The Devil’s Cage

The gaze flashed over within mere seconds.

With his D+ Rank Intuition, Kieran could sense the cold, sharp gaze on him. It felt as if someone had driven a knife along his skin.

Kieran did not make any sudden movements. He just kept waiting for the auction to begin. He remained alert though, looking out of the corner of his eye and scanning everything in the direction of the malicious gaze.

It was easy for him to pinpoint the culprit as he was the only one standing there.

He was wearing armor and he had a long sword with him. His long black pants were stuffed inside pelt boots.

He looked normal, despite the layer of blur on his face provided by the game.

Still, a smart person would be able to tell by the pattern on his armor and the two red rubies on the hilt of his sword that he was not someone to mess around with.

Kieran’s brows furrowed as his heart filled with doubt.

That malicious gaze had reminded him that he had been on other players’ radars ever since that first trade he had made on the forum. According to Lawless, there was no such thing as a safe zone in the game. One’s own lobby room was their only safe place. Even though there was a system to penalize offenders, as long as they did not get caught, they were fine.

Some offenders would risk everything to satisfy their greed, but the person before Kieran was a little different than an ordinary robber. No matter how stupid a robber was, they would not walk out in the open like that without even bothering to cover themselves or their intentions.

”What does he want?” Kieran wondered.

As he kept guessing, the long-awaited auction finally began.

The secret bazaar’s auction was not a real auction. The officials did not inform everyone of the time or brief them on the procedure.

The auction started with three or four quality goods from players, and the auctioning time began when the secret bazaar’s tradings were over, and lasted a whole day.

”Does anyone in your team of fire gunners lack immense firepower? Do you want to suppress monsters on your first encounter? Then the [WK-22] is your best friend! With 100 rounds per magazine reload, it will let any monster know what raining bullets truly means! It has a Stronger Attack and only requires Entry Level [Firearm Weapon (Medium Firearm)] to be fully utilized! The starting price is 3,000 Points and 2 Skill Points! The auction starts now!”

The auction emcee described the [WK-22], using attracting words to entice customers. Enhancing items’ pros and downplaying their cons was what the emcee did best.

The pros of the [WK-22] were what the emcee had stated, but its cons were also obvious.

If a player didn’t have sufficient weight, carrying such a weapon would definitely be a burden for them. To fully exploit the potential of the [WK-22], a player would have to fill their inventory with nothing but bullets.

That was also one of the reasons that Kieran had decided to sell it. Another one was that he did not possess the necessary skill.

In order to use the [WK-22], Entry Level [Firearm Weapon (Medium Firearm)] was a must, and if one wanted to exploit its destructive power to the fullest, they would need at least Master Level.

Such an expense was a luxury that Kieran could afford. He was already struggling with his existing skills as it was.

He was certainly not about to tell the buyers about the cons of the [WK-22], though. All he cared about was selling the [WK-22] at a higher price and solving his pressing dilemma.

That was what Kieran was thinking about as the emcee finished his description.

”4,500 Points and 3 Skill Points!” a voice said.

It was a surprising price, and it attracted the eyes of all attendees, who started searching around for the idiot who had offered so much.

No doubt, the [WK-22] was a quality weapon, otherwise it would not have been on the auction table.

However, it was definitely not worth 4,500 Points and 3 Skill Points.

4,500 Points and 2 Skill Points would have been its maximum price.

The attendees of the auction were all veterans. They had seen tons of weapons’ prices as they’d gone up for auction. Unless it was some kind of emergency, no one in their right mind would offer such a price. In their eyes, the person who had offered that price was truly an idiot.

Or maybe it was just a newbie.

However, when the attendees discovered who had offered the price, they quickly dismissed that thought.

A newbie would never own such obvious Magical Rank armor or an embedded weapon.

Some of the veterans even knew the man who had spoken.

”Have you changed your fighting style, Nobian?”

”Not really. It’s just that the dungeons are getting harder and harder. I figured that I might need a weapon with bigger firepower,” the player known as Nobian answered.

It was obviously a brush off to the other players, but no one dared press the matter as it would be a breach of another player’s privacy.

No one dared compete against Nobian for the [WK-22] either, not because of courtesy, but because the price was too high to be worth it.

In the end, Nobian got the [WK-22] and Kieran got his 4,500 Points and 3 Skill Points.

Kieran was delighted on the outside, but frowning hard on the inside. The player known as Nobian was the person who had been looking at him earlier.

”What does this fellow want?” Kieran really did not understand his motives.

As Nobian approached Kieran, Kieran could not help but be more alert.

”Hi, I’m Nobian. I saw you before while you were registering with Zorl. Don’t worry, I mean you no harm. I am no match for Lawless after all.”

Nobian’s sense of humor made Kieran even more cautious.

Nobian seemed to know Lawless. The fact that they greeted each other proved as much.

”How’s it going Nobian?”

”Not too good, it seems that I ran into some trouble. I was only able to finish the Main Mission in my last two dungeons. I think it’s time for a change. Otherwise, I might need to buy a coffin next time!” Nobian answered Lawless’ question with a bitter laugh.

”So, I was wondering whether you guys have any more strong firepower weapons?” Nobian naturally looked at Kieran.

Kieran shook his head. ”Not right now. You should look at the auction table for more.”

”I’ve waited long enough. The Broker will not really let quality goods go. Most of the time, he buys them for his own people. All us lone wolves get is the leftovers.”

Once again, Nobian laughed bitterly. Even Kieran and Lawless knew that this was true.

Zorl buying the [Soul Shard]s before the auction had proven as much.

”He is always like that...” Lawless ranted.

”Looks like I need to find some other way to turn things around. If you acquire a better weapon, don’t hesitate to contact me! I’ll offer you a good price!”

When Nobian was finished talking, he waved at Lawless and Kieran, and left the bazaar.

If it wasn’t for his initial malicious gaze, the whole exchange would not have seemed odd. Nobian had just sounded desperate for a strong weapon to clear his obstacles.

”You know this Nobian?” Kieran asked Lawless after Nobian had left.

”Well, he’s not a stranger, I guess. He’s like me. He was a beta player who survived through the Witch’s Uprising. Judging by his strength, I’d say he’s at his fifth dungeon. But of course, he’s much stronger than Starbeck, especially when it comes to swordplay. He has an Advanced Skill in that. Still, he is a lone wolf. He never participates in team dungeons. The Broker has tried to recruit him, but he rejected him,” Lawless explained briefly.

”Advanced Skill?” Kieran squinted in curiosity.

That did not sound like good news. An Advanced Skill was a branch out from Basic Skills.

A Basic Skill was Common rank, but an Advanced Skill branching out from it might be Magical Rank or even Rare Rank.

Maybe even Legendary? Well, let’s not put too much thought into it.

According to Kieran’s understanding, if a Skill was able to branch out to a Legendary Advanced Skill, the Skill itself could not be Common Rank. It would have to be at least Rare Rank for such a possibility to even exist.

Similarly, branching out to an Advanced Skill was extremely hard.

Players could only achieve that themselves in the dungeon rather than through a Skill Book. It was kind of a test of luck.

”Are you thinking about the Advanced Skill?” Lawless asked.

”Yes,” Kieran answered, not bothering to explain his intentions.

”Okay then, let me tell you a secret about Advanced Skills.”

Lawless kept his voice down and pretended to be secretive, looking around them for potential eavesdroppers.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Will Kieran ever get one?