—

Following Kieran’s actions, the pressure applied by the Compact Will Challenge increased two-fold, but Kieran had resolved himself to step forward and prove the deep voice otherwise.

Their opinion was based on preconceived notions without understanding his morals. Kieran wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt although he continued to prove that he meant no harm by failing to withdraw his weapon or stimulate his primary abilities.

As he pressed against the wall formed by the Compact Will Change, Kieran’s expression grew somewhat imperious—a false impression of what he exuded at his peak.

However, the density of the soul pressure that leaked from his body made the deep voice react in alarm. At the same time, they also noticed something detestable weaved into this presence.

“How dare you! A mongrel of the War Deity Council has the gall to enter these hallowed lands?” the deep voice bellowed, causing the area zone to erupt with an alarming tremor.

Kieran glanced at the War Crest of Champion seared onto his hand before lifting his gaze to the gradually increasing Conjured Deterrents in the distance. ‘The enmity between the Wykins and the War Deity Council is irreconcilable, so I expected this reaction. But…’

“On the contrary, I’m not a mere mongrel of the War Deity Council. I am such a person that has proven to be a shining star of my generation. In other words, I, who stands before your respected presence, am the War Deity Deity’s War Champion,” Kieran answered.

At the same time, his large hands pressed into the Compact Will Construct, causing slight cracks in its surface. Kieran had made a promise to himself that nothing would stop his advance.

Even if the situation were hopeless, he wouldn’t move in such a way that welcomed regret.

“!!”

The tremor intensified once Kieran confirmed his identity. The owner of the deep voice naturally felt Kieran’s disregard for this sordid relationship blasphemed the honor of the Wykins.

“This is intolerable! Has the Wykin’s reputation stooped so low that the War Deity Council believes they can reenact ancient history? Insufferable! Very well. Let me show you how the Wykins of this age differs from our prior miserable straits.”

All of the Conjured Deterrents in the distance emanated the same mystical light, gaining a power that set them aside from the typical Champion Monster. Even from such a distance, Kieran could feel how much stronger they had become.

But, because of the deep voice’s blatant malice, Kieran also experienced a change.

〈System: Due to the sufficient number of hostile nearby, you may enter your «Predatory Form».〉

If Kieran chose to enter this state, his chances of victory would naturally increase. But it also meant he gained the right to manifest his Soul Ability.

However, Kieran wanted to avoid a situation where he tarnished his relationship with the Wykins. He wished to garner a relationship irrespective of the Wykins’ views of humanity.

‘I have already defeated a few lower class Conjured Deterrents. But I reckon they’re of less value to these current ones. The more losses the Wykins accrue, the more likely they’ll come to dislike or even abhor me.’

The Favorability System of Zenith Online was already a widely known fact.

It possessed both a positive and negative spectrum with corresponding effects. One’s favorability with an establishment, organization, civilization, or race correlated to one’s chances of being secure there.

Once one reached the utmost negative relationship spectrum, recovering was next to impossible. And, as a human, the innate favorability with the Wykins plunged to the level of Hostility, which was two levels below Neutral.

Nevertheless, Kieran couldn’t sit back and accept the ire of the Wykins without responding or, at the very least, protecting himself. While he didn’t draw out his weapon, Kieran did activate Blood Mania and bled his vitality until it met the requirements of his strongest state.

Only then did Kieran activate his Predatory Form to increase his security further.

〈System: You have started «Predator Hunt». All of the effects of «Predatory Form» will now apply!〉

〈System: Attack Speed and Movement Speed have increased by an additional 200%.〉

A second later, the lead Conjured Deterrent commanded all of the neighboring monsters to dispel the threat. If it used the words neutralize, then it meant they would do so passively. But, dispel meant controller of these Conjured Deterrents sought Kieran’s destruction.

The closer the Conjured Deterrents approached, the harder Kieran pressed onto Compact Will Construct before him. Seconds before the collision, Kieran shattered it at the expense of exhausting a large portion of his wieldable Will.

‘Not the best case scenario, but it’ll have to suffice,’ Kieran thought.

It wasn’t ideal for any Hidden Attribute to be exhausted entirely because Hidden Attributes were centered on a player’s personal connection to their avatar.

