Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner

## Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner Summary

[Entering Single Player Dungeon] (Ch 144)

[This dungeon is a Special Single Player Dungeon]

[Difficulty: 2nd Dungeon]

[The Shaman’s Partner: Your performance in Alcatraz Prison has caught the attention of a shaman on the West Coast. You have been invited by the shaman to work as his assistant to solve several puzzling mysteries…]

[Main Mission: Be the shaman’s assistant for three months]

[Acquired temporary language pack, Disappears upon exiting the dungeon]

[Altered looks and clothes, Disappears upon exiting the dungeon]

[Hint: This is a Special Dungeon. You can fail the Main Mission, but you will have to pay 300 Points as a penalty and your highest attributes will drop by one point. If your points are insufficient, the system will deduct from your equipment. If your equipment is insufficient, you will fail.]

Kieran spawned in front of a two storey building, with a note written in a code of runes. Due to his [Mystical Knowledge], Kieran was able to easily read the note, which said that Nikorei the Shaman welcomed Kieran to her home to be tested. Kieran examined the rusty building, knowing that it was where the test would take place, but he turned around to analyze his surroundings. He walked up to a paper notice board to find it was full of announcements saying the building Kieran was to test in was “haunted” and “tragedy-stricken”. After reading these notices, Kieran deemed that the test was to solve the mystery of this building.

That night, Kieran returned to the building and walked through the gate, knocking on the door which was answered by a mutilated and scarred person. Neither of them said anything as Kieran shoved the door open and entered the building. As he entered, the candles all went out making the entire interior completely black, but Kieran relit a candle, scaring away all the spirits and will o’ wisps that emerged in the dark. Kieran ignored all the spooky noises emanating from the darkness as he moved from room to room, until he found a living room and sat down on a sofa in silence until a woman revealed herself. She introduced herself as Elli Jones, and she was the culprit of the spookiness Kieran was subject to upon his entering; though she was not very upset that Kieran had seen through all of her pranks.

With the prank over and the lights back on, Kieran stood up and continued to tour the building. He thoroughly scoured the building, even finding a hidden underground entrance which yielded no results. The whole while, Elli was trying to start a conversation with Kieran with no luck. There was a knock on the door, which Elli responded only to have her arm twisted when she tried to prank the newcomer. He introduced himself as Debosky when Kieran pointed his gun at him. Then another participant arrived, a person whose face was wrapped in bandages, named Raul.

Debosky and Raul each searched the building in the same manner Kieran did, as Kieran rested on the sofa in the living room. Then there was a scream from upstairs, a knock on the door, and a loud thud. Kieran told Elli to get the door while Kieran ran to the backyard where he saw Raul had fallen into the garden with a knife in her abdomen. Elli returned with the last participant, a doctor named Cidney, who immediately started treating Raul. Kieran went upstairs to figure out what happened and to find Debosky, where he found pools and trails of blood that lead him outside and to the front gate where Debosky’s body was hung. Kieran sternly led Elli and Cidney back inside, then asked Raul to remove her face bandages.

Elli and Cidney protested, both claiming that the murderer was the ghost that the notice board outside mentioned. Kieran then revealed that in between his arrival during the day and his entrance at night, he had visited a police station to double check the reports on the notice board; the station confirmed that there was no cases of murder and there was no body hung. It proved that there was no ghost, and someone had decided to use these false rumors to stage a murder, using the ghost as a scapegoat. He then revealed that Raul killed Debosky, jumped out of the window, passed Debosky’s body to Cidney who hung it, then returned to treat Raul’s wounds. Raul and Cidney admitted to the crime to Elli’s astonishment, but continued to justify their action by explaining they had previously hired Debosky to perform an exorcism on Raul, but he just poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire. As they begged for forgiveness for murdering Debosky, Kieran killed Debosky’s spirit that had returned in the form of an evil spirit.

A yellow and white striped cat then arrived, and Kieran recalled seeing the cat in the photos on the notice board; it was Nikorei’s pet cat. The cat, Tiki, gestured for the group to follow her, as she led the group to the garden. The ghost butler, Ferad, opened up a gate which led them to Nikorei’s real house. Kieran was disappointed that this home looked no different from a normal person’s house, but he could feel complicated alchemies in the ground he walked on as Tiki led them to the study. Nikorei, an old lady, introduced herself and announced that the whole group passed the test. She asked Cidney, Raul, and Elli to claim a room upstairs after talking briefly to each of them, then started a serious conversation with Kieran when they were alone in the study.

