Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 59: Now or Never

“That fucking monkey!” Ogras roared, this time enraged for real. No wonder it sent its underlings to keep his search parties out of the peaks. He thought it was just posturing that he’d allow for some time before setting monkeys straight. But Cindermane had likely found the Tree of Ascension long ago and just waited for its fruits to ripen. Somehow the monkey must have broken free of the clan’s mental restrictions, otherwise it would have been compelled to report such a find.

“But if you think that breaking free from my grasp is that easy you’re in for a rude awakening…” he muttered and then turned to his aide. “Assemble the regiments, we’re heading toward the mountain.”

“Yes, sir. What about the search parties in the mines?” The aid asked.

“Leave them. Hopefully they will keep that human busy while we deal with this.”

He had been shocked to learn that the group of natives he discounted earlier actually was only one human. At least he hoped there was only one of them, as his power seemed high enough to give even him a headache. Of course, the human wouldn’t be a threat to him if all the limitations on him were removed though.

Worse yet the human killed Qugo and stole the poison that was supposed to be one of his aces in case everything went south. Ogras had actually decided to hide the news of the third Herald’s demise, afraid that his clan members would chain him up “for his own protection”, while gleefully stealing all the loot Ogras had rightfully pilfered.

As if summoned by his thoughts Rydel walked in through the door, as always unheeding or dismissive of proper protocol. He wore a resplendent silver battle armor that matched his long white hair well. Strapped to his back were two swords with intricately carved hilts.

“Cousin, I assume you have seen the proclamation by The Ruthless Heavens?” he said with a smile.

“I’m not blind Rydel, of course I’ve seen it. The army is setting out immediately. And here on the baby planet I’m General, not cousin.” Ogras spat out in annoyance.

“It is ironic, wouldn’t you say cousin? It was you who championed sending the beast hordes through the gate first. But it seems they have only turned into lucrative target practice for the humans instead of paving our way, and now one of the hordes is even revolting. I wonder how the elders will react when they hear of this.” Rydel smilingly continued, seemingly unperturbed by the troubling developments.

“That’s not for you to worry about Rydel, know your place. I’m leading the armies myself to fix the monkey problem, and that human hiding in the tunnels will soon be caught.” Ogras couldn’t stand being in the same room as this thorn in his side any longer and prepared to set out.

Ogras didn’t actually want to lead the army, but faced with the emergence of a D-ranked treasure such as a Fruit of Ascension, he couldn’t sit still. He needed to secure it by himself, and if that failed destroy it so that Cindermane or some crony of Rydel didn’t get it.

If someone from the main branch managed to get the Fruit of Ascension he might as well lay down and kill himself, as the family assassins would find him as soon as the incursion stabilized anyway. His plan was to turn the wealth of the crystal mine into acquiring a treasure like the Fruit of Ascension, and use that as a springboard to become the future hope of the clan. But if suddenly Rydel had the fruit as well, then he knew who the clan would favor.

“I’m sorry cousin, but I need to correct you on a few accounts.” Rydel said while holding up a hand to stop Ogras’ exit, his smile slightly widening. “The human has escaped the ambush, leaving at least thirty corpses behind by now. He also seems to have figured out the tracking stones, and now we can’t locate him. Furthermore, the one who will lead the army to fix your mistakes is me, not you.”

“Are you revolting against the clan precepts Rydel? You know the elders appointed me at least until the incursion stabilized. Are you sure you want to face the wrath of my grandfather?” Ogras spat out, a dangerous glint entering his eyes.

“Your grandfather is well-aware. As you were untested when appointed general, the elders came to an accord with your ancestor.” Rydel retorted as he retrieved a parchment from his bag. “In certain events that are deemed to be critical to clan Arh’Rezak’s future developments, the military command is temporarily transferred to me. Just to make sure nothing goes wrong due to inexperience.”

The bright smile looked like a death sentence to Ogras, as he snatched the parchment with a snarl. After reading through it he saw it was true. He immediately sensed his grandfather’s magic sigil on the decree, telling him that this was real. The parchment detailed certain events that would result in a transfer of leadership to Rydel, and the emergence of a D-class treasure or higher was one of them. It looked like his grandfather had been forced to make some concessions in order to snatch the leadership position for him.

“But not to worry cousin. As soon as this matter is dealt with I will return the command to you as per the instructions. I suggest you stay in your beautiful castle for now, as your safety is paramount to the clan. I have allocated a few of my guards to protect you. We have to make sure that the humans don’t assault you while we’re up at the mountain.” A cold ray flashed through Rydel’s eyes as he retrieved the parchment from the now mute Ogras. “Well then, I have a fruit to retrieve. I will be seeing you later cousin.” He said as he exited Ogras’ study, the last sentence rife with hidden implications.

