The Devil’s Cage

The well-known player looked at his new collaborator with doubt, but not vigilance.

Contracts set his heart at ease.

So, when the well-known player was knocked out by his men, his eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.

The man in the red wind coat grabbed the well-known player and vanished swiftly at the end of the street with the subordinate.

The sun was still shining, the breeze was still blowing, everything seemed reasonable like nothing had happened.

Similarly, Kieran, who was sitting at the table and patiently waiting felt like nothing had happened as well.

He didn’t tell Starbeck about the battles he had on the way there, but it didn’t stop him from counting his rewards.

100K Points, 30 Skill Points, the most basic of rewards.

The real source of rewards was the equipment from those attackers and hitmen.

Although there was barely anything to Kieran’s liking, the amount was massive!

30 Magic rank items and 5 Rare rank equipment, plus the 50 Magic rank items from the dungeon which he entrusted Lawless to sell, Kieran finally heaved a sigh of relief.

He knew he should have enough for the appraisal for [Frost Heart Remnant], he might even have extra after the appraising.

For a stingy ghost-like Kieran, it was definitely the most significant comfort.

Of course, what made the stingy ghost happy was the loot that concerned him.

[Name: The Land’s Favor]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attribute: 1. Protection of the Land; 2. Blessing of the Land]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: A lucky thief found this in a ruined temple, but the madness that followed ruined him instead.]

…

[Protection of the Land: Able to go underground and move with 50% of original movement speed. Gains a Powerful rank of earth armor, 30-second duration, usable twice a day]

[Blessing of the Land: Wherever your feet touch on the land, your weight is decreased by 50%, the burden of your items are reduced by 30%]

…

A muddy brown ring, or more appropriately, a finger holder. There weren’t any decorations on the ring, even the patterns were limited in the inner part, it had some simple blurry mystical carvings and based on Pro [Mystical Knowledge], Kieran translated it as: I can’t love you, but I can watch over you.

A short phrase but enough to relate to more.

But Kieran didn’t care about what story this ring from Gondar had he only knew with this ring in his arsenal, he would be more well-rounded.

Since he couldn’t truly fly in the sky, then… he would go underground!

More so, [Blessing of the Land] was a favorite for Kieran since it could decrease his weight.

What was more delightful than getting loot?

Getting more loots while the weight was decreased.

If his Strength allowed it, he wouldn’t mind taking away the entire dungeon world.

He smiled, he twisted the ring a while and wore it on his right hand.

Then he looked at the loot from Server I and Didar.

The former was a sculpture of a bat the size of a finger. It was red with black accents and had some cracks.

The latter was a pale green gemstone, the kind that was useable without embedding.

[Name: Blood Kindred Replica]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Above Legendary]

[Attribute: 1. Blood Shield; 2. Bloody Sword; 3. Bloody Sting]

[Prerequisite: Blood Sacrifice]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: It isn’t just a replica, it’s also broken to a certain extent, thus halving its power]

…

[Blood Shield: Form a shield out of blood with Powerful rank defense, 3-seconds duration, usable twice per day]

[Blood Sword: Form a longsword out of blood with Powerful attack rank, 3-second duration, usable twice per day]

[Blood Sting: Form an arrow out of blood with Powerful attack rank, no bow necessary to fire, automatically aims at a target within a 25-meter radius, usable once per day]

…

[Bloody Sacrifice: Use the blood of a living being to bath the sculpture. It will enhance the sculpture slightly and slowly recovers the user’s HP and Stamina]

…

[Name: Vicious Venom Pearl]

[Type: Gemstone]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attribute: 1. Venom Breath; 2. Toxic Nibble]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: The crafter that forged this peal would never have thought it would become a ruthless tool.]

