Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

After disbanding both of their parties, Kieran's party of 5 quickly became a team of 9. Inside the Team Menu, Kieran noticed that everyone was given a role that matched the type of class they held.

However, Kieran pretty much ignored the roles provided by the conventional system.

After all, he didn't need it to direct how he'd lead the team. Kieran already had a plan in mind to deal with the Field Boss, which naturally relied heavily on his ability to achieve unnaturally high burst damage thanks to the skills Scar provided him.

"Before we engage in combat, we'll make the roles clear," Kieran said. A moment later, his attention shifted to Cygnus and Sithik. "Cygnus, you'll be one of the two main healers tasked with supporting the tank uh-"

"Bastion," Bastion announced, finally revealing his name to Kieran.

"Right." Kieran nodded faintly. "You'll be alongside uh-"

"Sera," Bastion said, clarifying the naming issue for Kieran again.

"I appreciate the assistance," Kieran said with a wry smile.

He then returned to the matter at hand. "Cygnus, Sera, your priority will be to keep Bastion alive. As the off-healer, Sithik will render additional aid when needed, but you're to focus on anyone that requires healing."

"Alice and Aspaira, you two will naturally remain at range," Kieran directed. Since he heard Bastion call out the names of the Mage and Thief, he didn't require any help regarding their name.

Alice, the reserved Mage on Bastion's team, nodded faintly while shifting her gaze from Kieran to Aspaira, who waved at her. While she didn't say anything, Alice acknowledged her wave with a nod.

"Altair, Cyr, there's not much I need to say on your part. Simply avoid getting hit by both the Field Boss and the spells our Mages launch while keeping up the damage. We… are the close-range DPS, so we must be careful," Kieran advised.

Everyone nodded, indicating that they understood their role.

Upon giving it enough time to set in, Kieran turned his attention to the large wolf in the distance. He gripped his Novice Greatsword as the information on the monster appeared.

「 Lv.15 Colossal Scarlet Wolf (Rare Boss)

Field Boss

Beast Type, Fire Type

Health: 107,800/110,000 (98%) 」

Compared to when it first appeared, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's Health was now roughly half of its initial value. Though, due to the time Kieran took to recuperate, plus the ineptitude of the earlier strike force, the Field Boss' Health was still essentially full.

A two percent difference was negligible against such a healthy Boss Monster.

After a deep exhale, Kieran focused up and uttered a single command. "Begin!"

Whoosh!

As the tank, Bastion was the first to move, rushing toward the monster with heavy steps. Though his movement speed was excruciatingly slow compared to everyone else, Kieran was surprised by how well he handled the clunkiness of his armor.

When he arrived before the Colossal Scarlet Wolf, Bastion activated a skill unique to his Knight Class.

"Shield Press!"

In an instant, a strange pressure bombarded the Field Boss as Bastion pressed his shield forward, limiting how the boss could react. This skill was meant to generate aggro against a monster by aggravating it.

Bastion accomplished this beautifully, even leading to the Colossal Scarlet Wolf swiping at him.

Bang!

Although the Field Boss possessed shockingly high STR, Bastion was not thrown back by the attack, remaining affixed to the ground like a deeply rooted tree.

Not only was the Knight Class innately resistant to the Knockback effect, but Bastion also possessed a specialized build centered around STR and END. So, while he lost Health, it was manageable.

'Roughly 8% or so from a normal attack. Considering the physique of our current characters, that's very good. It provides a decent window to heal and assist,' Kieran inwardly noted.

After handling a few additional swipes from the Colossal Scarlet Wolf, Bastion activated a skill similar to crowd control, though it didn't have any restrictive effects. What it did have, however, was the ability to heighten his aggro-producing abilities.

"Knight's Honor!"

"Provocation Smash!"

Bastion quickly coupled the skill with another attack to ensure his grasp of the boss's aggro was cemented.

Bang!

Due to the way Provocation Smash worked, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's head was smashed into the ground.

-180

Despite his high STR, Bastion's attacks were not powerful at all. However, that was understandable since a Knight's role wasn't to deal damage.

It was to defend the party and secure their safety.

Alternatively, Kieran looked at Bastion in a new light.

The way he linked his skills together represented a high understanding of his character's fluency. Furthermore, the way he held onto and established aggro denoted his abilities at tanking.

'A natural at tanking?' Kieran wondered.

