Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 93: Verunʼs Bite

Zac was overlooking the reconstruction and cleanup taking place around the battlefield. There weren’t many demon’s working, but they were efficient. Ogras had already taken most back to the mines to refill the stocks of Crystals for the next horde. The demon only gave his underlings one day of rest before work resumed.

There was only twelve days before the next stage of the quest started, and they needed to get ready. Luckily Zac wasn’t needed for any heavy lifting, as people didn’t need any strength to throw boulders into Cosmic Sacks.

Satisfied with the progress he turned around and headed toward the crystal that contained the temporary Contribution Shop. It stood roughly halfway between his camper and the battlefield, and when he arrived multiple demons were milling about, likely looking over their options in the store. Everyone had accrued a decent amount of contribution points over the past weeks, and there were quite a few products inside that could help them in various ways.

When they saw Zac arrive they made some room for him and nodded with respect. The demons respected the strong and Zac’s feats over the past weeks left a deep impression on them, especially the last battle with the fiend wolf. There had been a few that held strong grudges against him, mostly because of Zac having killed a family member or friend when the two camps were still at war.

But Zac knew that Ogras and Namys secretly made these malcontents have “accidents” during the wolf-horde to quell any unrest or disharmony. He felt it was a bit overkill, but he wasn’t about to complain to Ogras about such a detail. He knew he’d likely have failed the quest unless he had the demon’s help.

It was clear to Zac after having gone through the quest that it wasn’t meant for a lone warrior like him. A Lord was expected to have subjects, and perhaps even an army to assist in this type of battle. He felt extremely lucky that things worked out somewhat with the demons so far, otherwise he’d be forced to give up on his island after all this struggle. Zac realized that his alliance with the demons was only a fragile cooperation based on benefits, but it was better than nothing.

When he came within a few meters from the crystal a screen automatically popped up, containing both a Ranking list and a shop. A quick glance showed he possessed roughly 45 million contribution points. It seemed he received a full five million of those for killing the Fiend Wolf, as he had just below 40 million before that fight. Generally, the contribution points awarded were on a 1:1 ratio to the Nexus Coins he gained, with the exceptions of the wave leaders giving a substantial bonus above that.

The 45 million points placed him in the comfortable lead of the ladder, but the others were no slouches other. Ogras held a stable second spot with 24 million points. The former general held the lead until halfway through the waves, at which point Zac eclipsed him. It was a combination of his pathways slowly healing, allowing him to use his area skills more, and that Zac’s power leveling started to give an advantage.

Ogras grumbled quite a bit about it, but he could only helplessly watch himself get overtaken. He had tried to buy the Fruit of Ascension in order to get a power-up, but immediately got shut down by Zac. Ogras wasn’t too disappointed about it though, as there actually was one for sale in the shop for only 50 million contribution points.

While gaining contribution points was roughly the same as Nexus Coins, the prices were far cheaper. He’d never be able to buy a Fruit of Ascension with 50 million Nexus Coins, not even ten times that. Since he already got 24 million in the first wave he shouldn’t have any problems getting the last bit before the quest was over.

Zac was looking at something else entirely; [Verun’s Bite]. It was an axe that cost a whopping 40 million contribution points. It was called an [F-Grade Spiritual Tool], and Zac wasn’t sure whether it was worth it at first. But after asking around he found out that Spiritual Tools were not the same things as F-Grade equipment or weapons, it was a far more valuable thing.

Spiritual Tools possessed an actual soul, and could almost be considered a living being. Only the most talented Blacksmiths could create them, and only using the best materials. They held a power level far above a normal weapon and even had their own skills. They also had the basic functions such as sharpening and repair as well, making them a great long-term companion.

What made them an even better investment was that they could be evolved if you gathered the right materials for it, making it a great weapon to use even after ranking up. Even Ogras’ grandfather still used an E-Grade Spiritual tool he had nurtured for almost a thousand years according to Ogras. It was one of the only three E-Grade Spiritual tools in the whole clan, as far as Ogras knew at least, showing how precious they were.

