Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player



Though clearing Isadora's request had removed a tremendous impending burden off Kieran's shoulders, there were still a lot of personal matters he wished to accomplish. 

Fortunately, these matters were not restricted by a decreasing time limit.

As Kieran strolled through the bottom floor of the Godhand Bazaar, he could hear the clamor a few floors above if he focused on it. 

The clamor was a mix of clanging, banging, and presumably shouting. Or perhaps it was just the loud talk required to speak above all the noise on the production floor.

Either way, the environment pleased Kieran. 

After all, it was an environment of productivity!

After walking to the third floor, which could now be regarded as the shop's production floor, Kieran looked around and felt many kinds of fluctuations. 

Some of these fluctuations came from the purification and melting of materials, while others came from the physical work of creating equipment or items. 

However, Kieran's attention fell on the Enchanter's Paradise, which, unlike the other three departments on this floor, was unmanned. 

Though he attempted to find some, it seemed that not even a single player had come in contact with the Mystic Sanctum to learn the methods of enchanting.

But… this also made Kieran wonder. 

Could he turn people into Enchanters? 

The thought wasn't unfounded. After all, he possessed the same class as the head of the organization—Agatha. Furthermore, from what he gathered, the followers of the Mystic Sanctum were essentially lesser versions of Wykins. 

By this assumption, Kieran should be capable of teaching people to enchant!

Of course, he overlooked one small fact. His teaching proficiency would rely upon his understanding of enchanting, which was admittedly shit. 

So far, Kieran's knowledge of mysticism only extended to the Archaic Syllabary of Eni. His wordmancing needed a lot of work if he wanted to learn to simplify them into what was known as modern runes.

'It wouldn't hurt to try, but that would definitely take a lot of time. Mm, I'll consider it once I'm finished with all the other pressing matters. After all, I need a robust production force to help me quickly repay this damned loan,' Kieran inwardly muttered.

He entered the Forging Area a second later, but the sight before him made him stop and stare in disbelief. Amidst hammering away at the material on their anvils, Hamon and Bernard stared at one another with fiery gazes.

"Damned old man, you're not gonna beat me in forging! I am the best of the best. My hammer is impetuous!" Bernard shouted.

However, Hamon squinted in return, momentarily glancing down at Bernard's work. "Hah, yer don' gon on and missed a spot 'dere, twerp. What a rookie mistake."

"What?!" Bernard shouted, looking down at the metallic sheet with a scrunched nose. He failed to find the mistake Hamon referred to, but he realized he had been had once Hamon's rambunctious laughter echoed throughout the area.

"Hahaha! Aatrox has really gone on and picked up a shit-for-brains twerp! So stupidly dumb!" Hamon guffawed, chortling while holding his hammer above his head.

'What in the hell is this? Is this why these two never meshed in the past? Isn't this just a competition of ego? A damned ego challenge!' Kieran remarked mentally, shaking his head several times.

Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. "I guess you two are having fun here while everyone else is diligently working."

"Oh!" Bernard shouted, nearly jumping out of his skin.

"Damn, we've been caught," Hamon muttered, coughing afterward. "Kid, I've done nothing but produce great things for you. Don't believe me? Take a look in that corner over there."

As Kieran turned his head, he noticed hundreds of items piled up in the corner. 

The items ranged from decently-made swords to excellent-condition plate armor. Though Kieran chose not to appraise any of it, he estimated that they were worth a pretty penny based on their appearance.

Similarly, Bernard also produced a decent collection of items. 

The only difference was that Bernard's items were all weapons—heavy weapons, to be precise. Then again, Kieran already expected this outcome, given the rumors about Bernard and his future title.

Initially, Kieran intended to give Hamon the Frostflame Hammer in his possession. Though, after seeing their near-identical production rate, Kieran was stumped. 

'I guess the rumors of their similar skill level were true. Bernard simply maximizes the proficiency of his specialty, while Hamon forges things based on his mood.'

Nevertheless, he still had to give someone the item. So, after retrieving it from his inventory, Kieran presented the Frostflame Hammer to both of them. "Pretty?"

"It's nice… I guess?" Bernard remarked. "Would have been better if it was more blue than red."

"I disagree. Red is fierce. Yer just a little brat, wet behind the ears. You can't appreciate greatness! That said, give it 'ere, boy," Hamon suggested. "Let me see what's so good about this hammer."

