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6.95% Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player / Chapter 44: A Berserk Field Boss

Chapter 44: A Berserk Field Boss

As it was universally understood that Mages sorely lacked defensive capabilities, their Magic Power was adjusted accordingly. In a sense, at this point in Zenith Online, Mages could be considered a cheat code.

Granted, this only rang true if the Mage in question had adequate aiming abilities and access to decent equipment. Otherwise, they, too, would be in a similar challenging situation. 

A few seconds later, Kieran watched as a pleasant cluster of energy passed by him and encompassed Bastion. When Kieran looked at the alert in his battle log, his brow arched.

+127! [Bastion's Health: 940/1,139]

If Kieran ignored the fact Sera's Healing Light eclipsed what Sithik or Cygnus could muster, there was still something else capable of rousing his astonishment—Bastion's Health.

Although Health and DEF was a Knight's specialty, Kieran didn't expect him to exceed 1,000 by a commendable margin. 

'Even if it's achieved with the help of gear, I'm certain his VIT is naturally high. That's definitely an advantage he received from the Knight Instructor,' Kieran thought.

When Kieran looked deeper into the logs, he found something even more disgusting. Surprisingly, Bastion's current DEF was approaching 300, which was more than double Kieran's DEF.

'To call him an excellent early-game tank would be an understatement,' Kieran mused.

Thanks to Bastion's efforts and remarkable defensive abilities, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's aggro was maintained at all times, its physical attacks limited to Bastion. 

The longer Bastion kept the Field Boss occupied, the wider the damage windows grew since an occupied foe translated to fewer interruptions.

Unfortunately, battling against a Field Boss was not a straightforward endeavor. Its attack patterns weren't just limited to rushing, pouncing, swiping, and biting. The Colossal Scarlet Wolf could also unleash abilities.

All of a sudden, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf lifted its head while its torso expanded. All signs pointed to an incoming ability, namely one centered around howling.

The temperature began to rise as Kieran issued an order. Attempting to cancel this Field Boss' actions was something Kieran considered, but after witnessing how fast it amassed Mana, Kieran decided against it.

"Altair, Cyr—maintain some distance from the Colossal Scarlet Wolf," Kieran directed.

At the same time, he retreated behind Bastion, who activated another skill in his arsenal.

"Oath of Protection!"

After activating this skill, Bastion became the sole receiver of damage for the team. It may be a skill with a long cooldown, but it was incredibly useful in situations where a party faced an inevitable large-scale attack.

Unfortunately, this skill also increased the damage the user received by 10% for every person within the skill's protection range. In other words, Bastion would receive almost double the original damage.

Aowoo!

Soon, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf emitted a howl that bombarded Bastion. 

However, it was no normal howl. 

Each sound wave was saturated by reddish embers that left scorch marks on Bastion's armor. This not only reduced Bastion's Health greatly with each tick of damage, but the durability of Bastion's equipment dropped considerably as well.

With how rapidly Bastion lost Health, Sera stepped forward and said a quick prayer. A second later, she used a Healing Light followed by a Mending Aura, enveloping Bastion in a lasting radiance of healing energy.

Once done, she prepared to unleash a Regeneration Burst.

All of this entered Kieran's notice as he kept a close eye on the actions of this makeshift team. 'Despite her young and almost vulnerable appearance, this girl is extremely skilled at her task. Her awareness on the battlefield is remarkable and she excels at fulfilling her role. Sithik and Cygnus could learn a thing or two from her.'

Kieran, Altair, and Cyr alternated their attacks on the Field Boss, timing it with Bastion's aggro-producing actions. 

Once Bastion grabbed ahold of the aggro that threatened to slip away and disrupted its momentum, Aspaira and Alice would unleash magical attacks.

Sadly, there were times when the Colossal Scarlet Wolf became unapproachable due to its body being bathed in a sea of flames. If Bastion attempted to get too close, he would begin losing Health in the form of burn damage.

"Field Bosses are really a pain in the ass, huh?" Bastion groaned with a frustrated scowl. 

"You don't know the half of it. I've just about had it and all I'm doing is healing!" Sithik complained.

