Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Since his main objective for killing the Giant Wolves was returning Aspaira and the others to their former level, Kieran had them cycle the possession of the Medallion of Growth until they each reached Lv.15.

Once the level was reached, Kieran had them pass it along to the next member. They were naturally astonished by Kieran's possession of such an item, but Kieran ignored their reactions for the most part.

Of course, Kieran ensured the safety of his item by using the Item Leasing System rather than outright trading it to them using the Trade Menu present inside the User Interface.

His trust wasn't so easily distributed.

Though lending out the Medallion of Growth made his EXP acquisition rate plummet, Kieran understood that having three additional Lv.15 party members was more valuable than him gaining a single level at a quickened rate.

After all, against a Field Boss, quality superseded the value of quantity. As long as everyone's level was up to par, Kieran's confidence remained infallible.

Due to the rate they killed monsters, it became difficult to find more with their current respawn rate. Nevertheless, since their goal had been met, Kieran didn't go out of his way to locate additional Giant Wolves.

In the meantime, Kieran made better use of the opportunity granted to him.

Since operating under pressure was far from being this party's forte, Kieran had them work together to handle Giant Wolves toward the end. This resulted in Altair teaching them how to synergize with his movement style.

At the same time, Kieran coached Sithik and Cygnus on how to diversify their healing spectrum and how to recognize what heals best fit the situation.

As Starter Characters, their Healing Factors, which were based on their Spirit and Vitality attributes were lackluster, but it wasn't a hopeless situation.

As long as one understood how to manipulate a Priest's cooldown time to supply a torrent of effectual heals, they could become top-tier healers even with the admittedly weak skills provided to characters beneath Lv.20.

"When in a battle, you must take into account your Healing Factors. The Priest with the highest Healing Factor should always prioritize frequently supplying small-scale heals in large volumes. In this case, it's you Cygnus," Kieran said.

"Really? You wouldn't want me to focus on my large heals?" Cygnus asked, somewhat astounded by Kieran's guidance. A higher Healing Factor meant her potent heals were naturally excellent.

"Correct. It won't always be the case, but we need to accommodate our limited Health. Over-healing won't present any benefits so there's no reason to rely on massive heals unless in a bind," Kieran explained.

Eventually, Cygnus understood his logic and agreed with him. Healing beyond the upper limits of one's Health was impossible so it was an utter waste of a Priest's precious Mana.

Whereas Kieran advised Cygnus to focus on her small heals, Kieran likewise advised Sithik to prioritize large heals and complement Cygnus's healing pattern. This naturally wasn't easy to accomplish but Kieran felt it was a feasible demand.

They weren't completely incompetent players.

As for Aspaira, there wasn't much Kieran could guide her on except trying to be more accurate with her aiming by tracking and estimating her opponent.

Since they had already considered his advice, Kieran no longer nitpicked their UAP allocation, letting them allocate the points at their discretion.

Because he was unsure of future involvement, Kieran felt it was best to let them handle their personal affairs. After all, Kieran's UAP suggestions were tailored to what he sought from his party members.

Finally, Kieran revealed a faint smile, but it was fleeting as Sithik raised a point.

"Err boss, there's a ton of people surging towards the back of the Fanged Forest now. Should we get a move on as well?" Sithik asked while scratching his head.

After reaching the edge of this area, Kieran had everyone remain in place. The inactivity led to a few of them becoming restless. Patience was not a virtue present in everyone.

"Moving right now would be ill-advised. We must maintain an element of surprise amidst the upcoming hardcore battle. You all want revenge, yes? It must be plotted carefully to be obtained faultlessly," Kieran responded.

Though he understood where Kieran was coming from, Sithik couldn't help but release a frustrated groan, "But, boss, why not? Shouldn't at least hundreds of players group up to get a piece of the Field Boss? Surely a heated battle should have erupted by now."

"Hundreds?" Kieran chuckled.

After a pause, he continued, "Try thousands. Almost every player should be attempting to snag a piece of the juicy meat that is a Field Boss. You mustn't underestimate the hype of first appearances. It could result in obscene loot."

