Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

After logging out of Zenith Online, Kieran removed the VR Helmet but remained seated on the edge of the doctor's table. A strange noise sounded throughout the room, which woke up the sleeping Dr. Riley by his side.

"Huh!?" Dr. Riley stretched and looked around before rubbing her eyes.

Kieran chuckled at her reaction while questioning her current state. "Why didn't you find somewhere proper to sleep instead of doing so here?"

"Well, I thought I told you I'd remain by your side and monitor you after that scare earlier. I don't need a repeat of that happening," Dr. Riley answered, yawning again.

Afterward, she checked the time and prepared a pot of coffee in hopes of energizing her body and ridding it of the lethargic feeling.

The tablet in her hand had compiled extensive information on Kieran during her brief nap.

While waiting for the coffee to finish, she sifted through the information, noting something truly fascinating. "There was an extreme spike in mental activity just minutes before you logged out. Are you aware of this?"

"I am," Kieran nodded while removing the electrodes from his body. He glanced briefly at the large medicine cabinet containing the X-hancers before turning his attention back to Dr. Riley.

"What was the source, if you don't mind me asking?" Dr. Riley picked up a special pen made to create notes on the tablet in her grasp.

Kieran slowly recounted his experience, giving Dr. Riley more than enough material to dissect. The more she listened to his story, the more fascinated she became with Zenith Online and its incredible technology.

"It seems this equipment emits special waves capable of transmitting your thought into tangible power. Is this the basis of the thing you call mental power?" Dr. Riley inquired.

However, Kieran could only shrug in response. "I suppose, but I've never studied nor dedicated my time to understanding the source of this principle. If I'm being honest, it doesn't interest me."

"It doesn't interest you—?!" Dr. Riley's eyes widened as she stared at Kieran. "You're telling me something that almost claimed your life doesn't interest you? What kind of irresponsible mindset is that?"

Kieran gave a light smile and looked at Dr. Riley strangely. "I have you, don't I? I can rely on you for the scientific part."

"I-..." Dr. Riley tried to answer, but she was left speechless.

"I'll voluntarily act as your test subject, so you'll conduct your experiments as you see fit and gain knowledge inaccessible to the others unless they similarly have a test subject. But… I doubt they'll be able to replicate what I can achieve," Kieran said confidently.

The True Berserker Class was the source of his confidence. It was inimitable, so anyone who tried to accomplish this research would receive vastly different numbers and information.

"You seem so confident. Is this why the Gamer Republic reached out to you so early on? I mean, they've only just recently released this game, no?" Dr. Lillian asked.

"Yeah, but if you knew who I was, you'd understand my confidence. Nevertheless, I mean to ask—can I have more of those?" Kieran pointed at the refrigerated medicine cabinet, specifically the third shelf.

"More of the X-hancers? Do you need another already? It hasn't been long since we tested the effects of the 15% concentration."

While speaking, Dr. Riley brought up Kieran's energy levels and was astonished by their rapid decline.

"T-this… your body is like a ravenous beast!" Dr. Riley suddenly lifted her head and examined Kieran's body, chiefly his muscle mass and bone structure.

"It's… all evolving quickly," Dr. Riley muttered in shock. All he had done thus far was lay in a half-comatose state atop the medical bed, yet the data showed a noticeable increase in many factors.

It was almost as if Kieran's body was following a predetermined roadmap that required little to no assistance to achieve progress.

"Is there any way for you to acquire more X-hancers? I don't want to deplete your supply. Also, have you tried using them yourself?"

"Of course I have! I currently consume the 10% concentration, but my progress is garbage compared to yours. As for acquiring more, I may have a solution, but…"

"But?" Kieran tilted his head after seeing Dr. Riley's complex expression.

"But, it'll come from associates in the Private Sector. I believe the Drake Family still owes me favors. I can call them in-," Dr. Riley suddenly paused.

Her reaction stemmed from Kieran's unusually tense facial expression. He gripped the medical bed tight enough to rip some of the fabric.

This naturally caused Dr. Riley some fright because the state-of-the-art bed was expensive. "Kieran, stop!"

