Chapter 141: Title
Translator: Dess Editor: Efydatia
Nobian's room was much smaller than Kieran had imagined.
His place was not even a tenth of Kieran's old broken garage. A quick glance was enough for Kieran to taken in every item and piece of decoration before him.
There were only two points of interest. One of them was the black curtain hidden behind the front door, and the other was the spot where Nobian had originally placed his equipment.
Kieran had hoped to find clues about Nobian upon entering the room, so this naturally led him to the suspicious black curtain.
Nobian's secrets were hidden behind that curtain, but before Kieran ventured in, he checked the place for any potential traps and dangers out of instinct, even though player's room was to be absolutely safe.
After ruling out the existence of any secret traps or magic circles and confirming that the place was actually safe, Kieran pulled the black curtain back.
The metal rings on top of the curtain dragged over the metal rail, producing a clear sound.
A blackboard with five names appeared before Kieran. The first name was "Gibbons", and the last one was "2567", which was Kieran's nickname.
The first four names had a red cross over them. Only Kieran's was clear.
The scene was self-explanatory, but Kieran still frowned over what he had discovered.
The four names on the blackboard had been crossed off because those players had been assassinated by Nobian. Kieran had been the next one in line.
He had not expected to discover something like this while he had been looking for clues.
"Did he write down the names to memorialize his achievement because he couldn't tell anyone? Or did he make a gallery out of his work?"
Whatever Nobian's goal had been, it only proved how twisted he had been deep down.
Nobian might have been a psychopath, but under the restrictions of the Union laws, he had still been able to maintain his sanity. Once he had entered the underground game though, everything had changed.
He had nothing to be afraid of while he was out of the Union's grasp.
Or maybe it had all started when he had killed the player named "Gibbons". Maybe that's when he'd become that way.
Whatever the process, Kieran could not know and did not care to find out. The blackboard before him was a clue.
It was not a direct revelation of Nobian's goal and identity, but Kieran could find out more from the names on the list.
He removed the blackboard from the wall and headed towards his second point of interest.
It was the deepest place of the room, the darkest corner, where Nobian kept all his equipment.
A couple more pieces of equipment popped up at the spot as Kieran approached it.
A piece of armor, a long sword, a pair of pants and a pair of boots. It was what Nobian had been wearing when he had died. The pants and the boots were nothing special, but the armor and the long sword caught Kieran's attention.
[Name: Tessirot Blessing]
[Type: Armor]
[Rarity: Rare]
[Defense: Strong]
[Attributes: Scale of Blessing]
[Effects: None]
[Prerequisites: None]
[Remarks: Tessirot is a nomad earth element. It likes all sorts of jewels and gems, and when it collects enough, it will be happy to grant anyone it likes a blessing!]
...
[Scale of Blessing: When the skill is active, it grants the player a Medium Healing Effect (+200 HP) instantly. It also grants them a Medium Rock Skin Defense for one minute (Medium Rock Skin provides an extra 500 Strong Defense points. When the time is up or the 500 points are depleted, the Medium Rock Skin will disappear. When the Medium Rock Skin is active, Agility -2 Rank), can be used once a day]
...
[Name: Burning Long Sword]
[Type: Sword]
[Rarity: Superior]
[Attack: Common]
[Attributes: Fire Empowerment]
[Special Effects: 2nd Grade Venom]
[Prerequisites: Sharp Weapon Long Sword (Entry)]
[Remarks: This is a special item with embedding craftsmanship!]
...
[Fire Empowerment: Each attack will inflict an additional 4-8 Burn Damage to Target]
[2nd Grade Venom: Each effective attack will force the Target to undergo a Constitution Authentication not lower than E+. If the Target fails, they will be poisoned with 5 Damage per second, duration 10 seconds. If they pass, the Target's consumption of Stamina will increase for 5 seconds.]
[2nd Grade Venom: The effect will fade off in time, but the rarity of the sword will go down because of the corrosive attribute of the venom.]
...
The [Tessirot Blessing] had caught Kieran's attention.
He finally understood how Nobian had recovered from his Heavily Wounded Status in just an instant during their fight.
Kieran naturally claimed it for himself, considering it a great common-use defensive measure.
