The Devil’s Cage

[Shooting: Lethal attack, Inflicts 100 Damage to target HP, (50 Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm) (Basic) X2), Target dies…..]

The battle log appeared in front of Kieran while he watched the headless body fall to the ground. He quickly moved towards the remaining man.

While he moved, he also peaked at his Skill Window.

[3 Effective Hits, Skill Acquired: Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm) (Basic)]

[Name: Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)(Basic)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Constitution, Spirit]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effect: You have mastered the skill of handling handguns, submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, and sniper rifles, 10% Increase in Damage]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: F in Strength, F in Constitution, F in Spirit]

[Remarks: You might have acquired the firearm skill but you’re no sharpshooter yet!]

Just like with the dagger skill previously, Kieran suddenly felt like a pro at using guns. Not only had he acquired new information and knowledge about firearms, but he also knew how to maximize the damage the firearm in his hand could inflict.

Just as he had done when he had blown Wurke’s head off.

The power of the skills astonished him every time, although he had already experienced it more than once.

The knowledge that had come out of nowhere and had been transferred into his head had also made changes to his body, and Kieran felt like he knew the game a little bit better every time.

At the same time, he got to appreciate the Newbie Dungeon even more.

Maybe once he had cleared this level and moved on to the real game acquiring skills would be different from what he had experienced so far. It might require a lot more than just three effective hits or successful actions.

It might require him to achieve thirty effective hits, or even more than that.

No doubt the level of difficulty of the game would increase, and as for its realism, the harder the level of difficulty, the bigger the dangers that would await him would be.

Were it up to him, Kieran would definitely try to gain as many skills as possible while he was still in the Newbie Dungeon.

And this was just the right opportunity for him to do that.

He approached the remaining wounded thug, and looked down at him.

“Please don’t kill me! Please… I don’t know anything, I was just following the boss’s orders! Please!”

The wounded thug started to beg for his life. Kieran’s presence seemed to frighten him.

As the man was stripped of his firearms and dignity like a tiger being stripped of its teeth, he became even more worthless than a regular civilian.

His face was covered in tears and snot. Kieran frowned.

Then he punched the thug’s face with all his might.

He threw a second punch.

Then a third one.

When the third punch landed, a system notification popped up.

[Punching: Inflicts 1 Damage to target HP]

[Punching: Inflicts 2 Damage to target HP]

[Punching: Inflicts 1 Damage to target HP]

…..

[3 Effective Hits, Acquired Skill: Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)]

[Name: Hand-to-hand Combat (Basic)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effect: You have mastered the punching and kicking skill, 10% Increase in Damage]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: F in Strength, F in Agility, F in Constitution]

[Remarks: Now you can find work as a part time street fighter!]

As the information flew into his brain, that familiar feeling filled his body once more and he tightened his fists, feeling the power gushing out of his body.

Then he punched the thug hard on the cheek.

According to the information in his brain, that was where the trigeminal nerve was located. If he applied enough force on that particular nerve, he could stun or knock out his target.

[Punching: Inflicts 20 Damage to target HP, (Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic), Target knocked out...]

After watching his enemy pass out, Kieran stood up, feeling satisfied.

Once again he had experienced the power of the skills, but it was not fulfilling enough for him.

He planned to acquire a couple more skills by using this thug.

Of course he was in no hurry.

He looked at his partner who was coming towards him.

“You won’t let him off that easy, right? Anyone who is associated with the Vulture is not a good person. Not a single one of them! Justice has not been served yet. Just punching him is not enough!” Colleen said when she reached Kieran’s side, raising one of her eyebrows.

After surviving in this city for four months, Colleen had witnessed hell and knew that there were devils lurking around who deserved no mercy.

The Vulture and his men were exactly those kind of devils.

“No, of course I won’t let him go!” Kieran shook his head, reassuring Colleen.

He might have been a kind and empathetic person, but he did not plan on wasting any of that empathy on his enemy, whether that was in real life or inside a game.

