Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Chapter 600: No Safety



Fear was a prevalent emotion in the room.

Everyone was stricken with it and stood petrified. Their wits melted from the sheer fury of Kieran's gaze.

Kieran suspected [Gaze of Carnage] could be used actively, though it appeared to be an innately passive ability. An active use called for a connection to the Fiend's Carnage. He didn't know how to explain the process other than the knowledge was etched within the chains, existing at their core like an unspoken truth of unmatched purity.

The madness was also the deepest there.

"Go on, kill them all for defying you and talking about. You are Ruin's Fury. Should you be angered, it is your right to erupt."

"Reveal that volcanic anger. Bathe the streets in infernal blood and paint the thoroughfare red. They question you? They are not fit to bear that ability!"

"Chew their heads like candy. Roast them and feast on their bones. Swallow that resentment seeping out of their minds."

Kieran shut his eyes, his facial muscles contorted as he struggled to keep them closed.

The voices kept talking to him, growing increasingly wily, demented, and... intriguing. They all belonged to him - sounded like him - but if he focused enough, he found there were foreign tones present.

Those tones supported the dissonance and made the echoes increasingly discordant.

It was as if Kieran's Realm had become an echo chamber of madness.

Soon, the voices lost their purchase in Kieran's mind, and he regained enough clarity of mind to suppress them altogether. That period of silence contributed to the heaviness in the room and further amplified the guild member's fear of their leader.

For a time, a pin drop could be heard in the stifling silence.

When Kieran opened his eyes again, the guild members were seated and trembling, almost jackhammering as if stuck out in arctic weather for too long.

A part of Kieran felt sorry that they had to be on the receiving end of this power. He lacked the control needed to employ it expertly, which meant the gaze was both more intense than he intended it to be but also weaker than it could be.

The gaze had no focus and no target, which meant everyone felt the fallout of his disastrous stare.

Nevertheless, he had an image to uphold.

"The rules have been laid bare. None of you before me are safe. There will be periodic re- qualification exams held by one of the Commanders or, if the event is large enough, myself. Keep in mind, a re-qualification I hold will have harsher testing standards because I am only looking for the cream of the crop to add to the leaders."

Aside from re-qualification to ensure the members held themselves to a standard without slipping, Kieran also modified the system in place, making the merit system even harsher. Objective fairness is what Kieran aimed for, thus he added a clause where the value of items contributed to the guild did not hold a fixed number.

Instead, the value was determined by the credentials of the person that provided it. It followed an inverse relationship where if a person with lower credentials provided a notable contribution, their merit would soar beyond what was to be expected.

Conversely, someone with high credentials bringing the same item would receive an objectively lower amount of merit, and that could all be exchanged for whatever they desired... at a cap to prevent hoarding and reselling to outside competition.

While Kieran couldn't do anything about the alchemy, blacksmithing, or tailored items, he dictated the market of Enchantments.

Now, Agatha was by no means the only person capable of teaching Enchantments, but the ones she taught were sublime even amongst low-ranking Enchantments.

After checking the guild funds, Kieran realized the hemorrhaging of money wasn't as bad as he suspected. The members of the Godhand Consortium saw a staggering rise in their production rates following the opening of their Hidden Attribute Focus. It made getting into a flow state much easier and detecting abnormalities earlier in the process, eliminating some of the wastage.

To him, Focus seemed more production-oriented. Focus was a decent help in battle, but it sometimes limited one's view of the battlefield, making them prone to ambushes on their sides. Tunnel vision during fighting could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how skilled one became at wielding it.

Kieran considered himself an okay wielder of tunnel vision. He still had much to learn.

After listing off the changes to be implemented immediately, the guild members held back tears. Why? Well... that's because the first re-qualification period would be upon them in mere weeks.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Kieran took a hard stance to show he meant every word. Of course, failure to re-qualify didn't mean immediate termination. Everyone at the bottom had two chances, but the second chance came swifter than the rest and wouldn't happen alongside their peers.

His gaze tided over the gloomy crowd, speaking soon after.

"This world promotes competition, and I intend to assimilate that into our structure. If you want something, claw for it. Prove that you want it and have the feats recorded in the Annals to assist you in the end. Take pride in your relentless pursuit of a better you."

That was why Kieran incorporated another rule that no one was exempt from, even his Commanders. Someone could vie for your spot if their criteria were par for the course.

Unlike the guild members, Altair and the others grinned, sharing mischievous looks with one another. The idea that their spot could be stolen meant they could also demonstrate why they deserved their current role.

It was the idea of challenge and overcoming it that tickled something in their mind, forged by the events of their Priming. Everyone was different, but any real Disciplined welcomed a worthy adversary, and that trait showed in his Commanders.

Kieran could estimate which of the members would fail to go far. Anyone with a trained eye and logical mind could. Their heart wasn't intrepid enough, and their goals weren't suited for

hardship.

'It is unfortunate, but I can't afford laziness in my camp. I fear too much about this world to cruise by. We should be prepared for the worst.'

Kieran looked away from the sulking members with their heads hung low and faces cradled in their hands. Instead, he focused on those who got up and stormed out of the auditorium resolutely with their hands grasping their weapons.

His display of power had at least stirred something in a handful of them. They had accused him of sitting around, but he showed that to be untrue. He was suffering and clawing for

power, and that torment he endured manifested in his gaze.

It was bloody, torturous, and barbaric... but it got the job done.

Leaning against the podium, Kieran's attention bounced between each member, ending on

Bastion.

"You did well up there, bud. I was shocked by the heated comments."

Bastion reverted to his bashful self, scratching his head with a cheeky grin.

"I don't know, boss. I couldn't take them hounding you like that. Not when you put in more effort than all of us combined. They don't know the things you do for us, and so they don't have the right to speak."

Kieran shook his head. "I disagree. I don't put in more effort than all of you. The odds I've been dealt are simply terrible, but I deal with them."

Then, he looked to Altair.

"You owe me some stories, you know."

Bastion's ear perked up. "Stories? I want to listen."

Kieran thought about it and shrugged.

Soon, the menagerie of Kieran and his original crew strolled back toward the Godhand

Bazaar.