Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner IV

## Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner IV Summary

[Entering Party Dungeon!]

[Special Dungeon: Party]

[Party Members: 2]

[Party leader 2567 that initiated the special dungeon has 5 dungeon entry count; Party member Starbeck has 6 dungeon entry count]

[Calculating Special Dungeon difficulty…]

[Party member has dungeon entry count that surpass the Special Dungeon…]

[Difficulty confirmed: 5th dungeon]

[Background: You have entered Naveya City and are involved in huge unexpected trouble but this is just the start…]

[Main Mission: You need to be in Naveya City for 4 weeks and make sure you and your party member’s identities aren’t exposed; remaining time: 0/28]

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

[Clothing, backpack, weapons, and other items remain unchanged, Temporarily altered appearance, Returns to normal upon exiting the dungeon]

[Detected firearms and grenade do not match the dungeon period, power decrease 90%. When you entered the dungeon, you will be compensated with corresponding skills. (Compensated skills can’t be leveled up and will disappear upon exit of the dungeon]

[Note 1: This is a special dungeon and because you have reach I rank, you can not fail the main mission. Once you fail, it’s game over!]

[Note 2: Party member’s main mission and punishment (if fail) will be determined by their own dungeon entry count.] (Ch 883)

Kieran and Starbeck spawned inside of a small house, with a hole in the ceiling allowing Kieran to see the two moons of Naveya, one green and one purple. Immediately after spawning, both Kieran and Starbeck went [Undercover] until Kieran was confident that he did not feel the same dangerous presence as last time. Kieran recalled what he had read, and revealed that he had learned that the dangerous presence he felt had come from the temples within the City; in this dungeon, gods were both real and very powerful.

Kieran realized there was absolutely nothing within the building they spawned in, so he gestured for Starbeck to follow him as he left. Starbeck followed closely and quietly, terrified about the gods within the dungeon. The two of them walked further into the City until they reached a building made out of stone. Kieran knocked on the door, and a large old man answered, allowing the two of them inside. When the door closed, a secret passage going downstairs opened up, and Kieran heard people down there. Kieran revealed that he read about this place in a book; this was the Oak Hand organization, which was cautious even though they weren’t strong. Kieran knew the secret passage was a trap, and pretended to be offended as he released killing intent at the man, causing him to stagger. The man apologized and hastily apologized, respectfully explaining that “that thing” caused the organization to increase their vigilance.

Starbeck asked with a trembling voice what “that thing” was, and Kieran started whispering into Starbeck’s ear. The man saw this and started explaining that two weeks ago someone stole the Holy Thorn Grail, and those at the Thorn Temple were searching the entire City. Starbeck followed Kieran down the staircase, and although he was scared, he recalled that he and Kieran planned to pretend to be a young master and an attendant, and as the young master he had to act stupid and curious in order to learn as much information as possible. Starbeck, Kieran, and the old man reached the end of a hallway downstairs, and entered into a room full of people equipped with weapons. Kieran whispered to Starbeck, explaining that this was the Oak Hand’s famous black market, and Starbeck, pretending to be the young master, asked loudly if the Holy Thorn Grail was here for sale.

All of the people behind stalls started laughing and jeering at Starbeck, saying that they had the Holy Thorn Grail. Kieran stepped in front of Starbeck and released killing intent at all of the shopkeepers, until they were silent from terror. As Kieran guided Starbeck away, Kieran was happy that he and Starbeck had successfully convinced everyone within the Oak Hand that they were a young master and an attendant. When Kieran felt the gazes of the guards stop looking at them suspiciously, Kieran urged Starbeck to return to their manor, but Starbeck said he was not satisfied yet; Starbeck then went from stall to stall, picking up random items and chatting with the shopkeeper, asking questions that were common knowledge to someone who was not a sheltered young master. The shopkeepers answered all of his questions, eager to rip off a rich, stupid young master.

Eventually, after listening to all of the answers, Kieran concluded that the only reason the Holy Thorn Grail was successfully stolen was because the guards, who were watching for a thief, had found Kieran instead when Tiki threw Kieran into the dungeon. With Kieran distracting the guards, the thief was able to easily steal the Holy Thorn Grail.

A shopkeeper then pushed a statue of the Hero Algor into Starbecks hands, but Kieran told Starbeck that they had enough Hero Algor merchandise at the manor. Starbeck tried handing the statue back to the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper ran without taking the statue back or receiving payment. Kieran kicked the statue out of Starbeck’s hand, sending it flying at the shopkeeper. When the statue hit the shopkeeper’s body, the statue broke apart, revealing a grail that was hidden in the statue. The grail was golden and large, and was decorated with giant diamonds and patterns that looked like vines. The room was silent, until everyone started yelling that the grail was the Holy Thorn Grail. As everyone started throwing themselves at the Grail, Kieran grabbed Starbeck and ran to the exit. When they reached the hallway, Kieran and Starbeck realized that some people had ran and escaped before they did.

Starbeck was afraid that the person who stole the Holy Thorn Grail had found them out, but Kieran assured Starbeck that the Grail they saw was fake, and even if the thief was targeting them, the thief wouldn’t be that strong since he was not able to use force to steal it. They jumped up the staircase, and Kieran did not see the old man, but he did see two groups of soldiers approaching them. Kieran used [Tracking] and saw the footprints of the people who escaped first, theorizing that one of them was the mastermind of the fake Grail.

Mizelle was running quickly, cursing how intuitive Kieran was to instantly realize something was wrong with the Hero Algor statue. When the statue broke, his plan had failed. He feared what the people of the Thorn Temple would do if he was caught, so he ran faster until he reached his hideout. He sighed in relief when he was safe within his home, but Kieran then revealed himself and smashed Mizelle to the ground. Under Kieran’s threats, Mizelle revealed that the Holy Thorn Grail was stolen because there was a person who could perform Baptisms, and those who helped steal the Grail would secure a slot to receive a Baptism. Kieran initially thought Mizelle was lying, since not very many people can perform Baptisms, but Mizelle told Kieran that the person had already performed several Baptisms on some other thieves, and Mizelle saw it with his own eyes. Kieran then asked about the other thieves, and under Kieran’s torture Mizelle revealed that he and three other thieves were planning on killing and stealing the identity of a merchant.

Kieran then knocked Mizelle out, and Starbeck came out of the shadows. Kieran said they would use Mizelle’s house as their own hideout for a while, and Starbeck went to lay down on Mizelle’s bed. Kieran sat down also, and he started asking Starbeck more about Broker, assuring Starbeck he wouldn’t press anything Starbeck can’t talk about due to the contract.

Starbeck said he did not know much about Broker, but said Broker was able to buy things from the game system that most players can't buy, such as exclusive items or the ability to delay the arrival of the cyber police. Starbeck then said he was not sure how Broker knew he had the [Blade of the Daybreaker (Main Scroll)] since he told nobody about it, but he had the feeling Broker always knew he had it. Starbeck said Broker had made similar deals to other players, and he theorized that Broker was able to see the rewards that players get from their dungeons.

The next morning, as the City was starting it’s day, all of the merchants and farmers were lining up outside of the city gate to pay the tax to enter the city. At noon, Mizelle, who was dominated by [Mesely Ring], met up with the other three thieves at an Inn. Mizelle pointed out the leader of the thieves, Pelker, and Kieran immediately dominated him too. Pelker started telling Kieran that after seeing the Baptisms, he was willing to follow their orders to receive his own Baptism. He said that his orders were to disguise himself as a merchant and enter Naveya City, where he was to then hang a red cloth outside of the window of the inn he booked. Kieran was confident that the purpose of the red cloth was to summon the City guards, where Pelker would then become a scapegoat. After a few more rounds of questions, Kieran concluded that one of the people related to the baptisms was part of the Thorn Temple.

[Discovered sub-mission: Itinerant Merchant]

[Itinerant Merchant: A decent disguise but you have to act like one!] (Ch 888)

[Discovered sub-mission: Bold and Reckless]

[Bold and Reckless: Stealing the Holy Grail from a temple isn’t something just anyone can do, find these two thieves!] (Ch 888)

That evening, Kieran and Starbeck were walking through the outdoor market, browsing through all of the stalls. They eventually reached a stall with bronze jewelry which was next to an inn, where a red cloth was hanging from a window. Kieran started bargaining with the shopkeeper casually, as Starbeck wondered why they were not making a move; Starbeck was under the impression that Kieran would want to enter the room with the red cloth, where the two of them concluded that the real thieves would plant the real Holy Thorn Grail before calling for guards, in order to steal the Grail. Starbeck was afraid that they would enter the Inn too late, and the guards would arrive before they could find the Grail and escape, meaning they would have to fight the guards and risk having their identity discovered. Starbeck then noticed a shadowy figure approaching the Inn, and Starbeck wanted to say something to Kieran, but Kieran purchased some rings and went to the next stall before Starbeck could say anything. As Starbeck followed Kieran to the next stall, Starbeck watched the shadowy figure and realized there were three more figures, who were silently attacking the first shadowy figure. Kieran whispered to Starbeck, telling him to not look at the Inn, and to just follow him.

As they walked away from the Inn, it suddenly exploded, collapsing the Inn. There was a large squad of guards nearby, but because of the large number of people at the market, the explosion caused a great panic that the guards were not able to calm. Kieran grabbed Starbeck and avoided the chaos, and they watched as a man within the crowd who wore a long robe with vine designs started singing a hymn. As he hummed, the chaos slowly subsided, but before he could finish, an arrow was shot at him, killing him. The panic returned and the people were even more terrified, even Starbeck couldn’t figure out what just happened. Starbeck realized that Kieran was no longer beside him and Starbeck was filled with terror before Kieran returned with a captive in his hands. Kieran and Starbeck returned to their own Inn where Mizelle and Pelker were waiting. Kieran gave the captive to them and told them to return to Mizelle’s hideout and to wait there.

