Normally, this would be the time to celebrate with the first horde defeated, but he quickly remembered himself and ran toward the demoness, who was still bleeding out.
93
Verun’s Bite
Zac was overlooking the reconstruction and cleanup taking place around the battlefield. There weren’t many demons 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 were 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 Cosmos 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 number 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 who 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 had 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 of 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’d received a full 5 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 one-to-one ratio to the Nexus Coins he’d 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 either. Ogras held a stable second spot with 24 million points. The former general had 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 Spirit Tool], and Zac wasn’t sure whether it was worth it at first. But after asking around, he found out that Spirit Tools were not the same thing as F-grade equipment or weapons; it was a far more valuable thing.
Spirit 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 Spirit Tool he had nurtured for almost a thousand years, according to Ogras. It was one of the only three E-grade Spirit 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, however, 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: [F-Rare] Hatchetman
Race: [E] Human
Alignment: [Earth] Human
Titles: Born for Carnage, Ultimate Reaper, Luck of the Draw, Giantsbane, Disciple of David, Overpowered, Slayer of Leviathans, Adventurer, Demon Slayer, 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:
Nature’s Many Faces (Class): Decapitate 10,000 enemies – OR – Plant 10,000 trees. Reward: Nature’s Punishment – OR – Nature’s 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 Cosmos Sack 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 of 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 Cosmos 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’d 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 hadn’t hesitated 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 had 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’d 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 of 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 had been in pretty decent condition lately, but neither Ogras nor the physician really knew too much about his condition. He’d decided not to 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 one. 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-grade crystals were 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 twelve hours for him to reach it. He kept absorbing throughout the day, but was interrupted by the sound of a bell on the morning of 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 twenty minutes ago, and they are at present being detained.”
94
Humans
Megan glared at their captors as she was stomping around in fury. Something was clearly wrong in the head with these people, as they silently stood like zombies with a blank stare in their eyes. The only time they moved was when she or someone else tried to leave the pier they stood on. They even blocked access to the ship, stopping them from leaving.
The only reason things hadn’t come to blows was the polite man from earlier who said that he would fetch the so-called lord of the island. Megan already disliked this mysterious person; what kind of jack-ass named himself a Lord? She decided that he would get a proper lesson in manners when he arrived.
Of course, she knew that her anger was simply a coping mechanism. The last months had been like something out of a horror story. She and her friends were in Vietnam on vacation when the apocalypse came, just as they were visiting a fishermen’s
village. Suddenly, they found themselves stuck on some island with a group of fishermen who barely spoke any English. Two of her friends had also simply vanished into thin air, and she still didn’t know what had happened to them.
The shocking changes were only the first trouble that appeared. The animals on the island slowly turned insane, and they grew way too large. In the beginning, they could fight them off, which was how they learned about levels. But the monsters grew too strong too fast. Hundreds of rats as large as Labradors charging their small village was what broke the camel’s back, forcing them to set out to sea on one of the dingy fishermen’s vessels.
It was a risk, as two boats had already set out without coming back, their situation still unknown. But those rats simply tore through anything, and they were extremely aggressive. Mr. Trang had saved their lives by fending them off while they started the boat, and he still wasn’t recovered from his wounds as he sat down nervously on the pier.
Finally, she saw movement in the distance as three men were walking toward them. One was the polite man from earlier, but he walked back to his house after bowing to the other two. One was a completely bald man who looked like a monk, while the last one looked extremely weird, with grayish skin and almost white hair. He even wore some odd crown on his head with horns jutting out. Megan was feeling pretty confident that he was the so-called Lord.
She was getting ready to blast off a salvo of vitriol at the two, but as the duo closed in, her flame of rage snuffed out like a weak candle in a storm. Something about the monk forced her attention on him. It was as though she were facing a mountain as he approached. Every step he took was like a sledgehammer hitting her, and she felt suffocated from just being in his presence.
Defiance of the Fall: A LitRPG Adventure Page 54