Eventually, after failing to challenge the authenticity of Kieran's claims, the party could only shrug and accept what he said as the truth. After all, there were only two ways to see if his information was genuine. The party would need to find a way to experience Kieran's past experiences, or they'd have to wait for their next dungeon run to see whether this Insane Difficulty truly existed.
Even though there were rumors of a Lv.20 dungeon, there was something odd about it. Aside from the Normal Difficulty, the rest remained locked and unindicated. Even if players wished to, they couldn't glean information related to the greater difficulties.
At first, they believed it to be related to the fact the dungeon hadn't been cleared yet, but whether or not that was true remained unknown.
On the other hand, Luna's party members couldn't help but overhear the conversation taking place between Luna and Aatrox. As a result, the same member, the Guardian Knight, who usually defended their party, stepped forward and interjected.
"Team Leader, it wouldn't make you a weak woman to accept the offer. From what Aatrox is saying, it only seems to be a temporary party as they are lacking a member. If this is for the future of our team then how can we view the action as worthless or selfish?"
"Luka," Luna muttered with a slight frown budding across her cold expression. While she understood what Luka was saying, she couldn't ignore the fact that she was the party's main dps. If she were to abandon them now, their progress would be stunted, which she felt could ultimately limit the team's progress.
Noticing that troubled atmosphere, Kieran sifted his gaze through the ten-odd people before him and rubbed his chin softly. "If your fear is falling behind in terms of level, which if I'm being honest, isn't the most important area of strength for us Tier 1 Classes, then become an Enchanter."
"Enchanter," Luna muttered skeptically while turning towards Kieran. There was little to no information regarding Lifestyle classes except Tailors, Alchemist, and Forgers, as they were the essential tools for organizations seeking to create official guilds.
"As the name sounds, they can enchant things. Become good enough, and you can create the Growth Enchantment, increasing one's experience acquisition rate. Of course, it's challenging to succeed in that path, and is generally recommended that magical classes take that path," Kieran shrugged.
Again, the party grew suspicious of his abundant knowledge. How could he be so knowledgeable despite the game being just short of a week old?
"Ah, given how you're looking at me, it tells me everyone has their suspicions, eh?" Kieran chuckled softly before glancing to the side. A low growl exited the ogre's throat beside him, but a sanguine aura quickly appeared around Kieran's body.
The aura converged on his blade before creating a chaotic presence. Once that happened, Kieran unleashed a Sanguinem Tempest that quickly burrowed into the ogre's body. By the time the last tempest pierced the ogre's bulging stomach, the gaping holes had finished spewing its innards as its body slumped over with a loud thump.
Although the ogre was in an arguably weakened state, Kieran had accomplished in two skills what took Luna's party a few minutes to perform.
"All my knowledge is available inside the city's public library. If you're able with enough World Fame, you may even obtain the chance to enter the royal library where information withheld from the public resides. Kind of like how our world works. I mean, what ruling power really tells you everything? There's power in knowing, so why deny yourself that power?" Kieran said with a lighthearted expression.
It had taken him longer than he would've liked, but his eyes were now open to how the real world operated. Nothing was fair, and just as Vice-Leader Hugo said. Some were favored, and those unfortunate enough to be neglected were forced to fend for themselves.
However, those circumstances admittedly forged the strongest of people. Someone who has had everything handed to them their whole lives will never overwhelm those who had to toil endlessly for their position.
Thinking about this fact made Kieran's grip subconsciously tighten. His comment reminded him of Charles and the Golden Brigade since Charles was the poster child of an individual born with a silver spoon.
With the rage bubbling up inside him, Kieran could only close his eyes and exhale to the point it sounded like his lungs were rumbling. The sensation was reminiscent of a looming earthquake.
Finally, she took one more look at her party before inevitably nodding. "I'll agree to this venture, but I would like to voice a demand."
"That being?" Kieran questioned while slowly opening his eyes. A ruby sheen radiated from his eyes before subsiding, but it somehow invoked a shred of fear in anyone who glimpsed into his gaze at that time.
'What is his class?' Luna wondered. Although it appeared physical, some of Kieran's left a deep impression on the mind, a feature only classes specializing in mental abilities, such as an Illusionist, could muster.
