The Devil’s Cage

In order to combat Nobian, Kieran had upgraded three skills in total.

[Hand-to-Hand Combat], [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] and [Evading].

[Name: Hand-to-Hand Combat (Musou)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effects: Your punches and kicks are your best weapon, Increases Damage by 60%]

[Special Effects: Musou Combat Kicks (When you strike with your kicks, they temporarily grant you +3 Strength and Agility)]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Strength D, Agility D, Constitution D]

[Remarks: Your Hand-to-Hand Combat Skill is unparalleled!]

...

[Hand-to-Hand Combat leveled up, Related attributes increasing…]

[Strength D+ → C-]

[Agility D → D+]

[Constitution D→ D+]

...

[Name: Firearm Weapon, Light Firearm (Musou)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Constitution, Intuition]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effects: You know how to use a handgun, rifle, revolver, assault rifle, submachine gun and sniper rifle better, Increases Damage by 60%]

[Special Effects: Unparalleled Aim (When you aim at your Target, +3 Intuition Effect, Small chance of triggering Critical Rate)]

[Critical Rate: When you hit the Target’s weak points, you have a bigger chance of dealing 2x Damage]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Strength D-, Constitution D-, Intuition D]

[Remarks: Your Target will feel True Fear under your scope!]

...

[Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm) leveled up, Related attributes increasing…]

[Strength has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

[Constitution has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

[Intuition has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

...

[Name: Evading (Musou)]

[Related Attributes: Agility]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effects: You know how to evade incoming attacks better, Increases Evading by 60%]

[Special Effects: Unparalleled Swift Steps (Your steps make you even nimbler, Increases Evading by 40%)]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Agility D-]

[Remarks: You can use steps, rolls and other ways to evade your enemies’ attacks!]

...

[Evading leveled up, Related attributes increasing…]

[Agility has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

...

Leveling three skills from Grand Master to Musou had cost Kieran 53,000 Points and 32 Skill Points.

The most costly one had been [Hand-to-Hand Combat], which had cost 20,000 Points and 12 Skill Points.

The second most expensive one had been [Evading], at 18,000 Points and 10 Skill Points, and last but not least, [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)], at 15,000 points and 10 Skill Points.

However, that hefty upgrading cost had increased Kieran’s strength significantly.

Other than the related skill notifications, the special effects had also been enhanced greatly.

Especially the [Hand-to-Hand Combat] special effect, which when triggered, could upgrade Kieran’s Strength and Agility to a whole new level.

Kieran had relied on that special effect to overpower Nobian during their fight.

[Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] and [Evading] were quite decent as well.

[Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] had an extra [Critical Rate] effect. Although the chances of it being triggered were low, once it was, it could kill with just one shot.

His maximum 100% [Evading] made Kieran feel very comfortable when fighting his enemies.

After spending 53,000 Points and 32 Skill Points on those three skills, Kieran had gotten an extra boost from killing Nobian.

[Points: 69,690; Skill Points: 9; Golden Skill Points: 2; Golden Attribute Points: 2]

This might have seemed a lot to a common person, but it was barely enough for Kieran to make ends meet.

Upgrading his [Undercover] from Grand Master to Musou alone would cost 18,000 Points and 10 Skill Points, and buying a [Potionology] Skill Book would cost 30,000 Points and 10 Skill points.

Upgrading the [Burning Hand] from Basic to Entry would cost 10,000 Points 5 Skill Points.

The hefty cost made Kieran think for a while. It was only a Basic to Entry upgrade, yet it was already very expensive. Beyond Entry, there was still Master, Pro, Grand Master, Musou and so on.

How much would it cost in total?

The thought of that sum made Kieran’s heart hurt.

He felt even more helpless when he thought about the grand total, because after that sum of points, Skill Points would be replaced by Golden Skill Points.

The next level of the three skills that had been upgraded to Musou, [Hand-to-Hand Combat], [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] and [Evading], was Transcendence, which would cost Kieran Golden Skill Points.

[Hand-to-Hand Combat] would cost 45,000 Points and 1 Golden Skill Point, [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] would cost 30,000 Points and 1 Golden Skill Point, and [Evading] would cost 40,000 Points and 1 Golden Skill Point.

Kieran’s jaw dropped open when he thought of the cost.

