Defiance of the Fall: A LitRPG Adventure

by TheFirstDefier

  Weirdly enough, there was no monkey pack close to the entrance of the valley. Instead, the monkeys were stationed on the outer side of the mountain peak. This differed from the other two peaks so far, and Zac wanted to figure out why. He soon found his answer, as he was surprised to see a monkey captain hurl a large rock at a demon war party that approached the peak of the valley.

  It hit one of them, and with a wail, he was flung away from the impact. The demons screamed at the group of monkeys angrily, waving their weapons. But the monkeys were a stoic wall that wouldn’t let them pass. After another minute of posturing, the demons could only turn and leave the mountain.

  Zac was confused as he slunk back to the inner side of the mountain. Weren’t the monkeys the pets of the demons, like the other demon beasts? How did they dare deny the demons access to the mountains?

  Zac started to get nervous that the monkeys actually weren’t the fourth monster race, but rather, some native beast. The System did say it merged Earth with other planets due for integration, and they might be from another one. That would mean that there actually wasn’t a monkey herald, but instead two heralds he couldn’t find.

  He felt that shouldn’t be right, though. Everything pointed toward them being a part of the demonic invasion. Perhaps the monkeys had a higher standing and could actually boot the lower demons from their territory.

  He knew he wouldn’t get any real answer from just mulling it over, and continued on toward the fourth peak. The weird power dynamic between the monkeys and demons actually helped him out in the end, both removing the threat of demons in the mountains and not having to battle any monkeys that close to the demon activity.

  He arrived at the fourth peak and, after an intense melee, finally finished killing all the packs close to the valley. As it was still only evening, he decided to head into the valley after all. Initially, he’d planned to wait until the next morning, but due to the inner side of the third peak being free from monkeys, he saved a few hours of work.

  He took his first steps into the valley, vigilant against any hidden monkeys or other beasts. But after a few minutes of walking, it seemed that the forest was deserted. It was odd, as the forest itself felt like a paradise on Earth. The air was fresh enough that his cells felt invigorated just from breathing, and the foliage was lush and healthy. The earthy smell of the area calmed Zac’s heart, inviting him to sit down and relax.

  However, not even critters were present, making the forest eerily silent except for the occasional rustle from the wind. This stillness felt quite jarring to Zac, as his life had been accompanied by the sounds of the forest constantly since the world changed. From critters in the bushes to the calls of the birds. Even the deep roars of the barghest.

  That all these sounds were gone didn’t feel natural, and his vigilance only increased instead of it having a soothing effect on him.

  As he walked, he noticed that he didn’t recognize most of the trees or plants in the valley. Now, he wasn’t any botanist; he only knew of the staple flowers and trees. But he felt he should at least recognize some of the vegetation if it was from Earth. There were a few trees he assumed were maples, but the leaves were as large as his torso.

  He didn’t know if the forest had mutated or evolved from the extremely dense Cosmic Energy in the area, or whether this forest came from another planet, but it felt like the old Earth wasn’t able to produce a forest feeling so vibrant.

  He was debating whether he should collect samples from the various flowers and herbs like the demon parties did, but soon decided against it. He had no immediate use for them, and the valley would still be here if he managed to kick out the demons.

  He soon arrived close to the small lake he’d glimpsed from the mountain peak. With how pristine the rest of the forest was, he had expected the lake to have clear, beautiful water. While it didn’t look or smell stale, it also wasn’t clear.

  The lake was a mysterious shimmering blue, and he could barely see a decimeter into the water before everything was obscured. The water itself seemed to be packed with Cosmic Energy, as though the lake consisted of liquefied Nexus Crystals.

  His body almost instinctively reached down to drink a mouthful of the enticing water before hastily stopping himself. It seemed like such a good natural resource, but still, there were no animals or monsters around, which was very eerie. Perhaps there was something lurking in the depths, preying on anything stupid enough to come too close to the shore.

