The Devil’s Cage - Chapter 143

Chapter 143

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 .