Chapter 1039: Re-enactment
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
While traveling on the train, Kieran opened the invitation from Burning Bottle.
Similar to the sole marking on the envelope, the inside of the invitation was simple as well.
"19th Cyron Path."
There was just an address in the invitation but it was enough for Kieran.
It was exactly where he needed to go, get the information from the people there and kill them.
As for resolving everything with a peaceful retreat?
What a joke. With the malicious intent mixed with killer aura, Kieran didn't think it was possible for him to walk out peacefully from Hilton's place.
However, there was a single point Kieran didn't expect.
Burning Bottle's leader, Hilton was related to the guardians of the Witch's Legacy.
According to Karles, Hilton wasn't just a guardian, he was a leader of sorts with a certain position and authority.
"Then… does Burning Bottle exist just to conceal the real organization or is it an outer organization of the guardians?"
Kieran lightly tapped on the handle of his seat with his fingers.
Judging from the current information, Kieran leaned towards the latter and because of that, Kieran was more curious about this guardian's organization than before."
"Floating around like a dandelion, scattered around the land and eventually sprouting where they may but… where was the origin?" Kieran wondered.
The origin wasn't referring to the Witch though, it would be too obvious.
The origin Kieran was searching for was the first guardian of the Witch's Legacy or the one who founded the guardian's organization.
Why would the person found the organization?
What was the relationship between the person and the Witch?
Or had the person come into contact with the actual legacy?
Countless speculations formed in Kieran's mind.
He kept pondering upon the questions until the conductor of the train urged him to disembark.
Only then did he stand up from his seat and get off the train.
The train stopped opposite across from a small alley and when the train departed, Kieran glanced over the street sign opposite him. The street sign was showing 19th Cyron Path.
The words were a little blurry and the other thing that was blurry was the person standing under the sign.
The black hooded mantle of the person seemed to have some special effect. It didn't just enhance the person's hiding abilities, it reduced the person's presence to a minimal level, making him barely noticeable.
However, the moment Kieran's glance caught the person, he took the initiative to stand out.
"2567?" The person asked.
The person seemed to be certain of Kieran's identity and before waiting for Kieran's answer, he said, "Follow me."
The person then turned around to the alley with quick steps and when Kieran crossed the road and entered the alley, the person's figure was nowhere to be found.
Yet the scene caused Kieran to laugh coldly.
Everything was exactly like as he had expected.
The reason why Burning Bottle invited him wasn't to make amends.
Kieran's senses clearly detected that three more people were hiding in the alley, including the one who led him here; three of them were emanating obvious malicious intent.
At the end of the alley, a stronger, denser nefarious intent was being emanated and it was identical to the feeling in Kieran's memories.
Burning Bottle's Hilton!
After slightly calculating the distance, Kieran walked into the alley without a second thought.
Pak!
Pak Pak!
His boots stepped in the water puddles on the ground, giving out a clear tapping noise. The noise was echoing throughout the small alley that was filled with colorless, odorless poisonous smoke.
With the blocked out sunlight, a couple of scorpions and spiders merged themselves into the surrounding shadows like chameleons, waiting quietly for Kieran to approach.
The guide who was also standing in the shadow was gazing at Kieran, he was calculating the time it would take for the poison in Kieran's body to trigger and how many steps he took.
The colorless, odorless poisonous smoke was one from Hilton's collection, it was a high-value consumable item.
"Even with SSS rank Constitution, he will be affected by the poisonous smoke, let alone the venomous insect they were controlling! You will grow weak under the smoke and the insects will grow stronger! You are nothing but a lucky bastard that entered the higher order, how dare you look down on us, Burning Bottle! We will teach you a lesson!"
The nefarious thoughts were blooming in the guide's heart as he gripped the dagger in his hand tighter.
At that moment, Kieran was five steps away from the optimal striking point for the guide and was less than two steps away from the venomous insects, yet right before that happened, Kieran who was moving forward slowly suddenly halted his steps.
Kieran's figure then vanished just like that.
The guide opened his eyes wide, his battle instinct drove him to activate a defensive barrier but as the thought came into his mind, the guide had lost all his ability to react.
