The Devil’s Cage

The gold coin tumbled down with a dazzling shine and landed on Kieran’s palm.

He clenched his fist and raised it towards Einderson.

“Heads or tails?”

“Heads means your choice can work, tails means no but whatever it is, this coin should be offered to Lady Vanessa who makes the judgment.”

Kieran smiled and gave the coin back to Einderson.

“Heads or tails? I see!”

Einderson wasn’t stupid, after being taken aback, he quickly understood the meaning behind it.

It was also because of the realization, Einderson’s gaze at Kieran had an extra sense of admiration.

“I have thought about this for a long time and couldn’t find any answers, who would’ve thought it would be so simple! My, my, my… Lady Vanessa really does favors you.”

Einderson tried to find a suitable term to compliment Kieran but after some thoughts, he couldn’t find any. In the end, he credited it to Lady Thorn.

One couldn’t fault his reasoning for it was natural of a devoted believer.

As a devoted believer, after the matter was solved, it was time to execute it and promote it.

“I was being torn apart at first worrying that money would taint Lady Vanessa but after a simple explanation from lord archpriest, everything has become simpler and all we need to do is give our best in cooperating, the effects will soon be obvious!”

“I myself am eager to see that day come and I believe so does Lady Vanessa!”

Einderson said while his eyes were glimmering, he even looked a little overjoyed.

Kieran, on the other hand, looked at the officiant with a calm expression.

As a fake believer, Kieran couldn’t understand how Einderson felt but it didn’t stop him from understanding his role in everything.

“I understand. Then I’ll leave everything to you Einderson. I’ll have to attend the Festival of Partners in Hunter Temple on behalf of the temple after this, so I’ll be in my room preparing for the trip.”

After feeling that Lady Thorn’s gaze was captivated by the gold coin in Einderson’s hand, Kieran walked outside and soon vanished from people’s sight.

Dumbstruck, Einderson was left behind.

“Wait, what? Aren’t we supposed to work on this together? What about cooperation and other things? Why am I being left alone? Aren’t you the archpriest? Shouldn’t you officiate everything while I assist you?”

Kieran didn’t hear what Einderson was mumbling in his heart but even if he did, he would pretend that he didn’t.

He very much knew what he was skilled in and what he wasn’t.

He was fearless and bold in battle, regardless of how powerful the enemy, he had the courage to draw his sword but when he had to team up with someone and promote some policies, his confidence to complete the task was at zero.

Whether in reality or in the game, dungeon world, he had never come across similar knowledge.

So, the best way for Kieran to handle the situation was to leave it to the pro and not blindly command people around without knowing what to do.

The other point was, Lady Thorn’s attention was temporarily distracted and if he didn’t take the chance and inspect his rewards from his continuous battles, it would be regrettable.

Kieran eagerly returned to his new room and swiftly took out the two Legendary items for a good look.

The loot from Burwell was a sword-like weapon.

[Name: Burwell’s Slaughter]

[Type: Sword Weapon]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attack: Extreme]

[Attribute: 1. Aura of Slaughter, 2. Arrow of Slaughter, 3. Slaughter Thrust]

[Prerequisite: Strength B, Agility A+, Sharp Weapon, Special Sword Weapon (Grand Master)]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: The first sword of Burwell and after his decade of massacre, it became one of a kind. Able to hide around the belt.]

…

[Aura of Slaughter: The wielder can Terrorize any being in a 25-meter radius range with Spirit rank no higher than B rank, lasts 1 second, able to use twice per day]

[Arrow of Slaughter: Fire the “arrows” which are the rust on the blade. Able to cover 30°, 15-meter range in front of the wielder. Each “arrow” has Strong rank penetration attack and when multiple “arrow” strike a single target, damage inflicted will not be higher than Extreme, able to use once per day]

[Slaughter Thrust: The curvy and soft nature of the blade allows the wielder to thrust rapidly and in a strange way, able to use once per day]

……

“A soft blade? Able to hide around the belt?”

Kieran went into deep thought for a while before coming to a decision.

Although he didn’t have [Sharp Weapon, Special Sword Weapon], he could very well buy a skill book just for that and turn [Burwell’s Slaughter] into his other ace in the hole.

Kieran never minded having another trump card and given [Burwell’s Slaughter]’s attribute, the moment it appeared, it will definitely catch his foe off guard.

Kieran put away the soft blade and turned to the item that fell off Lady Wealth’s clone.

The item was a coin sack.

[Name: Wealth’s Keep]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: I ]

[Attribute: 1. Keep, 2. Greed, 3. Tax Collection]

[Prerequisite: Spirit S]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: The vessel of Wealth, any gold, silver, copper, or gem that are kept inside will be as good as new]

…

[Keep: Has 6 independent extendable spaces, able to hold any kind of single item (Does not include living beings or items larger than 9 m³, halves the weight]

[Greed: When item stored is of any kind of currency or gemstones, extendable space will automatically expand 3 times and weight will not be calculated]

[Tax Collection: Each time Keep is triggered, a tax amount of 10 Points will apply, Each time Greed is triggered, a tax amount of 10 times higher the initial will apply.]

…

“Storage item!” Kieran was overjoyed at first.

Storage items were quite uncommon in the game, [Crimson Ghost Stomach] behind him was a Magic rank item but was able to rack up the price of Rare ranked equipment.

More so for a Legendary sack like this and as for the attribute [Tax Collection], Kieran wasn’t too concerned.

10 Points were really nothing to him and even if the amount is 10 times higher, it was still nothing.

However, he didn’t immediately put [Wealth’s Keep] to use.

He knew what situation he was in now.

While Kieran was under Lady Thorn’s surveillance, despite his heart itching to do so, he didn’t take out his spoils of war for a single glance and now, he wouldn’t suddenly equip one either. It might attract unwanted suspicion from Lady Thorn.

When Kieran encountered the clone of Lady Thorn, the term “work together” was spoken in his mind and it allowed Kieran to realize that she wasn’t as quiet and unstudied of the matters around her as rumored.

Lady Thorn placed herself in a more hidden position and observed everything while waiting for the perfect chance to strike, similar to a great hunter.

While he had to face against such a God, Kieran could never be too safe.

So Kieran was ruminating over his recent actions, trying to figure out if there was something that he did that seemed out of place.

His thinking process lasted for almost 20 minutes before it was forced to an end.

A temple servant knocked on his door, the servant entered after being given the permission to.

“Priest Lilith of Love Temple requests a meeting my lord.”