Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

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Kieran immediately pulled up the title's information out of curiosity, and what he saw made his eyes sparkle with amazement. The two titles simply weren't worth comparing! The effects were like night and day because the former title was rendered useless against Champion monsters and surely wouldn't help against any boss.

「 Title Name: Goblin Slayer

Title Rank: Rare

Description: A slayer of goblins who has proven their mettle by slaying an alarming number of this kind. As a result, the mere presence of a Goblin Slayer evokes fear in this race.

Effects: Increase all damage dealt to Goblin-type monsters by 50%. The holder of this title gains the limited Passive—«Goblin Slayer's Presence».

«Goblin Slayer's Presence»- A strong presence of slaughter that both deters and weakens goblins. Based on the goblin's ranking, the weakening will range from 10 to 20%. All goblins beneath the Champion rank within a 25-meter radius will be inflicted by «Fear» every 60 seconds.

Requirement: Slay at least 2 Champion goblins while in possession of Goblin Hunter III.

Note: This title is incapable of further evolution.」

"Just the damage increase alone is insane. Even if it's a Rare Boss, this title will at least allow me to contend against the monster comfortably," Kieran muttered with eyes teeming with excitement. The title had essentially evolved into a perfect weapon as far as combatting goblins went.

Not only did it increase Kieran's damage output, but it also debuffed all goblins within a certain radius depending on their rank. Additionally, the title's fear-inducing effect ballooned to 100% for any goblin beneath the Champion level.

Even with a Champion monster's abnormal status resistance, the title would still remain somewhat effective since the aura Kieran released was on par, if not slightly stronger, than the earlier goblin Champions.

Setting aside the title's usefulness, Kieran's eyes grew bright when he looked at the three pieces of loot the Champion monsters dropped. Each dropped item pertained directly to the monster's purpose in the previous fight.

The first item Kieran approached was a rugged Skill Book with evident signs of wear and tear. However, its appearance didn't detract from Kieran's interest. In Zenith Online, two types of Skill Books should never be discarded: ones with the most exquisite exterior and ones with an archaic presence that seemed hard to grasp.

Both Skill Books presented opportunities that certain players could only aspire to come across.

As Kieran touched the Skill book, a summary appeared before him.

〈System: You have picked up the Skill Book «Tempest Strikes»!〉

'Tempest Strikes?' Kieran grinned to himself. This was undoubtedly the attack that Kwozma used during its somewhat berserk state. Its power was undeniably destructive, which made the notion of learning this skill alluring. From what Kieran understood, any character capable of wielding a blade-type weapon met the criteria to learn this skill.

After all, Kwozma didn't wield any special weapon; it was a simple sword. While Kieran wished that a sword would have dropped to increase his gains, he was satisfied with this Skill Book that would serve to expand his skill repertoire.

〈System: You have learned the C Rank Skill «Tempest Strikes»!〉

"C-Rank?!" Kieran's eyes widened in shock. The ranking surprised him because he felt the skill should be on par with Savage Break at the most. But, after considering the fact that it possessed an extensive AoE range, Kieran soon realized why its classification was higher than the Defense-shredding Savage Break.

'I guess Savage Break's comparatively low damage initial was a barrier that prevented it from shining as a C-Rank skill,' Kieran noted before casually pulling up the information regarding Tempest Strikes.

「 Tempest Strikes (Lv.1)

Skill Rank: C

Skill Type: Active (AoE)

Mastery (00.00%)

Description: Harnesses the Strength present in the user's body to create terrifying tempests capable of dealing 605% of the user's Attack Power. Each tempest will last for 2 additional seconds, dealing damage equal to 10% of the skill's primary damage every 0.4 seconds. Depending on the user's prerequisite Strength, additional tempests can be created up to a maximum of five. (Current Tempests: 2)

Consumption: 50 Mana

Prerequisites: 125 Strength, Blade-type Weapon

Cooldown: 180 seconds

Note: The additional Strength requirements will decrease slightly with each skill level increase. 」

Ignoring the absurd cooldown time of 3 minutes, Kieran was appalled by how costly the skill was—50 Mana Points! This was a skill that would deplete his Mana Pool after a few usages if used in conjunction with Warrior's Aura!

Nevertheless, its costs accompanied a genuinely destructive power even in its base form. If not for the large rocks helping to obstruct the residual lacerations, Kieran would have undoubtedly perished at the hands of this attack.

Although the range of the skill wasn't mentioned in the description, Kieran assumed it was grander than Force Slash, given that it was two ranks higher. Once he settled his effervescent emotions, Kieran then shifted his attention to the next most important item.

It was a dark silver bracelet with white etchings similar to the markings found in Jol's earlier ritual circle. Despite Kieran having a difficult time distinguishing their origin, Kieran assumed it was somehow related to runes that littered Xenith's everyday infrastructure.

