The Devil’s Cage

Kieran’s daily practice of the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] never got to a critical breaking point, but this was because Kieran remembered Guntherson’s lessons well.

”Every time you upgrade your skills, you need to savor the process! That will help you advance even further!”

Kieran had memorized the old knight’s words and implemented them in his actions. He savored the warm stream seeping into his flesh and bones and eventually into his organs.

He instinctively followed the movements of the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] and moved his body, his breath in sync with his motions.

The warm stream was getting warmer by the second.

The stream circulating inside his body showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

After everything ended, Kieran clenched his fists hard and felt the changes in his body.

”Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intuition… Everything has gone up! It’s not that easy to tell about Spirit, but according to the system notification, it went up as well. So…”

When Kieran started practising the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art]’s exercises again, performing the movements and the breathing technique, he could instantly feel the warm stream circulating all over his body, boosting his energy and spirits even more.

”A hidden accelerating recovery power?”

Kieran was not sure about anything except for one thing.

[Master Level Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art has increased in experience through exercise, It now costs -2,000 Points…]

[Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art (Master → Pro], costs 29,000 Points, 4 Golden Skill Points, Yes/No?]

”Minus 2,000 Points? It’s just as Guntherson said. Every time I level up, the cost gets reduced!”

Kieran let out a breath of relief. He longed for Guntherson’s lessons again.

He realized he knew too little about the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art], even though it was his most precious skill.

With his current limited knowledge, if he didn’t rely solely on Points and Golden Skill Points, the only other way to level up the skill would be through exercise. He would have to accumulate experience little by little.

Kieran could not accept this at that moment therefore he could relied solely on Points and Golden Skill Points.

After a quick glance at his remaining points, Kieran realized he still had a considerable amount of Points left. With that out of the equation, the remaining issue was the Golden Skill Points…

”Four Golden Skill Points would require me to clear at least four to five dungeons with an S rating! Plus, upgrading other skills from Musou to Transcendence would also require Golden Skill Points... The worst thing is that Golden Skill Points cannot be traded! Sh*t, my Golden Skill Points are not enough!” Kieran mumbled under his breath.

He had seen the Golden Skill Point abyss before him. He needed to fill that up in order to progress smoothly through the game.

”I need to raise my dungeon rating higher than SSS!”

Feeling determined about his next goal, he clenched his fists hard. It was the only option he could come up with for the time being.

”Next is [Barsical Kick]!”

Since [Barsical Kick] used the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art[ as a base, its level was restricted by the other skill’s respective level.

Kieran did not forget about the powerful martial art skill after he successfully leveled up the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art].

[Barsical Kick, (Entry→Master), costs 6,000 Points, 4 Skill Points, Yes/No?]

”Yes!”

[Barsical Kick has reached Master Level, Special Effect Acquired: Bide]

[Name: Barsical Kick (Master)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effects: Your legs are more nimble than your hands. When you attack with a kick, the second and third hit will trigger an additional Agility +1, +2 effect respectively]

[Special Effect: Bide (Every kick that you launch will accumulate, when the accumulation reached the fourth time, +1 Strength and Agility to your kicks.)]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art (Master)]

[Remarks: Please note that the level of the Barsical Kick and other related skills cannot be higher than the Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art level!]

...

[Barsical Kick leveled up, Related attributes increasing…]

[Strength has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

[Agility has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

[Constitution has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

...

The synchronization process started right after.

Kieran launched a series of kicks instantly.

The shadow of his kicks covered his body completely like a raging tornado.

A half-moon qi wave blasted out of his kicking shadow, and an inch-deep crack formed on the concrete pillar instantly.

”Musou Level [Hand-to-Hand Combat, Musou Combat Kicks] plus Master Level [Barsical Kick] and Master Level [Blade Kick]! Not only does this raise my attributes within a really short time, but when the battle is prolonged, I can ensure that I get the final killing blow as well! This will really help me in the next dungeon considering we’re not allowed to bring equipment!” Kieran said, his eyes locked on the Master level [Blade Kick].

With his attributes leveled up, [Blade Kick] had room for upgrading.