Nikorei immediately asked Kieran about the bronze coffin and what happened on Alcatraz, but Kieran did not trust her and remained silent, to Nikorei’s amusement. Nikorei gave Kieran her Mark, and offered him protection, to which he was satisfied enough to tell her about Alcatraz. He told her the whole story, leaving out some choice details, which satisfied a main mission condition.

[Main Mission: Become the shaman’s assistant for three months. 0/90] (Ch 150)

Nikorei dismissed Kieran, but he stayed in the study to ask more questions about Alcatraz and who his enemies in this dungeon might be. Nikorei named three different groups; Dark Star Society, Night Demon Society, and the Hatch Heresy which was led by Dr. Fenkes from Prison On The Island. She said the Hatch Heresy was going to be Kieran’s main enemy, as they were followers of Gilfren Hatch and wanted to get revenge on Kieran for killing their idol. Dark Star Society and Night Demon Society weren’t outright enemies, but both of them were also eyeing the bronze coffin that Kieran coveted.

The next morning after breakfast, Nikorei gave Elli a notebook for her to study from, then told Kieran that she had to step out for a while, and Kieran was to fill in for her while she was gone;

[Sub Mission Unlocked: The Shaman’s Daily Routine]

[Sub Mission: You have already become Nikorei’s assistant, but now she needs you to help her fulfill her duties as a shaman and solve problems as only a shaman can. Go find cases to solve! It will not just improve your reputation, but your relationship with Nikorei as well!] (Ch 151)

Nikorei then left, and the first guest Kieran had to attend to arrived. Schmidt the police officer asked for Nikorei’s assistance, but was easily convinced to accept Kieran’s help when he learned Nikorei was on a business trip, though he did not fully trust Kieran’s abilities. The two of them got into Schmidt’s police cruiser and Schmidt gave Kieran a file full of information on the case he needed help with. There were four previous victims, each completely different with the exception that they all had their hearts removed from their body. Schmidt and Kieran arrived at the scene of the fifth murder, which happened very recently. As Kieran observed the scene, he requested a map with the locations of each of the scenes. Schmidt introduced Kieran to the other officers at the scene, then Kieran used [Tracking] and discovered that the victim had their heart on the right side of their body. With [Tracking], Kieran drew an outline of the murderer’s footprint, and with [Mystical Knowledge] concluded that there was no correlation between the location of the murders when he received the map. Kieran gave the sketch to Schmidt, and advised the officer that the first four murders were likely a cover-up, that the murderer likely personally knew the fifth victim, and that the murderer was very skilled with short knives.

Kieran returned to Nikorei’s house, went into the study, and started reading books at random. After finishing a book, the skill related to the book would increase slightly. That night, when Kieran was about to go to sleep, Schmidt returned and shared that they had caught the Heart Taker with Kieran’s help; the murderer was a gambling addict that was selling the hearts for more gambling money. Schmidt then handed Kieran another file, labled “The Murder of the Missing Link” about a missing 15 year old boy named Louver who had recently reappeared, and murdered a cab driver named Muntle.

Schmidt and Kieran arrived at the morgue where Muntle’s body was. The forensics expert Derrick opened up the freezer and showed them the body, where Kieran saw the stab straight through the heart that killed Muntle, but also shallow cuts covering the body that showed Louver was torturing the cab driver. Kieran asked to see Muntle’s house. Upon entering the house, Kieran was shocked by the neatness, and deemed that this was not the crime scene, despite the large blood stain in the center of the room. Kieran and Schmidt conclude that if Muntle was the one who kidnapped teenage Louver, and Louver killed Muntle in retaliation, Louver would have returned the body to its home as a form of repentance. Schmidt and Kieran then went to Louver’s home, where they met Louver’s parents who looked very happy with the return of their missing son. Schmidt talked to them while Kieran greeted a shadowy figure that had been following him.

When Kieran approached the figure, it attacked him with a dagger. Kieran killed it with a single kick, and learned it was an Evil Earth Spirit. Schmidt got a phone call, and they were told that the Heart Taker was killed in the station. Schmidt got Louver in the back seat of his cruiser, and the three of them started driving to the station, with Louver’s parents in their own car following them. As they drove, the car Louver’s parents were driving blew up, and Louver escaped from the cruiser. Schmidt was about to chase after him, but Kieran grabbed the officer and escaped as machine guns started shooting at the cruiser. When Kieran and Schmidt were safe from the fire, Scmidt pulled out his own gun and started shooting at their attackers. Schmidt was about to call for reinforcements when the attack stopped, and they saw Louver standing over still alive attackers, with a bloody knife in his hand. Schmidt pointed his gun at Louver, ordering him to stand down, but Kieran advised Schmidt against shooting as he could see the despair on Louver’s face from losing his parents in the attack. Louver pointed his knife at Kieran, but Kieran persuaded him to calm down by urging him to focus his want for revenge unto the people who ordered the attack. Louver then turned into an unresponsive state while they waited for reinforcements, an ambulance, and a psychologist.

