Defiance of the Fall: A LitRPG Adventure

by TheFirstDefier

It wasn’t the same speed he had during the last waves, but it was still apparently an enormous speed, according to Ogras. The others on top of the Ladder hadn’t leveled at all, or maybe gained one level during the same period. He was currently level 54 while Salvation was on the second spot with level 43.

  Ten levels might not seem like a lot, but Zac knew the horrifying number of wolves and ants he’d killed to bridge that gap. It would probably take months for the guy or girl to reach Zac’s stage, and by then, who knew what level Zac would be. He put those things aside and took stock of his surroundings.

  The others were in bad shape too. Ogras was out of his shadow form and coughed some blood as he tried to get back on his feet. Alea and Janos were lying unconscious, blood dripping out of their ears and mouths. One of Janos’ legs was at a weird angle, clearly broken.

  Zac sat up with a few coughs while he fished out his last E-grade Nexus Crystal and started absorbing. He only managed to absorb a smidgeon before he was interrupted, though. The whole cavern was shaking ominously, some small cracks already starting to appear on the walls.

  He hastily got to his feet with a grunt and stumbled to Janos and Alea and flung them over his shoulders. He was only running on fumes at the moment, but with his attributes, it was no real difficulty carrying two people.

  “What’s going on?” Zac croaked at Ogras, who finally had got to his feet.

  “It feels like the hidden space is cracking. We need to get out of here NOW. We don’t know what parts will remain and what parts will be sucked into oblivion,” Ogras answered while he popped a healing pill into his mouth.

  Luckily, the tunnels they entered through once again were opened with the hive queen’s death, and they scurried out through one of them. The shaking started to get worse, and there were even cracks in space itself appearing, making the air look like a broken mirror. The two didn’t dare go near any of those widening rifts, afraid to be thrown into the void.

  They encountered some ants during the mad dash out, but they were completely immobile, blankly standing still, unaware of the surroundings. The two simply ignored them and kept going, the greedy demon not even contemplating stopping to kill the free targets. Ogras usually was in charge of deciding the path, but when he found no clues what to do, they simply trusted Zac’s Luck stat, letting him choose at random.

  As they ran, the cracks in space only got wider and wider until they feared they might not make it out in time. Luckily, they finally felt the wind and fresh air in the distance, and reinvigorated, they increased their speed. As they turned a corner, they were met with the light of the outside and heedlessly ran out.

  The duo stumbled out of the tunnels next to each other, overlooking a vast field of dead ants and panting demons. To Zac’s surprise, he saw Sap Trang among the fighters, bloodied but alive. Ilvere and Namys came running up to them and took care of the two unconscious generals, with Namys throwing Zac a baleful glare after seeing Ogras’ state.

  Finally safe, Zac opened up his quest screen.

  Incursion Master (Unique): Close or conquer incursion and protect town from denizens of other alignments for 3 months. Reward: 5 E-Grade Nexus Crystals, Town upgraded to City, status upgraded to Lord. (2/3) [20:02:32:25]

  The second part was completed, though the huge carcass of the hive queen remained. The system never teleported away the corpses of the wolves, so Zac guessed that they would have to deal with the huge hive somehow. That would have to wait a bit until later, though, as Zac was completely spent. Besides, entering that thing right now was to toy with death.

  Zac was in no mood to help out with the cleanup and slowly started making his way back to his camp. He had already eaten a healing pill, but his arm was still hurting quite badly.

  “Good work, young man,” a voice said from his side, and Zac looked up to see Mr. Trang standing some distance.

  He was currently using a spear to make sure that the insects on the ground were actually dead. Zac guessed that the experience would be a pretty decent boost if the old fisherman found some live ones still around. Zac didn’t have the energy to chat with the old man and only nodded at him as he continued on.

  Zac made his way past the wall and the small town and soon found himself in the comfortable stillness of his camp. There were very few who dared to approach this area without invitation, giving it a stillness. But lately, this stillness was starting to get interrupted more and more.

  “You’re Super Brother-Man, aren’t you?” a voice came from the movie-viewing canopy. It was Emily, who was watching a comedy series with a blank face.

  Zac sighed and sat down next to her.

  110

  Exploration

  “Why do you say that?” Zac simply asked, taking out a piece of pre-grilled meat from his pouch.

  “I have been going over things since you started fighting those insects. There are many things that don’t make sense. You’re so strong. Like crazy strong. I have never seen or heard anything like it while I traveled with Mom and Dad,” she answered as she stared at him. “And while you fought like a madman, Super Brother-Man gained two levels, and a third while you were inside fighting the boss,” Emily continued.

  Zac said nothing and only continued eating, tired in both body and mind.

  “Besides, these demons are weird. They know way too much. Not even the cultivators in the cities know many of the things Alyn explained. And they’re way stronger than normal humans. They’re not a race that got newly integrated like us. I think you have captured them from an incursion or something,”

  “No one can capture this man, little brat,” a voice said from behind her as Ogras materialized from the shadows. “We simply came to an agreement with Zac and ended the incursion.”