"I think the real issue is how small our strike force is. Or rather, how unimpressive our damage is. We're making headway, but it's not enough," Cyr chimed in.

"You're not wrong," Kieran said. "While we continue to whittle away at its Health, at the rate we're going, it'll be at least an hour before we take it down. The constant regeneration is what calls for incredible amounts of burst damage to take down Boss Monsters."

The issue with battling against a Field Boss for an hour was their Stamina. The odds of their Stamina holding out for that long were extremely slim. Not to mention, there was also the issue of more people arriving.

Though most players within Gena Village weren't interested in slaying the boss after hearing the rumors of its strength, there were naturally those that would want a chance at redemption for the death they suffered.

Aside from that, there were those select few who also wished to try their hand in the matter. Given these factors, Kieran understood the Field Boss needed to be dealt with swiftly.

"Our main objective is ensuring that this does not turn into a battle of attrition. That said, I'll have to be a bit reckless," Kieran voiced, glancing toward Bastion.

"I'm almost certain that tanking is about to become problematic for you, so let me apologize in advance," Kieran said.

Bastion arched his brow. "Damn… just what do you have in mind for you to make that claim?"

"Watch and you'll see," Kieran replied. 

All of a sudden, the way he wielded his greatsword changed, placing more focus on speed rather than heavy attacks. 

Whoosh!

"Alice, Aspaira, I'll create as many openings as you need. Launch an unrelenting stream of spells," Kieran ordered.

Whereas Aspaira clutched her staff in response, gazing at the Colossal Scarlet Wolf strangely, Alice responded with a subtle nod.

A moment later, Kieran arrived beside Bastion and surpassed him. 

Though Bastion held the highest aggro value, with a Field Boss, once a player came too close, they'd immediately switch their focus to the closest individual. That presence would then be viewed as an imminent threat.

Nevertheless, Kieran continued with his actions, ducking underneath a blast of fire and closing the distance between him and the large beast.

Bang!

Kieran's blade swept out in an arc matching a half moon, but despite the STR fueling his attack, it didn't cause a Knockback as Kieran had hoped. 

But that didn't stop him.

Following his swing, Kieran spun and lashed out his leg, landing a swift kick in the same spot, right below the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's jaw.

After launching his attack, the beast retreated one step. In response, Kieran took it as a sign to press further, unleashing a flurry of swift attacks.

-101 

-92

-94

A number of decent damage values appeared over the beast's head in quick succession. Managing to deal close to 100 damage per strike to a Field Boss using basic attacks was quite a considerable feat.

Eventually, Kieran created an opening in the beast's defense, allowing Aspaira and Alice to inflict damage. And because Kieran interfered with the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's attempt to dodge, the two Mages mustered a 100% accuracy rate with their spells.

However, Kieran's actions created an unstable situation. After all, a frantic Field Boss capable of wielding flame attacks was quite a nuisance.

Yet… 

'If my memory serves me right…'

Kieran suddenly stepped forward, entering within three meters of the boss. A second later, a ring of fire sprouted, encasing Kieran and Bastion. 

"Tank," Kieran directed.

As Bastion defended against the incoming attacks, his grimace deepened. "Excuse me sir… this thing is LITERALLY destroying my equipment. Its claws are on FIRE. FIRE! Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

"I'm aware. I have functional eyes," Kieran retorted, briefly scanning the damage to Bastion's shield. "It'll hold up, just continue tanking."

Afterward, Kieran frequently unleashed Force Slash to create a surge of damage and an opening in the flaming circle. Unfortunately, this opening was small and only Alice managed to aim her Mana Torrent through the opening.

Unlike before, none of the clusters of Mana resulted in a Critical Hit, but it still dealt a considerable amount of damage.

By the time the circle of fire dissipated a few minutes, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf lifted its head and released a deafening howl. As its Health had dropped to 15%, the Field Boss entered a state unique to Boss Monsters—Berserk.

In an instant, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's body swelled as its muscles rippled with strength. Its claws also left scorch marks on the ground when it moved.