At the station, Kieran watched the surveillance video of the Heart Taker’s death, and was about to go visit the body when Louver escaped from the psychologist and ran to Kieran’s side. Louver started talking about the video of the Heart Taker’s death, but stopped when Schmidt got too close. Kieran revealed that Louver told him Muntle and the Heart Taker were both part of the Drifter Society. Kieran theorized that they were who sent the Evil Earth Spirit, and were wanting to kill Louver too. He got Nikorei’s phone number from Schmidt and gave her a call. Kieran explained what had happened, and told her of the existence of the Drifter Society. She told him she could see the Society coming to the station, and suggested Kieran guide everyone back to her house where she had set up defensive measures. Schmidt wanted to dismiss the officers on duty, but he was not granted permission. He was about to pull the fire alarm to force them out to protect them from the upcoming battle even though it might have cost him his job, but Kieran stopped him.

Kieran went outside the station, where he used his [Tracking] to see through the darkness of night. He saw an army of Evil Earth Spirits and Formless Souls, and found only two members of the Drifter Society. They spoke cryptically about death before starting to fight Kieran, but were shocked when the army of spirits were unable to get close to Kieran, not knowing he had bathed in [Holy Water VIII], a consumable he got from Lawless. With his [Spectre Buster] title, Kieran was able to easily eliminate the army, while both Schmidt and the Drifter Society started assuming Kieran was a Holy Knight.

The next morning, Ferad gave Kieran two newspapers, one for regular people and one for “special” people with [Mystical Knowledge]. The regular one reported that there had been a gas explosion at the police station last night, while the special one reported about Kieran, and speculated about him being the last living Holy Knight. This made Kieran worry that he might be getting more visitors, but also pleased him that this would be able to draw out the Hatch Heresy. Kieran was also happy that he was able to prove his strength to Nikorei, boosting her faith in him;

[Sub Mission Unlocked: The Shaman’s Package]

[Sub Mission: Your performance has made Nikorei the Shaman look at you differently. She now considers you a trustworthy assistant and has decided to let you handle more cases. Go to the Celestial Garden and look for Simones. He will deliver the package that you need to keep safe until Nikorei comes back.] (Ch 160)

Kieran continued reading the special newspaper, when an invitation card from the Dark Star Society fell out. After checking for traps, Kieran opened the card which was inviting him to lunch at the Celestial Garden, where he was supposed to pick up the package for Nikorei. He called her to inform her of the meeting, but she quickly ended the conversation after sounding preoccupied.

Nikorei hung up the phone after talking to Kieran; she was in a meeting with other shamans, and they were pitching ideas for organizations to recruit from. There was an event they were expecting that made them fear for their lives, and were desperately trying to find people to help them. Tiki, Nikorei’s cat, then recommended Kieran, saying that she would turn Kieran into a real Holy Knight.

Kieran then arrived at the Celestial Garden, where he noticed flowers were arranged not only into a magic circle, but also in a way that made it impossible to see inside the frosted windows. Kieran walked inside to be greeted by Carlos, the Dark Star Society representative. The two of them walked into another room where they ran into Simones who did not like Carlos. Carlos then summoned a fully furnished dining table, and suggested they hold their conversation over a meal; Carlos was the only one of the three of them that ate. Carlos had his men escort Simones out of the room after revealing that he wanted to hear from Kieran everything that happened at Alcatraz, which Kieran was about to oblige when a freezing hand landed on his shoulder, dealing continuous freezing damage. The hand pressed Kieran to his chair, making him unable to get up, so Kieran used the downward momentum to roll out from the chair, escaping the hand.

Upon Kieran’s escape, Carlos recognized the freezing person as the Night Demon member, Wilco. Carlos then attacked Wilco, though he could not break through Wilco’s barrier. Another Night Demon member, Nelson, appeared suddenly and stabbed through Carlos’s heart. During the brief fight, Kieran had escaped from the room and regrouped with Simones, who led the two of them through a narrow passageway to escape from Wilco. They ran through a secret passage, but did not get far when they suddenly saw Wilco in front of them, blocking the passage. Wilco’s gaze alone carried tremendous pressure that made Simones succumb to the [Fear] debuff, and to avoid that fate Kieran used one of his few Golden Attribute Points on his Spirit attribute, allowing him to not feel the pressure of Wilco’s gaze.

