Chương 17: Three Paths, An Improvised Solution
After killing the Shadow Wolves, everyone turned toward Kieran with a skeptical look. While the EXP within this difficulty was greatly improved, it wasn't so drastic that three monsters justified a sudden level-up.
Moreover, Altair and the others felt this way because the Party Menu displayed everyone's level and EXP Bar.
"My EXP was higher than yours; how have you leveled up before me?!" Altair exclaimed, eyeing Kieran peculiarly. Whereas Kieran began the run with 30 EXP, Altair started with 290.
"That's a secret. How can I protect myself if I expose my secrets? If we clear this run, I'm sure you'll be satisfied," Kieran said, covering his mischievous smirk with a single finger.
Sensing that Kieran would continue avoiding the answer, the party shifted their attention from him to the drops from the three Shadow Wolves. There was no equipment within the drops, but there was a decent number of coins and materials.
"That's literally trash. We killed three Elites, yet not a single piece of equipment dropped," Sithik groaned.
"Meh, don't get your hopes up. There will be drops; that much is certain. But you'll only be disappointed if you're too hopeful," Kieran said.
"Yeah, we were similarly disappointed at the beginning of my last run. We probably won't come across anything good until the middle to late stages of the run," Aspaira chimed in.
Sithik grumbled and scratched his head before begrudgingly nodding. "I'll be quiet for now, but I'm going to rage if this game is dogshit."
"Rage? That'd be pretty fun. I'd love to see that," Cygnus commented with a playful chuckle. She seemed like the type who found serious situations funny.
"I should warn you now because my stream is active; many people will attempt our composition. We need to be coordinated if we want to claim the First Clear and the boss's First Blood. Unless it involves equipment, let's save the loot distribution until the end," Kieran suggested.
"Errr…" Cygnus tapped her fingers together with a troubled expression.
Similarly, Sithik revealed a wry smile.
Kieran's blank gaze swept through the party. "Trust isn't required. You can view the Loot Table at any time. Besides, beginner equipment is garbage. What idiot would steal or monopolize it?"
Everyone looked at Kieran with a strange expression after hearing his opinion. Every piece of equipment was vital at this point in the game, especially from a run like this!
How could he view it as garbage?
"I'm starting to think you have a screw loose, Aatrox. The game just started. Nothing is garbage to us," Altair retorted.
"Meh. It's just my opinion. So, does that settle it?"
"If the loot is displayed within the table, then fine. I see no reason to stall the run for the sake of dividing the loot," Cygnus reluctantly agreed.
"I'm game for whatever," Altair shrugged.
"Mm, I'll be trusting this one time. But I'll broadcast it to the world if you scam us!" Aspaira shouted, ensuring to add a minor threat.
Kieran chuckled and shook his head. 'Foolish girl, I'm streaming. It's already being broadcast to the world.'
"To think the woman that tried to bald us would have an opinion. The nerve," Altair scoffed jokingly.
"I concur. Her aim is atrocious! I think she is conspiring to turn us into middle-aged men suffering from male pattern baldness!" Kieran added.
The party's atmosphere lightened as they joked amongst themselves.
A few seconds later, Kieran added the points from his level-up.
It differed from how Kieran generally utilized his UAP, but he was too underpowered to do things normally. Given his current situation, he would have to improve at every opportunity.
〈System: Strength has risen from 31 to 34.〉
〈System: Vitality has risen from 18 to 20.〉
Following this use, Kieran's Health and Attack Power changed accordingly.
┌───────────────────
Name: Aatrox
Lv.7 (Experience: 880/2,000)
Class: Warrior
Title(s): None
----------------------------
[«Stats»]-
Health: 190/190 → 200/200 (0.2 HP regen/sec)
Mana: 155/155 (0.16 MP regen/sec)
Stamina: 109 (0.1 Stamina regen/sec)
Attack Power: 75 → 81
Defense: 55
-----------------------------
[«Attributes»]-
»Strength: 34 (22 + 12 + 0)
»Intelligence: 25 (25 + 0 + 0)
»Agility: 35 (32 + 3 + 0)
»Endurance: 18 (8 + 10 + 0)
»Control: 30 (30 + 0 + 0)
»Vitality: 20 (10 +10 + 0)
»Perception: 50 (50 + 0 + 0)
[Unassigned Stat Point: 0]
[Skill Points: 2]
└───────────────────
'Many attributes are important to me for this run, but attack damage is what I need most right now. I'll have to modify how I place my points according to the situation,' Kieran thought.
Once he finished with his stats, Kieran turned to Altair. "You can continue neglecting your defensive stats for now, but you must focus on Agility, Strength, and Control. Maybe Perception as well."
"Consider it done. It's not too different from my usual method." Altair nodded.
Altair's presence was pivotal in this run since he was Kieran's sub-dps—the person responsible for filling the gaps in Kieran's assault.