…

[Venom Breath: When you activate Venom Breath, your breath will be filled with toxins. The toxin level will increase as you breath (Starting at Strong rank, takes 10 seconds to reach Powerful rank, 60 seconds to reach Extreme rank, and 120 seconds later to reach rank I (No higher than rank I)). You can not only control the range of the toxin (no further than 100 meters from you) but can also choose to let it stay dormant after a target is poisoned, the dormant time cannot surpass 1 minute. Useable once per day]

[Toxic Nibble: When the target dies due to Venom Breath, a Nibble authentication will occur (when any of the target’s stats reached B rank or the number of targets reaches double digits, Venom Breath cooldown will be reset. When any of the target’s stats reach A rank, or the number of targets reached a certain number, Venom Breath’s level will be increased, duration will be shortened by 1 second, +1 meter in range and +2 seconds in dormancy time—Following the difference between character attributes and numbers, the time decreased will change accordingly, no higher than 60 seconds, no larger than 60 meters and no longer than 120 seconds in dormancy time)]

…

“A replica?”

Kieran wasn’t a stranger since he saw similar words before, but he wasn’t sure whether the [Blood Kindred Replica] in his hand was forged through the power of a bloodline or craftsmanship.

If it was the former, it was nothing surprising, but if it was the latter…

Kieran’s eyes started to shine!

He unconsciously placed Sin-server onto his to-watch list.

As for [Vicious Venom Pearl]?

Kieran didn’t look down on it.

Although it had its limitations, it was enough to capture Kieran’s attention since it could reach a rank I attack, despite it being the limit.

When the clunking of pots came from the kitchen, Kieran quickly put away the two items.

A moment later, Starbeck with mittens brought out a big clay pot.

Even with the lid over the pot, the steam and the aroma seeped through the reserved air holes, the temperature in the room quickly rose following the steam.

The aroma was spreading together with the steam as well.

“Beef, mutton and some unknown meat?”

Kieran sniffed the pot and quickly differentiated the richest part of the aroma: meat.

There were also vegetables and other sides mixed into it.

“Radish, corn, and some herbs?”

Although [Medical and Medicinal Knowledge] was high, [Potionology] was stuck at Entry level, he couldn’t differentiate more than that.

But it didn’t stop Kieran from lifting the lid, he took the soup spoon and filled his bowl with soup.

Then, he didn’t care about the heat and took a mouthful of the soup.

Fresh! It was much sharper than he had imagined.

It didn’t have the gamey stench of mutton and the oiliness of beef, on the contrary, it was quite refreshing, it tasted like mint but a bit milder.

“Is it the effect of the unknown meat and herbs?” Kieran wondered, his eating speed was quicker than ever.

Why not ask Starbeck?

Asking while eating wasn’t Kieran’s habit.

Starbeck also sat down without taking off his apron, he placed his elbows on the table and lifted his chin with his palms as he looked at Kieran devour the food like a hungry wolf with a delightful smile.

He didn’t mind at all when Kieran concentrated on eating and didn’t even look at him.

After all, he made the pot of stew.

Starbeck’s smile grew brighter when he saw Kieran finish the pot of stew which could feed 5 people and didn’t even spare the garnishing.

What else was more delightful for a chef than when his food was thoroughly enjoyed?

The customers who volunteered to wash the plates after the meal.

“2567, you seem to be good at this, no?”

Starbeck was a little curious when he saw how Kieran skillfully washed everything.

“Of course, I worked in a restaurant for quite a long time.” Kieran didn’t hide it this time, there was nothing to hide, especially before Starbeck.

However, Starbeck didn’t share the same thought.

After he heard what Kieran said, Starbeck carefully looked at Kieran, he was worried that his words would hurt Kieran’s pride.

Fortunately, it didn’t.

Neither his actions nor tone changed after the question.

Starbeck heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.

“Oh right, what were the meat and the herbs you used just now?”

While washing the plates, Kieran thought of the unknown meat and herbs in the pot just now. He was quite curious about what kind of meat and herbs could produce a perfect combination to suppress the gamey stench of mutton and beef and yet keep the stew from going spicy.

Kieran wasn’t truly a chief, but as a qualified eater, the curiosity towards food wasn’t all that bad.

“It’s snake meat and a type of herbs similar to a tree’s root,” Starbeck answered.

“Snake? Then the herbs must be expensive,” Kieran was stunned.

He never thought that a snake could provide such an effect. Quite the opposite, in his knowledge, a snake had its own gamey stench as well, if only boiled, it was much worse than mutton. Therefore, there must be some special curing and light roasting after the meat was boiled.