〈Alert: Field Boss Colossal Scarlet Wolf has entered its «Berserk» phase.〉

〈Alert: Colossal Scarlet Wolf's STR and AGI have increased by 35%.〉

Compared to Grifear, who lost Defense in exchange for increased Strength and Agility, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf didn't have this issue. A Field Boss's Berserk state was more complete compared to a low-ranking Dungeon Boss.

Whoosh! Ssszzzt! Bang!

Bastion's eyes widened, shaken by how fast the Field Boss had become. A Berserk Field Boss was a terrifying opponent to clash against. Despite Bastion's immense weight and high DEF, he was thrown back. 

Before he could stabilize, the beast opened its maw and fired a flaming orb at Bastion's shield.

Bang!

-546 [Bastion's Health: 245/1,039]

With just two attacks, Bastion was left with less than 25% of his Health.

In response, three layers of heals immediately fell upon Bastion's body. One came from Sera's Restorative Mist, another from Cygnus's Mending Aura, and the remaining presence was Sithik's Healing Light.

With that, Bastion's Health instantly shot back up to 60%.

Once that happened, Sera prepped her Regeneration Burst.

From how it reacted, it was clear the Field Boss was now hellbent on ensuring the destruction of this party. Thus, employing large heals became inevitable.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ApexPen ApexPen

Make sure to point out any spelling errors, grammar errors, or numbers/information that wasn't properly updated so I can immediately rectify those issues.

Thank you, guys!

P.S: A LOT of game terminology will appear in the novel, because well, I'm a gamer. :shrug:

Chapter 45: World Announcement, Important Question

Because of the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's increased attributes, Bastion was forced to use a skill he had been saving for moments like these.

"Knight's Valor!"

Soon, a valiant presence embraced Bastion, which became denser with each passing second. Though, as it was a skill accessible to a basic class, it could only accomplish so much.

Nevertheless, as a class focused on the defensive, Knight's Valor reduced the amount of damage Bastion received. At its current level, it could persist through 4 attacks, with the damage received being reduced by 30%.

At the end of the skill, 2.5% of the total damage Bastion received would be added to his DEF, making him a stronger tank. Unfortunately, that effect only lasted for 15 seconds.

Bang! Bang!

Despite activating this skill, Bastion felt like his body was being assaulted by a battering ram. 

Fortunately, he was in the presence of a competent healer like Sera and adaptive players like Cygnus and Sithik, who followed instructions well. Because of this, however, Bastion's Health was like a constant rollercoaster.

Sera, Cygnus, and Sithik had to work together to heal Bastion enough so that he wouldn't die from one of the boss's attacks.

Though the Colossal Scarlet Wolf was down to a mere 15% of its Health, when looking at it from another perspective, close to 20,000 points separated this party from victory.

Kieran intercepted the incoming attacks whenever he could, veering them away from their intended target. This happened numerous times until Kieran gave out an order.

"Bastion, unleash your strongest Shield Tremor, now!" Kieran roared across the battlefield.

Bastion didn't understand why Kieran wanted him to use this strike, but he obliged nonetheless. 

Less than a second later, Bastion slammed his shield into the ground, creating a disorienting tremor. This action exposed his back, but he left this vulnerability for his Team Leader to resolve.

After all, Kieran had displayed insanely high mechanical skill and grasp of the battlefield until now.

With that in mind, just when Bastion felt a presence near his back, it quickly veered off track. At the same time, a large soundwave came from the opposite direction. 

Disoriented by the tremor and further assaulted by the soundwave, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf fell.

In addition to being put in a Dazed state by Kieran's action, the boss had also exposed a weakness.

"Everyone, attack that right now!"

As soon as the beast's underbelly was exposed, Kieran reacted instantly, a savage aura encompassing his blade. 

"Savage Break!"

At most, the Field Boss' abnormal state would last for 3 seconds, but those three seconds were precious in Kieran's eyes. With Savage Break increasing the damage threshold, Kieran noted a drastic increase in the party's overall DPS.

Within that three-second window, Kieran unleashed his entire skill arsenal.

Unfortunately, despite his efforts, it wasn't enough to defeat the beast. 