  He couldn’t let the water go to waste, though, and he tied a string to one of his magical canteens. He then threw the canteen into the water and waited some time before dragging it out. It now contained the Cosmic Water, but he wouldn’t try it before he could feed it to some beasts and see its effects.

  Feeling uncomfortable by the mysterious lake, Zac continued onward toward the center of the valley. The mysteries of the azure pond would have to wait until another day.

  He was almost at the core of the valley by now and slowed his pace. If the herald was in this valley, then it would stand to reason that he was somewhere in the center. Slightly nervous, he gripped his axe for comfort, as memories of the struggle with the last herald still haunted him.

  Not far ahead, it seemed that the forest gave way to open fields, so Zac crouched down and slowly made his way to the edge of the forest. What met his eyes from his hidden vantage point shocked him.

  It was a large field filled with shrunken and desiccated fallen trees. There were signs of bushes and flowers having existed as well, but they too looked like they had been baked in an oven. The only thing still standing tall was a solitary tree in the center.

  It wasn’t very large, only being roughly five meters tall, but it was spectacular. The trunk and branches had a crimson hue and a smooth exterior. The leaves weren’t red or green but a pristine white, making it look like crystals adorned the branches.

  It was a spectacular sight, and Zac didn’t for a second think that this was a normal tree. It was something created with a lot of Cosmic Energy. The tree virtually hummed with power, making Zac wonder if it actually was alive.

  Zac guessed that this tree was the reason for the desolation in the vicinity. The tree seemingly had absorbed the life or Cosmic Energy out of everything in its surroundings. Perhaps it even had killed all the animals in the forest as well, explaining why it was so quiet. It was a scary thought that the tree wasn’t satisfied with the huge density of energy in the air and needed to drain its surroundings to be satiated.

  It took Zac a second to register that something else was next to the tree. A monkey, roughly two meters tall with a build somewhat slimmer compared to its brethren, sat cross-legged with closed eyes under the tree. What made it stand out apart from its build was its color. If the other monkeys in the mountains were made of anthracite rock, then this monkey was made of lava. Red shining streaks ran along every part of the monkey’s otherwise black body, emanating a heavy pressure.

  It was the monkey king.

  47

  Collision Course

  The lava monkey didn’t look aggressive or violent like the normal monkeys, but rather harmonious. Even if it seemed crazy, it really looked like he or she was meditating under the peculiar tree. It was quite picturesque, the red streaks of the monkey matching well with the crimson trunk.

  The good news was that it looked like he found his herald. The bad news was that he had no real idea on how to improve the odds in his favor. He saw no method to sneak up on it, as the dried husks of the vegetation on the field wouldn’t provide enough cover.

  He didn’t dare use [Eye of Discernment] to see its level either, afraid it would notice him like the Imps. That it stayed in this forest with higher Cosmic Energy concentration, rather than in its natural habitat of the mountain peaks, was telling Zac that the monkey king possessed some sensibility for Cosmic Energy.

  He debated whether he should charge in blind or wait for a better opportunity. Finally, he decided he had to go for it. Finding the hera
ld sitting by itself with no backup in sight could only be considered a perfect opportunity.

  He also discarded the idea of creating crude traps as he had for Vul, the barghest herald. If this monkey could meditate, it likely was too intelligent to run into spikes like an idiot.

  The only question was whether this monkey was of roughly the same power as Vul or not. When the limiter had been lifted at the turn of the month, he had concluded that the beasts had improved roughly 50% across the board.

  He himself had improved far more than that, though. When he fought Vul, he had only 59 Strength, and now he was at 160. On top of that, his gear had improved considerably, and he’d already gained a class and improved pathways. He felt that even if he met an improved Vul today, he wouldn’t have to rely on traps to kill it, and it wouldn’t be a desperate struggle either.

  But the monkeys were far stronger compared to the barghest. Would the monkey herald be far stronger compared to the barghest herald as well?

