Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player
Chapter 94: First Floor's Difficulty

With Nemean and Bastion leading the team's defensive front, the remaining party members were free to inflict damage at the most reasonable times. Because of the risk present with each long-range attack, Alice prioritized accuracy over mindlessly launching spells.

If she wasn't careful, there was a chance that she'd hit Nemean or Bastion and significantly reduce the party's ability to defend. While it was a genuinely limiting circumstance, Kieran would rather it be present than absent. If this notion of friendly fire wasn't present, it would remove a large percentage of the realism added to each fight.

Meanwhile, because Kieran understood how to navigate a battle in a way that wouldn't inhibit his party member's actions, he didn't stay in one position for too long, nor did he allow the Mindless Bombarder to shift its aggro away from Bastion or Nemean.

Still, both Nemean and Bastion's Health turned into exaggerated rollercoasters with incredible peaks and valleys. They couldn't understand how one monster could deal such excessive damage despite their increased Defense fortified by their more robust Constitutions.

"Every hit is like being on the receiving end of sledgehammer strikes while using an aluminum pan to defend," Bastion said while wincing from the impact of the Mindless Bombarder's punches.

"That… sounds about right. If not for our shield being as sturdy as they are, I'm sure they would have broken or at least have lost a tremendous amount of durability," Nemean remarked while switching positions with Bastion.

Although both their Health and Defense were remarkably high, they couldn't withstand the Mindless Bombarder's endless stream of heavy attacks. The residual soreness that didn't naturally occur in most game environments accumulated quickly.

Because of this, some adverse effects began to appear, such as increased Stamina consumption and weakened Health and Stamina regeneration rates.

Upon noticing their ailments that not even the heals from Sera, Sithik or Cygnus could correct, Kieran rushed forth at a speed that made him appear as a crimson blur. Kieran knew all too well that there were some monsters specially tuned to deal with tanks and their defensive skills. When going against those monsters, one needed an equally strong offense or superior Defense.

As Kieran dashed forward with the Scarlet Steel Greatsword in hand, his Health decreased by a noticeable amount as the bloody layer coating the blade seethed. Just as the Mindless Bombarder's fist was about to make contact with Bastion's shield, a powerful Crimson Current swept down from overhead due to the angle Kieran launched the attack.

This immediately caused the Mindless Bombarder to shift its attention away from Bastion as it sensed impending danger. While the monster only seemed capable of thoughtless battering before this action, it seemed it wasn't as simpleminded as Kieran assumed.

Regardless of its ability to defend or sense danger, Kieran's attacks weren't exactly the type that could be guarded against, especially when the opponent was a fleshly monster like this overgrown ogre.

Numerous cuts appeared on the Mindless Bombarder's fist as it roared in pain. Its eyes flashed with anger as it bared its gruesome teeth with putrid fluids spewing from its mouth. Many of Kieran's party members winced in disgust.

"Jesus Christ! Brush your damned teeth. Ever heard of toothpaste? That breath is foul!" Altair exclaimed while wretching inside the ash-grey scarf covering half of his face.

"Uh, sir, you know this is a monster, right? Please explain how it would have access to something like toothpaste?" Nemean remarked while giving Altair a side glance. Instead of returning an answer, Altair could only chuckle wryly.

On the other hand, Kieran didn't pay their conversation any mind. He was focused solely on the enemy before him. After the Crimson Current made contact and Kieran landed in front of Bastion, he followed up with a Fury Rush.

Because of the small window between the two attacks, the overlapped damage values appeared almost simultaneously.

Despite the monster's abundant Health, nearly 15% of it was robbed by Kieran's two attacks. Unlike before, however, Kieran didn't pause his attack after these two skills. The blood coating surrounding the Scarlet Steel Greatsword thinned out and sharpened simultaneously, creating a sight to behold. It was as if the sword had morphed into a different weapon entirely.

Sadly, this wasn't a form that could be maintained. Instead, it was the prelude to one of the True Berserker's most basic attack skills. While Scar trained tirelessly to master the foundation for this skill, Kieran performed it naturally because he had access to a player's subtle learning curve.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

Kieran slashed his sword without pausing or having a lapse in his attack's flow. In an instant, six overlapping scars appeared on the Mindless Bombarder's fist. Because of the depth of each cut, once Kieran slashed his weapon a seventh time, the monster's fingers fell to the ground as the others stared at Kieran with an incredulous expression and their mouth agape.

"We can do that?! We can chop monsters' fingers off?" Sithik muttered in exasperation.

"Why not? If I'm not mistaken, isn't there a Harvester trade skill? Harvesting includes skinning, deboning, and dissecting live things? If that's in the game, then why wouldn't we be able to mutilate fleshly monsters?" Alice answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

Altair, Bastion, Nemean, and Sithik turned toward her while silently blinking. Neither of them understood how she could indifferently utter the word mutilation with absolutely no reaction.

