Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

「Lv.12 Vanishing Hrulhar (Special Elite)

Beast Type, Dark

Health: 4,000/4,000 (100%) 」

Pretty much everyone's heart sank after Hrulhar's information was revealed. It was a Special Elite, which was a step above regular Elites. Not to mention, its level was on par with Kieran's.

Despite this fact, Kieran grimaced. 'It had to be Hrulhar…'

Hrulhar was only one of the three possible Special Elites that spawned in this dungeon. Kieran despised Hrulhar simply because it was a monster lauded as the bane of tanks. While Kieran wasn't a sluggish Knight dressed in Plate Armor, his Agility coefficient wasn't as high as a Thief's.

In return, his Attack Power was greater.

Fortunately, he has prepared for Hrulhar being one of the monsters within this dungeon, which is why most of his UAP went to increasing his AGI.

"I think I'm going to throw up in my mouth a little bit. We would have been screwed if we chose the middle path first," Sithik commented.

"Maybe, maybe not," Kieran shrugged.

The spawn of the Special Elite was random, and one couldn't continue without defeating it. Although it was random, there was a trick to identifying the path that would spawn Special Elite in your current run.

The swirl pattern on the floor would be tighter than the rest. It was a detail most would overlook, but it paid to be hypervigilant in unfamiliar situations.

Despite Kieran's indifferent response, Cygnus whimpered to the side. "That thing has so much Health. What is its DEF like? I've never gone up against a Special Elite."

"DEF? I wouldn't worry about its DEF. Don't you recall the advantage of the Shadow Wolves? It was their speed. Judging from this beast's appearance, I would say it's a heightened version of the Shadow Wolves," Kieran corrected.

Heightened was an understatement. Hrulhar's AGI eclipsed a Thief with a complete AGI-focused build. One careless mistake within Hrulhar's presence could lead to death!

"Listen to me carefully. Don't approach until I give the signal," Kieran said before stepping toward Hrulhar. His gaze was narrowed and focused on Hrulhar's every action.

The beast reacted by snarling and dropping its body closer to the ground in preparation to strike.

Whoosh!

Kieran's pupils contracted when Hrulhar moved, which happened after Kieran entered within 20 meters of Hrulhar. He dodged to the side preemptively, but he was a step too late.

Tang! Tang! Tang!

[-24, -24, -24] «Aatrox's Health: 168/240»

A single attack had robbed Kieran of nearly a third of his Health. Once that happened, Kieran backed up and looked at Aspaira.

"If you move more than 3 meters away from Altair or me, you're dead," Kieran said.

He returned his gaze to Hrulhar afterward, who circled a determined area. Kieran chose 3 meters because he could cross that distance instantly with Charge. Altair could similarly achieve the same feat by activating Swift Steps.

"Heal me, Cygnus," Kieran directed.

Cygnus staggered but lifted her small cross and said what sounded like a prayer. A light green hue encompassed Kieran's body, replenishing a portion of the Health he lost.

Because Cygnus was slow to respond, Kieran stepped forward a second early, and Hrulhar nearly depleted Kieran's Health Bar in the process, leaving him with less than 16 Health.

"Faster! You have to be more attentive," Kieran called out.

Hrulhar was too fast of an opponent not to pay close attention. Another identical glow enveloped Kieran's body as two green numbers appeared above his head.

+58

+52

The light-green glow surrounding Kieran was a basic Priest Skill known as Healing Light. It only had a cooldown of 3 seconds, so it was a must-have for Priests.

Once Kieran's Health returned to above 50%, Kieran swung his sword toward Hrulhar in a swift arc.

Screee!

The screech of two metal rubbing against one another resounded as Kieran knocked back Hrulhar's claws. This time, he didn't suffer any damage because his STR was equal to Hrulhar.

Parrying strikes were an excellent way to avoid damage if one's STR was high enough. But it required precise timing.

Simply bracing for impact didn't act as a parry—one needed to launch a well-timed retaliation.

'My senses are quickly adapting. If I were in my prime, this would have happened instantly. Then again, there's also the fact my previous opponents were sub-par.'

After he parried Hrulhar's strike, Kieran saw an opening and took advantage.

"Charge!"

Bang!

Kieran slammed into Hrulhar, stunning the beast in the process.

-205

〈Battle Alert: The monster «Vanishing Hrulhar» is stunned for 2 seconds.〉

The effect was 20% less effective on Hrulhar, but it sufficed.