  There was only one way to find out. He slowly repositioned himself to arrive from the east, which would at least let him approach the back of the herald. It might give him some time to close the distance before it could react.

  He steeled his nerves and slowly ventured out of the protective cover of the foliage and entered the dead zone surrounding the magical tree. He took great care not to step on any of the dried twigs or branches that covered the ground, not wanting to alert the monkey of his approach.

  But even though he made no sound, it seemed to be to no avail, as the monkey snorted and slowly got up on his feet. Zac held no hope that it was just a coincidence, and immediately pulled two daggers out of his pouch and threw them at the monster in quick succession.

  The monkey turned around in a lightning-quick manner and, with two casual swipes, slapped the incoming daggers away into the ground. As the edges collided with its hands, sparks flew, but no wounds could be seen. Zac wasn’t surprised, as the daggers were barely any use on the normal monkeys, let alone on this superpowered one.

  Afterwards, he gave up any idea of stealth and thundered straight toward the monkey, with his axe at the ready.

  While he charged, he used the [Eye of Discernment] on the monkey, which gave him a terse line of information.

  [Cindermane, Level 58]

  That line removed any last doubts whether this monster was a herald or not. A solitary named beast around level 50 fit the bill perfectly. It was a full 13 levels above Vul, who had been level 45 when they battled. He didn’t know how levels worked for beasts, but if it was like for himself, it meant it should have almost a hundred more attributes in total. Together with the removed limiters, he realized he might be in for a tough battle.

  Cindermane didn’t stay put, but charged toward Zac as well. As he did, the red streaks on his body lit up and started to emit a fiery shine like lava. They clashed a few meters away from the red-white tree, with Zac doing an upwards horizontal swipe aimed at its torso.

  The monkey actually dared to intercept the strike with its bare paws, which lit up completely to look like magma. A tremendous clash erupted when their attacks collided, the dead plants in the surrounding area being pulverized by the shock wave.

  Zac was surprised to see that his strike didn’t immediately overpower the herald. With his recent improvements, he’d started to believe there was nothing on the island that could have a comparable level of points in the Strength attribute.

  The herald was pushed back from the force; however, Zac didn’t emerge unscathed out of the initial collision either. The hands of the monkey did not only look like lava, but they were also as fiery hot as well. The air around them was wobbling due to the heat, looking like a mirage. The axe edge actually showed clear signs of heating up where it had collided with the monkey’s palm.

  Zac knew he couldn’t fight a protracted battle, as the monkey would destroy his weapon if they kept clashing like this. Using [Chop] wouldn’t help either, as the damage was transferred to the axe anyway.

  Angry at being pushed back, Cindermane roared and stomped the ground, causing multiple spikes to erupt beneath Zac. They looked similar to the spikes of the earth mage, with the distinction that they seemed blazing hot and far more numerous.

  Zac managed to destroy most of the spikes with a chop, but one managed to stab into his leg. A blinding pain erupted in his thigh, causing him to involuntarily scream. A sickening sizzling sound could be heard, and Zac smelled the fragrance of grilled meat. The spike was actually barbecuing his leg.

  Ignoring the pain, he grabbed the burning hot spike with his free hand, ripped it out of his leg, and threw it away. As he did, the herald took the opportunity to grab the ground, dragging out a stone the size of Zac from seemingly nowhere. Its molten fingers penetrated the boulder, and soon the whole rock was glowing a sinister red.

  With a roar, it tried to slam the stone down right on Zac, who could only awkwardly dodge. Not daring to hide any of his cards any longer, he infused his strikes with Dao and started swinging away against the herald.

  Cindermane possessed either great reflexes or combat experience, as he kept dodging or deflecting the strikes. Zac tried to grab on to the monkey with his free hand in order to throw it down on the ground, but as soon as he got a grip on its arm, the red streaks lit up and the arm became searing hot. Zac instinctively let go with a scream, and the monkey took the opportunity to try to claw out his throat.

