Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 144: Gaining Reputation

“Come join the town of the strongest man alive. We need all sorts of non-combat classes. Doctors, scientists, blacksmiths, and farmers. Come one, come all! Carpenters, janitors, brewers, and craftsmen! All are welcome to sign up! Join Port Atwood, home of the Super Brother-Man, the safest place on Earth!”

Zac could barely stop himself from blanching as Sap Trang walked back and forth in front of their gaudy stall, tirelessly shouting out superlative statements about the Super Brother-Man and their town.

He understood the reasoning. They needed to create a buzz that propagated like wildfire since they only had the afternoon for recruitment. The third wave started in three days, and they needed to go back tomorrow to finalize preparations.

Mr. Trang’s plan for this was to create a recruitment stall. They had simply bought out a large stall on prime location of the square, and changed the sign. It now said “THE SUPER BROTHER-MAN IS RECRUITING! BECOME THE ELITE OF THE WORLD!” in huge lettering, and nothing else. Meanwhile the old fisherman was sounding like a street hawker as he kept throwing out one bombastic proclamation after another.

Normally their proclamations might have been met with scorn and maybe even ignored. But the fact that there was a living, breathing Zhix sitting in the stall reading a book seemed to somehow increase the legitimacy of the stall. Who but the Super Brother-Man would keep a pet Zhix? The two government officials looking on the proceedings with troubled faces only furthered the impression.

Still, it had been thirty minutes without anyone coming up to the stall. But clearly a buzz was being created, as a small crowd of onlookers had gathered, and some people seemed to arrive just to look on at the excitement. But finally there was some result from Mr. Trang’s tireless efforts.

“You talk a lot old man, but do you have any proof?” a man shouted from the group of onlookers.

“I understand it is hard to imagine such a great opportunity has presented itself to you. But it is one hundred percent real. If you have friends who attended the auction you should know of Port Atwood already. We spent over twenty million Nexus Coins during the Auction, defeating even the Marshall Clan for the battle of precious relics,” Sap Trang shouted back.

“Don’t forget, Super Brother-Man is not only the strongest man in the world, he is also the wealthiest. And he is ready to spend some of that immense fortune on you, in order to help you advance your non-combat classes.”

Some subdued murmur spread through the crowd. Twenty million Nexus Coins was a crazy amount of money, and most counted their wealth in the hundreds, or perhaps thousands. The low tiered monsters only gave a handful of nexus coins after all, far less than the more profitable barghest.

Actually, Mr. Trang had initially wanted Zac to stand and swing around his axe and show off his might, but that had summarily been rejected by Zac.

“We stand at the forefront of the world, and we’re the only town in the world to hold all four of our new world’s species, creating a true metropolis of our new planet,” the fisherman continued, seeming to gain vigor the more he boasted.

Zac started to worry about the people’s reactions after they arrived at his temporary town filled with demons. From Sap Trang’s description it was as though he offered them a spot in paradise, and not dubious employment on a desolate island. Still, the effect was limited until suddenly another shout gathered the crowd’s attention.

“It’s the Marshall Clan!” a man shouted and pointed to a group walking toward the stall.

“Hehe, I guess their boasting reached the Marshall Clan’s ears. I think we’re in for a good show,” another person muttered, eliciting some chuckles.

Zac looked over and the shouting man was correct. It was the old man, Henry Marshal, who walked in the front, with the bodyguard from before accompanying him. It looked like Thea wasn’t lying before. They truly didn’t need Zac’s pill as the bodyguard was walking with no problem, looking as fit as a fiddle. There were also a few more people accompanying the duo, but Zac noted that Thea Marshall herself was not part of the group.

“Mr. Monk, we meet again. Do you mind if we chat a bit?” Henry Marshall said as after he reached Zac’s stall.

Zac wished that Ogras was here to do the talking, but could only nod and take out another chair from his pouch for the old man.

“Is this about Mr. Trang’s claims just now?” Zac asked.

“No, that doesn’t matter. Port Atwood is currently lacking renown, and the Marshall Clan isn’t so frail that we can’t provide some assistance on that front,” the old man said and gave a nod to one of the men in the group who quickly left the stall and blended into the group that looked on.

“I am more interested in your plans for the future, and wish to offer an alternative to what you heard today,” the old man said.

“Oh?” Zac said with piqued interest.

“Truthfully we had some plans for a network as well, though the government beat us to it. So we have had to find an alternative solution. We have no intentions in joining the frail government alliance, and I have the feeling that neither do you,” Henry continued.

Zac only nodded in response.

“We aim to create a network as well, but it will not be as formalized as the government’s. However, only lords will be able to join, and the extent will only go as far as providing means of movement and trade. There will be no centralized organizing body and no vassal-superior relationships. How the lords manage their domains is up to them,” he said.

“What about defense and concentrated war efforts?” Zac asked.

“That would be up to the individual members to organize. The network should only be seen as a means to facilitate various private alliances,” the man answered.

“What’s in it for you to do this?” Zac asked skeptically.

“The government still lives as though we are in the old world, playing bureaucracy. They gather the mediocre, but to what avail? We worry that their narrow-mindedness will steer humanity into a path of no return. We need to provide an alternative, one that’s made for the elite, the powerhouses of the world. We believe that is more in line with how our new reality functions.

“Perhaps the alliance will crumble in the future, with all of us vying for supremacy of our planet. But we need to kick out all foreign scum before we can get to that point,” Henry finished.

“When we first met this morning you seemed less than pleased by my party’s composition. But now you are inviting us?” Zac asked skeptically.