There was no use of words, but Kieran quickly conveyed his intention by giving Altair a signal he understood. Based on the fighting style Altair employed, it was clear there was some sort of refined training in his background.

Whoosh!

Kieran and Altair rushed up to Hrulhar while Aspaira prepared a Mana Bullet.

A savage aura encompassed Kieran's greatsword as he lifted it above his head and slammed it down on Hrulhar's back. However, Kieran used the opportunity to level up Savage Break once more during his rush.

It was wanton usage of his SP, but it was worth it in his eyes. Savage Break was a skill capable of massive damage!

〈System: You are using 8 SP to increase «Savage Break» from Lv.3 to Lv.5. Continue? [ Y | N ]〉

Due to this change, Savage Break carried a somewhat berserk feeling that ran amok within the area that Kieran's greatsword passed.

A savage aura encompassed his Novice Greatsword as he slammed it down on Hrulhar's head, neck, and back.

「Savage Break (Lv.5)

Skill Rank: D

Skill Type: Active

Mastery (00.00%)

Skill Description: The user imbues the next strike with destructive power that deals 300% of the user's Attack Power. The attack may trigger «Armor Break», decreasing the victim's Defense by 25% for 5 seconds.

Consumption: 3 Mana Points

Prerequisites: Warrior Class, «Warrior's Aura»

Cooldown: 30 seconds 」

Bang!

-461

The Armor Break effect didn't activate, but that was fine. Kieran was pleased that it had increased at all. After reaching Lv.5, Armor Break's value changed from 15% to 25%, and the skill experienced a 20% increase in damage.

Kieran couldn't complain about the change because it was impressive for a low-ranking skill.

Furthermore, it was only the beginning of their damage window. The skill took less than 0.5 seconds to execute.

With the remaining time left on Hrulhar's stun period, Kieran and Altair unleashed additional skills interspersed with basic attacks.

Finally, before it ended, Kieran used the last 2 SP to increase Force Slash to Lv.5 and unleashed that skill as well.

-334

Kieran and Altair shaved off roughly 45% of Hrulhar's Health before Aspaira could unleash her Aqua Bullet.

Altair's Critical Rate as a Thief was higher, so his Deep Puncture and Vital Stab skill proc'd Critical Hits that increased his damage significantly.

Ao!

Hrulhar howled as soon as the Aqua Bullet landed.

With its stun duration over, Hrulhar was free to become a menace one more. The moment Hrulhar regained its mobility, it opened its mouth and gathered dark energy.

Recognizing the upcoming attack, Kieran delivered a command. "Dodge to the sides quickly!"

Several fast-moving clusters of dark energy fired toward everyone, but they were linear, so they could be avoided by dodging horizontally. As long as one could handle its speed and understand its rhythm, defeating Hrulhar became less troublesome.

Unfortunately, Hrulhar fired them faster than expected and in rapid succession.

Altair managed to dodge without damage thanks to his AGI allowing him to run towards the end of the forest outside Hrulhar's attack range.

Kieran wasn't so lucky because Aspaira, Cygnus, and Sithik were snails before the velocity of the projectiles.

Kieran's Health rapidly depleted as he deflected many of the projectiles. But, because they were focused attacks, Kieran's STR wasn't up to par.

Moreover, due to how fast they were fired, some projectiles managed to slip through his deflection and deal direct damage.

'I'm fucking slow!' Kieran inwardly cursed.

-25 -25

-50

–25 -25

-50 - 25

By the time he defended against the last attack, Kieran had less than 5 Health remaining.

"Heal, dammit! What are you waiting for?" Kieran yelled in the party chat.

His shout and the stressful situation made Cygnus and Sithik spam healing chants.

But Kieran felt like pulling his hair out when they did this. Priests only possessed four healing spells at Lv.10—Healing Light, Mending Aura, Restorative Mist, and Regeneration Burst.

Due to Cygnus and Sithik's combined panic, they overhealed Kieran. They thoughtlessly emptied their arsenal, even the skills with ridiculous cooldown periods meant as a trump card.

Because Kieran couldn't use Health consumables as a quest condition, he relied upon the Priests as his sole healing alternative.

Now that everyone's superior skills were on cooldown, the party was tossed into a precarious situation.

"Bruh...?!" Kieran groaned in frustration.