Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 110: Exploration

“Why do you say that?” Zac simply asked, taking out a piece of pre-grilled meat from his pouch.

“I have been going over things since you started fighting those insects. There are many things that don’t make sense. You’re so strong. Like crazy strong. I have never seen or heard anything like it while I traveled with mom and dad,” she answered as she stared at him.

“And while you fought like a madman the Super Brother-Man gained two levels, and a third while you were inside fighting the boss,” Emily continued.

Zac said nothing and only continued eating, tired in both body and mind.

“Besides, these demons are weird. They know way too much. Not even the cultivators in the cities know many of the things Alyn explained. And they’re way stronger than normal humans. They’re not a race that got newly integrated like us. I think you have captured them from an incursion or something,”

“Noone can capture this man, little brat,” a voice said from behind as Ogras materialized from the shadows. “We simply came to an agreement with Zac and ended the incursion.”

“Whatever,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Zac asked as he turned back to the demon. He didn’t bother trying to refute the demon who essentially admitted to being a foreign invader. It was their problem after all, not Zac’s.

“I am here to tell you that I’m buying the fruit and will be in seclusion for a while,” Ogras answered. Clearly the healing pills that he ate earlier were quite good since the wound on his chest was largely healed.

“Ok. I might be heading out again soon just so you know. Take care of things if I’m gone after your seclusion is finished. If you think it will take a longer while then inform Alea and the others,” Zac answered.

Ogras only nodded and disappeared with the shadows.

“It’s true isn’t it?”

“…Yes,” Zac simply said. “Do the other humans know?”

“Maybe not those idiots with Megan, they’re too scared to think straight. But I think that old grampa knows,” Emily said with a pout.

No one said anything, but as the silence stretched on Emily’s eyes reddened and two streams of tears started falling down her face. She quickly wiped them as Zac ignored his weary body while getting on his feet, and walked over to Emily. He didn’t say anything, but only patted her head.

“I was really worried,” Emily said with a small voice.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Zac sighed.

He sat down next to her as she kept blankly watching the television. He tried to stay up but between the soft chair and finally being able to relax he soon fell into a deep slumber.

He woke up some time later and found that Emily wasn’t around anymore. There was a package on the coffee table with some bread and meat. The farmers had actually started up some temporary fields within the wall to provide the army with some other food apart from meat, and it looked like it finally had started to pay dividends. Zac was amazed at the speed of the growth of the produce, and couldn’t wait to set up proper farms as soon as the waves were dealt with.

He had been afraid that the apocalypse would bring with it a lack of food and drink, but it obviously wasn’t the case. The beasts were getting more numerous, and farming was getting more efficient. Noone should starve to death as long as they controlled some land. Besides, as long as people had access to a System-run shop, they could feed a family for just 10 Nexus Coin a day.

Zac sighed and opened up his status screen.

Name

Zachary Atwood

Level

54

Class

Hatchetman (F)

Race

Human (E)

Alignment

Human (Earth)

Titles

Born for Carnage, Ultimate Reaper, Luck of the Draw, Giantsbane, Disciple of David, Overpowered, Slayer of Leviathans, Adventurer, Demon Slayer I, Full of Class, Rarified Being, Trailblazer, Child of Dao, The Big 500, Planetary Aegis, One Against Many, Butcher

Dao

Seed of Heaviness - Early, Seed of Trees - Early, Seed of Sharpness - Early

Strength

279

Dexterity

140

Endurance

186

Vitality

113

Intelligence

69

Wisdom

57

Luck

77

Free Points

3

Nexus Coins

21 675 103

Fighting the ant wave the past eleven days gave him ten million Nexus Coins, covering the cost of building the Teleportation Array earlier. It hadn’t given any titles or Dao upgrades either, apart from finishing the quest for his new attack skill. He was very curious about how his new skill would improve when the skill got stronger in the future.

[Natureʼs Punishment - Proficiency: Early. Awaken the wrath of the world. Upgradeable.]

At early proficiency a huge hand emerged out of the void. He wasn’t sure whether he was summoning a living being, or whether the hand just was a copy of his own. Perhaps as he and the skill got stronger he would be able to summon a huge avatar that could fight in his stead.

He put one point in Strength and two points in Endurance and closed the window. With his Race boost he wouldn’t have to worry about attribute caps for a long while, and now that his other stats were in order he felt he could focus more on his main one once again.

He ate the food left for him by either Alea or Emily and got up and headed to the town. He met a few demons who nodded in respect to him as he walked, and gave a simple nod back. His reputation kept increasing among the former invaders as his achievements increased.

As he entered the town he saw Megan and another tourist scurry about, each carrying a hoe. It looked like they were on farm-duty today. They saw Zac’s approach but after a brief hesitation turned their eyes down and kept moving.

The humans had been horrified when they were taken to the battlefield. Zac’s intention was to let them see the reality of the new world and made a few warriors escort them to the advance wall while he battled during the fourth day. The sight of a battalion of demons fighting tooth and nail against a horde of mutated ants made them realize that their trials and tribulations on the last island were nothing compared to what they were witnessing.