"Sure." Kieran shrugged, tossing the hammer to Hamon.

The moment he caught it, his eyes widened. The item's weight felt odd, like it wasn't something he would want to swing countless times. 

But after glimpsing its information, Hamon gawked.

  "Boy, this is for me, yeah?!" Hamon exclaimed, looking at the Frostflame Hammer with glistening eyes.

Interested, Bernard looked at Aatrox. "What is that? Why is the old man so excited? I've never seen him in so much glee, not even after a successful creation!"

"Eh, it's just a production tool that increases the wielder's success rate by 20%." Kieran nonchalantly replied.

Bernard licked his lips and gulped as if his lips and throat were dry before giving Kieran a look that sought clarification. "Did you just say a 20% boost?"

"Yup. As long as the item you're attempting to make doesn't surpass the Epic grading, it should significantly boost your success rate. Attractive, isn't it?"

"I want it!" Bernard shouted to the high heavens.

"I bet you do. But as of right now, it has no owner. How about this? After the grand opening, the people with the highest weekly sales may use the hammer for that week. That should be fair," Kieran said in response.

"Oh, old man, I am going to whoop your ass," Bernard said, pointing at Hamon with a fiery gaze.

"For now… the hammer shall be shared—switching possession on a day-to-day basis," Kieran decided, making a choice to keep himself free from the headache of having to choose.

It was an indecisive and somewhat evasive decision, but Kieran preferred it this way. 

As the business was a newborn at best, incentives were the most practical route for him. Perhaps he could be less considerate of everyone's feelings in the future but now wasn't the time.

After delivering the hammer and a few other materials gained from the auction, Kieran made a visit to the Alchemy Department. 

Though, unlike his experience with Hamon and Bernard, he didn't stay long. He left the acquired recipes on the desk of Sorcia and Aspaira, along with bundles of various materials, before returning back downstairs.

Back when he had Mayor Lowe sign the Godhand Bazaar's property deed, he also requested a list of trustworthy staff that Mayor Lowe was familiar with who needed work. 

While some players chose the Merchant Profession, Kieran wasn't familiar with any of them.

As a result, his only alternative was employing NPCs as official staff of the Godhand Bazaar. 

According to the system interface, those NPC were outside the main door, awaiting entry. It appeared that they were directed to appear close to the store's grand opening.

This wasn't too unbelievable, considering they were all ex-staff of the Merchant Association who left for their own reasons.

There were a total of 15 people. Their daily pay was relatively small, totaling no more than 10 Gold a day. 

Then again, the expense would be rather significant for regular players, costing them close to $8,000 a day per employee. 

However, that was only because of rampant inflation of the value of coins.

The lead person was a demure lady who wore a modest blouse and long skirt. Her light brown hair was tied up into a ponytail, and her green eyes were protected by a set of glasses.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Aatrox. My name is Milana, a former Executive Clerk for the Merchant Association. I'm prepared to do any job thanks to my robust experience," Milana spoke politely.

Kieran swept his gaze through the collection of young and mature men and women before nodding briefly. "I have no doubts. That said, I should walk you through what I expect of you."

As Kieran divulged their duties, he guided Milana and the others through the first and second floors, revealing that the number would be split. 

However, Milana would be tasked with managing and accounting for both floors.

Due to her steeper task, Kieran did not demand that she tend to any physical help. Instead, he made it the duty of the other 14 employees.

After coming to an understanding of what needed to be done, Milana gave a small nod. "Seems simple enough."

Since the grand opening was set to happen mere hours from now, Kieran had the new staff begin filling the shelves and showcases with the items in stock. 

As soon as that was settled, Kieran took a seat and began planning what was truly the "great show" he had in store. 

Upon bringing up the Player Auction menu, Kieran swiped his finger and clicked on the first item. A mischievous grin crept onto Kieran's face as he pressed the announcement button.

Within seconds, a notification spread throughout the entire player population.

〈System: The first «Player Auction», courtesy of Aatrox, will begin in three minutes. Please make sure to join in! The highly valued «Official Guild Creation Order» has been slated for auction.〉

Following this message, all of the guild leaders of unofficial guilds felt as if a bomb had gone off in their minds. 

An Official Guild Creation Order!