Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

'Who would have thought... I would have never guessed this would be my fate. All those accolades—gone,' Kieran thought, his mood becoming somber.

Afterward, he looked around his bland hospital room before slowly panning his gaze to his sunken chest and bony body.

Although a few months remained before his 30th birthday, Kieran's withered body matched that of a feeble old man.

His current state stemmed from a condition that plagued several years of his life. While rueing his condition, Kieran's eyes drifted to the people by his bedside.

Most people would be delighted to know that people were present at their bedside as they struggled with a crippling illness. Sadly, Kieran didn't share the same sentiment.

Not for these particular people.

They were vultures, only there for a single reason.

Despite his condition, several guards in formal attire, armed with advanced firearms, guarded the door and four corners of the medical room.

The people by Kieran's bedside were part of Golden Brigade, a top ten guild within Zenith Online, a revolutionary MMORPG that took the world by storm.

Many nameless people were catapulted to royalty and held in high regard after showcasing their ability to thrive within Zenith Online.

As one of the Behemoths within Zenith Online, Golden Brigade commanded an admirable amount of respect, especially after signing Kieran, who ascended to the position of the High Commander within the guild.

After becoming the High Commander, Kieran wielded a simple Berserker Class at a level that put the Hidden Classes to shame. With the raging competition and absurd battles for territories, Kieran obtained a massive fortune for himself and the Golden Brigade.

But, his abilities were too frightening. Everyone could only rejoice over the fact he never sought a Hidden Class, simply to show he could obtain the improbable with personal strength. And he did.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

Zenith Online was akin to a new world for them to conquer!

And the allure of conquering another world drew out many monsters. These monstrous presences were humans who awakened inhuman abilities far beyond what anyone could even fathom.

Kieran's expression soured while glancing at the others in the room. "Why are you guys here again? You visit so often I would have thought you all were the ones sick."

Due to his weakened condition, Kieran's gravelly voice was grating to the ear, causing the frowns of everyone nearby.

But that wasn't the only reason.

Kieran's immense fortune made most of Golden Brigade's members salivate like dogs in heat, but they had heard rumors that he was doing something foolish with it, so the members were truly displeased.

A man in glasses with pale blonde hair shook his head in protest.

"You know why we are here. You are about to waste billions of dollars by donating it to the medical industry. How foolish can you be?! The better alternative is ensuring that Golden Brigade can contend in the fierce competition between Behemoths and Leviathans!"

This man tried to reason with Kieran, but it was clear he grew annoyed the more Kieran adamantly shook his head.

The others present agreed with his views, but Kieran eyed them scornfully.

Kieran remained adamant about his decision. If not for his ailment's lack of a cure, he'd be in a position to continue trouncing the competition.

"What does that have to do with me? The guild's fate is none of my concern seeing as I'll be dead soon enough. Once that occurs, you all can naturally fend for yourselves," Kieran indifferently replied.

However, the room's atmosphere changed once everyone closed their eyes and exhaled. Kieran's decision obviously disappointed and irritated them.

Upon reopening their eyes, everyone wore cold and discontented expressions while looking toward the man at Kieran's side.

"The guild's future is none of your concern?!" the bespectacled man, Charles, said.

His eyes narrowed with a venomous light as he continued, "Good! To think your foolishness would far exceed my wildest imagination. Whether you like it or not, Golden Brigade will be reclaiming your funds. Your petty aspirations are meaningless, and we will not jeopardize our future."

After listening to the others talk and murmur amongst themselves, Kieran's indifferent expression grew cold. "Have you become even more deluded during my time away?"

"Deluded?! I speak the truth!" Charles shouted.

A heavy pressure permeated the room following Charles' comment.

The pressure naturally came from Kieran despite being on his deathbed. "Watch your tone and remember who you are speaking to."

His gaze caused a cold sweat to seep down everyone's back despite his atrocious bodily condition.

The pressure had grown so unbearable the security posted in the corners of the room placed their hands on their specialized weapons—weapons created to deal with newly arising superhumans.

However, the guards' ceased their actions at Charles' behest, who indifferently waved his hand.

He stared at Kieran before his green eyes filled with mockery. "Don't be angry. It's only fitting that during your downfall, your supporters should reap the rewards. Besides, we own you—we own all of our members."

Although Kieran felt angered, he chuckled for a long time which soon turned into hysterical laughter. The others in the room looked at each other in fear, worrying Kieran would suffer a mental break.

If an individual with superhuman-level mental abilities suffered the slightest psychosis, it could lead to a potentially catastrophic outcome.

