The Devil's Cage

As Kieran’s attention was focused on the heart, information about the heart popped up in his vision.

[Name: Devil’s Heart]

[Type: Organ]

[Rarity: Epic]

[Attributes: ?]

[Effects: ?]

[Prerequisites: ?]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: This is a heart that once belonged to a Devil Lord!

...

Comparing the information that was given to him, Kieran stared intensely at the heart in the crystal box. His expression was serious.

Not just because of the many question marks he saw, but also because of the sudden change to the heart’s beating.

The change was as obvious as a wild tiger turning into a tame rabbit.

Kieran believed that he would need a special method to keep the heart, but then what?

He didn’t worry anymore. His mind was filled with thoughts about the reason the [Devil’s Heart] was beating differently.

"Why did it change?"

Kieran unconsciously looked through the notification log, but there was no mention of it.

"Is it a bug? Or some hidden setting that I’m not aware of?" he guessed.

Without any further information, he could not come up with a reasonable explanation.

He frowned hard over his incompetence, but he had to bury the baffling question for the time being.

Meanwhile, he placed the heart on a clean spot in the garage.

Following Nikorei’s advice, he did not recklessly transplant the heart into himself. He believed Nikorei was not someone who did or said anything without a reason. There had to be an explanation for her warning.

After setting down the [Devil’s Heart], Kieran raised his head again to check the dungeon ratings.

[Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner]

[Dungeon Type: Mission Based]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Low]

[Main Mission: Be the shaman’s assistant for three months]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating: F)]

[Sub Mission 1: The Shaman’s Duties!]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating: F→E)]

[Sub Mission 2: The Shaman’s Package!]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating: E→D)]

[Battle Performance: Very Active (Rating D→C)]

[Exploration Performance: Normal]

[Special Rating 1: Fast Dungeon Clear Time (Rating C→B)]

[Special Rating 2: Completed an Extra Main Mission: Return to Alcatraz Island (Rating B→A)]

[Special Rating 3: Eliminated "Icy Killer" Wilco (Rating A→S)]

[Special Rating 4: Eliminated "Spectre" Gilfren Hatch (S→SS)]

[Special Rating 5: Eliminated "Usurper" Frostrill (Rating SS→SSS) Rep+1]

[Player Final Rating: SSS]

[Calculating Player Special Dungeon Rewards…]

[Player Final Special Dungeon Rewards are as follows…]

[Points: 10,000; Skill Points: 6; Golden Skill Points: 1; Golden Attribute Points: 1]

[Acquired Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner II]

[Note: Reputation has reached 5. You have earned some reputation to your name. Some natives will remember you.]

...

Since the Special Dungeon had a second dungeon difficulty, even though the final rating was SSS, the final dungeon reward was considerably lower compared to the reward of the fourth dungeon difficulty [Prison on the Island].

Different difficulty, different rewards. Kieran had realized this long ago, so after another glance at the dungeon rating to double check, he turned his attention to his newly acquired Special Dungeon [The Shaman’s Partner II].

[Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner II]

[The Shaman’s Partner II: 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 had sent you a letter asking for help...]

[Main Mission: Starts after entering the dungeon]

[Remark 1: The Shaman’s Partner II shares the same universe as The Shaman’s Partner and Prison on the Island.]

[Remark 2: The Special Dungeon will not be counted towards the dungeon entries of the player.]

[Remark 3: This is the second Special Dungeon of the same universe, so the difficulty will be the same as the player’s first Special Dungeon Entry +1]

[Remark 4: The Special Dungeon requires the player to clear a single player or team dungeon. After the cooldown resets, it will automatically begin.]

[Remark 5: The Special Dungeon has a single player or team dungeon option. A team dungeon will grant all teammates the same authority. They will work on the same side as the initiator, and the Main Mission difficulty will be determined according to the different dungeon entry numbers of the players.]

[Remark 6: If the player fails the Main Mission of the Special Dungeon, they will have to suffer a penalty equal to the player’s current dungeon entries.]

...

Another Special Dungeon based on the same universe, except that there was a slight difference compared to the first one.

However, Kieran’s attention was on the background of the Special Dungeon.

"Rei and the five major societies have faded away? Is it because of that ‘thing’?" Kieran mumbled.

He had approached Simones, but he hadn’t asked him directly about the matter.

Simones had obviously known what that "thing" was, but he had brushed Kieran off by telling him he had promised Nikorei not to tell him anything.

When Simones had mentioned that "thing" though, his face had been smeared with panic and confusion, which was enough to prove how powerful that "thing" was.

The fact that even Nikorei needed to unite the five major societies to face that "thing", even though she was extremely powerful herself, also proved how terrifying that "thing" was.

By the time Kieran had left the dungeon, he still had not found out what that "thing" referred to.

"Powerful and terrifying means more rewards! Opportunity and risk always coexist, yet with my current power level, I don’t have the qualifications to join them!"

Kieran could not help but squint over the background description.

After a couple of dungeon runs, he had understood the underground game’s motives. The rewards were always correspondent to the risk he took.

If he was willing to risk it and he escaped death, his rewards would be great.

Kieran was a little annoyed about the fact that he did not have the qualifications to enter the new Special Dungeon.

"I wonder... If I finish the Main Mission, will there be a way to contact Rei?" Kieran muttered to himself.

Nikorei and the five major societies would not just fade away without a reason. There had to be some clues and traces left behind. For example, the last place Nikorei had been seen.

The time frame of the dungeon was two years later, which reduced Kieran’s confidence to half.

Time was a terrifying element. As it flew by, seas changed into mulberry fields and mountains were easily toppled. A small clue was a difficult thing to survive in time.

Then there was also the terrifying power of that "thing". Was Kieran strong enough to face it?

Thanks to the [The Shaman’s Partner], Kieran had a general understanding of his strength level in that world.

He was at best equal to the average member of one of the major societies.

There was still a wide gap between him and the elites of the societies though.

It was almost impossible to face that "thing" at his current strength level, otherwise Nikorei would have invited him to join the Main Mission herself.

Of course, this was also because of the dungeon difficulty. If the Special Dungeon had a seventh or eighth dungeon difficulty, even Kieran, who lacked the strength to face it, would have to do his best to survive.

"Strength… Strength!" Kieran mumbled softly, his light tone getting more confident.

He was someone who would stick to their decision once they made up their mind about something.

Anxiety only pushed him to advance further.

Taking a deep breath, Kieran looked at his biggest rewards from the dungeon. It would be the only way to increase his strength.

He saw the hidden books from the chamber, the lab’s instruments and the crystal ball.

He had brought everything back. He had even considered bringing back the experiment table if its weight allowed it.

For Kieran, everything he didn’t know had a certain value. Even if it could not be sold, it could still be worth a lot.

The parts of the books that he could understand were enough for him to achieve his long-term goals.

"I need to upgrade [Mystical Knowledge] to Pro Level, so now it’s time to study!" Kieran said to himself.

Before he could flip a page though, he was flooded by continuous pings from his message tab.

Translator's Thoughts

Dess Dess

Here's a question, will or will not Kieran transplant the heart to himself?