Kieran then attacked first with a fire kick, the strength of which surprised Wilco who had been underestimating Kieran. Kieran and Wilco kept trading blows, every time they came into contact with each other more and more parts of Kieran’s body would freeze over, until Wilco forced Kieran to the ground, freezing his entire body and all of his limbs. Wilco taunted Kieran, explaining that he was going to torture the truth of Alcatraz out of him, when Kieran used what little mobility in his arms to pull out two grenades and pulled their pins. When they exploded, Kieran protected himself with [Tessirot Blessing]’s [Scale of Blessing] and [Primus Arm]’s [Primus Scale], though Wilco had been greatly wounded despite his barrier. Kieran then fired a [Burning Hand] at Wilco, then followed up by simultaneously firing his [MI-02] and [Python-W2], and when he ran out of bullets, Kieran threw another grenade at Wilco. That grenade finally killed Wilco, who dropped the [Wilco’s Grudge] ring.

Although Kieran and Simones did not see Nelson, they knew that Wilco had an accomplice, so they continued down the passage quickly, hoping to reach the exit before this accomplice knew Wilco had been killed. When they reached the end, Nikorei opened the door and checked on Simones, before facing Nelson who was standing behind Kieran. Nelson shot a blade of magic at Kieran, but Kieran evaded it; Tiki then protected Kieran from the next attack by freezing the blade. Nikorei allowed Nelson to leave with a message to Morenderke, the leader of the Night Demon Society, demanding to know why they attacked her assistant. Kieran confirmed with Nikorei that she had clairvoyant abilities, and that she would have appeared at any time had Kieran been about to die.

The next week, at Nikorei’s house, Kieran was reading from Nikorei’s library again. When he finished the latest book, Nikorei then gave him a quiz on everything he had previously read, which gave him a skill increase when he answered a question correctly. After the quiz, Kieran expressed his interest of learning [Potionology], [Alchemy], and [Astrology], as those were the three skills he needed to further upgrade the [Mystical Knowledge] skill. Nikorei was about to oblige and start teaching Kieran [Potionology], when Morenderke arrived. Morenderke was so powerful that where he stepped there was a trail of monster bones and wailing souls, but as Nikorei approached him, they vanished, displaying Nikorei’s strength over him.

Simones, who had helped Kieran complete the [The Shaman’s Package] Sub Mission (Ch 168), approached Kieran and offered to teach him [Potionology] if Kieran helped him with moving some equipment. The two of them returned to the Celestial Garden where Kieran helped Simones move equipment to his Potion Crafting Platform, when they heard a loud car engine speed up toward the Garden. Kieran and Simones carried the Platform into a back room, and they hid in there too as the car shot up the Garden. Having experienced this before in [Wandering Beast], Kieran prevented Simones from moving when the gunfire ended, and shielded him when grenades were thrown into the building. After another round of bullets, the attackers finally entered the Garden and were attacked by Kieran. While using [Primus Scale] to protect himself, Kieran killed all of the attackers with his [MI-02] and [Python-W2]. Kieran was suspicious, though, because all of the attackers were normal people with arms; none of them was a special person. Kieran heard footsteps, though there was no person visible and he knew the normal people were a scapegoat for the special person, who would stealthily take out Kieran and Simones. Kieran pretended to not notice this invisible person, and allowed him to inch closer to Kieran. When sirens sounded in front of the Garden did the person attack Kieran, but he was immediately countered with a kick from Kieran, and was quickly killed. After retrieving the [Hatch’s Curse] from the body, Kieran knew that the attacker was from the Hatch Heresy, not from the Drifter Society like he initially thought.

The police then went inside the ruins of the Celestial Garden, ordering Kieran to put his hands up; which both Kieran and Simones complied until Schmidt arrived, and calmed down the police. Schmidt guided Kieran and Simones to his new office, as he had been promoted as the Special Task Force Leader. Kieran gave his testimony of what happened, then he and Simones left to return to the garden. By the time they got back, it was surrounded by police tape, and Dr. Fenkes was standing in the ruins. Fenkes noticed Kieran the moment Kieran’s gaze landed on him, and cheerfully went over to greet Kieran. Simones parted from Kieran as Fenkes asked to speak with Kieran.

