While reaching Lv.5 wasn't difficult, per se, it was recognized as a milestone for players. Why? For two reasons.
One, players would gain access to what's known as a Skill Tree, which possessed class-related skills. These skills could be purchased at the cost of SP. The SP cost was equivalent to increasing said skill's level.
Because of this, skills acquired from a class's Skill Tree were Lv.1 from the start.
Depending on how powerful they were, some skills naturally came with different requirements, activation stipulations, and other limitations or restrictions.
But, leveling a skill was one way to alleviate these restrictions.
Furthermore, despite the possible restrictions, players were advised to acquire as many skills as possible. The broader a player's skill repertoire, the more deadly and versatile they would become.
Fortunately, in Kieran's case, he wasn't worried about acquiring additional skills from the Skill Tree.
The ones gained from Scar put him at an incredible advantage. As long as he focused on those skills, especially Warrior's Aura, his regular attacks could become a force to be reckoned with.
Not to mention, Kieran's opinion of the current Skill Tree wasn't the greatest.
'The Skill Tree probably won't be a worthwhile focus until I promote to an Intermediate Class,' Kieran thought.
In Zenith Online, after promoting from one of the basic seven classes, players and patrons of Xenith alike were considered Tier 1 existences or Intermediate Beings because they held Intermediate Class.
As the name implied, Intermediate Classes sat between Basic and Advanced Classes. Its main purpose was to shed light upon the best route for every unique individual. So players needed to consider their options before foolishly attempting to undergo their Class Advancement.
The other reason Lv.5 was considered a milestone for new players was a key part of Zenith Online: dungeons.
Players were granted access to area-exclusive dungeons designed to promote familiarity with the many facets of combat.
Kieran scratched his head after swiftly collecting the nearby loot.
He had acquired more than 20 wolf pelts and fangs, which doubled as inferior materials but had no use for them. Gena Village didn't have any places where one could receive a Profession.
Professions pertained to classes like Forgers, Alchemist, Lapidarist, and many other production-type classes.
If one chose to be a Lifestyle player from the beginning, which focused on production classes rather than combat classes, they'd be spawned into a village with the means to assist in their growth.
Nevertheless, Kieran snapped his fingers after recalling a use for these items. 'That's right! I can secure another advantage.'
After realizing this matter, Kieran began retracing his steps to reach the Fanged Forest's exit.
But as he walked upon this path, Kieran noticed incoming footsteps.
There were too many to be Altair that he had run into earlier, so the only other explanation was that players had formed parties to farm EXP.
Unlike many other game titles, Zenith Online didn't punish Party Play. In fact, with Zenith Online's design, it wouldn't be wrong to say it was devised with Party Play in mind.
'Forming a successful party this early on means one of two things. Either they know one another or they belong to an unofficial guild. I doubt many unskilled players would party for long before disbanding it,' Kieran thought.
The party not too far away from him consisted of four players.
Even though they were pretty far, Kieran could tell their class by their attire and build.
The party's classes included a Knight, Thief, Mage, and Priest, a basic party composition designed to cover all roles of combat.
'At least this composition shows their fundamental knowledge is solid.'
Kieran gave them credit where it was due, but that was all.
As Kieran considered his course of action, the party's Thief walked up and analyzed their surroundings. "A fight broke out here not too long ago. From the uniform indents, I think it was only one person who killed off these wolves."
"One person?" The Knight's brows furrowed after hearing this. "One person killing all these monsters would mean they're pretty skilled. Also, isn't the area where Lv.5 or above monsters spawn?"
"It is," an indifferent Mage added.
Their watery, light brown eyes scanned the surrounding for anyone but failed to locate Kieran, who stood not too far away.
"It seems our hunch was correct. That earlier noise was battle, but…"
Crunch!
The Knight turned around and narrowed their eyes before slamming their large shield into the ground.
A potent tremor rippled throughout the forest, but the Knight frowned when there was no feedback in his battle alerts.
"What is it, Bastion?" The petite Priest with peach blossom-colored hair asked.
"I heard something and thought it might be a monster stalking us, so I channeled all my STR into a Shield Tremor. But nothing came up. Don't worry, Sera. Also, Cyr, do you sense anything?"
"Nope, not a thing," Cyr, the party's Thief, shook his head.
'That was quite close, wasn't it?' Kieran inwardly chuckled.
He took a few steps back when he noticed Bastion's actions. That earlier action was Shield Tremor, a skill designed to disorient and slightly damage enemies in a certain radius.
Because of his steps, Kieran avoided the Shield Tremor's range.
