The Devil’s Cage

An able man is always busy.

It was the perfect saying to describe Bloody Mary, except it wasn’t a man.

It was hard working, had high endurance to hardship, and wasn’t afraid to die.

The moment it received a new order from its boss, it quickly phased towards the secret hideout of the God of Mist.

It was not that Bloody Mary didn’t want to complain, but it knew War God Temple had sent someone out and if it did not want to encounter the opposite, so it had to hurry.

As for battle, Bloody Mary admitted that it wasn’t good at fighting face to face, preferring to stand behind its boss’ shadow and strike from the dark, catching enemies off guard.

Locating the secret hideout of the God of Mist was not an easy task. Even if one had information about the whereabouts, it was difficult because the place was loaded with many traps.

Though it was actually easy for Bloody Mary to go through those traps, since it could phase.

After it went into the secret hideout, it clicked its tongue and sized up the place in a disdain.

“What a lousy worn down place! This is a sore to the eye! It’s so plain here! How dare he call himself a God? Even my basement is cleaner than this shithole!”

Bloody Mary went around for a quick check and then lost interest.

Other than the two items, which its boss deemed decent, there was really nothing else.

The altar was made in the most primal way, with a few porcelain containers at the corner and other than the mentioned, there was no secret room, no hidden passage, nothing at all. It was like a nest for worms underground.

Bloody Mary grabbed the two items and then left the underground hole.

2 minutes after Bloody Mary left, a morbid looking crystal, the size of a palm, appeared out of nowhere and fell to the ground.

The crystal was sturdy and very heavy, a loud thud was produced when it hit the ground.

As the surface shimmered brightly, an image of a croissant shaped maggot with only a mouth appeared on top.

The maggot hissed ferociously at the direction where Bloody Mary left.

Little by little, it dragged the crystal to a corner.

The maggot then swiftly dug into the ground at the corner, trying to dig its way out.

Less than a minute later, a straight little tunnel that led up to the surface was dug up, the maggot then pushing the palm-sized crystal up.

Then… a palm appeared from nowhere and grabbed the crystal.

The maggot did not expect someone else to take its crystal, shocked and looking at Bloody Mary in disbelief.

“You really have nothing left? So poor!”

Bloody Mary reached out and slapped the maggot away from existence and swiftly disappeared with the crystal in its hands.

As for the hiding maggot?

It noticed the maggot back in the underground hole when it first stepped in the place.

Bloody Mary was at Grandmaster level in terms of hiding in the void and the maggot was at most Entry level. It wasn’t enough, and somewhat pitiful, in front of Bloody Mary.

An hour after Bloody Mary truly left, a group of 10 appeared near the underground hole.

The leader of the group was a middle-aged man whose body was as buff as a wall, even with the heavy plate mail not diminishing his solid muscles. With each step he took, his armor would squeak. He probably could break the plate mail on his body by exerting the least amount of strength and no one would dare doubt him.

“Bishop Sinkavolt, we are here!”

Another young man who was twice as small as the buff man walked over with an instrument in his hand, which highly resembled a compass. It was pointed at a single direction, which was the entrance to the underground hold; it was actually a cave.

The middle-aged man double checked before he walked into the cave.

On the first step, highly corrosive acid was sprayed out from the wall.

The man didn’t have the slightest intention to dodge, allowing the acid to spray on his face. He then simply wiped it away with his hand, like he was washing his face before he pressed on.

Sou Sou Sou Sou!

A few steps later, arrows were fired out in bulk. All the arrows landed precisely on the middle-aged man, but other than causing a few sparks, the arrows did nothing.

When the whole area was filled with poisonous gas, the man took a big, heavy breath and sucked in all the gas, his stomach able to digest even the most poisonous gas!

He was on a rampage!

The man did not stop after he set his goal and 10 minutes later, he arrived at the deepest part of the cave.

The man saw nothing in the underground hole except for a little hole at the corner, which caused him to smile coldly.

“Do you think you can run?”

The man strode over and punched the corner with the little hole.

Karrooooooom!

The earth shook and the mountains trembled!

The ice land, which was sturdy enough to break bones with a fall, was turned into a pile of dirt and was sent flying upwards to the sky. The man ‘carved’ a path with sheer strength and jumped up the tunnel he opened.

Then, he frowned.

The ‘rebellious’ presence had gone away.

