The Devil's Cage

From Kieran's perspective, after getting the Pawn Fire Raven egg, [Merman's Meat] existence was solely a fodder to increase the raven's abilities.

The loot that he gained before were just extras that came along with it.

Although he had the heart of a Scrooge, Kieran would not want to lose a great deal trying to save a little.

One side was a helper which could gain more strength through growth.

The other was an energy-wasting plan that might not even turn out to be fruitful.

It was a no-brainer for Kieran in terms of choosing.

Though it wasn't impossible for him to reap more loot from the second plan if he could plan better, but after meeting Artitelgar, his thoughts went down the drain.

Even Artitelgar with his power, he couldn't reign rampantly in this dungeon world, what was Kieran compared to him?

Regardless of how perfect his plans were, unforeseen variables might still occur.

It was better to utilize the resources at hand to strengthen his own power.

A bird in hand worth more than ten birds in the bush.

Kieran understood that saying a long time ago.

The moment the mysterious, misty [Merman's Meat] appeared in Kieran's hand, the Pawn Fire Raven became anxious but it didn't move recklessly.

Kieran then nodded lightly.

Initially, when he chose to hatch the Pawn Fire Raven, other than it being categorized as a fiend, possessing decent scouting abilities, it was also because of the books that described its intellect.

Of course, it was incomparable to humans but far better than common animals and lower tier fiends.

"Go have it!"

After giving the order in his heart, Kieran felt joy from the raven as it jumped towards [Merman's Meat]. The raven looked as if it was sucking in air as it gobbled down the [Merman's Meat] rapidly.

When the meat was gone, its black feathers with lines of red started to change once more.

Its size didn't grow much bigger but the red on its body became plentiful.

If the red on its body was only lines, now it became dashes of red.

Bright red dashes among the elegant black feathers, not only did it not it uglify its looks, quite the opposite, it gave the raven another layer of vigorous grandeur.

The other changes were to its beak and claws, sharper than before and reflected the sunlight into a chilling glare.

[Name: Pawn Fire Raven]

[Type: Fiend]

[Rank: Medium]

[Attack: Average]

[Defense: Weak]

[Attribute: 1. Agility II, 2. Transform Fire II, 3. Spit Fire]

[Effect: Infuse II]

[Prerequisite: The first sight]

[Remark: This is a matured Pawn Fire Raven, after consuming a High Fiend's meat, it underwent an evolution. Able to carry out scouting and contact missions, even able to assist in attacking missions]

...

[Agility II: Increase flying speed by +1, nimbleness +1]

[Transform Fire II: Able to transform into a ball of fire with an Average attack. Able to adhere to surface and float]

[Spit Fire: Able to fire out a fireball with a Weak attack as a long-range attack (no further than 30 meters), 3/day]

...

[Infuse II: Able to infuse itself into its companion or user's fire, boosting the fire element to a certain level.]

…...

"Wait, Agility still increases the flying speed and nimbleness? Is it because of the flight problem, so it couldn't directly acquire Agility level increase effect? Or were the requirements not met?"

Kieran looked at the Pawn Fire Raven with satisfactory eyes after the changes.

At least it was able to assist in an attack like the description mentioned.

[Spit Fire] was undoubtedly weak but if it could catch the foe in surprise, it might bear miraculous effects.

As for [Infuse II]?

Kieran was confident if he could feed more High Fiend meat to the raven, [Infuse II] would surely evolve to display a more precise enhancement, such as "fire element attack +1" and not some vague description like this.

"High Fiend meat eh?" Kieran muttered as he headed back out.

The servant that guided him there was already waiting for his departure.

No doubt, Artitelgar would not see him anymore. Even though Kieran still thought the portrait theft case was Artitelgar's own doing, a thief trying to accuse others as thieves, but it would also be useless if he kept staying in the estate.

Might as well leave the place and search for that terrifying presence.

Kieran wouldn't dare delay his search because it was related to the [Special Event] and also his latest main mission.

Since he already gotten the grasp of a lead, he should hold on to it tightly and head towards the direction that he picked up.

Kieran returned the way he came, Oaker was still waiting for him at the end of the stairs.

When Oaker saw Kieran came down in a hurry and the Fire Raven on his shoulder, his curiosity peaked but he didn't ask anything about it. He knew it wasn't the appropriate time.

Both of them went on the shuttle cart once more as the chief of security shuttled both of them back to the estate entrance.

"How was it?"

Oaker couldn't hold back anymore and asked after both of them returned to Oaker's car.

"Well, let's talk on the road, I'll show the way," Kieran said.

Kieran didn't try to hide much, other than skipping the unexpected speculations in his heart, he narrated the happenings after both of them split up in full details to Oaker.

"Shhh!"

After hearing the well-known millionaire Artitelgar could even oppose natural disaster, Oaker gasped coldly as he felt like he was in a dream.

"I kinda started to believe those rumors. It wasn't all that impossible, Flame City being built around such a figure!" Oaker said while sighing.

Kieran didn't refute either, the moment he saw the wide, gigantic figure in the lake, he would already believe 50 to 60% of that rumor.

After the meeting though, the numbers increased to at least 70 to 80%.

Kieran would undoubtedly believe the rumor if some more evidence was provided to him.

"Rumours… it might have been greatly exaggerated through circulations but the original version of the story should have some truth behind it." Kieran said slowly.

His eyes were staring at the side mirror on the passenger seat.

Someone was following them since they left Artitelgar estate.

Though, the stalker had quite a decent concealing technique and didn't show any malicious intent, just that the stalking technique was a little shabby.

Although the whole stalking process was barely noticeable, the car the stalker was in hadn't changed.

A careless person might not notice but Kieran who was always highly aware of his surroundings noticed he was being followed within two minutes.

In fact, not only Kieran but Oaker noticed it as well.

"Damn the troubles! What should we do now?" Oaker whispered softly and looked at Kieran.

"No need to be concerned about the stalker, just follow my lead," Kieran said.

Oaker looked at Kieran with a surprised look.

Based on his own understanding of Kieran, Kieran was not exactly a good-tempered person, even if he wasn't a person who sought revenge for the slightest grievance, he was also a person who would return an eye for an eye, yet he wasn't concerned about being followed.

"The place we are heading is that important?" Oaker thought in his heart but didn't ask the question.

His age caused his body to weaken but increased his experience by a lot. Oaker was perfectly clear what was the right time to ask questions and when to shut up.

So, he stepped on the acceleration pedal. The car growled loudly as it sped up even faster.

Soon, Kieran could see his destination in his sight.

A temple that wasn't that big from the looks of it.

On top of the temple gate just below its roof, there was a mottled horizontal inscribed board.

Rassho Temple!