The Devil's Cage

Someone was following him.

Kieran frowned, but he did not stop walking.

He was sure of it.

His E+ Rank [Intuition] gave him extraordinary eyesight and hearing. He could predict all incoming danger, especially when someone with malicious intent flashed by. He could not help but get goosebumps.

Plus, his Master Level [Undercover] skill already enabled him to familiarize with the ways of approaching enemies without being detected.

It was not hard for Kieran to know if someone was following him. He could tell just by the path he had gone through and easily locate his stalker.

Although he was being followed, he did not turn around to inspect the situation.

He did not want any unwanted trouble. Instead, he followed his original plan and headed towards the diner not far from his current spot.

His mind started to work as he walked quickly.

Who was following him?

Was it one of the people after the treasure of the Church of Dawn?

Or was it a new enemy that this identity had brought?

Granted, in order to earn the title of the greatest detective in the city he must have solved countless cases. Based on the brief memories he had been provided with, the fellows who had ended up behind bars because of him were at least in the double digits, and those who wanted him dead were not the minority of them either.

As for the treasure hunters?

It has a higher possibility too.

They could have sent someone to keep an eye out around St. Paolo.

After all, we were talking about the treasure of an over a thousand year-old organization.

Just the thought itself would be able to seduce anyone.

Kieran was no exception.

When he had heard about the treasure, he had been moved as well.

It was his common sense that had held him back.

He knew very well that the treasure would not be easy to obtain.

Guntherson, the Last Knight, would not allow the treasure to fall into the hands of evil men, and even more parties and factions would get involved eventually.

There was no wall in the world without a crack.

Considering there was already a bunch of people with information on the treasure, there could eventually be a second group, a third one, and so on.

After all, who could guarantee that the people who were after the treasure would keep that information to themselves?

As time flew, the changes at St. Paolo would definitely attract more attention.

If the case was not solved within a short period of time, Kieran thought there would be a dangerous, giant whirlpool forming around St. Paolo, dragging in more and more people and factions, and blending everyone together into a hot mess.

Sister Mony had predicted that, but it was Guntherson who had realized how scary it would really be.

That was why he had persuaded Sister Mony to accept Kieran’s offer to solve the case before the catastrophe that could destroy St. Paolo School ever took place.

If he hadn’t been worried, Guntherson would never have discussed the matter openly with Kieran.

Although he had his new identity, the letter from John and his abilities added to his appeal.

However, Kieran thought it was his abilities that had won Guntherson over. If he had not been able to evade his attack and hold his own until Sister Mony’s interference, the Sub Mission would not have been unlocked.

No doubt, other players would not have been able to trigger this Sub Mission, considering it already exceeded the first-time difficulty level of the dungeon.

Judging by the normal progress of the players and their abilities, they would not even have lasted one moment against Guntherson.

Maybe they wouldn’t even meet Guntherson in person.

The security force had looked weak to Kieran because he happened to have had a better starting point than others, but that did not meant that other players who had finished the newbie dungeon wound find them weak as well.

As a matter of fact, Kieran was sure they wouldn’t.

He would not complain about the difficulty of this mission though.

He knew very well that the harder the mission, the better the rewards would be.

It was the rewards he was after.

He did not have sufficient time though, so he could only rely on the difficulty of the mission to make up for it.

Despite everything going on in his head, Kieran’s attention was still on the stalker behind him.

Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine.

It was a vicious vibe coming from somewhere up ahead.

Although it was just a flash, the coldness made Kieran feel like he had been bitten by a venomous snake.

He was not a stranger to that feeling.

It was the vibe of a killer’s intent.

In the newbie dungeon, both the armed thugs and the rebels had exuded that same vicious vibe.

Kieran looked up ahead and spotted three figures in an instant.

One of them was walking in the same direction as him. Obviously that was not the one exuding the killing vibe.

The second one was a well-dressed gentleman with a pair of spectacles, who looked like an office clerk who had just finished work. He was walking in a rush.

The last one was a drunkard with torn clothes. He was walking in a wobbly manner, reeking of alcohol.

Drunkards were a common sight in the city, especially after nightfall. They caused a lot of trouble for the police.

Neither of them looked suspicious, but Kieran was sure that one of them was the killer.

Which one was it?

Kieran inspected them carefully, but he could not make an accurate decision.

The assassin was no doubt very good in hiding his identity. If it was not for the flash of the killer’s intent, Kieran would not have been able to tell at all.

What now?

Although Kieran could not differentiate between them, he still remained on alert.

He kept walking and the men did too, gradually getting closer to him.

When Kieran was three steps away from the man who looked like a clerk, he took his pipe out of his pocket. He made it look like his addiction had gotten the better of him, but he also accidentally dropped some change that had been left over from the wagon trip earlier.

"Damn it!" Kieran cursed in a low voice as he bent down to pick up the coins.

His eyes were still locked on the two approaching targets.

The drunkard had watched the scene and paused for a moment before continuing without any care.

The well-dressed man acted like nothing had happened and kept walking at his fast pace.

When he approached, Kieran finished picking up his change and straightened his body.

Just as Kieran was ready to put the change back into his pocket, the clerk passed by Kieran’s side with a small dagger in his right hand.

He turned, raised it and stabbed at him in one smooth move.

The stab turned into a cold ray of light aimed towards Kieran’s waist.

Kieran was one step ahead though.

His right leg was like a spring. He kicked the assassin’s hand, his foot pointed at the assassin’s wrist and pumping hard, following a kick on the assassin’s face.

With two clear loud sounds, the assassin’s dagger fell and Kieran kicked the man down, letting him roll on the ground. Half his teeth had gone missing and his face looked crooked. He seemed to be out of breath as he looked at Kieran with an incredulous expression.

No doubt, he was surprised that he had discovered him.

He had thought his disguise was perfect.

"Your intent was too obvious. You didn’t even exhibit the basic curiosity. At least the drunkard cared enough to look at what I had dropped," Kieran said in a soft tone.

Of course he would never tell the man the true reason. Not even if he was killed.

[Kicking: Inflicted 30 Damage to Target HP, Dislocated joints…]

[Kicking: Lethal Attack, Inflicted 120 Damage to Target HP (Hand-to-hand Combat, Master of Kicks), Target dies...]

The battle log stated that the assassin was dead.

After the lesson he had been taught in the newbie dungeon, Kieran was more vigilant.

He turned and looked around. The person who had been following him was long gone. He could not help but frown.

He was unable to confirm that the assassin and the stalker had been partners in crime.

"A full 150 HP! Big, fast, strong, good at disguising... He must have been an assassin or a hitman!" Kieran guessed at the identity of the deceased man, hoping that he could solve the mystery at hand.

If he could have, he would have preferred to keep him alive.

His sudden appearance had been unexpected though, and his disguising skill had made Kieran worry.

He thought he should show no mercy against someone who was good at disguising. Even if the assassin’s abilities were no match for him, if he had gotten away, Kieran would’ve had to be on the lookout for a killer in disguise.

Therefore, when he had struck, he had made sure to kill the man.

Although his death might attract attention, it was nothing compared to having to protect himself against a disguised killer.

"Murderer! Murderer!"

The quiet street slowly filled with noise.

A couple of policemen whistled as they surrounded Kieran with their clubs.

Kieran cooperated, raising his hands. He was holding the letter in his right hand.

He’d never been more glad for that letter than in that moment.

"I’m a Police Special Consultant, I wish to see Chief Officer John!"