As they left, Kieran confirmed that the captive was the one who assassinated the Thorn Temple priest, and Starbeck asked Kieran many questions, trying to figure out what was going on. Kieran theorized that there was another group looking for the real thieves that stole the Holy Thorn Grail, the priest was assassinated because he knew something, and the explosion was to silence other people who had information. Kieran then told Starbeck that their next identity was to run this Inn, and Kieran told Starbeck to pretend to be the chef and start cooking some food for the guests of the Inn. Starbeck used his Musou [Cooking] to cook a meal which Kieran ate before commanding someone to reveal themselves.

Someone jumped out of the shadows, thrusting a dagger at Kieran’s throat, but they stopped before the dagger touched. Kieran asked if they could talk, but the person said Kieran did not have enough leverage to talk. Kieran asked why he was attacking him, as Kieran was pretending to be a merchant, but then the person asked if the people who attacked the shadowy figure at the inn at the market worked for Kieran. Kieran broke the dagger when the person tried attacking Kieran again, and Kieran wondered how this person fit into everything, since they knew little about the situation. The person looked like he was about to escape, but Kieran bluffed, saying his men were waiting outside.

[Sub-Mission: Bold and Reckless (Complete)!]

[Discovered sub-mission: Hidden]

[Hidden: The one who stole the Holy Grail was just another pawn of the mastermind behind the scenes. You need to find out what the mastermind wanted to achieve and stop him!] (Ch 891)

Kieran suggested the person sit down so they could talk, and Kieran pretended to be mysterious as the person asked him questions, and he revealed that he wanted the Grail. The person then removed their disguise, revealing a beautiful woman with long hair. She tried seducing Kieran as she walked over and almost sat on his lap; Starbeck walked in then, and blushed as he tried leaving, but Kieran told him to come in. The woman, Atrina, revealed that she became suspicious of Kieran’s identity when she smelled Starbeck’s cooking, finding it odd that a poor merchant would be able to afford a personal chef of such calibre, and Kieran started threatening her while still pretending to be mysterious. Kieran handed her a contract, which he hesitated to sign because she was afraid of punishment from her god, but Kieran assured her that he was not asking her to abandon her faith. She signed as Kieran thought about how if he did anything to her soul, such as using [Mesely Ring], her god might notice and attack him. As Atrina asked Kieran what she needed to do, Kieran assured her that he would take care of his side of the bargain as long as Atrina gets him the Holy Thorn Grail.

That night, after the City’s curfew, Atrina led Kieran and Starbeck through the city while avoiding guards. She led them to the City docks, where she said she hid the Grail under a bridge, in the sea where no priest would be able to sense its presence. As they walked to the bridge, several men jumped out of the shadows, surrounding the three of them; there were also two more men standing ahead on the bridge, which Atrina recognized as Xeriche and Anderson, famous mercenaries. Kieran just sighed as he used [Dandelion Pierce] to kill all of the men, except for Xeriche who he tortured . After Xeriche revealed he was part of the Emerald Rock organization, Kieran killed him. Atrina then quickly went to look for the Grail, but returned saying it was gone.

Kieran then escorted Arina back to the Thorn Temple for the night, and he quickly left when he realized the aura surrounding the Temple was affecting him subconsciously. Inside the Temple, Chief Knight Reppu was dissatisfied to see Atrina return unharmed, though he pretended everything was normal and greeted her as he walked away.

Kieran and Starbeck snuck around Naveya City, easily avoiding the guards, and headed toward the Emerald Rock headquarters. They reached the mill where Emerald Rock operated out of, but they found it completely empty. Kieran searched the mill, and soon after he and Starbeck left to return to their Inn. In their room, Starbeck started inspecting the goods that they would sell while pretending to be a merchant, but Kieran wondered about the merchant that Pelker was ordered to kill. Kieran spent the night theorizing about the Holy Thorn Grail, Atrina, the merchant, and the unknown group who attacked them on the bridge. At sunrise, Starbeck woke up to see Kieran unmoved from last night, still deep in thought, and he got up to make breakfast. After Kieran ate, Kieran gave Starbeck some loot to compensate him for his contract that Kieran used on Atrina. The loot was very weak compared to what Starbeck was currently equipped with, but Starbeck got a little emotional because it was the first time he had gotten loot within a dungeon, since he always had bodyguards to protect him, and the bodyguards always took all the loot.

Later that day, someone visited Kieran and Starbeck’s Inn room; he introduced himself as Eddy, and started complaining that because of the priest’s assassination yesterday, the market was closed. Eddy, who was a merchant, then pulled out his goods and started promoting his wares to Kieran. Kieran, pretending to also be a merchant, started bartering with Eddy while Eddy asked about the assassination; Kieran could tell by the way he worded his questions that he was a secret agent of some sort, but he continued to chat with him, pretending like he was clueless about the assassination and the explosion. When they were done bartering, Eddy left and Kieran admired his ability to see through Kieran’s act at the market yesterday.

Shortly after Eddy left, another person knocked on the door and entered Kieran’s room. He introduced himself as Anxico, and told Kieran that Eddy was a secret agent from Thorn Temple. Anxico removed his hood, revealing that he was blind, and then suggested that he and Kieran work together. Anxico told Kieran that it was hard to find a team in Naveya City, and just then someone jumped out of the shadows, thrusting a dagger at Anxico. Kieran quickly shot out a kick, but the attacker was shocked when Kieran kicked Anxico, not the attacker. Kieran kicked the attacker too, knocking them out. After being knocked unconscious, Anxico’s body started morphing, turning back into Eddy’s body.

The whole fight was so silent that when Starbeck returned, he was shocked to see the two bodies. Kieran explained that he knew Anxico was actually Eddy because he smelled the same [Disguise Potion] on both of them. Kieran then heard the sound of horses, and Kieran and Starbeck quickly packed their equipment and left the Inn. As they left, a large group of city guard riders surrounded the Inn.

Atrina, at Thorn Temple, had received a letter from Mizelle requesting a meeting. She did not know Mizelle had been dominated by Kieran, and wondered why he would reach out to her after failing his mission. She went to a nearby park, where Mizelle was waiting, and Mizelle told her that Kieran wanted to know who she saw when she returned to Thorn Temple last night. She was shocked when she realized Kieran had long since already had Mizelle under his control, but before she could answer, Chief Knight Reppu revealed himself and shot some energy at the two of them, knocking them unconscious. Reppu then grabbed the two of them and went to a building where the members of Emerald Rock were waiting. When Reppu entered, the members called Reppu “leader”.

Reppu enjoyed the looks of admiration he got from the Emerald Rock members, and thought about how he enjoyed his identity as the leader of the Emerald Hand more than his identity as the Chief Knight of Thorn Temple. He threw Atrina and Mizelle down, saying that they had discovered his identity, and he ordered his men to use the two of them to set a trap for Kieran and Starbeck; he also said that the Oak Hand organization had been raided by city guards last night, and suffered enough losses that Emerald Rock could finally wipe them out completely. One of the Emerald Rocks told Reppu that all the members were gathered, ready to assault Oak Hand, when an Emerald Rock named Maize said he was glad everyone was here. Reppu looked at Maize, realizing that Maize’s voice was completely different, and concluded that a [Disguise Potion] was used. Reppu knew only the Temples had [Disguise Potion]s, and as he wondered which Temple the fake Maize was from, Kieran removed the disguise.

Reppu was shocked, but ordered his men to attack Kieran. As the men charged, they started collapsing, until Reppu was the only Emerald Rock left standing. He recognized the collapsing as an effect of another potion exclusive to the Temples, and unsheathed his sword to attack Kieran. Before Reppu could attack though, Kieran summoned the giant white wolf that killed Reppu instantly. Reppu’s body released a wind blade that slashed at Kieran’s body, revealing that this Kieran was just an illusion as it faded away. The real Kieran revealed himself and got the [Thorn’s Deceit] from Reppu. Kieran was filled with disbelief when he saw [Thorn’s Deceit] was made by Nikorei, and realized that Nikorei’s enemy was the goddess Vanessa.

[Sub-Mission: Hidden (Complete)]

[Acquired key item: Thorn’s Deceit!]

[Triggered special event: Obstruction of Fate]

[Obstruction of Fate: Fate loves to play jokes! Your influence towards Thorn Temple will be your final rating!]

[Note: Influence includes but is not limited to reputation; the more influence you have with Thorn Temple, the higher your rating will be!] (Ch 899)

Mizelle and Atrina woke up, and Kieran ordered Mizelle to capture the surviving Emerald Rock members and tell Pelker to come here. Atrina then hastily told Kieran that she would do anything for him, filled with fear at the White Wolf that killed Reppu so easily, including abandoning Thorn Temple. Kieran walked away, and found a pot covered with runes and filled with a liquid that had a horrible stench, Kieran knew the Holy Thorn Grail was inside of it, though he did not do anything with it immediately. Kieran dismissed the white wolf, which hid in the shadows instead of leaving, and it watched Atrina while she was immobilized by fear. Soon, Pelker, the real Maize who had already been dominated, and Starbeck arrived. Kieran told them to make a base here in the Emerald Rock headquarters, and told Starbeck to wait here with them.

