The Devil’s Cage

Fuu!

The roast mutton entered his mouth and went down his throat, Kieran sighing in satisfaction.

The roast mutton tasted exactly like it smelled, but he squinted his eyes once the meat entered his stomach.

His Advance Rank Intuition told him that once the meat entered his stomach, it would quickly dissolve and disintegrate into… Origin Force!

That’s right, Origin Force!

As Gluttony eagerly munched on the piece of meat in his body, it quickly transformed into pure Cardinal Sins Force and… Dawn Force, Plague Force, Devil Force, and Saint Thorn Force!

All five of his Origin Forces increased a little, insignificantly but certainly.

‘This dungeon relies on eating to power themselves up?’

As he recalled the scene with the girl and the buff man eagerly rushing towards the cafeteria and related it to the increase of his Origin Forces, the theory popped up in his mind naturally, making him quiver uncontrollably.

It wasn’t fear, but an uncontrollable excitement.

If his theory was right, what kind of gains would be waiting for him in this dungeon world, considering he owned Gluttony?

However, he forced himself to calm down right away. He still hadn’t forgotten about the sudden appearance of Witch’s Enigmatic Realm and his thoughts about that condition.

Likewise, he also bore in mind that the system lowered the dungeon difficulty to compensate him.

“Is it because of the gist of this dungeon, ‘you’ become anxious?” Kieran muttered in his heart.

The corner of his mouth curled up a little, forming a rather cold grin.

Since he had recovered lost ground, he wanted to expand his advantages until they became absolute.

He still had no idea which one of the three guesses was right even until now, but that didn’t stop him from perfecting his newly formed plan.

Dak Dak Dak Dak!

As clear footsteps entered his ears, Kieran turned around and waiting for the owner to appear.

Soon, a group of people came into the cafeteria.

The group of people were all stunned when they saw the unconscious girl and man then Kieran beside the charcoal stove. All of them looked confused.

Kieran emerging as the final victor no doubt exceeded their expectations. When they saw Leanna with a bloody and broken nose, some of their faces twitched at the scene.

Beauty itself was magic or an ability, and compared to the common, the beautiful and handsome would somewhat attain certain benefits for themselves.

Theorate was no exception, and Leanna was undoubtedly one of the blessed ones.

Fortunately, her advantages did not incite things that shouldn’t happen in front of the rules. It might also be one of the reasons why Leanna, with a bloody face and broken nose, plummeted in charms.

“Congratulations 2567, you’ve passed the entrance exam. This badge is the proof of your entry. Please get your daily supplies at the student affairs office, located on the first floor.”

The leader among the group waved his hand, and the two injured students were loaded onto stretchers and brought away. He then walked over to Kieran with a smile.

The man passed a golden badge to Kieran and continued, “I am Oliford, consider me your senior. If you have anything to ask, come find me in the research classroom for fifth years.”

“Em,” Kieran nodded, as he sensed the kindness from Oliford.

He wasn’t expressing his agreement or rejection. Kieran’s vigilant, or dubious, character had decided that he would never simply accept a stranger’s kindness, nor would he reject kindness from a seemingly powerful and influential person in an unfamiliar place.

He needed more information to make his final decision.

Oliford smiled when he saw Kieran’s cold look.

He had seen a lot of gifted people, but those who truly grew were only a handful.

After all, the disqualification rate at Theorate was as high as 90%.

It was just an entry exam, it wasn’t worth Oliford’s effort to invest anything into Kieran. Showing him kindness to form a decent impression in both their minds was good enough.

As for the future?

It would depend on what kind of performance Kieran showed.

“I’ll see you around. Oh, and 2567, if you have nothing on hand, please go to the student affairs office as soon as possible—this is a friendly reminder,” Oliford said, leading his men away after leaving the reminder.

Kieran did not leave right away, nor did he ask the other students on the same floor whether or not they had passed.

When the explosion went off as the entry exam started, the students who panicked had all been disqualified from Kieran’s point of view, hence there was no need to ask.

Moreover, Kieran had zero intention of asking while he was standing in the cafeteria!

It was the cafeteria, for crying out loud!

After the delicious piece of meat was eaten, he thought that there must be more food in this place. Back in the Witch Enigmatic Realm, the food that Ferris had prepared was extremely delicious, almost unrivaled and utterly authentic, but after Kieran freed himself from the illusory realm, everything became nothing but thought.

He’d eaten enough delicious food from Ferris’s cooking, but he felt the hunger growing instead.

Therefore, a pot of curry beef with an extra bowl of vegetables and half a bucket of rice in the cafeteria became Kieran’s ration to cure his hunger.

Kieran was in utter joy as he gobbled it down.

The invigilators who saw the scene through the camera looked helpless.

In order to make the sudden attack more realistic and sudden, the curry beef in the pot and the rice in the thermal bucket were all warm, and even the bowl of vegetables that consisted of cucumber, potato, and broccoli were fresh.

As a matter of fact, there were many new students eating at the cafeteria when the explosion went off.

“Who is this guy? He’s quite interesting,” a rather thin examiner asked.

“He’s recommended, name is 2567. Probably used some kind of method to get here, but looking at the scene really lifts my appetite!” a rather short and buff examiner answered as he took out a steaming burger from his pocket and took a big, satisfying bite; his face was filled with utter delight.

“Lenard, it’s working time, you are not allowed to… Fine, I’ll turn a blind eye.”

The rather thin Senile reminded his colleague, but before he could finish, another burger was shoved in his face by the short Leonard. Senile instantly turned his words around.

“What about the second exam? I don’t think this guy will leave before he finishes eating.”

The invigilator beside them looked at the two examiner with a helpless face.

He was also hungry, he also wanted to eat something!

“Then we’ll start when he finishes.”

Senile took the can of soft drink from Leonard as he spoke.

“As examiners, you and Mr. Leonard should arrive at the examination hall early…”

The invigilator reminded the two examiners.

“We’ve discovered a very good potential student, we might have to heavily observe him,” Senile said in a righteous tone. If it wasn’t for the burger sauce at the corner of his mouth, he would undoubtedly have sounded more convincing.

“That’s right. Even the principal will compromise for a student with true potential.”

A burp later, Leonard raised his soft drink for a toast with his colleague, Senile, who was also holding his own drink.

Pak.