Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

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When the Colossal Mother Worm fell, not only did it reward loot in abundance, it did the same with the Experience the party received.

〈System: You have gained 1,736,850 Experience.〉

〈System: Congratulations, you have leveled up! [Lv.36→Lv.37]〉

〈System: Congratulations, you have leveled up! [Lv.37→Lv.38]〉

〈System: You have received 24 Unassigned Attribute Points and 16 Skill Points.〉

The entire party was slackjawed after witnessing how much Experience killing this boss rewarded. Even Kieran's level jumped to Lv.38 despite how much Experience he required.

"This is unheard of…. Close to 2 million Experience? I can't believe it," Lux gulped and watched as his level jumped straight to Lv.40, opening new skills for him to acquire.

Until now, the highest grade boss the Eclipse defeated was a Lv.30 Rare Boss, and the rewarded Experience paled in comparison.

"It's not a tremendous amount of Experience when you think about it. Every level up means the Experience we require will grow significantly larger," Kieran remarked.

Even though he said it wasn't a fantastic source of Experience, the results contrasted with his words.

Everyone who possessed Normal Classes encountered a similar outcome—their levels increased to Lv.40 or Lv.41.

In contrast, Ezra, Luna, and Nemean reached Lv.39, only a sliver away from Lv.40.

"When you have never come across this type of a situation, trust me, it is a tremendous shock," Lux remarked.

Kieran nodded because when Lux worded it that way, it was true. Raid in his past obscured Kieran's view of Experience since it could reward hundreds of millions of Experience without a single participant leveling up once. That's how steep the Experience requirements grew after passing Lv.200.

Unless a player challenged themselves by attempting inconceivable difficulties, mass leveling virtually didn't exist. Of course, there were a few other reasons for this. But, Kieran didn't dwell on that matter because he was nowhere near returning to above Lv.200.

"Whoa, I didn't expect so many skills at Lv.40. Good thing I took Aatrox's advice and saved my excess Skill Points after purchasing my skills," Nemean remarked.

Lv.40 could be considered a decent level. A state where players proved they were worthy of more exclusive skills. Nemean alone received four skills. Two increased his Chain Link repertoire, but the other two were a class buff and a passive.

"Woohoo, that's what I'm talking about, baby! Give daddy a self-buff! I'm coming for that top spot, Aatrox," Nemean swiped his nose with a smug smirk.

"Oh? Do you think it'll be easy? Just wait until I reach Lv.40. We'll see if you remain so confident."

"D-daddy, no. Don't crush my hope and dreams like that," Nemean pleaded. "I just want one moment of glory! Let me gloat in peace!"

"Nah. I choose not to," Kieran smirked.

Afterward, Kieran browsed through the Party Leader loot table, and his eyes widened in shock.

The first thing to catch his eyes was a unique weapon—two pairs, in fact. One was a set of black daggers with off-white veins running through the blades. The veins branched from an eye-catching sand-colored gem at the blade's beginning.

Meanwhile, the other unique weapon was a pair of beige dual blades with yellow veins and a green gem attached to its slender guard.

'These weapons….'

Kieran marveled before first expanding the information on the black daggers.

「 Sand Emperor's Thorn (Unique)

Weapon Type: Dagger

Item Level: 100

Phys. Attack Power +425

Mag. Attack Power +375

Agility +100, Control +50, Strength +50

Effect: There is a 5% chance attacks unleashed in an arid setting will generate Sand Emperor Thorns. (Sand Emperor Thorns cause fixed 1,000 damage upon contact.)

Effect: Increases the user's attack and movement speed by 100% in arid places.

Item Ability «Sand Manipulation» - The wielder of this weapon can manipulate a finite amount of sand by storing it inside the weapon's unique gem. The accumulated sand can be used to increase the user's attack range. Manipulated sand explodes one second after it is launched.

Item Ability «Sand Emperor's Fussilade» - Summons a swarm of sand thorns that deal 500 fixed damage in a 20-meter radius. This skill can be used once every hour.

Description: Forged from the refined blades of a beast regarded as the Emperor of Sands. The weapon's power in the correct setting is unmatched, giving birth to a new Sand Emperor.

Weight: 20 kg

Durability: 1,240/1,240

Requirements: 200 Strength, Level 40 」

'This… this is perfect for Altair in the right condition! A 100% movement speed increase is unthinkable, not to mention the fixed damage. It'll deal a set amount of damage regardless of the circumstances. Of course, there are some cases where fixed damage is ineffective, but still.'

Kieran marveled at Sand Emperor's Thorn before switching attention to the dual blades.