In Naveya City’s Wealthy District, the manor of a wealthy merchant was filled with shady people; the merchant was beloved due to his frequent donations to the Wealth Temple. The shady people started removing their disguises, revealing that they all were injured. A man in the center of the crowd, the leader of Oak Hand, told the merchant to activate “it”, which caused a panic among everyone who knew what “it” was. The merchant left, summoning a wagon that had the insignia of the Wealth Temple on it. A Wealth Temple priest got off the carriage and the merchant handed him a large purse full of gold as he led him into the manor. The merchant led the priest to the Oak Hand leader, who started praying, asking Carricanton, the goddess of Wealth, for her protection and favour as Oak Hand members started carrying many chests full of gold and setting them before the leader. As a chest arrived, all of the gold within it would suddenly vanish; many chests of gold were rapidly emptied, until the leader started radiating a gold light. The priest prayed also, assuring the leader that he had Carricanton’s blessing. The leader gave the priest another purse full of gold, and as the two were wrapping up their business, the door was blasted open. Killing intent flooded the room, and Kieran entered.

Reppu was very careful to not let his identity be discovered, so no one outside of Emerald Rock actually knew what the leader of Emerald Rock looked like. Even the leader of Oak Hand, who had fought with Reppu several times, only knew that the leader of Emerald Rock was a young man. Therefore, when Kieran entered with the killing intent, despite not looking anything like Reppu, the leader of Oak Hand did not doubt for a second that Kieran was the leader of Emerald Rock. Kieran walked toward the leader and used [Deadman’s Gaze], which should have killed him instantly, but the gold light surrounding his body grew brighter before shattering, leaving the leader still barely alive. The leader coughed up blood, all of his men dead from [Deadman’s Gaze]. Kieran then started walking toward the priest who was immune to [Deadman’s Gaze] due to his goddess’ blessing, and he started threatening Kieran, feeling that it would be idiotic for Kieran to go up against Wealth Temple. As he was calculating how much money to ask from Kieran for forgiveness, Kieran decapitated the priest with [Dandelion Pierce]. Kieran then quietly said that he did not represent Emerald Rock, but rather Thorn Temple.

Outside, Atrina was guiding several Thorn Temple priests to the manor, who entered to see Kieran surrounded by dead bodies. Atrian warmly greeted Kieran, and Kieran also warmly greeted her; the Thorn Temple priests were terrified of Kieran when they recognized the Wealth priest and they remembered how strong the priest was, but they quickly realized that Kieran, who was pretending to be the Emerald Rock leader, was wanting to collaborate with Thorn Temple due to his relationship with Atrina. The priests then started searching the manor for the Holy Thorn Grail, which Kieran had hidden the pot containing it within the manor. The priests quickly found the pot and the Grail, and concluded that Wealth Temple was the one who had stolen the Grail. Just then, another wagon arrived and several Wealth Temple priests entered, quickly seeing the dead Wealth priest, and accused Thorn Temple of killing him. The Thorn priests laughed coldly and revealed the Grail, and the Wealth priests wondered if the dead priest had stolen it before quickly defending the dead priest. As the two sides fought, Atrina ran to one of the Thorn priests and exclaimed that this whole situation was bad, when one of the Wealth priests insulted Atrina.

Before any of the Thorn priests could do anything, Kieran slapped the priest who insulted Atrina and pinned the priest to the wall with [Dandelion Pierce]. As the other Wealth priests yelled at Kieran angrily, he used [Deadman’s Gaze] on them, though they weren’t affected by it due to their blessings, but the Wealth deacons behind them all collapsed, dead. When the Wealth priests realized all of the deacons were dead, they started praying for Carricanton’s blessing; with their blessings, a divine presence started forming in the sky, sending it’s divine aura onto everyone within the manor. The Thorn priests were fine from Vanessa’s blessing, but since Atrina was only a deacon who was affected from the presence. Kieran retrieved [Dandelion’s Pierce] and stood in front of Atrina, protecting her from the aura. Kieran started releasing his killing intent again, and he tried to make it as strong as possible; the Thorn priests were shocked to see the killer aura make visible ripples, like the aura was materializing. Kieran was in awe of what an Advanced Rank Spirit could do, and as challenged Carricanton with his killing intent, one of the Thorn priests, Einderson, started praying to Vanessa. The goddess of Thorn’s divine presence appeared, freeing the Thorn priests and Atrina from Carricanton’s aura.

Kieran then turned to Atrina and asked her what she was wanting to say earlier, and she revealed that she had found Chief Knight Reppu’s body. The room went silent before Einderson asked Atrina to repeat herself, and she elaborated that she saw a body in the next room that had a body that looked like Reppu. Einderson quickly ran to see the body, which Kieran had altered to make it look like he was ripped apart by a monster. Einderson and the other Thorn priests carried the body out, confirming that it was Reppu, and Vanessa’s presence in the sky became enraged, screaming Carricanton’s name in anger. Einderson pieced together that Wealth Temple wanted to initiate a war with Thorn Temple by stealing the Holy Thorn Grail and killing Reppu, and he started preparing to attack the Wealth priests. Fearing for his loot, Kieran quickly started convincing Einderson to leave the priests to him, and Kieran quickly killed them when Einderson agreed.

Vanessa and Carricanton started fighting, black clouds covering the sky and thunder loudly booming. Kieran guided Atrina back to Thorn Temple, as Vanessa protected him from Carricanton’s desperate attempts to incinerate Kieran with her holy energy. Kieran ran down a street and rounded a corner, but suddenly realized that instead of being in Naveya’s streets, he was in a realm in front of a cat. Kieran ignored Tiki’s greeting and hastily asked if Nikorei was after Vanessa and Carricanton’s divine seats, but Tiki corrected him, saying that Nikorei wanted to distract Vanessa and prevent her from entering Nikorei’s fight. Vanessa was Nikorei’s natural weakness, since Vanessa’s powers were “balancing fate” and “predict and prevent catastrophe” (Ch 905). Tiki then revealed that Nikorei’s battle was not looking good right now because several people had joined the fight, including ‘the great” that was so strong he could personally fight against Nikorei. Tiki then praised Kieran’s ability to get Vanessa and Carricanton to fight each other so quickie, but she sternly told him that even with [Thorn’s Deceit], once they calmed down they would quickly see through his plot.

[Fusing unknown energy, authentication start…]

[Authentication cleared!]

[Effect: Strength, Agility, Intuition +1] (Ch 905)

Tiki said he wasn't sure how useful this gift would be since Kieran was growing stronger much quicker than Nikorei had anticipated, and Kieran wondered if the gift was to bring all of his attributes to the Advanced Rank, which he had already reached, as well as if Tiki was withholding some of Nikorei’s gifts from him. Tiki was angry that Kieran thought he was swindling him,  then said he had to go, saying if he stayed any longer Vanessa would notice his presence. Tiki gave Kieran the location of one of his squads in this world, and then promised Kieran that if Kieran did a good enough job in helping Nikorei, Tiki would give Kieran Vanessa’s divine seat. Kieran got excited at that promise, but quickly calmed down as he analyzed all of this new information.

As Vanessa and Carricanton fought in the sky, the Thorn and Wealth Temples fought in the streets. Some city guards were analyzing the fight, admiring the expensive armour and weapons that the Wealth Knights were equipped with and predicting the outcome of the war. The general consensus of the observers was that Vanessa would lose, and the Thorn Temple would fall for good, but they watched as Kieran used [Reckless Rush] and [Arrogant Word] to cut through all of the Wealth Knights easily. Kieran then started dual wielding [Arrogant Word] and [Elmerius Sword], continuing to mow down rows of Wealth Knights that were unable to subdue Kieran. When all of the Wealth Knights were slaughtered by Kieran, the guards and nobles who watched the slaughter started throwing up at the sight and smell of the blood, which Kieran was drenched in.

All of the gods of Naveya City watched the slaughter, the God of War and God of Valiance in particular were upset when they learned Kieran was already a believer of Vanessa, but the God of Love was happy when he saw Atrina run to Kieran when Kieran returned to Thorn Temple. A majority of the gods did not care about Kieran, and they all turned their attention to the Lightning Temple. After a loud boom of thunder and some lightning flashed in the sky, Vanessa and Carricanton stopped their fight. The dark clouds started parting, and the sun revealed itself.

Kieran had felt the gazes from the gods, and he hated how helpless he felt when faced with the overbearing, immense pressure that the gazes put him under. Kieran remembered the bolt of lightning, and felt that the single lightning bolt was more terrifying than all of the gazes of all of the gods put together. Kieran then started hoping that he could increase his strength to the point that no one could look down on him, not even a god.

Kieran and Atrina were sitting next to each other within Thorn Temple, pretending to be a couple as they looked at each other. A group of Thorn priests and Knights arrived, and saluted Kieran. The Thorn members then started warmly chatting with Kieran, admiring his strength and earnestly asking for a friendly spar. Priest Einderson then told Kieran that the archpriest and officiant wanted to talk to him, and Einderson guided Kieran through the very large and beautiful Temple to the prayer room. Inside of the room, the archpriest and officiant were waiting; Kieran immediately performed a Knight’s salute, and his body started glowing with Vanessa’s light.

Kieran then saw a river that branched into many different streams, but seemed to be unending as Kieran couldn’t see the end of the river or any of the streams. Kieran was standing in one of the streams, and he wanted to move but a wave kept preventing him from taking a step in any direction. He stood still, feeling the river, then suddenly realized he was back within the Temple. He then heard Vanessa’s gentle, kind voice asking him if he would be her Knight, and although the illusion made him feel very uneasy, he agreed.

[Acquired Vanessa’s Favor!]

[Vanessa’s Favor: While facing your fate, Lady Thorn’s favor will provide you with unexpected benefits. Of course, it won’t secure your victory but it will make you luckier than usual.]

[Note 1: Vanessa’s Favor is only effective in this dungeon world, it’s effect will go off when you leave the dungeon world.]

