Gripped

While Kieran never got Bastion's name, he had already met him twice. 

The first time was inside the Fanged Forest where Bastion unleashed a powerful Shield Tremor, while the second time was a brief encounter with his party when he reappeared from the Forest of Beasts dungeon.

As a result, he recognized his voice and appearance without knowing his name. Though, if Kieran was being honest, Bastion's current appearance was somewhat different.

Donned in thick plate armor, he looked no different from the paladins described in many of the ancient tales circulating throughout the world of Xenith. The only critique would be that he didn't seem as pristine or holy due to the dullness of his plate armor.

Additionally, Bastion lacked the holy poise and flawless inscriptions found on their pristine armor.

As Kieran laid his eyes upon Bastion, a question surfaced in his mind. 'Did he befriend the Knight Instructor like I did Scar? If he did… he may be taking the route of a Paladin. Though… that comes with its own share of weaknesses as well.'

While curious, Kieran didn't raise this question with Bastion. Instead, he responded to Bastion's offer. "If you're willing to make an enemy, then by all means."

"An enemy?" Bastion turned to look at both Despot and Horizon Break before emitting a burst of wheezing laughter. "These pieces of shit aren't worth being called an enemy! Ahaha!"

Bastion's blatant disregard and open mockery infuriated both of them, leading them to twitch in fury.

"What did this bastard just say?" Despot said through gnashed teeth.

"He's clearly asking for a beatdown. I think it's only right that our Sunset Triad and Shadow Cartel deliver it," Horizon Break replied, his expression darkening.

'I quite like this guy,' Kieran thought, chuckling to himself as he watched Despot and Horizon Break mald as a result of Bastion's statement.

A few seconds later, Bastion pointed forward. "Alice, Cyr—give these guys some assistance."

Thanks to Kieran's guide, Bastion learned from his mistakes on their first run and went on to clear the Forest of Beasts a few times. 

Though the EXP experienced a precipitous drop, the items made the additional runs worth it to prepare for the Field Boss appearance mentioned in the announcements. 

"With pleasure." Cyr grinned maniacally before suddenly disappearing with a speed that rivaled Altair. From this display, it was clear that Cyr's allocation behavior aligned with Kieran's suspicions.

'A full-AGI build Thief. It's viable for now, but it must change later,' Kieran thought.

Meanwhile, Alice held up a staff made of white oak with a tiny gem nestled in the groove prepared for it. 

Sometime later, the gem reacted to Alice chanting a spell. As seen with the skills Aspaira unleashed, a Mage's fatal flaw was the requirement of chants.

However, the speed at which a Mage completed their chants was a symbol of talent.

Kieran's eyes sparkled briefly because the scene before him was like laying eyes upon a wonderland. 'This invocation rate… it's almost on par with a 1-circle Mage. They're truly exceptional.'

As Horizon Break watched Cyr and Altair utilize their high AGI to become menaces on the battlefield, he became so incensed he nearly pointed his finger through Despot's mouth. "This one is on you!" 

"On the contrary, you're to blame. Take responsibility for your actions, you greedy fuck. You could have declined, but you didn't. All we can do now is gather everyone and attack properly with vengeance," Despot said, ignoring Horizon Break's criticism.

"That's a given. Do they think we'll take this loss sitting down? Don't even dream about it!" Horizon Break scoffed in response. 

To try and avoid facing a severe penalty, they tried to log out. However, to their dismay, they found they couldn't log out in the middle of combat when deemed an Aggressor.

Except for physically fleeing the area or using special items outside the grasp of current players, running away was not an option within Zenith Online. 

The only viable option was to die. And in doing so, have one's combat status reset.

As the two despaired over the fact they couldn't pull a fast one, two abnormally-sized Mana Missiles zeroed in on their position, claiming both of their lives at once.

A decent number of coins dropped alongside equipment, which included Horizon Break's bow.

Once he realized this had happened, Horizon Break would undoubtedly be livid about this matter.

With the disappearance of Despot and Horizon Break, the actions of the two guilds fell into disarray. From this, the weakness of third-class guilds that couldn't afford to have proper Vice Guild Masters of adequate leading capabilities became prevalent for all to see. 

Once this disarray occurred, Kieran led the assault on all those unwilling to vacate the area. As a result, Kieran's Infamy Value very quickly neared the 3rd Degree threshold.

The only reason it didn't was because of the players that attacked him first in hopes of miraculously killing him. 