But Kieran didn’t notice the extra steps in the stew, which meant the herbs must have been the critical ingredient.

“It’s not that expensive.” Starbeck shook his head. He sounded honest, though.

Of course, it wasn’t expensive; anything solvable with Points was not valuable to Starbeck.

Kieran knew it perfectly well, so he said, “Next time when your timing is near, I’ll help you clear another dungeon run.”

“Consider it as payment for the meal.”

Kieran didn’t like to owe people debts or favors, even to a friend.

And because Starbeck was a friend, he couldn’t be so bland and act like a rascal.

“Sure,” Starbeck smiled and nodded.

Starbeck knew what kind of person Kieran was, he wouldn’t have argued, let alone he was hoping to clear dungeons with Kieran as well.

The safety that Kieran provided to him was something others couldn’t give him.

If Kieran didn’t have other important things to attend to, Starbeck would have figured out a way to keep Kieran around him 24/7.

There was no need for doubt, Starbeck could really do it, it was just that he didn’t want to.

Looking at how meticulous Kieran washed the pot and placed them back into the cabinet, Starbeck gave up his selfish thought.

This is good enough.

Starbeck thought in his mind as he was content with what he had now.

In the upcoming hour, both of them chatted on the sofa.

Most of the time, it was Kieran listening with Starbeck speaking.

Starbeck was telling of the enjoyment of planting and decorating.

Kieran has zero understanding of the latter. A person as simple as Kieran would treat a sleeping bag as his home, but the former stirred up some interest in his mind. After all, many spices came from plants.

“I have to leave now.”

“Lawless?”

“Em.”

“A fish took the bait.”

“Okay, be careful then. You must come over when I have a new dish next time.”

“Sure.”

Both of them parted ways at Starbeck’s door.

Starbeck saw Kieran boarded the train. It wasn’t until the train left that Starbeck returned to his room.

He didn’t linger in the living room. Instead, he went through the corridor and headed to the basement.

After going through a long corridor, a wooden door appeared.

On the door were layers of mystical runes. The layers of runes felt very real and were emanating a radiant glow.

The glow was like the first light from the sun, it was almost blinding.

But Starbeck felt nothing as he pushed open the wooden door. He walked inside.

The room inside wasn’t that big, only a dozen square feet.

Other than a table, there was a rack of sorts with many bottles and vials on top. Darkness shrouded the bottles, one couldn’t even see what they held.

Starbeck lit up the candlestick.

The weird room was instantly brightened up by the only source of light.

The light from the candle attracted some movements from the bottles, especially one of the bottles at the front end.

An eel-like animal was swimming inside and kept bashing its head at the glass. Its struggle was futile though.

It didn’t even break the bottle. Instead, it made Starbeck who was ready to invent more dishes frown.

He turned around and looked at the bottle with displeasure.

As Starbeck turned around, the light from the candle was shed over the bottle.

The eel-like creature became clear to the eyes.

It was tiny, but eight of its head was lifted up high. Even with the bottle isolating it, one could hear the low hissing, the suffering kind.

A closer look at the eel-like creature revealed its broken body, a part of its body was cut by a blade, a tiny cut though.

When the creature felt the displeased gaze from Starbeck, the weird-looking creature started to roar, but it was useless because Starbeck turned back around after a glance and concentrated on the recipe book on the table.

Even though through an extensive period of study, the recipe was still tough to understand, Starbeck had to check every word on the page meticulously.

“I still need two more dishes to complete the basics, I have to hurry up; otherwise, it will affect the final outcome… The heart of a matured Five-coloured Grand Dragon, the best will be the Red Grand Dragon… The meat of a direct descendant of a Demon Fish, the closer the relationship, the better…”

Starbeck muttered on his own and frowned.

However, when he calculated the required cost for the dish, Starbeck smiled casually.

Were the ingredients listed on the recipe expensive?

Expensive!

Even from a particular aspect, a high-ranker could barely get their hands on them, except for Starbeck.

Or rather…

Sorry, having Points can really do what you want.

The reason why you can’t buy what you want is that your Points aren’t enough.