Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

After dealing with the ten Quartz Bears, Kieran was forced to consume his first Beginner Mana Potion. The consumption of Warrior's Aura and using Force Slash as much as possible took a toll on his Mana Pool.

Although his quest restricted the use of Health consumables, it didn't mention anything regarding Mana consumables.

After all, Starter Characters couldn't rely upon their regeneration rates as their primary recovery source.

"Everyone, make sure to top off your Mana," Kieran directed as the vial in his hand dissipated. His Mana Pool gradually recovered, replenishing 25 units every second.

The others acted according to Kieran's orders and consumed a potion. After their Mana was topped off, Kieran revealed what he learned after having them dodge Guraha's occasional ground pound.

"These Mini-Bosses are like Hrulhar. They possess a hidden trait that is hinted at by their name. As such, Guraha is the most dangerous opponent here. It's likely that her ground pounds are just the beginning of her aggressive actions."

"So what do you suppose we do?" Altair questioned.

He shifted his gaze between Shibak and Guraha, noticing how their movements were subtly changing now that there were no more Quartz Bears nearby.

"Although they are faster than the average monster, they're still much slower than Hrulhar. As long as we control Shibak's actions, dealing with Guraha won't be an issue."

"Ah! Is that why you need my Mana full? You want me to keep Shibak bound? But… that skill description said the constraints weaken in relation to the target's might. Will it hold?" Aspaira muttered.

"Most crowd control skills indeed lose efficacy against stronger opponents, but we don't need him restrained at all times. Only when it counts. Remember that foresight I spoke of? It's time to apply it but I'll give you pointers regardless," Kieran said.

Afterward, he lifted his Novice Greatsword and shifted his body to the right before dashing up to Guraha with a wide swing.

Clang!

Although Guraha didn't seem as sturdy as Shibak, Kieran understood their DEF was not to be ignored.

-40

'Considering that my Attack Power has surpassed 120, Guhara's DEF is considerably high.'

Less than 30% of Kieran's Attack Power applied to his damage, but that was understandable given that Guraha was a Mini-Boss. Its attributes were much higher compared to players, which is why any of its large skills could cause a party wipe.

Groaaahhhhhhh!

Guraha bellowed and pounded the ground, but Kieran evaded the shockwave by timing a side jump. Once he landed, he executed an unbroken string of basic attacks to gauge the average amount of damage he could inflict.

-35

-32

-38

-40

-30

'It's more or less acceptable,' Kieran thought.

Kieran dealt just under 4% of Guraha's in these couple of strikes thanks to Warrior's Aura and the Novice Greatsword's damage increase. In comparison, Altair's attacks didn't fare very well, inflicting anywhere from 8 to 14 damage per strike.

However, given that Altair could attack two to three times faster than Kieran, their DPS on the Battle Analysis Chart was somewhat the same. Of course, this was only true because Kieran had yet to use his skills.

"Speed is king! Hehehe. You may hit harder, but I hit much faster," Altair said with a smug look under his scarf.

"Tutututu," Kieran clicked his tongue and shook his head with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "I won't lie; speed has several supreme advantages. Unfortunately, it won't make you king in this situation—not while I'm here."

Altair scoffed. "Is that a challenge?"

"It can be," Kieran remarked, glancing toward Altair while simultaneously taking a step back.

Bang!

He avoided Guraha's ruthless smash that most tanks would have to withstand without the necessary AGI to evade.

When the dust cleared, Kieran noticed that crystalline armor covering most of Shibak's body began to emit a faint blue hue.

"Aspaira, Bind!" Kieran called out.

Because Kieran had mentioned how crucial Bind was for a fight like this, Aspaira prioritized that skill over inflicting damage. Thus, she was ready the moment Kieran gave the command.

A lasso-like construct discharged from Aspaira's wand and wreathed Shibak's body, restricting its movements and cutting off the faint blue glow. This action was known as Canceling, which a lot of players employed in old game titles. It required a deep understanding of when an opponent's skill would activate.

That, or it required a skill with an innate canceling effect. Bind fell under the latter category.

"Excellent execution," Kieran praised, which made Aspaira beam. She had finally done something correctly during the run! Following this praise, Kieran suddenly sped up.

"Charge!"

Bang!

-247 «Stunned»

After ramming into Guraha, Kieran's eyes widened, and he inhaled sharply. The effects of Charge applied successfully, but it wasn't without its faults.

'Goddamn! Damnit! GODDAMNIT!' Kieran screamed internally.

Kieran clenched his jaw as a thick vein surfaced in his neck, intense pain shooting through his shoulder. Some skills had drawbacks when used against strong opponents, and Charge was such a skill.

The rebound force could damage the user if their END weren't up to par.