[Note 2: When you return to this dungeon world, Vanessa’s Favor will be in effect again.] (Ch 909)

The archpriest and officiant then started greeting Kieran as the new Chief Knight, and they smiled warmly at him, accepting him as a member of Thorn Temple. The archpriest then spoke, saying that even though the God of Lightning had stopped Vanessa and Carricanton’s fight, Thorn Temple still had to be cautious of Wealth Temple. The officiant then suggested they take initiative and lead an assault on Wealth Temple; the officiant said that even though Vanessa had not told him to assault Wealth Temple, he could feel Vanessa’s anger at Carricanton not being punished for starting the war. Einderson said that he wanted to focus on laying the dead Thorn Temple members to rest, and Kieran said that he wanted to focus on replenishing the numbers of Thorn Knights, since many died in the war, before he would personally lead the assault on Wealth Temple.

The officiant was happy at Kieran’s answer, and the archpriest just told Kieran to be sure not to harm any common members of Wealth Temple. Kieran started joking, saying he was planning on killing every single believer of Carricanton, but Einderson did not think Kieran was joking. The archpriest again stressed that Kieran couldn’t kill common believers, as is a rule between all of the Temples, and Kieran agreed. The four of them continued talking before Kieran and Einderson left, and the archpriest tried saying something to the officiant before the officiant interrupted the archpriest, saying he would not just stand by and allow Vanessa to be taken advantage of by any other god. Vanessa watched as the archpriest was persuaded by the officiant's words, and agreed that Thorn Temple needed to take action.

Tiki was grumbling to himself, still angry that Kieran thought he had withheld some of Nikorei’s gifts, when he remembered that he once told Kieran that he takes revenge immediately. Tiki laughed and thought about how he would get revenge on Kieran, and happily started thinking about the past when he heard a commotion. Tiki realized that some people were trying to enter into the realm where Tiki was. Tiki slashed out with his claws, releasing a sharp, extremely powerful energy that tore through the realm and slaughtered an entire army with the single slash. With the commotion gone, Tiki went to sleep while sadly remembering their home on the West Coast.

Vennie is the manager of a coffin shop within Naveya City, and also was a gravekeeper. Vinnie and his disciples prepared to greet a VIP customer who was going to commission him for coffins for all of the fallen believers during the war in the Temple District. Vinnie was excited for the commission, as he was planning on retiring and moving to the Wealthy District, but he soon realized that the customer was late for the appointment. Vinnie had his disciples watch the shop while he left to look for the VIP, and soon found the VIP’s wagon that was surrounded with dead bodies. Mizelle appeared and killed Vinnie before he could scream, then ordered the Emerald Rock members to kill the remaining people in the wagon. A Sin Priest then exited from the wagon and cast a spell that bound Mizelle and the Emerald Rocks, then asked Mizelle to tell him where the Emerald Rock’s hideout was. The Sin Priest started slowly casting another spell, allowing Mizelle to struggle against the bindings, but [Dandelion Pierce] flew out and killed the priest. Kieran watched as the Emerald Rock members cleaned up the bodies, and revealed that Tiki gave him a spell that not only placed all of the Emerald Rocks under his control, but it also increased their strength.

Over the next few days, anyone from the Wealth or Sin Temple that left the Temple District would end up dying a gruesome death. All of the bodies were discovered with an emerald on the corpse, easily allowing everyone to make the connection that Emerald Rock was responsible for the deaths; people started wondering how long Emerald Rock and Thorn Temple were allied, some people believing that Emerald Rock had always been a secret part of Thorn Temple, but the rumour that the leader of Emerald Rock had fallen in love with a Thorn deacon also started circulating. At a drinking party for Naveya nobles, an old duke was greeting some young adults; Bocard from the Sin Temple, Lilith from the Love Temple, Pudd from the Hunter Temple, and Livezel from the Melody Temple. All four of them had great promise and were expected to achieve a very high rank within their Temples in the next few decades.

The four of them brushed the duke off, then Lilith and Bocard started flirting with each other, before they all started talking about the “King of Killers” which was the title that the natives of this dungeon granted Kieran. None of them thought Kieran was someone to take seriously, not believing him to be that strong, and Bocard started boasting, causing Pudd to ask him if he wanted to challenge Kieran. Suddenly, Bocard’s body was decapitated, so quickly that Pudd, Livezel, and Lilith didn’t see what happened, and as everyone in the party started panicking, an emerald was thrown onto Bocard’s body. Lilith tried chasing Kieran, but she and the others realized that he had vanished into thin air, without any tracks to follow. Pudd and Livezel stood in place, in shock from the sudden death of their friend, and Lilith boarded her wagon and left the party.

Kieran, at his hideout, had a magic circle drawn with assorted body parts. Each time someone from the Wealth or Sin Temple was killed, a body part or organ would be stolen to be placed on this magic circle. With the new addition of Bocard’s head, the circle was complete and Kieran cast the spell that Tiki taught him, giving him extra protection against anyone who would try to look into his or his dominated men’s souls; this was an effort to prevent anyone from learning Kieran’s secret identity or figuring out that he wasn’t a believer in Vanessa. Done with the spell, Kieran ordered Mizelle, Pelker, and Maize to set up patrols to guard the hideout. Kieran then ate dinner with Starbeck, shocked when the meal Starbeck cooked triggered some attributes;

[Consumed Golden Roaster, has a small chance in triggering attribute: Excitement]

[Consumed Jaded Apple Juice, has a small chance in triggering attribute: Valiant]

[Excitement: Your words can stimulate the will of the people around you (natives only), effect last till the end of the dungeon]

[Valiant: Your actions have a unique charm, people (natives only) will be willing to comply, effect last till the end of the dungeon] (Ch 914)

Starbeck explained that there was only a small chance of the food resulting in new attributes, and Kieran wondered if it was [Vanessa’s Favour] that resulted in him getting the attributes. Kieran then realized how expensive the meal must have been to be good enough to give people attributes, and again he pulled out some of his loot to give to Starbeck. After their trade, Atrina entered the hideout and asked Kieran if he knew that Bocard, the Sin Temple member, was the Sin Temple’s archpriest’s stepson. The Thorn Temple was afraid that with Bocard’s death, the Sin Temple and Thorn Temple would go to war, and the Sin Temple was the second strongest Temple, second to the Lightning Temple. Afraid of the strength of the Sin Temple, Atrina begged Kieran to run and hide somewhere before the war between Sin and Thorn Temples start, but Kieran just asked her to stay inside while he stepped out. Atrina wanted to follow Kieran, but she stopped when she smelled blood from outside and realized she was followed. Kieran quickly returned, and Atrina saw a pile of bodies of Sin Knights.

Atrina went outside and inspected the bodies, and realized with horror that among the killed Sin Temple members were the Chief Knight, Deputy Chief Knight, and the four best Sin Priests. Atrina was in shock, knowing how much stronger the Sin Temple members were than the Wealth Temple members. Kieran then revealed that both Bocard and this group of Sin Temple members were bait to lure out the Sin archpriest and officiant, which Kieran wanted to take out to eventually fight the Sin God. Atrina left to go to her room for the night, glaring at Starbeck as she left. Starbeck then left to make dessert, and Kieran sorted his loot before going outside. Kieran quickly noticed that the bodies of the priests and several Knights were missing, and he turned around when a hand touched his shoulder.

Skeletal hands sprung out of the ground and grabbed Kieran’s legs, pulling him into the ground, which had turned muddy. The bodies of the Sin Temple members were drowning in the mud also, and would be spat out, reanimated. All of the reanimated bodies then threw themselves at Kieran, who was devoured by the mud. The muddy ground was then swallowed by a vortex, turning the ground back to normal and leaving a small pearl, which the person who touched Kieran’s shoulder picked up. As the person mocked Kieran, he realized that the real Kieran was standing right behind him, but Kieran quickly killed him with [Arrogant Word]. Kieran picked up the pearl, the [Temptation of Bottomless Hell].

Kieran then saw someone walk out of the shadows, who was heavily equipped with weapons, and was followed by a hunting hound. Kieran noticed that it was the Hound who hid the two of them in shadows, not the man. The man introduced himself as Herasu from the Hunter Temple, and said he came with goodwill. Herasu silently cursed his student, Pudd, for having him approach Kieran, as the sight of Kieran killing the man from the Sin Temple terrified Herasu. Both Herasu and the hound were internally panicking, and Herasu told Kieran that the Hunter Temple’s Partner Festival was approaching, and he invited Kieran to attend it. Kieran said he would attend on behalf of Thorn Temple, then Kieran realized that there was another person approaching. Still panicking, Herasu realized that if Kieran attended the Festival on behalf of Thorn Temple, that would ally Hunter Temple, who is usually neutral, with Thorn Temple; afraid of Kieran though, Herasu accepted it and apologized for how Pudd mocked Kieran during the drinking party.

As Herasu spoke, the archpriest of Sin Temple, Burwell, arrived. Burwell and Kieran stared at each other, while Herasu fell into a deeper panic, and Kieran calmly told Herasu that he would forgive Pudd’s words if Herasu would stand with Thorn Temple. Herasu retreated with his hound, passing out from the [Fear] when he looked back and saw the killer auras that both Burwell and Kieran were releasing as they fought. As the hound continued retreating, carrying Herasu, many high ranking members of all the Temples arrived to watch the fight.

