—-


    Afterpleting their ss promotion, many sses received a considerable boost in burst damage, especially mages who admittedly walked the path of ss cannons, given that their ss specialized in cloth armors. cksmiths couldn’t create the armor they wore; instead, sses that used leather and cloth armor would require Tailors when seeking special armor that needed item designs.


    While Bastion’s Defense skyrocketed, he felt like the odd one out. His only role was to defend, as even his offensive skills focused on multiplying aggro rather than inflicting real damage. Even if he pooled every Unassigned Attribute Point into Strength, he would fail to reach even the shadow of offensive sses.


    “C’mon, bud; you know your time to shine is when we act as a party. No one here can im to equal you in Defense,” Nemean said when he noticed Bastion’s faint frown.


    “I know that! But the ss roles in this game are even more definitive than others. I at least expected to deal 500 damage to contribute,” Bastion grumbled before exhaling to clear his frustrations. Truthfully speaking, Kieran’s absurd damage led to Bastion’s current emotions.


    He wanted to at least be on an equal level with his peers. However, to catch up to them, he would have to shed his normal ss and do so soon, or the chasm separating him and the others would only widen in terms of damage.


    Meanwhile, Kieran watched the two interact with each other and nodded subtly. ‘Camaredie that rivaled brotherhood… that’s something Icked even in the past. But, it sucks that Ick the courage to be trusting enough to be this vulnerable to others,’ Kieran thought.


    The circumstances of Kieran’s rebirth affected him deeper than he cared to admit. Although he was skeptical at first, because of his subordinates and peers’ willingness to follow orders, he gradually opened up to the members of the Golden Brigade in the past. Thus, the betrayal of those peers he previously viewed as his entryrades left wounds on his heart that he tried to mostly repress just like in his childhood._-.


    Alice noticed Kieran’s unusual expression and furrowed her brows while beginning to wonder about the story of these stoic and almost remorseful expressions. However, as she felt it wasn’t her ce to pry into others’ problems, she soon averted her gaze.


    In the meantime, Sera tugged lightly on Alice’s sleeve. “Are you okay, Alice? There seems to be something on your mind.”


    “No, it’s nothing,” Alice shook her head, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself. Still, Sera picked up on some of the subtle tells. For example, the way Alice shifted her gaze between Altair, Kieran, Nemean, and Bastion—the four most talented people in the party.


    Eventually, the party’s atmosphere returned to normal, and Bastion regained his cordial attitude.


    On the other hand, Kieran started to question if it was time to present Bastion with the item in his possession. It would tremendously increase his defensive abilities, but it also required extremely high Strength to wield, just like the Crimson Ashrune awaiting the moment Kieran reached Lv.25.


    With the experience received from the Goblins, it wouldn’t be too long before he reached that level. Kieran eventually decided to refrain from revealing that item for the time being. Not only was it of a grade that probably no other yer possessed, but distributing the item to Bastion in front of the others would create desire and the party and possibly even create a rift.


    After all, the rtionship amongst the party was infantile at best. To reach a state where everyone simply sought the best for theirrade would take a while even if the party possessed ster qualities; it was just human nature.


    The sins and virtue of man were two principles that governed every person despite what they may im. No matter how hard an individual tried, it was challenging to destroy human nature at the most basic level. Those basal behaviors were bound to seep through one’s actions at some moment in time.


    Regardless, after the faint episode of self-reflection, the party then turned their attention to the depth of the Barren Mountain Range. Their numbers seem to take unusually long to recover upon dealing with the goblins that inhabited this area. In fact, it took so long that Kieran considered leaving the area before waiting for their respawn timer to pse.


    ‘I wanted to reach Lv.25 before running into the ogres, but at this rate, it’d be more practical for me to run into them now, even if this sword runs the risk of breaking during the fight,’ Kieran thought. Unlike goblins, ogres were monsters of immense physical prowess, so it was foolish to go up against them with extremely damaged gear. If even a few of them hits made it through, the chances of said equipment breaking would be sky high.


    After all, the process of repairing a broken weapon differed greatly from a damaged one that needed its durability repaired. In this case, the weapon would need to be recast from simr if not identical materials. However, Kieran possessed no such thing as Scarlet Steel Ore.