Everyone's skills had fallen into cooldown but slightly under 2% of the Boss' Health still remained.

Once the beast stumbled back to its feet, it became a hellish back-and-forth struggle, with Bastion narrowly avoiding death.

Roughly thirty seconds later, Kieran leapt above Bastion with his greatsword enveloped in an incredibly savage aura. The energy around it grew quite berserk but it was nothing unprecedented.

Still, it was quite a sight to see Kieran cleave downward, smashing his greatsword into the Field Boss' skull.

"Savage Break!"

-2,142! «Critical Hit»

Thud!

With that, the giant Field Boss fell lifelessly before everyone, making everyone sigh in relief.

Consequently, the death of the Colossal Scarlet Wolf resulted in an achievement message amidst a number of other customary notifications.

〈System: You have gained 50,000 EXP.〉

〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.18→Lv.19] 〉

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

Aside from Bastion, who required additional EXP to reach Lv.20, everyone else leveled up at least once. Based on their level, killing the Colossal Scarlet Wolf rewarded as much as 36,000 EXP! 

In Kieran's case, it was 25,000. Though, that was naturally doubled by the Medallion of Growth. 

Setting aside the matter of the EXP and team-wide level-ups, Kieran's attention was vested in another matter.

〈System: Would you like to announce your feat as the first Team to kill a Field Boss? [ Y | N ]〉

'To think the Field Boss achievement would be obtained this quickly. I'm not aware of the exact timeline in the past, but it surely wasn't within the first three days of the launch. Simply clearing the Beginner Dungeon's hardest difficulty would take days of trial and error,' Kieran thought.

Though fast-tracked by his actions of selling the Dungeon Manual, which would greatly reduce the difficulty in clearing the Beginner Dungeons, many people were just becoming comfortable with clearing them.

Sadly, as Kieran had claimed the achievement of this zone, which guaranteed the appearance of a Field Boss, additional bonuses couldn't appear. Only the countless other independent Beginner Zones could possibly earn another Field Boss appearance.

But even that would be somewhat affected by Kieran's actions.

Before announcing their feat as the Team Leader, Kieran looked toward Bastion. After experiencing the ramifications of broadcasting one's accomplishments to the world, Kieran understood it was akin to painting a target on the backs of everyone present.

After all, killing a Field Boss within a Beginner Zone was a considerable feat, seeing as it was designed to become a menace for players of this level.

"Hah! If you want to announce it, then do it! I ain't a chicken. Well… not that big of a chicken, but that's beside the point. Let those rewards shower us," Bastion answered, crossing his arms in a fit of boisterous laughter.

Despite their brief interactions, Kieran found Bastion's skill and attitude quite pleasing. From what he could see, Bastion was the type to speak his mind without restraint, but this similarly meant he could be prone to a severe case of verbal diarrhea.

In other words, every intrusive thought he had could possibly be voiced.

Of course, Kieran could neither confirm nor deny this speculation.

"Good. What's understood needn't be said," Kieran nodded faintly. 

Afterward, he swiped his finger, dispelling the unrelated system notifications before accepting the most important one.

「 «Northern Region Announcement» -

Congratulations to the Nameless Team consisting of Team Leader Aatrox and his 8 team members… who earned the First Kill of a Field Boss in the Northern Region. Their feat, which has earned handsome rewards, will forever be held with glory! 」

「 «Xenith World Announcement» -

Congratulations to the Nameless Team consisting of Team Leader Aatrox and his 8 team members… who earned the First Kill of an inferior Field Boss of a Beginner Zone. Their feat, which has earned handsome rewards, will forever be held with glory! 」

The team's name remained nameless as a part of Kieran's doing. 

It was a way to perhaps circumvent any eyes and attention that may fall upon Bastion and his teammates. Giving a team a name was a sign of alliance and deep ties, thus Kieran opted not to do such a thing.

For now, Kieran needed to be able to move freely to accomplish the tasks he was given. 

Aside from that, Kieran also wanted to shed some light upon their ability to prevail without a prior cohesive relationship. The ability to triumph with a makeshift team was a testament to one's individual value.