“My views are that it is only a matter of time before humanity will be pitted against the ilk of your… friend… over there, and the information you provided only proves it.” Henry said as he waved at the Zhix. “We humans haven’t even been able to coexist with ourselves, but suddenly we are supposed to coexist with two other sentient species?”

The clan leader only shook his head, clearly showing his position. Zac didn’t really agree, but he felt no point in arguing.

“Either of us will be proven right in the future, but for now that’s not important for this potential cooperation. Destroying the incursions comes first,” Henry finally added.

The two talked for a few more minutes, with Zac mainly asking for some clarifications about the planned alliance, while the old man mainly asked about the information on incursions and the Dominators that Zac provided the government.

Zac learned there were some planned requirements for the alliance after all. One such requirement was that they would have to keep their teleporters public for a week every now and then, and that they would take turn in doing so. The reason was to attract new blood to the alliance. Zac felt that was reasonable enough, as he was even thinking of making his teleporter permanently public as soon as he had stabilized his position as a Lord.

At the same time they would be allowed to turn their teleporters private for even the alliance members, but only for a limited time. This was in case there was some internal upheaval or an important mission they didn’t want to be interrupted.

Zac gave no definite answer, but he said he would discuss it with the others. Henry Marshall took the tepid answer with stride and nodded as he left the stall.

“Excuse me, Lord Marshal. Is it true?” a voice from the back of the group shouted as the old man planned to leave.

“Is what true?” Henry retorted with a strong voice as he looked over at the crowd, who seemed subdued from the power of his stare.

“Is it really the Super Brother-Man’s force?” the same voice asked.

At this point Zac noticed that the one shouting was actually the man who diverted from the Marshal’s group earlier, albeit covered a bit in a hood.

“… Yes,” was all Henry Marshall said as he left, but that was all that was needed as the group exploded into commotion.

The looks at the gaudy stall changed from skeptical and derisive to interested and contemplative.

“Why are you recruiting so many people?” someone suddenly shouted from the group, this time not a planted person.

“Port Atwood did not exist prior to the integration, we are building the town completely from scratch. Currently we have the strongest fighting force of humanity, but we’re lacking in many other compartments. We have money but nowhere to spend it. We need driven craftsmen and other non-combat classes to make the town to a truly thriving metropolis,” Mr. Trang answered without missing a beat.

The declaration of having the strongest force also made some waves in the crowd.

“Are you also recruiting warriors?” another man asked.

“Security is currently not a concern for our town, and we are mainly looking for non-combat professions at this point,” Sap answered. “But if you are a stand-out talent or have some unique skills that an army can benefit from, then you’re welcome to apply. But be advised that fighters will not enjoy the same type of freedom as the non-combat classes, as we expect warriors to be in the thick of it fighting. Of course, the benefits we offer our soldiers are also unmatched on planet Earth.”

Sap’s answer made a few people frown, even though he promised high rewards. Zac felt that it was natural. They were in the middle of the New World Government. If any strong warriors around still were unaffiliated they did not want to be tied down. He wondered a bit what would happen with independent warriors like these people after the government enacted their plan. Would they be booted from the safety of the city?

Suddenly a woman in her forties walked over to the stall where Zac and Ibtep sat. Since Mr. Trang was busy fielding various questions to the crowd Zac had to take care of this.

“Can I help you?” Zac asked.

“Is it really true that you welcome all sorts of non-combat classes?” the woman asked hesitantly.

“Yes. What is your profession?” Zac answered.

“I am an anthropologist,” she answered with hesitation. “I wish to join you and study your society. Are there really four species living together in Port Atwood?”

“Well, the Zhix and Ishiate have their own towns, though that might change in the future for security reasons,” Zac offhandedly answered.

“And there is a fourth species?” she pressed on, seeing that Zac was amenable to answer questions.

“Yes, there’s one of them here in the bazaar somewhere, accompanying our Sky Gnome, who I guess is a fifth species,” Zac answered.

“What are the rules to join? Do I need to sign a System-enforced Contract?” She asked.

“No. Your benefits are tied to your contributions to the town. If you contribute nothing, you get nothing,” Zac answered, getting down to brass tacks.

These rules were set with the help of Ogras and Calrin, who explained how heterogeneous forces worked in the multi-verse. Very few actually used contracts, as that was usually seen in bad light. Skilled people in high demand would seldom sign them, apart from for very limited times, such as for the duration of entering a mystic realm.

Forces who consisted of all sorts of people, like academies and Sects usually only had contracts for the very top of the organization, those who also had the largest amount of benefits. The body of the force generally was kept somewhat honest with the help of contribution systems. Homogenous forces used contracts mainly for external elders who wanted to become a permanent part of the clan.

Zac had been surprised that contracts were such a small thing until he understood that the number of contracts one could have active was limited. He was already reaching his limit by using it on the whole squad of girls he brought back from Greenworth, and there simply was no way for him to have contracts for a whole force.

The Apostate of Order created the contracts as a way for two people to work together without fearing betrayal, not for lords to enslave their whole population. Therefore there were also limits on using a branching tree, such as having contracts on 100 captains who each had contracts on 100 soldiers. Every contract within the network would be considered directly subservient to Zac, which would count toward his limit.

“But how would you compare my work in anthropology to a blacksmith, for example?” the woman asked skeptically.

“We use multi-verse standard, with an automatic contribution allocator,” Zac answered, drawing interested eyes from both the Zhix and the scientist.