Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Following the continued shattering of the several containers that filled the room, numerous strange creatures began to infest the room by emerging from the vats covered in unusual liquid.

Unlike with Moribun, the liquid that covered these creatures didn't have a stench, but they did create an unusual atmosphere that admittedly heightened the amount of Madness Mist present within the room.

The prevalent issue grew progressively worse until Sera was forced to cast Sense Refreshment and Dispel as a precaution. Unfortunately, even the combined efforts of these two skills failed to completely neutralize the Madness Mist.

「 Lv.55 Deranged Maimed Chimera (Champion)

Beast, Humanoid, Experimental Lifeform

Health: 15,690,000/15,690,000 (100%) 」

Sadly, its presence was too powerful to be overcome by these low-ranking skills.

In this regard, Bastion took action, slamming his Will Armament into the ground.

"Defender's Protection: Indomitable Field!"

〈System: While inside the «Indomitable Field» created by the «Ancient Defender» Bastion, your resistance toward abnormal statuses will be increased to match the user.〉

〈Warning: The effect of «Indomitable Field» will dissipate the moment you step outside of its range.〉

"Limit the fight to within my Indomitable Field. It's a bitch to upkeep, but it's worth it if it means all of you will be able to fight unrestrictedly. I can't deal with them alone," Bastion voiced.

"That sounds perfect," Khaos said in response. 

All of a sudden, he lifted his blade with one hand while his unoccupied hand cradled the area near his weapon's guard. A surge of violent Mana then rippled from his blade which soon created a zone of flickering lightning.

"Spell of the Fulgurous: Bladed Lightning Rain!"

The Mana quickly collected and gained the property of lightning, forming a large cloud overhead. Soon, subtle thunderclaps were heard as flashes of lightning flickered within the room.

At the same time, Alice similarly began her assault. 

"Enhanced Spell: Compressed Mana Torrent!"

Several abnormally large Mana Missiles discharged from a magic circle that levitated over Alice's head as she held up her staff.

Thanks to the multi-hit property of Khaos and Alice's attacks, numerous damage values appeared over these Deranged Maimed Chimeras.

…

Meanwhile, far away from the front of the dungeon room, Kieran fulfilled his promise, keeping Moribun separated, while at the same time prohibiting it from interfering in the battle against the others. 

Although Kieran was unsure regarding the full potential of Bastion's class, he wasn't worried simply because Bastion had surpassed Lv.50. Lv.50 was a true milestone where a player could gain access to a variety of frightening skills depending on their class's rank.

Considering that Bastion held a Legendary Class, Kieran estimated the skills he gained access to were extremely practical in defending himself and others. Based on his current findings, it was evident that those assumptions were correct.

Indomitable Field was one of the skills Bastion gained access to upon reaching Lv.50. As implied by the notification it delivered and its name, it created a rectangular field by creating four rods composed of Bastion's Indomitable Pure Will.

As long as that resource persisted, so would the presence of the Indomitable Field.

Now that the Deranged Maimed Chimeras were out and active, Moribun tried to rush past Kieran to seemingly orchestrate their actions. However, he didn't allow that. 

When Moribun moved, Kieran would similarly perform a Surge Step and knock it back with a simple slash or even a Crimson Current.

"Unfortunately for you, you grotesque monster, your opponent stands before you," Kieran uttered.

With a calm gaze, Kieran watched Moribun as he motioned with his hand. Even without looking, Kieran perfectly pulled up his stream profile and began the process of starting up a new stream.

The events prior to now were somewhat interesting, but comments on the official forums lingered in his mind. Daedric dared to claim that the limelight was no longer his? 

Asinine! 

He would prove his actions right now that his spot as the top entertainer was unconquerable.

〈System: Please choose a stream name for the live broadcast to begin.〉

〈System: Due to your Exclusive Platform Deal, this next stream will be announced as the headline of the Gamer Republic Connect's platform.〉

'Oh? Allan wasn't kidding when he said he would do his best to bolster my popularity. To think my stream's commencement will be announced in the headlines. That's way better than having it plastered on the front page.'

When opening the GRC platform, the first thing users witnessed was the headline that flashed across the screen in bold letters. Unlike typical platforms where such a thing occurred at the top of the scene, it was directly in the middle, detracting from all other active streams it overlapped in the background.

This would continue until the headline dissipated.

If one chose to click on it, they'd be immediately directed to the corresponding topic of the headline, which in this case, would be Kieran's upcoming stream.

After marveling at this opportunity for a moment, Kieran revealed a slight smirk. Despite the surprise generated from the notification, Kieran's attention never once shifted from Moribun. 

At least, part of it didn't.