However, the laughter abruptly stopped as Kieran turned to Charles with an icy gaze.

"That's where you're wrong. Even if your Magnate Family enacted some vile machination with its extensive reach and influential relationships, Golden Brigade has never once owned me. If I had the proper beginning, I would have risen without your Golden Brigade! Stop your delusions."

After listening to Kieran's words, everyone's expression darkened, especially Charles as he laughed heartily.

"Wrong! Let alone the Behemoths, the almighty Leviathans would have crushed you after you declined their offers. You think they'd willingly allow you to rise in their domain and rob them of their opportunities?" Charles answered.

Kieran scoffed, returning a few words with an icy gaze.

"I find it funny that you believe the unknown to be such a concrete concept—considering I'm proof that one can flourish while walking an alleged impossible path after all," Kieran laughed, his expression dark.

A second later, he continued, looking at Charles scornfully. "Hell... if I decided to relinquish my Berserker Class for something greater, I would have been unstoppable. Ah, what I'd give to go back to that time. Perhaps... everything."

"...Tch! That defiance is why you've suffered with your Hyper-Cognitive Overload Sickness. We were concerned we couldn't control all the unforeseen variables you produce," Charles sighed with a sardonic smirk.

Kieran's eyes reddened as he glared at Charles.

Charles' tone insinuated he knew more than he revealed.

Abhorrence rose in Kieran's mind as his suspicions of Charles grew. "I hope you're not implying what I think you are."

"Oh, but I am. This condition isn't a secret; you aren't the first case to appear over the years. Although your deterioration rate was unprecedented, we could have let one of the many facilities in the Private Sector fix it. But, the chairman decided not to and who am I to disobey the wishes of my beloved grandfather?" Charles said with an indifferent chuckle.

Kieran's eyes widened with shock.

Close to seven years.

That's how long Kieran devoted himself to the Golden Brigade before succumbing to his condition just over two years ago.

During that time, he made countless visits to many facilities backed by the Private Sector, but nothing bore fruit.

Now, he learned it was because of the wickedness of his guild!

A strange stirring occurred and a frightening rage surfaced in Kieran's heart, mind, and soul as he clenched his fists.

"You and this damned Golden Brigade. Such a deep-seated inferiority complex that you feel envious of me in every way. You're truly nothing but a figurehead with a meaningless presence inside a Behemoth-level guild."

"And yet... I'm the one who'll live. Not you," Charles smiled, ignoring Kieran's insults. It might've seemed innocent, but it was like the smile of a deceitful devil.

"Really? Let's see about that."

Something snapped in Kieran's mind as a tide of brutal pressure appeared and filled the entire room.

The bed, chairs, and monitors rattled and bent as a crimson light bled from Kieran's frenzied eyes.

It was as if the gravity in the room approached a tenfold increase!

Kieran's boundless anger had triggered mental abilities awakened after playing a Berserker for countless years. It could be said Kieran's affinity with the class had reached perfection.

Despite the blood that spewed from his nose, Kieran continued unleashing this power. Death had already marked him as a victim; why fear it?

At least these bastards would be accompanying him!

Mostly everyone in the room held their throats while struggling to breathe, praying someone would come to their aid.

Three even passed out directly.

The pressure unleashed by Kieran, who exhibited signs of entering a new realm of superhuman abilities, was enough to render nearly everyone present immobile.

Kieran suddenly lifted his hand where a tiny crackling sphere of berserk energies gathered. A second after it appeared, the orb vibrated uncontrollably as if Kieran's control of it waned.

Except for one person, everyone was forced to the floor and could no longer lift a limb.

A captivating woman with luxurious golden hair styled into voluminous curls seemed to glide across the room, potentially unaffected by gravity or, at the very least, affected minimally.

Her eyebrows knitted as she watched the repercussions of Kieran's actions. Berserk arcs of energy began ripping apart the medical room, forcing her to employ a strange force field.

'Why didn't he unleash such power when he was healthy? Or... it is something caused by his current emotional state? Either way... if this persists, Kieran will definitely make good on his word. Aside from me, everyone else will die.'

The woman skated across the room weightlessly, snatching and activating the psionic pistol attached to the guard's waist.

Her movements were light, trained, and possessed distinct inhuman traits. She lifted her arm, aimed the muzzle before her, and pressed the trigger.

Bang!

A psionic bullet fired, piercing through the berserk gusts with violent oscillations. It drilled through Kieran's forehead as his eyes went blank, causing the dispersion of the crimson orb.

