Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player
chapter-71

Kieran's expression contorted slightly as the current activation of the Ancient Crimson Aegis differed from when Agrianos bestowed it upon him. The crimson mist seeping from his body produced an uncomfortable feeling that made him grit his teeth.

It felt like his insides were on fire with molten lava coursing through his veins. The veins and arteries surrounding his heart swelled until the rampant pulsation could be seen externally. Fortunately, this wave of pain only lasted for a brief span before diminishing into something Kieran could handle.

This change wasn't because Kieran grew accustomed to the pain but rather because the process was quickly completed. A thin red film covered Kieran's body, and from what little portions Kieran could see from his point of view, it resembled armor made from kevlar—light but highly durable. Once this process finished, a few notifications appeared before Kieran.

〈System: You have successfully learned the unique practice: «Ancient Crimson Aegis»!〉

〈Alert: Because you have failed to meet the standard requirements, the Ancient Crimson Aegis is siphoning from an unknown power source. WARNING: Doing this runs the risk of depleting this external source.〉

'If it's feeding off something and I've failed to meet even the baseline standard. I wonder how miserable my stats are compared to the requirement. Also, that warning is pretty important. If the system has generated a warning, then this skill must be drawing upon an invaluable resource,' Kieran inwardly muttered.

Even though there was a high chance that he was sacrificing something important, obtaining the class would be otherwise impossible if he didn't. Thus, Kieran could only accept some losses and pull up the skill information.

Initially, Kieran thought he couldn't be shocked after facing off against a Variant Boss this early on, but after reading through the skill information, that simply wasn't the case.

「 Ancient Crimson Aegis (Lv.1/5)

Skill Rank: SSS

Skill Type: Special (Hybrid)

Mastery (00.00%)

«First Form: Embryonic Blood Cloak»:

Health Cost: 50%

Requirement: 1,200 Vitality

Effect: The skill consumes half of the user's Health to enter a condition known as «Blood Ignition». Once this state becomes active, it produces a natural effect known as the «Imperfect Blood Armor».

«Blood Ignition» - While active, this state increases the user's Strength, Agility, and Control by 500%. While this skill is in use, all other functional empowering skills are negated and deactivated. The duration of the «Bloody Ignition» state is reliant upon the user's current Constitution. The lower the user's Constitution, the shorter the skill's duration. Prolonged usage surpassing that of the indicated duration will result in adverse effects.

«Imperfect Blood Armor»- While the «Bloody Ignition» state is active, this protection can sustain damage equal to 1,000% of the user's Health. During its duration, the user gains an affinity toward blood. In exchange, all attempts at external healing except related to a True Berserker's personal means will be negated while this ability is active. Once the skill lapses, the user's Defense will drop to 0 for a set duration.

Cooldown: 72 - 336 hours

.

«Second Form:???»

…

Description: The Ancient Crimson Aegis is a symbol of the ancient personage who goes by many names. It is a practice developed throughout countless millennia of grueling battles to constantly test one's limit. As a result, this power is a culmination of insurmountable vitality control. By igniting one's vitality, great power is bestowed upon the user. However, it is also a dangerous power that is not to be used lightly. Because of its profound nature, the Ancient Crimson Aegis is a practice that can only be imparted and not learned through one's efforts. Only one deserving enough will successfully unleash this demanding skill.

Note: This skill is incapable of leveling up through the usage of Skill Points. Only experiencing its power, increasing one's control of their vitality, or gaining a stronger Constitution will contribute to its growth. 」

Unlike other skills that seemed to possess infinite growth, the Ancient Crimson Aegis appeared to cap at Lv.5. However, given its monstrous abilities and the fact it was classified as an SSS Rank Skill, the highest categorization present in Zenith Online, Kieran understood why its growth was finite. Allowing this absurd skill to grow infinite was a cheat code.

Even at its lowest level, it could increase Kieran's Strength by 500%! That was a frightening thing to think about.

Moreover, while it appeared that Lv.5 was its maximum threshold, even that was incorrect. In the end, the Ancient Crimson Aegis was an ability that scaled off of its user's capabilities. If Kieran continued to grow stronger, the Ancient Crimson Aegis would develop as well, thereby circumventing the somewhat limit.

In addition to its low skill level ceiling, it was also restricted to personal growth. Skill Points couldn't be used to level up the skill. Given that he couldn't use Skill Points, Kieran wholeheartedly agreed with it having a low skill ceiling; otherwise, it would take an eternity to level.

If Savage Break was already a pain to manually level up, Kieran didn't want to think about how atrociously slow the Ancient Crimson Aegis' progress would be. The last thing that took Kieran by surprise was the varying cooldown. It wasn't set in stone.

