The Devil’s Cage

After the familiar blinding light, lines of words piled up in Kieran’s vision.

[Entering title dungeon!]

[Multiple participant special dungeon…]

[Number of participants: 5!]

[Detected player 2567 possesses the sub scroll, matching identity…]

[Identity: You are the eldest son of the marquis. Your talents are outstanding; skilled in swordsmanship, medicinal knowledge plus a little bit of astrology. You are the most discussed topic of Dawn City but since your mother came from a peasant background, it gave you tremendous troubles. Coincidentally, you’ve heard of the Burning Dawn incident. You utilized your family’s name to exchange for a letter of appointment for the sheriff of Shatterstone Town…]

[Background: The Burning Dawn, who was stationed at the Supreme Road, was assaulted by an unknown enemy and was heavily wounded. He was desperate to find someone that can inherit the spirit and will of the Blade of the Daybreaker!]

[Main Mission: None, stay duration: 90 days]

[Temporary language pack, Disappears upon exiting the dungeon.]

[Clothing, backpack, weapons, and other items remain unchanged, Temporarily altered appearance, Returns to normal upon exiting the dungeon]

[Detected firearms and grenades did not match the dungeon period, power decreased by 90%. This is a title dungeon so after you enter the dungeon, you will not be compensated.]

[Note 1: The title dungeon allows killing between participating players. All the value of the items acquired from the potential kill will be increased by 50% and Points increased by 100%]

[Note 2: The title dungeon has no main mission]

[Note 3: The title dungeon does not allow players to acquire any kinds of equipment or items by killing a target]

[Note 4: The title dungeon does not grant player dungeon clear rewards like Points, Skill Points, Golden Skill Points, and Golden Attribute Points but player’s final rating will affect the acquirement of the title “Daybreaker’s Blade”]

[Note 5: When the player completes sub-missions or special events in the title dungeon, no ratings will be given, instead it will prolong the stay duration.]

…

“There is no main mission and no corresponding points or skills points at the end of the dungeon clear… The ending will only affect the acquirement of Daybreaker’s Blade and players can get more advantages by fighting against each other… this means the dungeon encourages killing and finding sub-missions and special events?”

Kieran frowned after he went through the dungeon’s note.

He knew given the conditions, Starbeck would be completely excluded from the equation.

His cowardice wouldn’t even allow him to kill a rabbit, let alone a real person.

However, Kieran wasn’t really frustrated since he was prepared for the worst.

He only hoped that Starbeck could properly protect himself before they met up.

Before entering the title dungeon, Kieran and Starbeck had some speculations about this special dungeon and formed some special countermeasures specifically.

The situation before Kieran which placed him in a different identity and a different side was also within Kieran’s calculations.

After all, the main scroll and sub scroll had different properties.

“What will Starbeck’s identity be? And those other three guys…” Kieran muttered to himself.

As the light and words faded away, Kieran found himself in a wagon.

The wagon was spacious and steadily moving.

The carriage theme was red and black; there was no lack of gold and silver decorations either. Especially the door handle beside Kieran’s hand, there was a grown man’s thumb-sized emerald embedded on it.

However, the decorations and theme didn’t make the carriage looked filthy rich, instead, it presented an elegant style that words couldn’t describe properly but the well dressed middle-aged man opposite Kieran didn’t give him the chance to continue enjoying the ride.

“Young master, this is probably the last time I can address you. You exchanged your surname just for a chance. I can’t really comment on whether is it bold or reckless of you but I think you should think it over, be wiser. Lord Marquis does have a sense of humanity, you should have better choices.”

The middle-aged man’s voice sounded heavy but his pronunciation was clear as if he spat out each and every word with might. It made his square face looked more strict and old fashioned.

While he spoke, a delicate and bulging coin sack was passed to Kieran.

“This is the last bit of help Lord Marquis can provide you.”

The middle-aged man was scrupulous with his words as if he was a speaking robot.

“Thanks.” Kieran took the sack and thanked him in a more courteous way.

“Do you need anything else? I can give you help as long as my abilities allow me to,” the middle-aged man continued with a fair tone.

The meaning of his words sounded caring yet the tone from the man sounded estranged and courteous.

“No need.” Kieran shook his head.

Then, the carriage fell into silence.

Neither Kieran nor the middle-aged man had the intention of breaking the silence.

Guluum, Guluum.

The wagon slowed down during sunset and eventually stopped.

Through the carriage window, there was a small area of light shining in the darkness.

“2567, that is your destination, Shatterstone Town. Bring your appointment letter and backpack… I hope we can meet again in Dawn City.”

The middle-aged man paused for a while before finishing his sentence.

Kieran nodded. He took his belongings and got off the wagon.

He sized up the tall and muscular horses in front of the wagon. Then he walked towards the area of light without stopping.

After drawing some distance from the wagon, Kieran opened his backpack.

Fire Raven and Frost Wolf sprung out of his pack.

With a flap of its wings, Fire Raven flew up into the night sky, transforming into Kieran’s best detection companion.

The hybrid Frost Wolf was still in its youth yet it was not scared of the darkness around it at all. It jumped around Kieran and sniffed its surrounding from time to time.

Perhaps during its youth, the Frost Wolf couldn’t be a decent helper to Kieran in battle but it had the sense of smell that far exceeded common hunting hounds; it will more than enough as the assistant detection companion.

Besides, it still had some special effects on it.

Grrr, Grrrrrrr!

A soft growl would come out of its mouth from time to time.

Its growl would scare off the other hungry beasts in the area and with Kieran’s exceptional sight, he saw the hungry beasts tuck their tails and run.

Seemed like its youth and hybrid state did not affect the original pride of a Frost Wolf, similar to Kieran’s current identity.

A noble’s son that abandoned his family name might seem like a gambler in other people’s eyes but the appointment letter of the sheriff was an authentic and effective one.

“HOLD UP!”

“Walk out to the light and place your hands where I can see them!”

“Don’t do something you’ll regret!”

When Kieran arrived at the outer area of Shatterstone Town, a loud yell sounded from the wooden outpost tower beside the town.

“I am the new sheriff! This is my appointment letter!” Kieran replied to the guard and threw the letter upwards.

Around 10 seconds later, the wooden fences blocking the path were opened up by a couple of young and strong townspeople.

A young man with a bow and quiver behind his back walked over with Kieran’s appointment letter.

“The sheriff? Are you sure you want to be the town’s sheriff?”

The young man looked at Kieran with a weird look.