A Dangerous Party Member, Horrendous Aim

The heavy attack accompanied by a high damage value was powerful enough to claim the Shadow Wolf's life. This naturally rewarded a decent sum of EXP.

However, the granted EXP was greater than what Kieran expected for many reasons. 

For starters, it was the first time he attempted the Forest of Beasts' greatest difficulty at such a low level, so the base EXP Value was massive.

Two, it was the first Elite monster he had killed thus far, so estimating its EXP was nearly impossible.

The last reason for his surprise was the Medallion of Growth in his possession, which was activated when he received the EXP.

An azure glow radiated from his body, blending seamlessly with his Warrior's Aura, followed by a few notifications.

Ding!

〈System: All party members will receive a «Dungeon Party Bonus» while inside the dungeon. An automatic 400% EXP Bonus will be applied to all monster-hunting EXP.〉

〈System: You have gained 400 EXP.〉

〈System: Medallion of Growth's effect has activated. You have gained an additional 400 EXP.〉

Since Zenith Online heavily advocated for party play, dungeons provided a bonus that would accommodate the number of people in the party.

The bonus would offset the original EXP division and allow players to receive 100% of the monster's EXP Value.

Of course, this effect was specific to dungeons. The bonus in an open-world setting would be applied differently.

"Damn… that was a Critical Hit, wasn't it?" Altair muttered with a strange glint in his eyes.

Achieving a Critical Hit wasn't easy due to the principles of this world, and the difficulty varied based on the player's class and precision of their strike.

Of course, there were handicaps set in place to help the less skilled players, and that was known as an individual's Critical Rate.

"Yeah," Kieran answered.

There was no use lying because different types of damage resulted in different font colors and corresponding special effects.

"Phew," Altair whistled. "600 damage? That would have been a massive hit regardless of a Critical Hit."

"This much is needed if we're to clear this dungeon," Kieran answered, switching his gaze to the remaining Shadow Wolf.

Though Savage Break and Charge were on cooldown, Kieran naturally resorted to his remaining skills while using Warrior's Aura to bolster his damage.

Grr! 

The Shadow Wolf growled and glowered at Kieran, bearing its menacing fangs, but Kieran eyed them indifferently.

"Force Slash!"

Bang!

-61

Although the wolf's head was knocked back by the blow's force, the damage was somewhat underwhelming without the assistance of Charge or Savage Break. Nevertheless, the damage satisfied Kieran, given the wolf's immobilized state.

'Let's change our approach a bit,' Kieran thought. 

Swoosh!

"Directional Slash!"

Kieran executed a swift upward slash that bypassed the Shadow Wolf's original defenses. Despite being a weaker skill, it dealt more damage than Force Slash due to the strike's placement.

Kieran moved when the Shadow Wolf howled and targeted the roof of its mouth. 

-122

While he chipped away at its Health, he glanced toward Aspaira and Altair's battle with the other Shadow Wolf.

-177 (Aqua Bullet)

After several tries, Aspaira managed to land a clean hit thanks to Altair skillfully placing the beast within the path of Aspaira's attack.

Aspaira's damage without a Critical Hit was surprisingly greater than Kieran's, but that was due to the difference between Physical and Magical Defense. 

The beasts in this dungeon were resistant to physical damage, but magical damage was a different story, which is why Kieran resolved to include a Mage in the party.

The unmitigated damage was akin to a secret weapon against these monsters. However, the issue of her horrendous aim required addressing if he wanted to maximize Aspaira's early class advantage.

"That raw damage is quite insane," Altair said, glancing at the wordless Aspaira. She hadn't expected that changing a few pieces of equipment would affect her damage this much. It was much greater after clearing her previous run.

"I-I know! I'm also shocked," Aspaira said after overcoming her initial shock, beaming at her accomplishment.

Altair noticed her glee but felt it was too early to be this happy. "Although your damage is incredible, it's not helpful if you can't consistently land your spells. Improve that aim of yours."

"I'll try. It's not easy to hit these monsters, y'know? So don't get your hopes up high," Aspaira responded.

While Altair voiced the need for better aim, Kieran judged his current circumstances.

'Even with my skill in using heavy weapons, my Attack Speed is a limiting factor. I can only swing my sword so many times with my current stats,' Kieran thought.

Compared to a speed-based class like a Thief, a Warrior was truthfully an all-rounder. Acceptable in all aspects but excelling in none.

It was one of the reasons players gravitated away from it—they found nothing unique about it.

However, forsaking early uniqueness to obtain it in the future was a sacrifice Kieran found acceptable.

The Warrior Class possessed marvelous paths that many close-minded players failed to grasp.

A few seconds later, Kieran jumped and thrust his greatsword through the Shadow Wolf's head, slightly impaling the ground.

A golden radiance embraced Kieran after this kill.

〈System: You have gained 800 EXP.〉

〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.6→Lv.7]〉

〈System: You have received 5 Unassigned Attribute Points and 2 Skill Points.〉

[Experience: 130/2,000]

The two wolves dropped a decent amount of Copper Coins, some wolf fangs and pelts, but no equipment. Kieran stored the items within the Loot Table, a place that existed for all party members to view the items dropped thus far.

"Let's finish off the last one," Kieran called out.

"I'm right here with you," Altair responded.

"Please do!" Aspaira exclaimed.

Following Kieran's command, Cygnus and Sithik fidgeted in the back, high-strung and on high alert. Something about being in the dungeon's highest difficulty made it challenging to cope.

However, they breathed a sigh of relief when Altair narrowly dodged attacks aimed at him.

But, a change suddenly occurred when the remaining Shadow Wolf retreated to the darkness of the path before them and lifted its head.

Dark-element Mana converged above its mouth, forming a condensed orb.

This attack was why Kieran used the tree gimmick. Avoiding three such attacks was nearly impossible.

Once the wolf performed this action, Kieran looked at Aspaira. "Prepare a spell to deal with it in the end."

Next, he looked toward Altair. "Follow me. We mustn't let it release that attack. I can feel the Mana from here."

"Same," Altair nodded with a narrowed gaze. Motes of dark energy continued to flow toward the orb, increasing its size.

Whoosh!

Altair moved first with his superior speed, dashing toward the Shadow Wolf while Kieran prepared a Charge a few steps behind.

"Deep Puncture!" Altair called out, plunging one of his daggers into the wolf's back.

-345! «Critical Hit!»

An instant later, Kieran rammed into the wolf with enough force to disrupt the Shadow Wolf's Darkness Howl.

-100 «Stunned»

All of a sudden, Kieran and Altair widened their eyes and ducked after feeling a warm sensation approach.

Whoosh!

A fireball passed above their heads, obtaining a direct hit on the Shadow Wolf. Despite the success, Kieran and Altair couldn't help but give Aspaira helpless gazes.

-199 (Fireball)

"What the shit?! Woman, are you trying to bald us? We are too young to be experiencing male pattern baldness!" Kieran exclaimed.

"Your aim is more horrendous than me in the morning," Altair scoffed.

Cygnus stifled a laugh while Sithik clutched his stomach. Aspaira could only turn beet-red in embarrassment after feeling everyone was targeting her.

However, she didn't back down.

Aspaira stomped her foot and retorted loudly. "Hey! At least give me some credit because this is hard! It's not like we're gaming on some ancient console with a controller! Besides, this is the hardest mode possible and an Elite monster! I've never tried it before―what more do you want from me?!"

The duo groaned before landing a few more strikes to claim the Shadow Wolf's life.

〈System: You have gained 750 EXP.〉

[Experience: 880/2,000]