This thought made Kieran sift through his memories to find any renowned figures named Bastion. Sadly, he couldn't put a title or face to such a player, meaning at the very least, he was not a Titled Ranker in Kieran's time.

Of course, that didn't mean Bastion wasn't skilled enough to be one. Based on the skills Kieran gathered from Bastion's action, a Titled Ranker was just the beginning for Bastion.

'What could it be…' Kieran wondered.

"I've got it! You're all good to begin your assault now," Bastion called out.

Hearing that, Kieran immediately pushed his questions to the back of his mind before glancing at his character panel. 'It's a Field Boss, so the use is justified even if it's a marginal increase.'

〈System: Strength has risen from 85 to 90.〉

〈System: Agility has risen from 55 to 60.〉

As the blue embers of Warrior's Aura flickered off Kieran's body, he led the assault on the Colossal Scarlet Wolf. Not long after, Altair and Cyr quickly appeared by his sides as they dashed past Bastion.

The first to attack was Altair, unleashing a flurry of rapid dagger strikes while Cyr did the same, albeit at a much slower pace.

Before Kieran initiated his attack, however, he looked at Alice and laid eyes upon her upcoming attack.

'That skill looks like it requires a lot of Mana. In that case, let me help her out.'

Kieran immediately took off at an angle that didn't interrupt Bastion's tanking, suddenly speeding up the activation of Charge by stomping his foot and shooting forth like a fired cannonball.

"Charge!

-382 «Stunned»

The period of this stun was minute in duration, but Kieran didn't mind that. What he wanted was to augment Alice's damage, which was why he timed it for his Charge to land now.

Sometime later, a large amount of Mana had finished congregating above Alice's staff. The appearance and size resembled an enormous Mana Missile, but Kieran felt that was incorrect.

Instead, what Alice was releasing was one of the advantages of obtaining the Unique Starter Package of her class. The large collection of Mana rippled violently before separating into four.

Four wasn't the maximum number of times the sphere could be split, but it was the extent of Alice's current capabilities. She required more time with the spell to become further acquainted with sectioning Mana.

"Mana Torrent!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each of the Mana Missiles landed upon the boss's body simultaneously. Since it originated from the same skill and landed simultaneously, the damage was treated as one entity.

-3,150! «Critical Hit»

"Phew." Altair whistled, taken aback by the raw damage Alice's skill achieved. Although only one of the attacks triggered a Critical Hit, it was still shocking, to say the least.

That was damage outclassing Kieran's critical in the best-case scenario, making Aspaira and Altair subconsciously look at him!

However, Kieran felt no resentment for having his position as the most absurd damage dealer robbed from him.

That was simply an empty and childish notion. The most crucial matter was defeating the boss!

Besides, Kieran's vision and focus remained vested in the future. To him, the present that didn't contain the True Berserker Class he so desperately sought, was not present.

'It all starts once I obtain that class. In the meantime…'

A large shockwave suddenly erupted from Kieran's body as the pendant around his neck released a subtle light. The shockwave came from the Bear King Pendant's Item Ability: Spirit of the Bear King.

〈Alert: Your foe, Field Boss «Colossal Scarlet Wolf», has entered a 5-second «Dazed» state.〉

As a Field Boss, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf possessed an increased resistance to debuffs and abnormal statuses. But in this case, the resistance existed as the ability to reduce the duration and not the intensity of the effect.

Nevertheless, this five-second window was incredibly useful when paired with Kieran's skills.

"Savage Break!"

Bang!

-702

Though Savage Break didn't obtain a Critical Hit, it dealt close to 1% of the boss's Health.

〈Alert: «Colossal Scarlet Wolf»'s DEF has fallen by 25%.〉

With the precursors for dealing increased damage set, Kieran mustered an astronomical amount of force and unleashed his bread-and-butter damage skill.

"Force Slash!"

-1,979! «Critical Hit»

After unleashing their skills, everyone finally felt the pain of going up against a Field Boss without having access to a vast repertoire of skills.

The use of basic attacks against a Field Boss resulted in negligible damage values.

When factoring in the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's regeneration rate, Kieran estimated that nearly half of their damage would be erased every minute. Luckily, Kieran was mentally prepared for this misfortune.

'Aspaira and Alice are the two most valuable players on the team, but Aspaira's individual worth is incomparable to Alice's. That Mana Torrent, despite having an undesirably long cooldown period, is truly destructive.'