〈Battle Alert: «Razing Guhara» has been stunned for 1.5 seconds.〉

"Get ready, Altair," Kieran said, warning Altair.

An instant later, Kieran ignored the pain and unleashed a follow-up attack.

"Savage Break!"

Boom!

-442

The Savage Break dealt a considerable amount of damage, almost a tenth of Guraha's Health, but it also lowered its DEF for Altair's attacks to deal increased damage.

At the same time, Aspaira prepared a Flame Wave to unleash upon the stunned Guraha.

However, midway through the attack, Kieran narrowed his eyes and attacked to his right.

Tang!

After breaking away from Bind, Shibak tried to attack Altair from the side, but Kieran intercepted that action. Parrying Shibak's assault made the pain in his shoulder flare, but Kieran couldn't complain.

Dealing with two Mini-Bosses simultaneously required immense concentration to scan for sudden changes.

Nevertheless, a gentle aura encompassed Kieran's body, returning the quarter of his Health he lost to this parry. Sithik was responsible for the heal, and he responded with a cheeky thumbs up.

'A much better response time. I have nothing to critique there,' Kieran thought, inwardly praising Sithik's decision.

As Kieran expected, Shibak didn't back down after he parried its rush. It repeated the same exact pattern, but Kieran dodged like a matador evading a charging bull.

"Force Slash!"

Kieran's forceful slash created a strong wind, but the outcome made Kieran grimace.

-199

〈Battle Alert: «Reinforced Shibak»'s «Hardened» Trait has reduced 20% of the inflicted damage.〉

Damage Reduction was an effect that was just as perverse as Defense Ignore because they both applied after standard damage calculation meaning its produced awful consequences for those unlucky enough to go up against it.

Because of their perverse nature, these two stats could not be obtained naturally. Players could only acquire Defense Ignore or Damage Reduction through special skills, excellent equipment, or fortuitous encounters.

Before Kieran could come to grips with Shibak's Damage Reduction, a sense of danger overwhelmed him.

Guraha had recovered from its stunned state, and its paws shone with an earthen light.

"It is important that you jump when I direct you to!" Kieran shouted at the top of his lungs.

Kieran's shout alarmed everyone because Aspaira's Bind and his Charge skill were on cooldown, which meant the current ordeal couldn't be avoided.

Shortly after, Guraha slammed its paws against the earth, sending a visible tremor hurtling towards Kieran and his party. It wasn't a single ripple but a triple-layered one at least two meters in width.

"Jump!" Kieran said, jumping just as the ripple neared his feet. The party followed his instruction, but Cygnus paled in fright when she realized her STR and AGI didn't let her jump as high as the others.

'I-I won't make it,' Cygnus thought while pursing her lips. If she died here, the team's chance of clearing the dungeon would plummet. Although only one needed to pass to clear the dungeon, dying sucked.

Whoosh!

Cygnus's eyes widened when she felt her feet touch something hard in midair. Kieran had flung his greatsword beneath her feet to act as a makeshift platform.

However, this action didn't solve all of their issues.

Once the ripple passed, the earth began splitting apart, revealing decent-sized earth spires. These spires were capable of one-hit kills. The aforementioned ripples were designed to knock the party down and keep them grounded for the spires to kill them instantly.

"Dodge!" Kieran ordered.

He ripped the sword from the earth and pressed his palm against Cygnus's torso. A light force propelled them in opposing directions as an earth spire pierced the ground between them a few milliseconds later.

Even though the class didn't rely upon it, this situation was why Kieran felt all classes should add sparse amounts of STR and AGI. It could act as a cushion in close calls.

The spires appeared persistently for 15 seconds, making it appear as if the party was attending a dance party.

〈System: «Razing Guraha» has entered «Exhaustion». [Remaining Time: 11 seconds.]〉

"Unload your skills, and don't stop until this shit is almost dead!" Kieran called out.

Kieran, Altair, and Aspaira unloaded every skill when it came off cooldown, ignoring their plummeting Mana.

When Guraha recovered from its weakened state, its eyes lit up with deep yellow light. No sudden actions were made, yet the entire map began trembling.

"Group together," Kieran directed, moving his positioning so that he lined up with Guraha. "Sithik, cast Restorative Mist."

The moment this skill was cast, the ground suffered several explosions, catapulting rock shards in every direction. It was an unavoidable skill, but it could be mitigated if the players grouped.

At the end of the explosion, two giant rock slabs emerged from the ground.

"Run to Guraha, now!"

The area before Guraha was the only safe location from this final attack, so the party quickly relocated there with Kieran's guidance. A thunderous noise sounded behind them as they safely avoided the collision.

〈Battle Alert: «Razing Guraha» has entered a «Weakened State».〉