—-

If Scar were truly enraged by Kieran’s comment, his attack would be far more frightening than what Kieran was experiencing now. The presence felt like a boss attack at most and not one with an outrageously high ranking either. So, the more Kieran assessed the situation, the more it felt like this attack was strictly to judge something about him personally.

‘Could this be the first step to acquiring his hidden favor? If so, then I can’t avoid facing this attack,’ Kieran thought with a deepening frown. The sole reason for coming here was to gain Scar’s favor, ultimately translating to favorable options down the line.

However, Kieran didn’t recall anyone mentioning that gaining Scar’s favor entailed facing an outlandish attack. Even the weapon in his grasp rapidly deteriorated while subjected to his terrifying power.

“So? What will it be–will you choose to face this attack, or will you give up now?” Scar asked before looking at Kieran with a merciless expression. Perhaps if Kieran were an average starting player, this gaze would’ve been enough to deter him, forcing him to forfeit the test.

However, Kieran was no average player. He was all too familiar with Zenith Online’s quest system. It was impossible to give an unclearable quest as it would just cause progress to stagnate indefinitely. How could that positively affect the popularity of the game and its future?

It was already known that a significant portion of the gaming community was filled with whining buffoons. They complained at first sight of outrageous difficulty hoping it would be patched. Or, they complained about specific mechanics they didn’t agree with to lower the skill ceiling and bridge the skill gap between average and skilled players.

Sadly, these complaints wouldn’t work on Zenith Online. All of the mechanisms established in the game were outside of anyone’s control. After all, the game was made with blooming balance at the vanguard of their design. Besides, an easy game is one with a short-lived reputation. Some difficulty is needed to stimulate the part of the brain that strives to overcome posed difficulties.

Thus, Kieran exhaled before raising his fists to Scar. Since there was no weapon for him to wield, he could only rely on his body at this time. “This is far from enough to make me give up. Do you think I’m scared of you? Perhaps… Are you somewhat of a monster? Perhaps… But that doesn’t mean I’ll run away like a frightened dog with its tail between its legs.”

“Heh heh,” Scar chuckled softly. A slight smile appeared across his otherwise frightening visage for the first time. After his smile, Scar slammed his weapon against the ground before him. No damage was inflicted upon the ground as a type of protective film protected it via an impressive rune array. But, the same couldn’t be said for Kieran.

A cluster of destructive energy surged in his direction, bombarding Keiran’s body nonstop. Every hit dealt a tenth of his current health bar, but it didn’t force him backward like the earlier attacks. It was clear that the intentions behind this attack differed from the earlier ones.

By the time the attack finished, Kieran was left with five percent of his health bar, but other than that, he was seemingly fine.

“Consider my leniency as a token of favorability. Had you given into the pressure of the attack, you would’ve been blown out of that door, but your confidence persisted,” Scar said before extending his hand to Kieran.

A small vial appeared in his palm with a red elixir swirling inside. “Drink this and recover the vitality you’ve lost.”

As for the vial in his hand, it was a Beginner Health Potion that recovered up to 150 Health over the span of 6 seconds. Of course, it couldn’t be continuously ingested because there was a cooldown on its effects. It could only be consumed once every 15 seconds.

Kieran immediately grabbed the potion and downed it, feeling the vitality return to his body at a steady pace. At the same time, a few notifications appeared before his eyes._-.

〈System: Congratulations, you have cleared the quest «Scar’s Unique Task»!〉

〈System: You have received «Warrior Class»!〉

〈System: You have received «Unique Warrior Package»!〉

〈System: Your favorability with Scar has increased by 20 points!〉

〈System: You have received 100 Experience!〉

〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.1 → Lv.2]〉

〈System: You have received 5 Unassigned Attribute Points and 2 Skill Points.〉

All of Kieran’s gains were immediately reflected in his status screen. However, his focus remained on one item in particular—the Unique Warrior Package. The reason for accepting the quest was due to the allure of this item. While it didn’t reward a unique item as that would be too game-breaking for an Lv.1 character to possess, it was a unique item in and of itself.

「Unique Warrior Package (Consumable)

Item Rank: Unique

Item Level: 1

Description: A package that is limited to only one individual. The individual to gain Scar’s genuine approval will receive this item; anyone after will only receive the rare version with far fewer benefits.

Opening this item rewards the following:

– 18 to 25 Unassigned Attribute Points

– 10 to 15 Skill Points

– Uncommon Beginner Weapon and Armor Selection.

