The Devil’s Cage

[Entering Single Player dungeon…]

[Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner II]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Third Dungeon]

[Description: Time flies. It’s already two years since the last incident, and the mystic world has undergone some tremendous changes. Nikorei and the five major societies have faded away from common people’s sight, and a couple of scoundrels have started to misbehave on the West Coast. Elli Jones has sent you a letter asking for help...]

[Main Mission: Reinstate the order of the mystic realm on the West Coast in 3 months, 0/90 days.]

[Temporary language pack, Disappears upon exiting the dungeon.]

[Clothing, backpack, weapons, and other items remain unchanged, Temporarily altered appearance, Returns to normal upon exiting the dungeon.]

[Hint: This is a mystic dungeon. You can fail the Main Mission, but you will have to pay 300 Points as a penalty and your highest attributes will drop by one point. If your points are insufficient, the system will deduct from your equipment. If your equipment is insufficient, you will fail.]

...

A loud hoot suddenly pierced Kieran’s ears.

When he regained his consciousness, he found himself inside a train carriage. The carriage was not something Kieran was familiar with. It was not a public carriage with seats lined up in a row. There were small independent rooms for each passenger on board.

Kieran was in one of them. The rooms were separated by a solid wooden partition, and there were two seats opposite each other with leather-sewn cushions on them, covering the spongy material inside. Anyone who sat on them felt quite comfortable.

There was a hanger for hats and coats on each side of the seats near the door window, but they were empty at the moment.

Kieran was the only one in the room. He did not place any of his belongings on the hanger. Even his big backpack was placed where he could easily access it. After all, Kieran was not going on a road trip.

When he moved his eyes in a parallel line and tilted them down slightly, he saw a door window that could be flipped upside down.

Kieran scanned the scenery outside the window, his attention attracted by a square wooden table between two rows of seats.

There was an unopened letter and a train ticket on the table.

The letter was written in a mystical language.

...

2567,

You scum! If you don’t come back right now, you will have to bag my body next time you see me!

From Jones, who will hate you even in the afterlife!

Er999.11.2

...

The letter’s content was not much, but the words were pretty straightforward.

Elli must have been extremely mad when she had written the letter.

Kieran could even imagine her grinding her teeth as she thought about him.

He sighed. If it was possible, he would have also liked to stay in [The Shaman’s Partner]’s world for two years, until the beginning of [The Shaman’s Partner II].

Two years would have been a sufficient time for Kieran to complete a lot of his plans.

Both the [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] and [Mystical Knowledge] could have gained a significant boost within that period.

It was a pity that this was not possible. The system would not allow a player to stay in the dungeon for such a long period of time without any specific reason, unless it was related to some kind of special mission.

Kieran could not help but shrug. He had never come across such a mission before, and he hoped that he would not in the future either.

According to Kieran’s understanding of the underground game, if such a mission was given to a player, it would be extremely difficult and dangerous, maybe even impossible to accomplish.

Kieran might as well follow the dungeon entry order slowly. At least everything would be under control that way, right?

After taking a turbid breath, Kieran started to process the information before him.

”The last time I was here, the date was Er997.9.22, and the letter’s date just now was Er999.11.2.”

After comparing the dates with the help of the letter, he went through his memories and picked up the train ticket.

He needed a more precise date.

[Hologest Port → West Coast]

[Departure Time: 13:05]

[Boarding Date: Er999.11.4]

”Hologest Port? This means it’s still 11.4!” Kieran mumbled to himself.

Hologest Port was a place Kieran had read about in Nikorei’s book collection. It was a small port town a three hours’ drive away from the West Coast.

It was famous for its seafood and cargo ship business. A lot of high-class restaurants on the West Coast imported fresh ingredients directly from Hologest Port.

The shaman’s book collection did not just include common knowledge though.

One particular book had described a sea creature named Krocpus.

The creature had the appearance of a crocodile and the tentacles of an octopus. It liked to appear on the sea surface, flip boats and devour humans alive during the storm.

That information was also included in [Research of Mystical Beings].

As for why Kieran was in Hologest Port in the first place, well…

That was thanks to the system. Kieran was certain that if the system had arranged for him to reappear in the dungeon in Hologest Port, there would also be a reasonable explanation for his disappearance for two years.

”Two years… A lot could have happened during that time! Elli’s letter makes it sound like she’s had a rough two years!”

Scoundrels on the West Coast? Restore the order of the mystic realm in three months?

Kieran squinted over the Main Mission. It was not an easy task to create or restore order in a city or an entire area. It would require both a high reputation and a certain level of strength. In this case, a mystical kind of strength.

Although the background description of the dungeon described the people who had messed up the order of the West Coast as scoundrels, if Kieran really took that description seriously, then he would be considered a scoundrel himself.

The reason Nikorei had left had been to face that thing. She had planned on uniting the five major societies beforehand. It had not been an impulsive decision.

According to Kieran’s understanding of Nikorei, she would definitely have left Elli a way or method to defend herself. That method could not have been simple though.

After all, it was a self-defense method left behind by the most powerful shaman on the West Coast.

If the people who had messed up the order were really just some scoundrels, why would Elli, who possessed such a strong self-defense method, ask for Kieran’s help?

Whoever had messed up the order was not some kind of scoundrel. In other words, they were not a regular John Doe.

Even if Nikorei and the five major societies had faded away, it still made no difference.

Kieran had utmost confidence in himself though. He had his own ace up his sleeve after all.

Although Kieran had only been through two dungeons within that time, his strength had grown exponentially. He was a different person compared to when he had first entered [The Shaman’s Partner].

His brand new [Fusion Heart] had boosted his confidence to the next level, despite its high cost.

”Dear passengers, the train has reached the West Coast. Please prepare to disembark from the train. Be sure not to leave any of your belongings behind…”

The conductor’s voice was heard from the loudspeaker. The train had slowed down as well.

Kieran took the box storing the [Arrogant Word] in his hand and then picked up his big backpack.

He stepped out of his room and got off the train. However, the moment he stepped down from the train, he frowned.

The atmosphere on the platform was not right.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Didn’t thought there were trains in West Coast