Ssss, sssss!
The mirage of the horned vipers enveloped the guide together with the two more hiding in the alley completely, even the leader Hilton was caught.
It was all within Kieran's calculations.
He didn't have time to tangle with all these veterans who couldn't even ascend to the higher order.
Likewise, Kieran who got the intel about Hilton from Karles didn't have time to fool around with him either.
Myriads of vipers' hisses echoed throughout the alley; blazing flames were burning fiercely in the alley.
Devil flame which had reached the higher rank was hurled out ceaselessly from Kieran's left hand. Within a breath, the whole alley was turned into a sea of fire.
The guide, the other two hiding in the alley, and the insects were all turned to ash instantaneously; Hilton was growling ferociously while being engulfed in the flames.
Fire resistance magic runes shone on Hilton and it saved him from the burning of the devil flame for the first few seconds. These runes, however, lasted for a while before they failed.
Hilton expected Kieran's powerful flame but he didn't expect it to be this ridiculously powerful, even the fire resistance equipment that he purposely prepared couldn't' oppose it.
"I can't wait anymore!"
A loud shout came from Hilton's mouth as his heart made a crucial decision to activate his ace.
"2567!"
As he shouted, Hilton drew a javelin from his back and hurled it straight out.
Souuu!
Following the air-breaking sound, the javelin then vanished from sight and when the javelin appeared again, it multiplied into ten more!
The javelins were like a storm assaulting Kieran from every direction, brewing a formidable force that completely exceeded the legendary, Epic level equipment.
"High-rankers aren't as simple as you think! Not just our attributes but one would need certain higher order equipment and tools to be considered as a true high-ranker! Some say the latter is even more important!"
"A higher-order equipment is enough to change the tides of a battle! A half-assed player like you would never know!"
Hilton shouted out his pride and glory as he watched Kieran surrounded by the javelins.
His tone even amplified his proud move even further.
Higher order equipment or tools were quite precious for the high-rankers and it was because of this javelin that Hilton qualified as a small leader in the guardians, hence gaining resources that common players couldn't even imagine.
"Now die! What's yours is now mine!"
Hilton lifted his right hand and removed his glove.
Right away, a red round line surrounding an eerie smiley face appeared in the flames.
increase that he hadn't come across since he entered the higher order.
"This?! What did I just absorb just now? The energy from the smiley face?"
"No, it shouldn't be! The previous contender, Tyler the music bastard had a smiley face as well but he didn't provide similar energy absorption… is the smiley face different then?"
"It must be! The smiley faces are different! Tyler is just a contender, he didn't really get accepted by the guardians but Hilton was different! He wasn't just an official member, he was a leader of sorts!"
Kieran who found the difference quickly didn't get excited because of his findings, instead, he fell into deeper thought.
He didn't believe he was the only one who "accidentally" discovered the smiley face marking's use. Someone else must have noticed it as well.
The most obvious one would be the person who founded the guardians of the Witch's Legacy.
If he found out the use of the smiley face, yet he founded the organization, which meant the founder's plot was not simple.
Other than that…
"How did this smiley face marking do what it just did?"
Kieran brows almost locked together as he stared at the red markings on the back of his right hand that looked like a real tattoo.
Pro [Mystical Knowledge] and the messy knowledge he got from various dungeon worlds had lost all their functions before this smiley face.
In Kieran's eyes, it was just an eerie smiley face surrounded by a red line, nothing else.
"Not a high enough skill level? Or is it specifically targeted at some special skills?" Kieran muttered to himself.
If up to this moment Kieran still persistently believed it was nothing but a common tattoo, he would be running away from reality.
Whether was it Hilton's appearance or the scene of absorption, everything was pointing at the unusual smiley face being something else but without any information and clues, Kieran would end up at a dead end if he continued wondering.
Kieran wouldn't spend his efforts on such obvious fruitless outcome.
He opened his PM tab and messaged Rachel.
…
2567: Accidents happen.
Rachel: Hilton got away?
2567: No, I killed him before he spoke.
Rachel: …
Rachel: You boasting right now?