A great weapon was something Zac really wanted, as it was one of his current shortcomings. Very few demons used axes as a weapon of choice, as it was generally considered a brute’s tool. Only a few of the lower-tier soldiers used it, so there were no better axes than the military standard issue on the island.

With Zac’s current power his weapons couldn’t really keep up. He was forced to cycle various weapons as they couldn’t withstand the force he utilized nowadays, and it hampered his efficiency. There were a few other interesting things in the shop, such as skills and other gear, but the axe was the most interesting for him. He initially considered taking the fruit so he had one for both his father and sister, but he reluctantly gave up that idea.

First of all, he needed to focus on strengthening himself at the moment, and he didn’t want to create any new reasons for Ogras to conspire against him. He felt that the two of them had forged somewhat of a friendship over the past month, and he didn’t want to mess things up with two more waves on the way. He wouldn’t lower his guard against the demon though, as it was far too soon for that.

Besides, he knew that he didn’t have to worry about the demon suddenly evolving and becoming too strong to control, as there were still the restrictions on the invaders that would stay on for some time.

He also considered buying some of the skills to power up, but also decided to hold off on that. The analysis by the demons was that the skills were actually of high quality, differing from those in the Nexus Node. Those were actually “overpriced garbage” as Ogras put it, and Zac could only agree after hearing the difference between his [Eye of Discernment] and the skill Ogras used. In the end, he felt a real weapon would be a better immediate power-up.

Besides, there was another reason he didn’t feel the need to buy a new skill right now. He once again brought up his status window before making the purchase.

Name

Zachary Atwood

Level

50

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

257

Dexterity

139

Endurance

173

Vitality

113

Intelligence

69

Wisdom

57

Luck

77

Free Points

0

Nexus Coins

21 510 103

His stats were becoming more and more monstrous, with even endurance getting close to his original attribute cap. His dexterity was getting up there as well, partly thanks to his third Dao Seed.

[Seed of Sharpness - +10 Dexterity, +5 Intelligence]

The seed also pushed him up to the fourth spot on the Dao-Ranking, and he was still surprised that he still wasn’t first with a full three seeds.

He opened up the quest screen next and looked at the reason for not feeling the need to buy any skills at the moment.

Active Quests

Dynamic Quests

Incursion Master (Unique): Close or conquer incursion and protect town from denizens of other alignments for 3 months. Reward: 5 E-Grade Nexus Crystals, outpost upgraded to town, status upgraded to Lord. (1/3) [12:17:45:16]

Class Quests

Natureʼs Many Faces (Class): Decapitate 10 000 enemies - OR - Plant 10 000 trees. Reward: Natureʼs Punishment - OR - Natureʼs Nurturing Skill. (0/10 000) - (0/10 000)

It was the first time he saw a branching quest. He immediately decided to go for Nature’s Punishment rather than Nature’s Nurturing as soon as he saw the options, even though he only could finish Nature’s Nurturing right now. The choice reminded him of his musings about his Dao seeds. He currently trod both the path of destruction through his offensive seeds, and the path of life or nature with his Tree-seed.

The choices in the quest did the same. He currently was like a walking cockroach with his monstrous attributes, so he’d go with the offensive skill Nature’s Punishment. From the sound of the other name, he guessed that it was a healing skill, or something that had something to do with plants.

Neither of those options sounded like something he needed right now, while a stronger offensive skill than [Chop] was something he would really benefit from. [Chop] was still great against hordes of monsters, but against strong singular enemies its effect was limited.

He closed the screen and hesitating no further bought [Verun’s Bite]. An elaborate large box appeared next to him, and he immediately put it into his Cosmic Pouch without opening it. He knew these demons would eventually find out what he bought in battle, but for now he felt no need to spread rumors.

With a nod he left the demons to their business and walked toward the hastily erected town close-by. The settlement consisted of mostly tents with a few rudimentary buildings peppered in, and was the temporary living space for the demons during the quest.

He entered one of the larger structures and looked around. It was the infirmary, and it was thankfully only half-filled. The effect of Vitality was generally that something either killed you, or you bounced back in a week or two at most. Apparently, it was different at higher levels though, where the skills could contain weird energies and Daos that impeded recovery.