But, he understood something from Bastion's probing attack.
'This Knight must have invested all their attribute points in END, VIT, and STR, neglecting all other attributes. Also, judging from that equipment of his, it's clear he obtained the Unique Starter Package for Knights.'
After making a decision, Kieran openly approached this party.
Bastion's brows furrowed as he raised his shield in alarm. "Who are you?"
"Just a player that's passing by," Kieran remarked.
Bastion didn't believe this and signaled for the others to prepare themselves.
However, Kieran noticed this action. "I'll advise you not to do that. Use your eyes carefully."
'This guy… why is he so eerily confident?' Bastion wondered. 'It's a four against one!'
"Again, I'm not hostile. But if you target me, I have no issue with becoming hostile," Kieran calmly enunciated his words.
"Why should I trust you? Players these days have been known to player-kill and kill-steal. I've learned not to be so trusting," Bastion retorted.
"Why?" Kieran smiled amusedly. "I'll tell you why."
Kieran started by lifting his finger toward Cyr. "That Thief over there is fragile and will die within two of my hits."
Afterward, Kieran moved his finger to Bastion. "Your large body is covered in plate armor, which means you're slow as molasses. It's only a matter of breaking down your defenses."
Next, the Mage. "She's a glass cannon. Plus, she's much slower than your Thief, making her an easy target."
Finally, Kieran judged the Priest. "Your Priest hasn't stopped shivering since you raised your party's awareness."
"W-What the fuck?!" Bastion yelled with widened eyes. "Is this some kind of joke to you?"
"No, no, no," Kieran repeatedly clicked his tongue. "On the contrary, these are my genuine feelings on the matter. Starting a fight isn't worth the hassle when there's no hostility between us."
Bastion fell silent with a disgruntled frown. Finally, after thinking about it further, he waved his arm and grumbled. "Bah! Not worth it."
"That's what I said," Kieran commented with a slight nod.
Again, Bastion and the others were stunned by Kieran's indifference towards being confronted by four people.
"Sera, Alice, come. We need to rush to Lv.5 as soon as possible. This is just wasting our time," Bastion ordered.
"Y-yes! Coming!" Sera, the party's Priest, exclaimed.
Conversely, Alice, the party's Mage, stared at Kieran for a moment longer before finally nodding. "Fine."
It was unknown what she was thinking, but Kieran found her gaze quite odd and detached.
After creating some distance, Cyr approached Bastion and whispered in a voice only he could hear. "Why didn't we just battle him and call it a day?"
"Because... anyone who can stay that calm is bound to have some ability. Besides, did you not see that sword and armor? He most likely earned the Warrior's Unique Package," Bastion answered with a deep look in his eyes.
Bastion had played other VRMMORPGs before, so he was knowledgeable about player archetypes. If his assumptions were true, Bastion felt that man from earlier was a monster in human clothing. Soloing all these monsters alone? It took skill!
Although monsters and players differed due to how a player could finely manipulate their mechanics, the difficulty was negligible if the monster's attributes were much higher.
"We should have at least gotten his name," Cyr responded.
"No need. I'm sure we'll meet again. Don't you remember? We're aiming for Lv.5 to tackle that dungeon!" Bastion grinned excitedly.
Afterward, the team walked into an area where many Feral Wolves spawned.
…
Kieran spent nearly 3 hours returning to Gena Village, specifically the Warrior Hall. Unlike his first visit, Scar showed some emotion when Kieran reappeared.
"Aatrox, was it? I suppose the little warrior has some heart after all. I see that you've completed the task based on the growing aura within you," Scar said.
Afterward, a stream of notifications appeared in Kieran's irises.
〈System: Congratulations, you have cleared the quest «A Warrior's Duty»!〉
〈System: Favorability with Scar has risen by 30 points! [Status: Tolerable]〉
〈System: You have gained 500 EXP.〉
〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.5→Lv.6]〉
〈System: You have received 5 Unassigned Attribute Points and 2 Skill Points.〉
'Tolerable? I suppose that was quick,' Kieran inwardly mused.
Favorability with NPCs in Zenith Online was extremely important. It could influence quests and the odds of acquiring a difficult-to-obtain quest.
However, Tolerable was nowhere near enough to trigger the Hidden Questline present in Gena Village.
Though it wasn't enough for the Hidden Quest, it was sufficient to receive more basic quests.
Scar smiled mischievously while clasping his colossal hands." I feel I made that far too easy for you. With that being said, let's up the ante. Surely you can tolerate it, right?"
Ding!
The alert for a new questline appeared before Kieran's iris, making his eyes shimmer.