[Blade Kick, (Master → Pro), costs 12,000 Points, 24 Skill Points, Yes/No?]

After a quick glance over the costly Skill Points, Kieran put on his poker face and reached out to Lawless. He needed to trade Points for Skill Points.

He got 15 Skill Points for 45,000 Points, which was just enough for what he needed.

[Name: Blade Kick (Pro)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effects: A slashing wave attack from either one of your feet, The damaging wave from the attack has been authenticated as an above average half-moon qi wave, Consumes 175 Stamina, 3-minute and 30-second cooldown]

[Special Effects: Harder Training (Your Blade Kick attack and Sharp Edge will increase according to your level]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Hand-to-Hand Combat (Master of Kicks), Strength C-, Agility C-, Constitution C-]

[Remarks: This is a fierce martial art technique. You will need to seize any opportunity to use it!]

…...

[Strength has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

[Agility has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

[Constitution has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

...

Thanks to the empowerment of [Harder Training], the [Blade Kick] attack rose to a new high.

It had an above average attack level and sharp edge.

Kieran was certain that if [Blade Kick] was upgraded to Grand Master, its attack and sharp edge would definitely become Strong, but he had no more Golden Skill Points left.

Everything from that point onwards would require Golden Skill Points.

To upgrade [Blade Kick] from Pro to Grand Master would require 30,000 Points and 2 Golden Skill Points.

Kieran felt helpless before that kind of requirement.

[Points: 11,000; Skill Points: 0; Golden Skill Points: 0; Golden Attribute Points: 2]

After completing all the necessary upgrades, Kieran was left with only a little over 10,000 Points and 2 Golden Attribute Points.

This was not the end of his upgrading though.

Kieran turned his attention to [Lockpicking (Master)].

After thinking about the upcoming dungeon and the potential crises they might face, he decided it would be a good idea to upgrade [Lockpicking] to the next level.

[Lockpicking (Master→Pro), costs 3,000 Points, 2 Skill Points Yes/No?]

After all those intense upgrades for the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art], [Barsical Kick] and [Blade Kick], upgrading [Lockpicking] seemed like a piece of cake.

Kieran exchanged another 6,000 Points for 2 Skill Points and used 3,000 Points out of his remaining 5,000 Points to level up [Lockpicking] to Pro.

[Name: Lockpicking (Pro)]

[Related Attributes: Agility, Intuition]

[Skill Learned: Lockpicking]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effects: You are able to pick simple locks with a hairpin, a steel wire and a screwdriver]

[Special Effects: Silent Lockpicking (You are almost completely silent while lockpicking)]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: Make sure there is no one around when you pick the lock!]

…...

Even with [Lockpicking] at Pro though, Kieran still needed tools to pick locks, and the upcoming dungeon stated that players could not bring any equipment with them.

He had not forgotten that detail. In fact, it had been imprinted in his mind.

”Because of the theft you committed, all your belongings are running a risk of being confiscated. Please choose your equipment and items carefully!”

This had been the description of Hanses’ Special Dungeon. Kieran had been through it over ten times.

He had focused a lot on the word ”confiscated”. In order for his equipment to be confiscated, one would have to find it first.

What if the natives could not find it?

Kieran happened to have a piece of equipment that would be hard for people to find.

He was still figuring out how to perfect his plan though.

He took out the purple Skill Book that Frostrill had dropped.

Its title was [Secondary Elemental Damage Resistance].

Kieran had quite an experience with that particular skill.

When he’d activated the Powerful Ice Attack from [Wilco’s Grudge], the skill had popped up in a notification as the system had been authenticating Frostrill’s stats.

There was nothing to explain about it. Kieran was sure it would enter his growing list of skills.

[Discovered Skill Book: Secondary Elemental Damage Resistance]

[Learn?]

”Yes, please!”

Kieran answered yes and waited for the synchronization process to start, but instead he was struck by pain.

”Arggh!” he screamed in agony.

He felt like his body was being torn apart.

He did not even have a chance to go through the [Secondary Elemental Damage Resistance]’s details before he lost consciousness.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Ouch!