Ogras briefly considered having it out with Rydel then and there, but soon gave up the thought. Rydel likely was ready for him, and he could also see multiple main branch members standing outside, sneering at him.

Ogras glared after Rydel, looking like a volcano ready to erupt. The aide sensed the atmosphere and made a quick excuse and fled the room, closing the door behind him.

Soon the energy left Ogras’ body, and he slumped down in his chair.

“Shit.”

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Zac’s heart was still beating quickly after having seen the vision. He wanted to immediately rush toward the valley but first checked his quest tab.

As he suspected a new quest had arrived.

Dynamic Quests:

Ascension (Limited - Open): Seize the Fruit of Ascension upon ripening. Reward: Fruit of Ascension. [Time until ripening: 11:58:23]

The classification of the quest was new, Limited – Open. His other two dynamic quests were classified as Unique. If he guessed correctly limited meant it was a short duration quest. And he hoped he was wrong, but he believed open meant that everyone within a certain area got it.

The system said to emerge victorious and to struggle for supremacy. Then it conveniently showed the location of the treasure a full 12 hours before it ripened. It wanted a bloodbath.

Zac slowly sat down again and took a small sip of the azure water. He wasn’t in the mood to wait any longer and needed to heal quickly. The burning sensation spread through his body again, but this time the amount was manageable. Once again he felt his wounds slightly improve, and the throbbing pain he had felt come back once again was gone.

As the heat spread through his body he pondered on what to do. He was hesitating if he should actually compete for the fruit, as going against both the monkey horde and maybe even the demons sounded like a suicide mission. He also felt he had no choice.

He didn’t know what a Fruit of Ascension did, but from how it managed to create a quest it couldn’t be a small matter. If his enemies got it and received a huge power-up he might be screwed. The most likely recipient would be the monkey herald as he was the owner of the tree. It was a pretty even fight before, what would happen if it evolved once more?

Besides, it also presented an opportunity for him. The fruit would help someone ascend judging by its name. It sounded awfully similar to evolve, and he guessed it might help him get a better class or evolve his race.

He also almost knew for certain he would find the Herald by the fruit in 12 hours, hopefully still hurt from his slash. Zac knew the monkey possessed high values in Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance from their fight, and could only hope that it also didn’t have a strong Vitality. It also felt reasonable that the general would be there to commandeer one of the fruits. That would mean that both his targets would be gathered at one place in roughly 12 hours.

In a sense, the quest represented an all-or-nothing gambit. If he succeeded, all his problems might be solved, including his incursion quest. But the danger would likely be off the charts. If he failed his mission would turn harder, no matter who got the fruit. If he even survived.

But he felt it was do-or-die. Time was running out, and he needed to take some risks. With a steely determination, he decided to participate in the fight.

Of course, there was no reason to rush there. He only needed to travel for less than two hours to get to the crimson tree. And getting there early would make him a sitting duck. He was only one man in what might be a huge free for all battle, and he needed to avoid attention as much as possible.

His goal should be to sneak in at the last minute, kill the monkey king and steal the fruit. If possible he should kill the general as well, or at least identify him. Then run for his life and see what the fallout was.

He sat down again on the ground, and while keeping a lookout for more demon parties only focused on getting back to prime condition. He waited a full 6 hours before he felt well enough rested to be able to give it his all.

The wounds from the ambush were somewhat healed by now, but a few wounds would likely reopen if he exerted too much force. But there still a couple of hours before he should see any action, and hopefully he would be in even better condition by then.

He set out again, and after some trial and error found a way out of the mountain. It wasn’t the same path as the one he had entered through. He didn’t want to dig through meters of fallen rocks, and besides it might be marked by the monkeys.

Instead, he found a tunnel that should end somewhere on the inner side of the peak, close to the entrance of the valley. It didn’t actually have a cave entrance, but a few holes in the rock let sunlight through. The wall was quite thin here, and with a few minutes of effort, he would be out.

The outside was completely quiet, so Zac decided to wait some more before emerging. As he waited he started chipping at the wall with a dagger, not completely breaking through but making a quick exit easier. Finally done he sat down and continued to recuperate. When the timer showed roughly two hours until the fruits ripened, a cacophony of roars broke the silence.

Zac heartbeat fretfully hammered in his chest as he opened his eyes and stood up. It was now or never.