「 Arid Tempest Blade  (Unique)

Weapon Type: Dual Blade

Item Level: 100

Phys. Attack Power +450

Mag. Attack Power +375

Agility +100, Control +60, Strength +40

Effect: Attack damage increases by 40% while in arid settings.

Effect: Attacks have a 3% chance of creating a small sand storm that deals damage equal to the user's main Attack Power.

Item Ability «Raging Sirocco» - Summons a great storm of dry winds. The summoned winds deal damage equal to 400% of the user's Attack Power and entrap the affected for 4 seconds. This ability can be used once every 40 seconds.

Item Ability «Spiral Deterrence» - Summons a spinning sand barricade that protects the weapon's wielder from damage for 10 seconds. (The duration can be cut short by receiving tremendous damage in a short amount of time.) The deterrence's stability is equal to 10,000% of this item's Item Level.

Description: A weapon forged from the horn of a great sand beast with the ability to control sands and flourish in dry weather.

Weight: 45 kg

Durability: 1,200/1,200

Requirements: 220 Strength, Level 40  」

'A weapon that also offers defensive skills. Luna needs this. They're fortunate that these weapons are only enhanced in certain settings and don't rely upon them. Nevertheless, if we come across the right conditions, we can forcibly create a befitting environment.'

Kieran soon glanced at the two who should receive these weapons. "Altair, Luna."

"Yes?" Luna answered.

Altair turned his head but didn't say anything, simply awaiting Kieran's comment.

"I have something for both of you, but it means you'll forfeit any other loot present. Is that good with you all?"

A smile filled Altair's eyes because he understood what this stipulation meant. Kieran only imposed this limitation when he came across something beneficial.

Therefore, Altair nodded without any hesitation. Luna noticed this action and quickly followed suit.

As a result, Kieran extended both his hands. One held the Sand Emperor's Thorns while the other held the Arid Tempest Blades.

This action displayed the information for all to see, so Luna and Altair quickly understood which weapon suited them.

"Unique Weapons—!" Ezra exclaimed while covering her mouth. Part of her wished that she could make an offer on behalf of Eclipse, but she understood Kieran wasn't the type to forsake his allies for money.

Moreover, Ezra wouldn't make such a foolish blunder and potentially ruin Kieran's impression of her.

Still, Kieran looked in her direction. "Aren't those Unique Weapons in your hands?"

"H-how did you know? I never showed you," Ezra muttered with furrowed brows. Somehow, she felt like all of her secrets were vulnerable before this young man, and she didn't particularly like it.

"There's no Rare Weapon that'd emit such a dazzling sparkle. It'd have to be a Unique Weapon—" Kieran tapped on Crimson Ashrune that rested on his shoulder. "Just like this big boy here."

"No wonder," Ezra muttered as understanding flashed in her eyes.

"The only difference is my weapon is a class-fitted weapon. It's tailored to my needs so no one else can wield it, and it provides a better boost than normal Unique Weapons," Kieran revealed.

Of course, there were additional reasons why Kieran's weapon eclipsed these other Unique Weapons, but he wasn't aware of such intricate knowledge yet.

Luna and Altair equipped their weapons while Kieran collected the loot from the entire nest of Sand Worms. Overall, a few valuable pieces dropped, so everyone received at least one item.

Bastion even received a Lv.40 Rare Plate Top that considerably increased his defenses.

However, despite having finished collecting the loot, the party didn't completely extract the Sand Worms' value.

"Harvest all these Sand Worms, especially the Champions and Boss. Their unique skin and thorns are extremely valuable. Ah—! Ezra, do you have Tradeskills?"

"Tradeskills? No, not yet," Ezra smiled bitterly. It seemed her actions thus far have not been optimal if she lost out on extracting the complete worth from slain monsters.

"Don't worry. Here," Kieran received two additional «Harvest» tradeskills from his inventory. "You and Lux should learn these and join us. No matter the class, one tradeskill slot should be used for this particular skill."

"I see," Ezra nodded. A flash of white light surrounded her body as she learned the skill and joined the others in the extraction process.

While the others spread out, Kieran focused on the Colossal Mother Worm's carcass. Although he removed less than 50% of the large regrown spines, Kieran received a notification.

〈System: Your tradeskill «Harvest» has improved to Apprentice-Advanced.〉

'My tradeskill is already on the verge of leveling up,' Kieran thought. He estimated it would undergo a complete change by the time he finished wiping this particular corpse clean.

In the meantime, exclamations frequently sounded from the party as they rejoiced over the rapid improvement of their tradeskill.