The Devil's Cage

While Rachel went on a search for a candidate to cure J.Pearlman, Lawless delivered a skill book to Kieran: [Sharp Weapon, Throwing].

It wasn't that expensive and was bought at the market price.

Compared to skill books of other ranks, Basic skill books weren't that rare to a lone wolf. As long as one had a bit of luck, they'd come across a Basic skill book one way or another.

And with the buff of [Lucky Card IV], Kieran's lucky was magnificent.

Spending 25,200 Points and 17 Skill Points, Kieran leveled up [Sharp Weapon, Throwing] straight to Musou level.

[Name: Sharp Weapon, Throwing (Musou)]

[Related Attribute: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Offense]

[Effect: You will have your own unique attainments in throwing flying daggers, darts, javelins, and tomahawks. Increase damage by 60%]

[Special Effect: Multiple Throwing (Receive an extra trajectory adjustment when you throw multiple projectiles (not more than 3 sharp weapons)]

[Consume: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: Strength E+, Agility E+, Constitution E+]

[Remark: If you want to win cheers, blindfold yourself and perform!]

...

[Skill Sharp Weapon, Throwing leveled up, related attributes have reached their limits, unable to further level up!]

…...

Sou Sou Sou!

The instant the synchronization and knowledge transfer process was over, Kieran suddenly raised his hand and fired out three blazing trails at the target that he set up beforehand.

The wooden target couldn't even sustain [Dagger of Greed]'s attack, after a bang, the big wooden target was sliced into wooden debris.

Sou Sou Sou!

As the wood debris danced in the air, the three flying daggers returned to the pouch that Kieran hid under his feathered mantle like swallows returning to their nest.

"Not bad," Kieran commented honestly.

Although the effect of [First Edge] was only a Strong ranked attack, when it reached [Third Edge], the Advance Rank attack would be enough for him to deal with any kind of regular enemy.

Of course, the most pleasant surprise was [Dagger of Greed, Returning Edge], it would save him a lot of trouble.

After slightly adjusting [Dagger of Greed]'s pouch and placing it in a more comfortable position, Kieran started to practice again.

Despite the last dungeon having all sorts of restrictions due to the intervention of an uninvited guest, the final reward was still satisfying enough for Kieran.

Not just because of his Spirit reaching rank V-, it was also because he had all sorts of understanding, realization, and training of his own body under those harsh conditions.

Unlike the synchronization and knowledge transfer process, the training and realization were dull and slow. However, it was more real, much more practical than a simple process.

With that in mind, Kieran was determined to not cease his practice and further understanding of his own body, especially with the buff from [Lucky Card IV].

Kieran seized every moment he had to practice.

Time flew under Kieran's utmost concentration.

Soon, the dungeon cooldown was reset.

After contacting Rachel, Kieran started to tidy up his equipment, items, and backpack.

Despite J.Pearlman's accident, Kieran didn't plan to alter his initial plans because of the unexpected events.

Although he seemed powerful enough to most of the players and had no need to be so tough on himself anymore, the heart of getting stronger had penetrated his soul and mind.

How could he just stop?

More so, with Broker as his enemy, before Broker indeed died, Kieran would never let his guard down.

[Entering single-player special dungeon!]

[Dungeon difficulty: 5th dungeon]

[Background: Naveya City was heavily destroyed, the Devourer who was injured decided to hide for a while. Monsters were running wild on the once prosperous and wealthy lands…]

[Main Mission: Head north, find the secret Thorn Temple, days remaining: 90]

[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]

[Detected firearms and grenades do not match the dungeon period, power decrease by 90%. When you enter the dungeon, you will be compensated with corresponding skills. (Compensated skills can not be leveled up and will disappear upon exit of the dungeon]

[Note: This is a special dungeon, and because you have reached rank I, you cannot fail your main mission. Once you fail, it is game over!]

...

The greenish-white and purplish moon were clouded by black mist, leaving the earth in utter darkness.

Munching noises echoed intermittently along the broken walls.

There wasn't any terrorizing cry or the wail of the dead, only dead bodies with missing limbs and body parts with sharp-fanged monsters eating the bodies were around.

Kieran appeared in the shadows. He looked up at the sky, clouded in darkness.

He glanced over the ferocious monsters eating up the dead bodies on the road. The place reeked of blood and a fishy smell that Kieran's nose, causing him to frown.

"The monsters from the nearby shores?"

"Without the divine light protection from the Gods of Naveya, the monsters came up to the land?"

"Or are they under the Devourer's order?"

Kieran's eyes were shining.

"Analytics of the temples developments in Naveya City" did describe the monsters in the sea in detail. They weren't just strong but overwhelming in numbers as well, the people would need to hold an 'Ocean Festival' to calm the sea in exchange for a safe sea course.

Though, the book didn't say anything about the relationship between the monsters from the sea and the Devourer.

In fact, until now, Kieran had limited knowledge about the Devourer.

All he knew was that the Devourer was the mortal enemy of the Gods in Naveya City, and with the help of Hero Algor 300 years ago, the Gods defeated the Devourer, hence building Naveya City.

However, the desolate scene struck a though in Kieran's mind.

"Perhaps… the Devourer is from the sea?"

With the thought lingering in his mind, Kieran shuttled through the shadows swiftly; he had to find out the current time.

It wasn't too hard for Kieran, though. Judging from the broken bodies, dried up blood that scattered all over the city, Kieran came up with a general guess of the time.

"Most of the bodies died a day or two ago. Which means it's been less than two days since I left."

Two days to most people was just a weekend.

People maybe had time for a movie or a fancy meal or even spent the weekend in their cozy homes.

However, to the people of Naveya, it was a catastrophic disaster.

Ordinary people could hardly survive the aftermath of the war between the Gods and Devourer, let alone the monsters that followed.

Kieran saw the monsters dig up some reasonably intact bodies from under a few meters of debris and start to feast on them.

Given how meticulous and sharp the monsters were, even if there were people who avoided the former, they couldn't have survived the latter's sense of smell and sharp claws.

But… what about non-human?