This was a perk of his training as a Mystic Runemaster, particularly the last bit which was required to leave the Ancient Rune Oasis. During that time, Kieran learned how to safely split his concentration.

In this case, if one were to look at Kieran's face right now, they'd believe he was a gecko and not a human. While his left eye was pointed at Moribun, his right eye was fixated on the stream menu 90 degrees to his right.

Following deep consideration, Kieran eventually picked a befitting title. "Advent of the Hidden King."

Unsurprisingly, the title's meaning was multifaceted. 

One, Kieran was openly admitting that he had teamed up with Advent but also used the term "advent" to imply that he was returning after a small period of inactivity while someone else had established a false reign.

The Hidden part referred to the dungeon and the fact that he also possessed a hidden class. However, the latter would require deep analysis for viewers to understand its meaning.

Lastly, the king part referred to his place as the undisputed king of this platform. After all, who could dare claim to be his equal here? 

It was haughty and pompous, but Kieran simply didn't care. 

If others viewed it as toxic behavior, then so be it. He had the skill, accolades, and power to back up his elitist claims.

The moment he named the stream, the headline announcement quickly spread throughout the GRC platform. Within an instant, the eye icon that symbolized viewership shot from 0 to 150,000.

This phenomenon revealed just how thirsty the public was for his content.

Once this number had appeared before his eyes, Kieran enabled the microphone icon in the corner of his eyes. "Pardon my absence from our place and I apologize if you missed me. However, I feel today's stream will properly address it all."

┌───────────────────

«Stream Chat»- 

«AatroxStan» - Omg! Omg!! OMG! It's Aatrox! Kyaaaa! He's doing it! That sexy hunk of a man is back! And jesus, look at that title! He's definitely my king!

«BubbleGuppy» - Bro that title is hot af. I can feel the arrogance of Aatrox from here and it's well deserved. How dare that asshole Daedric claim to be our king? Never!

«PrimeInstigator» - Aatrox vs. Daedric when? I dare you. You won't! I personally wouldn't let that disrespect slide. You must get your get back, gang!

«ClearEyedSavior» - Yo! WTF is that?! It's ugly as hell. Holy crap. Wait… are you going to solo a Mini Boss?! Hello?! SOLO?!

«HumanBinoculars» - I see members from Advent in the background! Soulless' announcement was true! Aatrox is in a dungeon run with Advent! Wow… that's status elevation right there.

└───────────────────

To no surprise, several messages came through in an instant, though Kieran noticed a lot of them addressed the monster before him. 

Thus, he felt it was best to shine some light on the matter and catch them up to speed.

First, he revealed the monster's information, which revealed fervent comments in the chat.

"As you all guessed, I will indeed be soloing this Mini Boss and as you can see, it's perfectly healthy. I'm sure you can see my party in the back, however, they're similarly preoccupied. For now, all hundreds of thousands of you will be my lovely company. Enjoy the show, the spectacle, the marvel."

After speaking, Kieran ended the direct audio line linked to him, but he let the battle audio remain. After all, everything he was about to reveal had already been revealed during the Gladiator's Coliseum. 

The only difference now was how strong he was.

A second later, Kieran pointed Crimson Ashrune toward Moribun with a stance eerily similar to the one Khaos revealed.

Phantasmal Flicker!

Before the eyes of every viewer, Kieran's body disappeared. When he reappeared, a destructive and wild aura encapsulated his blade.

"Wild Crash!"

"Keeee!" Moribun screeched. 

In the next instant, two unusually sharp limbs grew from its back and moved to meet Kieran's strike. Unfortunately, it underestimated the dreadfulness of Kieran's Wild Crash.

Crrrnch!

The sound of bones breaking resounded as the two thin limbs bent inward. Though, before the attack could connect with Moribun's back, it shifted backward and dodged the greater part of the attack.

In its attempts to withdraw, Moribun also opened its mouth, which was similar to an arachnid's, before spewing a venomous mist at Kieran.

Most people would be helpless if caught mid-strike, but not Kieran.

"Grand Stomp!"

Kieran launched himself into the air by combining a Grand Stomp with a well-timed jump. Then, once he was aligned with Moribun on the ground, he unleashed a Burst Step while using the blood marking on his foot to create a temporary blood foothold.

Shnk!

When Kieran landed, Crimson Ashrune cleaved one of the broken limbs clean off.

Upon landing though, Kieran noticed that his arm sizzled slightly. Luckily, it did not take long for him to realize it was due to small bits of Moribun's spit attack landing on his body.

Though, compared to Agatha's pinches, Kieran felt that this damage was meager. 

After a while, Kieran controlled the Vampiric Blood Encrustation to spread further up his arm, eventually quelling the effects of the poison attack.