Afterward, Kieran turned to Aspaira. "You must work on your aim. It's all about being focused and confident. If you worry too much, you will mess up. Breathe before you begin. New settings can be scary but try to limit your anxiety."
"I understand. Thank you for the advice, Aatrox," Aspaira nodded earnestly.
Kieran understood that an amicable atmosphere was conducive to the party's success, so he didn't berate Aspaira for her mistakes to destroy her confidence.
"A harmless and seemingly innocuous mistake could be our downfall. So all I ask is that you all remain alert," Kieran expressed, stressing the end of his directions.
After getting everyone on the same page, Kieran led everyone down the long path while on high alert. Similar to earlier, Shadow Wolves could jump out from the shadows of the towering trees since it was their habitat.
The deeper they traveled, the murkier the atmosphere grew, reaching a point where it dulled their senses. Fortunately for Kieran, the conditions didn't affect him as greatly due to Agatha strengthening his Perception.
Nevertheless, the setting posed a slight issue. He couldn't deal with everything alone, so he turned to Altair.
"Did you obtain a passive?"
"I did. It's called Enhanced Senses, which improves the effects of my Perception. It's vague, but it's helpful," Altair admitted.
"Excellent. Act as a sentinel for the others," Kieran directed. "I see a few forks up ahead."
"Aspaira," Kieran called out.
"Hmm?" Aspaira blinked, awaiting the question.
"How did your last team handle the dungeon? What path did they end up taking?"
"The right path. But we found that it was wrong. We had to clear all three before we could move any further," Aspaira answered.
Kieran was naturally aware of this information but didn't expose his possession of such knowledge. Instead, he questioned to see if Aspaira recalled any helpful information.
"I see. I don't think the developers would have changed that feature, so we should copy those answers, but a little different," Kieran announced.
He then divulged the information of his plan. There was no need to travel down all of the paths. One simply needed to be fast enough to kite all of the Shadow Wolves within the given path.
"35? I'll manage then," Altair nodded, sheathing his two daggers behind his waist. Afterward, Altair got down in a sprinting stance and waited for Kieran's signal.
"We'll start with the left and right path. We will kite our paths simultaneously and work together to deal with them immediately."
Kieran exhaled after storing his greatsword within his inventory. He prepared to sprint as well. Once ready, he nodded to Altair. "Go!"
Whoosh!
The two sped down the dark pathways as if running an Olympic 100-meter dash!
Kieran snatched a few pebbles off the ground due to his lacking Agility and prepared a countermeasure for it.
Thirty seconds later, he saw monsters in the distance and slowed down.
Peng!
Kieran pelted the handful of pebbles and hit several targets with great force while hopping in place, awaiting the reaction.
Ao! Ao!! Ao!!!
A string of deafening howls resounded as Kieran grinned. 'Hehe, more EXP. Come to daddy.'
Thud!
Once Kieran felt the ground shake like a stampede of raging bulls followed after him, he turned around and sprinted toward the exit.
Like before, the Shadow Wolves quickly gained on him, but Kieran dodged their swipes and bites with skillful movement.
"Hoohoo, you have to be quicker than that," Kieran quipped. At the same time, he opened the Party Chat.
Party Leader Aatrox: Aspaira, begin chanting your Lv.5 attack spell, please!
Sithik: Why do you sound out of breath?
Party Leader Aatrox: No reason, in particular; there is just a fuckton of Shadow Wolves on my ass…
Sithik: Oh…
Cygnus: Ahaha!
Aspaira: I'm preparing!
Within Altair's path, he activated his special skill Swift Steps, and increased his movement speed, gradually putting some distance between him and the monsters on his tail.
Altair emerged from his path first, bringing over ten enraged Shadow Wolves with him.
"Oh, great heavens!" Sithik screamed out loud,
Party Leader Aatrox: Unleash it now!
Aspaira: B-but you haven't-
Party Leader Aatrox: NOW!
Aspaira listened to Kieran's command, reluctantly unleashing her skill. It was an E-Rank Magic Spell with high attack power known as Flame Wave.
"Floor! Aim your attack at the floor in front of the wolves!" Kieran roared.
Once he delivered his roar, Kieran activated Charge in conjunction with a normal jump. He somehow ended up controlling his aerial momentum and turned.
While narrowly avoiding the embers of the Flame Wave, Kieran eyed the Shadow Wolves enveloped by a sea of flames and smiled.
〈System: You are using 2 SP to increase «Force Slash» from Lv.3 to Lv.4. Continue? [ Y | N ]〉
Kieran naturally agreed to level the skill that he used the most often. Though the skill only increased by one level, Kieran's arm swelled with additional power.
A second later, he unleashed a mighty slash in his current upside-down position, creating a turbulent wind.
Because of his skillful performance, Kieran's stream also began generating a buzz, especially the combination of his skill with a Mage's spell.
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