A Few Differences, A Dangerous Lurking Presence

Kieran and the rest gazed upon the flickering flames that resulted from Kieran and Aspaira's combination skill.

〈System: Due to the perfect synergy of two attacks of differing natures, the damage upon every hit is increased to 1000% of its original damage.〉

Kieran rubbed his chin, slightly taken aback by the outcome. He didn't expect that fusing his Force Slash with Aspaira's Flame Wave would significantly increase their damage.

Ten times greater damage? Every tick of the flames engulfing the Shadow Wolves dealt 240 damage.

Because Flame Wave operated on sustained flame damage, it was a DoT (damage over time) skill, not a burst skill. The frequent ticks of fire damage burned the Shadow Wolves as the bright color of flames flickered in Kieran's eyes.

"What skill did you just use?" Sithik questioned, incredulously rubbing his eyes. He didn't understand how Kieran's skill exacerbated the flames; it had no element!

"Nothing out of the ordinary, but it's a skill unique to me," Kieran answered. He subconsciously narrowed his gaze as the smell of burnt hair and flesh permeated the air.

'I merely wanted to entrap the wolves in a ring of flames, but it somehow evolved into an inferno. I guess Force Slash is a better skill than I gave it credit for,' Kieran inwardly thought.

The Shadow Wolves howled and tried to jump out of the flames, but Kieran unleashed a Directional Slash to hit them back within the inferno's range. When the skill was on cooldown, Kieran resorted to kicking them back in by force.

"Why does this scene resemble a gangster stomping someone out in a back alley? This is insane, kind of. I think," Sithik mumbled off to the side.

Aspaira would sometimes move her staff and unleash a Mana Bullet or Fireball. Mana Bullet was similar to Aqua Bullet but carried no element, so it wouldn't interfere with the inferno.

"Excellent selection. The effects of Fireball sustain the flames," Kieran praised, overlooking Aspaira's prior mistakes.

He found no use in dwelling on her previous blunders when he could reinforce her confidence and get better results out of her.

Aspaira nodded with a relieved look. "I had a feeling. I would feel pretty stupid if I fired an Aqua Bullet into the middle of a raging flame."

Within seconds, the first two Shadow Wolves fell.

〈System: You have gained 750 EXP. 〉

〈System: You have gained 750 EXP.〉

〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.7→Lv.8]〉

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

Afterward, a sea of varying EXP amounts flooded the space before Kieran's eyes. The reward EXP would change whenever he leveled up to accommodate the decreasing level difference.

〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.8→Lv.9]〉

〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.9→Lv.10]〉

…

By the time the last Shadow Wolf fell, Kieran's level had jumped from Lv.7 all the way to Lv.12. With the monsters gone, everyone couldn't help but gawk at Kieran's current level.

While the others had reached Lv.10, his level had already neared the highest part of the recommended level spectrum!

"Ain't no way. Hell naw! This can't be true. How the fuck are you leveling up so fast, man?!" Sithik exclaimed. 

"Yeah, there's something extremely fishy here. Why aren't you letting us in on the secret?!" Altair joined in.

"Unfortunately, I really can't tell you all. Just as you didn't trust me with the loot situation at first, I can't trust you all with my situation. Either we focus on the run and guys stop asking questions, or we can abandon it," Kieran said, voicing his stance clearly.

Although abandoning the run would garner some heavy EXP penalties, Kieran preferred that over being hounded regarding his secret.

Everyone frowned when they heard Kieran's suggestion because his level was a driving force in this run.

A party didn't need to abandon a run together.

If a player wanted to, they could abandon the run alone, which sometimes happened when the relationship between certain members plummeted to a low.

But individual abandonment also meant they forfeited all rights to loot should the team clear. And  80% of the EXP gained thus far would be revoked. 

Of course, though it occurred, not many opted for this route because it almost always led to a failed dungeon run and repercussions.

Kieran had heard of instances where everyone in the party hunted down players that abandoned a run. Problems like this weren't common among formed guilds, but it was prevalent in the general gaming populace.

"No reason to be such a sourpuss," Cygnus muttered under her breath.

Kieran glanced in her direction but didn't say much. He didn't have time to waste clarifying why he was so straightforward.

"We're a makeshift party—our main concern should be to clear the dungeon, not worry about another's situation. Comparison will only make you feel inferior if that's the sort of mindset you're aiming for," Kieran answered.

Kieran's statement was directed at everyone, even Altair, who seemed particularly interested in his level. As a leveling fanatic, Altair prided himself in being the first to make it on the level leaderboards.

There was no sign of one right now, but if Zenith Online followed the renown skeleton of other VRMMORPGs, there would undoubtedly be one in the future.

"Meh," Altair shrugged. "Aatrox is right. Stop bothering him. As he said before, we'll be happy with our level after clearing the dungeon. We've already reached Lv.10."