  “Whatever,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” Zac asked as he turned back to the demon. He didn’t bother trying to refute the demon, who’d essentially admitted to being a foreign invader. It was their problem after all, not Zac’s.

  “I am here to tell you that I’m buying the fruit and will be in seclusion for a while,” Ogras answered. Clearly the healing pills that he’d eaten earlier were quite good, since the wound on his chest was largely healed.

  “Okay. I might be heading out again soon, just so you know. Take care of things if I’m gone after your seclusion is finished. If you think it will take a longer while, then inform Alea and the others,” Zac answered.

  Ogras only nodded and disappeared with the shadows.

  “It’s true, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Zac simply said. “Do the other humans know?”

  “Maybe not those idiots with Megan. They’re too scared to think straight. But I think that old grampa knows,” Emily said with a pout.

  No one said anything, but as the silence stretched on, Emily’s eyes reddened, and two streams of tears started falling down her face. She quickly wiped them as Zac ignored his weary body while getting on his feet and walked over to Emily. He didn’t say anything, but only patted her head.

  “I was really worried,” Emily said with a small voice.

  “I know. I’m sorry.” Zac sighed.

  He sat down next to her as she kept blankly watching the television. He tried to stay up, but between the soft chair and finally being able to relax, he soon fell into a deep slumber.

  He woke up some time later and found that Emily wasn’t around anymore. There was a package on the coffee table with some bread and meat. The farmers had actually started up some temporary fields within the wall to provide the army with some other food apart from meat, and it looked like it finally had started to pay dividends. Zac was amazed at the speed of the growth of the produce and couldn’t wait to set up proper farms as soon as the waves were dealt with.

  He had been afraid that the apocalypse would bring with it a lack of food and drink, but it obviously wasn’t the case. The beasts were getting more numerous, and farming was getting more efficient. No one should starve to deat
h as long as they controlled some land. Besides, as long as people had access to a System-run shop, they could feed a family for just 10 Nexus Coins a day.

  Zac sighed and opened up his status screen.

  Name: Zachary Atwood

  Level: 54

  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: 279

  Dexterity: 140

  Endurance: 186

  Vitality: 113

  Intelligence: 69

  Wisdom: 57

  Luck: 77

  Free Points: 3

  Nexus Coins: 21,675,103

  Fighting the ant wave the past eleven days gave him 10 million Nexus Coins, covering the cost of building the Teleportation Array earlier. It hadn’t given any titles or Dao upgrades either, apart from finishing the quest for his new attack skill. He was very curious about how his new skill would improve when the skill got stronger in the future.

  [Nature’s Punishment – Proficiency: Early. Awaken the wrath of the world. Upgradeable.]

  At Early proficiency, a huge hand had emerged out of the void. He wasn’t sure whether he was summoning a living being, or whether the hand just was a copy of his own. Perhaps as he and the skill got stronger, he would be able to summon a huge avatar that could fight in his stead.

  He put one point in Strength and two points in Endurance and closed the window. With his race boost, he wouldn’t have to worry about attribute caps for a long while, and now that his other stats were in order, he felt he could focus more on his main one once again.

  He ate the food left for him by either Alea or Emily and got up and headed to the town. He met a few demons who nodded in respect to him as he walked and gave a simple nod back. His reputation kept increasing among the former invaders as his achievements increased.

  As he entered the town, he saw Megan and another tourist scurry about, each carrying a hoe. It looked like they were on farm duty today. They saw Zac’s approach but, after a brief hesitation, turned their eyes down and kept moving.

  The humans had been horrified when they were taken to the battlefield. Zac’s intention was to let them see the reality of the new world, and he made a few warriors escort them to the advance wall while he battled during the fourth day. The sight of a battalion of demons fighting tooth and nail against a horde of mutated ants made them realize that their trials and tribulations on the last island were nothing compared to what they were witnessing.

  Since then, they never said anything about fighting or getting stronger and stuck to their daily tasks instead. A few started working on the temporary farms, and others helped with cooking and other tasks around the village. Zac was a bit disappointed, but he also knew that not everyone could become a warrior in this new reality.

  The only one from the group of twelve who still wanted a combat class was Sap Trang. Unfortunately for him, he was just too far behind in power at the moment, so he couldn’t really partake in the grind fest of the monster hordes. At least it looked like he’d managed to get some kills in at the end of the siege, which should have been quite a boost, since each of the ants gave as much Cosmic Energy as a couple of barghest.

  Zac found Ilvere sitting under a canopy, playing an unfamiliar instrument close to the larger tent where they usually held their war meetings. It was a stringed instrument that reminded Zac a bit of a guqin, though the notes generated from the crystalline strings sounded closer to a violin. It was an odd sight, seeing the burly warrior playing such a delicate instrument.

  “The triumphant Lord returns,” the warrior said as he stopped playing.

  “Did you hear about Ogras’ seclusion? And what are you doing?” Zac asked after greeting the general with a nod.

