The Devil's Cage

Kieran remained silent when Lawless asked the question.

He mimicked Lawless in smoking the cigar.

After a slight bitterness, a rich flavourful sweetness exploded in his mouth before he spat out the smoke.

The unique scent of the cigar went into his nose, causing him to squint his eyes in a pleasant way.

Kieran who was a novice would never really know how to smoke a cigar but it didn’t stop him from learning to enjoy one.

Cigarettes could never escape the sight of a young man or more precisely, a boy.

Whether one would accept it or reject it, it would definitely enter the sight of a boy.

Some would get choked by the stinging sensation of the smoke, causing them to tear up and sniffle, they would hate cigarettes after being choked because of not smoking it correctly.

Everyone has their own choices though, despite the choices made, cigars had a special place in the rankings of cigarettes.

Kieran has already gotten used to the smell, at least he showed interest in the cigar house that Lawless mentioned.

Kieran didn’t know how to reject the goodwill cigar, similar to how he has no reaction for Lawless who spoke again.

"I haven’t gotten anything on that curse but I’ve tried testing it several times, it seems like it is harmless against other things and living being, and I think it’s only locked on to you. So you better not go near that thing! After Blacksmith finishes your embedding, you will go back straight to your game room! It will be the safest place for now." Lawless said in a serious manner.

Kieran nodded silently, not because of how serious Lawless was but it was an undeniable fact.

The power of a curse. It was something not to be underestimated even among the myriad of skills of the players.

That unusual power would cause catastrophic results with the slightest misstep.

"Don’t worry! I will find another curse dispeller in the shortest time possible and give you back your freedom!" Lawless assured Kieran, his tone was as serious as ever.

"But while I’m stuck behind my door..." Kieran pointed out something.

"That bastard? I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t you worry! That Goddamned cunning merchant, what is he up to now? He doesn’t seem like the guy that will harm others without benefits!"

Lawless got the hint despite Kieran was being subtle.

With all the traces left behind, it was obvious that Broker and Black Robe were working together. Lawless wasn’t an idiot, if he was tricked once and still didn’t react to the situation, he would be courting death.

However, Lawless couldn’t understand the motives behind Broker’s decision to do so, Kieran either.

Both of them exchanged a gaze before Lawless reached out to his pocket and tossed a blue misty crystal ring to Kieran.

"Here, your ring." Lawless pointed.

[Name: Wilco’s Redemption]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attack/Defense: None]

[Attributes: 1. Chilling Touch; 2. Chilling Spike]

[Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: A mission that Wilco had considered easy ended up leading to his death. Wilco’s hatred and grudges are sealed in this ring!]

...

[Chilling Touch: You need to touch your target with the ring for the skill to be activated. It strikes with a Powerful Cold Attack that lasts 5 seconds (When combined with other equipment on your body, it still lasts the same amount of time), 2 times/day]

[Chilling Spike: Fire a long ice spear at your target, 30-meter maximum range. When the ice spear hits the target or any other obstacle, it will trigger an ice explosion of 3 meters in range. Direct hit target, will receive Powerful ice attack, other target will receive Strong to Weak ice splash damage depending on how near they are to the blast point. 2/day]

......

Not only had the name of the ring changed, the attribute was changed as well.

"This is a top tier item even within the Rare category itself!" Kieran commented.

"Still falling short a bit, if the natives that drop this item was any stronger, once the curse was dispelled, it would be a Legendary item instead!" Lawless explained.

"Well, in the end, you might not even need to dispel one of those and you will get the message that I’ve died because of it!" Kieran rolled a white eye at Lawless before going into Blacksmith’s room with the cigar in his mouth.

His time was really running out with a curse following him like a shadow.

...

Blacksmith’s room hadn’t changed a bit since the last visit.

The minimalist style made quite the impression on people.

Blacksmith was already prepared for the embedding beside the big roundtable.

The [Dark Nether Stone] was also placed on the obvious spot of the table.

[Name: Dark Nether Stone]

[Type: Gemstone]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attribute: 1. Consume; 2. Embedding; 3. Tribute]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a magical gemstone, its value will surely exceed your imagination!]

...

[Consume: Consume the Dark Nether Stone to acquire the Dark Lineage]

[Embedding: Embed on your weapon or armor to acquire various Dark effects]

[Tribute: Offering it as a tribute at a certain temple will give you unexpected encounters!]

[Note 1: High percentage of failure when consumed, but no damage to consumer when failed]

[Note 2: A certain percentage of failure when embedding, the gemstone and item will be destroyed at the same time if failed!]

[Note 3: When offered as a tribute, good things or bad things might happen depending on your luck!]

...

"Offer as a tribute at a certain temple?" Kieran frowned.

He never thought that the [Dark Nether Stone] would have such an attribute attached to it.

"Could it even bring out a Godly being?" Kieran speculated.

Yet it didn’t change his idea of having it embedded in his armor.

Aside from the luck-depending remarks which was a total opposite of Kieran’s style, the certain "temple" was enough for Kieran to reject it because it would also depend on his luck.

Unexpected variables would indefinitely be enlarged when two luck-depending matters were put together. Kieran didn’t want to take the risk.

"Well then, take off your clothes! We don’t have much time left!" Blacksmith said.

It stunned Kieran for a while before he realized that she was referring to repairing his items and not the dirty thoughts in his mind.

Kieran quickly took off [Armor of Excellence] and [Crow’s Black Feather] to hide his awkwardness.

Blacksmith placed [Crow’s Black Feather] on the table while contacting other players to repair the [Armor of Excellence].

While bearing his top, Kieran saw Blacksmith take out needles and other sewing tools.

To his surprise, Blacksmith didn’t start her repairing immediately.

"2567? I hope the place is quiet while I work. Not only do I require you to be quiet but also don’t your gaze interfering with me," Blacksmith said.

"Okay!"

Kieran nodded and turned around. He never gave it much thought since he saw how Blacksmith worked the other time, so he shifted his attention to his PM tab.

He opened up his tab while the sewing sounds echoed in his ears.

Rachel’s name was lit up and a message was sent over to his inbox.

......

2567: You knew it all along?