The Devil’s Cage

As the blinding light and the loss of gravity faded away, Kieran’s vision returned. He was in the lobby of the underground game once again.

It was still the same room, filled with dust and spider webs.

He could also still hear gunshots and explosions outside. It seemed like the Steam City and Iron Chariots’ squabble was not over yet.

Suddenly, lines of notifications popped up in front of Kieran.

[First Dungeon: The Failed Great Detective]

[Dungeon Type: Free World]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Low]

[Main Mission: Find Altilly Hunter within 1 month, dead or alive]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating F)]

[Sub Mission 1: The dead woman in the station]

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

[Sub Mission 2: Crazy Shuberg]

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

[Sub Mission 3: The Spy]

[Mission Completion: 100% D→C)]

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

[Exploration Performance: Average]

[Special Rating 1: Lowered Main Mission Time (Rating B→A)]

[Special Rating 2: Eliminated Duke Wayne (Rating A→S)]

[Special Rating 3: Killed Colossal Crocodile Primus (Rating S→SS)(Gained 1 Rep)]

[Acquired Title: Crocodile Hunter (When applicable, 5% Damage increase against reptilian monsters, small chance of inducing Fear)]

[Player Final Rating: SS]

[Calculating player’s first dungeon reward...]

[Final player rewards are as follows...]

[Points: 8,000; Skill Points 5; Golden Skill Points: 1; Golden Attribute Points: 1]

[Player is in Heavily Wounded Mode, do you wish to recover?]

”Yes, please.”

[Player had no abnormalities, Healing free of charge, Healing starting...]

A line of green light shined over Kieran’s body and under the light’s effect, his HP started to recover at an incredible rate.

When the green light was gone, so was Kieran’s weakness. Everything was back to normal.

The notifications too had disappeared. Kieran looked at the glowing golden item in his hand.

It was a black leather wristband, covered in a layer of scales. Between the rows of scales were several fascinating carvings that attracted one’s attention.

As he looked at the item, a notification popped up.

[Name: Primus Arm]

[Type: Protective Gear [Left Wristband)]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Defense: Extremely strong]

[Attributes: 1. Primus Scale; 2. Primus Crunch; 3. Primus Greed]

[Special Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: The Pope of the Church of Dawn wished to keep the millennium treasure safe, so he bred a special breed of giant crocodile called Primus. Primus was enforced with alchemy, which made it even stronger, but it was robbed of its senses in the process, making it impossible for anyone to control it. As a result, it became the last straw that crushed the Church of Dawn.]

...

[Primus Scale: When the skill is active, a force shield will appear with 3 Sturdiness (stronger than supreme protective equipment), Lasts 3 seconds, 2 times/day]

[Primus Crunch: When the skill is active, it grants the user the strength and sharpness of Primus itself. Effects: Left hand Sharpness +2 (equal to a strong attack with a sharp weapon), Sturdiness +2 (equal to strong protective gear), Lasts 10 seconds, 1 time/day]

[Primus Greed: When using Primus Crunch, the Lifesteal Effect is activated, recovers 10% of Damage dealt to HP]

...

A legendary item!

Kieran was breathing heavily. It was just like the Skill Book categories. Items had ranks as well.

No color meant that the item was Common, green that it was Magical, orange that it was Rare, and gold that it was Legendary.

After he’d killed Primus, Kieran had been able to tell by the golden glow of [Primus Arm] that he had acquired something good. However, only after the system notification had confirmed his suspicions, did he realize that he had hit the jackpot.

Kieran was sure that [Primus Arm] was a Legendary item that could sell for millions in the underground game. Maybe even more than that.

Perhaps if he could find a suitable buyer, he would earn enough to pay for the medical fees for his treatment.

His breathing had gotten even faster.

What had been his goal for entering the underground game? Had it not been to accumulate enough money to pay for his treatment?

In an instant, he opened his message box to contact Lawless.

A veteran like him would surely be able to find Kieran a suitable buyer.

However, as soon as he opened the chatbox and raised his hand, he froze mid-air.

”Is it enough for me to just gather enough money for my treatment?”

”I’ll be coming of age soon and the federal government welfare will be taken away. Everything will be gone.”

”I’ll have to serve in the federal army for eighteen months. Maybe my performance will be good and I’ll get dispatched somewhere nicer, but what are the odds?”

”I’ll have to start from scratch again. Considering my low educational level and lack of specific skills, what job could I get?”

”It will be hard for me to live on minimum wage. I might be even worse off than I am now!”

”Is this what I wanted?” he asked himself, shaking his head.

No. This was not his idea of a good life.

He did not long for a wealthy, luxurious lifestyle, but he still wanted to feel secure.

If he followed the course that had been set out for him though, he would not be able to achieve that.

Why would he give up now that he had a better starting point and resources?

In the end, Kieran kept his hand away and sighed.

”Humans are greedy after all. We can never be satisfied, can we?”

After a long sigh, he stood up in the empty lobby room, mocking himself for his decision.

His spirit was still burning with that burning sensation that could turn into motivation.

Kieran started to check his loot from the dungeon.

Items: [Primus Arm] x 1, [Lockpicking Tools] x1, [Jewels] x10

...

The truth was that he had more than that, but there were only ten jewels that had attributes and were able to be identified as embedding items. Even so, nine out of ten were only fragments of jewels. Only one of them was a cracked piece of jewelry.

[Name: Cracked Topaz]

[Type: Jewel]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attributes: When embedded on weapons or protective gear, it provides the weapon with 4-8 points of Lightning Damage, and the protective gear with 4%-8% Lightning Resistance]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: Its value surpasses that of a normal jewel.]

...

Although the difference was just one rank, the effects were twice as big, and so was the price.

However, he needed a more accurate pricing of his loot.

After his first trading experience, he decided not to go on the forum and search blindly. Instead, he opened the mailbox and screenshotted one of the jewel fragments before contacting Lawless.