  Zac saw no choice but to activate his armor, and the golden sheen protected him from getting killed. He wouldn’t give up, even with his lifesaving device used up, and wildly kept swinging at the herald, unheeding of any Cosmic Energy expenditure. After a few exchanges, the monkey king managed to get a stab in with one of its hands, pushing a centimeter into Zac’s arm. The finger burned even hotter compared to the spike, and Zac couldn’t refrain from screaming in pain again.

  However, Zac’s every strike was overwhelming. He used every trick [Axe Mastery] had taught him and weaved a net of destruction with his axe. Marks started to appear on the monkey’s hands, and it looked like it wouldn’t be able to block his strikes forever. It was lucky, as the edge of the axe was starting to shine with a red sheen from all the collisions. Not much longer and Zac feared that the inscriptions on it would be ruined, which meant that it wouldn’t auto-repair any longer.

  He also had pushed the herald back toward the tree, and they were currently fighting under the white leaves.

  The monkey became more agitated as they approached the trunk, and furiously fought to force Zac away from the tree. There clearly was something special about it, and the herald didn’t want to risk it getting damaged. The monkey suddenly emitted a penetrating screech, its whole body lighting up.

  It spat out a white-hot ball of magma straight at Zac’s chest, forcing him to jump out of the way and away from the tree. As he dodged, he also saw that the lava spit wasn’t the only thing that changed from that scream.

  Like a scene out of a horror movie, an endless number of bodies rose out of the ground, pushing the dried trees and bushes to the side. It wasn’t zombies, but a vast number of stone monkeys, all looking larger and stronger compared to normal ones. With a quick glance, he could make out at least forty monkey captains among the reinforcements.

  The monkeys had been lying dormant under the ground, and the roar called them to action to create a trap. He didn’t know why it waited so long to unleash them, but he knew that he had run out of time. In just seconds, he would be overrun with stone spears and boulders. He would have problems contending with just the monkey horde, but if he had to watch out for the spells from the herald as well, he’d surely die.

  A desperate idea grew in his mind, and he didn’t have time to go through pros and cons before trying it out. He was currently two meters away from the tree trunk, and with an exaggerated roar, he swung his axe in a horizontal swipe. As he did, the familiar blade of [Chop] rapidly grew, soon longer than he could stably maintain for any longer duration.

&n
bsp; Cindermane screeched and hastily jumped to intercept the huge edge from cutting down the tree. Zac’s premonition was correct; the tree truly held a great importance to the monkey.

  The herald couldn’t properly grab the translucent edge with its awkward positioning, and the edge cut into its whole body horizontally across the chest. A deep grisly gash was carved into its body, but its great Endurance prevented it from getting cut in two. It still was badly hurt and bled profusely as it fell down on the ground.

  Just as he was about to finish it off with another swing, a boulder slammed into him from the side. He fell over away from the herald, and he barely managed to get to his feet before another hit him again, forcing him even further away from the dying lava monkey.

  Unreconciled, he once again charged a great edge and swung it at the prone monkey king. But it still had some energy left and pushed itself out of the way.

  He knew his window of opportunity had passed. Boulders and stalactites were approaching from all directions, and the only way to kill the herald was a suicide dive. As he only needed to kill it for a quest, he had no reason to die just to bring it down to hell with him.

  Zac didn’t hesitate and turned around to run. He could only hope the huge wound he’d inflicted upon it was lethal and that it would bleed to death. The lava monkey wouldn’t have it, though, and used its last powers to shoot a few molten spikes in his direction. Zac could only strike away what he could and endure the rest.

  Just after a few seconds, he had already gotten hit by another two boulders and was stabbed by three more stalactites. Then the army of monkeys was upon him.

  48

  Simian Haranguing

  Finishing off the herald was suddenly the last thing on Zac’s mind, and he was horrified as he saw an avalanche of monkeys approach him from all directions. He activated [Chop] and frenziedly waved it in front of him, decimating any monkeys that would impede his escape.