Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player-Novel

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Naturally, Grifear didn't appreciate having almost half of its Health shaved off within a matter of seconds, much less while being unable to retaliate.

Furthermore, nearly 50% of that damage came from one individual! Grifear's fury knew no ends, and it wished nothing more than to rip Kieran apart limb from limb.

p Surprisingly, this expression seemed to awaken a battle thirst slumbering deep within Kieran because he smiled and walked forward with a taunting expression. His deep black ear-length hair swayed as he undid the cosmetic effect of his armor's helmet.

Because of this action, many of the individuals watching the stream caught a glimpse of his handsome appearance. At first, many individuals thought he kept the helmet on to hide his sub-par looks, but it seemed that wasn't the case. Most of all, Kieran wanted to thwart anyone from finding him in the real world, but he now realized that it wasn't as troublesome as he thought it to be.

For one, he wasn't known. He was the poster child for the word "loner".

Even those who attended the same school and lived in the same orphanage when younger would overlook him if he didn't utter a peep. Not only was Kieran unusually silent in those atmospheres, but there was some abnormal facet to the way he kept his presence hidden from detection.

Perhaps it was a side-effect of his hyper-cognition disorder, or perhaps it originated from his tragic childhood. Either way, it was difficult for Kieran to allow anyone to come close. In the past, Kieran's only solace was this game that allowed him to channel his repressed emotions through combat, which was why he appeared extroverted inside the game.

Sadly, that wasn't an image that would have been attached to Kieran of the past.

'This game is truly the best outlet. It's like I can let loose and just unleash everything that's been bottled up,' Kieran thought before revealing a satisfied smile. It had truly set in that he returned to his glorious battlefield—Zenith Online!

Whoosh! Bang!

Grifear charged forth haphazardly, pounding the ground with its immense weight before slamming its paws down on Kieran at the same time. A heavy wind accompanied this attack as Kieran double-handedly slashed his sword up.

Boom!

The ground around Kieran's feet fractured while his feet formed a deep indent. At the same time, approximately one-fourth of Kieran's Health vanished. As that happened, Sithik sacrificed a considerable amount of Mana to conjure a Mending Aura around Kieran.

Both Altair and Kieran's heavy skills were on cooldown. Plus, Aspaira needed time to continuously change her angle and attack a blind spot on Grifear's body. Thus, it turned into a physical showdown between Kieran and the boss!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Grifear continued to unleash a string of heavy attacks that further fractured the ground. To help alleviate the pressure Kieran felt, Sithik and Cygnus continued to launch Healing Lights.

Meanwhile, Kieran lifted his head with a savage gleam in his eyes. "Come on now, you big piece of shit. Is this all you can muster? All fat, no pressure!"

Kieran then released a battle cry as his eyes gradually bled a crimson glow. This wasn't the effect of any skill in his arsenal.

On the contrary, this was a situation that Kieran's precipitated unknowingly. Many blood vessels appeared in his eyes, causing his pupils to constrict. Kieran's blood began rushing quicker, and he felt every fiber in his body react to this slight change.

Bang! Bang! Ting!

Kieran unleashed a flurry of basic attacks that picked up in speed despite being unleashed by a greatsword. At the same time, Kieran grinned menacingly which made his party members shiver. That grin was like the second coming of a demon!

A large portion of Kieran's resentments were channeled into emotion, which then triggered the first degree of his hyper-cognition disorder. Time subjectively slowed down as Kieran executed movements that were beyond reproach.

Even Altair became motionless as he stared at Kieran singlehandedly receive or altogether avoid Grifear's attacks at the last possible moment. Additionally, Kieran seemed to possess an intrinsic understanding of his skill cooldowns because they blinked for a second before returning to the state of cooldown.

Ding!

Grifear was forced into another Dazed State, but Kieran accomplished the feat with Force Slash this time. This allowed Kieran to interchange the rotation of his skills. Although Kieran's basic attack dealt no more than 1 damage, the rapid release of strikes made Grifear's Health bar drain at a noticeable rate.

Kieran superseded Force Slash with Charge, setting up the perfect environment to unleash an incredibly augmented Savage Break!

…Booom!

-1,605! [Critical]

Not only did the Savage Break deal critical damage, but Grifear was blown back by the combined effect of his increased weight, serious damage, and the skill's rank. At the same time, Grifear's Health fell to almost 30%.

Upon reaching 30%, Grifear rebounded and broke free of its restraints regardless of the remaining duration for Kieran's skill effects. 30% of its Health was the first notable threshold for Grifear's Health.

This activated the Demolish trait linked to its Boss status. Grifear released a bloodcurdling roar that shook the earth beneath the party's feet. Kieran, who remained nearby, covered his ears before the roar erupted.

A second later, the earth shattered apart. The roar demolished the ground and created a zone of pure chaos. Large rocks were flung about the rocky forest, falling in random places. Avoiding this action required superior senses to understand the trajectory of the falling rocks.

