Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Following the golden flash from the level up, many of the Darkness Stones scattered throughout the room began to fragment and release a dense mist. 

Though, even if the dense mist produced a dreary atmosphere, a lot of light was restored thanks to the stones being rendered ineffective.

Once the presence of light was restored in the room, everyone's vision was immediately greeted by numerous craters littering the ground, alongside a slew of badly mutilated bodies.

Of course, this was naturally the result of Kieran's destructive skills. As with the earlier corpses, Kieran harvested the skins and bones of the Homunculus to examine them for any value later on.

One might say that this action was odd, but it wasn't. Especially not with the exclusive item that Kieran intended to obtain. To him, if he didn't harvest these homunculi, he'd be leaving a treasure trove of materials to rot within these walls.

"So this is the power of the boss now. Truly worthy of being a Mythic Class," Bastion muttered, taking in the scene of carnage and destruction present before his very eyes. But most of all, his eyes became attracted to the ravishing red ribbon wreathing Kieran's arm.

"That's so pretty!" Sera gasped, covering her mouth to softly touch the ribbon.

Seeing what they wanted to do, Kieran didn't prohibit them from touching the ribbon as it wouldn't dissipate as a result of their actions. Since his grasp of Blood Mania was somewhat adequate, the Tensile Blood Swath he created was of praiseworthy resilience.

However, Kieran understood that if the opponent he faced was sufficiently strong, it was possible that his Tensile Blood Swath would be incapable of withstanding the strain.

Now that the light had returned, Kieran rested his large blade over his shoulder with a lax stance. "Our next enemy will be somewhat strong, so I suggest you prepare yourselves."

"How can you tell?" Sora questioned, turning her gaze toward Kieran. The way he focused on the doorway to the next area made Sora believe that Kieran knew or at least felt something she couldn't perceive.

"I can sense it. At the very least, it's much stronger than these Champion Monsters we've just fought against. I'm merely giving this warning beforehand so you can understand what we're walking into," Kieran answered, slowly removing his gaze from the doorway.

Thanks to the way his True Unveiling Eyes and Eyes of Profound Discerning operated, Kieran could "see" the pressure that resided within the next area. After comparing it to the caliber of enemies present within his mind, Kieran eventually aligned it with a special kind of enemy.

'Hmm… from what I can sense, it's definitely a Boss Monster caliber opponent, but I doubt we're close to the end, so it must be a Mini-Boss,' Kieran thought. 

Though he was familiar with many dungeons as far as theoretical knowledge went, he wasn't familiar with every aspect. For example, this was his first time personally entering Hell Mode for this particular dungeon.

When he ran this dungeon in the past, the furthest he went was Insane due to the demands on Attack Power this dungeon required. If he wasn't as destructive as he was now, clearing the two rooms they'd entered thus far would have taken them hours!

Fortunately, thanks to his current situation, roughly thirty minutes had elapsed from the start of the dungeon to now.

"How much caution is advised?" Khaos questioned, looking to gain a general understanding of the situation at hand.

"As far as caution goes, as long as no one oversteps and we have time to scope out our opponent, I don't see why we'll face any casualties. However, just to be sure, we'll let Bastion handle the tanking while Nemean provides secondary assistance to you all," Kieran replied.

"Understood. I agree with that course of action," Khaos said with a nod.

Due to the skills Bastion exhibited against the Modified Homunculus, Khaos's faith in Bastion's tanking abilities was pretty solid. So solid, in fact, he cursed that Bastion wasn't a part of his team. If they had such a tank, clearing hard content would no longer pose such a terrifying issue.

However, when it came to tanking, another prospect Khaos heard about these days was naturally Daedric, who was said to have successfully cleared several Lv.30 to Lv.49 Team Dungeons without fail.

While he had yet to attempt Hell Mode due to the fact those dungeons failed to break the required Lv.50 and above Recommended Level threshold, Daedric's perfect Insane Dungeon clearance record generated a ridiculous amount of buzz.

In Khaos' mind, he naturally began comparing Bastion and Daedric's ability level. 

'From what I saw on the stream, Aatrox's tank has better mechanical skill, knowing the importance of timing. On the other hand, Daedric, who's simply a logic-defying fortress, does not rely upon these things.'

Following the small discussion of how they'd move forward, Kieran had everyone consume an Intermediate Mana Potion to top off their Mana Pools. Only once everyone confirmed that their Mana was in optimal condition did Kieran take the lead, though he had Bastion beside him as he walked.

As they progressed within the dungeon, the dreary atmosphere gradually adopted an unusual presence that was likely to induce unsettled emotions in many. 