Kieran fought with [Arrogant Word], while Burwell fought with a sword covered in red rust. When Burwell would get injured, his blood would fly toward the sword instead of dripping onto the ground and fire at Kieran like bullets. Kieran had to use both [Primus Scale] and [Seattle Right Hand, Ice Hand Shield] to defend against Burwell’s strong attacks, until finally Burwell thrust his sword at Kieran. The people watching the fight mocked Kieran, saying he did not know how to risk his life in a fight, but were shocked when they saw Kieran kick at Burwell instead of defending against the sword. Kieran activated both [Deadman’s Gaze] and [Myriad Viper], stunning Burwell long enough for Kieran to kick Burwell to death. As Kieran kicked, he realized that Burwell was only here to stall him, and the Sin Temple must be launching an attack on Thorn Temple. All of the watchers, especially the archpriest of the Valiant Temple, were astonished by Kieran’s kicks, but they quickly left when the battle was over. Kieran ran to Thorn Temple, ignoring the watchers.

At the Thorn Temple, the Thorn archpriest Sirontu was badly injured, but was still fighting against the Wealth archpriest and officiant. The Thorn officiant, Barrion, was talking to the Sin officiant, saying Burwell wouldn’t be able to beat Kieran. Neither Barrion nor Sirontu were very hopeful though, as both Sin and Wealth Temple were stronger than Thorn Temple, and Burwell’s strength was renown; Sin and Wealth Temple’s goal was not just to kill all the Thorn Temple members, but to strip Vanessa of her divinity. When the news that Kieran won against Burwell reached Thorn Temple, Barrion and Sirontu were filled with hope, but they were still under heavy assault and needed to stall long enough for Kieran to get to the Temple. Barrion cast a spell that killed himself, sending his life force to Sirontu for him to use. Sirontu accepted Barrion’s sacrifice tearfully, and continued defending.

Sirontu held on against the Wealth archpriest and officiant and the Sin officiant for five minutes, when his attacks started slowing down. They all were wondering if Kieran was going to show up, and the Sin officiant started suggesting that, although Kieran had won, he must have just barely won. The Wealth archpriest and officiant started suggesting that Kieran was barely hanging onto life after the fight, lowering Sirontu’s willpower. The three enemies were about to start a fierce counterattack now that Sirontu’s morale was weakened, but suddenly Carricanton’s light that shrouded the Wealth archpriest and officiant was cut off, significantly weakening the two. In that moment, Sirontu killed them both, and the Sin officiant retreated, trying to figure out what happened. Sirontu also did not know what happened, but instead of being confused he took advantage of the situation and continued his attack against the Sin officiant.

All of the high ranking Temple members who had watched Burwell and Kieran’s battle were observing the Wealth Temple, which was set on fire. They were admiring Kieran’s boldness in his decision to slay Carricanton. Inside of Hunter Temple, Herasu had finished reporting to the Hunter archpriest, and the archpriest ordered Hunter Temple to support Thorn Temple. The watchers watched as Hunter Temple started marching toward Thorn Temple, some of them even deciding to assist Thorn Temple themselves.

Kieran arrived at Wealth Temple, which was close to where he fought Burwell and also lightly defended since Kieran had already killed many Wealth Temple members. Kieran approached the giant statue of Carricanton and decapitated it with [Arrogant Word], causing Carricanton to summon a clone to fight Kieran while she was busy fighting Vanessa with the Sin God. Kieran charged at the clone with [Arrogant Word], and Kieran saw a mirage of the sword’s past, of tribesmen fighting desperately against barbarians for generations, and unending slaughters. Both Kieran and [Arrogant Word] wanted to slay Carricanton in that moment, and when the sword severed the clone in half, [Arrogant Word] leveled up.

When Carricanton’s clone dissipated, the Temple was lit up with golden light as the real Carricanton appeared. She screamed at Kieran to kneel before her, causing Kieran to have to go through countless authentications. Kieran struggled against Carricanton’s divine aura, gripping [Arrogant Word] to avoid kneeling, and Carricanton started mocking his struggle. Kieran then brought up the Hero Algor, which he read that most of the Hero’s friends and lilies ascended to godhood, except for himself; Kieran had read that Carricanton was the Hero’s lover, and he started insulting her. Carricanton was consumed by anger, and sadistically told Kieran that she would torture him to death slowly. She then stared flinging Kieran around the temple, until his body was horribly broken and mangled. She then slowly stepped on Kieran’s head, crushing his skull. As blood poured from Kieran’s head, he activated [Saint Thorn], covering his body in halos of light that healed himself.

Carricanton admired the skill, before Kieran transformed into the Devil and grabbed her, throwing her around the Temple like she had just done to him, but even with the Devil’s strength Kieran couldn’t break through her defenses. Carricanton escaped from Kieran’s gri[, but was then hit by the Creature of Desire’s eye lasers. Kieran bombarded her with fire while the lasers were being fired at her. The Wealth Temple was set on fire, but Carricanton was still unharmed. She then shed her body, revealing her true form that summoned a cyclone powerful enough to put out Kieran’s Devil Fire. Kieran was then struck by her powerful aura, immobilizing him from it’s force. He was forced to watch as she walked closer to him, and the aura forced him to transform back into his human form. She cursed the look in Kieran’s eyes, implying it was the same look that the Hero Algor had, and then she gouged out one of Kieran’s eyes, saving the other so Kieran could watch as she tortured him. Carricanton started taking bites out of Kieran’s body, healing him as she ate, until she forgot that Kieran was not the Hero Algor; she started venting all of her frustrations onto Kieran, and she raped him while she was caught in her fantasy, believing Kieran to be her old lover, the Hero Algor. Kieran transformed back into the Devil, and hugged Carricanton’s body, squeezing her and breaking her in half. Kieran’s Devil Fire then burnt her body to ashes. Carricanton dropped the [Unknown] (Ch 923).

As Kieran ran out of the Wealth Temple, he set it on fire with Devil Fire, startling all of the people who watched since they realized that Kieran had just slain a god. They then realized with shock that Kieran was heading to Sin Temple. They then watched as Kieran set the Sin Temple on fire, though the Sin God, the Interrogator, was able to quickly extinguish the Devil Flame. Kieran charged up a fireball, intending to throw a fireball that had a damage in the advanced ranks, but then the Interrogator’s statue in the Sin Temple lit up, and he told Kieran that he and Vanessa had called a ceasefire. Kieran did not disperse the fireball, saying he suggested that they end the ceasefire, but then Vanessa appeared. Kieran hastily put out the Devil Fire and saluted Vanessa, and Vanessa guided Kieran back to the river Kieran had previously seen in an illusion. When Vanessa and Kieran left the Sin Temple, the Interrogator was relieved.

Kieran and Vanessa were floating on top of the river, holding hands. Kieran inspected Vanessa’s hand, before noticing a bracelet of brambles that was suppressing her powers. Kieran asked her about it and the river, but instead of answering, Vanessa flung Kieran into the river where the current was the strongest.

At Thorn Temple, archpriest Sirontu’s body was on a bed of brambles, surrounded by kneeling, praying Thorn Temple members. When they finished praying, Vanessa lit the bed on fire, and the smoke formed Sirontu and Barrion’s faces. When the smoke dissipated, Vanessa announced that Kieran would be the next archpriest, and Einderson would be the next officiant. Kieran and Einderson walked up and accepted the promotion, when Vanessa appeared in person to give Kieran another blessing. Later, Kieran and Einderson were talking; Kieran helped Einderson solve an issue, then Kieran asked Einderson to take care of the Temple while he went to the Hunter Temple’s Partner Festival. Kieran quickly left, realizing that this was the first time since his battle with Carricanton that Vanessa was not watching him; Kieran needed to take advantage of this opportunity to inspect his loot. After looking at the [Burwell’s Slaughter] and [Wealth’s Keep], Kieran regretted that he couldn’t use either without risk of making Vanessa suspicious. An attendant then knocked on his door, telling Kieran that priest Lilith from Love Temple was requesting a meeting.

Lilith had been infatuated with Kieran ever since he killed Bocard at the drinking party, and although she heard the rumour that he and Atrina were together, she still wanted to meet Kieran. Lilith gave Kieran a Love Temple potion, the [Secondary Water of Life], as a gift; Kieran accepted it and also revealed that when Vanessa threw him into the river, it healed all of his wounds, including regenerating his eye that Carricanton gouged out. Lilith then told Kieran that she knew he was attending the Hunter Temple’s Partner Festival, asked if she could go with him, and told Kieran that she knew of a secret that she would tell him if he allowed her to accompany him. Kieran was unwilling to accept because he was not actually interested in the Festival, but when he felt Vanessa watching him again, Kieran agreed and asked about the secret. Lilith was elated, and became even more infatuated with Kieran, then changed the subject and asked Kieran if he had any pets, and then asked if he liked cats or dogs. When Lilith learned Kieran had no pets, and cared for neither cats nor dogs, she guided Kieran to Naveya’s Wealthy District.

At the Wealthy District, they stopped at a shop that Lilith had to give the servers a token for them to be able to enter. As they entered, Kieran felt several gazes, and wondered what group might be watching him and if Lilith was a part of this group. Inside of the shop were many different kinds of animals, which Lilith showed to Kieran although none of the animals were strong enough to interest Kieran. Zacky, the owner of the shop, then approached them and Lilith asked him if he had any more, stronger animals for sale. Zacky told her that he did, but the owners of the animals were not allied with Love Temple, and told her it would be easier to make a sale if she did not follow him to where the stronger animals were. As Kieran followed Zacky further into his shop, he watched Lilith who looked anxious and concluded that she was not a part of the group who was watching him. He then continued to wonder who would be trying to trap Kieran at this shop, when Kieran and Zacky reached the back room. In the room, the real Anxico, the person that the secret agent Eddy disguised himself as with the [Disguise Potion], was waiting for Kieran. Kieran revealed that he had researched Anxico since then, and he knew that Anxico was the leader of the Follower organization, and was being hunted by several Temples and the Oak Hand organization.

