Defiance of the Fall 2: A LitRPG Adventure Read online

  DEFIANCE OF THE FALL

  ©2021 JF BRINK/THEFIRSTDEFIER

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the authors.

  Aethon Books supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Aethon Books

  www.aethonbooks.com

  Print and eBook formatting by Steve Beaulieu. Artwork provided by Fernando Granea.

  Published by Aethon Books LLC.

  Aethon Books is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead is coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Contents

  ALSO IN SERIES

  1. New Washington

  2. Intelligence

  3. Going Home

  4. Family

  5. Judgment

  6. Recruitment

  7. Army

  8. The Return

  9. Thomas Fischer

  10. Homecoming

  11. Neighbors

  12. The Zhix

  13. The Dominators

  14. Ibtep

  15. Setting the Course

  16. Excursion

  17. Final Preparations

  18. The Motley Crew

  19. The Marshall Clan

  20. New Friends

  21. The Auction Begins

  22. Emma

  23. Mystery Stones

  24. Joint Ventures

  25. Clearing the Air

  26. Consequences

  27. Heaviness

  28. Dao Seeds

  29. Forming Factions

  30. Heading out

  31. Assault

  32. Gaining Reputation

  33. Craftsmen

  34. Home Sweet Home

  35. Roads to Lordship

  36. Cogstown

  37. Reinforcements

  38. The Third Wave

  39. The Three Forces

  40. Wall Breakers

  41. Gambit

  42. Diversion

  43. Full Frontal Assault

  44. Life versus Death

  45. Wounded

  46. Betrayal

  47. Infiltrators

  48. Long Time No See

  49. Rewards

  50. The Great Sage Brazla

  51. The Eight Inheritances

  52. Waiting

  53. A Thousand Faces

  54. The Frontier

  55. Purifier Wang

  56. Healing

  57. Nature’s Barrier

  58. Conquest

  59. Shamelessness

  60. Balance

  61. Disrupt the Call

  62. Sui

  63. Changes

  64. Ghosts

  65. Ravenous

  66. Monks

  67. Divine Mountain

  68. Invitation

  69. Abbot Everlasting Peace

  70. Black and Gold

  71. Kingsbury

  72. Trial

  73. Reunion

  74. Return

  75. Hatchetman’s Rage

  76. Secrets

  77. Leandra

  78. Top-Tier Cheat

  79. The Network

  80. Island Tour

  81. Merit and Debt

  82. Savings and Expenses

  83. Making Rounds

  84. The First Step of Sovereignty

  85. Multiple Variables

  86. Competition

  87. Average

  88. Star Ox

  89. Greatest

  90. Specialty Core

  91. Duplicity

  92. To Forgive

  93. Draugr

  94. The Correct Path

  95. Titles

  96. Apex Hunter

  97. Classes

  98. Masochism

  99. Experimentation

  100. Final Preparations

  101. The Hunt Begins

  Thank you for reading Defiance of the Fall, book two.

  ALSO IN SERIES

  DEFIANCE OF THE FALL

  BOOK ONE

  BOOK TWO

  BOOK THREE

  Want to discuss our books with other readers and even the authors like J.F. Brink (TheFirstDefier), Shirtaloon, Zogarth, Cale Plamann, Noret Flood (Puddles4263) and so many more?

  Join our Discord server today and be a part of the Aethon community.

  1

  New Washington

  After a minute of darkness, a flash of light appeared in Zac’s eyes as he appeared in a large room. Zac’s brows immediately scrunched up when he saw roughly ten serious-looking soldiers aiming automatic rifles at him. He immediately got ready for a fight as he looked around while he activated [Mental Fortress] and the Dao of Trees. A fractal briefly appeared on his forehead, but it soon disappeared into his head.

  His new skill was quite convenient, as it kept running automatically after activating, barely using any Cosmic Energy. It would take something like a day before he ran out of Cosmic Energy from its consumption unless someone actually attacked him. Then the consumption would drastically increase, much like with an array.

  It was a bit unfortunate that it only had a decent fit with his fractal pathways. His other skills were mostly class skills, which could completely merge with his pathway system, allowing him to bring out their power to the fullest. With [Mental Fortress] he guessed he could only bring out roughly 50% of the skill’s potential due to the average match. Still, it was far better than nothing, and together with his high stats and mental fortitude, it made for extremely sturdy protection.