“Then what?” Colleen looked at Kieran with a puzzled expression.

“Can you help me gather all the loot? There should be quite a lot of it around since we took them all out.”

Kieran smiled at Colleen, but she did not move right away.

He shrugged.

He knew that if he could not provide her with a reasonable explanation, the strong-willed girl would not comply.

But he had no intention of spilling the beans just yet.

He pointed at their surroundings and said, “When we get everything, I’ll tell you everything. You wouldn’t want our loot to get stolen by thieves, would you?”

Kieran quickly began gathering the loot, and so did Colleen.

After the battle, Colleen’s trust in Kieran had went up another level, with her even lowering her guard around him.

She agreed that they shouldn’t let their loot get stolen by some low-rank thief.

Despite the gunshots, there would still be others who would not be afraid and who would want to take a chance and come forward to have a look. It would not be a small number either.

Once the scavengers arrived, there would be trouble.

If the scavengers got their hands on the firearms and protective vests on the dead bodies, they would become a threat to them both.

Colleen did not want to let that happen.

After five minutes of gathering whatever they could, they met up again. Both of them had collected several [T1 Bulletproof Vest]s and [M1905] handguns. Colleen put a vest on. She looked at Kieran with a puzzled expression again.

She had noticed that all the thugs were dead.

Every single one of them killed with a clean lethal shot.

This reminded Colleen of what had happened with the rebels.

“No, even rebels could not pull off such deadly attacks. Only the elite squad could do such a thing!” she thought to herself silently.

However, the rebel elite did not match Kieran’s self-proclaimed identity.

Colleen did not ask any further about it.

After all the hardships that she had been through, she had become mature beyond her age and she knew that everyone had secrets.

Kieran was no different. Even she had secrets that she was keeping to herself, so she respected his privacy. Kieran had shown such kindness and friendliness towards her.

She knew that if she stayed with him, her odds of surviving would increase greatly, and she might even make it through this damned war alive.

If there was a price to pay for it, then she would gladly pay it.

It was just reality and a survival instinct.

Kieran had noticed something different about Colleen, but he could not tell what it was.

He hadn’t noticed Colleen’s gaze towards him, or the strange look on her face as it was covered with dirt and ashes.

“Now can you tell me?”

Despite the various thoughts on her mind, Colleen could not speak openly, so she let her shyness take over and changed the topic.

“The Vulture must have a base right?” Kieran replied with a slightly lowered voice.

Although there seemed to be no one else around, Kieran still dragged the unconscious thug to a secluded hiding place. It was better to be safe than sorry.

“Yeah, he does have one. It is located at Sixth Broadway, inside a mall. After the rebels swept the place clean, he claimed it for himself and set up his base there,” Colleen replied with a nod.

“And none of them know who I am, right?” Kieran went on to ask.

Colleen nodded again and she turned her eyes on Kieran, looking at him with an incredulous somewhat surprised look.

“Are you planning on sneaking in?” Colleen asked in disbelief. Her voice was higher than usual.

She continued before Kieran could answer.

“The Vulture never lets strangers wander around his base. Anyone who wishes to enter needs to be brought in by his men, or prepare to get shot to pieces. Are you thinking of using this assh*le here to sneak in? Don’t dream, okay? I bet my grandma’s name that once you guys even get near the base, this assh*le will cross you and you will be the second person to get hanged and burned to a crisp!” Colleen grunted in distress while pointing at the unconscious thug.

“Of course I won’t do that!” Kieran replied with a smile.

“Good. We already have the upper hand against the Vulture. We just won this battle. A few more victories like this and he’ll be a king without a guard!” Colleen said with relief.

She did not want Kieran to do anything stupid.

They had just disfused the danger before them, and had even gotten some good loot out of it.

“I am going there by myself,” Kieran said.

A stressing crushing sensation replaced Colleen’s relief once again upon hearing Kieran’s words.