The Devil's Cage

[Name: Ghastly Sapphire]

[Type: Gemstone]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attribute: 1. Consume 2.Embedding]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a magical gemstone. It is more valuable than you could imagine!]

...

[Consume: Consume the Ghastly Sapphire to acquire a fraction of Frost Bloodline.]

[Embedding: Embedded on weapon or armor to gain a special Frost effect]

[Note 1: High percentage of failure during consume and will not cause damage to the consumer!]

[Note 2: A certain percentage to fail during embedding. The gemstone and the equipment will be destroyed together!]

...

"A gemstone that can provide bloodline powers?" Kieran had shock all over his eyes.

Although he had guessed that Rare gemstones that required appraisal wouldn’t be a common one, he never thought that it would provide the player with the bloodline power.

Even though it had a high percentage of failure and was only a fraction of the original bloodline, Kieran had confidence that as long as he let the news out, the other players with the ability to purchase this gemstone would provide him with a satisfied price.

The power of bloodline was something that came across by luck and was not searched for.

It represented the power level and growth of a player and was also one of the biggest differences between a common player and an adventurous player.

Of course, Kieran was not only shocked by the gemstone. It was also because he had another Legendary rank gemstone in his hand that required an appraisal as well: the [Dark Nether Stone].

If [Ghastly Sapphire] could provide a fraction of the Frost Bloodline, then [Dark Nether Stone] was related to dark power and negative energy and it was definitely going to be better than the "fraction" in [Ghastly Sapphire]’s description.

Kieran couldn’t help but grin when he recalled the Fallen that the gemstone dropped off.

Maybe the Fallen wasn’t really a threat but it didn’t mean that the Fallen wasn’t powerful. In fact, it proved its formidable existence throughout the previous dungeon world. It was just that the unlucky bastard met him.

The Fallen’s power was halved to a minimal level because its abilities were restrained by Kieran.

What if the Fallen came across someone else other than Kieran?

There was no doubt that the Fallen’s power was quite terrifying once it really brought out its potential. Otherwise, it would be labeled as the mortal enemy of a Holy Knight.

More importantly, [Touch of Cardinal Sins] and [Creature of Desire] had an unsatisfiable hunger towards the [Dark Nether Stone].

Kieran still couldn’t get a hold of what the feeling was before this but now, Kieran was quite confident that if he fed the [Dark Nether Stone] to [Touch of Cardinal Sins] or [Creature of Desire], there was a high chance that either one of them would level up again.

Kieran accepted the appraised [Ghastly Sapphire] through the system.

He clipped the gemstone with his index and middle finger of his right hand and his eyes were even reflected with its unusual glare by the faint glimmering glow.

Then, Kieran turned his eyes to Lawless. Lawless still had his back turned on Kieran.

In fact, Lawless had turned away once Kieran opened up his PM tab. However, from Lawless’s angle, he couldn’t have seen what Kieran’s PM was about. Still, he turned away out of habit.

Kieran smiled when he saw Lawless’s courteous move.

With their current relationship, even if Lawless honestly wanted to have a look, Kieran wouldn’t have rejected him as well. Yet such movements made Kieran felt the comfort between friends because no one would want their secret being shown to the public.

"Here take this!"

Kieran flung the gemstone over to Lawless.

He already has the devil’s bloodline, Eye of Chimeras, and the soul of a Holy Knight. There was no space for [Ghastly Sapphire] to be squeezed in anymore.

Kieran didn’t forget the most important aspect of his [Fusion Heart]: balance! He had to not mix with more variety of lineage power.

If he really wanted to add some more special power to his bloodline, Kieran couldn’t assure himself that [Fusion Heart] would maintain the current balance.

But Lawless was different. Even if it had a high percentage of failure, Lawless’s power would have obvious changes and would be quite beneficial to the current situation they were facing once it was successful.

It might even be possible to take the risk to decapitate Broker if they were willing to.

