The Devil's Cage

A figure suddenly hurled itself out of the shadows.

The dagger in its hand was driving towards Kieran's neck.

It was fast and vicious, but before it could reach Kieran, the figure suddenly raised its left hand.

Kak!

Shuu!

There was a clear sound of the spring firing a short arrow towards Kieran's face.

It was a complete surprise. The methods were very fitting for the figure's identity, a hitman or a more accurate name considering the time period, an assassin!

When the assassin started to appear under Kieran's radar with a slow and hidden state, Kieran only used a fraction of a second to identify the target because the assassin struck a familiar feeling.

The killer players who kidnapped Coll previously gave him the same feeling.

However, compared to the killer player's skills and abilities, this assassin was still too lacking.

Even though the assassin was very careful, he still couldn't escape Kieran's Intuition and detection.

As the assassin was discovered, he lost the one chance for a sudden strike. Since it was Kieran he was facing, it would be useless for him to add another strike.

Kieran had a habit of being the most vigilant person in the room.

His attention was not fully taken away by the stabbing dagger. He was used to observing the target's body movements to plan his next move. Similar to himself when he attacked his target, he was used to playing some extra tricks. Kieran was hoping not to be confused by the enemies' tricks.

Therefore, the moment the assassin pulled the trigger that released the spring, Kieran had effectively dodged the attack. He picked up the girl behind and made a turn to the right.

Not only did he dodge the cold arrow but the dagger stab as well.

At the same time, his left leg launched a kick following his movement on the assassin's back waist.

Bang!

Kieran didn't hold his strength back and the assassin felt like he was hit by a truck. A clear cracking noise came from his spine, and he was sent smashing into the wall by the great impact. His head was the first part of his body to smash the wall. Upon impact on the hard wall, his skull was crushed and brain splattered.

Kieran promptly raised his hand and covered Mary's eyes, covering the grueome scene, but Mary moved Kieran's hand away with hers.

Her face turned pale in an instant, but she held it together, forcing herself to absorb the scene into her gut.

Kieran saw what Mary did and couldn't help but frown.

The little girl showed a great extent of stubbornness. Obviously, it was out of some reasons, but he couldn't ask in details. He was certain Mary wouldn't reveal it to him.

Just like her stubbornness , the little girl's persistence was not something easily moved.

At least Kieran knew his stance; a stranger like him shouldn't have the qualification to question her. So, Kieran went up to the body instead. There was a green glowing equipment on top of the body.

[Name: Hidden Wrist Bow]

[Type: Bow Weapon]

[Rarity: Magic]

[Attack: Common]

[Attributes: 1. Extremespeed lvl 1; 2. Armor Penetration lvl 1]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is crafted by a skilled and experience craftsman, and was enchanted by an alchemist, granting its extreme speed.]

...

[Extremespeed lvl 1: 10% increase in speed for arrows and bullets fired]

[Armor Penetration lvl 1: Able to easily pierce lightweight armor (Weak, Common defense)]

...

The middle tier Magic weapon was not all bad considering its attributes.

The only pity was that Kieran have to unequip either [Primus Arm] or [Mardos Arm] if he wanted to equip it.

It was a no-brainer to compare a Magic rank to a Legendary rank. Unless it was under special circumstances, Kieran wouldn't even give it any consideration.

Kieran kept away [Hidden Wrist Bow] into his backpack and while he had the window open, he opened up the skill book he had gotten from Gorl, [Greatsword Blocking].

Kieran clicked the skill book and learned it while he had the time.

[Discovered skill book: Greatsword Blocking]

[Prerequisite met, learn skill?]

"Yes!"

[Skill learned: Greatsword Blocking]

[Name: Greatsword Blocking]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Defense]

[Effect: You know how to block enemy attacks effectively with your great sword, increase 10% defense]

[Consume: Stamina]

[Prerequisite: Strength F+, Agility F, Constitution F]

[Remark: This is just the basic blocking!]

...

There was not much difference from Kieran's expectation. Just as the name described, the skill effectively increased blocking skills while using two handed sword and greatsword.

Although there were some defensive techniques in [Sharp Weapon, Heavy Arms], it was very limited. Most of the techniques were leaning towards offense.

In the skill compensation list before this, there was no such skill available like [Greatsword Blocking] as well, which was enough for Kieran to speculate even further.

"Although it might be a white basic skill, but it has deviated from the system's category of basic skills? Or do the basic skills have some hidden level ranking that I didn't know of?" Kieran squinted his eyes thoughtfully, but before he could come up with more, he had to put a stop to his musings.

Mary, on the side, forced herself to go up close to the brain-splattered body. However, the gruesome scene seemed to have stimulated her too much.

She covered her mouth and ran outside.

Kieran then heard Mary throwing up outside. He shrugged.

A stubborn person will always receive more suffering but also more rewards.

After a while, when Mary came back with a pale face. She seemed to have familiarized herself to the scene. Kieran looked at the little girl and lifted a corner of his mouth.

Mary reminded him of himself while he was still a total newbie. Maybe, he even had it harder than Mary when he was still a newbie.

At least, Mary was still able to stand on her feet after throwing up.

"I'm still trying, I will succeed one day!"

Mary seemed to have a slight misunderstanding when she saw the light smile on Kieran's face.

Though she didn't include any harsh words while speaking, it felt like she was giving out a statement. Of course, with a slight sense of emphasis.

"I believe that you can, but if it's possible, I don't mind sharing my experience. See more, get yourself used to it and you'll be fine."

Kieran believed what the little girl said and was willing to give her a word of encouragement.

"Used to?" Mary raised a brow.

A sense of heroic spirit suddenly appeared on the little girl's covered face.

"Yes, just get used to it! A habit is the scariest thing. It can make you stronger or weaker. It all depends on your own judgement and how you do it! Though, I think we need to leave this place immediately. I believe this assassin was just the first of many. There will be more coming here because of that imperial envoy. We can continue the questions on the road. At least it wouldn't delay us," Kieran pointed at the dead body and said.

After Kieran expressed that they could bring Galeart along, Mary had no further objections.

However, just before they left, Mary brought Kieran to the highest room in the tower.

"Sir 2567, I need your experience to provide me aid in another field…"

Mary stood in front of the door and said slowly.

Another kind of help?

Kieran stared at the door before him, and a few thoughts bloomed in his heart.