Nevertheless, Luna shook off feeling while confidently voicing her demand. "Since you're the one that requested my help, I ask that you allow me to have the first pick at the boss loot."
Immediately, Kieran shook his head. "No. However, in exchange, I'll offer you this: you can receive two items of my choosing from every significant monster."
"Significant monster?" Luna whispered under her breath. The wording sounded odd to her, so she wasn't quite sure what it entailed. Kieran was too used to using terms that the guild had come up with to arrange deals during joint efforts. For now, he would have to simply the terms.
"Ah, allow me to phrase it differently. You may receive one-fifth of all Special Elite and higher monster drops of my choosing. This is my deal instead of the first pick you asked for. Please consider the deal before answering," Kieran said.
Meanwhile, the others behind him looked at each other in confusion. Nemean, unfamiliar with how deals were carried out in Zenith Online, whispered to Bastion. "Did Aatrox just happen to offer 20% of the spoils? But there's 10 of us; shouldn't it just be equally split between all 10 of us and call it a day."
"No," Kieran interjected while glancing at Nemean. "An addition needs to be added to compensate for taking her away from her party. You're considering this a normal situation, but that's incorrect."
At first, Nemean was silent, but he soon nodded with an expression of understanding. It seemed Kieran had read more into the situation than he did. Even the other nodded subtly at Kieran's reasoning.
After a brief pause, Kieran added another piece of information. "Besides, her addition will be coming from my portion." Unlike the others in the party, Kieran wasn't struggling financially like all beginning players who followed the typical order of progression.
He possessed a cushion consisting of 10,000 Gold. Compared to this cushion, the worth of the items that could come from the dungeon seemed insignificant in his eyes. Moreover, it didn't outweigh the value of opening up the possibility of forming a future alliance, especially with the enemies he would have to face later on.
Conversely, while Kieran's party was somewhat shocked by his offer, Luna was taken aback by his generosity. 'Why isn't he selfish like those who come into power? This… it doesn't conform to what I have seen. How do I approach this?'
While Luna was lost in thought, Luka approached her from behind and gave her a slight nudge followed by a nod.
Rather than agree as her teammates suggested, Luna sought one last answer. "What about the coins? Money is an indispensable necessity for people like us. Without it, we can't advance."
"Twenty percent also," Kieran said without so much as batting an eye. He understood the importance of money at this stage in the game, so he couldn't denounce Luna for stressing her desire to obtain a portion.
"If that's the case, I'd be a fool not to accept the offer. Approximately when will we enter this dungeon?" Luna questioned.
"Follow after me. Your party can also come; they'll be useful in clearing out this area," Kieran replied. Afterward, he sent an Alliance Party Request to Luna, to which she agreed. Thus, while the experience would take a 50% reduction because of the large alliance, the speed of clearing out the monsters should suffice.
In the meantime, Kieran browsed through his Skill Tree to find skills accessible to his current level.
┌───────────────────
[«True Berserker Skill»]-
«Lv.20»
Berserker's Burden - B - «Passive» - 12 SP to learn
Tormented Beliefs - B - «Passive» - 12 SP to learn
Sanguine Slashes - C - «Active» - 8 SP to learn
Crimson Barrage - C - «Active» - 8 Sp to learn
└───────────────────
Although only four skills were present since Kieran had yet to reach Lv.25, each of these skills was helpful because they were the True Berserker's basic skills that Kieran could carry even into the latest of stages. Unlike the skills that received immediate upgrades at the cost of 0 SP, a sweet deal for Kieran given that the upgrades cost several times the SP, basic skills still required the player to purchase them.
In total, Kieran ended up sacrificing 40 Skill Points, leaving him with 110 Skill Points for future purchases and upgrades.
Once he finished with that, Kieran led the others deep into the forest until a new notification appeared before their view.
〈System: You have entered the «Forest of Marshullum»!〉
〈System: You have received 50 World Fame.〉
Upon entering this area, Kieran lifted his sword overhead and braced himself.
Bang!
An enormous ogre fell from the sky with its giant fist landing upon Kieran's defensively held blade. Despite losing more than 5% of his Health bar after receiving the attack, Kieran swiftly retaliated by kicking the ogre in the stomach and slamming his sword against the air, which caused a deluge of bloody power to burst forward.
