Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

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Naturally, the first matter that caught Kieran's attention was the condition of the title he had recently acquired. Because he killed an ungodly amount of Special Elite and below goblins within a concise amount of time, the Goblin Hunter title quickly reached its third form. As a result, some information about the title underwent a drastic change.

「 Title Name: Goblin Hunter III

Title Rank: Normal

Description: A hunter of goblins who has proven their mettle by slaying an alarming number of these atrocities.

Effects: Increase all damage dealt to Goblin-type monsters by 25%. There is a 10% chance of inflicting the «Fear» status on Special Elite and below. (The likelihood of this effect proc'ing decreases and increases depending on the monster's rank and level.)

Requirement: Slay at least 1,000 Normal, 400 Elites, and 100 Special Elite goblins within 3 days.

Note: This title has reached the height of its upgrade; however, it can evolve.」

Kieran grinned with excitement when he read through the new title description. The most important part of this knowledge had to be the ability to plunge goblins into the abnormal state known as «Fear».

While Fear was similar to Daze and Stun, it was much more practical. Fear was virtually a combination of the two because it increased the chances of landing critical attacks and left the enemy immobilized. However, the immobilization differed from being stunned since it was a psychological matter and not a physical one.

It was the difference between being frightened until you couldn't move and receiving a spinal injury so devastating it left you paralyzed—the latter could be overcome by mustering enough courage. Hence, why the chances decreased as the monster's rank increased.

The higher a monster's rank, the more difficult it became to affect them due to their inherently prideful nature.

Aside from the title, Kieran also checked through his current progress. The headway was satisfactory the last time he checked, albeit just barely. If he was any slower, he would begin to fall below the rate that would lead to success.

However, Kieran felt it should have taken a turn for the better, seeing as the drop rate increased almost exponentially. Before opening up his quest log, Kieran rubbed his chin and made some predictions.

'It's best for me to keep my memory sharp with these little exercises to help me recall any little bits I may forget. Sometimes even the simplest matters are of extreme significance. With that being said, If I remember the drop rate correctly, I estimate that I'm approximately…75% done?'

Once he made his prediction, Kieran accessed his quest log that displayed the accurate information.

〈Collect the Blood Essence of Lv.20 or higher Elite Monsters. 441/500〉

〈Collect the Blood Essence of Lv.20 or higher Special Elite Monsters. 182/200〉

'Oh? Well, it seems I wasn't paying attention well enough. These numbers are much higher than I expected, especially for the initial timetable. Then again, I can't forget the difficulty of going against Champion monsters,' Kieran commented.

Although his progress appeared to be exceptional, it was only slightly above his earliest projections. At any rate, 39 hours had already passed, so there were only 9 more hours left for him to complete the quest's remaining objectives.

Within those 9 hours, he needed Refined Blood Essence, Champion Blood Essence, and the remaining Special Elite and Elite Blood Essence. In truth, the difficulty of the former two tasks combined slightly surpassed the large volume of Elite and Special Elites. The Elites and Special Elites had manageable attributes, whereas the former typically required a complete party to match.

Alas, Kieran couldn't hope to tackle this from an orthodox direction because he was alone!

But, because he was alone, all of the drops were solely his. In addition to plentiful coins and equipment, Kieran also harvested some essential stones with his Mining Tradeskill.

Last but not least, Kieran acquired some Skill Books that would either fetch a pretty penny or help generate solid relationships in the future. For now, he kept those to himself until he decided which path he wanted to follow.

Afterward, once Kieran's Stamina recovered entirely, he walked forward.

Although the Goblin Cave was an expansive area housing numerous goblins, its setting was broader than it was long. It didn't take long for Kieran to leave the cave clearing that the Goblin Enforcers guarded and locate the route leading to the deepest recesses of the cave. It was a path that grew narrow and seemed to connect to a large wall in the back. Because of how thin the space was, Kieran frowned and glanced down.

Narrow areas were the bane of Warriors like him, especially Warriors without attributes high enough to willfully alter the terrain. His activity area would be greatly limited, thereby restricting how well Kieran could utilize his sword.

At most, there was a clearance of just over two meters on each side, providing Kieran the slimmest breathing room ever since his weapon was 1.2 meters in length and his wingspan was large.

