Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

—

This change wasn't the activation of any skill or related to a slumbering power. It was simply the awakening of a True Berserker's demeanor, excitement aroused by their opponent's strength.

Recently, Kieran felt his opponents didn't stimulate him enough. Aside from the battle against the Colossal Mother Worm, there wasn't much excitement. Most of his opponents would fall beneath his skills within one or two minutes.

This wasn't long enough to have an exciting battle in Kieran's eyes. But, Vidal received some of his strongest skills and remained standing, even retaliating in the process.

This kind of opponent awakened something deep inside Kieran.

"You will do." At the end of his deep exhale, Kieran opened his eyes which flashed with an otherworldly red gleam. "You said this was your domain, yes? Well, allow me to show you mine."

A pool of blood formed on the floor as numerous blood chains sprouted from within, all snaking and aiming at Vidal.

Vidal twirled his spear around his body, knocking the chains aside before they could latch onto his body, but Kieran closed his hand with a smirk.

"Burst," Kieran spoke lightly. The chains erupted into sharp, blood fragments that pierced in all directions, similar to when his Sacrificial Barrier shattered.

But, when they traveled toward Kieran, he lifted his hand.

"Blood Wave!"

Swoosh!

A massive Blood Wave engulfed the corridor with a sinister energy that cracked with several popping noises. The Minor Blood Explosions landed upon every enemy within the range of the attack, creating a resounding symphony of pained wails.

Vidal conjured a large sand cleaver, and it descended through the air, intending to destroy the Blood Wave, but Kieran's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly.

"Not happening." Kieran's tone was confident and carried the confidence of an undefeated battle god.

"Crimson Current!"

The surge of blood energy overtook the sand cleaver and seemingly impacted Vidal's body. However, Kieran noticed a thin barrier of sand separating the Crimson Current and Vidal's body.

"I've told you before. It is all pointless! I don't know what trick you played before, but you won't make it past my defenses," Vidal said. He felt the minor damage he suffered earlier was a fluke.

"Oh really now?" Kieran grinned. After listening to Vidal, Kieran felt naturally inclined to prove him otherwise. He thought his defenses were impenetrable? Sorely mistaken.

Vidal prided himself in his ability to make stable constructs by manipulating Mana. However, this pride was misplaced because, while fundamental to this world, Mana wasn't impervious. Mana could only be as strong as the vehicle it is supplied to.

The true reason many lauded Mana as the supreme energy source was due to its unmatched versatility and varying purity states. If appropriately converted, the applications of Mana were virtually endless in terms of physical limitations.

Bzzt! Crrrck!

The crimson wisps surrounding Kieran's body merged and crackled like lightning, but not quite. A second later, the crackles grew into a storm as Kieran stood still like the eerie calm before an ungodly event.

Swoosh!

A condensed sand spiral formed before Vidal's spearhead. He drew it back and unleashed an attack that seemed to pull everything toward its center with its rapid revolutions.

However, Kieran decided he would no longer be hit or suffer from Vidal's counterattacks. "I am done playing this game with you. I will show you superiority."

Tap!

Kieran lightly jumped, but his body shuddered abnormally and seemingly disappeared. If one looked closely, one would notice the crimson Mana rippled just before this action and combusted.

Kieran appeared right beside Vidal and slashed his sword down.

"Wild Crash!"

Vidal's eyes widened as he felt a ferocious attack displace his body, forcing it to the ground against his will.

-190,381

〈Battle Alert: «The Quelling Sand, Vidal»'s Defense has been reduced by 50%.〉

Kieran was unsure if Wild Crash's effect would trigger, but he made a gamble since Vidal was listed as Prey. An increase in Kieran's Critical Chance against Prey wasn't the only thing that happened; percentage-based effects were more likely to be triggered.

After incorporating Burst Step to launch a successful attack, Kieran didn't stop there. He unleashed all remaining charges of Blood Wave at once, forming a gigantic hexagon-shaped scar on the floor.

In the center of that scar was Vidal's tattered state with numerous lacerations on his clothes and skin. Every one of Kieran's attacks amassed a substantial amount of Bleed stacks.

When the other brigands tried to approach, Kieran claimed their lives or kept them at bay with Crimson Barrage.

'We haven't been fighting for that long. But, it's only a matter of time until that man arrives. Or maybe not. There's no telling how much confidence he has in his underlings.'

Argh!