After shattering the Compact Will Construct, Kieran walked forward while absorbing everything on the battlefield. The speed of his enemy and their angle appeared within Kieran’s mind like a diorama of what existed before him.

One of the perks of having H-COS was the ability to recreate and dissect scenes that occurred before oneself. Once Kieran understood everything about his approaching opponents, he reacted.

He wasn’t sure of it beforehand, but these opponents fell within the limits of how fast Kieran could perceive changes in visual information.

Swoosh!

Kieran dodged the first enemy by executing an Accel Shift, but before he could steady himself, Kieran was forced to move with a Surge Step that created room.

Bang!

These Conjured Deterrents were capable of enormous amounts of destruction by manipulating their mud-like exterior to produce weapons that shouldn’t exist on a humanoid body.

The favored weapons varied between maces, axes, swords, and hammers. The Wykins were somewhat primitive regarding weaponry, so the weapon selection’s limited breadth was understandable to Kieran.

Because Kieran wasn’t limited by his heavy weapon, he performed ample flexible movements that most wouldn’t expect from a Warrior-based class. However, because Kieran’s class sought inconceivable speed and power, his current actions weren’t too unbelievable.

Otherwise, skills like Tormented Beliefs or Berserker’s Burden wouldn’t exist. There was also Blood Mania, which admittedly was far from its potential, as Scar hinted during their training.

Once Kieran put himself in a position to avoid many of the Conjured Deterrents, he suddenly changed his footwork and surged forward, bypassing at least 20% of the present combatants.

“You shall not pass!” the deep voice bellowed upon noticing that Kieran managed to slip past many Conjured Deterrents. A mystical glow enveloped its hand as it slammed against the ground.

Several large mud prisms inverted and fell toward the ground, irrespective of the Conjured Deterrents that would be caught in the aftermath of this attack.

Once Kieran noticed this, he immediately stepped forward. ‘These are essentially soulless avatars, so a few sacrifices must be acceptable in their eyes. Unfortunately for them, I don’t view myself as expendable nor sacrificial.’

Whoosh!

Kieran’s movements continued to quicken as he darted in a zig-zag motion. Eventually, his action caused his image to flicker like a ghastly phantom under the dark veil of the night sky.

The current dark environment bolstered the ominous impression that his movements exuded.

‘This movement requires a lot of concentration and attention to where my momentum is amassing. One wrong step, and I’ll disrupt the entire Technique,’ Kieran thought.

If players could witness his current actions, they’d realize that it gave off a familiar feeling they had experienced recently. As of right now, it was an undefined technique, but that didn’t detract from its value.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The flicker of Kieran’s movement grew more prominent as he avoided the inverted mud prisms descending from the sky. Every large prism caused a violent ground disturbance, but Kieran didn’t allow this change to disrupt his actions.

Less than 10 seconds later, Kieran withdrew another scroll and tore it.

〈System: You have used an «Auto Technique Creation Scroll».〉

〈System: «Technique Creation» has been activated. Please commence the required movements to record the Technique.〉

〈System: Please note that the Technique’s grading is liable to change based on the evaluation of your execution.〉

Even if a Technique’s foundations were high, if the user’s prowess was sub-par, it could be recorded as a weaker Technique in the user’s panel.

Kieran completed the necessary preparations to welcome the creation of another Technique. The only thing remaining was executing Phantasmal Flicker at a level Kieran found acceptable.

Until this moment, the furthest distance he crossed in a single bound was 50 meters. It wasn’t bad, but Kieran felt he could do better.

‘Faster. A stronger burst is needed!’ Kieran thought.

Whoosh!

Kieran continued to cross large distances with multiple Surge Steps until he was less than ten meters away from the main Conjured Deterrent responsible for his current situation.

Before the Conjured Deterrent could react, Kieran stepped forward and vanished before the monster’s awed expression.

When he reappeared, he was more than 70 meters away.

Ding!

〈System: A «Technique» has been successfully created. Please name it to confirm its creation and quantify its details.〉

“Enhanced Drive: Phantasmal Flicker,” Kieran voiced.

Ding!

〈System: «Enhanced Drive: Phantasmal Flicker» has been successfully created.〉

Despite the creation of this Technique, Kieran didn’t cease his advance. Now that he overcame the Conjured Deterrents, his priority had switched to outrunning them until he reached his true destination.