    Thus, Kieran was left in a slight dilemma. But, after considering that he was in a party that could more than pull their own weight, he realized his dilemma wasn’t asrge as he thought.


    “We advance,” Kieranmanded while gesturing for the others to follow him while slinging the Scarlet Steel Greatsword over his sword. Compared to when he first wielded the weapon, it felt incredibly light. So light that it didn’t differ from how a Swordsman wielded their longswords effortlessly.


    “Aye, boss, why does your weapon seem even worse than when we started?” Nemean questioned after noticing the scars on the greatsword widening. Some of it came from defending against the Goblin Warrior’s attacks, but most of them came from Kieran’s astonishing power.


    “It’s teetering on the edge of breaking, but it’s fine,” Kieran shrugged. However, Bastion’s and a few others stopped in their tracks. Wasn’t this the sword he picked up after killing the first World Boss?


    “What the… isn’t that a Rare Weapon? How can you be so calm about its frighteningly low durability?” Bastion asked with his mouth agape and his gaze nk.


    In response, Kieran only smiled while shaking his head. Why ruin the surprise when he could have a treat in store for this party instead?


    After failing to receive an answer, Bastion simply grunted and ignored his initial question altogether. ‘Tch… this guy. Why did I even bother to ask? I hate that smirk, and I hate surprises even more!’


    Nevertheless, the party followed along as soon headed deep into the Barren Mountain Range until the setting gradually changed into a dense forest with a swampy floor and manyrge rocks. This environment certainly wasn’t ideal for anyone who was prone to slipping. One false move and that would end up theirst since environmental damage also affected yers just as it could affect monsters.


    Suddenly, Kieran put his hand up and closed his fist while analyzing his surroundings. A cluster of footprints appeared in his view, but from their size and shape, it definitely didn’te from ogres—they were too tiny and almost human-like if Kieran had toment.


    A few moments after, Kieran’s ears twitched after hearing signs of battle not too far away. ‘Is that why there was no discovery notification? Has someonee here before us? Given that this area is home to admittedly strong monsters for our level, anyone confident enough toe here is not normal.’


    “Careful, we’re not alone,” Kieran revealed, which caused the other party members to perk up. Altair was the first to be battle ready, followed by Nemean, but Kieran was different. His posture remained rxed as he took a step forward.


    Rather than immediately prepare, Kieran’s first thought was to check how powerful the opposition was and how abundant their numbers were. As of now, there were nine people in his party.


    While advancing carefully, Kieran arrived within a part of the leveling field filled with overgrown nts, trees, and grass.


    Just then, Kieran witnessed the other side going up against the ogres in the area and narrowed his eyes. Compared to the yer going against them, the ogres were at least two timesrge with grotesque muscles that incited fear rather than awe.


    “What, are they a guild or something?” Bastion asked from the side.


    “Unlikely,” Kieran shook his head. “While they seem somewhat experienced, they also don’t seem that experienced. Out of the select few, I’d say that woman in the front is the strongest expert on their team and probably their leader. The rest? Not really worth mentioning unless they improve their skills.”


    “Uh… are you watching the same battle that I am?” Nemean muttered in slight exasperation. The others were seldomly getting hit by therge clubs in the ogre’s grasp and keeping its movements limited.


    “We are. But, the current situation is not their doing. It’s because of their leader establishing a rhythm that agrees with all of them that they’re able to contend against this monster.”


    “Well… isn’t that saying something. It’s already noteworthy to follow someone while making few to no mistakes,” Nemean said back.


    “Possibly, but have you considered the fact that this monster is a Special Elite and not even a Champion? It shouldn’t require so many to take down. This may be a Gradeless Team that wants to make a name for themselves.”


    “Wait… what’s a Champion?” Nemean muttered while scratching his head in slight confusion.


    Only Kieran knew that a Champion monster existed because it was extremely difficult toe across one even after leaving the Beginner Viges.


    “The monster rank above a Special Elite, and after Lv.25, their power scale bes ridiculous so it’s not a monster for normal sses to handle alone. Anyhow, I think it’s time we announce our presence,” Kieran said with a small smile.


    This action immediately put on the moment when nearly ten people approached the other side edge.


    The female leader’s gaze shifted to Kieran with a hint of worry appearing in her eyes. This could either turn out okay or not very good. It all depended on how each side handled themselves.