"WHAT?! How obscene are we talking?" Sithik questioned, guffawing in the process.

"Maybe a special type of Unique Item if we're lucky," Kieran shrugged after considering the odds.

Though a Unique Item was only a rank above Rare on the item grading, this particular classification was extremely odd.

Unlike many of the other rankings, Unique Items followed their name to a tee. They were either one-of-a-kind items, or they were items bestowed with one-of-a-kind effects.

Hence, when it came to Unique Items, it could be a hit or miss. If one was lucky it could potentially be more valuable than an Epic or Legendary Item.

Despite not understanding this about Unique Items, everyone's eyes widened as big as saucers.

"Yeah, but if I'm being brutally honest, that's all based on luck and ability," Kieran shrugged. While Unique Items were unmistakably enticing, Kieran understood that raised hopes could result in crushing outcomes.

Besides, he was more interested in the rewards he'd get from clearing a quest labeled with an SSS Ranked difficulty.

While they waited patiently, Altair sparked another round of conversation. "How many members of the Shadow Cartel do you estimate will participate?"

"It's hard to truly gauge, but let's safely estimate that at least half of their forces were sent to this Beginner Village," Kieran estimated.

Altair's eyes glistened with intrigue as he listened to Kieran estimate the numbers.

A moment later, Altair stretched. "And how much would you say that is number-wise?"

"Meh… maybe 6- 700? Perhaps more"

"..."

"..."

Everyone in the party silently blinked and turned towards Kieran's nonchalant figure.

"Say it with even less indifference, why don't you? Do you not understand how large the disparity in our numbers is?!" Aspaira exclaimed in shock.

"The disparity will be irrelevant if we implement my plan properly. I believe many players continue to underestimate the treachery of a Field Boss, granted that it required an announcement. I'm not going into much detail, just know that we'll have ample help," Kieran explained with a wicked grin.

Seeing that wicked grin, everyone viewed Kieran in a new light.

Not only was their party leader a daredevil, but he was absolutely vindictive! Kieran's goal was not simple vengeance, Kieran's goal was to make the Shadow Cartel pay as a whole!

Such a situation was liable to cause absolute mayhem, but unfortunately, the Shadow Cartel stoked the ire of a vengeful creature whose thirst for vengeance was heightened by their unsettled animosity.

"You're… a madman. I love it," Altair said with a passionate gleam in his eyes. He grinned from ear to ear underneath his scarf.

Soon after, Kieran gave the signal for them to begin moving toward the battle with extreme caution.

Once the sounds of battle entered Kieran's ears, he stopped their advance and climbed a nearby tree with nimbleness that should only belong to someone of the Thief or Hunter Class and gained a bird's eye view.

The battlefield entered his sights, and it made Kieran more excited than he cared to admit. The Field Boss that spawned in this area was by no means a simple one. In fact, this spawn was in their favor.

As long as he played his cards right, the Field Boss would undeniably annihilate the parties that attempted to slay it.

'You all might be unrelated in this conflict, but unfortunately, your deaths are inevitable. I'm not willing to forsake my claim in the finite opportunities at this stage to ensure the benefits of others,' Kieran thought.

"As I assumed, I counted at least 3,000 people trying to participate in this Field Boss battle. However, a pittance of those numbers will survive to see the next few minutes. The time to act is upon us," Kieran said.

After Kieran came down from the tree, the party's reaction changed, especially Sithik.

"Clifford?!" Sithik screamed out loud.

This exclamation was due to an enormous wolf that put even Grifear's stature to shame. It was simply colossal. One of its fangs was thrice the size of Altair's daggers.

Aside from the wolf's size, its most menacing trait was the slight heat waves that spilled off its body in droves.

If these heat waves weren't enough, gazing into this beast's eyes was like looking into madness itself.

「Lv.15 Colossal Scarlet Wolf (Rare)

Field Boss

Beast-Type, Fire-Type

Health: 220,000/220,000 (100%) 」

"Damn. …Just damn," Altair muttered under his breath.