Chapter 66 (Patreon)

Zac quickly jogged due south, and soon arrived at the part of the valley where the incursion was located. The crystal was still there, but it now looked inert. It had lost its colors, and no longer radiated any power.

The area seemed deserted as well, so Zac snuck up to the small house, finding it empty as well. Knowing no demons were around he walked up to the huge crystal. Fractals completely covered the whole thing, barely leaving an inch free. It reminded him of an evolved version of his Nexus Node in camp, and after brief hesitation he touched it. But no menu or prompt arrived, and he could only feel the cold and smooth surface of the crystal.

Zac thought about infusing the crystal with some cosmic energy, but soon decided against it. He had too little information about it, and was afraid that he’d accidentally teleport himself somewhere. He was in no mood to suddenly arrive at a demon planet after having been stuck on a demon island for so long.

Zac could only leave it be for now and add it to the list of things he would squeeze out of Ogras. After a final check he left, heading southbound. As he walked he noticed that the foliage in the surroundings unfortunately hadn’t turned back into normal trees and bushes. They were still sickly-looking from the influence of the red pillar. He could only hope that the area would gradually heal now that the incursion had been turned off.

He kept going through the valley, and after some trial and error he found an ascent leading up to the forest. Soon he was walking familiar paths south he had walked many times before. There still were quite a few barghest in the forests, but it seemed that the war had thinned them out somewhat at least. Or perhaps they left together with the demon army.

More surprisingly, he found out that the reward had lessened substantially when he killed one. The remaining ones still were hyper-aggressive, and he was forced to kill one with a kick that came rushing toward him. After killing it he actually gained less than 30 Nexus Coins. It was disappointing, as he had actually considered rounding them all up somehow and then kill hundreds of them with his [Chop] skill. That would have netted him quite a decent income, while simultaneously cleaning up for his town.

He saw two possible reasons for the decrease. Either the reward from killing demons lessened now that the incursion was over, or the reward lessened as his level increased. He had gained quite a few levels in the mountains and tunnels, and now the System maybe didn’t want to award as many resources for killing weaklings.

Zac actually hoped it was the second. Then he could at least save a lucrative grinding area for other people. If the barghest could actually breed on the island he could have a perpetual farming ground going. But if it was the first he simply had a nuisance on his hands.

After half a day of jogging he finally was in close proximity of his camp. He started his usual sweep of the area and actually found some worrying signs. There were footprints in the ground around where he had battled the demon party, and even though he was no expert tracker it looked like multiple sources.

At the same time the illusion array was untouched, and he quickly equipped his amulet as well. He had actually removed it earlier in order to avoid getting any experience, and had forgot to put it back on. The familiar warmth from the amulet told him that the mother-daughter array was still working as well.

With a grimace he retrieved his axe and got ready for battle, and he also took out the shield he had found in the caverns. With a sigh he held the shield in front of his head and madly dashed through the illusion barrier. Zac even charged up his [Chop] ready to swing at everything in the camp even if he had to cut his beloved camper in two.

“You natives truly are barbarians, so aggressive.” A familiar voice could be heard from the vicinity, followed by a helpless sigh.

Even though it wasn’t completely unexpected the voice gave Zac pause. He quickly glanced around the camp, his axe still at the ready. What entered his vision made Zac visibly groan and lower his shield.

It was the mysterious demon comfortably sitting in an opulent chair, lazily eating fruits that were placed on a golden tray in front of him. The tray was placed on a large table even more intricately designed than his own ostentatious table he had stolen. Did all demon noblemen walk around with obnoxiously over-the-top furniture just to be able to posture at any given time?

Thinking about the annoying smile of the demon right before escaping the poison inferno Zac couldn’t stop himself and cleaved the table in two with a swing. The brows of the demon rose a bit in alarm, but he quickly regained composure when he saw Zac didn’t continue.

Zac removed a chair from his own pouch and sat down as well with a grunt and retrieved some dried meat.

“Ogras?” he questioned, still finding it a bit hard to find the words after months of silence.

The demon looked slightly surprised, then it seemed he realized something.

“The very same. I guess you visited Camp Rezak on your way back. Ehm.. Are my subordinates still alive?” Ogras asked, seemingly troubled, but not to the point he was ready to come to blows.

“They are alive, I just caught a few to ask some questions. Why are you here, and how did you find the outpost?” Zac asked, still with a guarded expression against this unpredictable demon.

“You’re using an F-grade illusion array for protection, any decent skill can detect it. We actually found your home a few days ago after investigating your… activities.” Ogras answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.

”I can’t believe you live in a cramped and bloodied tin can. Don’t the humans of this planet know how to build decent structures? In any case we found you in the tunnels before we could use the knowledge of this place to our advantage.” Ogras gave Zac a pitying glance as he looked around at the small campsite, with the dented camper and ruined car.

Irritation once again started to build up in Zac, and he was unsure whether he should defend his camp or Earth’s architectural ingenuity. But he once again calmed down quickly. This demon seemed like the crafty type, and Zac didn’t want to give out any undue information by mistake because he was goaded into anger.