Of course, this design existed for Scouts to take advantage of. Their frame was naturally slimmer and allowed them to easily access narrow areas. Additionally, their use of dual blades, slender twin swords, or daggers enabled full utilization of their arsenal.

Unless it was by some miracle, then one individual fulfilling the role of every party member was impossible to achieve. Every class possessed its own advantages that couldn't be discarded.

Nevertheless, Kieran was forced to cope with the new setting by changing how he held his sword. It was similar to how an ancient swordsman dual-handedly wielded a sword to the front to invite the highest number of successful parries.

Unless Kieran sensed a monster, he kept the Scarlet Steel Greatsword stashed in his inventory to maintain his fastest movement speed.

Approximately 2 minutes later, Kieran felt a quiet rumbling coming from the wall. The rumble resembled the shaking of numerous footsteps, so Kieran immediately performed a quick backstep and brandished his sword while in the room.

A goblin burst through the wall within seconds with a spiked helmet and small mace in hand.

「Lv.24 Goblin Demolisher (Special Elite)

Goblin Type

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

Special Trait: «Rush»」

The newcomer's health wasn't high, but based on its armor and weapon-equipped appearance, Kieran immediately discerned that this particular enemy specialized in offense only. It only served as an obstruction toward the next room.

Once Kieran noticed the information, he stood still.

The Goblin Demolish stomped the floor two seconds later and sped forth like a cannonball fired from a pirate ship. While their movement speed wasn't that fast, the narrow pathway made it difficult and almost impossible to dodge.

'How treacherous. Sealing the fate of a normal party like this?' Kieran thought with a slight chuckle. At the same time, Warrior's Aura began to blaze and flicker from with body with brilliant cerulean embers. However, if one looked closely, one would notice the faintest crimson light flash at the edge of each cerulean ember.

The Goblin Demolisher's only purpose was to destroy all intruders that managed to make it past the Goblin Enforcers. Goblin Demolishers were endowed with remarkably heightened strength to ensure they accomplished this.

However, Kieran was someone with intricate knowledge of these monsters. Before clashing with the Goblin Demolisher, Kieran activated Hardened Skin, followed by Spirit of the Bear King, but the outcome was far from desirable.

«Resisted»

The Goblin Demolisher wasn't immune to the damage; however, it resisted the Dazed effects thanks to its special trait. As long as the Goblin Demolisher was in motion, the chances of abnormal effects succeeding against it reduced by 90%!

While this seemed absurd for such a low-level monster, it wasn't. The critical factor remained in the action word of the trait—the Goblin Demolisher must be in motion!

Kieran's eyes narrowed when the Goblin Demolisher resisted his attack since the details manifested as incorporeal chains that shattered instantly. Only veterans of the game could recognize the visual cues that accompanied resisted attacks. The visual cues imparted important information if one knew what to look for.

'Oh? So, this thing thinks that it's some type of juggernaut?' Kieran inwardly chuckled. This incited his innate competitive side. He, too, rushed forward, activating Charge when a distance of 1 meter separated the two.

Bang!

An explosive noise amplified by the hollow cave walls resounded, followed by each side being momentarily staggered by their attacks. In spite of the stagger, neither side lost any Health. Once the system calculated everything, the damages surprisingly negated each other.

However, Kieran's Vengeful Soul allowed him to recover quicker than the Goblin Demolisher.

After recovering, he unleashed a Savage Break that sent the monster stumbling backward. He then followed up with a terrifying Force Slash that made the cave quake.

Because the Goblin Demolisher's Defense was that of a typical Special Elite. It fell within 15 seconds since Kieran could easily dish out 15,000 damage. Kieran collected the dropped loot before resuming his travel.

The rumbling surfaced a minute later, but Kieran pinpointed the source and lowered his body into a charging stance this time. Once the Goblin Demolisher burst from within the wall, Kieran rushed forward.

〈Alert: Goblin Demolisher has been inflicted with «Fear»!〉

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After the alert, Kieran quickly unloaded his seamless combo of Force Slash, Savage Break, and Heavy Slash after stunning the Fear-afflicted Goblin Demolisher.

What was intended as an unstoppable obstruction only served as a source of experience and quest material for Kieran!