  There was only one exit to the teleportation room, and it was guarded by the army men. The rest of the interior gave no clues as to where the house was located since there were no windows. Still, he wasn’t overly worried, as there were humans in front of him. That meant there was a path to leave, and no door would impede him since he’d learned the Dao of Sharpness. He could simply cut metal like butter and walk straight through any restrictions.

  “What’s going on? Do you welcome all guests with the barrels of your guns?” Zac asked with a glare.

  The people in front of him looked like proper soldiers, but Zac had no real way to tell. If they were just pretending in order to lure him into a trap, he would simply destroy them, but if they were actual government personnel, he would tolerate their behavior, even though he didn’t like the feeling of having guns pointed at him. Besides, with his erected defenses and his E-grade garments, he wasn’t in any real danger, so there was no real need to act hastily.

  “Please stay put for a bit until we receive orders,” one of the guards
simply answered.

  Zac contemplated pushing through the group but stopped himself. Who knew what else lurked behind the door. They might launch an actual rocket at him if he started attacking the guards, and he wasn’t sure he’d survive that. The seconds dragged on, and the tense silence became heavier and heavier.

  The guards looked hesitantly at each other but didn’t lower their weapons. As almost a minute passed, even Zac was starting to get antsy as he considered whether he should bring out his axe just in case. But just as he was about to reach for his Cosmos Sack, the door opened, and another group of people entered, showing a brief glimpse of a nondescript hallway behind them.

  “Please excuse our safety measures. There was an… incident recently. My name is Julia Lombard, cultivator liaison of the New Government Initiative,” a female in her thirties said as she entered the room, accompanied by two men.

  She had a forgettable appearance, looking a bit like an office drone at a large corporation. She even wore a pantsuit, which felt quite out of place in this new world of theirs. The two men looked more like warriors, each having a sword strapped to their leg.

  Since the group had already shown some discourtesy by aiming their weapons at him for a full minute, he decided he’d make things a bit even. He scanned the group with [Eye of Discernment] and found that the army guys were only level 15. The two warriors were actually level 29 and 30, though, just falling a few levels short of entering the Ladder. The office lady was almost as strong, reaching level 28, which Zac guessed would be a respectable number anywhere.

  The stronger group clearly sensed the scan and frowned as they reached toward their weapons. They stopped, however, after a glance from Julia. Zac hadn’t been sure, but it seemed that these people considered a scan pretty rude, same as with the rest of the Multiverse. Ogras had told him long ago that scanning people in a bar or the like was a surefire way to get into a fight unless you were a true powerhouse.

  “I understand your reaction, but please understand that anyone who steps through a teleportation array at this stage is likely a dangerous individual, and we have to take some precautions. The incident I mentioned earlier was when a few Zhix warriors entered and immediately went berserk when they saw us humans. Fourteen people died before we were able to annihilate them,” she said.

  “Zhix?” Zac asked.

  “It’s what the government calls the insectoid beings, while the Ishiate are the beastmen. We’re not sure if that is their actual name, but a scout with identifying skills got that name using the skill on them, so that’s what we call them,” Julia answered. “May I ask who you are and what force you belong to?” she continued.

  “Port Atwood,” Zac simply said, not deigning to hide the name of his town. They had no method to get there, and he didn’t have any plans to hide its existence from the government in any case. He actually was interested in some cooperation with them as long as they didn’t get too greedy for control. He already had scheming demons to worry about and didn’t want to add any more headaches to the mix until his position was completely solidified.

  “And you can call me Monk,” he concluded with a sigh.

  Zac needed an alias that wasn’t his real name or Super Brother-Man. He didn’t want to give out his real name, since he might be forced to show his power, making it pretty clear that he was a Ranker. That might put his family in danger if they managed to match him with his hometown or some old internet profile that they might have access to. Who knew what things the government had stored, even after the apocalypse.

  Besides, his name was a clear indicator that he was the sole ruler of the town, something he was not ready to disclose yet. Since Emily sometimes called him Mr. Monk due to his appearance, he thought he might as well go with it for now.

