Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Outside Aeredale's Lifestyle Union building…

A massive number of Lifestyle players gathered, their presence stretching far and wide across the city's streets. At this moment, many players voiced their impatience and excitement, wanting to learn the benefits that awaited joining a recognized Union.

The first-ever player Union inside Zenith Online at that. Surely, there were benefits, right?

Otherwise, what was the use of making a Union other than consolidating many individuals under a sole banner?

"Oh boy, oh boy! Did you see the post Aatrox created? Unlike the other guilds, which are only accepting a select few production Professions, Aatrox doesn't have such a limitation!"

"Naturally, that's because Aatrox is a god. He's literally a god among us trash players. He's something we can only look up to and aspire to be. Whether it's in combat or acquiring feats and wealth… he's giving everyone a run for their money!"

"Aatrox for president! Wait… uh… I mean king. Aatrox is king! Anywho… where's the guy? The anticipation is already killing me."

The crowd before the Lifestyle Union building grew riled up the more they talked about the possibility of joining Kieran's Union. As they recounted his feats thus far, the desire to join Kieran in some shape or form became the unanimous goal of everyone present.

Fortunately, just as the excitement seemed to spiral out of control, a mystical portal appeared two meters in front of the building, its appearance similar to shattering space, except it was bluish-gold in color.

From inside, Kieran stepped through the portal with Agatha close by his side. As she stood still, Agatha panned her alluring yet aloof eyes over the massive gathering of people.

'I guess he didn't exaggerate. He truly commands the ability to summon a large number of people. Based on the way they're looking at him… it's clear that they're here for Aatrox.'

As Agatha looked at Kieran's side profile, her gaze became inquisitive. 'Though I don't care to admit it openly, just like I was drawn to this fellow due to Ariadna's comment, Master Hekaina has made an incredible decision. This ability to gather people is needed if the world's order is to be shattered and remolded.'

Eventually, Agatha closed her eyes and sighed. Hearing the sigh, Kieran picked up the release of a strange emotion behind it, though he failed to pinpoint exactly what it was.

Fortunately, he didn't let the mystery of Agatha's sigh bother him. After all, he was already on a tight schedule. Only after multiple attempts of trying to convince Agatha did he succeed in getting her to come here to expedite the entire process.

After appearing before the crowd, Kieran quickly garnered their attention with his voice. "I understand that most of you must be excited, and I'm sure you've noticed that an increasing number of famous guilds have reached out to Lifestyle players with a decent grasp of their Profession."

The crowd readily agreed, voicing their findings, with most of them in accordance with what Kieran said.

However, Kieran also learned that many of these people were rejected not because of a lack of skill, but because the guilds were "dogshit" and couldn't afford to employ them all.

As much as guilds wished to funnel an exorbitant amount of money into the game, it simply wasn't possible. For one, the price of Gold continued to rise thanks to the decrease in the availability of potions of the Merchant Associations.

Furthermore, the steady decrease in equipment drops also contributed to the rising price of Gold. Currently, one Gold went for as much as $6,000 ED on the Universal Currency Exchange Trading System.

This led players to seek alternatives, which, in most cases, was stumbling across mines or areas rich with resources that could be harvested.

Upon learning of this rejection, Kieran rubbed his chin in thought. 'If I can gather enough people, it'd be the perfect opportunity to send them into that treacherous area and have them begin excavating that mine.'

Originally, Kieran wanted to tackle the mine earlier by using Advent's people, but that plan was tossed out the window the moment Soulless and his crew attacked. Not to mention, even if he wanted to do so afterward, he had to deal with three of the Myths.

The opportunity to venture into the hidden mine simply vanished at that time. Then again, because the mine generally required power at the level of an Advanced Being to find, Kieran didn't fear that someone else would uncover it before him.

"I understand your ubiquitous plight. While it would be ideal to employ all of you, that's simply impossible. For one… I only have a limited number of spots within the Union. It's not a limitless entity," Kieran voiced.

"God damn! If you let me in, I'll work for you for free!" Someone in the crowd screamed. From their frantic tone of voice, it was clear that they were one of Kieran's wildly devoted fans.

Unfortunately, Kieran understood that accepting someone in this way could lead to some discrepancies later on. While loyalty was extremely valuable, Kieran still required a certain standard when it came to prowess with one's Profession.

