Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

Upon logging back into the game, Kieran was immediately met with a shocking sight. Because of the achievement that surfaced just hours before, many players were under the impression that the Aeredale Kingdom held some mysterious secret. Otherwise, how could Kieran achieve consecutive feats while others players had yet to complete one?

As a result, there was a boon in the Aeredale Kingdom player populace. The main road leading from the city gates into the commercial area experienced triple the traffic it generally experienced, causing it to become congested.

Aside from the system revealing the accomplishment to the world, it also had separate area announcements that divulged the location where each notification originated.

There wasn't a place Kieran could turn without seeing at least five players in his view. Some even seemed frantic, as if they were trying their darnedest to uncover a hidden way to have their name resound throughout the gaming community.

Kieran could only shake his head and chuckle at the current situation at hand. Nevertheless, it didn't involve him too much. The greater the player population inside the Aeredale Kingdom, the better he could benefit from it. As the player population increased, so would the quantity of coins circulating throughout the kingdom's economy.

In light of this fact, Kieran would have an easy time manipulating the prices of any desired item as long as it was within the limit of acquirable coins. If he were too greedy, there'd be a chance that the players may leave the kingdom in search of a cheaper alternative.

'Perhaps I should use the old max price as a guideline for what to base my price on in the future,' Kieran thought while considering his options. Due to current limitations, players lacked a sustainable source of high income. Their only options were to kill monsters and acquire coin loot or sell the equipment dropped from said monsters. Focus had yet to be placed on tradeskills, so they were mostly neglected.

With everyone rushing to level and improve their gear, they overlooked that tradeskills existed not for now but for the future. After all, a player could only rely upon denizen powers like the Merchant Associations item shops for so long until they were no longer viable.

Afterward, players would realize it was up to them to procure certain items and materials since competent powers wouldn't be willing to part ways with their valuable and rare items.

Suddenly, as Kieran was considering his options, he received an alert notifying him of an incoming video call.

〈System: You are receiving a video call from Aspaira. Would you like to answer? [Y / N] ?〉

Kieran naturally accepted the call because Aspaira rarely called him after she visited the Alchemist Circle. Clearly, she was swamped trying to accomplish her task, so Kieran chose not to check on her progress until she reached out to him.

Within seconds, Aspaira's cheerful face appeared on the screen with a radiant smile and eyes brimming with happiness. "I did it! I did it, Aatrox! I've officially become an Apprentice Alchemist!"

Aspaira's voice was filled with excitement, easily seen by how giddy she was. She could barely contain her happiness as it bubbled out of her in the form of restless jittering.

"Oh really now? I think congratulations are in order. So, has it become your subclass then?"

"Subclass…?" Aspaira muttered while softly tapping her lip. In response to Kieran's question, she pulled up the screen and sifted through the information until she came to the area regarding her class. After focusing intently for a moment, she lifted her head and stared at Kieran. "No, it's my main class."

"Oh?" Kieran said after feeling slight surprise. Usually, unless a player spawned in a place where lifestyle classes were accessible initially, players would be "adventure" type players from the start. Because of this, the system allowed players to designate a lifestyle class chosen after Lv.20 as a subclass.

This way, players could retain offensive and defensive skills granted to an adventure-type player. Of course, the drawback of a sub-class was that it would acquire experience at a decreased rate compared to the main class.

"Were you given the option of changing your main class?" Kieran asked. He only asked this because it seemed like this was the first time Aspaira became aware that Alchemist served as her main class.

"Uh, no, not really; I don't believe I was given a choice. Oh, wait! I remember now! A notification appeared right after I completed my examination. Because I was the first Mage Class player who succeeded, I received two traits. One trait is called Alchemy Maven, and the other is Knowledge Seeker."

Kieran's jaw almost dropped after hearing the two traits. 'If I'm not mistaken… Knowledge Seeker is an inspection-type trait that allows users to inspect all matters unknown to the user. Of course, it's not as omnipotent as it sounds; it has severe limitations. On the other hand, Alchemy Maven is undoubtedly related to why it became her main class by default.'

"So, you aren't a Mage anymore?" Kieran asked after recovering from his moment of shock.

"Technically, no. In return for a higher success rate on Rank III and lower potions and elixirs, Alchemy can be my only path. I think it's because of the Master Alchemist I received pointers from," Aspaira muttered.

Again, Kieran was left stunned by what Aspaira had to say. "A Master Alchemist and not an Official one?"

The reason for Kieran's shock lay in the ranking of lifestyle classes. Just like adventurers, lifestyle classes possessed a distinguished classification system. At the bottom rung was Apprentices. In general cases, Apprentices took care of menial tasks in exchange for guidance in the path of alchemy. These lessons were usually carried out by an Official Alchemist, also known as True Alchemist, who displayed some success in brewing potions or manipulating mana functions.