Rachel: You 2 really share the same rotten taste, even boasting in such a similar fashion!
Rachel: If this bastard Lawless wasn't suffering a hangover beside me, I would think that his account was stolen!
Rachel: Well too bad, a lead ended up being a dead end.
Rachel: Nevermind, I believe Karles can share more about the guardians.
…
Before Kieran explained, Rachel replied relentlessly.
Judging from Rachel's reply, Kieran was sure Karles would have gotten all his value squeezed out of him before Rachel would let him go.
Of course, Kieran would be very happy to see that.
Just as Kieran was about to reply to Rachel with more guardian's information, Wu suddenly send him a message.
When Kieran opened it up and saw the content, he was completely captivated by the message.
Chapter 1041: Living Room Auction
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Wu's message was simple, it was a screenshot.
[Name: Lucky Card]
[Type: Card]
[Rarity: Epic]
[Attribute: Use it and the next dungeon will grant the player more luck than usual. Even if it is trivial, it will be enough to alter one's destiny.]
[Remark: Creating this card requires extremely skilled techniques, expensive ingredients and a little bit of luck]
[Note 1: Usable in normal, single player dungeon]
[Note 2: After usage, the effect will last till the end of the dungeon]
…
The moment he saw the screenshot, Kieran who once experienced [Vanessa's Favour] knew what it meant, he replied to the message without a second thought.
2567: How much? Or trade with other items?
Wu: Auction, Points or item, the living room in Harvest Inn.
2567: Got it.
Kieran ended the conversation but he didn't head to the Harvest Inn right away. Instead, he headed to the respective rooms of Darde the Titan, Mark, and Hilton to get his loot.
He knew without enough loot, it was basically impossible for him to participate in this upcoming auction, despite his Points and Skill Points surging after killing Mark and Hilton.
[Points: 300,000; Skill Point: 90; Golden Skill Point: 0; Golden Attribute Point: 0]
300K points, 90 Skill Points for a common player was a ridiculous number but for a high-ranker, it wasn't anything much.
Any equipment or items from a high-ranker would have exceeded the number easily; Kieran needed more.
He needed more leverage to bid for that [Lucky Card].
Fortunately, neither Darde, Mark or Hilton let Kieran down with their loot.
After getting most of the loot, Kieran picked the 3 most valuable items from the bunch and put them separately.
One was a pear-shaped crystal containing a pinky-sized volume of blood.
[Name: Titan's Blood]
[Type: Blood]
[Rarity: II]
[Attack: None]
[Defense: None]
[Attribute: 1. Consume; 2. ???]
[Effect: None]
[Prerequisite: None]
[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]
[Remark: As Darde's unique item, it gains enhancement to not just one but all sides]
…
[Consume: Has a great chance to acquire the Titan's Bloodline if one consumes it]
[???:???]
…
The second item was from Mark.
It was an old fashioned flintlock pistol and at the bottom of the handle "d'artag…." was carved on to it. The carving was incomplete because the last part was smeared because of the passing of time but it didn't affect the flintlock pistol's firepower.
[Name: Danian's Grip]
[Type: Firearm]
[Rarity: Epic]
[Attack: Extreme]
[Attribute: 1. First Fire; 2. Second Fire; 3. Scatter Fire]
[Effect: None]
[Prerequisite: Firearm Weapon, Special Arms (Grand Master)]
[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]
[Remark: This is Danian's beloved pistol, it is also Danian's everything and it represents the honor of a shooter.]
…
[First Fire: The first shot is a charged shot, attack +1, extra 1-second charging; usable twice per day]
[Second Fire: After First Fire, able to fire at will to perform a follow-up attack.]
[Scatter Fire: When Second Fire strikes a target, user can perform another Powerful scattershot of 45° angle, 15 meters to all targets within range.]
…
The third one was Hilton's javelin.
The long javelin could be wielded and thrown but undoubtedly, the former and latter would require special techniques.