Kieran exhaled and gained control of his emotions while releasing the bed. However, the Drake Family were the indirect owners of the Golden Brigade. In other words, the Drake Family was the scourge in his life.

"Why exactly do they owe you?" Kieran asked.

"I'd tended to a few of their bodyguards and saved the life of other wounded people from that family. Since then, they've been indebted to me, but I never cashed in those favors," Dr. Riley revealed.

A cold gleam surfaced in Kieran's eyes as he looked at Dr. Riley. "So they're aware of this facility?"

"Correct. They're partly responsible for its creation after delivering a sizable donation," Dr. Riley nodded.

Kieran entertained the thought of leaving here for a moment but decided against it once he realized no one was aware of his presence. While he loathed the Drake Family, that didn't mean they were out to get him.

However, the fact they owed Dr. Riley might be advantageous for Kieran. Of course, there were a few things that bothered him.

"Why are you willing to go this far and even sacrifice those favors over my little request?"

A genuine smile crept upon Dr. Riley's face as she panned her hands around the room with opened arms as if basking in the glory of this place. "For the sake of knowledge, of course. There is nothing more attractive and enticing than knowledge."

"Freak," Kieran muttered under his breath. However, his comment earned Dr. Riley's deathly glare.

"Hey! You take that back. I am not a freak; knowledge is empowering."

"So is physical strength," Kieran countered with a meaningful smirk.

Dr. Riley's eyes danced across Kieran's body at this comment before retreating. "Shush, I'll bring you another X-hancer right now."

If one wasn't enough, Dr. Riley fetched two 15% X-hancers but only handed Kieran one.

He immediately consumed the elixir, generating a budding warmth in his body. Kieran perspired for a few minutes but felt relieved and energized afterward.

"Keep that one on hand. It seems one 15% is still my limit. But, I need to use the training room we conducted my physical test."

"You know where it is," Dr. Riley responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

Kieran left her to her devices while he changed into a spandex training bottom. The three main things he needed to train were strength, speed, and reaction speed. Any other factor could be cultivated over time.

Kieran began his training with a mixture of weight lighting and calisthenics. With the effects of the X-hancer, although his body didn't seem capable at a glance, he benched 150kgs for over 30 reps before exhausting himself.

He repeated this ten times before his arms felt like lead and his chest numb.

Kieran then targeted other muscle groups before moving to explosive exercises. After becoming engrossed in his workout routine, Kieran exercised for more than 3 hours with minimal breaks in between.

The last exercise developed his reflexes.

This part of the training took place inside a multi-dimensional room with many holes in each wall, including the floor. The opposing holes on every wall were designed to receive the rubber balls without interference.

Once the training began, a translucent screen reading "50" appeared overhead.

Every time a ball hit Kieran, the initial 50 would reduce by one integer. The reflex training occurred in 30-second bursts and generated a score after each round.

A mechanical voice read out Kieran's results thirty seconds later while panted over a sweat pool in a half-kneeling position.

[A score of 42 has been received. The result is a 90th percentile Prime rating.]

"Only a 90th percentile?" Kieran huffed. This meant his score was only better than 90 percent of individuals with Prime level reflexes. However, there was still 10 percent with superior reflexes.

'Although I'm fatigued, and it's my first go at it, it should have been considerably higher. I misread the trajectories and firing speed of each ball.'

As time went on, the balls became progressively quicker. By the 40th ball, they were essentially fired simultaneously with minimal time to dodge. It was at this point that Kieran started getting hit.

Kieran repeated the reflex training constantly until the balls seemed to slow down from his point of view. Once that happened, Kieran immediately performed a consecutive number of Accel Shifts that propelled around the room on different axes.

Thirty seconds later, the mechanical voice sounded.

[A score of 48 has been received. The result is a 99th percentile Prime rating.]

[Would you like to increase the difficulty to the 99th percentile difficulty?]

Kieran considered doing so but decided against it. Almost 7 hours had already passed inside Zenith Online, so he needed to return soon.

Kieran freshened up with a cool shower that made him feel invigorated before draping a towel over his head. He wore the special outfit Dr. Riley prepared for him since it was designed to promote accurate test results.

All of a sudden, Kieran's holowatch started buzzing with rapid notifications.