Chapter 41: Successful Taunt, Rising Fame
As it stood, Kieran had no enmity with the Sunset Triad. However, they were a guild of similar notoriety to the Shadow Cartel, which was why Kieran was so impolite and ill-mannered.
He understood that the universal language in the Underworld was violence, particularly threats of an obscene nature.
Because of this, however, Horizon Break chuckled as if he had heard the most amusing joke on Earth.
Horizon Break's chuckle soon grew into boisterous laughter as he clutched his stomach. "Kid, you're really full of jokes! I guess you feel powerful because you avoided some arrows, broke some binding spells, and eliminated players of admittedly shitty skill."
At the end of Horizon Break's words, his expression grew serious before darkening. "Unfortunately, as a member of the Underworld and the Guild Master of Sunset Triad that has endeavored in many VR Titles, I feel like I should respond to this threat."
Unlike Despot, who was a Thief, Horizon Break was a Hunter, partially because he favored guns in the real world. Sadly, there was no gunman option amongst the basic classes.
With that said, Horizon Break lifted his bow toward Kieran and drew back on its bowstring.
"Kyakakaa!" Despot cackled, his eyes flashing with wicked pleasure. 'You damned fool. Did you think you could handle two guilds on your own? Not possible!'
The further Horizon Break drew back the string on his bow, the more Kieran felt it was undoubtedly a Rare Weapon. The quality and light shimmer of the material it was made from somewhat caught Kieran's eyes.
'It would appear the wicked are sometimes rewarded well. Unfortunately for these fools, my rustiness continues to dissipate. That's not ideal for them,' Kieran thought.
In response to Horizon Break's actions, Kieran lifted his Novice Greatsword with a calm expression, unperturbed by his surroundings.
Though the bow seemed exceptional to current players, Kieran understood that a powerful weapon meant nothing if the damage it could muster never met a target.
"You speak as if the Underworld, or more specifically, the insignificant lackeys of it, are meant to be feared. Perhaps you should let go of your pipedreams as a washed-up old man. This isn't the realm of skeletons. Your brain must already be deteriorating now that you've become a senile bastard," Kieran mocked with a derisive sneer.
Kieran was far from being an amateur when it came to being venomous with words. As someone skilled in mental warfare, Kieran understood what kind of remark was most effective against his opponent.
In this case, Kieran mentioning Horizon Break's age was a sore spot.
It was no speculation that Horizon Break's age had reached a point where his cognitive abilities would start declining. In fact, this was one of the reasons why he was merely regarded as an elite and couldn't step into the realm of Rankers.
Horizon Break would lose every time against a young Ranker in their prime.
Needless to say, against someone like Kieran, he simply wasn't a match. Alas, this wasn't something Horizon Break would admit without at least mending his bruised ego.
"Snot-nosed little brat! I'll for damn sure put you in your place," Horizon Break shouted.
All of a sudden, his bowstring vibrated as Horizon Break plucked it.
Not long after, an arrow sped toward Kieran, eventually gaining two additional copies of inferior presence.
The copies were the special abilities of this bow, which consumed the user's Mana to create two doppelgangers of the arrow that was shot out, each dealing 20% of the original arrow's damage.
As Kieran analyzed the incoming attack, Kieran shook his head and sighed.
"The only one to blame in this situation will be you. I warned you not to be a nosy geezer and stick your unsightly nose where it doesn't belong, but very well. I understand that you people of the Underworld lack basic comprehension skills."
A second later, Kieran unleashed the reason he taunted Horizon Break in the first place. Force Slash had a few seconds left on its cooldown period, so Kieran had to ensure Horizon Break didn't immediately attack after Despot requested aid.
"Damn you! Don't you know how to shut that big mouth of yours?!" Horizon Break roared.
However, this incensed response only served to make Kieran chuckle.
Though, as Kieran studied the incoming arrow further, he noticed a thin air shell around the leading arrow. This phenomenon usually meant the arrow in question was incredibly fast and possibly augmented.
'Oh? What a nasty guy he is. He must have used Accel Shot, which lacks any indicators of its activation. Anyhow… let's entertain him for a bit. For opponents like these, it's best to give them false hope.'
Rather than waste his skill, Kieran raised Novice Greatsword and defended as if he had no other options.
Tang!
-128! «Critical»
[Aatrox's Health: 300/535]
After defending against this Accel Shot, Kieran took a few steps back.
"Hahaha! All that talk, and you couldn't even dodge that arrow?" Horizon Break reacted smugly, immediately moving to mock Kieran as the latter had expected.
