Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 291: Return

Zac finally opened his menu to properly check the result of the impartment. He was eager to see what his actual gains were. But before he could take a proper look he noticed some movement in his periphery.

“Thank god you are okay,” Kenzie’s voice suddenly sounded, and Zac saw her get up from a sofa not far from his statue. “We were worried when the hours kept passing.”

Brazla sat in an opulent throne next to the sofa, and he looked over at Zac with disinterest.

“You took quite some time. It can’t have been easy to pry treasures out of Lord Yrial’s hands with that face of yours,” the Tool Spirit snickered.

“It worked out fine in the end,” Zac said with a sigh. “If you knew about Yrial’s disposition, why didn’t you warn me?”

“It’s not for me to decide your path. Worst case you die and your sister inherits the towers,” Brazla snorted.

Zac shook his head and ignored the annoying Tool Spirit.

“Give me a second, I need to go over my gains,” Zac said to Kenzie as he once again opened his menu.

The improvements were pretty noticeable all around, but Zac was most interested in the advancements of his Daos. He quickly opened his Dao screen and took a proper look at the changes.

[Trees (Peak): Endurance +20, Vitality +90, Intelligence +5, Wisdom +5]

[Rot (High): Endurance +5, Wisdom +45, Intelligence +10.]

[Sanctuary (Middle): Endurance +5, Intelligence +10, Wisdom +15.]

Not only had his Dao of Trees reached the peak, but his Dao of Rot had also completely skipped one stage and reached a high mastery. It truly made him want to quickly learn [Cyclic Strike]. An attack utilizing two Daos where the worst one was high mastery could only be extremely powerful.

He surprisingly enough also managed to upgrade the Seed of Sanctuary as well, but he only been had been shown a small glimpse of the vision, so it only reached the Middle stage. But he knew that wasn’t the extent of the Dao impartment.

He still remembered the boundless insights in the stars, and he knew that connecting with those tendrils would make his progression on those particular Daos a lot smoother compared to others. Such a boon was extremely great for someone like him who lacked any affinities.

Truth be told Zac was still pretty unsure what that actually meant since he felt he could advance his Dao just fine up until now. He was even on the second spot on the ladder, only being trumped by the Abbot. But perhaps the difference would make itself clearer as he progressed further.

Zac closed the Dao screen and looked over his other gains. He was a bit disappointed that the attributes he gained wouldn’t provide him with too many benefits, but it was better than nothing. He already knew that would likely be the case when he chose the two tendrils representing life and death over those that could improve his Dao of Heaviness and Sharpness.

Surprisingly he had gained not one but two titles in the trial as well. The had finally passed the 2500 attribute barrier, providing him with another title. Better yet, it was a special title that gave attribute effect.

[Tyrannic Force: First to attain 2500 Attribute Points in world. Reward: Effect of Attributes +5%]

[Achievement Hunter: Gain 25 Titles while in F-Grade. Reward: Effect of Attributes +5%]

He already knew about this title, but the one he saw in the Title Booklet instead provided 5% to all attributes. It seemed that being the first to gain this one gave him a slightly better version. The other one was a complete surprise though. He had no idea there was a title for gaining titles.

Zac understood why it was a high-tiered title though. If he looked at most of his titles they were things that almost no one would gain. He guessed that most would end their stint in the F-grade with between 5 and 10 titles. Elites might even pass 15, but 25 was something that perhaps only a progenitor could get.

The effect of the high tiered titles was really starting to stack up, and by now it would completely cancel out even the best boosts that proper cultivators could get from their cultivation manuals.

Apart from that, there was nothing to note. His Nexus Coins remained the same, meaning that none of his kills inside the trial provided Nexus Coins. He wasn’t surprised about the beasts he killed in the Dreamscape, but he was a bit confused about the Dao Construct.

But by now he was so used to not understanding how things worked so he simply shrugged it off. He put his free points into Strength before he turned toward his sister again.

“How did it go for Ogras, he should be out by now right?” Zac asked.

“It only took him three hours, but he left immediately afterward. He said he needed to enter seclusion to incorporate his gains,” Kenzie said before she lowered her voice. “I don’t know, he didn’t look too happy about the results. But he seemed fine.”

Zac frowned when he heard that Ogras’ experience wasn’t without its own tribulations. He threw another gaze at the Tool Spirit. Were all the inheritances made by troubling individuals whose personalities had turned them into pariahs? As long as Ogras was fine he wouldn’t pry, but it made Zac a bit leery about letting others risk their lives in the remaining trials.

“Did he say whether he was coming to Westfort?” Zac asked, making Kenzie shake her head.

Zac slowly nodded as he started to walk out of the trial with his sister in tow. He actually wanted to enter seclusion himself to incorporate the massive gains he received from Yrial’s impartment, but he simply didn’t have time. Besides, he wasn’t someone who had relied on meditation thus far, and he felt it would be more effective to get accustomed to his improved Dao seeds in the heat of battle.

“What about the others, have they already left for the Marshall Clan?” Zac asked.

“No, they’re still here. Emily was about ready to break into the trial ground and drag you out,” Kenzie responded with a smile. “We sent a representative to relay that you’re running late though.”

“Okay. Apart from Nonet and Emily, has anyone else said they want to come with?”

“Well, Calrin wants to go,” Emily noted. “The negotiations for setting up a branch has hit a snag. However, Julia came by earlier. It seems she doesn’t want to go after all.”