  When he mentioned the name of the town, a few of the soldiers visibly relaxed. Zac guessed that all things were not harmonious, even amongst the humans. He’d hoped that they would band together against the new tribulations, but he guessed that was too much to hope. Humanity had always been splintered and their own worst enemy; why would a simple apocalypse change that?

  “Monk, is it? Pleased to meet you. Port Atwood is not a city we’re familiar with. May I ask who is running it?” the liaison asked skeptically.

  “It’s run by a council. We’re an isolated town by the ocean. Since we couldn’t find any humans by foot, we built a teleportation array to reconnect with humanity,” Zac answered.

  “How interesting. As we keep mapping the world, we keep getting surprised by how large our new planet is. Even with our tireless work, we still only have a decent understanding of some parts of the world, but even that area is far larger compared to the old Earth.” She sighed.

  “How come your array is private?” one of the warriors gruffly interjected.

  “We have a limited understanding of the world and do not dare to open up the teleportation array to the public before we’re confident we won’t put the villagers at risk. My job is to scout out the situation and gather intelligence,” Zac answered.

  “I see. Let me take you to a meeting room where we can discuss things further. I am sure there are many things you are curious about. Sharing information and creating a support system to restore order is the goal of the government, after all,” Julia said as she motioned Zac to follow her.

  Zac felt that a government wasn’t that benign to just do all this work from the goodness of their hearts. People of the Multiverse first and foremost cared about their own empowerment, and in some cases, their clans or factions. Ogras often said that a freely outstretched hand usually hid some barbs, but Zac still followed the liaison, curious what she wanted to talk about.

  As they exited the door and went through the corridor, they left the building housing the portal. Zac looked around and found they were in a large compound. It looked like it was some old government or military facility that had been repurposed into a headquarters. The teleportation array was placed alone in a smaller fortified building, and there were even manned turrets close to it.

  Soon they entered the main building, which resembled a large office building made of stone and glass. It looked like a real security risk unless they placed some arrays on it, since a casual chop from him could destroy a large part of the structure. In general, he thought that any skyscrapers or anything similar were deathtraps by now unless they had some magical reinforcement.

  As they entered the building, they found themselves in a large, high-ceilinged lobby. However, after taking only a few steps, Zac felt a prickling sensation from his newly acquired skill. Someone was using a mental skill on him. Without hesitation, he took a small rock and chucked it like a bullet toward where he sensed the intrusion came from.

  He still wasn’t sure about the power of his newly acquired skill, or what kind of skills cultivators from the Tutorial possessed, and his reaction came from a fear of his identity being exposed. If someone got both his name and his level, they would not only know his full name but also that he was Super Brother-Man. It would be quite obvious from his extremely high level, and that in turn could potentially put his family in danger.

  The stone hurtled at almost supersonic speed toward a young woman who inconspicuously stood next to a pillar. She tried to hide behind the pillar, but her speed was nowhere fast enough to dodge a strike from Zac. The stone punched a hole in her gut, and she was thrown a few meters back, blood quickly pooling beneath her.

  The sudden assault put the warriors in the lobby on high alert, some even brandishing their weapons as they surrounded Zac and Julia.

  “That girl just used a mental attack on me, so I reacted on instinct,” Zac commented as he looked at Julia, who couldn’t hide her angry face before she managed to smooth out her features. Zac saw that the girl was still alive, and he felt slightly relieved. Between skilled army doctors and the new world’s high regeneration speeds and miraculous pills, she’d be fine. Things might have gotten more complicated if she’d died, judging by the irate crowd
.

  He thought he was being nice for not killing the girl. If she’d done something similar to someone like Ogras or most of the other demons, she’d be full of holes by now. But obviously, the government workers didn’t consider his actions benign, as they looked ready to retaliate.

  The sight made Zac feel tired rather than afraid. Months and months of ceaseless slaughter had definitely changed his personality, making him more ruthless, and he was ready to fight everyone in this building if it came to it. It was just a shame that he’d create an antagonistic relationship with the government from the start.

  Zac’s attack caused widespread anger, but obviously more with some. A young man in army gear brandished an average-looking sword and charged at Zac with a roar. The sword looked about the same as the ones that were carried by the two men next to Julia, and Zac guessed that the army was in the process of switching over to cold weaponry in order to gain Cosmic Energy from fighting.