Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

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Sera emerged from the restaurant's rear with a bright smile an hour later. Kieran didn't need to ask to know that she successfully gained the Chef Profession.

However, what Sera did reveal slightly surprised Kieran.

"I received four complementary Rank 1 recipes, each of which gives a varying amount of Satiety. But, they said it would be more complicated to create the ones of higher Satiety," Sera said.

Kieran nodded. "Four? That's a pretty decent gift. I expected them to give you one. But, I guess this happens when you amass World Fame before visiting such places."

"Whoa, what about us? Let us pick up a profession as well. I'd love to get free things," Bastion immediately exclaimed.

"One Chef is enough for the time being. If you're truly interested in a profession, we need to find one we require. For now, I'm not sure what that is," Kieran replied.

Asking them to become forgers or other heavy production-based professions was something Kieran wouldn't do. Their main priority should be recovering their combat skills while Kieran outsourced the equipment issue.

'If I recall properly, a few players should rise to notable fame in the future regarding their forging skill. Perhaps I should seek them out to work alongside Aspaira,' Kieran rubbed his chin in thought.

With the presence of the First Metamorphosis, it wouldn't be long before guilds began focusing their attention on production professions. These large-scale recruitments would spark the interest of production players with no interest in joining combat.

However, they wouldn't offer items or gold; they were offering tangible salaries, something Kieran would have to compete against if he wanted to vie for these talented folks.

'As far as my wealth goes, it's not worth mentioning when compared to even second-class gaming organizations.'

Although Kieran received a steady income from the guide attached to his streaming account, it wasn't comparable to the earnings of endorsed and sponsored gaming organizations.

Their channels would blow up once walkthroughs of certain dungeons emerged.

Considering how many things Kieran needed to get done, he didn't have time to record any dungeon walkthroughs to compile into another guide helpful to players of a similar level.

"I don't really care about the production; I just wanted free stuff," Bastion murmured in response.

Kieran glanced at him with a complex expression before snapping his finger. 'That's it! I'll lure them in with the promise of free materials up to a certain amount of worth and go from there.'

While Kieran produced a somewhat reasonable solution, it didn't solve the problem of attracting such players without drawing attention to himself. At least, that wasn't until he considered his unique advantage.

'What if I use the stream to generate a false notion?' Kieran wondered.

Because of his stream's popularity, which had amassed over four hundred thousand followers, he was confident he could attract the attention of Lifestyle players if he used the guise of a personal item request.

It was general knowledge that things like Forgers existed; there was just a lack of attention regarding their exact worth.

After deciding to take this route, Kieran brought the others around Aubrililes City while noting their considerably higher market prices.

'I wonder if more players would flock to Aeredale City if they knew the materials sold in this city were priced 50% higher than those sold in Aeredale. Nevertheless, it's not my place to make this known. The competition will be great as is.'

Despite visiting the Merchant Association, Kieran failed to find any equipment for a reasonable price.

Kieran could only relinquish the thought of obtaining any useful items from this branch before moving to the library of this city.

Upon entering that place and browsing through the section marked historical events, Kieran's suspicions were confirmed. There was no mention of the Chasm of Apogeton in any of the historical texts.

'Their history is fragmented, but it's not like ordinary citizens care. Their only concern is continuing on with their everyday life,' Kieran noted before closing the large book in his hand.

He looked toward the others and asked, "Are you all ready to return? I've found nothing of interest here. We might as well return and cement our standing."

"Yeah, I'm ready to get out of here," Altair expressed.

"Same, this place is too expensive. It's for the entitled people," Bastion commented. He was shocked by the prices when browsing through the Rare Equipment on display in the Item Shop.

Eventually, the party's desires aligned.

Given the city's inclination for increased prices, Kieran braced himself for the cost of teleportation upon arriving at the Teleportation Hall.

The hall's attendee revealed the price, but Kieran wasn't too surprised by it. "The base fee is 5 Gold per person, and 1 Gold per every 1000 kilometers traveled."

With the distance separating Aeredale City and Aubrililes City, Kieran paid a fee of 230 Gold for everyone present.

Zworp!

A sudden pulling sensation overtook everyone before they disappeared in a flash.