Kieran and Fenkes went to a nearby coffee shop, where Fenkes revealed that after Kieran and his group left Alcatraz, the warden and all the surviving officers touched the bronze coffin, resulting in all of their deaths except for Fenkes, who not only survived but also gained special powers form the encounter. Fenkes said the power he got was to treat Magic Repulsion, which was a severe side effect of using spells too powerful for the caster to handle; not even Nikorei had the knowledge to treat Magic Repulsion. Fenkes requested that Kieran escort him back to Alcatraz so that he could use the bronze coffin to concoct the cure for Magic Repulsion in order to heal innocent victims. Kieran was extremely tempted, as reaching the bronze coffin was his main goal, but he knew that he was still too weak to fight through the Dark Star Society who inhabited the island, and he also did not want to compromise the main mission by abandoning the West Coast. Fenkes was disappointed by Kieran’s refusal, but understanding when he learned the Dark Star Society was already at Alcatraz; Fenkes offhandedly mentioned the existence of six special factions, which shocked and made Kieran suspicious, as up until now he had only known of five factions: Dark Star, Night Demon, Unicorn, White Deer, and Polaris. Fenkes and Kieran then spent the next hour holding a conversation about special people, and Fenkes asked Kieran many questions which Kieran answered honestly. Kieran did not discard his suspicion of Fenkes, but thought of ways to confirm his suspicions.

After their conversation, Kieran then returned to the Celestial Garden, where he helped Simones move the Potion Crafting Platform to Nikorei’s home. Kieran spent the next two weeks in the study, reading books and learning [Potionology] from Simones. Before Kieran could learn the skill, though, Ferad appeared with a guest, Boller, who asked for Kieran’s help in saving Fenkes’ life. Boller explained that Fenkes had gone to negotiate with independent members of the Hatch Heresy in an effort to end the conflicts within the organization, but he hadn’t returned from the negotiations. Kieran agreed to help, but before he left he called Fenkes’ emergency number three times with no answer, then he called Schmidt and learned there had been no unusual activities from special people within the past few days. Kieran and Boller then drove to the Hatch Heresy Headquarters, which was located in a very poor neighborhood with no police security, and where everyone carried guns on them.

When they went inside the headquarters, Kieran was sure that Boller was leading him into an ambush, but nothing happened as Boller led Kieran to where all the Magic Repulsion victims were being treated. They were all obviously being taken good care of, but with Fenkes disappearance, Kieran transported all of the victims to Nikorei’s home; Kieran believed that if Fenkes’ disappearance was deliberate, that he would show himself after the victims were moved to Nikorei’s home, but Kieran was faced with self-doubt as there remained no sign of Fenkes. Kieran chose to hire a private investigator to help him search for Fenkes as he successfully concocted his first potion, [Calming Balm], and learned the [Potionology] skill.

Kieran took the [Calming Balm] to Simones, who was caring for and researching the magic repulsion victims, as Simones expressed his distrust of Boller. As Kieran was going to ask more, Ferad appeared and announced that there was a powerful guest from the Dark Star Society. Kieran returned to Nikorei’s home and met Frostrill from the Dark Star Society. Frostrill revealed that the Dark Star society needed Kieran’s assistance in opening the bronze coffin, as by killing Gilfren Hatch, Kieran had sacrificed Hatch’s blood and soul to the bronze coffin, making it so Kieran was the only person capable of opening it. Kieran asked about Nikorei, which revealed that Frostrill and the Dark Star Society had to get her permission before they were able to set up this meeting. Kieran wanted to consult with Nikorei to figure out what his demands should be in exchange for his help, when Nikorei called to express her gratitude to Kieran for fulfilling his position as an assistant so well.

[Player has completed the Main Mission with an excellent performance, a new Main Mission will start now.]

[Main Mission: Return to Alcatraz]

[Return to Alcatraz: Your excellent performance has satisfied Nikorei, who thinks you can work independently to help her solve more problems…] (Ch 175)

Kieran agreed to return to Alcatraz as Boller arrived, exclaiming that Kieran’s private investigator had found and returned with Fenkes. Fenkes arrived, looking like he had gone through some suffering, but Kieran’s trust toward both Fenkes and Boller completely dissipated with the too coincidental return of Fenkes right when Kieran was going to travel back to Alcatraz. When Fenkes noticed Frostrill, he pretended to not know what he was there for, and put up a very convincing act of a beggar, asking for permission to accompany Kieran to Alcatraz so he could heal the magic repulsion victims. Frostrill called his superior, then granted Fenkes permission to return to Alcatraz with them. As they were preparing to leave, Kieran visited Simones to ask about his suspicion of Boller. Simones said that he could tell Boller was a potionologist, which was suspicious as there were very few people in that profession, and he assured Kieran that Boller was not watching him although Kieran was certain that Boller had been spying on him and reporting to Fenkes. After completing a very lengthy and thorough analysis of all the information he knew, Kieran came to the conclusion that Fenkes had been allied with the Dark Star Society since the events of [Prison On The Island], and he was preparing to betray them.

