Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

From afar, the crystal seemed ordinary at best. It looked like something many had come across before, whether it be a fire element Mana Shard or a Mana Shard soaked in the blood of a nearby fallen beast. Hence, only a few turned their eyes to it when it was revealed on the stage.

And, because it was the last item of a segment with waning interest, everyone hoped Ameena would immediately switch over to the Highlight Showcase and give up on presenting what she did now.

On the other hand, Kieran enjoyed this development. 'I believe this is what separates the players from the NPCs, or should I say the inhabitants of this place. The more I remain here, the more I feel like it's alive in its own way.'

Unlike the denizens of Xenith, players arrived here with nothing, seeking power at all available opportunities. The game system assisted them in acquiring these opportunities by revealing information that some denizens may not necessarily be privy to.

However, even with his current True Unveiling Eyes, the information that Kieran collected on the shard was basically incomprehensible to him. He knew nothing about the subjects it alluded to briefly.

「Shattered Firmament - A Fallen's Fragment (Unknown)

Item Rank: Incomplete (N/A)

Item Level: Incomplete

Item Usage: When properly refined, it may be used to receive insight into the Fallen's Glory.

Description: The crystallized essence of one who has fallen from above the firmament. Though incomplete in nature, the essence is bound to be helpful in creating something with an Ego, or imparting valuable bits of one who intends to touch the veil at the ceiling. One should not pry into this item without being prepared to face grave circumstances. 」

'A broken fragment? No… it's shattered. Broken implies it can be easily fixed. Shattered, on the other hand… there's no telling how many pieces are out there. Then again… I wonder if this item is related to the mask in my possession. They both refer to these… Fallen?' Kieran thought to himself, curious about the whole matter.

As expected, when the time to auction off this fragment came, a wave of silence swept through the auction area, leaving Ameena to grimace hopelessly.

Many of the items had only gone for their minimum bid, but thanks to the upselling ways of all auction houses, the minimum bid was also higher than the item's estimated worth to ensure no losses would be incurred.

Unlike before, however, Kieran immediately placed the minimum bid on the shard. "10,000 Gold."

If the information he received was correct, then the value of this shard couldn't be determined in Gold. Perhaps the value of this Fallen's Glory mentioned on the item in little to no detail was unfathomable!

"Thank you, Honored Guest. Your presence has been greatly appreciated throughout this entire event," Ameena said, sighing in relief a moment later.

In her eyes, Kieran had moved to bid on an item that barely attracted attention several times. However, he naturally didn't do it to help Ameena, nor was it to help Aeredale.

The items simply held value to him that could be extracted either in the future or very soon.

Because no one challenged him for this item, Ameena decided to give everyone a small break before moving on to the final segment. During this time, however, Kieran turned to Max and began asking some vital questions.

"I know I didn't ask about the specifics before, but care to tell me about the advantages that being an Honorary Member holds?" Kieran asked.

"Ah yes! Of course. I'd be delighted! But it's uh… quite extensive. Is there anything you'd like to know in particular?" Max replied, sheepishly scratching his cheek.

He had committed the entire guide to memory as his father stressed how valuable a single Honorary Member was.

"Well, the small things aren't really of interest to me. What I want to know is how much credit I can borrow from the association and, secondly, if there are any hidden benefits," Kieran asked after considering the rumors he recalled about the association.

According to some hearsay, there was mention of auctions that players simply couldn't get into no matter what. When attempting to enter the association's doors, they'd be turned away after their membership was examined.

"Well, as long as you don't exceed a debt of 10,000,000 Gold, you're free to borrow from the association. Though… if I'm being honest, it's not really worth it. The interest rates are time-based. The longer you take to return all of the borrowed funds, the more disgusting the rate becomes," Max admitted, paling as he recalled the information recorded in the book.

The Merchant Association didn't grow into the monstrosity it was today by being nice. Even an Honorary Member didn't mean much to the association's core, only being treated marginally better than ordinary members.

"When you say it's bad? How bad is it?"

