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Tanya von DegurechaffThea MarshallZac

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Crossovers & Fandom FusionsStrong Female CharactersPost-ApocalypseLitRPG

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Published:2026-07-30Updated:2026-10-04Words:219,820Chapters:47/?Comments:420Kudos:423Bookmarks:87Hits:16,515

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Special thanks to @Massgamer for their editing help!

Chapter 7

The Ogres had turned out to be a fantastic source of experience. Their adjustment in tactics was also cute, but represented a real danger. The biggest concern was that javelin thrower, and any others that might turn out like him. He was far sturdier, more agile, and smarter than the other Ogres so far. Like Humans, Zhix, and Ishiate, Ogres could apparently gain levels. He may even have a Class. And that, paired with a superior body in terms of physicality, was dangerous.

I had almost pressed forward to try to finish him off as they retreated, but I was wary of a potential trap. Being baited into a poor battlefield had become a common occurrence in my second life, and I refused to pursue a too-risky approach. Plus, if I had pursued them, the helpful Ishiate with the [Book of Babel] Skill may have succumbed to her wounds.

I was a bit miffed that the regular language lessons Zhou and I had done while travelling were going to eventually become pointless. The Skill was not that expensive to purchase from the Contribution Shop, and it seemed quite useful to pick up, but I still had my sights set on the [Constitution Pills]. Though after I picked those up, I might well grab the Skill as well. There were other prizes, but I was dubious about vaguely worded things.

After hitting Level 30 I halfway expected to earn Title or trigger something else from the System, but nothing happened. It was a bit disappointing, but progress was progress. Playing around with Enchanting and the spoils that other people would bring me in exchange for completing an Enchantment allowed me to learn the art of doing multiple low-grade Enchantments at once. This was useful for progressing my Quest, but also in providing an upgrade to people who mostly used projectile weapons.

I already knew I could Enchant bows, but I found I could also Enchant the arrows. There was a mutated furry lizard from the Ishiate homeworld that had an interesting defense mechanism. Namely, when wounded, it spurted boiling blood. Even though the beast was fairly low level, using the Enchantment I got from Disenchanting parts of their bodies allowed me to make arrowheads that exploded with intense heat upon impact. It was low tier, but it helped the lower leveled Human and Ishiate archers immensely.

Funnily enough, Zoey didn't choose to go the way of the bow or caster. She instead chose to arm herself with a sword and take after Masha. I applauded the variety, but choosing to specialize in a melee weapon when you were already below the curve in physicality seemed stupid to me. But it was her life in the end. Live and let live, after all.

Zhou discouraging her from focusing on magical skills, since I didn't have any Enchantments that allowed for Cosmic Energy leaching for that as I did for physical weapons, was borderline unethical… but whatever. I understood what he was trying to do.

He had placed all his chips on one bet. Me. I had mildly prodded him about how that wasn't very collectivist of him, and he had surprised me in his response.

"All must work for the good of the whole, but not every appendage is essential to the body's survival. You have a saying in the west, yes? 'One for all and all for one.' If you become stronger, you can better protect the whole. Therefore, guiding others onto paths that complement yours is precisely what serves the collective best."

I blinked and then laughed at his words. Whatever logical gymnastics he wished to use was no skin off my back. Regardless of Zhou's hypocrisy, the Enchanting of individual arrowheads did count as separate items so I was finally finished my first Class Quest.

Temporary Enchantment (Class) Enchant 1,000 items. (1,000/1,000) [COMPLETE]

I found that I had a new Skill, and a fractal of power actually embedded just below my left rib cage. Thankfully, there was no pain associated with it. I quickly read what [Temporary Enchantment] actually did. The System gave me information about it, but it was far from complete. Which meant it was back to meditating and dwelling on the secrets of my Class.

[Temporary Enchantment] – Ability to temporarily Enchant equipment using Cosmic Energy.

After a few hours of dwelling on it, followed by some experimentation, I figured out what it did. For a fraction of the Cosmic Energy, either my own precious experience or from Disenchanting, I could quickly use an Enchantment. It seemed I couldn't create brand new ones, instead I could only use what I had already learned.