After his analysis, Simones gave Kieran a [Potionologist Waist Pack] full of potions, which Kieran accepted graciously. Kieran, Frostrill, and Fenkes then traveled by ferry to Alcatraz Island. As they got close to shore, Kieran was able to see Alcatraz war-torn and crumbling from repeated battles, and Frostrill expressed his homesickness for the Dark Star Headquarters, revealing that he is a very high ranking member in his Society, hoping to overtake the Dark Star Society leader Serdenk. Kieran asked Frostrill how they knew of the existence of the bronze coffin, which Frostrill explained he had been trying to recruit Gilfren Hatch when he turned himself in. Before they reached shore, Kieran grabbed his [Underwater Breathing Potion] and was going to jump ship when Fenkes approached with a squad of Dark Star Society members, trapping Kieran between Fenkes and Frostrill. Kieran chose to use [Wilco’s Grudge] on Frostrill, freezing him, while he kicked at Fenkes and used the momentum to launch himself into the sea. Fenkes chased after Kieran, having tasken no damage from the kick. On the boat, Frostrill broke free from the ice and struggled to figure out how Kieran knew of his alliance with Fenkes and their plan to ambush him. Kieran used a healing potion to heal from the recoil of using [Wilco’s Grudge], and started swimming further into the sea to get to a place where Nikorei could see him with her clairvoyance, but Fenkes grabbed onto Kieran with a chain that completely paralyzed him. Fenkes reached Kieran and grabbed his throat, keeping him paralyzed with negative energy, as Gilfren Hatch’s spirit possessed Fenkes.

Kieran allowed the negative energy to continuously sap away his HP, pretending to struggle against Hatch’s paralysis and eventually turn limp as the debuffs stacked up from HP loss. Hatch, seeing Kieran unable to continue struggling, grabbed his neck and started to swim to the surface. As his back was turned to Kieran, Kieran took out two vials of [Holy Water VIII] and smeared them over Hatch’s body, immediately making Hatch [Lethally Wounded]; Kieran quickly followed up with a round of [Bullets of Blessing]. Sensing he could not escape his fate, Hatch decided to self destruct, shooting a wave of dark energy toward Kieran that swallowed him in a strong pressure. Kieran grabbed the [Spectre Grip] ring before being completely engulfed by the pressure. When Hatch’s spirit left Fenkes’ body, it started to rot rapidly, looking like he had been dead for months. Suddenly Kieran was attacked by a Half-Dead with facial markings similar to what Zwayne had when he had been possessed by Hatch during [Prison On The Island]. This Half-Dead was able to break through [Primus Arm, Primus Scale] and [Tessirot Blessing, Scale of Blessing] with one hit. The Half-Dead attacked again, but Kieran used the [Deceiver's Key] to pull himself away; after going [Undercover] Kieran found out the Half-Dead had poor vision and hearing, as the Half-Dead was unable to find Kieran. The Half-Dead then started flying around, trying to find Kieran while Kieran kept his distance and observed his surroundings. Despite the dark mist, Kieran could tell he was in a kind of cave, and the doors were sealed shut. Kieran threw a grenade at it, and learned that it had an impenetrable defense as he broke through the door while the Half-Dead was stunned from the explosion. Although Kieran wanted to kill it, a [Bullet of Blessing] did no damage and Kieran did not want to waste his last vial of [Holy Water VIII] lest it does not do enough damage to kill it.

Kieran decided to travel through the underground tunnel systems he was trapped in instead of engaging the Half-Dead again, so he went slowly while regularly checking for traps. Kieran eventually found himself on a platform at the top of a staircase where he saw a small switch on the cave wall, and he felt a breeze through a small crack in the rocks. When Kieran flicked the switch, the whole wall turned, opening up another huge room. He went over to a large bookshelf that had collapsed onto a pair of mummies and started organizing the valuable books until he noticed that the female mummy had been killed due to a lethal stab through the heart. Kieran noticed a diary nearby, which revealed the female mummy was the wife of a Duke, and she only married him to obtain his “lineage power”, but she had to do many experiments on not only him but also their son who carried the same lineage power. She invented a potion that was necessary to gain the power along with a heart transplant, but the son escaped and later returned to kill the wife; he was the second mummy lying underneath the bookshelf. Gilfren Hatch was a descendant of the son, who had inherited the memories of his ancestors and returned to Alcatraz to obtain great power. Kieran found the necessary potion, but it was ruined over time and the wife had not written any related notes or recipes to allow Kieran to recreate the potion. Kieran took the vial in hopes that he would eventually be able to figure out the composition and rebrew it. Kieran continued inspecting the room, and found a crystal ball; after touching it Kieran was shown a projection of the room with the bronze coffin. Frostrill was within the room and he was drawing a magic circle that was responsible for Nikorei being unable to use her clairvoyance on Alcatraz.

