The Devil's Cage

Panda Novel

The battle outside the inn didn’t affect the lively and merry atmosphere occurring inside.

The lone wolves raised their cups to Kieran as he walked in, a toast to the victor.

They wouldn’t ask what Kieran just did, though, despite being curious after knowing he was fighting outside.

There were rules everywhere, and in Harvest Inn, the lone wolves had to control their excessive curiosity.

Kieran nodded to the folks, took the free lemon water Lawless gave him, went around the bar counter, and headed into the hidden living room.

“Quite the reward, I suppose?” Rachel asked right away when she saw Kieran come back.

“En. It’s what I deserve, just like how I should get mine from you.”

Kieran nodded and reminded Rachel that the payment was due.

“Damn money-grubber!” Rachel grunted coldly.

Kieran shrugged and wasn’t overly concerned.

With Lawless around, he didn’t have to worry about Rachel eating her words, but it didn’t mean he would give up his right to rush and remind her.

Money grubber?

It was the truth, though, no matter what angle one viewed Kieran from, but was it wrong?

Being a stingy character had always been Kieran’s MO.

“You want Points? Or items for your rank? Or some news?” Rachel asked.

“News,” Kieran answered without a second thought.

Points were not a concern at the moment since Kieran had acquired Barkel’s ‘stash,’ the same thing went for items and equipment unless Rachel was referring to some exceptional item.

Though, Kieran believed that if Rachel had something special and were willing to give it out, she would have used it as payment for Kieran’s services, not providing Kieran with three choices.

Therefore, the best option would be news or information from the inn owner.

Besides, the news that he got from Rachel were all verified to be worthwhile.

“I want to know more about rank V,” Kieran added.

“I don’t have much information about rank V, but each piece of info can buy a city.”

“Your payment earns you one. What do you want to know?” Rachel straightened her body as she spoke.

Rachel was always serious when talking business, so was Kieran.

Kieran lightly laughed, though.

“What do you have?” he asked.

“Cunning bastard, trying to probe for more with my answers?”

“Let me tell you one thing, it’s impossible!”

“As I said, everything regarding rank V can buy a city, including the question itself.” Rachel waved her index finger, stating that she will not fall for Kieran’s mind games.

“Don’t you think you are being harsh on me?”

“What am I supposed to say if you don’t give me an option?”

“I’m not putting you in a hard position since it’s about rank V,” Rachel emphasized.

Kieran shrugged like he was really in an awkward position, but his mind was spinning rapidly.

It seemed like the information on rank V was much more valuable than he thought, to the point that Rachel had to be careful with what she said. She didn’t even reveal the question, all she gave Kieran was a choice. However, choosing what to know was a little bit too passive for Kieran.

He wasn’t fond of his current position, so he started to rearrange the words he wanted to say in his mind.

“Then how do I know if information that I’m asking for has an even bigger secret behind it?”

“As you said, everything about rank V can buy a city!” Kieran laid back on the sofa, saying slowly.

“Your carefulness really scares me sometimes,” Rachel coldly grunted again.

“At least its better than losing without knowing why,” Kieran smiled without being too concerned.

If it were in the real world, this negotiation would have fallen below the freezing point, no one would be willing to step down anymore, but in the game, there was a direct and straightforward way to solve it: contract.

A contract appeared on the table.

Before passing it to Kieran, Rachel wrote her name on the contract.

Kieran glanced over it, made sure that there was nothing wrong, and also wrote his name.

The general contents of the contract were on top of the promised payment, Kieran would ask something about rank V, and if it were something that Rachel didn’t know, she would have to reimburse him with another that shared the same value.

After a second thought, Kieran added another condition: the processing fee from the system would be split between the two of them.

“How stingy are you?”

Rachel widened her eyes at Kieran opposite her when she saw what he added. If she could, she would tear the system blur away to check and see whether or not the Kieran before her was someone else. A cold person during regular times that would fight for the smallest gains during times like this.

He was exactly like a merchant!

No, no! He was a profiteer!

The kind of profiteer who wanted everything from people’s wallets while he paid the least cost or nothing at all!

Rachel believed that had she suggested to bear all of the processing fees, Kieran would have ungentlemanly agreed to it.

“You can’t make friends like this.”

The words were squeezed out of Rachel’s clenched teeth.

“My friends will agree and praise this virtue of mine. After all, being thrifty is a rare virtue,” Kieran answered honestly.

“This is probably the first time that I’ve heard someone decorate ‘stingy’ in such a grand way, you’d even tainted true friendship.”

Rachel obviously didn’t want to tangle with Kieran on this topic. After making sure the contract was valid, she asked, “Now tell me, what you want to know?”

“How do I level up after rank V?” Kieran asked straightforwardly.

After his Spirit reached V-, Kieran already got a clear hint that Golden Attribute Points and Golden Skill Points could no longer level up his current Spirit level.

As for the leveling method like that dreamy limit breaking scene?

Kieran was sure that wasn’t the way when he felt the weak but tenacious fire in his mind.

The fire had been ignited. Now, he had to make the fire burn stronger, not lighting another fire.

Maybe someone else would, but not Kieran.

Maybe in the future, he would, but definitely not now. It was an unrealistic fantasy for him to light up another fire shortly after the first one.

“I don’t know. After reaching rank V, everyone’s choices become different.”

“What I know will be only suitable for me, not for you.”

Rachel answered, honestly.

“Not even a single hint?” Kieran asked further.

“If you really want this answer to be your payment, I’m happy to oblige,” Rachel answered.

