Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Upon receiving Kieran's answer, Paeris watched him silently, as if scrutinizing Kieran for any hints of mistruth in his words.

From what Paeris experienced, even skilled liars couldn't overcome the minute mannerisms that occurred when lying, omitting the truth, or forcing one's self to speak half-truths.

If one was skilled enough, even a normal person could pinpoint when someone was fabricating the very words being spoken to them.

Unsurprisingly, Paeris failed to detect any presence of these unavoidable tells.

Though, that's because Kieran spoke freely, voicing how he felt about the War Deity Council and how he viewed his position in the council.

Kieran had already once said that the council's conduct in the past was a mistake. Severing the relationship with these vital races may have led to swift gains, but in the long run, the current Xenith could be much greater than it previously was.

"While I can tell you that you mean what you say, my commitment to my race and my loyalty to my Highborn blood prevents me from placing my trust in you. With that said, I'll be personally monitoring you during your time here."

A Highborn, in the Elven hierarchy, was a step beyond Noblebloods. Not only was their blessing more powerful, but Highborns also possessed special abilities, which was why only one was born every century.

Once born, they were almost guaranteed to ascend to the position of an Emplenan unless their diligence was lacking.

In that case, they'd be relegated to a still important yet minor role in the homeland. For example, becoming an Emplenan's Envoy.

"Take the option. It's already a miracle that Emplenan Paeris is being so lenient with you," Agatha voiced, urging Kieran's compliance.

However, Kieran remained silent for other reasons. 'Hmm… as an Emplenan, Paeris must have direct access to the Elven Queen. In that case, I must find a way to impress him.'

Following this thought process, Kieran agreed with Paeris monitoring his every move.

"If, at any moment, I suspect that you're concocting some sinister plot, you will bear the consequences of targeting my race," Paeris warned him. He gave this warning because there was only one thing Kieran could compromise with the Elves being powerless to fix it—the veil.

Of course, Paeris wasn't aware that Kieran was truthfully only here as a formality to gain hands-on experience. However, because of Paeris' self-proclaimed watch service, Kieran now had a reason to overachieve.

Because Paeris had spoken, none of the Elders disagreed with him.

The words of an Emplenan could only be superseded by the Elven Queen or a higher-ranking Emplenan, which meant that Paeris' decree was essentially law.

"Since I'll be handling the visitors from this point on, the meeting is adjourned. You may return to your usual procedures," Paeris announced.

At the same time, he gestured for Agatha and Kieran to follow after him as he stepped upon a forked path that led away from the Gardenia High Court.

Familiar with the process, Agatha obliged. Kieran, on the other hand, stared at the elves that gave him departing looks of disgust and disapproval.

'That's some deep-seated hatred… Phew.'

Afterward, Kieran followed behind, continuing to absorb the scenery until they reached a tree unlike the rest.

It was a mere colossal stump, but there were countless roots—some larger than the depth of many trees Kieran had seen thus far.

Contrary to the tree's solid exterior, when Paeris approached its center, his body passed straight through. Similar to a stone being thrown into placid waters, the tree rippled as a result of Paeris' entry.

Seconds later, Kieran and Agatha followed.

…

Once inside, Kieran was met with a stunning sight.

The inside of the tree was similar to an independent space, but it was linked to every tree in the Forest of Gardenia. Considering its access to every tree and how crucial it was to the Elven Race and their homeland, Kieran wondered where the queen stayed.

Up till this very moment, he hadn't caught the slightest wind of the queen's presence. In his eyes, getting an audience with the Elven Queen was more difficult than meeting with Hekaina.

But upon looking back on the matter, Kieran realized he was only granted the meeting thanks to Hekaina's lofty aspirations.

Could the Elven Queen hold similar aspirations?

"Here, you'll have access to everything you need. Young Heiress, since you're aware of the process, I need not explain. Though, if you must, you're free to clue in your young friend," Paeris remarked.

In response, Agatha shook her head, refusing to go into deep detail. There was zero need to do so when all Kieran had to do was follow her lead and deepen his understanding of the Eighth Supreme Cipher of Eni.

While Kieran and Agatha prepared themselves, Paeris withdrew his feet, floating one meter above the ground before closing his eyes.

As Paeris levitated there, a reddish-orange glow enveloped his body while the nearby nature-based Mana gravitated towards this glow.

Once Paeris became engrossed in his meditative practice, Agatha started to guide Kieran.

