—-

Kieran understood this weapon was more than what met the eyes upon reading the information. The Beginner Zone Handicap suppressed its current capabilities. Both the Item Level and Attack Power attached to the item were incorrect. From what Kieran examined, the quality of this weapon warranted a much higher Item Level. At least Level 35.

However, Kieran also understood that his estimation could be inaccurate unless he finished all of his business within Gena Village, namely the Class Promotion. After concluding that matter, he could enter what Zenith Online honestly had to offer—a boundless world with even more extraordinary opportunities!

Meanwhile, the party members stepped away once they saw Kieran’s eyes shimmer upon glancing at the Scarlet Steel Greatsword. Altair even smiled faintly because having someone as monstrous as Kieran pick up a Rare Weapon was akin to giving a lion a pair of wings.

A beast previously confined to the ground could morph into something surpassing an eagle and soar to the skies!

“Pick it up, big guy!” Altair exclaimed. Soon enough, the rest joined in, urging Kieran to take the weapon. However, it was primarily his original party members who told him to do so with the odd addition of Bastion.

Following a short pause, Kieran bent down and grasped the weapon.

As he picked it up, Kieran instantly noticed the immense weight difference compared to the Novice Greatsword. It didn’t take long for him to understand why this weapon required a minimum Strength threshold.

Without reaching that minimum threshold, this sword was unusable! The average individual could only dream of wielding a weapon like this. Only a Warrior who trained their vessel could wield a mighty weapon such as this greatsword.

After equipping the Scarlet Steel Greatsword, Kieran’s attributes soared. Moreover, he could feel the properties of power overflowing from the weapon. ‘The materials used to forge this weapon should have decent Mana conductivity and force distribution. Not too shabby.’

「Name: Aatrox

Lv.20 (Experience: 27,600/80,000)

Class: Warrior_-.

Title(s): None

—————————-

[«Stats»]-

Health: 535/535 (0.2 HP regen/sec)

Mana: 130/130 (0.15 MP regen/sec)

Stamina: 170 (0.17 Stamina regen/sec)

Attack Power: 361

Defense: 127

—————————–

[«Attributes»]-

»Strength: 134 (62 + 72 + 0)

»Intelligence: 20 (20 + 0 + 0)

»Agility: 80 (47 + 33 + 0)

»Endurance: 40 (20 + 20 + 0)

»Control: 55 (30 + 25 + 0)

»Vitality: 45 (30 + 15 + 0)

»Perception: 50 (50 + 0 + 0)

[Unassigned Stat Point: 10]

[Skill Points: 4] 」

Kieran’s current stats made him genuinely smile. Over 350 Attack Power without completing his Class Promotion? If everyone were aware that he now possessed 3 Rare Items, they would undoubtedly feel some shock.

Even Bastion’s party, who worked tirelessly to clear all of the Forest of Beast’s difficulties, only received their second Rare Item after killing the Colossal Scarlet Wolf!

Conversely, Kieran possessed his ring and necklace beforehand.

“So, is that all?” Bastion questioned, breaking the silence caused by admiration. Everyone had essentially undergone a transformation after replacing their equipment with what was accessible. Cyr, in particular, was the luckiest of all, receiving a Lv.15 Rare Leather Top from Altair.

“I suppose so,” Kieran nodded.

However, after giving it a brief thought, he glanced at everyone and swiped his hand across the space before him. A friend request was sent to Bastion, Alice, Cyr, and Sera. Their skills shown during the fight were enough to spark Kieran’s interest.

Naturally, the others accepted. Why wouldn’t they accept the friend request of a player who exhibited just as much, if not more, potential than themselves?! They would be foolish not to!

On the other hand, Kieran turned toward his four original party members. “All of you have more or less reached the threshold. When we meet again, it will no longer be in the beginner area, but in the real world. You’ll do well to pick a decent kingdom to situate yourself in.”

“Wait… w-we’re separating already?” Aspaira muttered with a crushed expression. For some reason, Kieran’s goodbye-sounding tone shattered the picturesque image in Aspaira’s mind. Although she expected them to inevitably part ways, she didn’t expect it to occur so soon.

“Correct. I don’t know the outcome of my class change, so there may be a chance that I will never return to the village. On the other hand, you guys need to visit the village now. Altair, do me a favor and finish leveling up these three?”

Whoosh!

Kieran suddenly tossed an item to Altair in which he caught. Naturally, this item was the Medallion of Growth. It was no longer functional to Kieran since he reached the limitation applied to the item. However, it could still very well serve its purpose to his party members.

Of course, Kieran could have leased it again. But, he trusted Altair enough to not have to go through that hassle.

