The Devil's Cage

As Kieran picked up the special rank Skill Book, the system displayed the details before him.

[Skill Book Discovered: Mystical Knowledge]

[Learn? Yes/No?]

"Yes."

After Kieran confirmed the option, its details popped up.

[Skill Learned: Mystical Knowledge]

[Name: Mystical Knowledge]

[Related Attributes: None]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effects: You have learned an extremely rare type of knowledge. It includes, but is not limited to, mythology, religion lore, mystical arts, special symbols, runes etc.]

[Consumes: None]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: You can read simple things regarding alchemy, potions, astrology, and mystical, beast-related knowledge, but you are not really a master in any of them!]

...

The notification was followed by the synchronization process and knowledge transfer. To be precise, the knowledge of countless special symbols and icons was transferred into Kieran’s mind.

As he came back to his senses, he had already understood a lot of things that he had not known before.

One of them was the Grand Demonic Heptagram.

Using his memory, common sense and logic, Kieran could tell that the symbols on the Grand Demonic Heptagram were around 41.

However, according to the newly acquired [Mystical Knowledge] though, they only had three meanings.

‘Death’, ‘Soul’, and ‘Comply’.

The two other pentagrams that were upside down were the decree for forgiveness, made to ensure the success of the spell. However, Kieran still did not understand the scorpion-like symbol or the three spots that were different.

It seemed like that [Mystical Knowledge] level was not enough for him to venture any further.

It was still enough for him, though. He had not been blinded by the darkness so much as to know nothing.

Surely, his knowledge could be leveled up to a certain rank once he trod into the waters of the vast knowledge of mystical arts. In fact, he had already added that to his plans.

Kieran picked up the small, extremely thin wire that had been curled into a steel wire ball by the old Master Thief.

Once he held it in his hand, he noticed that it was very different from a normal one.

It was not just lighter in weight, but also far softer than he’d imagined.

He could mold the ball into the size of a coin using his strength, but when he let go, it went back to normal. It was also longer than it looked. Kieran took both its ends and extended his arms, but still could not reach its limits.

What was more surprising, was that the small, hair-thin steel wire had incredible tensile strength. Even with his current strength, Kieran could not pull it apart. Not even the dagger could cut through it.

Kieran turned to the item information notification.

[Name: Deceiver’s Key]

[Type: Etc]

[Rarity: Great]

[Attacks: None]

[Attributes: Precision Lvl 2, Extension Lvl 2]

[Special Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: Lockpicking (Master), Agility E+]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: This key is made of very powerful beast hair. It was granted magical powers through alchemy, and became Carpal’s favorite tool. If you want to use it, make sure you have the necessary skills!]

...

[Precision Lvl 2: Lockpicking success rate increases by 20%]

[Extension Lvl 2: It can extend its length twice as much [Original 2 meters, Total Stretched Length 6 meters]

......

A magical item!

The remarks about the [Deceiver’s Key] explained exactly what it was.

"What a decent reward!" Kieran commented.

Any kind of magical item would be worth such a comment. If the old Master Thief, whose name had been Carpal, had been able to get his hands on such an item, then he definitely had not been someone to mess around with.

Kieran looked down at the old man, whose brains were splattered everywhere. If the man had still had a face, it would have had the restless expression of a dead man.

However, Kieran was more concerned about his brain matter and blood, which looked slightly darker than usual.

Obviously, that was not what the inside of a normal person’s head was like. The old man must have undergone some kind of modification.

The thought of the strange half-dead possessing Zywane’s body came up involuntarily. Carpal might not have reached that level yet, but he still might be a pain to deal with.

[Shooting, Bullets of Blessing: Lethal Attack, Inflicts 200 Damage to Target’s HP (100 Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm (Pro)) X2]

[Bullets of Blessing: Inflict Extra 200 Damage to negative-energy Target, authentication deemed as lethal, Inflicts 400 Damage to Target HP, Target dies...]

[Lethal Attack: Impossible to defend against with any equipment or skill]

The battlelog notification let Kieran know that if he’d had to face off against Carpal, it would have indeed been a hard fight.

Kieran’s D- Constitution equaled a 350 HP, so according to these calculations, if Carpal had had a 400 HP, it would have equaled at least a D Rank Constitution.

If he’d had a D Rank Constitution, his others stats might have been similar as well.

Taking into account the [Mystical Knowledge] that Kieran had not known before, if Carpal used that as a method of offense, it would have been even harder to beat him.

Fortunately, Carpal had wanted to get rid of Kieran the easy way, or maybe Zywane’s case had built up his confidence and made him believe that he could trick Kieran into falling into his trap.

Another possibility was that Carpal had needed another fool to carry his tasks out for him, which had eventually given Kieran the chance to kill him.

After inspecting Carpal’s body once again, Kieran kept the lesson Carpal had given him in his heart, and walked up to Starbeck, who had been waiting quietly not far away.

"Follow me!" Kieran said.

Although Starbeck had seen that Kieran had acquired a special rank Skill Book and what seemed to be a quite decent piece of equipment, he was not greedy. He did not even have the urge to ask what it was.

Starbeck’s goal was just to finish the Main Mission and gain three more months of safety.

What would happen after those three months, was another story.

He would eventually find a way to leave this damn game, and he would reign in his damn curiosity for good when he did.

Every time he remembered that he had entered this game out of curiosity, he felt instant regret over his actions. If he had known the game’s true nature, he would never even have touched it.

It was too late now, though.

All he hoped was that Broker would deliver on the promise he had made him.

Broker had guaranteed to keep his end of the deal, and Starbeck’s understanding of Broker made him believe that the man must have had a certain level of confidence in order to make a promise.

"Hope everything goes well!" Starbeck prayed silently.

When he came back to his senses, he realized he had been following Kieran for some time. They’d already reached the beach outside Alcatraz Prison.

The two of them entered a hidden cave behind a reef. Starbeck did not ask Kieran how he had discovered the entrance.

After clearing four dungeons with men for hire, he knew that some men were destined to be different.

They could be right at home inside the damn game, while the rest of the players got killed as the game progressed.

If it was not for his wealthy background, Starbeck might have died as well.

He knew that he had to rely on the wealth of his family to keep himself alive.

"Hold up!"

The voice of 2567 reached Starbeck’s ears. He halted and saw the two-timer carefully scanning their surroundings. Starbeck could not help but sigh.

He saw the shadows of many other veterans in Kieran.

Calm, precise, brave, and with a sufficient amount of luck.

It was all the virtues he had never had, though after this dungeon, he might be considered a veteran as well.

"The weakest veteran ever," Starbeck thought with a bitter smile.

Kieran had not noticed his smile. His attention was focused on the dark path ahead of him.

The place where he stood was the main building of Alcatraz Prison. It would only take a flick of the switch before him for him to get to the first floor of the cell area.

Yet that was not what had captured Kieran’s attention. What he was looking at was the huge gate at the end of the passage.

Obviously, it was not what he had imagined. He’d thought it would be a place that Gilfren Hatch had dug up temporarily to complete his plans, but the path and the gate had already been there for a long time.

It had just been a coincidence that Gilfren Hatch had discovered the place when he’d been locked up there and decided to use it in his plan.

What was behind that gate then?

Kieran’s heart filled with curiosity.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

One of the skill that impact the progress most