'I swear, people like this are of one corroded mind. It's as if they're senseless buffoons—a uniform cog in an otherwise redundant and foolish machine,' Kieran inwardly thought.
However, Horizon Break's laughter was abruptly cut short after looking at his battle log. 'That's it?! What the hell is that monstrous DEF?!'
Though it was an admittedly basic skill, Accel Shot was known for being a Hunter's most practical skill. Not only did the attack have an increased chance of inflicting a Critical Hit, but the attack itself ignored 40% of the user's DEF.
Based on this effect, the damage should have been much higher than 120. This left Horizon Break to believe Kieran's DEF was on par with some Knights.
Of course, Horizon Break wasn't aware that Kieran's level had almost reached the minimum required to attempt his Class Promotion.
Once he dealt with the aftermath of the Accel Shot, Kieran shook off the damage and smiled. Thanks to Horizon Break's initial attack, Kieran was locked in "PK Defender" mode.
Which meant any move he made in retaliation wouldn't contribute to elevating his Infamy.
As Kieran enjoyed this advantage, a thought crossed Horizon Break's mind. 'If he's a Warrior that focuses on STR, END, and perhaps also VIT given his Health, wouldn't that mean AGI is his weakness? As long as I keep him at range…'
Before Horizon Break could think any further, his eyes widened as he witnessed Kieran rushing toward him at incredible speeds. This didn't seem like the AGI of a Warrior that didn't focus on the stat.
"What the hell?!" Horizon Break exclaimed, instinctively nocking another arrow on his bow. He considered directing more of his lackeys to deal with Kieran, but they couldn't ignore the threat of the Colossal Scarlet Wolf.
If too much of the strike force was repositioned to take out Kieran, who was being supported by Sithik and Cygnus in the distance, the Field Boss would be free to do as it pleased, reaping the lives of many players with little difficulty.
All of a sudden, as Horizon Break prepared for Kieran to rush him, Kieran immediately altered directions, cutting toward the remaining Healers that attempted to flee.
Soon, a strong gale encompassed his blade before Kieran unhesitantly released it.
The message embedded in this action was clear—even with all of you present, I will do as I please.
"This asshole! Get him! I don't care how many of you it needs to be, kill that Warrior and that Thief! Now!" Horizon Break bellowed.
He felt as if Kieran had just made a fool of him, belittling him in the presence of his lackeys and, ostensibly, his peer.
Another wave of attacks, spells, and projectiles aimed at Kieran and Altair graced the battlefield, but Kieran used the terrain to his advantage.
With great skill, he dashed behind large rocks to shield himself and weaved through some of the close-range Fighters and Thieves that approached him.
Because of this, it led to many of the attacks damaging their allied forces. As mentioned before, there was no such thing as friendly fire protection in Zenith Online. All attacks carried a risk of damaging allies on the battlefield.
For this reason, many forces took their time to train coordination to avoid these amateurish mistakes.
Unfortunately, Sunset Triad and Shadow Cartel could only be considered a ragtag group of ruffians who lacked the proper skill to be called veteran, skilled players.
Altair was a similarly hard-to-reach target, utilizing his augmented AGI at times to suddenly claim the lives of many like a grim reaper.
The effects of his dagger triggering its effect when Swift Steps were active led to a truly astonishing amount of speed for a Starter Character.
Eventually, Despot and Horizon Break decided that, with the threat of the Colossal Scarlet Wolf behind them and the mage on Kieran's side, Aspaira, occasionally unleashing commendable Flame Waves, a suicidal tactic was in order.
"We'll never be able to defeat the Field Boss like this. These two idiots are too much of a nuisance. We'll have to sacrifice our people and regroup here when all is said and done," Despot voiced.
"I agree. If we cause everyone to get wiped, we can regroup and try again before the others," Horizon Break consented.
However, right as these two decided to make a suicidal move. A loud voice sounded from behind Kieran.
"Haha! We meet again, you famous madlad. I couldn't help but notice that you might need some assistance. You've gotten embroiled in quite the conflict, eh? Perhaps we can be of some help?"
'This familiar voice?' Kieran thought, subtly turning his head. 'Ah… it's that Knight from before.'
Meanwhile, Despot furrowed his brows.
Had Kieran already grown to the point that newcomers would instead render aid to him rather than their organizations? Then again, it was understandable because their notorious reputation didn't paint them in the best light.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ApexPen
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P.S: A LOT of game terminology will appear in the novel, because well, I'm a gamer. :shrug:
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone