Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Kieran stared into space, flummoxed by Ezra's whispered revelation.

It was easy to misinterpret what Ezra meant by those words, and that's the route Kieran's mind immediately took. Though Kieran wouldn't say Ezra was competitive by nature, she was result-driven, and he didn't know the origins of her desires, not that he wished to know.

Because of that, he initially assumed that by her chasing after his success or using him as an example, she was met with inspiration profound enough to spur a Class Upgrade. Kieran didn't know if one's Class would change with every Tier Evolution, but so far, that was the general trend everything followed.

However, Kieran then remembered Classes within Xenith didn't work based on that logic.

Classes could only be obtained one of two ways — either someone imparted the Class unto you by way of Quest, a series of preparatory steps, or a ritual of sorts, or the Zenith Frequency reached out to you in the form of a notification, explaining that the criteria to evolve one's Class had been met.

Kieran belatedly recalled a promise between him and Ezra. A commitment to instruct her training session and help make great strides where she had grown stagnant. Naturally, given everything he had on his plate… he neglected that promise quite a bit.

'I owe her so many training sessions by now.'

Her previous Class — the Sword Master, as she mentioned earlier — championed swordsmanship above all else. The lethality of any sword she held in her grasp would be increased tremendously, lending support to a Sword Master's need for nothing but their blade. That also showcased how the Class heavily stressed the importance of mastering the sword.

Though their sessions didn't number too great, Kieran guessed Ezra fathomed many, if not all, of the principles he had shown her in the beginning.

Such were the abilities of an Inhuman with a mind already enhanced by X-hancers. Coupling her capacity to retain pointers with her drive, diligence, and willingness to correct her mistakes, Ezra relentlessly pursued a new peak with her swordsmanship.

In that regard, Kieran could only assume she had honed her blade's sharpness, lethality, and fluidity to the extremes of her former limits. He didn't know how a Maven compared to a Master. Still, considering Rhaenys' title as an Archmaster, it had to be pretty damned good.

Kieran whistled, intrigued to know more.

"If you took my improvised pointers to heart… just how much did you practice?"

"Day and night. It might have been improvised for you, but it was an ingenious step in the right direction for me. I'm satisfied with my progress but not complacent. I can feel that I have so much more room to grow."

Kieran felt similarly.

"I guess Sanguis Requiem is to welcome another powerhouse on the roster. I would call you a Titled Ranker, but there's no telling what will become of the ranking competition. Oh, what kind of Adept are you?"

"Legendary Adept — which I received a title for. It's pretty neat and has a decent number of stats. Wait, you're questioning me, but what about you?! Have you Advanced yet?"

Kieran held in a laugh.

He wondered how she'd react if she learned his new title: Myth of the End. Granted, he had no design of telling her. Altair was another Myth, yet Kieran had no idea what his title was. It wasn't a matter of secrecy so much as Kieran hadn't asked, nor did Altair.

"Not too long ago. That's why I'm available. What level are you now?"

"59. Before you berate me about how that's not very high… recently, there's been a shift in everyone's approach to leveling. Elites are prioritizing honing their skills and abilities as much as they can before increasing their levels. The highest person is only Level 62."

Kieran admitted that he expected higher levels by now but also understood why priorities were slowly switching. With the Advancing came a greater understanding of what held value on the Way of Ascension, even if the Disciplined weren't directly introduced to crucial information.

Aside from monsters becoming increasingly more complex to kill and quests consequentially becoming harder to clear, there was another more troublesome threat — other Disciplineds. Xenith was not exempt from the plague of man— conflict… war. The clash of views, thoughts, actions, and values led to destructive wars.

If their skills weren't up to par, players could very well lose their lives to a denizen Disciplined. There were safety measures in place, but those precautions scaled according to the number of times a player died, and… even then, those "lives" were finite.

Then, Kieran realized something about Ezra's words. She was too certain of what other players were doing. The current "meta," they called it.

"When you say they're honing their skills. How are you confident that's what they're doing?"

"They're either using the Adventurer's Guild and accumulating points there, which is displayed in all branches. Or… they're using the newly opened Arena of Refinement where you can select opponents from a wide array."

Kieran's posture slouched in the chair as he thought about the arena. It could be a valuable tool if utilized properly, but it could also be a source of entertainment, perhaps even the site of a grand tournament.

The idea of a tournament got Kieran thinking about the future competition to determine Rankers, High Rankers, Titled Rankers, and so on.

However, he had digressed long enough.

"We can talk about all of that later. I was really calling you for the more pressing situation — X-hancers. I remember you having a relationship with the Hall Family princess — the giants in the pharmaceutical industry. Do you think—"

"You want me to see if I can set up a meeting?"

Kieran winced at the question, for it was not truly what he wanted.

"...Meeting? I guess it's not off the table, but I thinking of a different approach. For example, having you be my proxy to procure a direct supply of X-hancers from the Hall Family."

"Aatrox… er, do you mind if I simply called you Kieran? Seems more informal and personal, not like we're just business partners. Likewise, you can call me Eve — Evie if you like. Though… my closest friends only really call me that."

Kieran didn't mind, answering with an affirmative grunt. "That works for me, Eve."

She paused, and soon after, Kieran heard a soft cough on her end, and Ezra started talking again:

"So, a few things. I wasn't aware the X-hancer situation was so horrendous. That does need immediate solving. Next, I'm happy you'd trust in me enough to be your proxy, but it's not like you don't know the 'princess' yourself. You could contact her directly or… are you perhaps avoiding Alexandria?"

Kieran deadpanned, but Ezra naturally couldn't see it.

"Right, let me pop up out of the blue with a bold request."

Ezra chuckled weakly.

"Fair point. I'd argue you're just scared, but hey, what do I know? I'll get it all situated on behalf of Sanguis Requiem."

With that, their call soon ended, and Kieran was left to his own thoughts, drumming that armchair with absentminded noise.

Ezra raised a fair point; he did sound scared of the Hall Family, but his caution was not without reason. If they dealt in vast amounts of X-hancers, what was the chance they consumed it themselves? And how long had they been doing so? And, what exactly was Alexandria's relationship with her family? How pampered and protected was she?

There were too many variables for Kieran to approach personally, which he wasn't forced to. The thoughts came, and they passed, too.

While he should be eager to dive back into Zenith Online, for some reason, he was in no rush to return.

Not that he didn't know the reason for his hesitation or perhaps disinterest towards entering his Blackcrim Pod. Kieran was very aware of his emotions, which meant he undoubtedly understood what kept him anchored to this place.

Shifting his glance to the medical area, where the beautiful Lillian stood under a shower of diffused, bright light tending to Dahlia, Kieran marveled at the breathtaking scene.

Those two women — primarily the one of precarious health — kept Kieran from entering his Pod with gusto. He was worried about Bastion's grandmother and wanted peace of mind knowing she was okay. Or, if she wouldn't be, he could at least be by his friend's side every step of the way.

Kieran's mind drifted off to other nameless places as he stared at the ceiling, thinking a singular thought.

He muttered it to himself soon enough.

'Eventually, we'll all need someone to lean.'