The Devil's Cage

“Lawless” had surprised Kieran with his offer once again.

Let alone that the price he was offering was near Kieran’s ideal price. The fact that he had made such a high offer to begin with already deserved Kieran’s attention.

He was the only one with a direct price offer in a message. All the other messages were just bullshit and scammers trying to trick him.

It seemed like the sky-high price Kieran had set had attracted some of the end-game players, who were offering low prices for the items.

They would gladly scam Kieran if they could. Kieran had experienced this in real life more than once.

However, this “Lawless” guy seemed different. The fact that he had made two offers one after the other clearly meant that he was so desperate to buy the [Tekken-II], he did not even mind giving Kieran the freedom of choice.

It seemed like he was not a very bright person.

If Kieran had been a professional businessman, he would have tried to get more benefits or extra items out of the deal.

Although he was nowhere near a businessman, he was in control of the price, so he could ask for more, or even get better deal out of it.

After some thought, he replied to the private message.

…..

2567: U there?

Lawless: 10K points and 5 SP is really expensive!

2567: It’s not expensive at all!

Lawless: It really is bro, the Tekken-II has a Powerful attack, but it can only be fired once! If u can’t one hit KO others, u still need other methods to follow up! The shop is selling the reloads for 500 points per round! It’s like burning money!

…..

He was stating the truth, but this was no reason for Kieran to lower his price.

Reading between the lines, Kieran could sense that Lawless was in desperate need of the [Tekken-II].

Did he really need it that much?

Was it some kind of monster that he was facing, or some other problem that needed to be solved aggressively?

None of this was Kieran’s concern though. All he knew was that Lawless was not being sincere enough, and that he could probably get more things out of this.

Kieran collected his thoughts and prepared to type back.

“An item you have registered, [Tekken-II], has been sold. You have acquired 10,000 Points and 5 Skill Points!”

The mechanical voice sounded after a beep.

Kieran was totally stunned by the information.

Suddenly, he grinned widely.

It had been a complete surprise.

He never would have thought that the [Tekken-II] would be sold at such a ridiculous price.

Kieran was very clear on the fact that the optimum price for the [Tekken-II] would have been around 7,000 to 8,000 points and 2 to 3 skill points.

He was not entirely sure about the skill points as he was still new to the game.

They were required to level up all skills to [Master] though, so they had to be worth a lot.

At least more than plain points.

He had never imagined that the [Tekken-II] would be sold when he’d set such a sky-high price.

Unless someone needed it for emergency use.

For something even more urgent than Lawless’s problem.

Kieran remembered that there was a guild war going on.

The Steam City against the Iron Chariots.

Individual players and guild players were two completely different concepts.

To an individual player, such a price would be ridiculous, but to a guild player, it would be just a little expensive.

One could never underestimate the power of unity.

Unity was the true path to becoming stronger.

It was just like Kieran fighting against a couple dozens of soldiers in the newbie dungeon. He had been able to take them out one after the other in one-on-one fights, but when the soldiers had come all together at once, he’d had to abandon the fight and run.

“So how fierce exactly has this guild war gotten?” Kieran mumbled.

Although he could hear explosions from time to time, he had not thought that the battle would be that heated.

Guild wars could break out with the slightest spark. Small quarrels among guilds could ignite a full-scale war in no time.

After the fury had subsided though, everything returned to normal once again.

Kieran had experienced this during his blacksmithing days. Most guild wars ended abruptly.

Unless there was something that one of the sides could not leave behind.

That “something” could include turf, equipment, fame, or women.

The latter being the most tremendously powerful and unpredictable one.

It was either the Steam City or the Iron Chariots. One of the guilds had bought the [Tekken-II] rocket launcher without even looking at the price. It seemed like neither of them wanted to give up on the war.

The [Tekken-II] rocket launcher would be a game changer for anyone in the guild who got their hands on it. The other side though would take a hard hit from it.

But what if, during such desperate times, another [Tekken-II] were to appear on the market?

Kieran looked at the remaining rocket launcher and his eyes shined.

He could literally see thousand of points and skill points waving at him.

Once one of the two guilds had been hurt, Kieran would increase his asking price. They would not mind it either.

He squinted his eyes and his smile became even wider.