Even though True Alchemists were only one step above in the ranking hierarchy, their worth was many times greater. After all, they could brew Rank III potions and elixirs with moderate success. Such consumables were likened to Rare Items in terms of worth.

Beyond True Alchemists were the adept Master Alchemists capable of mass-producing Rank I to III potions and elixirs with ease. Only when it regarded Rank IV brews did they experience difficulty. Still, the status of a Master Alchemist alone was enough to garner riches.

One would be lucky if they managed to find even 25 of such people in the Alchemist Circle located inside a kingdom's central city. Hence, Kieran was quite dumbfounded to hear that Aspaira received tips from a person of that status.

'I wonder… are those three already Grandmaster Alchemists this early on?' Kieran thought. A Grandmaster Alchemist was a highly sought individual because they had the ability to be an Elder in any of the Alchemist Circles should they choose to be. As for the Head Alchemist position in kingdom-based Alchemist Circles, that was usually handled by a Famed Alchemist.

Because of Kieran's curiosity, he soon found himself wondering about Isadora's ranking. Surely it wouldn't be beneath a Famed Alchemist. After all, she was closely tied to the Hero's Sanctuary and had the ability to influence the Alchemist Circle as a whole due to her position as head of the organization.

Kieran couldn't guess because Isadora was a person he was unfamiliar with in the past.

"Were you given any additional experience towards your lifestyle class and skills?"

"Yes, actually. My class jumped from Beginner to Intermediate immediately after my exam completion, and all of my skills increased to Intermediate-Beginner," Aspaira answered.

"Very good," Kieran smiled. Hearing that Aspaira's skill experienced a sizeable increase delighted Kieran because each portion of a lifestyle class was separated into three levels—Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. However, skills related to said classes were further divided into extra groups.

Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to raise those skills. It merely required success in applying those skills, like how Kieran harvested the cyclops' and Rautori's heads.

"Since this is the case, I assume it won't be long until you begin producing potions, right? Also, has that Master Alchemist become your Mentor?"

"Yes, she did. Master Elisandra is knowledgeable and amicable, so her teachings are easy to digest. I should be able to make potions fairly soon, but the recipes are costly…. And they're all pretty basic like Health and Mana Recovery Potions," Aspaira grimaced. Her previous collection had evaporated as fuel to pass her exam. So, until she could procure more coins, she was in a somewhat tough predicament.

Kieran's smile deepened and conveyed an intention that made Aspaira inhale deeply. "Aatrox!"

"Nope, I'm not listening to you. So, tell me, how costly are all the basic recipes and ingredients? With your knowledge of pharmaceutical procedures, I'd be silly not to invest in you."

"5-50 Silver," Aspaira said in a defeated tone. Because Kieran was again offering to help, she couldn't bear to meet his gaze and looked away.

"Not enough. It'll take plenty of funds if you want to dedicate yourself to perfecting your craft. Tell you what; I'll become your support system if you agree to be mine."

An immediate shade of blush appeared on Aspaira's cheeks as she listened to Kieran speak. "W-what are you even saying? B-be yours? That's too far…. Isn't it?

By the end of her stuttering, Aspaira's words died out to murmured. Kieran was naturally taken aback by her response, but after realizing his words, he soon understood how she could misunderstand his intentions.

"No, no, no. By no means do I mean my words in an intimate way. What I'm saying is… I'd like for you to become my Alchemist, especially in the future when a guild arises. I want you to be a part of it," Kieran offered after recorrecting his words.

"Oh! A guild, is it? If that's the case, I'd be delighted," Aspaira agreed. After her interactions with Kieran, Aspaira was developing a budding trust, so she doubted that he was trying to take advantage of her; this was especially true after she realized what came through her in-game mail.

"T-this is too much! Why did you give me 100 Gold?!" Aspaira shouted in astonishment. "Wait, no… where do you even get this? Isn't it quite difficult to acquire Gold?"

"We just came from a dungeon, so the others and I are quite set in terms of loot. Regardless, that should sustain you for a while. However, make sure to haggle with the Merchant Association when you buy inferior herbs and fruits. Aim for bulk deals. I'll contact you if I find anything of use to you."

After a few more back and forth, Kieran finally ended the call. 'Aspaira's set for now. As long as she becomes a True Alchemist, I'll have a salary offer prepared for her. I hope I can complete all the requirements by then. I can't have anyone finding news that she's beginning her journey as a lifestyle player… I need gaming organizations in the dark as long as possible.'