"Yo, do you think we have a serial killer in our midst? That's not normal… she's not normal," Nemean whispered in a voice that only those nearby could hear.

"Serial killer? Eh… Alice is a little weird and detached, but I wouldn't go as far to say that she's a serial killer…" Bastion said. However, as he said that, he glanced back at Alice, who gave him a blank look while angling her head to the side. The partially blank stare made Bastion revisit Nemean's comment. "You know, maybe a serial killer. Not too sure anymore."

"I concur," Altair whispered as well.

Finally, Kieran could no longer take their small talk and glared at them. "Are we here to fool around or gain experience and better items? Focus on defeating the enemy. I've already dealt with its dominant side. Watch for compensation in its movements."

"Understood," Altair exclaimed. He instantly dismissed the playfulness and adopted a cold and focused expression, one befitting of a person who chose the character path of an Assassin.

As Altair moved, a few black trails followed him that blended into a smoky darkness. Once they appeared, Altair's presence first vanished, followed by his visibility. His seeping into the darkness was part of his class's unique skill, Shadow Strafe compounded with Vanish. When used in unison, it achieved effects similar to Stealth.

The only drawback was that it wasn't as powerful as Stealth in terms of concealment. If used on an enemy with extremely sensitive perception, they would still be able to sense his incoming attack.

However, it was more than enough against a monster such as the Mindless Bombarder that didn't specialize in sensory abilities. While Nemean and Bastion reclaimed their positions as the main line of Defense, several thread-like cuts appeared on the back of the oversized ogre's arms.

'It's skin is so tough. How can Kieran cut it so cleanly despite his weapon being on the verge of shattering? In contrast, my daggers are well taken care of. I guess this is the difference between flimsy daggers and mighty greatswords. A comparison no man should ever have to make, heh,' Altair noted to himself.

While he dealt supplemental damage, Luna stepped forth after quietly observing the party's charisma. Although it wasn't the best she had witnessed and was greatly lacking in comparison to established guilds, to her, everyone possessed malleable personalities that surrounded an anchor.

'If he doesn't remain so closed off, he has the abilities to meld these guys into experts at the very least. None of them, aside from these two healers, lack an expert gamer's foundational skills,' Luna thought.

From what she saw, Kieran usually tried to solve the issues alone. He didn't necessarily have the other persist through the difficulty. While Luna understood that he might be impatient to get the job done, it could be hurtful in the long run if everyone became used to him amending any hardship they faced.

'That could become parasitic rather than a mutual relationship,' Luna thought. Because of the lessons deeply ingrained in her, Luna didn't assist her teammates at the slightest inconvenience. It took grave danger for her to substitute member roles in her party.

Finally, after giving a mental evaluation of her temporary teammates, Luna exhaled and sprung into action beside Kieran, who seemed to resort to purely physical attacks for the time being.

Although the Mindless Bombarder was meant to be a sizeable obstacle for any party brave enough to tackle this Secret Dungeon, once the team found their rhythm, its Health was mowed down rather quickly, with Luna delivering the final blow.

〈System: You have gained 54,985 Experience.〉

"Pheww," Bastion whistled. "That's some fine experience. Fighting stronger monsters, while difficult, really is worth it. At this rate, we'll level up soon."

Unfortunately, Kieran wasn't in the same situation. His experience requirement wasn't as lenient as the rest. Because his class's potential was so high, the system gave a befitting limitation—the tripled experience requirement mentioned before.

Nevertheless, Kieran wasn't concerned with the matters of his experience. Instead, he was more interested in the movements Luna showcased. Compared to the ones she used against the ogre outside of the Forest of Marshullum, the ones employed now was a notch above.

"Were you formally trained in combat arts? Why do you move like a trained practitioner?" Kieran asked. In terms of flexibility and fluidity of her attacks, she was on par with Altair.

"Yes and no," Luna replied. Both her expression and answer were unusual. How could the answer to a question simultaneously be yes and no?"

The corner of Kieran's lip lifted while his eyebrows furrowed. "Explain?"

"It's like I said. My fighting style is inspired by world-class fighters and trainers who haven't formally train me. I watched and practiced by myself. Hence, why I said yes and no."

"Odd," Kieran muttered. Usually, fighters of that caliber wouldn't allow people to spy on their training routes. In fact, they would only train in private and secluded areas to reduce the risk of exposing combinations meant to be hidden cards.

Despite how odd the situation sounded to Kieran he didn't press the matter. Instead, the team proceeded forward after divvying up the loot from the Mindless Bombarder.

Approximately 10 minutes later, a notification appeared before everyone.

〈System: The «Underground Labyrinth's» first floor set to Normal Difficulty has been cleared.〉

〈System: A path to the second floor has appeared. All monsters will be modified to fit the standard of a Difficult dungeon.〉