The message tab was blinking. Lawless had contacted him again.

…..

Lawless: ...

Lawless: The guilds are jacking up the prices, nothing a lone wolf can do!

…..

His message carried a little dissatisfaction, but mostly self-mockery.

Lawless knew who had bought the [Tekken-II] as well.

Kieran read the message and smiled. He took a screenshot of the remaining [Tekken-II] and send it over to Lawless.

…..

Lawless: U have another one?

Lawless: Or is it a picture of the one u sold?

…..

At first, he was surprised by the doubt in his tone.

But it was to be expected. Kieran was not frustrated at all. He directly opened up a trade window with Lawless and showed him the [Tekken-II].

Immediately, his PM tab was spammed with messages.

…..

Lawless: OMG Bro! Did U rob an armory or what!?

Lawless: What else do u have?

Lawless: Let me see!

Lawless: I’ll give u a fair price!

…..

He received ten consecutive messages.

…..

2567: 15,000 Points, 8 Skill Points

…..

When Kieran replied, Lawless went silent.

It took him a while to answer.

…..

Lawless: Bro, how could u be so evil, it was 10K points and 5 SP just now, u hiked the price up too high!

2567: U said it was high before too.

2567: I bet someone will buy it soon, even at this price.

…..

There was silence again after Kieran listed his price.

If Lawless had been able to guess who had bought the first [Tekken-II], then he could also guess what would happen next as well.

Given some time, the new price would be able to sell as well.

After a short silence, Lawless replied again.

…..

Lawless: I need it urgently, can I trade it with other stuff?

…..

Kieran looked at the reply and smiled again. He replied quickly.

…..

2567: We could barter, or even trade with valuable information.

…..

After typing those words, Kieran waited patiently for Lawless’s reply.

He knew in his gut that the other [Tekken-II] could get sold for a higher price, but he still kept chatting with Lawless because he was interested in getting better items and information.

If he wasn’t, Kieran would have just waited patiently for the rocket launcher to get sold.

It took about five minutes for Lawless to reply.

…..

Lawless: I don’t have any valuable information right now.

Lawless: But I have a blueprint!

[Name: Basic Medicine Crafting Platform Blueprint]

[Type: Instruction Blueprint]

[Rarity: Common]

[Prerequisites: Medical and Medicinal Knowledge (Basic)]

[Remarks: It’s just a basic bandage crafting method, don’t get your hopes up! There’s a small chance of crafting a high quality gauze bandage!]

…..

It was an open blueprint, so Kieran could read it clearly.

“Crafting gauze bandages, plus a small chance of making high quality ones?” Kieran mumbled.

If he could craft bandages, even with a small chance of them being high quality, it would be very useful.

Medical supplies were selling like hot cakes among the players.

Inside the [Shop], a common gauze bandage cost 5 points and high quality ones cost 40 points.

Among the players, prices were slightly lower; 3 points for common ones and about 30 to 35 for high quality ones.

If he could craft bandages himself, he could make big profits.

He did not lose his chill though, thinking of the potential profits.

Despite his minor understanding of the underground game, Kieran knew very well that the process of crafting required raw materials. That was why the [Shop] sold raw materials for various purposes.

Kieran believed that the cost of crafting bandages would be too high.

If it wasn’t, then Lawless would have been able to use the blueprint himself.

Unless he didn’t have the necessary skill.

Nevertheless, because of those various elements, the value of the blueprint had gone down a lot.

Kieran collected his thoughts again before he replied.

…..

2567: It’s not enough, I don’t have the related skill and I can’t afford the crafting expenses.

…..

Although Kieran did have the related [Medical and Medicinal Knowledge (Basic)] skill, even if he didn’t, he could have mastered it in no time using his points and skill points.

He was not going to tell others though.

It was his leverage against Lawless so he could get an even better deal.

Lawless did not object to Kieran’s message. He seemed to agree.

He offered him another item on the trade window.

[Name: Single Player Dungeon Cooldown Reset Card]

[Type: Card]

[Rarity: Common]

[Attributes: Resets the cooldown for a single player in the dungeon]

[Remarks: To a coward, it’s useless; to an adventurer, it is priceless]

…..

Kieran looked at the item and his eyes shined bright like a diamond.