He could not even imagine how he would close the Golden Skill Point gap when his reward was only 1 Golden Skill Point per dungeon.

On top of that, he still had his core [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] skill, which relied solely on Golden Skill Points to be upgraded. Upgrading it from Entry to Master alone cost 10,000 Points and 3 Golden Skill Points.

As the levels went up, so did the Golden Skill Points.

”I would need to improve my dungeon ratings or reduce the cost by training more,” Kieran thought with a puzzled expression.

These were the only two options he could come up with at the moment.

The trading of points among players was only limited to Skill Points. Golden Skill Points were meant solely for self-use.

”Golden Skill Points are the good stuff, but acquiring them is too hard, and they are only meant for personal use. You can’t trade them or exchange them!”

It was what Lawless had said while they had been messaging.

Although Lawless was very talkative and liked to boast about stuff from time to time, he would never lie about something like this.

Plus, the fact that the other veterans had never mentioned Golden Skill Points only proved that they were special.

Kieran had hoped that Golden Skill Points would be easier to acquire so he wouldn’t have too much trouble upgrading his skills. However, this would still not stop him from developing his skills.

Kieran would never be paralyzed by a dilemma or a difficult choice he had to make.

He had not given up when he’d seen the sky-high treatment fees back when he was only 14 years old, so he definitely wouldn’t now.

[Burning Hand (Basic → Entry)], 10,000 Points and 5 Skill Points, Yes/No?]

”Yes!”

[Name: Burning Hand (Entry)]

[Related Attributes: None]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effects: A 50-degree, cone-shaped, 2.5-meter wide fire will strike and inflict Strong Level Damage, small chance of inflicting Burn Damage. (Burn Damage: Target is inflicted with Burns for 1 second, if the Constitution Authentication is lower than E Rank, Target will carry a Debuff for 4 more seconds, until the Burn Debuff wears off.]

[Consumes: 1 Cracked Rank Ruby and Jagen Volcanic Ash]

[Prerequisites: Mystical Knowledge (Master)]

[Remarks: This is a spell that includes hand gestures and tribute items. Every gesture must be done in a specific order in order to fully use the skill. If you don’t want it to backfire, please remember the gestures!]

....

Other than its area of effect increasing by 5 degrees and 0.5 meters, nothing else had changed.

The next level of [Burning Hand] would require Pro Level [Mystical Knowledge], 20,000 Points and 10 Skill Points.

Everything was as expected, which made Kieran feel even more pressured to upgrade it.

However, he could not do anything because he lacked the prerequisite skills, [Alchemy], [Potionology], [Astrology] and [Research of Mystical Beings].

Even though the requirement was just the Basic Level, it was still impossible for Kieran, at least in the foreseeable future.

Kieran asked Lawless for help in exchanging Points for Skill Points, and chose to upgrade his [Undercover] skill.

He had chosen to upgrade [Undercover] and not save up for [Potionology], because he wouldn’t mind even if he was able to buy a [Potionology] Skill Book. As a matter of fact, no one even possessed such an item at the moment.

Kieran would much rather try his luck in the dungeons than sign a contract with the Broker to get one.

That’s why he had upgraded his [Undercover].

[Name: Undercover (Musou)]

[Related Attributes: Agility]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effects: Better use of shadows, Makes it harder for your enemies to discover you, Increases Hiding by 60%]

[Special Effects: Unparalleled Shadow Stalker (You can hide better in the shadows, Increases Hiding by 40%]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Agility D]

[Remarks: Your enemies cannot locate you with the naked eye.]

...

[Undercover leveled up, Related attributes increasing...]

[Agility has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]

...

After the final skill upgrade, Kieran took another look at his remaining skills.

[Points: 23,690; Skill Points: 0; Golden Skill Points: 2; Golden Attribute Points: 2]

”After I sell Nobian’s equipment, I should have some extra income, but most of the skills will require Golden Skill Points to level up. Even the skills that do not require Golden Skill Points are not much use now, because I’ve already developed an upgrading system. Rather than leveling up unnecessary skills, I might as well buy supplies for my next dungeon!”

Kieran turned his eyes to the next dungeon, [The Shaman’s Partner].

He squinted as he recalled the bronze coffin.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Bonus 2