"Just like we practiced, focus on your cipher and follow my lead. I'll be supplying you with incomplete characters at times. I want you to complete them to the best of your abilities," Agatha said.

In response, Kieran gave a pained smile with a thumbs up. "Sounds like a piece of cake…"

Kieran's only saving grace and source of confidence was that every time he exhausted all of the mystic energy accessible to him, his capacity expanded by a notable amount.

Because of that, his current 80% capacity rivaled the quantity of his previous limits.

Agatha waited until Kieran completed his Eighth Supreme Cipher of Eni before she entered her Wykin-state and began accessing the core parts of the protective veil.

Within seconds, it was as if Kieran and Agatha sat side by side in a construct akin to a mystical globe.

As Paeris opened his eyes, he watched briefly, witnessing things he couldn't begin to comprehend. Though similar to runes, Paeris understood that these symbols carried a completely different intent from runes.

In fact, they could be considered the progenitor of today's derived runes.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Agatha to pass off the first incomplete character. As Kieran examined it and compared it to what Agatha currently worked with, Kieran felt that the entire process was eerily similar to a computer program being coded.

In other words, one wrong character could result in a massive error.

Considering this circumstance, Kieran couldn't understand how Agatha trusted him to pull his weight. Even he had to admit that it was a truly foolish idea.

While he understood the need for practical experience, Kieran felt even pressured and tense with the gaze of an Emplenan on his back.

[Can you turn off your thoughts? Your anxiousness is intrusive. It's interrupting me.]

Hearing the compendium's voice speak to him once more, Kieran stared into space wide-eyed but used the opportunity to speak with the relic's Ego. 'Interrupting you? You're interrupting me, you damned book.'

[Compendium. I am a compendium—a collection of things known and unknown.]

'You're an old book then,' Kieran corrected himself, earning the Ego's brief silence.

[I will not quarrel with a boy that is scared to fail. There is pride and joy in failure. For success, it is unenjoyable if there is a lack of failure. Now, quiet down and manipulate the rings to do your bidding.]

Rather than continue to bicker with the relic's Ego, Kieran chose to focus on the hint in its words.

Because this Ego was present during the time of Eni's vast progress, it understood the intricacies of the syllables, ciphers, and constructs better than anyone else aside from Eni.

Manipulating the rings didn't just mean use the entirety of the cipher at once. There was a reason for the identical number of rings and why they spun differently.

'Manipulate them, huh? According to Agatha, they're made to deconstruct and construct. Now that my understanding of it has reached a basic level… I shouldn't have an issue if I know which ones to manipulate,' Kieran thought.

Understanding what he needed to do, Kieran attempted to separate the Supreme Cipher in two, but it proved difficult. The character he returned carried several imperfections, so it could be considered a failure.

Yet, Agatha accepted it, refined it, and reintegrated it into the horrifyingly complex sequence that comprised the veil.

Seconds later, she fed Kieran another incomplete syllable. Since she was aware that he only knew 6 at the moment, she limited the pieces of the sequence she exposed to Kieran.

Then again, some of the more complex characters required an amount of mystic energy that Kieran found impossible to muster at his current level.

With each try, even though they ended in an abnormal amount of failures, Kieran refined his mastery of the Eighth Supreme Cipher of Eni.

Fascinated by how fast Kieran seemed to grasp his ability, Paeris delayed his training for longer than he expected.

'Though I don't understand the specifics, I do understand that every symbol he returns is in marginally better shape than the previous one. Considering that this entire process takes days… I wonder how much growth this human can experience,' Paeris questioned himself.

Aside from fascination, Paeris felt another emotion—trepidation. Kieran's increased learning capacity, which partly resulted from his racial trait, reminded Paeris of humanity's overzealous desire to learn.

What if that thirst overwhelmed this boy before him? Wouldn't it just be a repeat of the tragic past?

Asking himself these questions, Paeris struggled to formulate an answer.

Soon enough, Paeris found himself wanting to seek the advice of the queen. That was because, while he didn't sense any malicious intent from Kieran, this rapid growth alarmed Paeris.

Part of him wished to reason with his majesty and have her reason with the other four who were liable to cause a series of unfortunate events. However, another part of him wanted such a perverse existence gone from this world completely.

'When fear seats comfortably in one's heart, it becomes a poison—a destroyer of confidence and conviction,' Paeris voiced in his mind, sighing afterward.

He felt ashamed of his thoughts, but he was helpless against them. After all, condemning the humans had essentially become the creed of the elves!