Although he had [Paul's Camouflage] already and could not have two similar pieces of equipment on at once, the [Tessirot Blessing] was much more important to him.
A 200 HP recovery within an instant was a last resort that could save him during a crucial battle.
Although the Medium Rock Skin would decrease his Agility. it would also provide an extra defensive measure. If it was used carefully, it could also be a lifesaver.
Since Kieran did not have the related skill for the [Burning Long Sword], he was planning on selling it.
In fact, after a quick check, he realized that most of Nobian's equipment was more suitable for sale.
However, a small box on the table had caught his attention.
The box was locked in an absolute safe place, which was very unusual in itself.
The [Potionology] Skill Book!
Kieran quickly recalled the screenshot he had received from Nobian earlier, the thought invoking great excitement in his heart.
The Skill Book was too important for Kieran in learning [Potionology]. He might possess a couple of prescriptions, but he did not have the related skills to use them yet.
The locked box was nothing for Kieran's Master [Lockpicking] and [Deceiver's Key].
With a slight turn of his tools, the lock on the box was opened.
Kieran checked the box over carefully, making sure it would not shoot out any arrows or poison when he opened it.
When he lifted the cover, he saw a scroll inside.
"A scroll?"
This was not what Kieran had expected. He raised his eyebrows as he picked it up and rolled it open.
[Title Dungeon: Blade of the Daybreaker (Sub Scroll)]
[Blade of the Daybreaker: The Burning Daybreaker, who was stationed at the High Road, was assaulted by an unknown enemy and was heavily wounded. He was desperate to find someone that could inherit his spirit and title as the next Daybreaker!]
[Dungeon Cooldown Time: 5/10]
[Note 1: Title Dungeon will not be calculated in player's dungeon count.]
[Note 2: Title Dungeon has a specific difficulty and is not related to the dungeon entry difficulty.]
[Note 3: This is only 1/4 of the scroll. A Sub Scroll cannot initiate a dungeon, only the Main Scroll can.]
[Note 4: The Title Dungeon initiator must have cleared at least 10 dungeons, single or team. During the 10th dungeon cooldown, the player can initiate the dungeon with the Main Scroll. Any players who have a Sub Scroll can enter the dungeon together.]
...
"What the…?"
Kieran took a deep breath when he saw the description of the scroll.
A Title Dungeon? What kind of title was big enough to have a whole dungeon to itself?
A Unique Title!
Kieran could not come up with any other logical explanation.
Before he could inspect his findings any further though, there was a knock on the door.Chapter 142: The Killer's Organization
Translator: Dess Editor: Efydatia
[Player Lawless has requested to enter the house, Yes/No?]
The notification popped up right after the knock.
Kieran was not surprised by Lawless's presence there.
After their short conversation back in the Harvest Inn, Lawless did not had any solid proof to doubt Kieran's theory. However, that had not stopped him from trailing Kieran to see the truth with his own eyes.
Kieran had been well aware that Lawless had been following him. That huge backpack of his was extremely eye-catching.
Even though Lawless had purposely boarded the wrong train, Kieran had noticed him the moment Lawless had entered the narrow alleyway.
He had also been present when Nobian had ambushed Kieran and Kieran had killed him in self-defense.
Lawless had witnessed the whole incident and had seen the truth with his own eyes. He had been very open-minded about everything he had watched.
He had been on Kieran's side right from the start though. He would never have sided with a killer.
Kieran granted Lawless access without a second thought.
As he answered yes, he put the scroll in his pocket.
When Lawless came in with his huge backpack and buff body, Kieran did not utter any welcoming words. Instead, he just pointed at the blackboard.
It was easier to explain the situation through Nobian's blackboard than with his own words.
"Sh*t!" Lawless cursed instinctively when he saw it.
He was not that stupid. He could guess what had happened.
"I knew Gibbons! He was a beta player like me! Quite a decent fighter and a great person. I thought he had died in a dungeon, but…"
Lawless brows tightened as he spoke of his acquaintance, and he quickly shook his head.
"Something's not right. Considering Gibbon's strength at the time, Nobian's ambush could not have killed him. Unless…"
Lawless turned his eyes to Kieran as he spoke, their gazes locking. They both came up with a logical explanation.
