Kieran's relationship with these players wasn't deep, but he couldn't ignore the undeniable fact that he was the cause of their misfortune.
Though he didn't necessarily care about the futures of those around him as he merely sought power, Kieran disliked the Shadow Cartel's ways and the message they sent.
The fact the Shadow Cartel targeted his earlier party members was a sign that they didn't respect his abilities as a player. If he wasn't respected, many guilds would ultimately try to target him during his rise.
Thus if he couldn't be respected, he would at least be feared by making a statement out of the Shadow Cartel.
As she listened to Kieran speak and looked at his cold gaze, Aspaira gulped with a subtle tremble. 'T-that… he feels so horrifying!'
Aspaira felt palpable bloodlust, something Kieran gained after years of fighting inside Zenith Online. It was something embedded within him, so the rebirth changed nothing regarding this fact.
On the contrary, if Kieran had to judge his current bloodlust, it felt enhanced. This enhancement likely resulted from the circumstances of his initial death.
After mustering the courage to speak, Aspaira's tone sounded fragile and meek. "When you said we'll get them back in blood, what did you mean?"
"It naturally means we'll strike them the same way you guys were struck. The hunted are about to go on a hunt," Kieran answered, his detached gaze looking past Aspaira.
"U-um… is that really the best idea? I understand the hostility between us now, but that party moves as a cohesive unit. In comparison, our slipshod party will be trampled upon!" Aspaira voiced her concern clearly despite her fear.
"Trampled upon?" Kieran parroted, falling silent for a moment. His expression grew complex as he ultimately cracked a sliver of a smile. "I doubt they can trample us, not when everyone's focus will be elsewhere soon enough."
Aspaira was taken aback by Kieran's confidence. Sure he had led them to clear the Forest of Beasts on the highest difficulty, but Aspaira couldn't ignore her doubts. This was an entire guild that moved with cohesiveness.
"How can you be so sure that we won't be trampled upon?" Aspaira questioned.
"Do you recall our reward for obtaining Grifear's First Blood achievement?" Kieran answered.
Aspaira nodded with a glimpse of excitement radiating from her gaze. "Of course! It caused an uproar despite the concealed information. If I'm not mistaken, a Field Boss should be appearing shortly, right?"
"Precisely. And when the Field Boss appears, players will flock to it in an attempt to kill it and gain the loot. The Shadow Cartel will naturally be amongst those players," Kieran explained.
Realization hit Aspaira as she widened her eyes with a deep gasp. "No way! Rather than deal with the situation, wouldn't that make things worse? What if they're vengeful!"
"Oh, I count on it. The more vengeful and foolish they are, the more they'll ruin their chances within Zenith Online. I may be one person, but even if I am alone, I'm still a force to be reckoned with," Kieran answered confidently, which sounded borderline arrogant.
After a brief pause, Kieran changed the subject. "Back to my previous question, how many coins and items did you drop?"
The question made Aspaira smile bitterly, but she answered regardless. "If we included the worth of the dropped items, I believe we collectively lost around 2 Gold Coins. It would have been worse without our achievement rewards."
"Understood. Then we'll target them until I feel they've paid an adequate price," Kieran decided.
The battle occurred after they accompanied Altair in leveling up, so their equipment didn't suffer too greatly. And for those that did drop, Aspaira shared some of the remaining loot to offset the losses.
The 2 Gold Coin approximation was a moderate estimate, but given the continuously rising price of equipment, it was liable to be much higher in reality.
Afterward, Kieran reviewed a few additional matters with Aspaira before exiting the shop.
During that time, Altair's blanked-out icon flashed, becoming radiant afterward, which symbolized his status changing from offline to online.
'It's pretty late, but considering that I know nothing about his life, it's likely that Altair had other matters to tend to before coming online,' Kieran thought.
Kieran considered giving Altair a call, but then there was no reason to because Altair reached out to him first, leading Kieran to merge the two video calls and make something like a conference call with Altair and Aspaira.
"Yo! Have you checked the forum within the last hour?" Altair asked.
"I haven't," Kieran admitted.
He was too busy setting up the meeting with Dr. Riley to pay attention to anything regarding the game's forum right now. "Is there something important that I missed?"
"Well, there's a buzz about the Field Boss appearing because of our First Blood achievement. With all the hype there, I feel like nabbing another achievement should be in order," Altair suggested.
Increased activity on the forums was a natural outcome when anything substantial occurred within the game, so Kieran wasn't overly reactive to Altair's comment.
However, he would be lying if he said he didn't agree with Altair's last words.
The presence of a Field Boss could be more than just an opportunity to exact revenge if they played their cards right.
"Is there any information regarding what type of Field Boss it is?" Aspaira asked curiously.
"No, but I doubt it'll be a weak monster. Because of Aatrox's actions, many Beginner Villages are reaching a point where they're likely to trigger a Field Boss. If it's anything like the old VRMMORPG titles, Field Bosses will require a large combatant force! I want to beat it now!" Altair exclaimed with sparkling eyes.
The allure of a strong Field Boss and its loot made him practically salivate.
However, Kieran shook his head at Altair's naive excitement, "You know that a Field Boss and a Dungeon Boss are two completely different challenges, right? You really shouldn't compare a Dungeon Boss to a Field Boss."
"What…? Why not?" Altair muttered with a slightly deflated expression present behind his scarf.
"First of all, as the name insinuates, a Field Boss thrives within a certain field. Now, can you tell me what that means?"
Altair's initial response was knitted brows because he failed to grasp what Kieran was hinting at.
'Were all Boss Monsters not the same?' Altair thought to himself.
The answer was no.
Aside from ranking, categorization already existed. While ranking determined a Boss Monster's general attributes and power level, categorization specified its unique abilities.
Dungeon Boss, Field Boss, World Boss—these were all types of categorization.
Eventually, Altair realized the issue with his way of grasping Boss Monsters. "A Field Boss isn't limited by the party restriction of a dungeon!"
"Precisely."
"If that's the case, then players have a rude awakening in their midst. So, does that mean we'll be teaming up to wreak havoc once more?" Altair's eyes flashed with a mischievous intent that couldn't be concealed.
However, Kieran looked toward Aspaira's screen for a moment before answering. "What do you say? Are you confident enough to join us in a boss and player hunt, or will you remain within the village? Whatever you choose, I will not blame you for it."
"I see no reason not to. If you two are going, then I might as well accompany you to try and redeem myself and gain EXP in the process. After all, I don't like this sour taste in my mouth," Aspaira answered.
"It's settled then. Rally Sithik and Cygnus, then meet me at the gates of Gena Village."
"Sounds good," Altair remarked.
"Okay," Aspaira nodded.
A few seconds later, Kieran terminated the call and glanced toward the rendezvous point.
Due to the rumors of the Field Boss circulating the forum space, many players ranging from Lv.9 to Lv.14 rushed out of Gena Village, and headed towards the Fanged Forest.
Aside from a cursory glance, Kieran ignored these cannon fodder players who flocked toward the hype the moment it appeared.
…
Roughly an hour later, Kieran met the others at the gate. Sithik and Cygnus bore sorry expressions, but before they could express their woes, Kieran raised his hand.
"Relax. I don't blame you guys. You were simply playing the game. Part of this game is dealing with malevolent players and their PK (player-killing) habits. Nevertheless, I promise you'll have your revenge by the end of our escapade."
After uttering this promise, Kieran led everyone to venture toward the Fanged Forest.