Thus, Kieran cleared his throat and clarified. "For the moment, the number of spots I possess are unknown. But, as long as you pass the assessment that I provide, there's a good chance that I'll recruit you. Of course, this is provided that you can abide by the terms I set."

Despite Kieran's grim tone of voice at the end, most players present ignored the second half of his words, selectively focusing on what he said first.

"What's the assessment?" Someone asked.

"Is it something universal?" Another voiced.

"There are production, excavation, gathering, and management-type Professions. How can it be a universal assessment? Wouldn't there have to be some differentiation to accommodate the various types?"

Kieran listened to every argument and theory about the upcoming assessment before chuckling softly.

"You're quite mean to find this funny. Look at all the chaos you're creating," Agatha muttered by his side. However, she too, wore a slight grin with a playful gleam in her eyes.

"Ah, don't be a pot calling the kettle black. Besides, if they can speculate like this, it means they have the ability to think critically. That's usually a sign of some worth," Kieran replied.

Agatha wasn't all too familiar with Kieran's process of choosing people, so she shrugged in response and remained quiet as Kieran proceeded with his actions.

"While it is true that the assessment should be differentiated to accommodate the weakness, strengths, and focuses of your profession—it won't be. I'll be testing for one thing and one thing only—the strength of your mind," Kieran exclaimed.

As soon as he said this, quiet murmurs filled the crowd. How could he test the strength of their mind? Was he seeing if they were mentally stable? Did their reactions perhaps drive Kieran to believe they were psychotic?

These rampant questions eventually led to whimpers and groans.

"Oh god… I've let down my idol! He thinks so poorly of me that he must test my mental stability."

"Dear god how I've sinned. I should be punished!"

"I swear I'm not crazy. I've only been admitted once. And that's because the monsters in the dark were trying to get me."

Again, Kieran's words garnered an unexpected response. After all, he wasn't aware that most average players had yet to reap ANY mental benefits whatsoever. Thus, they didn't know that many of Zenith Online's features could create a phenomenon in the real world.

Upon realizing this fact, Kieran smiled wryly. 'That's right, it's so early in the timeline that normal players shouldn't be aware of this fact. My poor choice of words and oversight… this is on me. But wait… what would happen if I opened the eyes of the public earlier? I wonder…'

Kieran deeply considered the outcome of his question. Would the positives outweigh the negatives? For example, opening the eyes of the public could very well lead to the monsters of his past becoming stronger, much faster.

After all, Kieran had heard that many people were like him—nameless at first, but rose to fame with their promising skill. However, despite this, Kieran couldn't help but wonder if godfathering the enlightenment of the public would draw those people to him.

In the past, they were competition solely because of his position in the Golden Brigade, but in this life, there was no such connection. The more he thought about it, the more Kieran cemented his decision.

Afterward, he pointed toward Agatha.

"In mere moments, all of you will be placed under a special illusion. As I said, I value the strength of your mind. The mind is just as, if not more important, for Professions. You must be of immaculate focus. So… we must test for that. Your individual skill can come later."

The moment he finished talking, Kieran turned toward Agatha and whispered. "Prey on their deepest desires. We need to see how they react to having it challenged. We must know… are they strong enough to perceive what is real and what is not?"

"Very well. I won't make the illusion powerful at all. From what I perceive, though there are a few gems, they're all still particularly fragile," Agatha responded.

A second later, a few Supreme Ciphers manifested around her arms as Agatha's sangria-colored eyes soon turned completely white.

Not long after, a strange mystical undulation inundated the area, placing everyone under an illusion. However, due to Agatha's expertise, despite Kieran having told them that the illusion was about to be employed, they were none the wiser.

"It is done," Agatha said, her appearance returning to normal.

Having been placed under an illusion, the players stood there as if in a trance, but other than that, there was nothing strange about their states. Though, if anyone looked at these players just a few seconds later, they'd seem lucid.

That was because they were talking and replying as if Kieran's announcement had continued.

Naturally, this was all due to the type of illusion Agatha had imposed upon them.

'The power of the Mystic Runemaster class is truly remarkable… even holding the abilities of an Illusionist.'

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