Alea was lying at a bed in the corner, pale but breathing steadily. Zac felt some sourness as he watched the red bandages that wrapped around her. She had become a comforting presence to him over the weeks, although he wouldn’t call it love. To see her lying here because her desire to help him against the Fiend Wolf caused some guilt in his heart, and his desire to get powerful only got stronger.

“How is she?” Zac asked the physician making rounds between the beds.

“She’s stable. Due to her… interests, she has focused on Vitality which is now helping her immensely,” the young man answered with some disgust on his face. Clearly, he didn’t approve of her dabbling with poison, which in a sense was the opposite of his occupation.

Zac only nodded and fished out a small vial from his Cosmic Sack.

“Will this improve her condition?” He said as he opened the stopper, letting an earthy scent waft out. It was a healing pill he bought at Calrin’s for a full 2 500 000 Nexus Coins before coming here. Normally warriors kept it as a last resort type of thing, as it was too expensive to use as one pleased. But Zac didn’t hesitate to cough up the coins.

The man looked at the pill inside with some greed in his eyes but quickly remembering himself nodded his head. Zac handed it over and watch him gingerly feed it to her, using some skill to make her swallow and absorb it in her sleep. The effect was immediate and obvious, as some color appeared on her face and her breaths became deeper.

“It’s helping, but she will stay asleep for some time,” the physician noted.

Zac nodded and left after observing her for some more time. Next, he found Ogras and told him that he didn’t want to be disturbed for the next few days unless it was something important. He headed back to his camper and sat down with a grunt.

First, he took out the large box and dripped a drop of his blood on his new axe to establish a connection. He would normally try it out a bit, but there was something he was even more eager to do at this moment so he put the axe back into his pouch.

Next, he took out another vial out of his pouch and looked at the pill inside. It was a deep blue with some shimmering white spots, glistening very beautifully. The pill was actually called [Rivers of Cosmos] and was something Zac commissioned from Calrin the first time they met. The price tag was far more expensive than he expected, reaching 7 500 000 Nexus Coins, but its effect was also amazing. Not only would it help heal his pathways, but it would also somewhat stabilize them and make them more resilient.

His pathways were mostly healed by now, and even if he left it alone he might get better soon. But he refused to spend any more time mindlessly staying in the mines. He had things to do. He immediately swallowed the pill, and just sat down cross-legged and let the medicine do its thing. A soothing sensation soon spread through his body, like his veins were filled with clear spring water.

The healing process took a full day, and after he inspected the result he was more than happy. The Cosmic Energy that he naturally absorbed for restoration flooded his body at a pace that was far and above anything he ever felt before. He wasn’t sure whether it was because of the experience in the pond or just from evolving to E-Rank Race, but it was at least three to four times the speed from before.

After almost two months holding himself back he finally felt confident enough to start using tools and crystals to restore himself. He thought he might have been able to do it sometime earlier as his pathways were in pretty decent condition lately, but neither Ogras nor the physician really knew too much about his condition. He decided to not do anything rash and wait until he was completely sure.

Next, he took out his small box of E-Grade Nexus Crystals and immediately started to absorb it. A huge surge of pristine energy entered his body. It was on a completely other level compared to the F-Grade Crystals. If the F-Graded crystals was a water faucet, then this was a waterfall of energy that poured into his body. Still, he didn’t feel any discomfort from the deluge of power coursing through his pathways.

The energy was completely tame and quickly added itself to him, and he felt how he steadily climbed toward level 51. The amount of energy required for a level was immense by now, but it only took 12 hours for him to reach it. He kept absorbing throughout the day, but was interrupted by the sound of a bell on the morning the second day. He opened his eyes, and with a frown looked toward the source of the sound. But as soon as he saw his guests his eyebrows rose in surprise.

As Zac suspected he saw Ogras, but with him was Rahm, the Creator liaison. Zac quickly invited them through the array and asked what was going on.

“A boat of humans arrived at our docks 20 minutes ago, and they are at present being detained.”