The Devil's Cage

Kieran did not know who the hell had set up the base defense.

It could have been Zarukhar or somebody else.

No matter who it was, the man had meant business. The machine guns, outpost and patrols all proved as much.

Although the base was short on manpower, all its defensive points were well-guarded.

All except the empty field before Kieran.

He could not believe that every other place was guarded, except this one.

The only logical explanation was that it was a minefield.

No doubt a minefield would be the perfect defense.

It could deal maximum damage and serve as an alarm for the soldiers inside the base.

Two birds with one stone.

Kieran thought of something as he looked at the empty field.

“Hope this works!”

Then he went ahead and activated his [Tracking] skill.

Instantly, the world around him changed.

His vision was split into three colors, white, red and black. A trail of white footsteps appeared in front him.

The footsteps looked shallow, like a layer of dust ready to be blown away by the wind.

Kieran knew it was because they had been there too long.

It was terrifying how time could wash away things that were profound and make one forget about them.

Luckily, Kieran had gotten there in time to see the tracks.

A few more days and they would have been gone.

What was even better, Kieran had found a safe path. He could cross the field by following the footsteps.

He carefully followed them through the minefield.

By the time he had crossed it and reached the other side of the wall, sweat was covering his forehead.

Crossing a minefield was a hard test for Kieran’s mentality. He’d had to suppress his fear of being blown to pieces. He could not afford to take a wrong step.

That task had consumed a lot of his [Stamina].

It had only been a distance of ten meters, but it had consumed around half of Kieran’s enhanced 150 [Stamina].

“Active skills sure are tiring!”

While he looked at his half-empty [Stamina], he tried to catch his breath.

When his [Stamina] was fully recovered, he squatted down and then jumped high, clutching the edge of the wall with his hands and pushing himself up over the wall.

Swiftly and quietly, he jumped over the wall and rolled once again into the shadows.

He did all this in one breath.

It only proved how effective his enhanced body attributes and [Undercover] skill were.

Although it was only F to F+, he could deeply feel the changes it had brought.

He was stronger, faster, and had better stamina.

If he still was the way he had been when he’d first entered the game, he could have pulled of that move, but definitely not in one breath. It would not have been possible for him back then.

He was quite happy with himself for overcoming obstacles so easily.

“It this is what the F+ rank is like, then what about the higher levels?”

As he pondered the question, excitement rose up in his heart.

If this went on, he could very well be on his way to high stat attributes.

Then he realized the situation he was in and forced himself to calm down and solve the problem at hand.

He hid in the shadows and waited for his excitement to subside before he went forward with his plan and headed towards the three-storey building. The building had originally been a school teacher’s office before it had been turned into a military office and storage area.

The searchlights from the outpost constantly shined towards the field, slowing down Kieran’s progression towards his goal.

After a few steps, he needed to stop and wait for the lights to go away. Only then did he continue.

Yet again, he felt glad that he was entering the base while it was understaffed.

There were usually three searchlights, but only two were on while he was there.

If there had been more, there would have been no chance of him sneaking through the field unnoticed.

Of course, there were also the patrolling soldiers that were constantly walking around the area.

Despite the lack of manpower, the soldiers really did their job well.

The patrolling men were Kieran’s main concern.

The soldiers were human and could not only see, but also smell and hear him.

Although the shadows might have hidden Kieran’s figure, they could not stop any sound that Kieran might make by accident.

Kieran moved carefully, trying his hardest not to make a sound.

It took him almost ten minutes to cross the distance between the wall and the entrance of the building. The entrance was guarded by two soldiers.

He had already chosen his entry point, a second-floor window.

The reason he had chosen this was because it was closer to him and the guards would not spot him. Plus, the window was already broken, making entering through it even easier.

Like a hare leaping before a falcon swoops down to capture it, he jumped on the edge of the first-floor window and climbed the beam connecting the first and second floor. He reached the window and entered the building quietly.