A frustrated roar sounded from within the rubble, but Kieran raised his sword above his head indifferently. His hair fluttered while a bloody wind surfaced inside the corridor. The winds gained momentum and merged into three large tempests once they peaked.

"Let's see if you can defend against this."

The Sanguinem Tempest merged into one dreadful tempest of untold power, but as they joined, Kieran felt them spiraling out of his control quickly, unlike last time.

'What's the reason behind this?'

Kieran was curious, but he couldn't quite explore the answer at this very moment. His arm descended and, with it, followed the merged Sanguinem Tempest.

Boom!

The surroundings plunged into rampant chaos as bloody gusts lacerated the corridor. But amidst this chaos, Kieran's ear heard the pleasant sound of resounding cracks, similar to thin ice shattering after bearing too much weight.

Crrrrck… Crrrrck! Crrrrck!!

"Damn you! What is this damned power?!" Vidal roared as he felt the sand barrier shattering. He was losing his protection!

BOOM!

-2,699,550! [Critical Hit!]

Vidal's defenses gave way, ultimately leading to Kieran's attack unleashing devastating damage. Even without an Execution or Vital Critical, Kieran's integrated Sanguine Tempest dealt tremendous damage.

The reason for it? Vidal's reduced Defense and the natural 50% Critical Chance attached to this skill. Not to mention, Kieran's current Attack Power with all of his modifiers attached surpassed 11,000.

Moreover, Kieran's Sanguine Tempest truly became a frightening skill to behold because of the damage increase from the Prey System and the chance to increase blood attack damage by 50%.

The corridor grew quiet as the Desertborn brigand weakly crawling on the ground paled. Had a monster walked into their home? Could anyone stop him?

This question filled all of their minds as muffled sputters sounded from within the crater formed by Kieran's attack.

Kieran's brow arched in surprise when he witnessed Vidal stand up in the crater. His right arm hung limply while most of his ribcage had been blown away.

In fact, Vidal's remaining Health amount to less than 1%. Kieran had to commend his tenacity to stand up in this state.

"You…" Vidal struggled to speak as warm blood flowed down his face. He stabbed the spear into the ground to support himself. "You… will not win. I have… to avenge Deserea."

"Unfortunately, this fight is already over. You relied too much upon your given talents. Never have extreme faith in anything. That oversight will be your undoing. Now…"

Kieran stood before Vidal calmly and continued to speak. "I'll fulfill my promise. You'll exit this world in the same fashion as your departed lover. May your soul rejoice in reunion."

Whoosh!

Kieran brought his sword down against the defenseless Vidal, who stood on pure grit alone.

A resounding sound, disturbing to most people, sounded in the hall. A look of disbelief filled Vidal's expression as Kieran's blade passed through his body, cleaving him in half.

〈System: You have gained 1,879,488 Experience.〉

〈System: Congratulations, you have leveled up! [Lv.39→Lv.40]〉

〈System: You have received 12 Unassigned Attribute Points and 8 Skill Points.〉

Kieran exhaled and closed his eyes.

A wave of exhaustion assaulted him after battling against Vidal. Kieran assumed it had something to do with his repeated usage of Burst Stepping, which was the only way to surpass Vidal's casting speed.

However, Kieran was thankful the exhaustion didn't hold a candle to the one felt after activating his Aspect. Kieran looked around at the carnage before him without relishing that he leveled up.

Lv.40 was one of the milestones Kieran sought, but he didn't understand it. Why was there no fulfillment? His anger hadn't subsided one bit.

On the contrary, he felt more agitated. 'There's so much anger inside me that using these guys as an outlet doesn't make a single dent.'

Ever since he was a child, Kieran had bottled up his anger. Anger that his life wasn't like others. Anger that he didn't have his parents like so many other children. He hated his circumstances but honestly didn't know who to blame.

Who could a young ten-year-old child turn to? As far as Kieran knew, both his parents were only children. There were no aunts or uncles to rely upon hence why he grew up in an orphanage.

Kieran looked down at Vidal's body but felt no remorse or sorrow. All he felt was a question—what am I? His reaction was far from ordinary.

An average person should feel guilt while watching their victim wallow in despair, but Kieran only felt a widening void. Not a shred of guilt plagued him.

After the fact, Kieran wiped his face of the ruby blood while exhaling. 'I don't know what I am, but I can't change it. But, I also have no desire to. Without this rage that burns in the depths of my soul, I won't realize my aspirations.'