Zac wasn’t overly surprised by that, seeing how strong Emma’s hatred for the New World Government was. It was pretty hard to defend one’s employer when there were so many shady dealings going on. Zac also had a somewhat bad feeling about Thomas Fisher. How had he gotten so strong so quickly? What was the government up to?

“That’s fine, I guess. Our dealings with the New World Government can go through the Marshall Clan for now,” Zac said.

“There’s also Lyla and Olivia,” Kenzie added after some hesitation. “They both kind of want to go back to Greenworth to look for their families, if only just to bring them here.”

“I’m honestly not sure how I would accomplish that,” Zac hesitantly said. “Their teleportation network is closed.”

“Well just ask around while you’re over there,” Kenzie said before an impish smile started to spread on her face. “So, are you excited about seeing Thea?”

Zac almost missed his step before he quickly found his bearing.

“I guess, she’s still holding on to a lot of treasure I lent her,” Zac nodded, evading the real meaning of the question.

He, of course, knew what his sister was getting at, but he honestly didn’t know how he felt about it. He did enjoy the two weeks that he traveled the Eastern Trigram Sect with Thea, but he wouldn’t go so far as to say there was love. He had somewhat shut down on that department since Hannah stabbed him. Kenzie only snorted with a roll of her eyes, but she didn’t stress the issue.

“You sure you don’t want to come with?” Zac asked.

“No, I feel I am pretty close to gaining another Dao Seed, I want to focus on that instead,” Kenzie said. “I want to be able to protect myself, but I’m still too weak.”

“Finally, I was going crazy!” a shout echoed through the forest as Emily rushed toward the two the moment they entered Zac’s compound. “And that big one is no fun.”

To Zac’s surprise, he saw that Emily was still slightly covered in dirt and war-paint. Had she put it on purpose? Zac mutely gazed on her face for a bit until it dawned on him. Was she trying to hide her childish features by obscuring them?

“Where is Nonet?” Zac asked.

“It’s meditating in that courtyard over there,” Emily said and pointed at one of the buildings that were usually empty. “Are we going now?”

“In a bit. Someone get Adran as well, I’ll be needing his assistance for this trip,” Zac said as he walked toward the courtyard.

He felt it wasn’t enough to only bring a teenager, a gnome and an Anointed with him. The Marshall Clan was filled with wily old businessmen and politicians, and Zac was in no mood to handle those types on his own. Normally he would have brought Mr. Trang as a buffer, but he had taken up as the Admiral of his burgeoning Naval Force.

He was likely on his way back to the other continent to set up a base camp at this moment. Ogras was another candidate, but he was a bit unreliable, and with his history with the Marshalls, he might rather become a liability. That left Adran and Abby, and it felt like Adran was the best choice.

Zac entered the courtyard and immediately saw Nonet sit in the center of it. He was once again reminded just how massive these guys were, and it even looked like Nonet had grown at least half a meter since they met last time. Did they keep growing as their levels increased?

“Long time no see,” Zac said with a smile as he sat down. “How is Hive Kundevi?”

“Hive is thriving now that our tunnels are restored. My warriors were getting restless though, but the eradication project in your mines have kept them busy. The hatred of corruption is slowly disappearing. It gives us peace, but it also leaves us without purpose,” Nonet said.

“Your power keeps growing, Lord Atwood. I can no longer sense the limits of your Strength,” Nonet added after looking him up and down. “It will be needed against the Dominators, especially with their recent boost in power.”

Zac sighed with a nod.

“I encountered Inevitability in the hunt,” Zac said with a helpless grimace. “They are extremely strong. I am not confident in defeating them unless I evolve first.”

“Do not forget, you do not stand alone,” Nonet said. “That is why I am coming with you. I need to discuss our response with my people.”

“I heard something… from Inevitability. About the Anointed,” Zac hesitantly said.

“That we will not be able to advance to what the system calls E-Grade?” Nonet said. “We know. I already feel I am approaching the limits of my body. That is why I wish to join you in this venture. The age of the Anointed is coming to an end, but we have one final task to complete. I cannot rest easy knowing the Dominators still are out there. The Cosmic Energy might not be corruption after all, but that group still brings about the corruption of the soul.”

Zac nodded and retold what he had learned about the Dominators in the hunt, about the Great Redeemer and the connections that he found.

“The Great Redeemer…” Nonet muttered and clenched its fist. “There were always rumors of a great leader pushing the Dominators forward. To think it was like this. Selling out their own planet and people for strength. They are true abominations!”

Zac nodded in agreement. It took a special kind of callousness to condemn your whole planet for a shot at getting stronger. Especially when that wasn’t the only method of gaining strength. They could just have progressed on their own like the rest, but instead chose such a sinister path.

“Well, I have already met one more Anointed who spoke of a council. They are preparing for battle,” Zac said. “I hope you can get in touch with them through the hive near Westfort.”

The two discussed things some more, where Nonet confirmed some details about human culture. This was the first time it properly left its Hive it seemed, and it wanted to avoid causing trouble. It seemed Ibtep would also join, though Zac was unsure whether that special Zhix would really lessen any potential confusion.

In the end, they decided that Zac would join Nonet at the hive two days after he arrived unless they came back first. The two got up and met up with the impatient teenager outside.

It was time to go to Westfort.