Both the first and the second floor were empty.

Although Kieran could not confirm what had happened there, he didn’t need to switch to his [Tracking] mode to tell that there was dried blood on the floor. Its presence made him speculate.

The blood stains must have been thick at first, but must have spread over a bigger surface over time.

This meant that this was not the blood of a single person. It must have taken dozens to cover a surface that large.

“F*cking rebels!” Kieran’s eyes filled with rage.

People were killed during wars, Kieran was not denying that.

But he couldn’t deny how furious he was either.

Looking at the small tables and chairs, he couldn’t help but picture the innocent children getting slaughtered by the rebels. They must have felt helpless and afraid.

His ears moved as if he could hear their sorrow, and his eyes felt as if they could see the young lives being taken away.

Those children had been like him. They’d had hopes and dreams for their lives.

However, they hadn’t gotten the chance to realize them. They had been slaughtered like lambs.

They hadn’t gotten a single chance.

The feeling caused so much pain in Kieran’s chest that he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

He felt his long suppressed rage starting to explode.

A calm person’s rage was not easy to handle.

He wanted to do something about his anger, and it so happened that there was something that he could do.

His harsh early life might have robbed Kieran of his kindness and mercy, but he would not become evil and merciless too.

He had been given help before, and it had helped him believe in himself.

Therefore, he was willing to help others too within his power.

Only within his power.

He looked at the dried blood stain, and then quickly turned around and left the classroom. He opened the door and went out to confirm his destination.

It was easy to spot as there was a soldier keeping guard in front of the entrance.

That guard was the only soldier in the whole building.

Obviously, he was guarding something important.

Grabbing his dagger, Kieran approached his target quietly.

The corridor was narrow and it was only lit up by a small faint light.

That did not affect him though.

Quite the opposite, his [Undercover] skill plus the [Sharp Weapon (Dagger)] skill boosted his performance under the circumstances.

Like a leopard stalking its prey, he leapt toward the guard and pushed him down before the man could react. Then he covered his mouth and slit his throat.

[Stabbing: Lethal Attack, Inflicted 100 Damage to Target HP (50 Sharp weapon (Dagger)(Basic) X2), Target dies ...]

After confirming the guard’s death, Kieran noticed the lock on the door behind him and quickly search the dead guard for a key.

He found it.

A bunch of keys was hanging around the guard’s waist.

[Name: Storage Keys]

[Type: Keys]

[Rarity: Common]

[Attributes: None]

[Effects: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: No]

[Remarks: If you knew how to pick locks, you wouldn’t be needing them!]

He turned the key in the right direction and the big, heavy lock opened.

Kieran pushed the door open and saw tons of boxes.

Unable to hold himself back, he quickly moved to one of them, smashed the lock with his dagger, and lifted the lid of the box.

Under the faint light of the corridor, he could see what was inside it.

It was a rocket launcher.

[Name: Tekken-II]

[Type: Rocket Launcher]

[Rarity: Common]

[Attack: Powerful]

[Rounds: 1]

[Attributes: None]

[Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: Firearm (Heavy Firearm (Basic)]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: It can penetrate armor etc. Provided that you have the right kind of explosive, that is.]

.....

He touched the rocket launcher and a notification popped up.

It was a pity that Kieran did not possess the [Firearm (Heavy Firearm)(Basic)] skill.

Although he could see the power of the weapon, he could not handle it as he wanted to.

He paused for a while, and then he turned around and opened another box.

[Name: HK-20]

[Type: Gun]

[Rarity: Common]

[Attack: Great]

[Rounds: 100]

[Attributes: None]

[Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: Firearm (Light Firearm (Basic)]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: You will need a massive number of 5.56 mm bullets to use it.]

......

Kieran’s eye brightened up. This gun he could use.

That, however, did not stop him from smashing the other boxes looking for more.

It was not enough for him. He needed more than that.