Kieran mentioned that Eddy had pretended to be Anxico, and the real Anxico was pleased to hear that Kieran had killed Eddy, then expressed that he wanted to collaborate with Kieran. Kieran asked him about the Temples that had a bounty out for him, and Anxico assured Kieran that he had ways to prevent the gods from watching him, and that their conversation would be safe from even Vanessa. Anxico then revealed that his organization, Followers, followed the Hero Algor’s descendant. Kieran was suspicious because he had not known the Hero to have descendants, and because a majority of Temples that were hunting him were of the new gods, the gods that were once Algor’s allies. Anxico then revealed that the purpose of the collaboration was to get revenge, and Zacky entered the room carrying a cage. Inside of the cage was an Frost Wolf - Hunting Hound hybrid, that is able to control both ice and shadows; it was still a puppy, but Anxico assured Kieran that if it was well cared for, it would grow up to be a reliable partner.

Kieran knew that the gift would not be unconditional, but he still saw potential in the Frost Wolf and accepted the gift, and asked more about the collaboration. Anxico congratulated Kieran at becoming a Godslayer, then asked Kieran if he wanted to become a god himself, not bothered when Kieran did not answer. Anxico again prompted Kieran, but declined to say any more on the topic until Kieran formally agreed to the collaboration. Kieran told Anxico he would think about it, and returned to the main part of the shop, carrying the Frost Wolf pup. Lilith was happy to see Kieran, and was elated to see he found an animal he liked, and Kieran allowed her to pet the pup. As the two of them boarded a wagon to go to the Partner Festival, Kieran wondered about the Followers and if Anxico was being truthful.

When the wagon reached Hunter Temple, Pudd who was waiting for Lilith ran up to greet her, but was angry when he saw Kieran get off the wagon with Lilith. Livezel respectfully greeted Kieran, admiring how he had risen to the rank of archpriest so quickly. Livezel, who was competing with Pudd in courting Lilith, realized that Lilith was already infatuated with Kieran, and was preparing to step down, but he was alarmed when he saw Pudd angrily marching toward Kieran. Pudd ignored Livezel, and asked Kieran if he was here for the Partner Festival, then challenged Kieran. A crowd started forming, and Einderson who was at Hunter Temple wondered if Hunter Temple was challenging Thorn Temple. Herasu, Pudd’s teacher, then hastily assured Einderson that Hunter Temple was not doing that, then demanded Pudd to apologize to Kieran. Pudd did not back down, and told Kieran that because the Frost Wolf was still a pup, it wouldn’t be fair to challenge Kieran to any of the challenges that an animal companion is required, so Pudd challenged Kieran to an archery competition. Kieran ignored Pudd, and instead asked Herasu about the archery competition. Herasu was stunned for a moment, but then led Kieran into the Hunter Temple.

The Hunter Temple’s interior was a forest, where all Hunter Temple members would learn their skills in. Pudd followed with a bird of prey on his shoulder and carrying a bow. After Herasu lent Kieran his bow, Pudd very arrogantly told Kieran that archery was his strongest skill. Livezel was concerned for Pudd, realizing that Pudd was never this arrogant, but Livezel also knew that he could do nothing to help Pudd. Herasu read Kieran the rules, that ten rabbits would be released within the Temple and the person who hunts the most rabbits in a half hour would win. Once the rabbits were released and the challenge began, Pudd confidently dashed into the forest, his skills as a hunter and his knowledge of the layout of the Temple allowing him to know where the rabbits would be hiding. But, when Pudd found his first rabbit and fired an arrow at it, he was angry when Kieran’s arrow slew the rabbit first. Nine more of Kieran’s arrows were shot into the sky, each of them killing the nine other rabbits.

Pudd ran back to where the challenge began, but Kieran was already gone. The people who watched the challenge were admiring how Kieran hunted the rabbits without even moving, and Pudd was filled with disbelief, knowing how incredibly skilled a person would have to be to track the rabbits and shoot an arrow at them without even moving. The watchers then mocked how arrogantly Pudd was acting, and in anger and embarrassment Pudd ran out of the Temple, shoving Livezel aside. As Pudd ran, someone snuck up behind him and slit his throat, collecting his blood. Livezel caught up to Pudd too late, only seeing Pudd’s body.

Kieran and Lilith followed Herasu further into Hunter Temple, where they eventually found the Hunter archpriest, Krecko. Krecko greeted the two of them, then instructed them to place their animal companions in front of the statue of the Hunter god. After Kieran put his Frost Wolf and Lilith put her cat in front of the statue, a pillar of light shined around the two animals. Once the light dissipated, the Frost Wolf returned to Kieran, and Kieran inspected it;

[Name: Frost Wolf (Hybrid)]

[Type: Mystical Beast]

[Rank: Lower Medium]

[Attack: Weak]

[Defense: Weak]

[Attribute: 1. Anguish; 2. Frost Breath]

[Special Effect: Intellect]

[Prerequisite: The person that it recognized]

[Remark: This is an early stage Frost Wolf pup that has been blessed. It is much stronger, smarter than other Frost Wolf pups but still requires delicate care and raising to be a reliable helper and companion.]

[Anguish: When attacks with claws or teeth, Strength +1]

[Frost Breath: Fire a Weak level Frost Breath to attack a single target within 2-meter range, 1 per day]

[Intellect: Increase a certain level of intellect.] (Ch 932)

Kieran and Lilith thanked Krecko for the blessing, and then Kieran agreed to stay to watch the new young Hunters undergo the ceremony. Many young hunters with their own animal companions walked in, and they completed a ritual then chanted some vows as the same pillar of light descended onto them, giving both the hunter and the animal the blessing of the Hunter god. As the ceremony was concluding, someone entered and exclaimed that Pudd had been murdered.

Kieran watched Herasu’s reaction, suspicious of him despite the man’s grief-filled expression. They went to the crime scene, and realized that Pudd’s body was devoid of blood; Kieran was deep in thought when Krecko approached him, apologizing that a murder happened during their festival. As Krecko told Kieran that they would hunt down the murderer, Kieran wondered if the murderer was targeting the Hunter Temple, though he concluded that the murderer was not Anxico. Lilith was saddened from the death of her friend, and Kieran escorted her to her carriage before returning to his hideout.

At the Emerald Rock hideout, Starbeck was happy when he saw Kieran return, but Starbeck quickly realized that this was a fake Kieran, as the fake Kieran tried kidnapping Starbeck, calling him the real Kieran’s “weakness”. Starbeck, panicking, activated several defensive barriers that pinned the fake to the ground, shredding his soul, and devouring his body. Starbeck then vanished, reappearing next to the real Kieran. When the real Kieran saw Starbeck appearing next to him and crying, he instantly figured that the hideout was attacked; he ran inside and saw that Mizelle, Maize, and Pelker were unconscious along with many other Emerald Rocks. Kieran theorized that the only person capable of silently taking out all of his men would be a god clone, and after confirming with Starbeck that the attacker was dead, Kieran escorted Starbeck to the Temple District, heading toward Sin Temple.

As they walked, Vanessa started talking to Kieran telepathically, asking Kieran why he was willing to do so much for Starbeck, whom she viewed as a completely useless servant. Kieran simply told her that Starbeck was important to him. Vanessa asked Kieran to protect her the same way he protects Starbeck when the time comes, in exchange for all the times she would protect Kieran in the future. Kieran agreed to the deal very vaguely, careful not to promise anything he knows he can’t fulfill. After Vanessa joked, saying she couldn’t believe Kieran was actually one of her believers, she warned Kieran that the Interrogator, the god of Sin, was very powerful.

As Kieran entered the Temple of Sin, he heard a noise like something was chewing on bones. Starbeck hid as Kieran went [Undercover], sneaking further into the Temple, until he reached the room where the Interrogator statue was. Kieran was shocked when he saw a monster that was just a giant mouth eating the statue. The statue eventually crumbled to pieces, and the mouth’s saliva corroded the floor that it dropped onto. The mouth then turned to face Kieran, noticing him, and sent a powerful attack that knocked Kieran back. Kieran was then spammed with Spirit authentications, which he passed at first, but they progressively became stronger and stronger. Once he started failing them, illusions of small iron needles appeared, stabbing into his body and growing larger and larger, until they were the size of greatswords, ripping his body apart. Kieran used [Saint Thorns] to heal himself, but even though the damage was reflected onto the mouth, it did not seem to take any damage.

As Kieran continued to suffer through the Spirit Authentications, he shot a fireball at the mouth, setting it on fire with Devil Fire; the mouth appeared to be in pain, but continued to try and devour Kieran. As it charged toward him, Kieran transformed into the Devil and smashed the mouth into the ground. The mouth fired a sound wave attack at Kieran, stunning him, and the mouth took that moment to free itself from the ground and bite Kieran’s arm. The mouth almost ripped off Devil Kieran’s arm, when the pain made Kieran lose control of his Devil body. The Devil hugged the mouth with its good arm and started biting into the mouth, eating it the same way the mouth was taking bites out of the Devil’s body. Both sides were in bad shape, the mouth’s upper lip almost completely eaten, and the Devil’s stomach had been ripped open, spilling lava.

The Cardinal Sins then woke up, Gluttony leading the other five to further eat the mouth, as Pride watched. Once the Devil and the Sins finished completely eating the mouth, the Sins disappeared and Kieran returned to his human form. Kieran realized that the energy of the mouth was different from his Origin Forces, but it seemed to have strengthened the Sins. Kieran wanted to examine his body to make sure the energy of the mouth wouldn’t mess up the balance of his Heart, but the Sin Temple started rapidly deteriorating, indicating that the Interrogator had died. Kieran remembered the statue had been eaten, but Kieran knew the mouth was nowhere near strong enough to kill a god, so Kieran wondered who killed the Interrogator as Vanessa told Kieran to return to the Thorn Temple, her voice sounding anxious.