"Unless Nobian had some accomplices helping him. He lured me in with the [Potionology] Skill Book, but I found nothing of the sort here. He seemed to be quite familiar with my information, something a man alone could not have achieved. There must be a killer organization founded by a couple of players, an organization unknown to the public," Kieran said slowly.
"So how would we find them?" Lawless asked directly.
It seemed like the existence of a killer organization had come as no surprise to him. In fact, the term seemed to fill Lawless with rage. He could not tolerate killers that treated people like they were something expendable.
"How would we find them? They should have some kind of special communication method and a secret meeting place, but that's not something we could discover easily. Fortunately, even if we cannot find them, we can still find their employer! We have the list of the victims, so all we need to do is find out who they pissed off and who wanted them dead, and voila!" Kieran pointed to the blackboard as he planned everything out in his head.
"You're also on the list!" Lawless said.
"And I can provide you with a valuable lead! Who bought my rocket launcher during the guild war between the Steam City and the Iron Chariots?" Kieran said with a smile.
"What are you saying?" Lawless looked puzzled.
"I'm just a newbie in this underground game, so I haven't had much contact with other players. The only thing I did that might have caused a grudge against me was selling that rocket launcher to one of the guilds. The other side, who suffered a big loss, was obviously mad at me and wanted me dead! That's why they contacted Nobian or Nobian's superior!" Kieran said with a shrug.
He had figured it all out on the way to Nobian's place. Compared to his theory about the Broker, for which he had minimal proof, the guild war explanation made much more sense.
When the guild war had been lost and their men had died, the guild master must have also lost face. Any one of those reasons would have been enough for them to have Kieran assassinated.
Leave that to me!" Lawless said as he prepared to leave.
"Hold up! I want to leave something else to you as well. Help me sell the equipment, and I'll give you 5% of the earnings!" Kieran stopped Lawless, pointing at the equipment that had once been Nobian's.
It was not that Kieran did not want to sell it himself. After his experience at the Harvest Inn, he certainly knew what to do. However, Kieran could not explain the origin of that equipment, or to be more specific, he could not convince the other veterans of the identity of Nobian's killer.
Lawless was different though. Kieran could tell that Lawless had quite a reputation among the veterans, and that reputation would be enough for everyone to believe him.
What if the information was leaked and the killer organization found out though?
Kieran was sure that now that Nobian had died, they must have already found out.
After all, when Nobian had borrowed that [Potionology] screenshot, he must have explained to the owner why he needed it.
When he had taken a longer time to reply to Kieran's message earlier, the owner must have known what was going on.
Every arrow would be pointed at Kieran, and the hitman who would come after him after Nobian would be an even higher rank killer.
Kieran was not naive enough to believe that everyone in the organization was as weak as Nobian had been.
Instead of facing the organization in the dark with an even more powerful killer looming behind him, why not expose the incident, gather more allies, and buy himself some time?
If Lawless's rage was any indication, Kieran had reason to believe there were many like-minded players among the lone wolves.
"Okay, leave that to me! Do you need me to accompany you back to 13th Wallway? Or you are planning on staying here?"
Lawless had quickly figured out what Kieran was planning, but he did not object. Quite the opposite, he asked Kieran what he would do straightforwardly.
"I have no intention of staying here. Compared to a killer's den, I am way more comfortable in my old broken garage!" Kieran said.
Kieran and Lawless tidied up Nobian's leftover equipment.
When everything was cleaned up, Lawless accompanied Kieran back to the old garage on 13th Wallway.
After Lawless left Kieran's place, Kieran went back to his room. He took out the Title Dungeon scroll and thought about what skills he should upgrade next.
Although he had already upgraded a skill for his fight with Nobian, that was certainly not the end of it.
Chapter 143: Upgrade Part III
Translator: Dess Editor: Efydatia
In order to combat Nobian, Kieran had upgraded three skills in total.
[Hand-to-Hand Combat], [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] and [Evading].
[Name: Hand-to-Hand Combat (Musou)]
[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]
[Skill Type: Offensive]
[Effects: Your punches and kicks are your best weapon, Increases Damage by 60%]
[Special Effects: Musou Combat Kicks (When you strike with your kicks, they temporarily grant you +3 Strength and Agility)]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Prerequisites: Strength D, Agility D, Constitution D]
[Remarks: Your Hand-to-Hand Combat Skill is unparalleled!]