[Name: Phantom Stinger]
[Type: Sharp Weapon]
[Rarity: I]
[Attack: I]
[Attribute: 1. Pierce; 2. Extreme Shot; 3. Phantom Strike]
[Effect: None]
[Prerequisite: Sharp Weapon, Polearm Weapon (Grand Master), Sharp Weapon, Hurl (Grand Master)]
[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]
[Remark: Enemy will never see it coming as it strikes like a phantom.
…
[Pierce: Grants Extreme piercing effect against any defensive gears lower than rank I.]
[Extreme Shot: When thrown, Phantom Stinger will acquire one-time acceleration speed of the higher order]
[Phantom Strike: Create phantom images of the javelin to attack targets in an area. The real javelin will possess its rank I attack while the images have Powerful attack, usable twice per day]
…
Among the three items, [Titan's Blood] no doubt had the highest value.
Even though it had an unknown attribute, the sole fact that it could grant one the Titan's Bloodline was enough for others to go after it like a flock of birds.
However, if it was possible, Kieran hoped he wouldn't need to use it as the leverage for this upcoming auction, instead, he wanted to use it in a more appropriate place in exchange for what he needed.
As for consuming [Titan's Blood]?
If Kieran could control the conflict of his existing bloodline properly, he wouldn't mind drinking it but the fact was that once he consumed the vial of blood, the Devil Force and Cardinal Sins Force will surely go out of control; Saint Thorn Force might join the rampage as well and relying solely on Dawn Force and Plague force was not enough to keep the balance.
What would happen if the balance was disrupted?
Kieran didn't even want to think about it.
"Hope this is enough."
Kieran took a glance at [Danian's Grip] and [Phantom Stinger] before running towards the train station.
Although there wasn't delay on the way here, when Kieran walked into Harvest Inn through the "side door" and reached the small living room, it was already crowded.
Not only were the round tables filled, but a few more also had to stand aside as well.
Rachel was standing at a side and in front of her was another new table with red cloth over it.
Since the crowd already knew what was underneath the cloth, no one was affected by the fake veil of mystery act at all, every single one of them was calm and leisurely; some were chatting with others.
Kieran who knew he was late wouldn't ask for a seat from Rachel, instead, he wisely stood together with the standing crowd, waiting for the auction to start.
However, Wu who was sitting on one of the sofa chairs stood up.
"2567, here," Wu said.
Instantly, when "2567" was uttered, everyone in the room shifted their gaze from the red cloth to Kieran.
Blade of the Daybreaker!
Unique Title!
Everyone related the nickname into those matters. The gazes sized up Kieran right away, trying to find out what was so special about this "2567" but that was all that happened.
Everyone knew where they were at and what rules applied in the premises.
Kieran, however, took a glance at Wu while ignoring the others.
He wasn't afraid of being called out because, following his participation in the auction, his name would soon be revealed. What he felt weird was Wu's attitude.
The friendly and close attitude shouldn't apply on a stranger which Wu only met once.
"Is it because of those crow cards?"
Kieran wondered in his heart while he declined the offer with his mouth.
"Thanks but no thanks. I'm fine here."
Their relationship was slightly better than random strangers, it was destined that Kieran would not accept the kindness fro Wu. After his well-mannered rejection, Kieran stood at his spot without further movements.
However, Wu didn't sit back down on the sofa, instead, she walked to Kieran and stood beside him.
The gazes at Kieran from the room instantly turned weird.
Amidst the probing, the gazes were added with a heavy sense of surprise, it seemed like these high-rankers saw something inconceivable.
While from the start to end, no one took Wu's sofa after she stood up, despite it being just in front of the crowd.
"Ahem… Ready your Points, Skill Points, and equipment?"
Rachel softly coughed to gather the crowd's attention before removing the red cloth.
When the cloth was removed, every heart in the room skipped a beat as the item under the table was finally revealed.Despite already knowing what was underneath, seeing it with their own eyes still overwhelmed them: it was a deck of cards arranged in a line.
However, Kieran frowned hard because he didn't find the [Lucky Card] he was looking for.
Subconsciously, Kieran turned to Wu.
"Wu: Follow me"
Wu didn't reply with her voice but a message.
She walked outside after that; Kieran fell into deep thought for a second as he saw Wu walking away.
He quickly followed Wu outside as well.