– «Force Slash», «Savage Break» & «Warrior’s Aura»

– 1 to 5 Silver Coins

– Beginner Consumables (50) 」

Kieran grinned from ear to ear as he read through the contents of the package. It was simply a godsend for a new player since it covered all bases. As long as he managed his belongings well, these consumables should be enough to last him until he migrated to a proper city.

Afterward, Kieran opened the package without hesitation.

「You have received the following:

– 22 Unassigned Attribute Points

– 12 Skills Points

– 3 Silver Coins 50 Copper Coins

– «Force Slash»

– «Savage Break»

– «Warrior’s Aura»

– 25 Beginner Health Potions

– 25 Beginner Mana Potions 」

As for the weapon choice and armor selection, he unsurprisingly chose a greatsword and a set of heavy armor, including a helmet, top, bottom, gloves, and shoes.

The armor wasn’t exactly the finest, but it held an overall slender design despite being heavy armor. It was form-fitted to Kieran’s body with the joints connected by durable leather. Plus, he could toggle the helmet’s presence on and off if he wished it.

Regarding the three highlighted names, they were skills Scar chose for anyone competent enough to complete his challenge. This was the one advantage that wasn’t present in the Rare, Uncommon, or Common versions of the package.

Kieran’s eyes lit up when he read through their skill description.

「Force Slash (Lv.1)

Skill Rank: E Rank Active

Mastery (00.00%)

Skill Description: Deals 145% of the user’s Attack Power by focusing their Strength into their arm and unleashing a strike powerful enough to produce a wave of force.

Consumption: 1 Mana Point

Prerequisites: Warrior Class, «Warrior’s Aura»

Cooldown: 14 seconds 」

「Savage Break (Lv.1)

Skill Rank: D Rank Active

Mastery (00.00%)

Skill Description: Unleashes a decisive blow of destruction that deals 190% of the user’s Attack Power and can trigger a Defense Break effect, lowering the enemy’s defense by 15% for 3 seconds.

Consumption: 2 Mana Points

Prerequisites: Warrior Class, «Warrior’s Aura»

Cooldown: 45 seconds 」

「Warrior’s Aura (Lv.1)

Skill Rank: D Rank Active

Mastery (00.00%)

Skill Description: At the cost of Mana, summons an aura that increases your attack damage by 10%.

Consumption: 1 Mana Point per 5 seconds

Prerequisites: Warrior Class

Cooldown: 60 seconds (Only begins after deactivation of the skill.) 」

Overall, Kieran was pleased by the state of his character. Just the fact that he received two D-Rank skills left Kieran satisfied. After all, the skills in Zenith Online ranged from F to SSS. F Rank skills were extremely basic skills given to each player upon succeeding in their Class Bestowal.

In a Warrior’s case, it included Upward Slash, Thrust, and Heavy Slash.

“Don’t tell me this inconsequential sliver of power is enough to astonish you to the point you’ve become wordless,” Scar said with a light scoff. He didn’t understand that Kieran was simply taking the time to access his skills and understand the rotation to use them in.

“Of course not, not at all,” Kieran muttered while clearing his throat.

Even so, Scar revealed a skeptical expression. “Whatever. You’re too weak as you are now. So you need experience. Go out and do warrior things. Shoo.”

Ding!

〈System: You have received a quest. Do you wish to accept? [Y / N]?〉

「Quest Name: A Warrior’s Task

Quest Difficulty: E

Recommended Level: 1-3

Objectives: Now that you’ve been given the Warrior Class, you need to reinforce Scar’s perception of their current caliber.

– Kill 25 monsters using accessible basic Warrior mechanics. 0/1

Reward:

– 500 Experience

– +30 favorability with Warrior Class Mentor, Scar

Failure:

– Removal of the Warrior Class

– Permanent 0 favor with Gena Village’s Warrior Class Mentor, Scar

Time Limit: 12 hours

Note: This quest must be performed solo or with another Warrior possessing a similar quest. 」

‘An E rank quest, huh? I guess beggars can’t be choosers. The more difficult quests shouldn’t be readily available so early on I suppose,’ Kieran thought to himself. Naturally, he accepted the quest as it was a decent source of experience.

Thus, Kieran left the area in a completely different state than when he entered the Class Hall. ‘Fanged Forest, that’ll have to do for now. Anything else will be outside of my capabilities.’