Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

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Kieran's chosen target resembled a type of combat puppet.

The puppet would take on a humanoid puppet shape of varying difficulty based on the chosen level. The difficulty coincided with the Adventurer Badge in the user's possession because the Adventurers' Guild owned the Training Hall.

It was one of the many places where adventurers could go to hone their skills.

The Training Hall was similar to the exclusive training areas in the War Deity Council. The only difference was the Mana Purity inside the Training Hall paled compared to what appeared inside the War Deity Council's temples.

Kieran pulled out Crimson Ashrune and waited for the humanoid golem to start up.

Its exterior released a golden light, symbolizing the golem would be at the standard of a Gold Adventurer.

Considering that most Gold Adventurers could form an Adventurer Party and complete substantial missions for the Guild, it should be somewhat challenging for the current Kieran to overcome.

To promote desired results from the arduous settings, all active skills above B Rank became inactive. That was understandable since they tended to unleash unfathomable damage, as seen by Kieran's Sanguinem Tempest.

Kieran dealt hundreds of thousands of damage every time he unleashed it.

A countdown appeared while information appeared before Kieran's eyes.

「 Gold Training Golem (Special)

Comparable to a Lv.35 Champion Monster」

'Oh? A Champion monster?' Kieran mused.

He expected the golem would rival an Elite or Special Elite at best. But, a Champion Monster over Lv.30 was a frightening opponent.

Nevertheless, Kieran felt up to the challenge.

Once the timer reached zero, the golem exploded with speed unbecoming of its size. Kieran was forced to dodge as its fist left a large imprint on the ground.

Its hollow eyes flashed with a red light before targeting Kieran once more. Although its speed was excellent, its movement patterns were linear and lacked fluidity.

Thus, Kieran smirked and exhaled while gauging his current success rate. 'It's achievable with our current standard.'

Just before the golem's punch landed, Kieran's body suddenly shifted to the side at speed surpassing his highest acceleration. However, Kieran frowned.

'What kind of amateurish utilization was that? Come on, Kieran, you can do better than that. Don't tell me your years of inactivity before death dulled your senses.'

Kieran berated himself because this movement was something he could execute as effortlessly as he breathed. However, his skill with this practice seemed to diminish after years of not employing it.

While the movement technique should be ingrained in the fibers of his mind and soul, the execution was subpar.

A bead of sweat dripped down Kieran's forehead while he pointed his blade at the golem.

The golem turned its head to the side and launched a violent upward swing.

Kieran countered by leaning back and slashing the golem's arm. Although the slash felt flawed, a deep gashed formed on its dense arm. The damage inflicted by this strike vanished a few seconds later.

'While damaging it is easy, destroying it is next to impossible. It's designed to be the perfect opponent for those at the same level,' Kieran inwardly noted.

The golem didn't relent after unleashing its attacks; it continued to go after Kieran, delivering a series of wide and destructive punches.

After tens of swings, the golem suddenly switched its movements by burying its foot into Kieran's torso.

Bang!

Kieran defended against the kick at the last moment but was sent flying back as he braced Crimson Ashrune against him. He somersaulted in the air and landed a few meters away.

'This truly shows how rusty I am. A Champion-level monster is giving me a run for my money.' Kieran sighed and shook his head.

While Kieran was disappointed with his current display, the others paused and watched Kieran conduct his training session.

"Why does it feel like he isn't affected by this update at all? Look at how Aatrox performs those movements," Cyr muttered in awe.

Cyr compared Kieran's personal training to how his sparring against Altair went.

Although they had been training for an hour, their pace remained deliberate. Combat grew difficult when they tried to increase their training pace. Cyr sometimes slipped and threw off the rhythm, causing him and Altair to collide into one another.

"I don't know, but although the developers of this game aim to create another life experience, it doesn't feel exactly the same. I can tell I'm 'controlling' another body and not my real one," Altair said.

If he could implement his true abilities, it wouldn't be so difficult to master combat again. But, everyone was presented with limitations. And those limitations stemmed from the VR equipment in use.

"Wait, shhh, something has changed," Bastion hushed everyone suddenly.

