The Devil’s Cage

The cry of shock came from the riverside, instantly attracting the two groups of deacons.

“What happened?”

The deacon who led the group to gather fruits and vegetables in the forest drew his sword and rushed over to the riverside. However, when he saw the scene, he and the deacon tasked to fish were stunned on the spot.

On top of the flowing river, an elusive figure appeared.

The shallow brilliance offset the pure moonlight from the sky, like a thin veil over the figure, blocking its voluptuous body. Despite that, the big fish tail on the lower part of the figure’s body was very eye-catching, let alone the scales on the fish tail glimmering colorfully, like corals in the sea.

The face of the figure, however, was blurred out by the varieties of light.

“This…this…”

A dozen temple deacons were astonished by the colorful elusive figure, who was floating on top of the river. They were at a loss for words, as were the civilians behind them.

The priest, who later rushed over, looked heavy though.

“Are you the God of this river?” the priest who was in charge of cooking dinner asked carefully.

The mermaid figure slightly nodded.

Although the face was blocked by the reflecting light, the nodding was clear to the eyes.

Right away, the priest knelt down on the spot.

“Please forgive our ignorance. Please forgive us.”

After the priest kneeled down, the deacons and civilians followed.

In a world where many Gods roamed the land, anyone would know how to react before a divine being.

However, after the River God glanced over the kneeling group, it looked further behind them.

Kieran was there. He strode over and stood in front of the group, looking at the River God with a calm gaze.

The priest who knelt down was worried sick at the situation, his heart almost leaping out of his chest. He was extremely nervous, afraid a battle that could have been avoided would break out.

And given the rumours about Sir Ryan’s temper… it might be inevitable.

As for worries? It was non-existent in Sir Ryan’s mind.

Sir Ryan wasn’t just commonly powerful. Although a mortal, he possessed the title of Godslayer. A powerful Naveyan God like Lady Wealth fell under the merciless blade of Sir Ryan, therefore, the nameless River God before him would not be a match at all.

But, once the priest thought how the battle was caused by dinner, he felt ridiculous and absurd.

However, the priest, together with the deacons and civilians behind him, was astonished by the jaw-dropping scene. They saw the River God slightly bow to Sir Ryan!

A bow?!

Everyone unconsciously gasped at the scene.

As they were dumbstruck, the River God vanished into the waters, leaving two beautifully knit baskets by the riverside.

Inside the baskets were fruits and fishes.

Each fruit in the basket was big and fresh; each fish in the basket was fat and lively.

What was the meaning of this? An offering?

Unconsciously, a thought appeared in the minds of the kneeling priest, deacons, and civilians.

A God offering to a ‘mortal’?

No! Impossible! How could a God make an offering to a mortal?!

It must be…

Suddenly, a bold guess appeared in their minds.

Then, instinctively, the crowd altered their kneeling direction by shifting their knees.

Kieran saw the small change but he didn’t stop them, because it was what he sought.

He bent down, grabbed a fruit, and took a bite.

A clear crunching noise later, his tongue was filled with sweetness, causing him to squint his eyes in delight, as expected of the fruit handpicked by Starbeck.

That’s right, the fruits and fishes were all from Starbeck.

Kieran always kept food in his bag. Not much, but before he entered a dungeon world, he would restock his bag every time.

No one knew what he would run into in the dungeon world.

After Starbeck found out about Kieran’s little habit, he would select some appropriate supplies for him to bring on his adventures.

This time was no exception. Other than the fruits and the fishes, there were also some bentos with cooked food and a few canned goods with special effects.

Of course, the latter wasn’t usable in the situation at hand. The fruits and fishes would suffice.

“Lucky!”

Kieran couldn’t hold back his praise after he saw how much work Starbeck had saved him from doing. He gripped the [Hair Washer Conch Shell] tightly in his palm, nodded at the priest kneeling behind him, and went back where he came from.

[Hair Washer Conch Shell], a Magic rank item that he got from his previous dungeon runs.

There wasn’t a useless item, only a useless player.

No one in the big city would have thought a Magic rank item would be so inconceivably useful during rank V.

As he savoured the feeling of the jumping fire in his mind, Kieran lifted his mouth into a grin.

He knew this was just the start and in time, rumours would brew and spread further.

When the rumour reached a certain level, it would cause some obvious, qualitative change.

“Thank you, the Gods of this world,” Kieran thought in his mind.

Could he sleep at night after deceiving people like this?

No.

Compared to the God of Harvest, who had abandoned his believers, Kieran tended to think of himself as a person who put in effort to get his righteous reward. He had protected these people, shielded them from harm, and delivered them to a safe place. He should be rewarded in a way.

The only difference was his reward this time was very ‘abstract’.

Dinner was served faster than he expected.

When Kieran came down from the wagon, he clearly felt the change in the gazes of the people around him, including Archpriest Pelder.

It seemed like he had underestimated how fast natives spread rumours.

“What’s wrong, Pelder?”

Kieran asked the obvious while receiving his dinner—freshly baked bread and a bowl of fish soup was the main course, while fruits with vegetables garnished around the plate complemented the meal.

Dinner wasn’t exactly delicate, but fulfilling enough, considering it was served outdoors and at night.

Especially the extra golden-grilled fish in Kieran’s dinner, which was served only to him, yet no one voiced any objections.

It wasn’t just due to Kieran’s strength anymore. It was also because of what had just happened by the riverside: a respectful offering from the God!

Even though it was a nameless God, it was enough for the natives to feel revered.

Plus, it was witnessed by multiple people, including the deacons. Therefore, no one would doubt whether it was fake or an illusion.

Hesitating for a while, Archpriest Pelder finally made up his mind to ask.

He softened his voice, to the point that only the two of them could hear and asked Kieran carefully.

“Sir Ryan, have you… ascended to Godship?”