Kieran grabbed Starbeck and ran out of the SIn Temple, and Kieran looked to the sky and saw the Divine lights in the sky were slightly rippling. As they ran, Anxico stopped Kieran, and Kieran asked him if this was his doing. Anxico asked Kieran about the collaboration again, and Kieran rapidly started wondering why Anxico would want Kieran to collaborate with him if Anxico was already this strong. Kieran remembered it was him who gave him the Frost Wolf, allowing him to participate in the Partner Festival, and Kieran wondered if Anxico really was the one who killed and stole the blood of Pudd. Kieran wondered why Anxico would want Pudd’s blood, and then wondered about the giant mouth, and Kieran coldly looked at Anxico, kicking at him. Anxico turned translucent, but Kieran’s kick still landed, dealing damage to Anxico’s soul. Anxico was astonished that Kieran could hurt his soul, and retreated. Kieran watched as Anxico left, but grabbed Starbeck and continued running to Thorn Temple.

At the Temple, Einderson was kneeling before Vanessa’s statue, but the statue was unmoving. Only when Kieran entered the room did the statue come to life, and told Kieran that the god’s old enemy, the Devourer, had awoken; she then instructed Kieran to go to her hidden temple to awake her. Vanessa revealed herself, clad in armour, and left Thorn Temple. All of the remaining gods, except for the Lightning god, exited their own temples, each of them wearing armour, and they left Naveya together to fight the Devourer. All of the Temples then started evacuating, led by their temple’s archpriest, but Thorn Temple was led by Einderson; Kieran remained within Naveya City.

Kieran stood, holding his swords, and he watched as a giant serpent appeared within the sky; its eyes were gouged out, and all of its giant scales had a mouth on them. Kieran realized that the mouth he had just fought was just a single scale of the Devourer, and he revealed that if given the option, he would not have chosen to fight such a strong enemy;

[Triggered key event, main mission completed earlier…]

[Special main mission appeared…]

[Special main mission: The terrifying Devourer has appeared. It is infamous for devouring Gods and it was awoken prematurely by the newly joined Follower. You need to inflict Light damage to the Devourer. (Any kind of damage is allowed, damage will be accumulated)] (Ch 937)

Kieran looked at the notification, knowing now that the Followers were actually the servants of the Devourer, but Kieran wondered who the “newly joined Follower” was; after some thinking, Kieran concluded that it was Krecko, the Hunter archpriest. Kieran telepathically warned Vanessa to be careful around the other gods, as Kieran couldn’t be sure that none of the gods were Followers themselves. Kieran then turned to Starbeck, and confirmed that Starbeck’s main mission had been updated as well. Kieran asked him if he had any items that could damage the Devourer, which Starbeck said he did, though it requires direct contact. Kieran asked if he was confident enough to hold onto the Devourer for ten seconds, and Starbeck mustered enough courage to say that he could. Immediately after saying he could, Kieran picked up Starbeck and ran, throwing him into the sky toward the Devourer.

The gods who were fighting in the sky looked at Starbeck in confusion, but they all ultimately ignored him; the Devourer cared about Starbeck so little that it didn’t even look away from the gods, who it was planning to eat. Vanessa, the god of Harvest, and the god of Mercy, led the attack, but the Devourer’s scales were so strong that even the god’s attacks couldn’t do much damage. They fought, until the sun set alarmingly quickly, and darkness spread throughout the sky. From the ground, Kieran could see that Starbeck, who was on top of the Devourer, had used an item that summoned a giant dog head, that was large enough to fight against the snake; the dog started ripping into the Devourer, tearing through the scales, and almost ripping it in half. Kieran wanted to join Starbeck and the gods in the sky to fight the Devourer, but there was a [Fear] effect that left him petrified on the ground.

The gods were in shock, not believing that their nemesis was being eaten by a dog’s head in front of them. Vanessa in particular was in shock that it was Starbeck who summoned the dog, as she had thought Starbeck to be useless. The Devourer writhed in pain, and desperately tried escaping from the dog, though it’s struggles were useless. The Devourer instinctually feared the dog, though it was trying to comprehend why it feared it. As the gods rallied, filled with hope at the Devourer’s injuries, the dog vanished and the sun rose again. The Devourer ignored the god’s attacks, and looked at Kieran on the ground.

The Devourer sent it’s human clone to the ground to talk to Kieran. The clone told Kieran that he was stronger than any other human in this world, and since he had reached Transcendence, he had unlocked the ability to reach godhood. The Devourer offered Kieran divinity in exchange for selling out Starbeck, and Kieran played along, agreeing to the deal, but saying he couldn’t say anything in public. The Devourer was not suspicious, confident in his ability to bewitch mortals, and he created a soundproof barrier around the two of them and he walked closer to Kieran. When the clone was very close, Kieran slashed at it with [Arrogant Word], using [Fury Slash], and relying on [Vanessa’s Favour] to trigger a critical hit. The slash used all of Kieran’s stamina, but it sliced right through the clone, killing it instantly.

[Special main mission complete, player will leave the dungeon in 10 seconds…]

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

[Note: Any items that exceed the maximum weight will be discarded!] (Ch 940)

Kieran picked up the [Devourer Shadow Mail] that the clone dropped, and looked at the sky where the gods were still fighting the real Devourer. Kieran knew that even though the death of the clone would have injured the Devourer, the worst part of the ordeal would have been being deceived by a mortal. Kieran drank some stamina potions, and held [Secondary Water of Life] in his mouth just in case. The Devourer in the sky roared in rage at Kieran’s actions, and the roar caused a shockwave that created a giant crater where Kieran stood. He had used all of his defensive equipment and was still unable to defend against the roar, and had to drink the [Secondary Water of Life] to stay alive. The Devourer was enraged to see Kieran alive, and it roared again, telling Kieran that it would keep Kieran alive and torture him. The Devourer then commanded Kieran to kneel, causing such a powerful mental attack that Kieran blacked out for a moment. As his unconscious body started kneeling, all of the spirits of his Legendary equipment woke up and enveloped Kieran’s body in an effort to keep him from kneeling.

Kieran regained consciousness, and pointed his [Arrogant Word] at the Devourer, who grew even angrier from the mortal’s provocation. The Devourer roared at Kieran again, and the gods thought Kieran was being idiotic, but Kieran, filled with the energy of his Origin Forces, did not waver at the Devourer’s road. All of Kieran’s Origin Forces woke up and revealed themselves; the Sins and the Creature of Desire appeared, and Kieran was overwhelmed with the desire to kill the Devourer. Pride, who was angry at the Devourer, led the Sins to attack it, and Kieran rode the Creature of Desire into the sky. Plague Force was activated, becoming fuel for Dawn Force, and a vortex of Dawn Force appeared around Kieran;

[Fusion energy converting…]

[Dawn Sword temporarily empowered!]

[Dawn Sword temporarily reached rank VII!]

[Dawn Sword VII: When you can truly utilize the Dawn Force, it means that you are truly a Knight of Dawn, despite the way you utilize it being one-of-a-kind. Charge Dawn Force for 2 seconds, consume ALL Stamina to fire out a 100-meter, rank V attack power light sword, doesn’t have cooldown] (Ch 941)

The Devourer felt fear again when he saw Kieran approaching, and started retreating, but Kieran urged the Creature of Desire to chase it as quickly as possible. Kieran felt a sense of urgency as he realized the timer was almost up, and he refused to return to his lobby without killing the Devourer. When he realized the Devourer was too fast, he used [Mardos Lair] to shoot some spider webs that caught the Devourer, dragging him back within range of [Dawn Sword]. After the slash, the Devourer was sliced in half, but it did not die. The front half where its head was continued to fight, while Mardos ate the tail half. The Devourer was enraged at the irony of itself being devoured by something else, and it tried to attack Kieran again. Kieran collapsed onto the Creature of Desire, and waved goodbye to Vanessa as he vanished.

[Special Dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner IV]

[Dungeon Type: Free Mission]

[Dungeon Difficulty: Medium High]

[Main Mission: You need to stay in Naveya City for 4 weeks and make sure you and your participant’s identities are not exposed.]

[Mission Completion: 100% (Rating F)]

[Sub Mission 1: Itinerant Merchant]

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

[Sub Mission 2: Bold and Reckless]

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

[Sub Mission 3: Hidden]

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

[Special Event: Prevention of Fate (Perfect Rating)]

[Perfect Rating: C → S]

[Special Main Mission: Damage the Devourer]

[Mission Completion: 300% (Rating S → ZZ)]

[Battle Performance: Extremely Active (Rating ZZ → ZZZ)]

[Exploration Performance: Average]

[Special Rating 1: Eliminated Lady Wealth’s clone (Rating ZZZ → V, Rep +2)]

[Special Rating 2: Assist kill on Lady Wealth’s true body (Rating V → VVV, Rep +3)]

[Special Rating: Eliminated Devourer’s clone (Rating VVV → GGG, Rep +5)]

[Player final rating: GGG!]

