—-

A tremendous Sand Worm, at least ten times the size of the Sand Larva, burst from the sand and blocked the view of the blazing sun above. Fortunately for the team, this beast appeared at the site of Kieran’s previous attack and not near the caravans.

Still, its mere presence was frightening enough to startle everyone. Although the team couldn’t view its information, given that the Sand Larva was already close to Lv.40, the team could more or less estimate how powerful it should be.

Suddenly, the worm emitted an ear-piercing screech throughout the desert, causing fluctuations in the atmosphere and the sand.

‘Compared to Deserea’s shoddy display, this is a real sand controller,’ Kieran thought with a deepening frown. His expression darkened because this was undoubtedly a boss-caliber monster.

While the Sand Worm didn’t possess any eyes, it lowered its gruesome mouth toward the escaping party as if it could observe them dash away.

Small gusts of sand began collecting against the desert floor as the giant Sand Worm’s body swelled up and noticeable pores opened on its leathery exterior. Several small yet developing spines comprising sand, special bodily fluids, and Mana appeared from the pores.

A sense of danger overwhelmed the party once these spines protruded from the Sand Worm’s skin.

“Bastion, activate your strongest large-scale defensive skill right now!” Kieran ordered.

At the same time, he got into position while coming to a sliding halt. Once he stopped, Kieran lifted his blade towards the worm with a solemn expression. After all, its appearance had broken through his Blood Binds, freeing the other small Sand Worms.

Bastion listened to Kieran’s orders and activated his most powerful skill.

“Guardian’s Rampart!”

A large shield seemingly made from Mana and an aura unique to Guardian Knights appeared in front of Bastion before it expanded to cover a 20-meter area. The shield emanated a fortified feeling as Bastion’s Mana dropped by almost half its original value.

A few seconds later, the enormous Sand Worm fired the projectiles on a 360-degree plane. Even the area behind it wasn’t spared from mayhem as the sand spurs pierced the air and caused small tremors once they impacted the desert floor.

The first volley of these projectiles bombarded Bastion’s skills, causing apparent cracks on its surface. Every additional impact widened these cracks until they connected and threatened to give it to the monstrous force.

“It won’t hold,” Bastion cried out as he distanced himself from the placed skill.

“That’s fine; just keep going,” Kieran ordered. He maintained his stance while the sanguine mist circulating his presence roiled. The seething fluctuations were a sign that Kieran could activate a skill at any moment.

Still, Kieran couldn’t help but entertain a thought. ‘Should I stop withholding the use of those Treasure Chests? Although they aren’t level locked, they tend to distribute items befitting your current level.’

Kieran chose not to open the Treasure Chests in his possession just yet because they didn’t guarantee valuable items. There was a chance the items it bestowed wouldn’t be usable in combat. As a result, Kieran first wanted to acquire another Hidden Attribute marked as elusive even with his past experiences—Luck.

Luck was one of the most abstract Hidden Attributes present in Zenith Online because a single point was enough to turn an unfortunate individual into someone with great fortune. Furthermore, it was extremely beneficial because it related to all probability-based encounters, including matters like Critical Hits, etc.

However, acquiring Luck was easier said than done. Even Kieran’s knowledge on the matter was limited. It was limited to two sources—rewards from unique encounters or quests obtained from venerated figures, figures that transcended the known power structure.

Nevertheless, Kieran couldn’t ignore that besides Crimson Ashrune, his gear was severely lacking. Sure, he had the Savage Beast Lord Set Equipment in his inventory, but it required a Lv.40 character level to equip. Kieran still had ten levels to go before that idea even became feasible.

Situations like this made Kieran dread the fact there were zero talented blacksmiths in his circle. Because of this ordeal, this matter undoubtedly moved up a few ranks on his agenda.

“Haah…” Kieran sighed. “The things I do for quests—if only this wasn’t linked to the War Deity Council… I wouldn’t have put myself through this trouble,” Kieran muttered.

“Screw it,” Kieran said to himself. He dispelled his complaints as he slashed Crimson Ashrune, simultaneously creating six blades of blood. The Crimson Barrage traveled toward the incoming sand spurs and shifted their trajectory ever so slightly once they collided.

These small shifts made the projectiles land far off target, landing either in front, behind, or next to the rapidly moving caravans.

However, just as Kieran deflected the sand spurs, the enormous Sand Worm created another set and discharged them. With Crimson Barrage on cooldown, Kieran was limited in what he could do.

Thus, he entered a state he hadn’t entered since he faced off against the Scarlet Flame Wolf—a form of hyperfocus. The fight with Rautori didn’t count because his actions were driven by Deranged Spirit and Abhorrent Paroxysm, not his cognitive disorder.

Time seemed to slow around Kieran as he perceived it differently. Unlike before, however, an alert appeared before Kieran.

〈System: The user’s Perception is experiencing a premature Second Release. In this state, your perceptivity will increase by 200%.〉

Kieran’s eyes widened as he read the notification. ‘This is different. I don’t recall the system ever indicating a change in Perception when this occurred in the past. I wasn’t sure before, but this confirms it… something is amiss with my current abilities. What did reincarnating do to me?’

The 200% value in the notification appeared differently from the rest of the text. The more Kieran focused and mentally exerted, the numbers seemed to spin as if they were on a dial. 205%… 218%…235%…

Kieran’s perceptivity continued to increase without his base stat changing. As it approached 300%, Kieran could vaguely perceive each incoming spur’s paths before landing.

Still, Kieran’s issue wasn’t the number of spurs present but the speed and force they carried. Although Kieran experienced temporarily heightened perceptivity, his Agility remained at its initial value.

