The Devil's Cage

“Why can’t I upgrade everything?” Kieran asked himself.

Perhaps other players could have limitations because of their points and skill points and be unable to upgrade all their skills, but Kieran was different.

After completing two major deals, he had sufficient points and skills points to do it.

Kieran knew very well how strong the skills were, even though each level could put a limit on upgrading his attributes.

One drawback though could not beat the numerous advantages.

He could not deny the importance of the skills to him. If it were not for them, he would not even have finished the newbie dungeon, let alone gained such rich rewards.

Not to mention his current points and skill points. All he needed to do was adjust the order of the upgrading process from Entry level to Master level, and he could upgrade every single one of his skills, excluding [Mentality], to the next level.

The changes in attributes had the most direct effect.

With every attribute he leveled up, it felt like he was being born again.

After thinking about it for a short time, Kieran made his decision.

He would upgrade them all.

It would be a waste if he did not put his points and skill points to use.

If Kieran had stronger powers, he would definitely be able to acquire more points and skill points.

The first one to upgrade was [Hand-to-hand Combat].

It was the first to upgrade because of its related attributes, which were [Strength], [Agility], and [Constitution].

The second to upgrade was [Firearm (Light Firearm)], which overlapped with [Strength] and [Agility], and had an extra [Intuition] attribute.

[Tracking] was third.

Following the previous incident, when [Intuition] had been capped at the current skill level but could still be leveled up, Kieran believed this time would be no exception.

He entered the [Shop].

[Hand-to-Hand Combat (Entry → Master), Pay 1,500 Points, 1 Skill Point to level up. Yes/No?]

“Yes!”

[Hand-to-hand Combat reaches Master Level, choose one special effect]

[A. Master the art of Hand Combat (When you attack with a punch, gain Agility +1 Effect.)]

[B. Master the art of Leg Combat (When you attack with a kick, gain Strength +1 Effect.)]

[Please choose one…]

The sudden pop-up option startled Kieran a bit. He had not expected any special effects.

“So every skill that reaches the Master level could have a special effect attached to it?” he wondered.

The answer was obvious.

Each special effect would affect the player’s growth towards a different playing style.

Just like the option before him would.

Mastering the Hand Combat no doubt was intended for punch-favoring players who wanted to further their growth, while mastering the Leg Combat was intended for the kick-favoring players.

Kieran guessed that further down the game there would be special punching and kicking skills as well.

It was possible considering the options at hand.

“If so...”

Kieran frowned a little. He could not decide which one to choose.

Both punches and kicks would be useful.

Finally, he made up his mind. He remembered that his other two skills, [Firearm (Light Firearm)] and [Sharp Weapon (Dagger)] both required the use of his hands.

The option was suddenly obvious.

“I choose B!”

[Player’s option: B. Master the art of Leg Combat]

[Name: Hand-to-hand Combat (Master)]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effects: You know how to use your fists and legs better during combat, Increases damage by 30%]

[Special Effects: Master of the art of Leg Combat (When you attack with a kick, gain Strength +1 effect.)]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Strength F+, Agility F+, Constitution F+]

[Remarks: You’re on the same level as an MMA champion!]

……

[Hand-to-hand Combat skill upgraded, related attributes enhanced...]

[Strength F+ → E-]

[Agility F+ → E-]

[Constitution F+ → E-]

……

After he chose his skill, the transferring process began once again, synchronizing his body. Kieran felt the warm stream replenishing his body.

When the process was over, he felt full of power.

He could not help but take a step forward and strike with his right fist.

Boom!

A sharp, precise punch tore through the air. Before Kieran could retract his fist, his body naturally followed the motion of the punch, turning 180 degrees. His right leg was like a spring, striking out lightning fast.

The sound of air tearing numbed his ears a little as he performed a jumping kick.

“Feels damn good!”

After throwing a couple of punches and kicks, his face was filled with happiness and his fists felt extremely powerful.

He went on to upgrade his second skill.

[Firearm (Light Firearm) (Entry → Master), Pay 1,000 Points, 1 Skill Point to level up. Yes/No?]

“Yes!”

[Firearm (Light Firearm) reaches Master level, choose one special effect.]

[A. Master Reloading (Whenever you reload, Agility+1 Effect)]

[B. Master Aiming (Whenever you aim, Intuition +1 Effect)]

[Please choose one...]

“I choose B!”

This time, Kieran made his choice without a second thought.

The option of Master Reloading was meant for guns that required a lot of reloads; Kieran wanted to become a sniper though, so it was natural for him to choose B.

[Player’s option: B. Master Aiming]

[Related Attributes: Strength, Constitution, Intuition]

[Skill Type: Offensive]

[Effects: You know how to use a handgun, a rifle, a revolver, an assault rifle, a submachine gun and a sniper rifle even better, Increases damage by 30%]

[Special Effects: Master Aiming (Whenever you aim, Intuition +1 Effect)]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Strength F+, Constitution F+, Intuition F+]

[Remarks: You are the king of light firearms!]

