The Devil’s Cage

The bell was still ringing in everyone’s ears.

Although Kieran knew that this was a prank, he still couldn’t accept it. On the contrary, he became even more embarrassed.

”Revenge! Boller must have wanted to take revenge on the Creature of Desire’s previous hostility!”

Kieran was staring at Boller angrily, but Boller ignored the fire in his eyes and winked at him.

When he noticed the cheeky grin on Boller’s face, Kieran realized that Boller was doing this on purpose. Kieran wanted to take revenge on Boller too, but before he could even open his mouth, notifications started spamming his vision.

[Main Mission completed!]

[Player will leave the dungeon in 5 minutes]

[Please take whatever items you wish to keep with you.]

[Note: Any items that exceed the maximum weight will be discarded!]

...

”Damn it!” Kieran thought with a frown.

He really wanted to ask the system how it decided whether a Main Mission was accomplished or not.

His Main Mission had been to reinstate the order on the West Coast in three months, and Kieran had only managed to eliminate the Shepherd of Death and some East and West Coast mystics. He still needed to reinstate order in the mystical realm.

Unless...

”I will govern at Rei’s will…”

Kieran suddenly recalled what he had said back at the docks, when he had first encountered the East Coast mystics after the battle. If the system had treated this as his goal, then it all made sense.

Still, this would mess up Kieran’s original plan completely. According to his plan, he should have had a lot more time to complete his Main Mission and get ready to leave the dungeon.

He might even have gotten his hands on some special loot as well, yet…

”F*ck! Damn it!” Kieran cursed again before he started to move anxiously. He knew that the system was strict. It would not spare him another second, even if he wanted to stay.

”Simones, get me some ropes!” Kieran said as he ran out of the hall, ignoring everyone else.

His loot was still outside in the wagon. If he wanted to take it all with him, he could not rely solely on the [Deceiver’s Key].

As Kieran ran past the crowd, everyone exchanged confused looks. They did not understand why he was rushing.

”Maybe…”

Some smartasses like Simones and Boller thought that this was related to something entirely different and started to move swiftly.

Elli, on the other hand, paused a little before she went chasing after Kieran. She needed to talk to him.

The wagon was parked outside by the stone bridge. The two wagoners had been beaten and passed out when the crowd had rushed through.

Kieran had been worried about his loot being taken away, but no such thing had happened. After taking a quick look at the two unconscious wagoners, he focused on the tremendous loot he had gathered on his way there.

When the young lass caught up with him, he didn’t notice the discomfort and anxiousness on her face.

Elli was staring at Kieran’s figure, her words still on the tip of her tongue, even though she told herself that she needed to be incisive now.

”You are leaving again?” the young lass said after fighting with herself for half a minute.

”Something happened. I need to go away for some time. Don’t worry, I will be back soon!”

Kieran nodded, giving her an ambiguous explanation. The young lass didn’t press the matter.

Even though Kieran’s excuse sounded like a lie, when he assured her that he would be back soon, she felt relieved and switched to her usual tone.

”Then please be fast! Your previous long leave caused me tons of trouble! Remember, you are Nikorei’s assistant. You need to do your duties as such and not push the burden on me. I’m only her student!”

Kieran nodded with a smile at her familiar, slightly contemptuous tone.

Simones and Boller walked over swiftly with the ropes.

...

Five minutes later, Kieran reached the game lobby in an even worse manner than his previous returns.

Using a total of three intertwining ropes in combination with the support of the [Deceiver’s Key], he managed to carry back 18 Magical Rank items, not counting his own equipment, potions and sword oil.

After a quick count to confirm the total number, Kieran let out a long breath of relief. Nothing had been left behind. He was happy about the long swords, daggers and short knives he had brought back. If his loot had included heavy spiked clubs, battle axes and two-handed swords, even his B- Strength would not have been enough for him to bring back everything.

Besides the extra loot, he had also had to carry his own equipment. [Arrogant Word] alone was too heavy for a common man to bear.

Even though Kieran didn’t have any armor on him, he would still have chosen his loot meticulously.

After all, the system calculated the maximum weight based on the player’s strength, not the items’ type or rarity. If the Legendary and Rare Rank equipment on him were calculated based on their weight, no matter how hard he cried, he would still not be able to bring them back.

After taking a long breath, Kieran checked his dungeon rating.

[Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner II]

[Dungeon Type: Assistance]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Below Average]

[Main Mission: Reinstate order in the mystical realm on the West Coast in 3 months]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating F)]

[Sub Mission 1: Ghost Ferry (Perfect Completion)]

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

[Sub Mission 2: Invitation from an Ancient Society!]

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

[Sub Mission 3: Missing Town]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating C → B)]

[Sub Mission 4: Terrorism!]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Great Rating, Rating B → S)]

[Extra Sub Mission: Hundred Years of Hatred]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Great Rating, Rating S → SS)]

[Battle Performance: Very Active (Rating SS → SSS)]

[Exploration Performance: Average]

[Special Rating 1: Assisted in the killing of a Sealed Phantom (Rating SSS → Z, Rep +1]

[Special Rating 2: Special kills in the grand hall (Rating Z → ZZ, Rep +1]

[Title: Unable to acquire title ”Bird of Death” (Requirements not met)]

[Final Player Rating: ZZ!]

[Calculating player’s Special Dungeon rewards…]

[Final Special Dungeon rewards are as follows...]

[Points: 45,000; Skill Points: 25; Golden Skill Points: 3; Golden Attribute Points: 3]

[Special Dungeon Acquired: The Shaman’s Partner III]

[Special Rewards Acquired: Kai Prism]

...

[Player has acquired a Special Trial, The Special Dungeon The Shaman’s Partner III will be initiated in advance]

[Special Trial and dungeon world share the same universe, Advanced Main Mission acquired…]

...

”Advanced Main Mission?”

Shocked by that last part, Kieran unconsciously turned to the mission description of the next Special Dungeon, [The Shaman’s Partner III].

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Finally, this is where everyone’s anticipated Holy Knight trial will begin.

But first let me finish another normal dungeon run and a special dungeon run :D