‘These are haphazard volleys, so most of them of harmless. However, there are a few that are potentially fatal. Bastion’s skill will shatter with the next impact, so it won’t be useful. The only remaining option is…’

The energy surrounding Kieran thrummed and emitted a strange noise as he moved his arm toward the area with the densest volume of trajectory lines. The eye of three tempests brewed at the tip of his blade while he calmly gauged the perfect intersection point.

After grasping that timing, Kieran released his Sanguine Tempest, causing an abrupt backlash of crimson winds. Kieran retreated one step whilst the tempests pierced through the sky in a spiraling motion before separating further.

The strength in this attack far surpassed the meager blood blades created just prior, so the spurs were knocked entirely off course while Kieran revealed a proud smile.

‘I said it before; I have vowed to become their protector. As such, the difficult tasks will have to fall on me,’ Kieran thought. His thought process might appear selfless, but it wasn’t. Ultimately, he needed proper comrades and subordinates to realize his aspirations.

Kieran would have to take on an executive role overseeing their growth to cultivate those allies. After all, he held the greatest odds of survival in a dangerous situation as the only current holder of a Hidden Class.

“Oof!” Bastion huffed and ducked from a violent splash of sand.

Kieran may have knocked the projectiles off course, but their descent was inevitable.

“Look! I see rocks,” Nemean called out all of a sudden.

Large rocks could be seen ahead, indicating a change from a desert to something else. Perhaps the Sand Worm’s realm of activity stopped there since traveling through sand and rocks were two completely different actions.

Kieran’s eyes lit up with delight as he instructed everyone to aim for the area. It wasn’t ideal, but he had no complaints if it meant getting away from a dangerous beast he couldn’t handle at the moment.

It soon became a pursuit of who wanted it more—did the enormous Sand Worm desire to devour them, or did Kieran and the others wish to get safety?

The Sand Worm burrowed into the ground and formed a large impression in the sand as it gained on Kieran and the others. The rocky area was only a few kilometers away, but this particular’s worm ability to maneuver through the sand was alarming.

Kieran suddenly turned around and aimed at the ground. The blood scar on his right palm radiated a crimson glow just seconds before it exploded. The recoil sent Kieran flying back faster than he could run.

If he could avoid funneling UAP into Agility for the time being, he opted for that alternative. While in midair, Kieran unleashed a second Blood Wave that propelled him through the air.

The Sand Worm burst through the ground at that moment, narrowly missing Kieran’s body as he somersaulted and stuck the landing. Kieran reacted quickly with a sudden leap as the worm smashed into the sand.

“What is he?! Does he think he’s a ninja or something? This guy should’ve just taken the Thief path if that’s the case,” Bastion commented, half in awe and half in vexation.

“Don’t be jealous. You’re a walking wall of meat. So what,” Nemean guffawed at the side. Even in danger, these two found time to launch quips at one another.

“I’ll bet you I become better at hand-to-hand combat than you are,” Bastion sneered.

“Oh? Dream on,” Nemean fired back. Despite the tremors of the Sand Worms colliding against the sand, the bickering between these two took their mind off their current situation.

On the other hand, Kieran’s Stamina bottomed out quickly as he panted while running. Kieran’s ha haphazard skill usage reduced his Health enough to maximize his movement speed. Shockingly enough, his current pace wasn’t too inferior to the Obsidian Criollos.

Whoosh!

One by one, the horses and the caravans made it past the rocky terrain but kept going despite the fact. The outskirt wasn’t safe due to the Sand Worm’s extensive range.

Kieran gave a final glance back before speeding through the rocks and coming to a halt only a few minutes later. He stabbed his blade into the ground and panted after heavily exhausting himself.

“Damn blade,” Kieran grumbled. Most of his exhaustion came from Crimson Ashrune’s weight. Although he fulfilled the necessary to wield it, it didn’t neutralize the fact that heavy weapons accrued fatigue at a higher rate.

While Kieran panted, hooves tapping against rocky terrain sounded in his ears. When he looked up, he saw the beautiful Alice dressed in her mage robes with an extended hand.

“Thank you,” Alice said. She understood they would have all suffered their first death if not for his action. As a result, Alice was incredibly thankful.

Kieran smiled back but didn’t take her hand for obvious reasons. “Gratitude isn’t required. I meant what I said before our pact. Also, this sword is heavy; you’ll be pulled down if I were to grab your hand.”

“What if I don’t mind?” Alice remarked. However, the faint smirk she revealed made it hard to gauge whether she was serious or not.

Kieran shook his head at her response. “The others would wonder if you’re the same person if they saw your reaction just now.”

“I guess this is a secret between us then.”

“I suppose so,” Kieran agreed.

The others soon followed after Alice. Altair was the first to examine Kieran when he noticed his tired state.

“I need to know something. How high is your Agility? It has to be higher than mine at the speed you were traveling.”

“Eh, it’s just a bit over 400,” Kieran revealed.

Hearing this answer made Altair’s lips purse. “400? I have almost 600 and I’m not that fast! This is unfair!”

“Get a better class then you twerp. It’s obvious our boy Aatrox possesses like… an ultra-rare class or something,” Nemean commented while nudging Altair’s shoulder.

“You play way too many gacha games! Ultra rare? Seriously?” Bastion scoffed.

“We’ll take a rest and recover our stamina. The same goes for the stars of our travels,” Kieran instructed.

However, their attempt to recuperate wasn’t as seamless as they had hoped. Nemean, followed by Bastion, and then Altair all grimaced.