  “Yes, he will likely be gone for some time,” Ilvere answered. “I’m simply relaxing. It’s important to properly rest body and mind after an intense battle. Sometimes the tranquility after the battle can give as much or even more insight than the fight itself.”

  Zac nodded, as it made sense. People couldn’t always have a breakthrough in the middle of battle, even though it squeezed out their potential. Sometimes some reflection afterward was all that was needed to take the final step in pushing through a boundary.

  “How was the fight yesterday?” Zac asked.

  “Four casualties. With Rivea and Herod, it makes six, the worst day since the hordes started,” he answered with a sigh.

  Zac could only nod, feeling a bit bitter. His army was continuously shrinking. When the wolf hordes started, roughly two hundred warriors had manned the wall, and today, only 160 remained. Twenty percent of his army had died during the last forty days. Of course, some were killed by Ogras and Namys, but the majority died in battle.

  Zac had been quite despondent in the beginning, losing one warrior after another, but he was starting to get used to it. People dying while trying to get stronger was the most normal thing in the Multiverse, and no one held any real regrets over it. To cultivate was to defy death. Some did it for the increase in longevity; others for power and wealth. But what all had in common was the knowledge that any day might be their last.

  “I plan on sending out expeditions to map the surrounding islands. Please assemble four teams. The goal is reconnaissance, but at least one competent fighter in each team. The team members will be compensated in crystals or Nexus Coins,” Zac said.

  “You should know that none of us know anything about sailing or naval warfare. There aren’t any oceans on our home planet,” Ilvere said as he rose to his feet to get to work.

  “I know. I will send one of the sailors from the humans with each group. So at least one in each team needs to know the [Book of Babel] skill. You people should take advantage of it being available in the contribution store. You are stuck on a foreign planet, after all,” Zac answered.

  “Many have actually bought it already. Some are just like you, getting antsy from staying on this island for months on end. Most came through the incursion to gain insight and wealth, and that can’t be done while staying inside some walls,” Ilvere said with half a smile. “I’m sure there will be many willing scouts.”

  Zac nodded and headed off to find Sap Trang and his fellow villagers. After explaining the situation, the four fishermen agreed to help out after some hesitation.

  “If we find some of our lost villagers, can we bring them back?” Mr. Trang asked after some silence.

  “Yes, that’s okay. You cannot say anything about the situation on the island, though, before they are here. The situation here is… special. If you do, the soldiers have orders to silence you and everyone who heard it,” Zac answered. It was extremely strict rules, but he simply couldn’t allow any information about his island to leak yet.

  He’d learned some things about lordship from Alyn and Ogras while he rested during the ant waves. A Lord held various benefits in controlling a town or even a country, as they gained access to a so-called Lord System. Originally, the system was used as a method for generals of the Ancient Empire to control their armies, but with the Apostate of Order, the System became generalized and gained a host of new features.

  As the System evolved over time, various functions were added, and today, many benefits existed. For example, a Lord could automatically enforce a tax on his empire. There were no loopholes either, as the System was in control of the taxation. The only downside was that the System itself took a cut of the taxes.

  Lords also got access to more functions on their teleporters and could even get invited to grand happenings such as auctions and special events in the Multiverse that commoners did not have access to.

/>   “Other humans will have to stay put even if they want to come over. Come back and report their situation to me, and I’ll decide what to do about it.”

  “Very well. We understand the importance of discretion. Those who left before us were mainly the younger generation from our village. They risked their lives to find help for us, but we never heard back from them. If we can find them and bring them back here, I’m sure their future will be better than in most parts of the world,” the fisherman answered.

  “Good. Start preparing; I want the four teams setting out within three days. I’ll provide the ships for you,” Zac said as he turned to leave.

  “One minute, please. I was wondering if I could consult you about my class,” Mr. Trang said quickly.

  Zac was a bit surprised as he turned around and inspected the fisherman, only to see he was actually level 25. He must have worked quite arduously, since he had been only level 21 when he arrived at Port Atwood. Zac remembered how much work he himself put into finishing those last levels.

  “What about it?” Zac asked, a bit curious about what Class the fisherman chose for himself.

  111

  Wave Whisperer

  “I haven’t actually chosen yet, but I’ve seen which options I have. They are Fisherman, Dockhand, Marine, Acolyte, and Wave Whisperer,” the fisherman began.

  The first two were pretty straightforward noncombat classes, whereas the next two were classes Zac knew himself. The old fisherman had likely gotten the option for Acolyte since he’d bought the Water Spear skill earlier. Wave Whisperer was the only one that was unclear to him. It sounded like a water-based class, but more than that he was unsure.

  “I am wavering between Marine and Wave Whisperer. Both are Uncommon classes connected to the sea. The Wave Whisperer is connected to taming and controlling aquatic wildlife, which might be very convenient in this new world. We saw fish as large as sharks while sailing here, and who knows what else lurks in the depths. Controlling the giants of the sea might both help with scouting and protection,” he continued. “However, my stats are all toward Strength and Endurance so far. It might be a waste to take a mage class after this. What do you think?” he asked Zac.