Thus, Kieran picked his sword back up and brandished it before rushing forward, narrowly avoiding rocks as they fell beside and behind his body. However, he didn't run in a straight line because these rocks were unusually brittle from the impact of Gribak's roar.

Once they hit the ground, they would shatter forcefully and inflict splash damage to nearby recipients. Once the incoming rocks approached him, Kieran executed half-roll maneuvers followed by a quick jump. He presciently covered his face with the greatsword to deal with stray projectiles while agilely moving about.

'Jesus Christ… this dude's a damn monster. I thought I had good mechanics… Was he a trained soldier or something?' Altair wondered with eyes full of marvel. Most of the actions Kieran committed seemed like they originated from formal military training.

However, the Golden Brigade gave access to reputable combat teachers from the Private Sector in his past life. While their services were extremely costly, they surpassed some of the Black Ops specialists who held combat medals. They could only bite the bullet and put up with the exorbitant expense to further refine their core members.

As a result, these movements were deeply engrained in Kieran's memories. Now that he unknowingly triggered his disorder, the actions were seeping through and generating a tremendous buzz.

"Did you all survive?" Kieran casually asked before glancing over his shoulder. For the most part, the attack was focused on a cone-shape area and stretched up to 10 meters away from Grifear. As long as they stood outside this range, the chances of getting hit were significantly reduced.

Surprisingly, the relatively safe area was closest to Grifear since it was an attack that expanded outward.

"Fine! Just terrified and shocked all the same. Nothing else, but I think I'll survive," Sithik said, almost distraught by the sight. Similarly, the rest of the party voiced that they were okay.

Afterward, Grifear went on a rampage when it realized none of its enemies fell under its attacks. However, this rampage couldn't affect everyone because Kieran possessed the undisputed highest aggro value. Therefore, Grifear attempted to kill Kieran as quickly as possible.

However, this singular focus made its rear vulnerable. As a Thief and the team's most mobile individual, Altair appeared behind Grifear like a phantom, unleashing hits with an increased critical rate. Attack an individual's back could invoke the special effect accessible to all Thief-based classes—Backstab.

Grifear howled in pain and attempted to turn towards Altair, but Kieran didn't allow it to shift its attention away, unleashing a Force Slash precisely when it came off cooldown. Within minutes of coordinating their attacks, Grifear was forced into a helpless position that drove it berserk.

Upon reaching 15% of its Health, Grifear roared to the sky and released an increasingly berserk aura and savage expression, bearing its fearsome fangs.

〈System: Dungeon Boss Grifear has entered its «Berserk» phase.〉

〈System: Grifear's Strength and Agility have increased by 20%.〉

〈System: Grifear's Defense has decreased by 25%.〉

The Berserk Phase was a system available to all bosses. However, the extent of effects varied depending on the type of the boss and their ranking. Beasts typically revealed increased Strength and Agility at the expense of Defense.

After this change, the boss fight entered a phase that even Kieran couldn't risk being careless. Be that as it may, 15% were well within Kieran's limits. Not to mention, the decrease in Defense made it easily achievable.

Whoosh!

Kieran's eyes narrowed the moment Grifear moved. It was almost like an undetectable squall. Kieran's only saving grace was that he activated his ring's ability Hardened Skin. Still, a single hit unleashed devastating damage.

-100

Kieran couldn't receive more than 3 hits before being at risk for death. What's more, Grifear no longer attacked depending on aggro. Anything within its range became a target!

Bang!

Altair received an unexpected attack and took close to 150 damage. It had to be known, as of now, he only had 185 Health!

Kieran gritted his teeth furiously before raising his hand. Even Aspaira couldn't land a hit because Grifear dodged it with its increased Agility. Kieran was forced to take matters into his own hands.

"Both of you cast Regeneration Burst individually after I receive two hits," Kieran ordered.

Afterward, he rushed forward and met one of Grifear's attacks, losing another 100 Health. Kieran then unleashed three strikes before Grifear retaliated.

At that moment, a burst of pleasant energy encased Kieran.

+192

Bang! Bang!

Another burst enveloped Kieran.

+204

Finally, just after receiving another one of Grifear's ruthless attacks, Kieran unleashed a Force Slash. However, to the party's dismay, Grifear dodged the attack! The party then became nervous!

Could their run be ending right now? Neither Cygnus nor Sithik had any heals that could return enough Health before Kieran received another hit.

Suddenly, the blood vessel in Keiran's eyes thickened to twice what they were.

"Die!" Kieran roared. His movement changed unexpectedly, beyond the flexibility a Charge should normally achieve. The attack didn't stun Grifear, but it staggered the bosses, creating a much-needed opportunity.

Thud!

-250

-1,643! [Critical]

The last of Grifear's Health disappeared under Kieran's attack, allowing the lifeless body to fall backward as a glorious chime resounded throughout the dungeon, followed by a fountain of coins and loot.