“Ecker?” The middle-aged man turned around and asked.

The young man who followed tightly behind took his compass out again but the hands on it did not move at all.

“Lord Bishop, that rebel has dis-… Lord Bishop! There’s something else!”

The young man cried out in shock in the midst of his explanation.

The hands on his compass spun furiously, like it was attached with a motor.

Not only that, the evening sky, which still has some light, had completely turned dark.

“Hmph!”

 The middle-aged bishop grunted coldly at the scene and swung a punch into the air.

Fuuung!

The air-breaking sound from the punch was like a giant hammering the walls of a fortress with a sledgehammer. When the sound reached its maximum limit, the air current converged and transformed into a flying air cannon ball.

“Aaaaarg!”

An agonizing scream followed.

An intact body of a person was completely destroyed, including the head.

As the blood from the body filled the air, more and more figures appeared.

The figures had heavy expressions on their faces, weapons gripped tightly and bodies waving as they walked. With each step they took, their mouths would breath heavily, a loud ‘ha’ could be heard.

“It’s the riders from Sicar!”

The young warrior, Ecker, cried out in shock when he got a clear view of the emblem on the figure’s chest plate. Those veteran soldiers around Ecker were used to encountering an enemy’s ambush, drawing their weapons and engaging their enemies.

It was just random soldiers, their lord bishop had no reason to make a move.

Only when the true and powerful enemy showed up would their lord bishop have reason and value to strike.

The veterans who charged towards their enemies did not notice that the lord bishop, who they thought was invincible, suddenly looked pale.

The new recruit Ecker saw it though and it wasn’t the first time.

“Lord Bishop, how are you feeling?” Ecker asked softly.

Since the very first time Ecker spotted the bishop’s unusual look, it became a little secret between them.

Sharing a secret naturally put Ecker and the bishop in a better and closer relationship and it was also the reason why a new recruit like him was permitted to participate in this scouting team. The close relationship had all the credit.

“I’m fine,” the bishop shook his head coldly.

“Please tell me if you feel anything wrong. We are close, aren’t we?”

Ecker then turned around after that.

It seemed like he unconsciously said that to the bishop, yet it felt like he said it on purpose.

No one knew what exactly happened, neither would people care about it because… Ecker died.

Ecker looked down at his chest, at the claw that punctured his chest.

The claw was dark and sharp.

When Ecker turned around, he suddenly noticed the bishop had grown stronger and bigger in size, but the hair on his body grew harder and rougher, his face bulging and sharp fangs springing out from his bulging mouth.

‘What the hell happened?’ Ecker asked himself before he welcomed his death.

The other veterans asked themselves the same question also.

What the hell happened?

Unfortunately, no one could provide answers.

What welcomed them were not the answers they sought but the cruel death, including the riders from Sicar.

When the sky turned bright again, the evening glory shed light over the place and highlighted the torn limbs on the battlefield. The bloody battlefield looked extra dazzling in the warm tone.

“Hey, a little more.”

A blurry voice spoke and the words echoed in the air for a while before it was carried away by the wind.

…

At night, Anan Hotel was crowded and there was a merry atmosphere.

The businessmen who were busy for the whole day gathered at the main floor, chit-chatting with each other, laughter and jokes heard occasionally. Those mercenaries who came to Sicar with their respective employers, other than those who were on duty or nightwatch, lowered their vigilance and relaxed for the time being.

The topic for today wasn’t who sold the most goods or what incredible items they found in the market, it was actually about Colin and how good his appetite was during lunch.

“My God!”

“A hundred plates!?”

“Is he a descendant of a giant?”

Cries of shock sounded, one after another.

Some doubted the story at first but as more and more witnesses joined the conversation, the doubts were beaten away.

They had started to anticipate how much Kieran could eat during dinner and many bets were opened.

To the businessmen, these kinds of times were the best.

“You people…”

The owner, Holuff, shook his head and was helpless against it.

He really wanted to tell these ignorant customers how dangerous Colin was but… he couldn’t.

Aside from whether or not the customers believed him, he couldn’t say it just because he begged to be excused from trouble. Once said, his beautiful life would be broken.

“Give me a Sweet Egg Beer,” Borl walked over with a smile.

Things progressed surprisingly smoothly, everything settled.

With the title deed in hand, as long as he could get to the declining noble family in Edatine Castle, he could truly ascend to nobility, despite only being granted a very small land.