...
[Hand-to-Hand Combat leveled up, Related attributes increasing…]
[Strength D+ → C-]
[Agility D → D+]
[Constitution D→ D+]
...
[Name: Firearm Weapon, Light Firearm (Musou)]
[Related Attributes: Strength, Constitution, Intuition]
[Skill Type: Offensive]
[Effects: You know how to use a handgun, rifle, revolver, assault rifle, submachine gun and sniper rifle better, Increases Damage by 60%]
[Special Effects: Unparalleled Aim (When you aim at your Target, +3 Intuition Effect, Small chance of triggering Critical Rate)]
[Critical Rate: When you hit the Target's weak points, you have a bigger chance of dealing 2x Damage]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Prerequisites: Strength D-, Constitution D-, Intuition D]
[Remarks: Your Target will feel True Fear under your scope!]
...
[Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm) leveled up, Related attributes increasing…]
[Strength has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]
[Constitution has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]
[Intuition has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]
...
[Name: Evading (Musou)]
[Related Attributes: Agility]
[Skill Type: Ancillary]
[Effects: You know how to evade incoming attacks better, Increases Evading by 60%]
[Special Effects: Unparalleled Swift Steps (Your steps make you even nimbler, Increases Evading by 40%)]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Prerequisites: Agility D-]
[Remarks: You can use steps, rolls and other ways to evade your enemies' attacks!]
...
[Evading leveled up, Related attributes increasing…]
[Agility has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]
...
Leveling three skills from Grand Master to Musou had cost Kieran 53,000 Points and 32 Skill Points.
The most costly one had been [Hand-to-Hand Combat], which had cost 20,000 Points and 12 Skill Points.
The second most expensive one had been [Evading], at 18,000 Points and 10 Skill Points, and last but not least, [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)], at 15,000 points and 10 Skill Points.
However, that hefty upgrading cost had increased Kieran's strength significantly.
Other than the related skill notifications, the special effects had also been enhanced greatly.
Especially the [Hand-to-Hand Combat] special effect, which when triggered, could upgrade Kieran's Strength and Agility to a whole new level.
Kieran had relied on that special effect to overpower Nobian during their fight.
[Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] and [Evading] were quite decent as well.
[Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] had an extra [Critical Rate] effect. Although the chances of it being triggered were low, once it was, it could kill with just one shot.
His maximum 100% [Evading] made Kieran feel very comfortable when fighting his enemies.
After spending 53,000 Points and 32 Skill Points on those three skills, Kieran had gotten an extra boost from killing Nobian.
[Points: 69,690; Skill Points: 9; Golden Skill Points: 2; Golden Attribute Points: 2]
This might have seemed a lot to a common person, but it was barely enough for Kieran to make ends meet.
Upgrading his [Undercover] from Grand Master to Musou alone would cost 18,000 Points and 10 Skill Points, and buying a [Potionology] Skill Book would cost 30,000 Points and 10 Skill points.
Upgrading the [Burning Hand] from Basic to Entry would cost 10,000 Points 5 Skill Points.
The hefty cost made Kieran think for a while. It was only a Basic to Entry upgrade, yet it was already very expensive. Beyond Entry, there was still Master, Pro, Grand Master, Musou and so on.
How much would it cost in total?
The thought of that sum made Kieran's heart hurt.
He felt even more helpless when he thought about the grand total, because after that sum of points, Skill Points would be replaced by Golden Skill Points.The next level of the three skills that had been upgraded to Musou, [Hand-to-Hand Combat], [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] and [Evading], was Transcendence, which would cost Kieran Golden Skill Points.
[Hand-to-Hand Combat] would cost 45,000 Points and 1 Golden Skill Point, [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] would cost 30,000 Points and 1 Golden Skill Point, and [Evading] would cost 40,000 Points and 1 Golden Skill Point.
Kieran's jaw dropped open when he thought of the cost.
He could not even imagine how he would close the Golden Skill Point gap when his reward was only 1 Golden Skill Point per dungeon.
