The Devil's Cage

An orange glow was glimmering around the book, a glow that only Kieran could see.

[Discovered skill book: Viper Kick]

[Prerequisite met, learn skill?]

"Yes!" Kieran answered without a second of doubt.

[Learned skill: Viper Kick]

[Name: Viper Kick (Basic)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Offense]

[Effect: Your leg muscles and joints could be slightly altered, slightly increasing the attack range or your kicks.]

[Consume: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: Hand-to-Hand Combat, Kick Combat (Master), Strength E+, Agility E+, Constitution E+]

[Remark: A set of kicking techniques that is infamous for its bewitching movements and catching your target off guards!]

...

A burning stream swirled around Kieran's legs. His brain was absorbing the knowledge of [Viper Kick] from the system and infusing it into every part of his body.

The stream finally stopped after a few seconds.

Kieran tested out a front kick with the new skill.

Tssss!

When the kick reached its maximum force, Kieran's thigh and calf muscle tightened up, the knee joints and ankle trembled a little. The straightened tip of his leg let out a sharp hiss similar to a snake, but actually, it was the sound of his muscles and joints moving, and his kick extended another 5 cm forward.

"Catching my targets off guard, eh?"

Kieran commented on the Rare rank kicking skill.

Inside his mind, he already had the plan to put this skill into good use, but it was not the time.

He would at least need to level [Viper Kick] to a considerable level.

Then, Kieran walked over to the thin, narrow sword that fell off from Galeart. It was glowing with a brilliant green radiance.

[Name: Buckle Stinger]

[Type: Sword Weapon]

[Rarity: Magic]

[Attack: Strong]

[Attributes: 1. Critical Rate Lvl 1; 2. Nimble Lvl 1]

[Effects: None]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is the favourite blade of an assassin, but one needs to wear it around the waist to bring out the full potential of the weapon]

...

[Critical Rate Lvl1: A possible chance to inflict 2x damage when striking target weak points.]

[Nimble Lvl1: It will not restrict your movement]

...

"So he really is the assassin!"

Kieran couldn't help but exclaim in his heart when he saw the attributes of [Buckle Stinger]

Whether it was [Viper Kick] or [Buckle Stinger], both had the ability to catch an opponent off-guard. Such abilities had become the favourite of the assassin.

Kieran wouldn't mind using such a method in fighting, but [Buckle Stinger] couldn't be compared to [Wild Soul]; the latter was much more important.

After keeping the stinger in his backpack, Kieran turned around and saw Mary staring at what was left of Galeart with a blank look.

The little girl seemed to reveal a sense of hatred from her mannerism, but most of it was absent-mindedness. But before Kieran could comfort her, the little girl's sharp senses forced herself to conceal her emotions.

"How did you know Galeart was the assassin?" She asked.

"Just moments before. The assassin who killed your mother was after the secret order, but based on my previous theory, there were only a handful of person who could come in contact with this matter! Other than the envoy and the subordinate that was ordered to hide the order, the only ones left were your mother, you and Galeart."

"If I am correct, that subordinate should be a man of sacrifice, so it's easy to exclude him. After that, it was your mother, you and Galeart again. Among you three, your mother and you are the victims. The most suspicious one would eventually be Galeart!" Kieran was looking at Mary while speaking.

"Remember the hostility that he showed me? From that moment onwards, he was misleading me! He hoped that I would place my attention on either Harway or Fuller and also mislead the public into thinking that I was that killer!" Kieran continued.

"But this is not enough to prove anything!" Mary frowned, seemingly unable to accept what Kieran had said.

"Yes, it was not enough. In fact, I was very confused at first because Galeart's arrangement was flawless at first. No one would know how killed Harway and Fuller by surprise! If the latter incidents didn't happen…"

Kieran didn't refute Mary's question. Just as he said, Galeart's arrangement was flawless at first.

"Don't you think it was too coincidental when Galeart woke up and told me everything, right after that Swusters Castle was lit on fire?"

"Other than that, another coincidental point was that the fire revealed that the killer didn't get what he really wanted. Everything was like an act, shown to us after tons of practise, though he overdid it! Most importantly, the wounds on his body were the thing that confused me the most, but they were also the key factor that made me realize what was going on!"

Kieran said while drawing gestures on his body. Every spot he pointed was where Galeart was wounded before. Because of the bandaging, Kieran had a good look at his wounds.

Kieran could refer to his memory and reenact the wounds perfectly on his body.

Mary was staring at Kieran's finger.

"Every single wound avoided his right hand, legs and weak points…"

The little girl muttered to herself when Kieran finished pointing it out.

"Um. If he wasn't skilled enough with handling a blade, he couldn't have made such wounds on himself! If he was that skilled, it was easy for him to avoid all the lethal spots. No common man would like to be covered with wounds, unless he had some other intentions…"

Kieran nodded and looked at Mary who had tilted her head down in silence.

After a small hesitation, he continued.

"During that night he decided to make his move, he drugged you with some sleeping potions, making you unconscious. But he still suspected that your mother already knew everything! When he discovered that your mother had made some arrangement to meet contingencies, his suspicions were confirmed. So he started to disguise himself back, hoping to be the same as before, finishing his task the easier way and getting what he wanted."

"Though he wrongly estimated my arrival time. If I had arrived later, Sergourney would have definitely started a siege on the tower. Galeart then would act as an injured attendant saving his master with utmost courage. Not only to deceive you but also the hidden imperial envoy. He also needed Sergourney's mouth to spread the word of the incident."

"Galeart never put all his eggs in one basket."

After Kieran finished, he jumped up on a spot into the tree crown above him.

He made his way to one of the branches, more precisely, a bird's nest, and took down whatever was inside.

A sealed scroll appeared in his hand and what came after was the system notification pinging him.

Words started to pile up in his vision.

[Discovered key item for the mission…]

[Main mission altering…]