Unfortunately for them, there were now three healers on their side, who, by working together, healed Kieran and the others quickly.

Soon enough, all that remained was Kieran's party, Bastion's party, and the remaining tens of players that were quickly being killed off by the Colossal Scarlet Wolf.

Ignoring the Colossal Scarlet Wolf, for the time being, Kieran turned his attention to Bastion's party. 

Based on the skills exhibited by Bastion's party, he could tell they received the grace of the Knight, Priest, and Mage Instructors, which likely meant they obtained the Unique Starter Package for their respective class.

If this was true, having five people with unique advantages band together would be an unprecedented asset in trying to take down the Field Boss with limited numbers.

Therefore, Kieran looked at the others with a spirited gleam in his deep black eyes. "You down to raid this thing?"

"Like, right now?" Bastion answered with raised brows. 

Since they had just consumed a considerable amount of Stamina against those players, it wouldn't be ideal to fight against the Field Boss right away.

Kieran naturally understood these concerns and felt the same way, prompting him to shake his head. "We'll wait until they're all dead and we recover properly."

"Hoh? So, you don't want to help them at all?" Bastion questioned in return.

Truth be told, he had no qualms about helping or not helping. Bastion only showed up to gain a portion of the EXP and hit Lv.20 so he could attempt his Class Promotion.

"Nope. They're of no importance to me. They chose to attempt the Field Boss, so they're welcome to resolve or not resolve the situation alone," Kieran said with an indifferent coldness. 

Neither a martyr nor a saint, Kieran had no intentions of saving everyone. If they presented zero use to him, Kieran would simply let situations transpire as they should. 

"Understood." Bastion nodded, looking at Kieran with a peculiar glint in his eyes.

'This guy is… strange. At times, he feels unapproachable and extremely cold. At other times, he feels… whimsical. Nevertheless, one thing remains true in his actions—he is one to end a problem even if it wasn't instigated by his hand.'

Overall, Bastion's impression of Kieran was as such—a person with a chaotic yet neutral outlook: a free spirit who prioritized their benefit above all else.

As he waited for the other players to be killed off, Kieran momentarily checked on the stream to note their reaction to the events that transpired. 

┌───────────────────

«Stream Chat» -

«Ballbuster69» - Ngl, I may have busted his balls at first, but I kinda like this dude! RipBozo. Imagine PKing people only to turn around and get rolled. OmegaLul couldn't be me!

«GameStan» - Bwahahaha! They had no PASSION! They got shit on, and he gripped their shit! All that equipment down the damn drain. Git good you guys are butt and Aatrox is better! BETTER! :kekw: 

«AvidCritique» - Trash cans, absolute trash cans! The Shadow Cartel and Sunset Triad are dog water! Pepegas. I can't even begin to fathom how much copium is required in the chat for them.

«CringeLord25» - Can we get an F in the chat for those bozos? Sadge. But hey, quick question. I heard this Aatrox guy is stacked in the face. Do you think a guy like this, who's already so good at the game, is maidenless? He must have no-lifed other VR titles! Damn, that's tuff dude.

└───────────────────

Unlike his first stream, many doubters no longer jeered Kieran. Instead, they supported him.

The community's harsh comments were now directed at those that opposed Kieran, which was understandable as it was typical behavior of people once they became fans.

They simply wouldn't tolerate any disrespect toward their idols or icons. 

After checking the stream, Kieran noticed the Colossal Scarlet Wolf had become less active due to it finishing off all the remaining players. With them taken care of, Kieran could now move on.

"How do you feel about disbanding your party and forming a team with me?' Kieran questioned.

While a party was limited to 5 people, a team could accommodate up to 20 players at once. 

So, it was ideal for people looking to raid things with uniform instructions. Just like with a party, there could only be one Team Leader recognized by Zenith Online's system.

It was a feature that few knew about because it had zero light shed upon it. 

Though, in essence, it allowed two or more independent parties to act as one. However, doing so required one individual to take the mantle as the Alliance Leader.

"Any scruples with me being the leader? I won't touch the loot distribution method. But we also can't take much time to decide," Kieran asked, bringing their situation to everyone's attention.

They still needed to account for their small-scale team going up against a Field Boss with a considerable amount of Health and high attributes.

"Nah, I don't mind. Besides, that frees me up from having to make the calls. I can just… tank," Bastion said, chuckling somewhat sheepishly after gazing at the Colossal Scarlet Wolf in the distance.