On top of that, he still had his core [Knights of Dawn Body Tempering Art] skill, which relied solely on Golden Skill Points to be upgraded. Upgrading it from Entry to Master alone cost 10,000 Points and 3 Golden Skill Points.
As the levels went up, so did the Golden Skill Points.
"I would need to improve my dungeon ratings or reduce the cost by training more," Kieran thought with a puzzled expression.
These were the only two options he could come up with at the moment.
The trading of points among players was only limited to Skill Points. Golden Skill Points were meant solely for self-use.
"Golden Skill Points are the good stuff, but acquiring them is too hard, and they are only meant for personal use. You can't trade them or exchange them!"
It was what Lawless had said while they had been messaging.
Although Lawless was very talkative and liked to boast about stuff from time to time, he would never lie about something like this.
Plus, the fact that the other veterans had never mentioned Golden Skill Points only proved that they were special.
Kieran had hoped that Golden Skill Points would be easier to acquire so he wouldn't have too much trouble upgrading his skills. However, this would still not stop him from developing his skills.
Kieran would never be paralyzed by a dilemma or a difficult choice he had to make.
He had not given up when he'd seen the sky-high treatment fees back when he was only 14 years old, so he definitely wouldn't now.
[Burning Hand (Basic → Entry)], 10,000 Points and 5 Skill Points, Yes/No?]
"Yes!"
[Name: Burning Hand (Entry)]
[Related Attributes: None]
[Skill Type: Offensive]
[Effects: A 50-degree, cone-shaped, 2.5-meter wide fire will strike and inflict Strong Level Damage, small chance of inflicting Burn Damage. (Burn Damage: Target is inflicted with Burns for 1 second, if the Constitution Authentication is lower than E Rank, Target will carry a Debuff for 4 more seconds, until the Burn Debuff wears off.]
[Consumes: 1 Cracked Rank Ruby and Jagen Volcanic Ash]
[Prerequisites: Mystical Knowledge (Master)]
[Remarks: This is a spell that includes hand gestures and tribute items. Every gesture must be done in a specific order in order to fully use the skill. If you don't want it to backfire, please remember the gestures!]
....
Other than its area of effect increasing by 5 degrees and 0.5 meters, nothing else had changed.
The next level of [Burning Hand] would require Pro Level [Mystical Knowledge], 20,000 Points and 10 Skill Points.
Everything was as expected, which made Kieran feel even more pressured to upgrade it.
However, he could not do anything because he lacked the prerequisite skills, [Alchemy], [Potionology], [Astrology] and [Research of Mystical Beings].
Even though the requirement was just the Basic Level, it was still impossible for Kieran, at least in the foreseeable future.
Kieran asked Lawless for help in exchanging Points for Skill Points, and chose to upgrade his [Undercover] skill.
He had chosen to upgrade [Undercover] and not save up for [Potionology], because he wouldn't mind even if he was able to buy a [Potionology] Skill Book. As a matter of fact, no one even possessed such an item at the moment.
Kieran would much rather try his luck in the dungeons than sign a contract with the Broker to get one.
That's why he had upgraded his [Undercover].
[Name: Undercover (Musou)]
[Related Attributes: Agility]
[Skill Type: Ancillary]
[Effects: Better use of shadows, Makes it harder for your enemies to discover you, Increases Hiding by 60%]
[Special Effects: Unparalleled Shadow Stalker (You can hide better in the shadows, Increases Hiding by 40%]
[Consumes: Stamina]
[Prerequisites: Agility D]
[Remarks: Your enemies cannot locate you with the naked eye.]
...
[Undercover leveled up, Related attributes increasing...]
[Agility has reached the capped limit, Unable to level up any further]
...
After the final skill upgrade, Kieran took another look at his remaining skills.
[Points: 23,690; Skill Points: 0; Golden Skill Points: 2; Golden Attribute Points: 2]
"After I sell Nobian's equipment, I should have some extra income, but most of the skills will require Golden Skill Points to level up. Even the skills that do not require Golden Skill Points are not much use now, because I've already developed an upgrading system. Rather than leveling up unnecessary skills, I might as well buy supplies for my next dungeon!"
Kieran turned his eyes to the next dungeon, [The Shaman's Partner].
He squinted as he recalled the bronze coffin.