Everyone focused on Kieran and watched what took place.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kieran's piercing gaze grew intense as he focused on the golem's movements and shifted back and forth with minute reactions. These small movements, while seemingly insignificant on the surface, turned Kieran into an elusive target.

Finally, after dodging for a minute straight, he retaliated.

Clank!

As Kieran slashed down, Crimson Ashrune tore a hole through the center of the golem's chest. The force sent the golem stumbling back a few steps, but that distance was immediately close when Kieran executed a strange footwork and used his front foot as a pivot.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kieran unleashed the Whirlwind Slash technique executed once before, except this time, it seemed more refined and many times faster.

When his momentum declined, Kieran switched tactics and executed another heavy slash. The fluid switch between actions left the others in awe. Not because of the simple attacks used, but because of how fast they lost track of his movements.

'What is happening right now?' Altair wondered. 'I haven't blinked nor averted my gaze, but I've lost track of Aatrox many times now.'

The principle behind Kieran's action mystified the others because they couldn't understand his movements. In short, Kieran was achieving extreme bursts of speed that escaped the natural realm of a human's reaction.

In the past, this was only possible once a human amassed enough combat experience and generated mental power from a mind honed by virtual technology. Enough time hadn't passed but Kieran could replicate the effects due to his unique situation.

'As I thought, the abnormalities of my H-COS were not just unprecedented and without side effects. My mental strength feels like it is cemented between my starting point and peak, mirroring my condition during the time of this technique's creation.'

〈System: The presence of unusual actions has been detected. However, there isn't enough base information to generate a proper analysis. The continued execution of such activities will trigger «Technique Creation»!〉

Kieran grinned once this notification appeared. After all, it was the reason for his current actions. Technique Creation was a feature not discussed but present in the Stage One Combat Realism summary.

Techniques were also a sign the barrier between Zenith Online and Earth thinned. After all, most if not all Techniques are inspired by combat arts found on Earth.

Kieran continued with his actions, creating quick bursts of speed to unleash accelerated motions.

Finally, after executing this feat hundreds of times, an alert sounded from the system.

〈System: «Technique Creation» has been trigged. Please give the technique a name to register it with the system!〉

"First Drive: Accel Shift," Kieran named it.

Ding!

〈System: You have successfully created the first Technique. «First Drive: Accel Shift» is gauged to be a 1-star Technique.〉

〈System: As the first to develop a Technique, you have been rewarded: 100 Skill Points, 250 World Fame, and Level +2.〉

Kieran's level immediately increased to 33, and received the corresponding rewards. His World Fame also increased to 900, but Kieran was more interested in learning the effects of Accel Shift.

「 Technique Name: First Drive: Accel Shift

Grading: ★

Description: This technique allows the user to gain a 300% increase in movement speed for a split second. The user can utilize this burst of speed in any directional place.

Consumption: Stamina and Focus 」

As mentioned before, Techniques were not limited by cooldown.

However, every technique drained a considerable amount of the user's Stamina, far more than any standard action. This was because Techniques placed an immense burden on the player's body by going beyond their current limitations.

The Technique Grading System was similar to Secret Realms because it also operated based on stars. A 1-star Technique was the most basic, but as seen in the description, even a 1-star Technique could contribute immensely to a battle.

After creating his technique, Kieran soon finished sparring with the training golem. It wasn't like he could destroy the thing anyway.

As soon as he finished, Altair ran up to him with eyes sparkling with interest. "What was that just now? Wasn't that similar to what we talked about during the escort mission?"

"No," Kieran shook his head. "It isn't similar. It is what we talked about, just applied differently."

"Ah, I knew it," Altair exclaimed. "So, when will you teach it to me? And, what is it called?"

"Eh, its name can vary. Give it a unique name if you find a unique usage. But, I've just named it Accel Shift," Kieran answered. "Also, I'll teach you when you no longer struggle with basic movements."

Altair nodded, muttering incoherently. Kieran's words evidently inspired him because he immediately dragged Cyr to the side and began attempting to learn this.

While that happened, Kieran revealed he would be logging out for the time being to deal with some personal matters.