That night, while Frostrill was giving a motivational speech to his men, Kieran used [Paul’s Conceal] to sneak into the room with the bronze coffin, and blew up the magic circle with a grenade. Kieran quickly went [Undercover] as Frostrill ran over, and waited patiently for Frostrill to walk over to the bronze coffin. When Frostrill was close enough, Kieran jumped out of the shadows with the [Hatch’s Curse] dagger, and killed Frostrill with a single stab as the dagger crumbled into pieces as its [Hatred] attribute was used. Kieran threw his last grenade at Fristrill’s men, breaking through their weakened barriers, but as he was about to kill them with his guns, the Dark Star Society leader Serdenk appeared. Kieran was immediately put under immense pressure from Serdenk’s gaze, to the point that Kieran wanted to use the [Soothing Baml] he was saving specifically for the coffin, but the pressure was so strong he was only able to move a finger. Before Serdenk made a move, though, Tiki showed up and defeated Frostrill’s men while relieving Kieran of the pressure. Tiki threatened Serdenk, and the Dark Star leader backed down without a fight. Tiki relayed a message from Nikorei to Kieran, recommending that he obtain the lineage power through a method other than a heart transplant, and gave some parting remarks before leaving without answering Kieran’s questions.

[Player has completed the Main Mission: Return to Alcatraz!]

[Player will leave the dungeon in 5 minutes]

[Please take whatever items you wish to keep with you.]

[Note: Any items that exceed the maximum weight will be discarded!] (Ch 187)

Kieran was filled with panic when the countdown started, as he hadn’t yet opened the bronze coffin. He grabbed the skill book Frostrill dropped, [Secondary Elemental Damage Resistance], grabbed his backpack, and applied the [Soothing Balm] before reaching the bronze coffin. He opened it, revealing a beating heart, and he carefully picked it up and put it within a crystal box. The [Fear] effect got continuously stronger, to the point the [Soothing Balm] was unable to help him; Kieran started taking continuous damage, and he had to drink three [Medium Healing Potion]s to stay alive until the countdown ended. When the bright light shone on the heart, the [Fear] ended, and the heart became docile.

[Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner]

[Dungeon Type: Mission Based]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Low]

[Main Mission: Be the shaman’s assistant for three months]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating: F)]

[Sub Mission 1: The Shaman’s Duties!]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating: F→E)]

[Sub Mission 2: The Shaman’s Package!]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating: E→D)]

[Battle Performance: Very Active (Rating D→C)]

[Exploration Performance: Normal]

[Special Rating 1: Fast Dungeon Clear Time (Rating C→B)]

[Special Rating 2: Completed an Extra Main Mission: Return to Alcatraz Island (Rating B→A)]

[Special Rating 3: Eliminated “Icy Killer” Wilco (Rating A→S)]

[Special Rating 4: Eliminated “Spectre” Gilfren Hatch (S→SS)]

[Special Rating 5: Eliminated “Usurper” Frostrill (Rating SS→SSS) Rep+1]

[Player Final Rating: SSS]

[Calculating Player Special Dungeon Rewards…]

[Player Final Special Dungeon Rewards are as follows…]

[Points: 10,000; Skill Points: 6; Golden Skill Points: 1; Golden Attribute Points: 1]

[Acquired Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner II]

[Note: Reputation has reached 5. You have earned some reputation to your name. Some natives will remember you.] (Ch 188)

## Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner Received Items

[Name: Mark of Nikorei]

[Type: Etc]

[Rarity: Excellent]

[Attributes: None]

[Prerequisites: None[

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: No]

[Remarks: This medal represents the shaman herself in person. If you run into any trouble, it might be of use in some special way.] (Ch 150)

[Name: Wilco’s Grudge]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attack/Defense: None]

[Attributes: 1. Chilling Touch; 2. Cursed Grudge]

[Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: A mission that Wilco had considered easy ended up leading to his death. Wilco’s hatred and grudge are sealed in this ring!]