“That Nola is really a wastrel,” Holuff served the Sweet Egg Beer to Borl as he shook his head.

Borl did not hide anything from Holuff, the owner knew everything from the start.

It was because of knowing that Holuff treated Borl with increased generosity.

Simply selling off something as important as land. If the wastrel was one of his descendants, he could never rest in peace.

Thankfully, it wasn’t and the wastrel’s father and grandfather wouldn’t climb up from their grave.

Even if they were to climb up, someone else would deal with it beforehand.

“Times are changing. The nobles might still be high up on top but… definitely not as high as before,” Borl’s words had another meaning.

“Then why are you still so keen on becoming one?” asked Holuff

“Because I need this identity, including the convenience that comes with it, despite it not being as noble as before,” Borl raised his cup and performed a toast for Holuff, smiling and drinking it.

Holuff shook his head, obvious that he disagreed with Borl’s words.

“Power! Power is the root of everything! Like that Colin that travels with you, if you are as powerful as him, problems will solve themselves!” said Holuff.

Borl got stunned for a moment. In the end, he put down his cup with a bitter smile.

“Powerful? Powerful is an understatement to him… the most appropriate way to describe him is…”

Holuff was all ears at the answer, anticipating how Borl described Kieran but Borl stopped after that, picking up his cup and taking a sip of beer again. Somehow the sweet beer that he drank a moment ago started to taste bitter.

‘Powerful?

Of course I know!

I did exactly the same!

But to be as strong as him?’

Borl shook his head, he dare not even think about it.

…

Kieran curled up his lips into a smile as he sized up the three spoils in front of him.

One was a staff, which recently gained popularity among the nobles in Edatine Castle.

The other one was a short musket and the last one was the crystal.

[Name: Question Staff]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attack: Strong]

[Defense: Powerful]

[Type: Question]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Spirit, Intuition A+]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: When you are hesitating or lost, this can be your greatest helper. It can also be a decent weapon.]

…

[Question: Hold the staff tight with your right hand and after you release it, it will guide you towards the right direction, two times per day]

…

[Name: Dark Shining Musket]

[Type: Weapon]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attack: Powerful]

[Attribute: 1. First Shot; 2. Reload; 3. Charge Up]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: Strength A]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: It was one of the products researched by War God Temple but when the Black Cataclysm arrives, it was leaked out and everything changes from there]

…..

[First Shot: The first shot requires no loading, fire a Powerful attack air bullet at the target, 6/day]

[Reload: When you reload the normal way, using fire powder and pellet, the pellet fired will be granted a Powerful attack and will gain an extra Strong fire elemental attack (has the option to activate the effect or not during each reload), three/day]

[Charge Up: Charge the First Shot air bullet for one second to perform a 120° scatter attack (requires at least three air bullets), one/day]

……

One rare and one powerful; The former was a melee weapon with a unique design, the latter was a decent ranged weapon.

More importantly, both could be brought out of the dungeon world.

What concerned Kieran the most was actually the morbid crystal in the size of a palm.

[Name: Lord of the Mist]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: I]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: I]

[Attribute: 1. Mist Control; 2 Poison Mist Assault]

[Effect: Land of Sicar]

[Prerequisite: Spirit SSS]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remarl: A product of accident during the Black Cataclysm]

…

[Mist Control: Summon a 100 meter radius mist and shroud everything in sight, two/day]

[Poison Mist Assault: Targets in the mist will be poisoned of Powerful rank, Constitution authentication will happen and those who failed, a lethal rank poison damage will be inflicted.]

…

[Land of Sicar: Within the Land of Sicar, the title of Mist has been recognized and you who possess the Lord of Mist can move natural mist at will and induce them with poison, but it will consume your stamina accordingly.]

……

“Land of Sicar?”

Kieran muttered to himself as he picked up the crystal.

He tapped the table in front of him with his fingers a few times.

More speculations appeared in his mind and then prayers suddenly entered Kieran’s mind, one after another.

“Oh the supreme lord! Please hear our prayers! We will carry out your will, bow to your greatness and bear your name! You will shed your light on the world and everything we have is a gift from you…”

Amid the prayers, Kieran sharply realized t Phatower of Faith was accumulating in him through the [Lord of Mist].

At the same time, he also felt a malicious and hungry gaze.