create 1 fireball when charging and can not alter the original shape)]

[Devil Mastery 2: The flames come from your blood and were born from your soul. When you need it, it will appear; you can create a ball of Devil Flame at will without using your hand. When this ball of Devil Flame appears, it will not affect the original attributes, effects and transcendence option]

[Consume: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: Constitution IV]

[Remark: This was originally a special spell that doesn’t requires incantation and casting movement. It was forged by the alchemy master fusing ancient hidden techniques and his knowledge! However, it showed extra unison with your bloodline and it called out to the shattered soul in your bloodline. The shattered soul also triggered the spell’s original potential in the same way and causing both inseparable, complimenting each other.]

[Note: You relied on learning and mastery of your bloodline to acquire this skill. Unable to rely on Points, Skill Points to level up.]

[Note: This skill has reached its current limit]

...

Fuuaaa!

A fiery flower bloomed in Kieran’s open palm, curling up his lips as he looked at the red flower.

Devil Flame was one of Kieran’s main offensive skills regardless of situation at time.

Compared to the other skills, which required many setups, Devil Flame’s straightforwardness was undoubtedly the most powerful.

This unexpected level up boosted its strength to a whole new level.

Rank III Devil Flame had become the new norm!

Even without the buff from Fire Raven, using the charge and combining it with his Talent, Kieran could easily reach rank V with the flame, which was good news for him.

Though more good news was just popping up on his vision.

[Shattered the wall, Dawn Sword (V+ to VII)]

[Dawn Sword VII: When you can truly utilize the Dawn Force, it means that you are truly a Knight of Dawn, despite the way you utilize it was one-of-a-kind. Charge Dawn Force for 2 seconds, consume half of your total Stamina to fire out a 100 meter, rank V attack power light sword, doesn’t have cooldown]

[Note: Detected Constitution has reached rank V (Weak), Stamina consumption decreased)]

...

[Shattered the wall, Plague Arrow (V+ to VII)]

[Plague Arrow VII: You are undoubtedly a Knight of Plague with your transcendent body tempering art. You have successfully mastered the unique attack way of a Knight of Plague. Spend 1.0 hours to create a Plague Arrow that could fire at target within a 1800 meters without using a bow. Inflicts 1 IV+ penetration damage and IV+ Plague Infection (Even if the arrow did not inflict any damage on target, the Plague damage will still spread) You can store the arrows created, 6 at most)]

...

The special skills that branched out from [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] and [Knights of Plague Body Tempering Art] received a major level jump.

With Dawn Sword at VII, its uniqueness and grandness had undoubtedly become Kieran’s other killer move. Plague Arrow was hidden in the shadows as usual by Kieran.

Perhaps the IV+ penetration damage was slightly lackluster against the V damage of the sword, but the sword could only be fired once and the arrow has 6 when charged up to the maximum! It even has a IV+ Plague Infection!

Quantity causes qualitative change.

Kieran understood this saying a long time ago and believed it deeply, so he would hide [Plague Arrow] in a secret spot for a surprise attack.

This move was part of his personality and also one of the ideal ways to deal with danger.

Never place all your eggs in one basket, keeping a few somewhere else would be better.

Kieran didn’t learn this from the old principal of his welfare home but the security uncle at the gate. The uncle had only one arm left, so Kieran had a deep impression of him.

Devil Force, Dawn Force, and Plague Force showed very obvious changes.

Cardinal Sins Force couldn’t show the changes in a direct way but Kieran was able to sense that his bond with Pride, Sloth and Gluttony grew closer. Even the other cardinal sins, who still behaved like animals, could be better controlled by Kieran.

However, Saint Thorn Force was unlike the others, only changing a little and its rank staying at IV.

[Saint Thorn IV:If you did not choose to activate Transform Devil IV or Desire Summon IV, you will resiste 75% of the damage when you come across holy energy. When you receive damage (regardless of holy damage), of Average, Strong, Powerful, Extreme, I, II, III, IV level, you can activate a “Halo of Thorns” with different level, to reflect the damage you receive by 10%, 15%, 30%, 50%, 65%, 70%, 75% (Including rank IV damage) respectively. You will also be healed with Light, Medium, Heavily, Lethal (Including rank IV damage) wounded state respectively. When you choose to activate Transform Devil IV or Desire Summon IV, Saint Thorn will not go off but its effect is halved 30%]

...

The changes were minimal: the effect decreased during Transform Devil IV or Desire Summon IV went down from 40% to 30%.

Though that one line of changes was enough to make Kieran happy.

Even 1% could alter the final outcome of a battle, let alone 10%.

Kieran knew it very well, taking deep breaths and subtly adjusting Saint Thorn Force.

Being firm and tenacious yet silent was the unique point of Saint Thorn Force.

Other than Kieran, no one could spot the unique point of the Origin Force.

Even Devil Force and Cardinal Sins Force, two very distinguished and evil powers, matched unusually well with Saint Thorn Force. Although it seemed a little bit weird, it wasn’t a problem for Kieran.

Kieran sharply realized the beat of his heart grew vigorous by the second, as if he would enter a whole new level at the next moment.