[Chilling Touch: You need to touch your target with the ring for the skill to be activated. It strikes with a Powerful Cold Attack that lasts 5 seconds (When combined with other equipment on your body, it still lasts the same time), 1 time/day]

[Cursed Grudge: Anyone who wears the ring will suffer Wilco’s Grudge. Every time the [Chilling Touch] is activated, the wearer suffers 300 Damage. (Can be resisted with other skills, but the skill level has to be higher than the level of Wilco’s Grudge)] (Ch 165)

[Name: Hatch’s Curse]

[Type: Dagger]

[Rarity: Magical]

[Attack: Common]

[Attributes: Hatred]

[Special Effects: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Prerequisites: Sharp Weapon Dagger (Master)]

[Remarks: This is an accidental product of Gilfren Hatch’s alchemy practice. He wanted to make another one, but he did not succeed!]

[Hatred: After an effective attack, it will deplete the durability of the weapon and cause exponential damage that exceeds the attack of the dagger by far.]

[Hint: The Attack Level is based on the dagger. The strength and technique of the wielder is secondary.] (Ch 170)

[Acquired Item: Calming Balm]

[Name: Calming Balm]

[Type: Medicine]

[Rarity: Excellent]

[Attributes: Rub it evenly on the temple and forehead to freshen one’s mind in a short time, It has a minor healing effect against the Fear Debuff.]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: This is a big portion of a student-level craft. Other than its ability to be used repeatedly, there is nothing special about it. It’s the most common of common products!] (Ch 174)

[Name: Potionologist Waist Pack]

[Type: Etc]

[Rarity: Excellent]

[Attributes: None]

[Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: Every Potionology teacher would give their students this waist pack once they were skilled enough. It can hold up to six standard potions. It’s not great equipment, but it has a great meaning to it!] (Ch 177)

[Name: Agility Potion]

[Type: Potion]

[Rarity: Great]

[Attributes: +1 Agility while running, jumping or evading for 60 seconds]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: You are only running faster and jumping higher. Your weight is still the same!] (Ch 177)

[Name: Underwater Breathing Potion]

[Type: Potion]

[Rarity: Great]

[Attributes: You can breath underwater for 90 seconds]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: Remember the duration, or you will die a tragic death!] (Ch 177)

[Name: Spectre Grip]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attack/Defense: None]

[Attributes: Shadow Chain]

[Effects: None]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: This is the power of a reincarnated spectre!]

[Shadow Chain: Form a dark chain using negative energy to bind you target, Target has to undergo a Strength authentication in conjunction with your Strength; If they pass, they will be released, If they fail, they will be bound for one second, 15 Negative Corrosion Damage per second for three seconds, two times per day] (Ch 181)

[Name: Devil’s Heart]

[Type: Organ]

[Rarity: Epic]

[Attributes: ?]

[Effects: ?]

[Prerequisites: ?]

[Able to bring out of the dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: This is a heart that once belonged to a Devil Lord! (Ch 188)

[Discovered Skill Book: Secondary Elemental Damage Resistance] (187)

## Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner Learned Skills

[Lesson learned, Experience gained on Research of Mystical Beings…]

[Research of Mystical Beings leveled up…]

[Master Skill: Research of Mystical Beings (Basic)]

[Name: Research of Mystical Beings (Basic)]

[Related Attributes: None]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effects: You have learned some of the features of mystical beings, including but not limited to, their habits, attacks and rearing methods.]

[Consumes: Nothing]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: You have only acquired a limited knowledge of mystical beings. There are still a lot of mystical beings that you haven’t even heard of.]

[Hint: You have acquired this skill through a lesson and not a Skill Book. Therefore, you cannot level it up with Points and Skill Points. If you want to level it up, you will need to continue learning or get a Skill Book!] (Ch 167)

[Brewed your first potion, Gained a large amount of experience in Potionology…]

[Potionology Basic Experience has reached the level limit…]

[Level up!]

[Skill Learned: Potionology (Basic)]

[Name: Potionology (Basic)]

[Related Attributes: None]

[Skill Type: Ancillary]

[Effects: You have the knowledge to turn hundreds of plant stems and several animal parts into potions!]

[Consumes: Nothing]

[Prerequisites: None]

[Remarks: Although you only know how to make a calming balm, for a student, you pass!]

[Note: You have acquired this skill through learning, not through a Skill Book. Therefore, you cannot upgrade it with Points and Skill Points. If you want to level it up, you will need to continue learning or acquire a Skill Book!] (Ch 174)