In response, Max gulped, followed by a sigh, before explaining it to Kieran. "It starts at 20% of the credited loan. Even if you don't exhaust the entire thing… the association will only look at the amount you applied for initially. As far as I'm aware, you'd have a month? To pay back everything. If you fail to do so, the interest will double weekly."

"Weekly?" Kieran's eyebrow arched, finding this outside his expectations.

"Yup. That's correct. You did not hear me wrong."

"A bunch of thieves, essentially," Kieran said, laughing hysterically.

In his eyes, the benefit wasn't a benefit at all. It was a honey trap, except there weren't any women involved. The honey was the allure of the "benefit."

"A-ah… you're not wrong there. After reading the manager guide, I shared the same sentiment," Max stammered.

There was more to the reason for this benefit, but Max couldn't disclose that as it was a breach of information. Even if Kieran remained tight-lipped after receiving the report, it was hard to know if all these buildings were being monitored.

"Also, as an Honorary Member, you may be invited to Secret Auctions where the precious discoveries are auctioned off, but no promises on that. You generally need more stars for that. Right now, you have 0, which is mainly because of your current location," Max said, his expression somewhat apologetic.

Due to Aeredale's current condition, it lost its ability to distribute one-star Honor Statuses, which had a value that eclipsed standard Honorary Members.

Naturally, with their higher position, greater opportunities were presented to them.

Additionally, before one could obtain the next-level membership, one had to acquire several stars.

After learning all of this, Kieran was quite interested. 'I wonder… if I continue to attract players here and drive up its popularity, could that return Aeredale's ability to grant stars? Though… that won't be the only effect of increasing its popularity.'

More popularity meant more competition. However, that also meant more business for the Godhand Bazaar. Despite the evident cons, the pros were far too enticing for Kieran to not consider devising a plan.

…

Roughly thirty minutes later…

Ameena returned to the stage and claimed everyone's attention once more. "Unlike the other segment, the Highlight Showcase is where only the best of the best can appear. Because of this, we only have 4 items to present. But I promise that each item is valuable to each and everyone of you."

Following her words, many discussions occurred. Though, as they continued to discuss, Ameena gave the signal for the mahogany curtains to be opened. When the curtains did, various forms of different energies spilled out into the crowd, filling them with awe.

"I'm sure you can sense the energy from here. That's right, there is at least one genuine Legendary Item up here. Although it's just a material, it can serve as the basis for a piece of incredible equipment."

Whereas the others focused on the material, Kieran focused on two other items.

One resembled a scroll that many should have stumbled across before—a Class Change Scroll.

On the other hand, the second one looked odd, but it was something only Kieran would be familiar with at this point. 'There's no doubt about it. That's definitely an entry pass to a Secret Realm! Crap… that's something that'd even interest NPCs.'

Players were only one of many presences that could enter Secret Realms. Otherwise, people like the Seven Myths wouldn't exist. Nor would the Trial of Inheritors exist.

Ignoring the material, which would most likely surpass millions of Gold in price, Kieran decided to focus on and attempt to secure those two items.

"We'll first begin with this strange scroll. Believe it or not, it's a very unique one. Not only is it used to take on a remarkable legacy, but it'll even point you toward a Secret Realm in the end! However… it is very demanding. Here we have the Elementress Job Scroll."

'Elementress? Sounds like a female-specific class. Kind of like the highest power amongst the elves. I wonder…' Kieran inwardly muttered. As he activated his eyes, he received information that coincided with his assumptions. 'So it's true.'

Despite Ameena voicing the stringent requirements of the job change, it didn't deter the bids at all.

There was a strong belief that obtaining a mighty class correlated to acquiring great power in the future. This idea of obtaining power excited many beyond reason because with power came an extensive lifespan.

Many present enjoyed their life, so why wouldn't they exhaust their resources for a chance to lengthen it?

However, this was only true for people with any kind of Mana Affinity. Those who lacked an affinity ignored the item altogether.

"The minimum bid is 100,000 Gold," Ameena announced.

Left with no other choice, Kieran turned to Max and smiled bitterly. "It looks like I'll have to fall victim to that trap for the time being."

"My heart goes out to you, young Lord Aatrox. For this day marks the death of your wallet. Let us pray." Max sighed, shaking his head nonstop.