The Devil’s Cage

”Four [Soul Shard]s?” the registrar said in a raised voice before he quickly told Kieran softly, ”Dear sir, I can buy these off from you at a good price! 20,000 Points and 4 Skill Points. What do you say?”

Before Kieran could answer, Lawless, who was right behind him, stepped in.

”Not really impressive. A cracked [Soul Shard] costs around 5,000 Points and 1 Skill Point. And that’s just one unit. This price is not enough for four same level [Soul Shard]s. The amount of [Soul Shard]s alone is enough to affect the rarity of Magical Equipment! Don’t be an old fox, Zorl!”

”Lawless!? You’re together?”

The registrar looked at Lawless and Kieran again, his expression becoming a little unsettled before he offered a new price for the [Soul Shard]s, ”25,000 Points and 6 Skill Points!”

”Not bad, but still not enough. That price is not even worth the trip here!” Lawless smiled at the registrar, the cigar still in his mouth.

The registrar stared at Lawless before coming up with a new offer.

”Lawless, you are as greedy as a wolf yourself! 27,000 Points and 6 Skill Points!”

”500 more and you got yourself a deal!” Lawless said, making a five sign with his hand.

The registrar clenched his teeth, but eventually agreed to the price.

”Deal!”

Lawless stepped aside, allowing Kieran to trade with the registrar.

Kieran did not even hesitate when he heard about the 27,500 Points and 6 Skill Points. He accepted right away.

The very purpose of his visit to the secret bazaar was to milk a good price out of his items. That price had served his purpose right.

A cracked [Soul Shard] cost about 5,000 Points and 1 Skill Point on average, but when the amount increased to four and there was the possibility of completing a special enchanting circle, the price increased.

It was what Kieran had learned from Blacksmith when he’d messaged her to see whether she wanted the [Soul Shard]s herself.

Blacksmith had said that she was mastering embedding, not enchanting, so the [Soul Shard]s were of no use to her.

Keeping the [Soul Shard]s for himself had definitely crossed Kieran’s mind, but when he’d thought about what an enchanting investment would cost him, he realized his current financial status would not allow it.

It would be best for him to sell them instead.

27,500 Points and 6 Skill Points were quite the bargain. He would have gotten a similar price if he’d auctioned them off.

Although the four cracked [Soul Shard]s were quality goods, no one was stupid enough to inflate the price any further. Not unless it was an emergency, such as the time Kieran had sold the [Tekken-II]s in the forum.

”What a lucky guy you are, 2567!” the registrar commented when he looked at Kieran’s nickname.

It seemed like selling the [Tekken-II]s in the forum at a sky-high price had made Kieran famous among the players, but the registrar was not saying that just because of his previous business transactions.

The man gave professional advice to Kieran as he looked at the two [WK-22]s.

”The boss has given orders that anything you put for auction today will be free of charge. Do you want to auction both in one go or separately? I would suggest separately. Quite a number of team gunners and solo players are fond of this kind of weapon!”

”Then I’ll auction them separately!” Kieran followed the advice of the professional.

After Kieran and the registrar, who represented the Broker, signed a contract, Kieran and Lawless walked to the side of the auction platform.

It would be quite a while before the auction started, and Kieran did not want to waste any time.

He looked at his own Points and Skill Points, and started doing calculations.

[Points: 61,190; Skill Points: 17; Golden Skill Points: 1; Golden Attributes Points: 1]

”The two [WK-22]s can give me at least 6,000 Points and 4 Skill Points, so I’ll have a total of 67,190 Points and 21 Skill Points after the auction.”

”Based on the optimum attribute growth path, and considering that I have insufficient Golden Skill Points to level up [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art], [Hand-to-Hand Combat] and [Tracking] are a must. That would cost me 20,000 Points and 12 Skill Points, though!”

”Then I would need to choose between the others based on preference. [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)], [Evading], and [Undercover] would also cost me 20,000 Points and 12 Skill Points.”

”In other words, I’ll need 40,000 Points and 24 Skill Points to carry out my plan!”

”According to the exchange rate of 3,000 Points to 1 Skill Point, the remaining 27,190 Points would be enough for me to trade them in for Skill Points. There’s still [Mystical Knowledge], though.”

Kieran’s mood turned gloomy once he thought about his newly acquired skill.

Participating in a fourth-time team dungeon had been enough to make Kieran understand what he would face in future dungeons. In order to fully prepare for such a situation, or in other words, in order to survive under such circumstances, he would need to level up [Mystical Knowledge] to a certain level.

He had no intention of dying because he was unable to read certain symbols or words of warning. Most importantly, he would also lose a lot of treasure if he could not understand symbols.

Leveling up [Mystical Knowledge] had become crucial for him.

”According to the cost of leveling up [Tracking], if I want to level up [Mystical Knowledge] to at least Grand Master, I would need another 22,000 Points and 14 Skill Points! I still lack a lot of Skill Points!”

The final conclusion made him bitter.

Suddenly, he thought of the [Half-Dead’s Gaze]. In order to fully exploit the potential of the ring, he would need to have a high-rank Spirit. Since he did not have any skills related to that attribute, he would need to spend more to buy them.

That was bound to be costly as well.

Now that he had the [Deceiver’s Key], he could afford to sell his [Lockpicking Tools], but that still would not be enough.

Kieran knew that the price of the [Lockpicking Tools] was not high. Even with the [Precise Lvl 1] attribute, the most he could get was 1,000 Points and 1 Skill Point.

”It’s another round of give and take I guess,” Kieran thought lightly.

He listed [Hand-to-Hand Combat], [Tracking] and [Mystical Knowledge] as priority, thinking of the situations he might face in the future.

[Hand-to-hand Combat] was prioritized because of the related attribute growth and the fact that it could bring forth both [Primus Arm] and the [Lightning Tiger’s Finger].

Since the marvelous performance of [Primus Arm] during the fight with the half-dead, it had become Kieran’s core equipment and a favorite attacking method. No doubt, it had saved his life during that last battle.

[Tracking] would lead to great attribute growth, plus its specialty also granted Kieran extreme observation and allowed him to sense the existence of other beings.

[Mystical Knowledge] was similar to [Tracking] in terms of specialty.

After those main three came [Evading], because it made a better combination with [Hand-to-hand Combat] and maximized its potential in melee battles.

”51,000 Points and 30 Skill Points. Trading Points for Skill Points aside, I’m still lacking 4 Skill Points. Even if I sell my [Lockpicking Tools], there’s still three more to go…”

Kieran’s calculations did not seem to satisfy his needs.

While he was busy calculating how to better distribute his Points and Skill Points, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes on him.

He sensed a light malicious intent in that gaze.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

100th chapter !! Thank you everyone who showed interest to TDC. Please continue to support us in the future as well. Thank you