Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player
chapter-43

Shortly after Alice unleashed her frightening attack, Kieran followed up with a comparatively dreadful rotation. Immediately, Kieran used the Spirit of the Bear King attached to the Bear King Pendant to put the Colossal Scarlet Wolf in a Dazed state for 10 seconds, making it more susceptible to Critical Hits.

At least, it should've been for 10 seconds.

Because of its physique as a World Boss, the Dazed state produced by the item's ability wouldn't persist for more than 5 seconds. In other words, it was only 50% effective on a monster of this caliber. Still, 5 seconds was a decent damage window for the party to work with.

Naturally, Kieran quickly followed up with Savage Break.

-702

While it wasn't a Critical Hit, Kieran managed to nearly shave off an additional 1% of the Boss's Health. Afterward, he quickly executed a Force Slash that displayed its position as his bread and butter damage skill.

-1,979! [Critical Hit]

After unleashing his powerful skills, Kieran defaulted to using basic attacks that claimed upwards of 100 damage with each strike. In contrast, the party members landed light blows, claiming only tens of damage.

However, in the time it took Kieran to unleash one slash, Cyr and Altair could execute 4, vaguely closing the gap in damage output.

Meanwhile, Sera unleashed a Healing Light that put Cygnus and Sithik's capacities to shame. In fact, her one Healing Light was slightly better than Cygnus and Sithik combined!

+127! [Bastion's Health: 940/1,039]

When reading the battle alerts, Kieran's jaw nearly dropped in surprise. To his surprise, this dude's Health exceeded 1,000 already! That was a feat that was even more difficult than reaching 100 Strength without gear. It had to be known that 1 point of Vitality only rewarded 5 Health to a Basic Class.

However, Kieran was aware that Bastion's Vitality didn't exceed 200. In fact, it didn't come close to it. For his current stats to be possible, Bastion had to be in possession of items with a Health boost comparable to the Beast King Pendant.

Perhaps this bonus originated from his armor, but nevertheless, having over 1,000 Health was reassuring at this point in the game.

Quite frankly, Kieran was more so disgusted by Bastion's Defense. When he looked at his stats with Inspect, he learned that Bastion's Defense exceeded 250! If any established gaming organization caught wind of his stats, they'd undoubtedly rush to recruit him into their forces.

Having a tank with exceptional Defense and high Health could be the difference between clearing or failing challenging dungeons. The longer a tank could defend without requiring assistance, the wider the damaging window became.

The Colossal Scarlet Wolf recovered from its Dazed state and unleashed a ferocious five seconds later. Its claws filled with a sweltering flame as it slashed toward Bastion, leaving four deep nicks in his shield as he slid back.

The severe damage to one's equipment originated from the Boss's Trait—Eviscerate. If it landed enough attacks, it could completely destroy equipment with the help of its immense strength and flame attribute.

What's more, almost half of Bastion's Health disappeared.

However, just before the wolf continued its assault, a faint green calming aura followed by a soft radiance coated Bastion's body. Naturally, this was Sera's Healing Light and Mending Aura used in tandem.

Sera's adorable appearance was now focused as she kept all of her attention on Bastion. She kept a mental note of her current Mana Pool, Bastion's Health, and her skill cooldowns. Even without Cygnus and Sithik's assistance, Sera navigated her faculties well.

As a result, Cygnus and Sithik could only smile helplessly. By the time they wished to provide help, Sera's healing spell was already en route.

'She has a good understanding of the battlefield. Those two should extract some key points from this Priest's actions,' Kieran thought as he waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Kieran, Altair, and Cyr alternatively attacked the Boss when it appeared to gain momentum against Bastion. Once its momentum was disrupted, Aspaira and Alice unleashed magical attacks.

Of course, there were times when no advances could be made because of the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's volatile actions. It unleashed a sea of flames that would deal devastating damage if touched and persisted for 60 seconds every two minutes. This turned the area into a raging inferno, which also meant it could regenerate at least 0.5% of its Health without fail.

Hence, why Kieran understood it would be a battle of attrition. When they could unleash damage, it would be excellent, but it was a terrible dilemma when they couldn't. In the meantime, Kieran had Cyr maintain the perimeter.

