The Devil's Cage

"Umm."

Kieran nodded when he saw the look on Bosco’s face.

He knew it would do him more good than harm if he did so. At least, he could probe more information out of this imperial envoy.

Was it a lie? It couldn’t be consider as one based on Kieran’s current skill sets.

Kieran had [Mystical Knowledge], [Potionology], [Alchemy], Astrology], [Research of Mystical Beings], plus the active offensive spell, [Burning Hand] and [Charle’s Fire].

With all of them under his belt, no one would deny his identity as a sorcerer if he said so, even though some of his skills were only at a basic level.

"This is great news! If you are a sorcerer, the tides of the current situation will definitely turn to the better side! The battle of his Majesty against the other person will surely lead to victory if you’re on our side!" Bosco sounded excited as he exclaimed.

Then, in response to Kieran and Mary’s puzzled expression, Bosco continued.

"That other person is the king’s elder sister, the ceremonial minister of the palace and also the one responsible for Ellen’s exile! She was once the popular candidate to inherit the throne. It was just that the previous king chose his Majesty over her because of his gender which struck dissatisfaction and anger in her. She never gave up the thought of taking over the throne herself and has always been preparing her forces in the dark, striking his Majesty from time to time..."

"During the last winter, his Majesty was suddenly attacked by some "monster". Surely, it was her dirty work! But none of us had any proof against her. Her forces are too overwhelming. Even when his Majesty was in his prime, she always acted independently and defiantly. Now that his Majesty is hurt and on his sick bed, her influence and forces have expanded swiftly inside the imperial city, to the extent that she could shut out the heaven with one palm!"

The imperial envoy seemed to have displayed sadness and helplessness when he spoke of the incident. Kieran was unmoved by his words and continued to watch his performance.

Kieran believed his story should be true, but definitely not as emphatic as he put it.

The reason why he did it was to win over Mary’s fondness.

Kieran turned his eyes to Mary, who was also looking doubtfully at Bosco and his claims.

Kieran then pointed at the insect master’s body.

"This guy here is also one of her forces?" Kieran asked.

"Yes, a very important one! There are three or four sorcerers of similar ranks around her. Those sorcerers had gathered around her a long time ago, and became the core members of her force since then. They were also the reason why she was so feared by the public. The mystical is the unknown, the unknown will breed fear, and death will always follow after fear. Oh, people of Riverdale... if one can leave the place, better flee in haste!"

Bosco ended his words with a slight sigh; his tone was like the nursery rhymes sung by children and poems sung by poets.

"The mystical force has plunged their fear deep into the people’s heart?" Kieran raised a brow.

The tone of the imperial envoy allowed Kieran to understand the attitude of the natives towards the mystics.

Feared and revered.

It might be considered as quite the result. At least he didn’t have to worry about being chased afterwards. Even Ellen who was exiled after being framed as a "witch" could still settle down within the high tower, without having to worry about the witch’s trial or other issues.

Kieran, however, didn’t forget about his matter even after slightly touching the worldview of the current dungeon world.

"So what is the rank of this guy among the sorcerers?" Kieran continued his question.

"I don’t know. They are very mysterious and far exceed the range that a private consultant could reach, even if I served the king. They will only communicate as equals with those who share their ranks. Even as a noble myself, I am still a rank lower in their eyes!"

"Though his Majesty isn’t within their list because the royal family has the bloodline of sorcerers! That is why the sorcerers are willing to gather around them and serve them. Just that she expanded much quicker than his Majesty. No matter how his Majesty tried to catch up with her, all he could recruit were two more sorcerers on his side. Compared to her, there is still quite the gap..."

"But after you killed the insect master, the tides will be different now! Of course, if you are willing to join his Majesty’s ranks..."

Bosco then looked at Kieran as he spoke, anticipating his answer.

"We need to pack and get moving!" Kieran said. He didn’t provide a definitive answer.

First of all, he couldn’t make sure whether Bosco’s words were true. One couldn’t count on an unworthy person mixed around in the palace to spill the truth out.

Secondly, there was no sub mission regarding his request.

According to Kieran’s previous experience, with Bosco speaking about the palace, there should be a sub mission appearing right about now, but his empty vision proved otherwise since the system wouldn’t lie.

Therefore, he became more suspicious of Bosco’s words.

"Of course, of course! Whatever you say!"

Bosco smiled and nodded repeatedly and didn’t felt the slightest bit of dissatisfaction because of Kieran’s answer. He even made himself useful and joined them in preparing the war horses and luggage packing, as if he was a worker of the convoy.

"So which is true, which is false? Or... did he hide away everything completely?"

Kieran squinted his eyes over Bosco who was busy packing, but he was not in a hurry to press the topic.

Kieran had plenty of time to find out the truth on the way to Riverdale.

He then turned his attention to Mary; the little girl was keeping herself calm. She did not alter her thoughts about Riverdale after Bosco’s words.

With her early maturity, she would have known what danger would await her on the journey, but she chose not to back down.

"She wants to see her father?"

Kieran sighed in his heart after he related to Mary’s previous manners and actions.

He quickly turned around and focused on his Magic reward since he couldn’t come up with an appropriate word of comfort for the little girl.

The Magic item was a palm-sized flute.

[Name: Bug Pipe]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Magic]

[Attack/Defense: None]

[Attribute: Using a special melody to gather the insects in the nearby area.]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Instrument. Flute, Knowledge (Master), Entomology (Master)

[Able to bring out of dungeon: No]

[Remark: You will need a special set of skills to use it]

...

"Instruments? Knowledge?"

Kieran frowned over the two unfamiliar skill prefixes. He had never come in contact with similar skills before and neither had he heard anything from Lawless.

"Special skills? Or similar to [Greatsword Blocking], that kind of extra basic skill?" Kieran wondered.

However, until they started their journey, Kieran couldn’t get a precise answer, but it didn’t wear him down. Quite the opposite, Kieran found it interesting when the system kept presenting refreshing and unknown information for him because it meant that the underground game was much more complicated that he thought.

It was a good news for Kieran since he wanted to rely on the underground game for more gains.

Though, before he could celebrate, bad news had come knocking on his door.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Kieran is literally a bad news magnet