Furthermore, the number didn't relate to the period before he could use it again in general. It revealed the timespan that allowed another usage without suffering any adverse effects. Moreover, this number depended upon how long Kieran used the skill and to what extent the strengthening was used.

By the time Kieran finished reading through the information present inside the skill window, the system had tabulated how long Kieran could use the Imperfect Blood Armor without suffering catastrophic injuries. After all, igniting one's blood was a hazardous action.

〈System: The arbitrary duration has been calculated based on your current condition. [Estimated Duration: 121 seconds]〉

'121 seconds? Just over two minutes? Hmmm… is that possible?' Kieran wondered. Zelliolx's Health and Defense was by no means low. Even though Kieran's Attack Power surpassed 2,000 since his Strength neared 1,000, Kieran was confident that Zelliolx's Defense sat somewhere in the lower 1,000s.

After witnessing Kieran's change, a look of excitement appeared on Zelliolx's face. "There it is. Just what I was awaiting—something exciting."

Whoosh!

Zelliolx rushed forward while lifting his serrated chain sword high above his head. Although Kieran's Perception was lacking for this current situation, Kieran no longer relied upon it. Instead, Kieran switched to his superior Control to navigate this battle.

Boom!

Kieran jumped back, avoiding Zelliolx's crushing blow. The resulting explosion discharged rock splinters everywhere, but Kieran used the Scarlet Steel Greatsword to either defend or quickly swat the incoming shards out of the aim.

Zelliolx's figure burst from within the large mineral cloud and unleashed another terrifying cleave. However, this time, Kieran met the attack with another Heavy Slash. Because of his small transformation, more than enough time had elapsed for the skill's cooldown period to conclude.

Bang!

The collision of the two attacks produced a deafening soundwave that evolved into a shockwave strong enough to obliterate some of the nearby rock protrusion. With this skill active, Kieran was no weaker than a genuine Tier 1 Class, perhaps even a smidge more powerful!

-22

A remarkably low number appeared before Kieran's view. Despite the interface alert, the damage wasn't funneled to his Health. Instead, the Imperfect Bloody Armor's durability decreased by an imperceptible notch.

'Hm… Zelliolx's Attack Power seems to have adjusted accordingly. Or, perhaps this is his true attack value when using a weapon,' Kieran surmised. That Heavy Slash should have dealt upwards of 3,000 damage, but instead of damaging Zelliolx, Kieran was the one to minutely suffer.

Of course, this didn't mean Kieran was any weaker than Zelliolx in terms of pure Attack Power. Zelliolx's attack simply carried the Defense Ignore property. It'd be difficult to emerge victorious in a physical clash when that property was present in the fight.

Sadly, Kieran possessed zero means of dealing with the level suppression system. Ergo, he'd just have to roll with the hand he was dealt.

With Agility surpassing 550, Kieran moved lightning quick as a savage aura passed through his Scarlet Steel Greatsword. However, unlike before, Kieran hesitated for a moment as he noticed something unusual about the weapon.

"Don't tell me…"Kieran frowned.

Savage Break was a skill that scaled based on his destructive capabilities. Since the state of Blood Ignition produced a ruinous power, it increased to a level outside of the weapon's quality. As a result, the sword's durability decreased alarmingly with each passing moment Kieran supplied it with his current power.

Although it was an exceptional weapon for his current level, some sacrifices were inevitable if he wanted to triumph in this battle.

Once he made up his mind, Kieran dodged Zelliolx's next attack rather than meet it head-on. After putting himself in the perfect position, Kieran aimed the Savage Break at Zelliolx's torso. The strong attack opened a considerably deep wound that seeped purplish blood.

-5,800

The damage was much greater than even the criticals that Kieran unleashed. However, it was easy to understand why that was the case with all things considered.

Stumbling backward, Zelliolx touched his torso and marveled at the purplish blood with an unusual expression. One would expect him to fall into a rage, but he appeared as nothing more than fascinated.

"Hmm, hmm," Zelliolx chuckled in a deep voice. Once his blood was drawn, the same berserk aura present upon his initial appearance reappeared. Kieran's attack had awakened Zelliolx's battle lust!

Bang!

The ground was blown apart by Zelliolx's haphazard rush as Kieran did the same. There was no way he would lose to a low-level boss in terms of battle lust. A fervent gleam surfaced in Kieran's eyes as the Imperfect Blood Armor seemed riled up, almost as if Kieran's Blood Ignition was relatively affected by his emotions.

Given that he possessed a Vengeful Soul, it was feasible.

The two figures met midair with powerful leaps. They first exchanged weapon strikes, followed by physical attacks. While Zelliolx kicked at Kieran, Kieran punched with all his might.

Boooom!

Both sides were blown back, but Kieran performed an aerial recovery and landed atop a rock like an agile cat. The moment he landed, he charged forward with a Force Slash brewing.