It made his soft smile grow brighter.

“A little more!” Then he looked around the room.

Empty.

His smile slowly went away, his lips puckering up tightly.

The vigorous beat that he felt from his hearts was replaced by an obvious heartache.

The pain that he felt was actually from his soul.

He put his hand over his chest and panted heavily, like he was a rescued drowning victim.

“None! All gone! Not even a penny left!”

Kieran told himself to be calm and accept it with a clear mind, but when he saw the empty room, he couldn’t hold back his sorrow.

The core of [Philosopher’s Stone] absorbed the items and equipment together with the boxes!

The boxes that the three kings chose to hold their items must have been handpicked and surely it would fetch a nice price.

Kieran sat in the middle of the empty room with the dimmed core of the [Philosopher’s Stone] in his hand, which had lost its function, other than being a pretty crystal decoration.

He looked a little lost but he swiftly replaced the loss with determination.

“Broker! You! It’s your fault! If it wasn’t you, how could I lose this many items!? I swear, I will take back what’s mine, 10 times...No! 100 times more!” Kieran swore in his heart.

At the same time, he placed his full attention on Broker’s goal.

Why did Broker lure him into this dungeon world?

Was it just to mislead him so he could expose himself?

It might be possible because the misguidance was very subtle and hidden, but if it was Broker, he must have more than one goal.

And!

This kind of obvious goal wouldn’t be his true motive!

‘He wanted me to leave the big city?

Or...

This place still has some hidden lethal danger to me, and even if I don’t expose myself, it will endanger me.’

Kieran sat on the floor, his right palm holding his left elbow and his left fist clenched up under his chin with his thumb sticking out.

He was deep in thought.

He had quite the confidence in his strength but he would never be arrogant about it.

He did not think his short absence from the big city could cause some irreversible change.

The big city was unlike other places.

It had its own rules and as long as one was careful, it could be an absolute safe haven.

As for whether Broker had the ability to shut this safe haven down?

Kieran wasn’t sure but he was sure of one thing: Broker wouldn’t meddle with the city, unless he wanted the whole population to go against him, or the city itself.

With the appearance of the malicious wind and the defeat, plus the prizes before his eyes, Kieran knew the big city had more than one defensive mechanism. It wasn’t simply the cyber law enforcers.

However, the more it seemed that way, the more Kieran worried, especially in the ‘prize’ section.

He wasn’t familiar with all this, he was a total stranger.

Broker?

He was the one who designed everything, he must have exceptional knowledge of this place.

“I have to get out of this dungeon as soon as possible!”

Kieran made up his mind.

No matter what Broker’s goal was, he must get out.

Then, Kieran got stunned because he realized this might very well be one of Broker’s goals!

The only way a player could speed through the dungeon and get out fast was to excavate the secrets of the dungeon world in a grand scale, hence triggering an unusual event.

By doing so, unimaginable enemies would come forth in this dungeon world...

Kiean squinted his eyes, putting his hands down, his right hand over his knee and tapping it repeatedly.

It was his usual habit in work, he would always tap his fingers when pondering upon difficult situations.

While he was in heavy thought and hesitation, he sensed some commotion back at the surface.

The most obvious commotion was the man named Anna.

Anna was very obvious in Kieran’s perception, like a spotlight. His presence made the other followers inconspicuous and some of his followers purposely hid in his ‘radiance’.

“So anxious?” Kieran slowly stood up.

He knew why Anna and his men came here.

Victor!

[Philosopher’s Stone]!

The treasure of Ring City!

All kinds of deadly temptations attracted their arrival.

Although Kieran had used up every single treasure plus the [Philosopher’s Stone], they knew nothing about that yet.

It was almost certain that if he couldn’t put this problem into a good end, unwanted problems would pop up infinitely.

When the thought came, Kieran put the core of the [Philosopher’s Stone], which was already a common crystal, into the upper pocket of his jacket and then walked back up to the surface.

...

Because of the repair of the door, Leaf Dining had to close later than usual.

That was the reason why Anna was able to get a reply, yet he did not feel happy, instead showing embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, I should come tomorrow, but...” Anna said to Starbeck apologetically.

Behind Anna, Huai Cuike gave the same vibes.

As for the others, who hid themselves under the hood, they didn’t even lay eyes on Starbeck, for they were glued to Victor.

One of them even stopped Anna abruptly, “Victor! Do you think your little tricks can fool us? Hand over the [Philosopher’s Stone] and the treasure of Ring City!”

The heavy voice had obvious frustration. It was loud but his actions were louder.

The hooded figure jumped torward Anna, who was apologizing, and slammed his palm on the counter heavily.

Bang!

The wooden counter broke into pieces, shocking Starbeck.

“Hey, so this is the backup you relied on? He’s nothing...Huh!? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”

The hooded figure laughed and sneered, but before he finished, agonizing screams replaced everything.

Red flames burned from the void and engulfed the hooded figure without any noise.

The man instantly turned into a giant human torch.

A series of footsteps became louder and clearer as the man burned.

Dak dak dak.