Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 195: Making Rounds

Zac could only wryly shake his head at the Gnome as he coughed up a deposit for the Crystals. At least the purchase wouldn’t completely financially ruin him.

“There’s another thing,” Zac said as he took out the Lotus Seed. “This came from a lotus flower that emitted intense amounts of life-attuned energy. Do you know what this flower is? My skill couldn’t identify the flower.”

Calrin carefully took the seed and looked it over.

“I can’t tell for certain, but I would guess that it’s from a D-Graded flower called Lotus of Harmony. The seed is quite drained, so it’s quite unsure whether it can germinate, but I’d give you 25 million Nexus Coins for it.”

Zac’s eyes widened at the quote, and he wondered just how much it was worth before he absorbed all the energy. His debt to the Abbot just kept growing.

“I’m not selling, I want to try and plant it,” Zac said.

It was worth 50 Divine Crystals, but Zac would still much rather have a lotus, like the one Abbot Everlasting Peace had.

“Hmm…” Calrin said. “Well, I’m no expert, but it just needs water and dense cosmic energy from what I know. It will slowly convert Non-attuned energy into life energy.”

“Do you think it would survive being planted in the Cosmic Water at the mountain?” Zac asked.

“Probably, it is a D-Grade treasure after all. But again, I’m no botanist. Don’t come crying to me if the seed gets absorbed by the pond. Besides, it might come into conflict with the Tree of Ascension if they are planted in too close proximity. Spirit Herbs are like beasts, they have territories,” Calrin explained.

Zac simply nodded with some thought. He’d already formed an idea before, and he couldn’t wait to try it anymore after Calrin said it was plausible.

After he left he quickly headed to Azh’Rodum through the teleporter, and rushed into the mountain. Soon he found one of the entrances he’d used before when he fled into the caverns. He wasn’t interested in going into the mines at this time, but he had another goal in mind.

After a dizzying number of twists and turns, he finally found himself in front of a large boulder. He was happy to see that everything looked the same as he moved the boulder out of the way.

Cosmic Energy, dense enough that it almost felt like it slapped him in the face, rushed out of the cavern as the boulder was moved. Zac quickly entered the cave and closed the boulder behind him.

The inside was similar to when he woke up here some months ago, apart from the fact that the energy seemed even denser than before. The various flowers were even lusher as well, all teeming with energy.

Zac picked a few of the various things growing in the cave, suspecting that most of the herbs and mushrooms should have evolved into graded plants by now. Perhaps they were worth some money, or at least possible to clone and farm.

But that wasn’t why he was here. He walked over the edge of the pond, and after some hesitation simply dropped the seed into the water. He could only pray that the intense energies in the pond would rekindle the spent energy of the seed, rather than destroy it.

It was a big gamble, but if it paid off his cultivation cave would kick up a notch in grade. Now he could only wait and hope for the best. There was one more thing he did before he left, which was to place multiple arrays to protect the cave.

The population on his island was growing, and it wasn’t impossible someone would stumble upon this place before the mountain had been turned into a properly restricted area. His goal was for much o the mountain peaks to be turned into large private residences for those who wanted to cultivate in peace and had the wallet to pay for such a luxury.

The valley with the tree of ascension and the pond of Cosmic Water would be his private property though, as he couldn’t risk having people ruining his tree. He still didn’t know what might come of it since its transformation, but it was still valuable.

Since he was done with the cave he left, heading up to the valley. Life was slowly coming back to the secluded spot between the peaks, as the density of energy was just too high for it to remain as desolate grounds. Grass and small shrubs had replaced the dry husks of the trees that the Tree of Ascension absorbed.

He also noted that the size of the pond had grown back, though not to its original size, which was something he hadn’t noticed from his cave. Zac was quite relieved, as it meant that his vein was creating more of the magical water.

He still didn’t have much use for it, but it was apparently a great addition to most types of crafting. For example, quenching a new sword in Cosmic Water would likely improve the quality of the weapon a grade. However, his faction could still only create low-grade things, making such a method a waste of money.

Soon he found himself in front of the tree, and to his disappointment, it looked very much the same as last time he was here. It still was weirdly mutated, but thanks to his Dao of Trees he could sense that it wasn’t dying, but rather slowly recuperating.

As he looked around he found that the area had been completely cleaned. Last time he only looted the possessions of the corpses, but now he realized he hadn’t seen a single dead demon or monkey around since he entered. Perhaps Ogras had sent someone to clean up the area.

Or it might be Alea, Zac realized, as he looked around the well-tended area in the vicinity of the Poison Tree. She might have worked hard to make sure it didn’t die. The treasure that came from it would likely either be good for a power-up of a poison user, or an ingredient for an incredible poison.

Since everything was under control Zac returned to town. After some thought Zac decided to head to the tavern. When he arrived he noticed the structure had expanded or rather been grown, by quite a decent margin. It now had multiple levels, and the base floor had swallowed a neighboring structure as well.

It was afternoon by now and Zac noticed that the place had quite a few people in it, sitting in groups with mugs in front of them. A few waitresses were scurrying around as well, placing dishes and taking orders.

When Zac entered a hush fell over the first floor, as everyone gazed upon him with a wide arrange of emotions.

“Hey! What are you all staring at,” a shout came from the bar. “Have you never seen a humanoid tank before?”

