—-
Before allowing Kieran to log back into Zenith Online, Dr. Riley had him do one last thing: lay down on the sizeable doctor’s bed in the middle of the dical room. When he rested on the mattress, Kieran was astonished by how comfortable it was. Even his bed, which was fad for its incredible softness, couldn’t compare.
The material of the dical bed was so type of fiber Kieran had never seen before, and it was filled with a coolant that tended to any muscle fatigue the patient may suffer from. As a result, Kieran was overwheld by an enjoyable feeling.
“You like it, don’t you? It’s the newest model of the Hyper-Regeneration Bed. Even soone suffering from chronic muscular-degenerative pain can feel so relief from it. Anyhow, I need to monitor you because the advertisents ntioned that this ga is extrely beneficial for its player. I want to see how true that is,” Dr. Riley said.
All the while, she clicked a few buttons that caused a few changes to the bed. Many futuristic monitors moved overhead, displaying all of Kieran’s vital information, primarily his brain waves. She wanted to see how the VR Devices interacted with the human mind since it was information that the ga’s creator generally didn’t disclose.
‘The Gar Republic may have claid to have created this ga, but I doubt they’re in possession of such cutting edge technology. There should be another shadowy figure behind, and although it might be dangerous to pry into this information, I can’t help it. I’m an information addict,’ Dr. Riley giggled to herself.
Kieran felt as if she resembled a sneaky toddler with the way she snickered and giggled by his side, but he didn’t ntion too much about it. Instead, he prepared to log back into the ga imdiately. Although there was ample ti to level up, and he wasn’t particularly behind any of the other pro gars, he could only take advantage of a few opportunities in the early ga before they vanished.
‘I need to complete that before the baseline of the first update is reached. It’ll beco far more difficult to accomplish if the pain setting mirrors life identically,’ Kieran thought. Even though his Stamina drained quite fast, even in the ga’s current state where it wasn’t as close to reality as possible, it’d only worsen in the future.-.
And, from what Kieran rembered, there were a few accomplishnts that would beco easier to complete if done before that happened. One of which rested inside the Aeredale Kingdom.
“Is that everything? Am I good to log in now?” Kieran asked. He was growing impatient and teeming with energy because of the X-hancer. He wished to find out how his current state would affect his ga experience.
“All set. Go on and enjoy yourself,” Dr. Riley said, giving Kieran the okay.
Without a mont’s hesitation, Kieran placed the VR Helt on his head and entered the virtual pathway composed of countless digital arcs that intertwined to form a pattern that would put soone in a trance. Within a few seconds, Kieran awoke to the familiar setting of the inn room.
Because the quality of this inn was far better than the Humble Inn, the Well-Rested buff was at Stage Two. Compared to the first stage, which made it so the player received a 50% experience acquisition buff and exhausted 50% less Stamina for the next 3 hours, the second stage was four tis better in terms of duration.
While it was the perfect buff for players, it was only available to those who had logged out for more than a day in-ga. Otherwise, the player would only receive a slightly more potent version of the buff’s first stage.
After logging in, Kieran imdiately reached out to his teammates, asking them to et him at the city’s gates. Because the quest was situated within the Barren Mountain Range, he would need to return there.
This ti, the only difference was that instead of heading towards the area filled exclusively with goblins, Kieran intended to explore the area closer to Aeredale City.
Not only were the monsters more powerful, but it was the zone related to the Adventurer Guild’s request. Obtaining a Gold Adventurer Badge was paramount in completing his objectives, so it was currently the only matter on his agenda. It was the lowest badge possible to accomplish his goals.
Spending ti as a Trainee, Bronze, or Silver Adventurer was not sothing he intended to do. Moreover, he didn’t wish for his allies to do the sa either, which is why he stressed that they increase their World Fa. Although the Adventurer Guild employed a notoriety system known as Adventurer Prestige, increasing World Fa was helpful in the rchant Association, where one could obtain a wide variety of items, materials, and equipnt.
As long as their World Fa was high enough, a player stood a chance of acquiring an official mbership with the association. Only individuals who held this mbership could gain access to their Auction Houses and auctions in general.
Furthermore, other organizations that had yet to appear also relied upon this identification standard.
After approximately 15 minutes of waiting, Bastion, Altair, and the others gathered in front of Kieran; however, there was also a new face he had never seen before, at least not yet.