Conversely, Bastion’s eyebrows raised slightly when he saw the odd item in Altair’s grasp. ‘What is that? I’ve yet to see an item like that. I wonder what its effects are.’

Unlike Kieran, who was familiar with things like medallions, insignias, and other exceptional items, most of Zenith Online’s general population were uneducated about the practicality of said items. Gaining access to this information required players to visit libraries or the correct institutions.

“Level them up? That’ll be no problem. But what I want to know is… why don’t you need to return to town? Do you have your promotion quest already?” Altair asked with an odd expression. This question caused the other’s expression to change considerably as well.

From what they remembered, Kieran was only Lv.18 before coming to this area. If that was the case, how could he have his Class Promotion quest already? Of course, he wouldn’t divulge that he held an SSS-Rank Quest in his quest log.

Therefore, Kieran could only do the most plausible thing and shrug. “Nah, but I have some matters to take care of. By the time I get back, you all will probably have moved along.”

After speaking, he turned his attention toward Bastion, “I presume you’re taking the route of a Guardian Knight, yes?”

“Correct,” Bastion nodded in response.

“Then, I suggest paying attention to your Control and Agility. A sturdy defense is excellent, but you also need basic movement skills. What would you do against wipeout skills? Most of them can’t be defended against; you’ll need to avoid them,” Kieran said.

“Agility?” Bastion frowned slightly. It wasn’t his style to pay attention to Agility. He typically left his back to his trusted comrades Alice and Cyr. He saw no need for Agility, especially since he understood a Guardian Knight’s incomparable defensive capabilities. It was a purely defensive class!

Kieran raised his hand lightheartedly, “Just consider the suggestion. If you find yourself in a difficult situation, just remember to save a decent amount of Unassigned Attributes Points to use later.”

“I’ll consider it. And how about you? What path will you be taking?”

“Berserker,” Kieran said confidently. A natural air around him exuded an indescribable magnetism when he spoke about being a Berserker. He was genuinely excited to find out what this so-called True Berserker entailed.

Bastion could only nod in response while muttering, ‘A Berserker? I wonder how a Berserker plays in this game. There are so many renditions that it makes me wonder if it’s just a simple warrior who took the path of absolute strength.’

Only a faint bit of information was given about the promotion paths until Lv.20. Afterward, players could gain access to all needed information by meeting with their mentor. Granted, it was limited to their own accessible routes.

The general promotion information was divulged upon character creation to give the players an idea of the class that best suited their playstyle.

Eventually, Kieran waved his hand while walking away from the rest of the party. “If you clear your promotions before I do, I suggest you all head to the Aeredale Kingdom. It’s the one I’ll be choosing. If you want to dungeon later, I’m sure we’ll excel there as well.”

“You betcha. At that time, I’ll show you what real tanking skills are. You haven’t seen a thing. That was all a flimsy joke,” Bastion smirked proudly.

“Best of luck there, brother,” Altair added while glancing towards Aspaira and the others. He gave them a signal that made all parties part on three paths.

While Bastion and his party returned to the village, Altair remained in the area to farm monsters until everyone reached Lv.20. With the experience rewards, they were very close.

In the meantime, Kieran roamed deeper into the Fanged Forest, or rather its exit located on the opposing side. The Wildes was such a forbidden place because it was what other games called a central or end-game zone. It could be accessed from any continent through the corresponding channels.

However, it was frankly an area of chaos! Even the Mana in that area was abysmal because an irregular aura pervaded the place. Calling it ghastly would be incorrect. The atmosphere in that zone was simply abominable as if it originated from terrifying monsters of legends.

As mentioned before, the monsters in that place were incredibly strong. At the very least, Kieran didn’t want to visit this place until he was at least Awakened. Alas, he was forced to abide by his quest conditions.

On foot, reaching the Wildes was an arduous journey. Because of this, something told Kieran this trek alone was part of the test. He estimated it would take at least a day of continuous travel just to reach the end. Considering he could run approximately 80 kilometers per hour, that was a tremendous distance.

After running off and on for approximately 16 hours straight, Kieran rested against a large boulder in an excessively barren area. He glanced forward only to lay eyes upon a desolate zone within sight. Although it was within sight, it was still at least 500 kilometers away.

At this point, Kieran was just thankful that Gena Village was located in the southernmost part of the Northern Continent. Otherwise, this journey would have turned exponentially longer, requiring more than a month of travel on foot!

Suddenly, a ripple appeared next to Kieran that put him on high alert! ‘A monster of some sort? No… most monsters should be confined to the Wildes’ restrictive border. Then, what the hell is this?’

Out of nowhere, an archaic voice sounded from within the portal. “Young man…”

Rather than approach the portal, Kieran backed away. ‘That is absolutely creepy… Think I’m foolish enough to approach that?!’