Lawless caught the [Ghastly Sapphire] and after he checked its attribute, he threw it back at Kieran.

"What’s wrong?" Kieran asked out of confusion after accepting the gemstone.

"I have no use for that!" Lawless then sent over a screenshot to Kieran.

[Son of Bonnar: Your bloodline has granted you extraordinary knowledge of any weaponry. Not only can you familiarize the weapons quickly but it also allows you to show off extraordinary effects with the weapons. Any weapons you use will have a +1 attack buff and +1 related skill level buff (Unable to exceed Transcendence level). Every 7 days you will get an option to specify a certain weapon to receive +2 attack buff and +1 related skill buff (Not affected by skill limit, refreshes every 7 days and unable to carry over. New option would have to be chosen after)]

...

"Related skills? All kinds of related skills? Not only limited to basic or advanced skills?"

Kieran asked out of instinct when he saw the screenshot.

After the words escaped his mouth, he noticed that he was probing into Lawless’s privacy.

"Um, every skill!" Lawless wasn’t concerned at all and replied with a nod.

Kieran’s heart skipped a beat.

Since he wasn’t a newbie anymore, he understood how powerful it would be when the skills that could form a complete offense system was put together.

When all the related skills could go above Transcendence limit with a +1 level buff and the weapon itself got a +2 attack buff, what kind of situation would that then be?

Kieran immediately thought of Lawless’s ultimate skill: that extremely explosive skill he used during Banning’s ambush.

Yet with such a bloodline power and skill buffs, how could Lawless...

Kieran looked at Lawless, seemingly dubious of how poor Lawless was.

"Do you think I’m sad?" Lawless asked.

Kieran nodded.

Lawless kept quiet for a while, taking more heavy puffs from his cigar and finally exploding with his rants.

"Do you think I wanted to? Like this? How would I know my choices are wrong every single time? When I chose firearms weaponry, the system threw me into a sharp weapons only dungeon, which nullified the firearms altogether. When I finally chose sharp weapons like swords and stuff, the system threw me into some firearms battlefield! Have you ever tried using a sword against a spaceship? The kind of goddamn motherf*cking spaceship with a particle shield where one blow from its particle cannon wipes out a whole city? That kind? It’s like poking an elephant with a toothpick that’s made out of plastic!"

"Every time! Every single goddamned time! No exceptions! That is why I decided to become a mercenary. At least with others around me, I won’t have to be so goddamned unlucky!"

The more Lawless ranted, the angrier he got.

Lawless even threw his cigar on the floor and stepped on it, cursing with all his effort.

Kieran watched quietly how Lawless ranted.

After four to five seconds he tapped on Lawless’s shoulder.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

When the words went into Lawless’s ears, he froze for a while. Then, he squatted down like a deflated football and asked with a bitter smile, "So what are you planning to do with that sapphire?"

"Embedding of course!" Kieran said in an affirmative tone.

Since he couldn’t consume it, embedding was the only option left.

Why not sell it then?

Kieran wasn’t in need of Points and Skill Points at the moment and who could assure him that the sold [Ghastly Sapphire] wouldn’t end up in Broker’s hand?

Kieran never dared to underestimate Broker’s forces. Money maketh even the devil move.

Broker could very well penetrate through every possible opening with that kind of power.

Kieran then directly contacted Blacksmith again, asking her about the embedding process.

The appraisal of [Ghastly Sapphire] was a favour returned by Blacksmith but when Blacksmith stated the price for embedding, Kieran covered his heart with both his hands.

A moment ago, he was not in desperate need of Points and Skill Points but when the price was declared, Kieran’s face turned pale.

300,000 Points.

TL Note:

A little insight for Lawless’s Son of Bonnar bloodline skill.

The part where Kieran stated that Lawless would get +1 skill level and +2 weapon attack was the second part of the bloodline skill. It means that Lawless would get (1 + 1) skill level if his selected skill wasn’t at Transcendence and when it does, (+1) for an entire week.