—-


    Theprehensive update left yers stunned for quite some time. Most yers stopped what they were doing to read through all the information given. This was unusual, given that most yers despised reading and would rather experience the changes firsthand and thenin about the difficulty and how it was impossible to work with.


    However, that wasn’t the case when it came to Zenith Online. The massive difference sparked an inevitable drive to understand what had just urred. Of course, before they read through the information, cries of protest rained down in every yer-inhabited area.


    Meanwhile, Kieran scanned the contents while awaiting his party members’ reactions.


    The first toment was Altair, surprisingly. “Why are Combat and Life Realism different? Isn’tbat just a part of life at this point? It should be a consolidated update if you ask me.”


    “Well, that’s because it attacks two different matters. Just take a look at the exined contents,” Kieran responded. He brought their attention to the first line of the update—Stage One Life Realism.


    While Stage One Life and Combat Realismprised the general increase to Stage One Realism, a few key factors separated them into two categories. This separation allowed for in-depth knowledge rather than a generalized summary.


    The update wouldn’t provide the yers with enough information if it were generalized.


    As exined in the update details, Stage One Life Realism increased the yers’ familiarity with the world and presented basic human requirements. This included the Satiety Bar now present in everyone’s User Interface. It was a bar that gauged from green to yellow to orange and finally red, depending on how sated the yer was.


    Satiety wasn’t just limited to food consumption; it also included sufficient rest and giving one’s body time to heal after emptying their Stamina ten consecutive times.


    Negative impacts also apanied a change like this. If the Satiety Bar were to empty and wasn’t replenished promptly, severe side effects would ensue. An empty bar meant one’s Stamina would be severely affected._-.


    If a yer allowed their Satiety Bar to empty, they might as well remain inside a town, vige, or city because their attributes would no longer apply the same. It would be as if they possessed a negative Constitution.


    The chances of winning a battle against an enemy while in that state were nil.


    Therefore, professions like Chefs and Masseuses became quite popr in Kieran’s past. Both of these professions excelled at ridding fatigue and increasing Satiety.


    Aside from the Satiety Bar, the role of environmental factors in a yer’s experiences increased drastically. Whether the conditions involved heat, cold, dry air, rain, or other undesirable weather, they could all impact how a yer felt.


    Another feature of Stage One Life Realism was increased recognition from NPCs, otherwise known as patrons of Xenith. This increase made it easier to ept teachers, discover quests, and even created the option for tailored quests spurred by unique actions.


    In light of this change, another matter would soon follow—the rapid inclusion of several vital Professions. Alchemists, Tailors, Forgers, Apothecarist, and many more would be indispensable due to the handicap removal.


    Lastly, the need for reputation with certain NPCs increased considerably. Fostering a rtionship with different NPCs below the Mythical Rank could improve the interactions between yers and NPCs.


    Stage One Combat Realism, on the other hand, shone light upon the implementation of equipment weight and created a manual requirement. A yer could no longer activate a skill just by focusing on its presence in the skill menu.


    Now, yers could only activate skills by supplying a unique character inside their minds with the required Mana or any other energy sources and then carrying out the manual skill description provided by said character.


    Attack speed and movement speed gained some restrictions and were now heavily reliant on one’s attributes.


    Reading through all this information baffled Bastion, Nemean, and Altair alike.


    “So… the dy in activating skills will be much greater now?” Altair grimaced after thinking of his skills’ physical requirement. The Assassin ss required excessive speed to unleash most of his skills, but if they were all aplished through manual inputs, Altair somewhat rued choosing this ss.


    However, Alice had it even worst. Her skills required a unique Mana flow to achieve the right element. Additionally, the density of every flow differed depending on the skill rank.


    “T-this…” Even Alice stammered after bing overwhelmed by the information before her. She tried to unleash a simple Fireball Spell, an E Rank Skill, but she felt horrible when the skill failed and caused a bacsh.


    Alice was blown back by the implosion and lost twenty-five percent of her Health, but Kieran caught her with a bitter smile. “It’s not easy, is it?”


    “Not at all,” Alice shook her head. “I made one misstep, and the Mana collided with itself.”


    “This is insane! Who would want to y a game this difficult?!” Bastion scowled. He tried activating some defensive skills, but his internal Mana barely listened, causing a fat vein to appear on the temples while straining.


    “I agree, but at least most of my skills are only reinforced by Mana. I don’t have to worry about the issues that gue you all,” Nemean snickered.


    However, his mocking expression was short-lived as Kieran’s followed words were like ice cold water dousing out flickering embers.


    “That means yours are even worse,” Kieran corrected.


    Nemean’s eyes widened in horror, but he ultimately tested out Kieran’s ims. He performed shadow-boxing movements since there was no nearby enemy. After his fifth strike, he fulfilled the requirements to activate his first significant skill.


    “Chain Link: Shield Rush!”


    Nemean’s footing suddenly changed as he spun to create a whirlwind-like momentum; however, that momentum broke, and hended t on his face.


    “What in the what?!” Nemean shouted at the top of his lungs while jumping up from the ground.


    “Yeah, your skills are reinforced by Mana. That means you have to carry out and maintain that reinforcement alone. The moment the fluid flow of Mana breaks is when your skill will be disrupted,” Kieran revealed.


    The entire party was dismayed as they beganining about these new changes.


    Meanwhile, Kieran extended his hand and focused on one of the faint characters that circled a colossal crimson gem-like construct in his mind. ‘That must be Blood Mania since it is the basis of my ss. However…’


    Kieran noticed something odd about this construct—the top was fragmented. Fragmented constructs meant the skill was either iplete or the yercked foundational understanding, thereby limiting how much power the user could bring out.


    Nevertheless, Kieran didn’t have a solution for its fragmented state, so he continued to focus on one of the more minor characters. The required information popped into his mind, and Kieran manipted blood energy a momentter.


    A glob of viscous red energy flowed above his palm as Kieran gazed at the others. Alice and the rest were soon filled with awe, but that quickly became envy as they noticed how effortless this disy seemed.


    “You’re a freak; you know that?” Bastion grumbled.


    “Thank you,” Kieran smiled wholeheartedly. It only served to make Bastion even more furious as he stomped in ce like an infant throwing a tantrum.


    “This was done by understanding my skill. The change isn’t as difficult as you believe. Before youin, study the character ced in your mind. The first time you do so, a sort of map will appear. Don’t try activating your skills until that map ismitted to memory. You should move on to physical attempts only once that step ispleted. Otherwise, you’ll just frustrate yourself,” Kieran said.


    Because the others rushed to test out the changes, they neglected the aid provided to limate to said changes. But, Kieran didn’t mention it until they all experienced failure because failure was often the greatest teacher.


    Mistakes were inevitable but also desirable. Mistakes marked a tangible issue and opened a route for improvement. After all, there was nothing more fulfilling than documenting your progress. This applied to all aspects of life; improvement was fulfilling.


    Theints died down as Kieran called for a travel break. This gave Alice and the others time to understand these so-called maps Kieran mentioned. In short, the maps indicated where Mana should be focused and expelled from to unleash the skill.


    However, these maps soon raised a question.


    “Wait… can skills be overcharged?” Alice wondered.


    What would happen if a simple Fireball spell was fed Mana that exceeded the consumption requirement? There were no longer markers that indicated how much Mana was being moved; it was now up to the user to decide if the amount conjured was sufficient, insufficient, or far too much.


    To understand this, yers would need to enter libraries and conduct research regarding the siz