Since he was starting from scratch, if Kieran wanted to attract the attention of big fish, he needed immense bait. Currently, the bait was tiny, but Kieran had plans in wait to gradually increase the size of the bait.

Following the announcement, a stream of announcements appeared before them.

〈System: You have received 3 Gold.〉

〈System: You have gained 40,000 EXP.〉

〈System: You have received a Rare Grade Treasure Chest.〉

〈System: You have received 150 World Fame.〉

Once the rewards were distributed, everyone in the party was enveloped by a golden radiance. Since the rewards followed the same format, they were consolidated. 

Coupled with the EXP from the Field Boss, Kieran had fulfilled the prerequisites to attempt his Class Promotion. But in his case, Kieran couldn't do that until he met with the original wielder.

Still, Kieran glanced over his stats for the time being.

「Name: Aatrox

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

Class: Warrior

Title(s): None

----------------------------

[«Stats»]-

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

Mana: 155/155 (0.16 MP regen/sec)

Stamina: 150 (0.15 Stamina regen/sec)

Attack Power: 212

Defense: 127

-----------------------------

[«Attributes»]-

»Strength: 90 (56 + 34 + 0)

»Intelligence: 25 (25 + 0 + 0)

»Agility: 60 (52 + 8 + 0)

»Endurance: 40 (20 + 20 + 0)

»Control: 40 (40 + 0 + 0)

»Vitality: 45 (30 + 15 + 0)

»Perception: 50 (50 + 0 + 0)

[Unassigned Stat Point: 10]

[Skill Points: 4] 」

After checking his Character Panel, the first thing that stuck out to Kieran was the new EXP requirement—80,000. 

Compared to the previous levels, this was an insane jump. Nevertheless, it was also understandable since the jump from Lv.20 to Lv.21 generally signified a change in an individual's State of Being.

After glossing over the matter of the EXP requirement, Kieran gazed at his special reward from the World Announcement—the Rare Grade Treasure Chest.

In this case, it was only Rare Grade, but it wasn't something Kieran could ignore.

「 Rare Grade Treasure Chest (Special Item)

Item Usage: Upon opening this item, it can bestow up to Rare Items. Special Items are also included in the probability.

Description: A treasure chest with unusual markings that exude an unnatural presence. The inside, while not spacious, may possess bizarre traits. The origin of the items inside may have ties to places outside of natural areas.

Restriction: One-time usage. 」

Since it was a probability-based item, Kieran chose to leave it aside for the time being. While there was a chance of it awarding an item of significant use, it could also reward something completely worthless. 

Therefore, he wouldn't bother with it until he could ensure that its worth would be maximized. As for how he'd accomplish that, Kieran knew a couple of ways.

Regardless of his decision to refrain from opening the chest, there was still an abundance of loot for the team to sift through.

After it was killed, the Colossal Scarlet Wolf dropped roughly fifteen pieces of equipment and other odd items. Inside the pile, approximately four of them shimmered with a light purple radiance. 

While others may not be familiar with item gradings based on the light they radiated, Kieran was.

The color of this glow meant at least four items inside the loot pile were Rare Items. 

Upon realizing this, Kieran prayed that there'd be something incredibly useful in there. Though his skill was high, Kieran had to admit his equipment was somewhat lacking.

Due to the heated battle against the Field Boss, Kieran's Novice Greatsword was on the verge of shattering. Sure, it could be repaired, but that required the Forging skill, and Kieran simply didn't have access to one. 

Not to mention, repairing an Uncommon Item simply wasn't worth the hassle.

Before addressing the loot, Kieran looked at everyone else. "How do you all want to distribute the loot?"


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ApexPen ApexPen

Make sure to point out any spelling errors, grammar errors, or numbers/information that wasn't properly updated so I can immediately rectify those issues.

Thank you, guys!

P.S: A LOT of game terminology will appear in the novel, because well, I'm a gamer. :shrug:

Until May 15th:

Release Rate: 9 ch/week

50 Power Stones = +1 Ch

100 Power Stones = +2 Ch

250 Power Stones = +3 Ch

500 Powers Stones = +5 Ch

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