‘Why does this dude seem familiar?’ Kieran wondered.
Despite having a sowhat slim fra, the individual before possessed a physique brimming with vigor. More importantly, two overlapping shields strapped to his back protruded from his sides at an angle.
‘Shields? Two of them?’ Kieran thought before quickly analyzing the person before him. His short and curly black was slicked back, highlighting his defined face, especially his more-so silverish-blue eyes that seed lively.
“I take it that you’re the Aatrox I’ve heard nothing but good things about. The na’s Nean, and my brother Bastion here has told that you require an additional party mber,” Nean said while extending his hand.
Kieran grasped his hand while glancing at Bastion. “Your brother?”
“Not literally. We’ve gad before in so earlier titles, and he has surprisingly chosen to return to the gaming scene. He’s arguably a better tank than I am, except he does unorthodox and weird basically,” Bastion admitted with a nonchalant shrug.
Kieran and Nean stood eye to eye at the sa exact height of 185 centiters. With his current fra, he certainly had the making to beco an insane tank. But, Kieran wouldn’t just take Bastion’s word for it. He needed to witness Nean’s ability with his own eyes.
However, the na Nean clicked inside Kieran’s head after a few seconds because there was a player with that na who stood in the lilight of tanks in the past.
‘Is this the sa Nean regarded as the Shield Juggernaut?’ Kieran wondered. If that were true, Kieran already possessed a faint idea about Nean’s capabilities. What mystified Kieran currently was why Nean rose to fa while Bastion seemingly vanished. Could sothing have happened between them?
‘Is this Nean, who was viewed as an upstanding person, really one of those vile backstabbers?’ Kieran wondered while maintaining a stoic gaze. Although he had his speculations, he chose to give Nean the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he was just overthinking things, and it was another matter that led Bastion to disappear.
“Why the sour look? Did I do sothing wrong?” Nean comnted when he felt Kieran’s unusually intense gaze. It was as if a father was looking to scold their child for having done sothing wrong.
“Nah, he’s just got that type of face, bro. You know how the girls have resting bitch face? He has a resting lunatic face, and I’m sure you’ve seen his videos. He’s insane chanically,” Bastion interjected.
“You’ve done nothing wrong, but I do hope you maintain the party’s integrity. We will vet all newcors, and if you fail to et the standard, whether in potential or morally, I will personally expel you from the party,” Kieran said in a plain tone.
As a result, the atmosphere of the party grew quiet. Kieran was extrely serious after learning that there were secrets he was unaware of. And, from the way Dr. Riley was so interested in monitoring him, perhaps Zenith Online was more vital than he presud.
“I have no problem with that. At least you don’t mince words and make your expectations clear. I respect that quality,” Nean said with a delighted grin. After being officially added to the party, Kieran was surprised by Nean’s level—24. That was amongst the top of the leaderboards that opened upon having the first character promote their class.
Aatrox, on the other hand, was ranked 16th globally, while Nean was 6th. Only a handful of people had obtained Lv.25.
Once he learned of Nean’s level, Kieran turned his head to the side away from Aeredale City’s entrance. He looked towards the east and then the west before moving east.
The party followed closely behind, but only Altair and Cyr could genuinely keep up once he unleashed the entirety of his Agility.
“Damn it! Is a Warrior supposed to be so fast? I thought that was an advantage reserved for the Thief Class,” Bastion groaned. He was the worst of all, even worse than Alice, who had officially promoted to an Elentalist, a mage specializing in weaponizing the elents. This was one of the few early classes that opened up what was known as Elental Affinity.
“Well, he did tell you that you should add so points to Agility, but you didn’t listen well,” Sera comnted to the side in a low voice.
Bastion shot her a gaze that made her yelp and turn her head away. However, Alice silently looked at the two before coming to Sera’s defense. “She’s right. He had so decent advice, but you didn’t heed it. Just change it in the future when you level up.”
“Bah… why do I feel like my original teammates are teaming up on for soone else? It’s not fair, you know!” Bastion complained.
“Hey, it’s the truth. Don’t try to guilt trip us,” Alice comnted indifferently.
Afterward, Bastion could only sigh and shake his head in defeat before following the three in front. anwhile, Nean quietly absorbed the interaction of the party. The atmosphere felt quite holy, so he had nothing to comnt about thus far.
Instead, the only thing on his mind was engaging in combat with the party to see if they synergized well.
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