……

[Firearm (Light Firearm) skill upgraded, related attributes enhanced...]

[Strength has reached capped level for the current skill level, Unable to enhance.]

[Constitution has reached capped level for the current skill level, Unable to enhance.]

[Intuition E- → E]

……

Everything was going according to his plan. All E- level attributes were capped because of the skill level and unable to upgrade any further.

Kieran turned to his special [Tracking] skill.

[Tracking (Entry → Master), Pay 3,000 Points, 2 Skill Points to level. Yes/No?]

“Yes!”

[Tracking reaches Master level, special effect added: Master of Tracks]

[Name: Tracking (Master)]

[Related Attributes: Intuition]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effects: You can follow all kinds of trails and tracks to track down your target!]

[Special effects: Master of Tracks (You know everything about trails and tracks!]

[Consumes: Stamina]

[Prerequisites: Intuition E-]

[Remarks: Your overall senses are better than a hunting dog’s!]

……

The [Tracking] skill did not disappoint.

With his [Intuition] at E+ level, he felt that he could see even farther away and listen even clearer. He could even see the dust on the floor.

It excited Kieran even more.

The more changes he noticed, the more powerful he felt.

After leveling three skills up to Master, Kieran felt pumped up and upgraded all his remaining skills to Master.

The [Sharp Weapon (Dagger)] (Entry → Master) cost him 1,000 Points and 1 Skill Point, and the special effects offered were Master Slashing or Master Piercing.

The first effect had a 5% Crippling Effect while the second one had a 10% Bleeding Effect.

Judging by his own experience, the first skill would be more effective for him. Although the second one had a higher percentage, the first one suited his assassinating style better.

The [Evading] skill went from Entry level to Master, costing 1,500 Points and 1 Skill Point. The special effects offered were Master of Swift Steps and Master of Dodging.

[Master of Swift Steps: You steps allow your body to be more flexible, Increases Evading by 10%]

[Master of Dodging: You can roll away further and faster, and become more efficient in your movements, Increases rolling distance by 1 meter.]

Kieran chose Master of Swift Steps. Although Master of Dodging sounded appealing as well, he was more keen on the additional 10% of Evading adding to the original 30% of the skill.

[Undercover] Entry → Master, cost 1,500 Points and 1 Skill Point, and the special effects offered were Master of Light Steps and Master of Shadows.

[Master of Light Steps: Lowers the sound of your steps, making it harder for enemies to detect you, Decreases stepping sounds by 30%. Special effect not applicable if overweight.]

[Master of Shadows: Allows you to hide even better in the shadows, Increases undercover effect by 10%.]

These options both sounded good to Kieran, so he hesitated a bit.

The lowered sound made for harder detection while the second option made it easier to go undercover.

He thought about it for a while and decided to go with the second one.

His reasoning was the same as with [Evading].

His total undercover percentage was 40%, already reaching the next level.

Next were the [Medical Treatment] and the [Medical and Medicinal Knowledge] skills. Leveling up from Entry to Master cost 500 Points, 1 Skill Point and 1,000 Points, 1 Skill Point respectively.

[Medical Treatment] was similar to [Tracking]. There was only one option available.

[Fast Treatment: Increases treatment speed by 20%.]

[Medical and Medicinal Knowledge] offered Master of Potions and Master of Poisons.

[Master of Potions: Increases recovery rate by 10%.]

[Master of Poisons: Increases poison effect by 10%.]

Kieran selected the second one without a second thought.

After all, that had been his plan all along.

As a matter of fact, the [Medical and Medicinal Knowledge] skill had appealed to him because of the poison effect.

After upgrading all his skills from Entry to Master, he looked at his remaining points and skill points.

4,200 Points, 1 Skill Point, 1 Golden Skill Point.

Then he opened the [Hand-to-hand Combat] further upgrading options.

The next [Hand-to-hand Combat] level was Professional (Pro) and cost 4,000 Points and 2 Skill Points.

He frowned a little as he read it before he opened the [Firearm (Light Firearm)] upgrading options.

It cost 3,000 Points and 2 Skill Points.

He moved on to the others.

Even [Medical Treatment] cost 1,500 Points and 2 Skill Points. Everything else, excluding [Tracking], cost around 3,000 to 4000 Points and 2 Skill Points.

[Tracking] cost 6,000 Points and 4 Skill Points to upgrade to Pro level. It was about double what the others cost.

Although he still had some points left, Kieran was short on skill points.

He had to give up on any further upgrading and save his points and skill points for the future.

The next thing Kieran did, was wait for Lawless to came back online. He did not use the [Single Player Dungeon Cooldown Reset Card] right away though.

He wanted to get more information out of Lawless before he entered the next dungeon.

He would wait up to three hours. He could still afford to spend that much time.

Of course, given that Lawless would come back alive and well.

After all, no one could predict the future.