Then again, the dungeon's name as the Mad Alchemist's Hidden Laboratory wasn't without good reason. It was truly a hidden laboratory belonging to a mad scientist, who gradually grew mad as a result of their experiments.

The emotions of the scientist were gradually transferred to the creations, which now ran amok inside the dungeon.

As they entered the next section, everyone behind Kieran and Bastion came to an immediate halt. Several large vats of liquid bubbled over in many corners of the room, creating a unique stench.

〈System: You are being affected by «Madness Mist».〉

〈System: Due to your high Willpower, the effects of «Madness Mist» have been minimized.〉

〈System: Due to the effect of your «Vengeful Soul», the effects of «Madness Mist» have been neutralized.〉

While the others clutched their heads and struggled to dispel the effect of Madness Mist, two people besides Kieran were relatively unaffected. The first one was Bastion, who needless to say, possessed the second strongest Will in the party.

The effects of Galvan's tailored training were truly remarkable. In terms of sheer Will Volume, Bastion was actually slightly superior to Kieran. However, that was only because his entire class relied upon the Hidden Attribute.

Aside from Bastion, the other member unaffected was Khaos. Surprisingly, his outward calm temperament was not a facade. Instead, it was obtained after training his body and mind as one for many years. This naturally gave birth to a steadfast bearing that rarely slipped up.

Even during the downfall of Advent, Khaos never once lost his composure, allowing those that wished to leave to do so peacefully. 

These rumors became one of the reasons why Kieran decided to absolve himself of all possible involvement so he could reap the best benefits.

  "Ah… to think a normal dungeon would have an environment that could interfere with our status. I wouldn't have expected such a thing this early on. If it were simple burn or freeze damage, that'd be manageable. But this? This already delves into a completely different issue," Khaos muttered, examining the effects of Madness Mist on the others.

"Bastion," Kieran called out.

"I'm on it." Bastion nodded, immediately turning around to look at the party that struggled to cope with the mist's effects. Then, the Will Armament shield attached to his forearm emitted a fiery blue blaze.

"Ancient Will: Indomitable Purity!"

Bastion suddenly braced the shield and allowed it to release a pulse of extremely pure will. 

This skill was costly in terms of his Will consumption, however, it was invaluable when it came to dealing with abnormal mental states. After all, it was designed to purify things by using Bastion's Indomitable Will as a source.

The fiery blue blaze didn't damage Alice and the others, but it did burn away blackish-red tints of disturbing energy. Naturally, those tendrils were the energy from the Madness Mist that managed to successfully latch onto their minds.

After a few seconds, everyone began to release sighs of relief, as well as deep gasps.

'As I suspected, the Ancient Defender Class isn't just responsible for withstanding damage. It's defense in the truest essence, designed to protect the purity and longevity of what they're assigned to. That's the feeling I got from that ancient individual that proctored Bastion's Class Change,' Kieran thought.

If there was one thing Kieran lacked, it was a dispelling ability. While he possessed an innate ability to dispel constituted by his Willpower and Soul Trait, he couldn't help his subordinate if they were ever in trouble.

Fortunately, this was an issue that he could confidently pass on to Bastion. 

"Is everyone okay? Also, long-lasting effects that we should know right about now?" Khaos questioned, panning his gaze over the party. He wasn't sure if the Madness Mist was a type of obstacle meant to have short-term or long-term effects.

Thus, Khaos felt it was best to be cautious.

"I believe we're fine, Guild Master," Sora voiced.

However, Kieran lifted his head and watched as the dense dark energy swirled above one vat of vile liquid in particular.

The very next moment, several tremors filled the room as Kieran narrowed his gaze, discerning many cracks on the giant vat of unknown liquid.

"Prepare. Get into formation," Kieran called out.

Everyone responded promptly with Bastion walking up beside Kieran. "What are we up against here?"

"You're about to see right now," Kieran commented.

A second later, the vat shattered, revealing an unusual enemy. Unlike before, this enemy did not resemble a human in the slightest. On the contrary, this enemy more resembled an amalgam of beastly creatures.

"A chimera?" Alice voiced, feeling a familiar presence from this monster. As she had made it her business to familiarize herself with knowledge in the library after speaking with Kieran, she had learned a few interesting things.

"That decrepit piece of shit is a chimera? It looks like a large lion in naked molerat skin that just so happens to have AIDS," Nemean snickered.

Unfortunately, Kieran couldn't comment on it because he felt something truly unusual until it was verified.

〈System: A hidden feature of Hell Mode has been triggered. You have come across a «Hellion Mutation»〉

"Kekeke!" A burst of sinister laughter escaped from this strange chimera's throat as it landed on the ground with a light tap.