Since he was given the Scout Role originally, it meant his base Agility should be at least slightly higher than Altair, but he most likely didn't own Agility-boosting abilities. Aside from unleashing supplementary damage, Cyr was to warn them if anyone was approaching.

As the battle neared its end, it would also grow increasingly dangerous. There could be presences lurking in the shadows who expected to reap the benefits of others at the last minute. So, it was best to be prepared for the worst even if it didn't appear.

After fighting a grueling battle, the party finally managed to bring the fight into its last stretch approximately twenty minutes later. The Colossal Scarlet Wolf's Health had fallen to 15%, triggering the special feature unique to Boss Monsters—Berserk.

The Colossal Scarlet Wolf's body swelled, and its muscles rippled with strength. Over the next few seconds, its claws became engulfed in perpetual flames that scorched the ground. It wasn't the most powerful Kieran had ever seen, but it definitely rivaled beasts who were comparable to Intermediate Classes (Tier 1).

〈System: World Boss Colossal Scarlet Wolf has entered its «Berserk» phase.〉

〈System: Colossal Scarlet Wolf's Strength and Agility 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. Its status as a World Boss and its heightened innate constitution allowed it to unleash more power without repercussion. What's more, its boost was nearly double that of Grifear!

Whoosh! Ssszzzt! Bang!

The Boss turned into a flaming blur as Bastion's eyes widened in shock. This change thoroughly revealed that the fight up until now was nothing more than a prelude. A real battle with a Boss only took place once the phases changed.

Bastion, despite his hefty weight, was thrown back. He could only stabilize his stance after moving back over ten steps. Meanwhile, by the time he stabilized, the Boss was already upon him.

Unlike before, it 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.

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.

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

Once that happened, Sera prepped her Regeneration Burst.

The Boss was now hellbent on ensuring the destruction of this party, so employing large heals was inevitable. Bastion used another skill accessible to a Knight of his level—Knight's Valor. It reduced the damage of the subsequent four blows by 30%. Afterward, 2.5% of the damage received would be added to his Defense for the next 15 seconds.

Bang! Bang!

Bastion felt like a battering ram as his body was continually assaulted by heavy strikes. Nevertheless, he stood his ground and exhaled through gritted teeth. His Health was like a constant rollercoaster.

One second it was high, but suddenly it was extremely low, teetering on the verge of death.

Given that the Boss only had 15% of its Health remaining, less than 20,000 points separated this party from victory.

Therefore, Kieran enhanced his vision greatly and searched for a timing he could grasp. All Bosses in a Beginner Village operated on limited mechanics so as to not overwhelm the new players.

In this case, Kieran noticed every 7th attack, the Boss would execute a double claw attack. So, he silently counted until the sixth attack came.

"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 to his Alliance Leader to resolve.

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

Just when Bastion felt a presence near his back, it veered off track. At the same time, a large soundwave came from the opposite direction. While the Boss lost its footing briefly, Kieran acted and put the beast in a daze.

This exposed an unusually pale underbelly. Since the Dazed state would only last 2.5 seconds now that the Boss was in its Berserk Phase, Kieran issued a frantic command.

"Everyone, attack that right now!"

Before the onslaught of damage appeared, Kieran led the assault by breaking through the beast's Defense with Savage Break, lowering the Defense enough so that everyone else received an adequate boost in damage. Within that two seconds, Kieran unleashed all of the skills in his arsenal.

By the time the Boss recovered, the team had managed to shave the Boss's Health down to 2%. It became an even more hellish back and forth struggle, with Bastion narrowly avoiding death.

The lower the Boss's Health, the more fearsome its attacks became due to the Rage trait in its possession. Kieran had Bastion persist for another 30 seconds until his skill rotation was ultimately off cooldown.

Once that happened, Kieran rushed forward and unleashed all of his skills, claiming the last of the Colossal Scarlet Wolf's Health bar! As a result, the team received abundant experience and loot while sighing in relief.

Consequently, an achievement message appeared before everyone in the party.