“You still haven’t explained why you’re here. And why you and the others are still on my island.” Zac felt it was important make it clear that they were refugees while he was the landowner. This was his planet and he had completed the quest to gain control of the area.

Ogras seemed to understand the implication of his words, but only smiled. “Well I came here to meet with you of course. I figured you would return here after the battle. The incursion is over, and so is our need to be enemies. I think it’s time to discuss an Alliance between our group and yours.”

Zac was about to say it was only him, but quickly stopped himself. If the demons thought he was just the spearhead of a larger group his position was only strengthened.

“You should know that this world was only integrated into the multi-verse less than two months ago. There are things we do not know. Explain to me why we shouldn’t keep hunting your kind.” Zac said, happy to keep the fib going.

“When you finished your quest the incursion ended. We were given 12 hours to return through the Nexus Hub before it closed down. Some of us couldn’t get there in time, and others simply chose to stay behind for various reasons. After The Ruthless Heavens has closed the hub it won’t open again for a long time, and never to our home planet.” Ogras answered, seemingly prepared for the question.

“In other words we made the choice to cut ties with our clan and our home, and it is unlikely we will ever be able to return. Even if we wanted to, it would be almost impossible due to the cost of traveling such a distance. We also won’t get any back-up in the future. Therefore it makes no sense to keep a war going against you natives.”

“That’s a pretty flippant attitude after so many of your kind has died. Why did you even come to our planet? And what’s the ruthless heavens?” Zac asked after mulling Ogras’ over answer. He couldn’t find any lies in what the demon told him from what he had observed, and what the demoness had said. But he wasn’t so naïve to believe everything he said either. Someone who could kill his ally with a stab in the back could only be a duplicitous character.

“The Ruthless Heavens, The Endless Heavens, The Cosmic Warden, The System. It has many names but you should know what I’m talking about.” Ogras explained with an expansive gesture. “And why should I care if some clansmen died? Life and death means nothing in the multi-verse. Long before I came here all my siblings had already been killed in battle and assassinations.” He continued, as though such a tragic life had nothing to do with him. He then leaned forward and stared at Zac with a glint.

“As for why we came here? Resources of course. The Ruthless Heavens thrives on conflict, and war is expensive. Baby worlds like yours are usually a treasure trove of wealth that can help a clan or country ascend. There are likely multiple forces across your planet who are gobbling everything up like locusts. Clan Azh’Rezak was just unlucky being stuck on this island, with a humanoid monster.”

Zac chose to ignore the last sentence and focused on the other information. There were many points of interest in the demon’s answer, but one more than the others. But before he could ask he realized something.

“Wait, why haven’t the system punished you? I was told the system might kill me if if I failed the missions. Why are you demons fine after failing yours?” Abby had clearly warned him to properly complete the quest, at the risk of death and mutilation. Meanwhile Ogras was just fine and dandy, even though he should hold the main responsibility for the demon’s invasion.

“Urh.. What?” Ogras seemed truly confused, so after a brief hesitation Zac told him about parts of his conversation with Abby the Eye.

Ogras looked stunned at Zac for a good while before he started laughing self-deprecatingly.

“All our plans ruined because of a lying Stargazer… The Ruthless Heavens truly have a wicked sense of humor.” Ogras said and sighed.

“Lying? What do you mean?” Zac asked skeptically. So far everything Abby had said had been true and he instinctively trusted her far more compared to this demon.

“The Ruthless Heavens doesn’t punish. At worst it loses interest in you. What did you think, a lightning bolt would zap you if you left the island on a raft? Don’t be silly. The only result would be that you no longer qualified to become a lord, and missed out on the rewards from the quests.” Ogras said with a snicker after having regained his composure.

“Just think about the quest for those Fruits you picked up. Would the system just kill off everyone who didn’t rush to the mountain? That’s crazy.” He continued. “By the way, are you interested in selling those fruits to me?”

Zac ignored the business proposal and pondered on what the demon said. He didn’t know what to believe. It did make sense what Ogras said, but Zac didn’t understand why Abby would lie to him like that.

“What would she have to gain for telling me to fight you guys? Are Stargazers and demons enemies?” He inquired.

“Bah, Stargazers don’t have any enemies. They pretty much all work for The Ruthless Heavens, who would dare mess with them? I guess she wanted a promotion. If you become a Lord you get a permanent administrator to help you out. Then she could get appointed to a baby world to one of its leaders and get access to both many good resources and opportunities for advancement.”

Zac was stumped, but refused to believe that Abby would send him against a whole demon army just to get a chance to get a promotion if he actually survived.

“You need to toughen up human. The multi-verse is a cold place where the honest and brave get butchered while the calculating and shrewd survive. Everything is irrelevant in the face of benefits.” The demon said, with stone cold eyes that spoke of a deep rooted cynicism toward the world.

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EDIT: Bold parts added from original text, the chapter got too long so parts moved to 67. Change was so large I added a notification.