The stunning woman looked around, noting the unconscious, harmed and even semi-conscious people on the floor. "This is what happens when you provoke a calamity while being useless. Reflect upon that uselessness and rejoice that you are still breathing."

On the other hand, her golden eyes, filled with apathy and disinterest but also laden with unspoken emotion, watched Kieran's body fall back to the bed.

'Even the most brilliant light can be eclipsed by a large enough presence. If you wish the reveal such a dazzling radiance, at least ensure you have the power and influence to go against potential oppressors...'

Meanwhile, Charles clutched his chest while he struggled to recover his breathing.

'Our decision to interfere with his rehabilitation was the right move. That man would have become an uncontrollable crisis if we allowed him to recover. He's far too monstrous of an individual...'

…

Ahnt! Ahnt! Ahnt!

An obnoxious noise caused Kieran's eyes to slam open with a deep gasp. He stared at a ceiling with evident signs of wear and tear apparent from the dull paint covering its entire breadth.

At first, the scene felt extremely unfamiliar, but Kieran's eyes filled with astonishment after looking around.

The setting was something he should've been immediately familiar with. Still, it had slipped his mind for a brief moment due to his unbelievable circumstances.

"Impossible… this is my college dorm!" Kieran muttered incredulously while sitting up immediately after. He touched his forehead and continued to look around, feeling his face in disbelief.

Eventually, he approached the mirror, and the results staggered Kieran, leaving him standing before a floor mirror in a daze.

Disbelief was his prevalent emotion until Kieran snapped out of it. 'There were many times when I wished I could go back... but I never believed it to be possible!'

Kieran lifted his shirt, verifying that his body wasn't sickly. He also touched his forehead after recalling the fateful gunshot.

'I've truly gone back in time?'

Despite his somewhat average health, Kieran was overjoyed by the fact he could move again!

Kieran's deep black eyes brimmed with unconcealable happiness as he scoured through several things: mail, the last-gen model of the holo-phone, and the calendar on the wall to verify he had returned to the past.

'May 19th, 2122?'

"!!"

Kieran's eyes widened after recalling what today was.

Since it was the weekend, the news was filled with the upcoming launch of Zenith Online, a new MMORPG that critics raved about after a successful beta test half a year ago.

It was praised as an enigmatic virtual reality game that could give all players a new world to conquer!

"Is this all real?" Kieran muttered. His situation felt too surreal. But, as he paced around the dorm room, he realized many things were consistent with his memories.

He checked the news and different TV stations. Everything pointed to a temporal return.

'Do I have enough?' Kieran wondered.

He opened his bank account granted to him on his 18th birthday two years ago and found just over $10,000 inside.

The funds were neither from family inheritance nor work. They were from a government program designed to compensate and placate families affected by a tragic event ten years ago.

'It's not much left, but it'll work for now,' Kieran inwardly thought.

Kieran's view of money grew obscure after dealing with the billions that flowed through the lucrative territory and exclusive content deals. So, thousands of dollars weren't enough to move him emotionally.

Kieran immediately thought about it and purchased a decent VR Helmet for $5,000 from the nearest VR Emporium.

The price included free tune-ups, standard maintenance, and an upgrade plan when more improved equipment for Zenith Online was released.

Otherwise, it would have been much cheaper.

A parent might call wasting $5,000 on a VR Helmet a reckless decision, which was understandable. That was half Kieran's money meant to support him.

Unfortunately, that situation didn't apply to Kieran.

His parents were dead.

Nevertheless, Kieran was confident in his choice. With his satisfactory body and intact memories, there was no telling how illustrious his future could become.

However, confidence wasn't the only emotion he felt. As his gaze burned with unbridled fury, hatred and abhorrence cemented themselves deep in the depths of Kieran's soul.

'Whatever my circumstances may be... your every influence in this world shall be uprooted.' Kieran's hate-filled gaze looked no different from a demon looking to cause rampant destruction.

Kieran clenched his fists until his knuckles snapped, crackled, and popped.

'Before I worry about the matters of revenge, however, regaining my strength is my primary objective.'

Since Zenith Online's official launch was set to occur in six hours, Kieran took that time to compile his thoughts and order a proper meal.

Eventually, Kieran arrived at a decision. 'I'll go for that Hidden Class, meaning my starting location is already chosen.'

Once the VR Helmet arrived a few hours later, he put it on and configured its settings.

A timer appeared before Kieran's eyes while he exhaled. His excitement and angst flowed with it. In replacement, drive and conviction appeared in his gaze.

〈0:03〉

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〈Welcome to the launch of Zenith Online!〉