[Calculating player final special dungeon reward…]

[Final player special dungeon reward below…]

[Points: 500,000; Skill Points: 80; Golden Skill Points: 10; Golden Attribute Points: 10]

[Acquired special dungeon: The Shaman’s Partner V]

[The Shaman’s Partner V: The battle between the Gods and Devourer ended differently because of you but the effect of this fierce battle is only beginning…]

[Main Mission: Starts when entering the dungeon]

[Player final rating: GGG…]

[Acquired special reward: Randomly draw an item from the dungeon world]

[Note 1: Player must draw the item himself, no replacement allowed]

[Note 2: The draw chance cannot be reserved, player has to draw before the new dungeon starts, otherwise deemed forfeit.] (Ch 945)

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

[Name: Disguise Potion]

[Type: Potion]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attribute: Drink it and take up the disguise of the person of your thoughts for 3 hours!]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a product from the middle to higher tiers of potionology]

[Note: You will transform into the person’s appearance only, you will not possess the person’s abilities and your voice remains the same.] (Ch 897)

[Name: Thorn’s Deceit]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Epic]

[Attribute: Fake Beliefs]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a special item created by the God of Earth, Nikorei, to specifically target Lady Vanessa.]

[Fake Beliefs: When detected, it will present the wearer as a devoted follower of the Lady of Thorn.] (Ch 899)

[Name: Wealth Protection]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attribute: Wealth Defense]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a defensive item that Lady Wealth created for anyone who is willing to pay enough.]

[Wealth Defense: Consume 1000 gold coins (2000 Points) to form a single defensive barrier of Powerful rank, lasts 2 seconds (or until destroyed), 2 times per day] (Given to Starbeck Ch 914)

[Name: Wealth Counterattack]

[Type: Accessory]

[Type: Magic]

[Attribute: Wealth Strike]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a defensive item that Lady Wealth created for anyone who is willing to pay enough.]

[Wealth Counterattack: Consume 500 gold coins (1000 Points) to fire a beam of burning rays with Strong attack, attacking a single enemy (no further than 50 meters away), 2 times per day] (Given to Starbeck Ch 914)

[Name: Temptation of Bottomless Hell]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attribute: Death Imprisonment, ½]

[Prerequisite: Spirit A+]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is a high-rank item forged by Sin Temple.]

[Death Imprisonment: Present at a tribute of at least 10 intact and tenacious souls to create an illusory realm that can affect reality itself (the more souls given as tribute, the more powerful the trap will be). Target locked onto will have to go through an S rank Spirit authentication (No higher than SSS+). Should the Target pass, they will not be affected; Should the Target fail, the target will have their soul imprisoned inside and the body will quickly die.] (Ch 916)

[Name: Arrogant Word]

[Type: Sharp Weapon, Heavy Arms]

[Rarity: Above Epic]

[Attack: Powerful]

[Attributes: 1. Arrogance II, 2. Untamed II, 3. Fury Slash]

[Effects: 1. Critical Damage, 2. Critical Rate]

[Prerequisite: Strength B- Two-handed (B+ single handed) Sharp weapon, Heavy Arms (Grand Master), tied to wielder]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: The arrogant will only speak in arrogance and work in arrogance!]

[Arrogance II: When the sword slashes an enemy, +1 to either Strength and Agility for the next attack]

[Untamed II: Facing against enemy twice your size, Stamina consumed -30%. Facing against enemy five times your size, Stamina consumed -60%. Facing against enemy ten times your size, Stamina -90%, attack power +1, has a higher chance in triggering effect]

[Fury Slash: Consume all your Stamina in exchange for attack level +2 for a single strike, 1/ week]

[Critical Damage: Has a certain chance to deal double damage when striking a target’s weak point.]

[Critical Rate; Has a certain chance in dealing a higher rank attack damage] (Ch 920)

[Name: Unknown]

[Type: Unknown]

[Rarity: ?]

[Attribute: ?]

[Prerequisite: ?]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: Its value will far exceed your wildest imagination.] (Ch 923)

[Name: Burwell’s Slaughter]

[Type: Sword Weapon]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attack: Extreme]

[Attribute: 1. Aura of Slaughter, 2. Arrow of Slaughter, 3. Slaughter Thrust]

[Prerequisite: Strength B, Agility A+, Sharp Weapon, Special Sword Weapon (Grand Master)]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: The first sword of Burwell and after his decade of massacre, it became one of a kind. Able to hide around the belt.]

[Aura of Slaughter: The wielder can Terrorize any being in a 25-meter radius range with Spirit rank no higher than B rank, lasts 1 second, able to use twice per day]

[Arrow of Slaughter: Fire the “arrows” which are the rust on the blade. Able to cover 30°, 15-meter range in front of the wielder. Each “arrow” has Strong rank penetration attack and when multiple “arrow” strike a single target, damage inflicted will not be higher than Extreme, able to use once per day]

[Slaughter Thrust: The curvy and soft nature of the blade allows the wielder to thrust rapidly and in a strange way, able to use once per day] (Ch 925)

[Name: Wealth’s Keep]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: I ]

[Attribute: 1. Keep, 2. Greed, 3. Tax Collection]

[Prerequisite: Spirit S]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: The vessel of Wealth, any gold, silver, copper, or gem that are kept inside will be as good as new]

[Keep: Has 6 independent extendable spaces, able to hold any kind of single item (Does not include living beings or items larger than 9 m³, halves the weight]

[Greed: When item stored is of any kind of currency or gemstones, extendable space will automatically expand 3 times and weight will not be calculated]

[Tax Collection: Each time Keep is triggered, a tax amount of 10 Points will apply, Each time Greed is triggered, a tax amount of 10 times higher the initial will apply.] (Ch 925)

[Name: Secondary Water of Life]

[Type: Potion]

[Rarity: Rare]

[Attribute: Restore 1000 HP in 10 seconds]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: This is not just a product of potionology but is imbued with divine power.] (Ch 926)

[Name: Devourer Shadow Mail]

[Type: Equipment]

[Rarity: II]

[Defense: II]

[Attribute: 1. Devouring Force; 2. Devouring Strike; 3. Devourer’s Wrath]

[Special Effect: Huge Appetite]

[Prerequisite: killer of the Devourer’s clone]

[Remark: It is as powerful as it’s name despite it being just a shadow.]

[Devouring Force: When interacting with any attack lower than rank II, the mail will absorb them (Includes but not limited to slashing, blunt attacks, piercing attacks); Any attack higher than rank II will grant 20% damage mitigation to its wearer]

[Devouring Strike: When the same target triggers Devouring Force twice in a row, the wearer can counterattack with damage received on the second strike with a +1 attack buff on the target]

[Devourer’s Wrath: When the wearer is attacked more than 10 times within 1 second (can be from different targets), targets within a 25-meter radius will receive a Powerful shockwave attack that ignores defense, 2 times per day]

[Huge Appetite: Able to consume a lot more food than usual and acquire better effect from food. Has high chance to trigger special attributes from consuming food] (Ch 946)

[Name: Mardos Lair]

[Type: Armor (Right-hand wrist guard)]

[Rarity: III]

[Defense: III]

[Attributes: 1. Mardos Web, 2. Mardos Net, 3. Mardos Devour]

[Effect: 1. Mardos Fire II, 2. Mardos Terror]

[Prerequisite: The one who killed Mardos (Binds to player)]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remark: Mardos was hatched from a Hell Fiend Spider egg that was left on earth, through a special and hastened hatching process, it had a growth disorder in nature, in addition to losing its intellect, strength, and lineage of a Hell Fiend Spider, all it has is the natural predatory instinct, but your presence has started to change it!]

[Mardos Web: Fire a tensile and sticky retractable spider web no longer than 100 meters, the spider web has a rank l defense, the target will be required to have rank I Strength to break away from the stickiness, 10-second duration, 2 times per day]

[Mardos Net: Fire a 20-meter radius sticker spider web laced with poison, binding multiple targets 150 meters within sight, spider web has a rank I and above defense, the target will be required to have rank I Strength to break away. The poison will force the target to undergo 3 Constitution authentications of rank II, Strong rank I, and New rank I. If the target fails all 3 authentications, the target will receive rank II poison attack. If the target fails 2 authentications, the target will receive Strong rank I poison attack. If the target fails 1 authentication, the target will receive New rank I poison attack, 5-second duration, onceday]

[Mardos Devour: Player will absorb the soul energy of each target killed, replenishing player’s HP, Stamina, the recovery rate is based on the target’s soul level. The soul can be temporarily stored in the armguard, able to replenish at will. The restoration level is equal to 1 Lethally Wounded Status worth of HP and Stamina, 2 Heavily Wounded Status worth of HP and Stamina, 3 Moderately Wounded Status worth of HP and Stamina. (Current stored Lethally Wounded Restoration: 0; Heavily Wounded Restoration: 0; Moderate Wounded Restoration: 0)]

(Note: This is pure soul energy and has no specific harmful elements, suitable for all Origin Forces.)

[Mardos Fire: When using Mardos Web or Mardos Net, the bound target will receive rank I fire damage and rank I negative energy corrosion. Able to activate Hell Fiend Spider Fire at your will. ( Mardos Fire is not mortal fire, water and sand cannot extinguish it.]

[Mardos Terror: The monsters that lived around the hell sulfur river were not as simple as they look but they chose to bow down to Mardos. When using Mardos Web, Mardos Net, the bound target will be forced to undergo a Spirit authentication not lower your own and Intuition authentication not lower than your own Fear and Illusion level. If the target fails 1 authentication, the target will receive a mental impact attack equivalent to your Spirit rank. If the target fails 2 authentications while receiving the mental impact attack, the target will be forced to undergo another Death authentication (Judged based on the special life energy belonging to you and Mardos), the target will die instantly if failed and the soul will be devoured!] (Ch 946)

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

[Acquired Vanessa’s Favor!]

[Vanessa’s Favor: While facing your fate, Lady Thorn’s favor will provide you with unexpected benefits. Of course, it won’t secure your victory but it will make you luckier than usual.]

[Note 1: Vanessa’s Favor is only effective in this dungeon world, it’s effect will go off when you leave the dungeon world.]

[Note 2: When you return to this dungeon world, Vanessa’s Favor will be in effect again.] (Ch 909)