Some snorts or subdued laughter could be heard, and Zac headed over to the bar with a smile.

“I see you have expanded,” Zac said as he sat down on a barstool.

“What can I say? The apocalypse makes people thirsty,” Ryan said with a wide grin.

“What’s everyone drinking?” Zac curiously asked.

“Local beer. Or mead I guess?” Ryan answered and poured a glass from a tap. “The demons almost hounded the poor brewer to death, but he managed to create the first batch in almost record time. We have two versions, a normal beer and a stronger version for the high-leveled people.”

Ryan placed it in front of him. And Zac took a swig. Objectively it didnʼt taste great, but it was not bad for a newly set up operation.

”So what brings you here?” Ryan asked.

“I have been too busy lately so I haven’t had much time to check on Port Atwood. I thought you might know how the citizens feel about their situation,” Zac explained.

”Well, I think people are generally happy here. Especially now that they are good and drunk,” Ryan said, looking thoughtful.

”No complaints?” Zac said skeptically.

“I guess one complaint is that it’s a bit hard to level up for combat classes. The forest is full of those demon dogs, and very few can kill them. So they’re stuck as there’s no other prey, meaning they will fall further and further behind. Some even think it’s by design so that they’d be forced to join the Army to get stronger,” Ryan hesitantly said.

“Hmm,” Zac said with a nod.

It wasn’t something he’d considered, but the barghest had grown pretty strong by now. He’d considered them a great tool for grinding, but that was because he had extreme attributes and that he fought them when they were affected by stronger limiters to their attributes.

If Zac looked at it as a video game, Port Atwood was the newbie village for many. But it was surrounded by a high-level zone, not letting people level up. There needed to be a clear path of progression for people, like the increasingly powerful enemies in an RPG.

It was something he needed to remedy, as he wanted his citizens to become stronger. The more powerful people that lived on this island, the safer it would be from attacks. He would have to ask Abby or Adran to fix the situation somehow.

“I’ll see if some islands can be turned into safer grinding areas or something,” Zac said. “By the way, do you know anyone who has worked a lot with animals before the fall?”

“Worked with animals?” Ryan answered with some confusion. “Hmm, I think I heard from a customer a week ago that she worked at a pet store before the integration.”

“Oh?” Zac said intrigued. “Where is she now?”

The two kept talking about various matters in the town for a few more minutes until Zac finally downed his drink and left. He walked following Ryanʼs directions, and soon found himself outside a building that looked like an apartment structure at the edge of the residential district.

They were structures that were being erected for the various people that didnʼt bring much to the table. The experts and high-level individuals usually got their own houses, whereas the refugees had to make do with apartments. Zac felt it was a bit elitist, but both Abby and Ogras was insistent that they needed to create that type of society to force more powerhouses into existence.

He found the correct number on the third floor and knocked on the door while looking around. Soon a slightly malnourished-looking girl opened up the door, looking startled upon seeing Zacʼs odd appearance.

“Can I help you?” the girl hesitantly asked as she looked upon Zac’s unfamiliar figure.

“I am Zachary Atwood. I heard that you once worked at a pet store?” Zac asked, trying to look congenial.

“Atwood? Like the big boss?” she asked, her eyes widening a bit.

“Yes, the pet store?” Zac prodded.

“Ah? Yes, I worked at a pet store before. What’s going on?”

“How would you like to get the chance to work with pets again, and even get a class for it? It would be a well-paid position as well since we need that kind of expertise,” Zac explained.

“You need someone to look after your pets? I can do that,” the girl said, her face brightening.

“Good, come with me,” Zac said with a smile.

Zac didn’t mention that the pets he talked about were a hive queen for an alien ant species and hyper-aggressive demon dogs. That would be a happy surprise for later. For now, he needed to get her enrolled with Alyn and undergo the training regiment she had designed to make a beastmaster out of the pet store worker.

He soon dropped off Lily, which was what the girl was called, to Alyn. The schoolmistress looked very excited to try out her hypothesis in creating a beast master class without a heritage and immediately got to work.

Before it got too late Zac also went to the port to thank Karunthel for lending some help with the negotiations. He also tried to visit Hannah to explain the misunderstanding earlier, but she wasn’t at home.

Finally, he was done with everything he needed to do at Port Atwood. There was also the issue with the Tool Spirit, but he felt he had to put that issue on hold for the moment. Partly because Brazla was just too annoying, and partly because he suspected any negotiations might go awry before he could provide it with some updates on the beautifications of its surroundings.

It was already late when he got back to his home, but he noticed that Kenzie still was out. She never mentioned anything about it, but Zac felt that her imprisonment had left a mark on her. She stayed at the academy all day, continuously sparring or meditating in the array, almost with a fanatic fervor that reminded him of the Valkyries.

It didn’t feel like a healthy way to process, but perhaps mental health would have to take a back seat for the moment. Fear and helplessness might propel her forward when she’d otherwise stop trying to improve. With the thing inside her head, she needed to get strong so she could protect herself in case he wasnʼt around.

Since there was nothing much else to do for him, Zac decided to finally go through with his trial for hegemony. He didn’t know how long it would take, but he had provisions for quite some time in his pouch. He also had all manners of pills and tools to help him out with most scenarios.

However, suddenly he realized a problem. How the hell did he start the trial?