"You're right, I suppose," Sithik agreed. However, he continued to glance at Kieran with a shred of curiosity.

"Enough about the levels. I see equipment under the burnt bodies of the Shadow Wolves! Shouldn't that be our main focus?!" Aspaira shouted, turning the party's attention away from Kieran.

There were several pieces of different equipment underneath the bodies of the Shadow Wolves that everyone ignored due to the earlier startle.

"I call any equipment for a Warrior, whether it be Heavy Armor or a Greatsword," Kieran called out. As the only Warrior in the party, he could monopolize such armors.

A Thief used Leather Armor, and Priests and Mages used Cloth Armor. There was no conflict of interest regarding Kieran's loot. 

Besides, the stronger Kieran became, the better their chances of clearing grew. 

"I have no issues with that," Sithik replied.

"Me either," Cygnus shook her head.

After counting up the loot from the Shadow Wolves, Kieran tallied slightly under 4 Silver Coins, meaning the wolves dropped 20 Copper Coins on average. 

"A bunch of Uncommon Equipment. Nice. Some are Lv.10, and others are Lv.5," Altair commented.

Aspaira received a Lv.10 Cloth Top that increased her INT attribute greatly. Altair received Lv.10 Uncommon Leather Gloves and Shoes, increasing his AGI, CTL, and DEF.

Sithik and Cygnus equipped new pieces of Lv.5 or Lv.10 Cloth Armor.

All that remained was a large greatsword on the floor with a sharp blade. Its shape was similar to a zweihander, which generally required two hands, but after mastering heavy weapons, Kieran became accustomed to one-handed wielding. 

「 Novice Greatsword (Uncommon)

Attack Power: 30

STR +12

Effect: This item increases attack damage by 5%.

Description: A sword made from decent material to assist new adventurers.

Durability: 40/40

Weight: 23 kg

Restriction: 35 STR, Lv.10 」

The Novice Greatsword required a lot of STR, also referred to as Strength, for its level. Lv.10 weapons generally required 20 to 25 of a class's primary stat. But after seeing the weapon's effect, Kieran understood why its restriction existed.

'I need to increase my STR to wield this weapon. But, I might as well improve all of the stats I require,' Kieran thought.

After reaching Lv.12, he had 25 UAPs in his possession, so he allocated them accordingly. 

〈System: Strength has risen from 34 to 38.〉

〈System: Agility has risen from 35 to 45.〉

〈System: Endurance has risen from 18 to 23.〉

〈System: Vitality has risen from 22 to 28.〉

Kieran noticed an immediate difference after switching to the Novice Greatsword. It fit his grasp perfectly and increased his STR.

┌───────────────────

Name: Aatrox

Lv.12 (Experience: 600/5,500)

Class: Warrior

Title(s): None

----------------------------

[«Stats»]-

Health: 240/240 (0.2 HP regen/sec)

Mana: 155/155 (0.16 MP regen/sec)

Stamina: 111 (0.1 Stamina regen/sec)

Attack Power: 130

Defense: 61

-----------------------------

[«Attributes»]-

»Strength: 50 (31 + 19 + 0)

»Intelligence: 25 (25 + 0 + 0)

»Agility: 45 (42 + 3 + 0)

»Endurance: 23 (13 + 10 + 0)

»Control: 30 (30 + 0 + 0)

»Vitality: 28 (18 +10 + 0)

»Perception: 50 (50 + 0 + 0)

[Unassigned Stat Point: 0]

[Skill Points: 10]

└───────────────────

Besides the change to his equipment, his stream also experienced a great change. More than 20,000 visited his stream to see what was going on, many of whom stayed after watching his battle.

┌───────────────────

«Stream Chat» -

«Ballbuster69» - Someone please explain how the shit devs let players do this? Is burning monsters alive and somehow trapping those monsters not an exploit? Fix your game and ban this dude! He is already Lv.12! 

«Reasonablefool» - Nah, I think he's a smurf. Because how can you be so good and unknown? Like hello?! Who even is Aatrox?

«ICringeUCringe2» - Not gonna lie; exploiting is pretty cringe. You're gonna get sent back to the lobby pretty soon.

└───────────────────

The comments made Kieran chuckle because he understood praise and ridicule were inevitable when streaming. Kieran didn't let it get to his head. Instead, he focused on those who supplied donations and thanked them.

Unfortunately, his gratitude was cut short by a dangerous presence lingering in the shadows.

A wolf twice the size of the Shadow Wolves, with the same black fur in a deeper color, lurked in the shadow. Flickers of shadowy wisps danced over the silver glimmer at the tip of its coat.

Eyes as dark as the night sky stared at Kieran as he grasped his Novice Greatsword. Its information was exposed the moment it stepped from the shadows.