Since then they never said anything about fighting or getting stronger and stuck to their daily tasks instead. A few started working on the temporary farms and others helping with cooking and other tasks around the village. Zac was a bit disappointed but he also knew that not everyone could become a warrior in this new reality.

The only one from the group of twelve who still wanted a combat class was Sap Trang. Unfortunately for him he was just too far behind in power at the moment, so he couldn’t really partake in the grind fest of the monster hordes. At least it looked like he managed to get some kills in at the end of the siege, which should have been quite a boost since each of the ants gave as much cosmic energy as a couple of Barghest.

Zac found Ilvere sitting under a canopy playing an unfamiliar instrument close to the larger tent where they usually held their war meetings. It was a stringed instrument that reminded Zac a bit of Guqin, though the notes generated from the crystalline strings sounded closer to a violin. It was an odd sight, seeing the burly warrior playing such a delicate instrument.

“The triumphant Lord returns,” the warrior said as he stopped playing.

“Did you hear about Ogras’ seclusion? And what are you doing?” Zac asked after greeting the general with a nod.

“Yes, he will likely be gone for some time,” Ilvere answered. “I’m simply relaxing. It’s important to properly rest body and mind after an intense battle. Sometimes the tranquility after the battle can give as much or even more insight than the fight itself.”

Zac nodded, as it made sense. People couldn’t always have a breakthrough in the middle of battle, even though it squeezed out their potential. Sometimes some reflection afterward was all that was needed to take the final step in pushing through a boundary.

“How was the fight yesterday?” Zac asked.

“Four casualties. With Rivea and Herod it makes six, the worst day since the hordes started,” he answered with a sigh.

Zac could only nod, feeling a bit bitter. His army was continuously shrinking. When the wolf hordes started roughly two hundred warriors manned the wall, and today only 160 remained. Twenty percent of his army had died during the last forty days. Of course, some were killed by Ogras and Namys, but the majority died in battle.

Zac had been quite despondent in the beginning losing one warrior after another, but he was starting to get used to it. People dying while trying to get stronger was the most normal thing in the multi-verse, and no one held any real regrets over it. To cultivate was to defy death. Some did it for the increase in longevity, others for power and wealth. But what all had in common was the knowledge that any day might be their last.

“I plan on sending out expeditions to map the surrounding islands. Please assemble four teams. The goal is reconnaissance, but at least one competent fighter in each team. The team members will be compensated in crystals or Nexus Coins,” Zac said.

“You should know that none of us know anything about sailing or naval warfare. There aren’t any oceans on our home planet,” Ilvere said as he rose to his feet to get to work.

“I know, I will send one of the sailors from the humans with each group. So at least one in each team needs to know the [Book of Babel] skill. You people should take advantage that it’s available in the contribution store, you are stuck on a foreign planet after all,” Zac answered.

“Many have actually bought it already. Some are just like you, getting antsy from staying on this island months on end. Most came through the incursion to gain insight and wealth, and that can’t be done while staying inside some walls,” Ilvere said with half a smile. “I’m sure there will be many willing scouts.”

Zac nodded and headed off to find Sap Trang and his fellow villagers. After explaining the situation the four fishermen agreed to help out after some hesitation.

“If we find some of our lost villagers, can we bring them back?” Mr. Trang asked after some silence.

“Yes, that’s ok. You cannot say anything about the situation on the Island though before they are here. The situation here is… Special. If you do the soldiers have orders to silence you and everyone who heard it,” Zac answered. It was extremely strict rules, but he simply couldn’t allow any information about his island to leak yet.

He learned some things about Lordship from Alyn and Ogras while he rested during the Ant-Waves. A Lord held various benefits in controlling a town or even a country as they gained access to a so-called Lord-System. Originally the system was used as a method for generals of the Ancient Empire to control their armies, but with the Apostate of Order the system became generalized and gained a host of new features.

As the system evolved over time various functions were added, and today many benefits existed. For example a Lord could automatically enforce a tax on his empire. There were no loopholes either, as the System was in control of the taxation. The only downside was that The System itself took a cut of the taxes.

Lords also got access to more functions on their teleporters and could even get invited to grand happenings such as auctions and special events in the multi-verse that commoners did not have access to.

“Other humans will have to stay put even if they want to come over. Come back and report their situation to me and I’ll decide what to do about it.”

“Very well. We understand the importance of discretion. Those who left before us were mainly the younger generation from our village. They risked their lives to find help for us, but we never heard back from them. If we can find them and bring them back here I’m sure their future will be better than in most parts of the world,” the fisherman answered.

“Good. Start preparing, I want the four teams setting out within three days. I’ll provide the ships for you,” Zac said as he turned to leave.

“One minute please, I was wondering if I could consult you about my class,” Mr. Trang said quickly.

Zac was a bit surprised as he turned around and inspected the fisherman, only to see he actually was level 25. He must have worked quite arduously since he was only level 21 when he arrived at Port Atwood. Zac remembered how much work he himself put into finishing those last levels.

“What about it?” Zac asked, a bit curious about what Class the fisherman chose for himself.