「 Shaman's Bracelet of Ordinance (Rare)

Accessory Piece: Bracelet

Item Level: 60

Magic Defense +290

Mana +100

Attributes: Intelligence +45, Perception +40, Control +30

Effect: Can steal the Mana of magic-type opponents. (1 point every 5 seconds.)

Item Ability «Protective Ordinance» - Summons a barrier that successfully deflects one attack. After its usage, this ability can't be used again for the next 300 seconds.

Description: A well-made bracelet imbued with protective runes that seem moderately faded. Its original effects have been lost, leaving a slightly weaker variation. 」

As a Warrior, Kieran's most glaring flaw was his feeble Mana Pool. It would prove detrimental if he couldn't unleash his larger skills in the future because of insufficient Mana. However, Kieran also couldn't sacrifice Attack Power and Defense to increase his Intelligence this early on. It'd ruin his synergy in the long run once he needed to tackle more complex content, especially ones tailored to the classes present in the party.

In the end, Kieran felt it was easier to acquire gear capable of increasing one's Mana limits as long as one knew where to look. Besides, every attribute could be trained uniquely once the proper criteria were met.

In regards to those unique methods, Kieran would need an Intermediate Class at the very least. Therefore, this bracelet was a saving grace!

Because of it, Kieran's capabilities increased immensely. While Magic Defense wasn't present on the user interface at the moment, Kieran couldn't ignore the practicality of having almost 300 Magic Defense, especially concerning player vs. player strife that involved Mages or other improved magical classes.

「Name: Aatrox

Lv.20 (Experience: 80,000/80,000)

Class: Warrior

Title(s): None

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[«Stats»]-

Health: 660/660 (0.2 HP regen/sec)

Mana: 455/455 (0.15 MP regen/sec)

Stamina: 267 (0.25 Stamina regen/sec)

Attack Power: 505

Defense: 214

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[«Attributes»]-

»Strength: 165 (72 + 93 + 0)

»Intelligence: 65 (20 + 45 + 0)

»Agility: 91 (47 + 44 + 0)

»Endurance: 74 (20 + 54 + 0)

»Control: 92 (30 + 62 + 0)

»Vitality: 70 (30 + 40 + 0)

»Perception: 90 (50 + 40 + 0)

[Unassigned Stat Point: 0]

[Skill Points: 0] 」

'Rare Accessories really are superior to Rare Armor, but that's to be expected as the drop rates are arguably one of the worst things in this game. Absolutely abysmal,' Kieran shuddered.

The last item was a shield that Kieran didn't even look at before tossing it in his inventory. He could tell at a glance that it was a shield of exceptional quality. No matter the Item Level, Kieran already had a recipient in mind, provided that they had the means to purchase it.

'I've yet to come across a tank as talented as Bastion, so I might as well cultivate a relationship with him while coming to understand why such a person didn't stand at the pinnacle of Zenith Online in the past,' Kieran noted.

Once he picked up all the items strewn across the platform, two notifications appeared before Kieran.

〈System: You have collected 500 Elite Blood Essence!〉

〈System: You have collected 3 Champion Blood Essence!〉

However, it was unknown if a hidden timer had elapsed or perhaps Kieran crossed some threshold while collecting his loot, but the enormous door with the black skull atop seemed to come alive as a grey skull with glowing white eyes appeared on the door and emitted a horrifying roar.

A moment later, the door was blown off the cavernous wall by a goblin whose size could only be described as monstrous! It was undoubtedly on par with regular ogres, if not slightly larger. Its hideous green muscles rippled with power as it stepped forward from within the darkness with eyes that screamed murder.

Although its eyes were predominantly green, Kieran could tell something was wrong with this monster because its eyes gradually filled with a ruby color only present when a boss went berserk! But, what type of boss could go berserk upon appearance?

Kieran could only remain vigilant as the gigantic boss lifted its finger and pointed at him.

"Are you the reason for the death of my subordinates?"

Unlike Jol, Kwozma, and Ezgal, this goblin spoke clearly and in a deep and unsettling voice.

Naturally, Kieran wouldn't cower before a boss, so he looked it straight in the eyes and nodded. "It is naturally so."

Whoosh!

Before Kieran even made a move, the goblin figure moved at a speed that caused it to vanish to the naked eye. An enormous serrated chain blade cleaved towards Kieran, growing exponentially larger in his view.

Even with his increased Perception and Control, Kieran barely managed to track the blade's path. According to his estimation, this boss should be at least twice as fast!

Bang! Bang!

One slash caused Kieran to be knocked away and land heavily against one of the rocks. Fortunately, he didn't suffer any damage because of the Protective Ordinance ability. Still, with its long cooldown, Kieran wasn't exactly in the best of positions.

Furthermore, although the barrier blocked the damage, Kieran's body felt the remnants of pain due to the impact. This violent impact made Kieran groggy, but his pupils rattled upon gleaning the boss's information once he recovered.