Kieran and the others arrived at Aeredale City's Teleportation Hall just seconds later. Bastion and Nemean covered their mouths while holding back the rising feeling of nausea.

"Dear god… what is going on? I'm never taking that again!" Bastion complained.

"It's like stepping into a 100-story building's elevator and plunging ten stories in an instant!" Nemean added.

The two hugged each other in a dramatic display, but Kieran stood in awe as he witnessed this city's even more crowded streets.

'So I was right. The metamorphosis was spurred by the number of players who reached cities outside the Beginner Zone.'

"Meet me at the Training Hall; I'll be there in a few moments."

After giving this direction, Kieran moved toward the Mayor's Office to finish the remaining parts of the quest. The increased player traffic made Kieran consider failing this quest purposely because the effects would drive players to rely upon another source.

However, the likelihood of this quest being a chain quest meant the effect could similarly transfer. Additionally, the value of a chain quest outshined the possible competition. It was just a petty passing thought in Kieran's mind.

Kieran soon arrived at the Mayor's Office and greeted the receptionist. Because the receptionist found him familiar, she led him to the mayor's personal quarters without asking his identity.

"I suppose the mayor gave you an assignment? He was pacing around his office earlier with an anxious expression. There haven't been any issues in the city, so I can only assume it's related to you?"

'I guess Head Merchant Penni contacted him? I'm not sure if there have been issues, but it seems like Penni didn't reveal any information due to my quest limitations,' Kieran assumed.

The quest holder was the only one able to complete quest objectives, including NPCs' interference. Unless the quest explicitly stated flexible completion was possible, it was up to the holder to complete the contents.

The receptionist left Kieran alone after leading him to Mayor Lowe's door.

Kieran only knocked once before Mayor Lowe answered. "Come in!"

Kieran entered and shut the door behind him. The scene of Mayor Lowe pacing back and forth in his office while nibbling on his index finger greeted Kieran's sights.

After seeing it was Kieran, Mayor Lowe stopped pacing, and his expression brightened. "Aatrox, you have returned!"

"I have," Kieran answered.

"Tell me, how was it? Did it all go smoothly? Penni contacted me and told me the merchandise made it safely, and I have you to thank for that." Mayor Lowe expressed his gratitude but remained antsy while awaiting the detailed report.

"Smooth? I can't say that it was. We experienced our fair share of hiccups, but the main one was that the bandits aren't as simple as you assumed. They're a band of brigands," Kieran revealed.

"Band of brigands?!" Mayor Lowe exclaimed. He was under the assumption that it was petty thieves stealing from the association as a means to survive. He didn't expect it to be brigands.

Brigands were by no means simple thieves. Before acting, they plotted their targets' habits and awaited the perfect opportunity to strike.

However, this calculated behavior also meant the brigands chose their targets for more profound reasons.

"This isn't good. Protecting a single caravan doesn't solve the issue if the problem is brigands…" Mayor Lowe's expression deflated as he slumped back in his chair.

He sighed before asking another question. "Where did you first run into trouble?"

"It began at the end of the Barren Mountain Range and continued into the Desert of Crumbling Sands until we met a network of Sand Worms," Kieran calmly recounted.

Mayor Lowe's eyes widened as Kieran's recount exasperated him. "Sand Worms?! And you all didn't die? And the caravans safely made it through without further damage?"

"Correct," Kieran nodded.

Mayor Lowe was overcome with disbelief. Even he would experience some trouble if he went up against Sand Worms. After all, although he was an Advanced Being, his class wasn't designed to engage in combat.

Ding!

〈System: Record the area of malicious activity. 1/1〉

Delivering information on where they fought and experienced the tyranny of the Desertborn Brigands completed another quest objective. But, one more remained.

"But that's not all," Kieran suddenly remarked.

Mayor Lowe's expression changed as he anticipated Kieran's following words.

"It appears these Desertborn Brigands only target the Aeredale Kingdom's merchandise. It seems they have not an ounce of fear toward the Aeredale Kingdom."

"WHAT?! Preposterous!" Mayor Lowe seethed, slamming his hands on the desk. What Kieran had just revealed, enraged him beyond reason.

〈System: Deliver all findings to Mayor Lowe. 1/1〉