“If it’s just a hint, it’s not enough for my payment, you need to tell me a valid one,” Kieran said.

“No, don’t even think about it!” Rachel rejected straightaway, but Kieran didn’t care.

“We can negotiate on that. You see, I am willing to pay more to compensate for the second piece of information.”

“You get compensated for what you say, and I get what I want. It’s an ideal win-win situation and also the essence of a deal,” Kieran said with a smile.

“Then it depends what you are asking,” Rachel wasn’t tricked by Kieran’s words.

She would not be moved if Kieran didn’t give her something useful.

Kieran thought for a while in front of Rachel’s gaze.

Then, he spoke—

“After getting to rank, V… did you feel any impulsive feelings?”

Kieran then saw Rachel take out along weapon that looked like a butcher’s knife.

“Do you want holes on your body?” Rachel asked, seriously.

“No, I don’t. It seems like you don’t know about this,” Kieran smiled.

He knew he had gotten control of this negotiation.

Rachel didn’t go through the scene where Kieran felt the impulsive rush from the relics he gathered. Meaning, it was safe to say that Rachel didn’t have the items like the unknown remains from Dawn Church, [Ancilanco Codex], the unknown coin from Lady Wealth, [Fenrir’s Crown], and the key.

Or rather…

It was different when Spirit, not other attributes, reached rank V!

Kieran was wondering in his heart, and Rachel, with the knife in her hand, spoke in a fierce tone.

“I want an explanation!”

Kieran smiled at Rachel’s words.

Her emotions and pressuring aura were genuine, but it was all within Kieran’s expectation.

Rachel, the inn owner, wasn’t a generous woman. She kept calling Kieran a stingy ghost, but wasn’t she one as well?

Stingy people making contact with one another would not leave behind many fond memories, but they had one less thing to worry about: they would keep their promises.

Because, only by keeping one’s promise would stingy people will not suffer ‘losses’ in their properties, and these ‘owned properties’ included the possessed items, seen items and the items that they hadn’t gotten their hands on.

“Contract,” Kieran casually reminded her.

“It is really a pain in the ass doing business with you.” Rachel raised the white flag in the end.

Since she knew she couldn’t scare Kieran, she shook her hand and put the knife away. Kieran’s gaze suddenly froze. He could see that the weapon was kept in her sleeve, but how she did, it was a mystery.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t see it properly, but he didn’t know how.”

“A special technique? Or some skill? Or is it from her real-world practice?”

Kieran was wondering in his heart.

“You seem interested in this sheathing technique? Why not make it as a payment for the information that I don’t know?”

Rachel made use of every single window, but Kieran wasn’t moved, he sat there and looked at her.

The sheathing technique was remarkable, but…

His primary weapon was two-handed greatsword!

A thin narrow butcher’s knife could go under the sleeve, but a greatsword?

Unless Kieran was a titan, or the technique involved distorting space itself…

But was it possible?

The answer was self-explanatory.

Soon enough, Rachel gave up.

“It’s different for everyone after reaching rank V because the attribute they limit break is different.”

“Different paths will come forth when an attribute reaches V-, but according to my research, the root of all five attributes have one common point: tempering!”

“Through endless tempering, you can take it to the next level!”

“For example, if my main attribute is Constitution, I can try to train myself in my stamina or endurance by taking hits, thus choosing the best path for me.” Rachel started to say what she knew.

“Then? This is no different than a hint.”

Kieran would not be satisfied with this kind of answer, which he could probably figure out himself, what he wanted was something more specific.

“Do you know the Power of Faith?” Rachel asked.

“Yes,” Kieran nodded.

He had indeed slightly come across similar things, so he wasn’t a complete stranger in this.

“You limit broke Spirit, right?” Kieran nodded without hiding anything.

“Then do you know why players who are strong in Spirit attributes are known as Chosen Ones?” Rachel asked.

“Can it be…” Kieran raised a brow, a guess popped up in his mind.

“They can utilize the Power of Faith after reaching a certain level.”

“There was a rumor running through some small circles in the big city back then.”

“Why is the Witch so powerful? Some say because she can devour people’s fear.”

“But of course, whether it’s true or not, it’s up to you,” Rachel shrugged.

Power of Faith?

Chosen One?

Devour?

Somehow, Kieran thought about the impulsive rush that he had for the relics in his room, he felt like he was looking at some delicious cuisine.

It seemed like…

The rumor wasn’t without merit, but there must be some secrets that he didn’t know.

Kieran sat there and pondered upon the topic quietly.

Rachel didn’t interrupt him, she waited. It was an undeniable fact that she thought highly of Kieran, and with his relationship with Lawless, Rachel had treated Kieran as one of her own.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told him this secret that only a few knew of.

She hoped that Kieran could get more.

A few minutes later, Kieran rubbed his swelling temples and looked up at Rachel.

He needed more information, or else he would be stuck.

Therefore, he told Rachel about the scene that she didn’t know of.

It was because of the contract and also because he knew that a long working relationship was built upon a foundation of trust.

“Impulsive rush to ‘eat’ certain items?”

After thinking for a while, Rachel looked up and said, “I need to confirm something with someone, and after my weakness goes away, as compensation, I’ll tell you what I can find out from my side.”

“Sure.” Kieran didn’t object; neither did he ask who Rachel was going to for the confirmation.

There wasn’t any silly chit-chat either; he waved at Rachel and walked out of the living room.

And when Kieran was out of the living room, Kieran saw that Lawless was waiting at the bar counter.

His friend was subtly signaling him about a table further away.

Borl was sitting there, with dead silence presence.