This seems less than ideal at first, but that's because my Enchantments have been for beneficial things.

Cosmic Energy was a remarkably flexible tool; it granted people attribute bonuses, it provided people with Classes, Skills, and even violated the very laws of physics on the regular. Creating an Enchantment took Cosmic Energy, but it also created a permanent item. Well, maybe not 'permanent', I'm sure there were ways to destroy an Enchantment or the item it was placed on completely, but good enough.

However, I could also create Enchantments that had very little practical utility, but could still have niche uses. I had experimented before with making armor stronger and I had ended up creating something a bit more resilient, but it also became many times heavier and impractical to use. However… as a temporary Enchantment, there were all sorts of fun tricks I could do by temporarily increasing the durability and weight of something.

And then there was far more. When it came to Enchanting I had focused on what gave me the most bang for my buck; armor durability, a weapon's piercing power, boots that could allow me to stand on surfaces that I would normally sink on, things like that. But there was a whole new range of potential Enchantments that might not be ideal as a permanent one, but for a short period of time could be ideal. Enchantments that could, say, explode on impact for instance. Heavily inefficient to create for a one-time use, but if I only needed a fraction of the Cosmic Energy…

These Ogres aren't going to know what hit them.

***

Zhou knew that Tanya was someone who wore a mask well. She would fit right in at any major company. With her pleasant and vaguely open expression, she appeared mildly happy most of the time. This was her default expression, and it rarely changed except when she was angry, concerned, or what she was right now.

Manic.

The young woman was not openly cackling, but so extreme was her expression compared to her normal one, she may as well be. She told him that she had completed her first Class Quest and had gained a powerful new ability. When Tanya successfully enchanted a sword to be twice the size and weight, she practically capered about. This was an exaggeration… mostly.

She was quite ecstatic nonetheless, and Zhou wasn't sure why. The increased size and weight of the weapon would not make it easy to use, so what was the purpose? He would no doubt find out soon; he was sure. Her Enchanting strategy seemed to have changed and she had pulled Zoey aside to test something during their next hunt that didn't include Ogres.

"Let me see your sword," Tanya said and took Zoey's blade. She closed her eyes for a moment and then that same manic grin appeared.

"All right, there are tracks here of some kind of mutated rabbit. When we corner it, I need you to hold the sword and swing at it when the rabbit gets close. Also, don't let your blade hit anything. A touch or a brush won't matter, but when you hit something hard for the first time, something will happen. I need you to test and see if you still obtain Cosmic Energy from it."

After that, they tracked down the rabbit and proceeded to the test. Zhou watched with interest as the sword connected with the near human-sized rabbit and an outward blast of fire erupted out. Thankfully, it was pointed away from the sword and in the direction of the slash, heavily charring the beast.

Zoey was awestruck.

"Will it do this always?"

"Nope, one use only," Tanya clarified. "But did you gain Cosmic Energy?"

The dark-haired woman closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them. "Yes, yes I did!"

"Excellent! I was worried that that wouldn't count based on the System's view of guns, but this is great. Other than having to take the time to Disenchant several things and keep the power in 'reserve', so to speak, there's almost no downside to this method. It only costs a trickle of power since I've designed the Enchantment to be one-use, but it's even a fraction of that since it is 'temporary.' Haha, don't you two understand? It's a loophole!"

Zhou and Zoey both nodded rapidly and Tanya looked at them suspiciously for a moment before smiling.

"We are going to be closing the Incursion soon. I need to talk to Masha, but I don't want to wait any longer. Other than this boost, I feel as if the Ogres are getting stronger faster than we are."

"We will be ready," Zhou said.

"You will be, not her. She's still too weak, but I am still impressed with how far she's come."

"I can…"

"No."

Zhou was impressed once more with the young woman. A proper leader had to be decisive and direct. She was those things, and that kept things moving smoothly. He was not eager to face the Ogres, as they were difficult foes, but he did like the amount of Cosmic Energy they provided. It would not be long before the Ladder the Tutorial pixies had alluded to would go live, and he wondered where his progress was compared to the rest of humanity.

My nation will have studied the optimal way to gain experience. Tanya is exceptional, but she will be surpassed by the government. The question is, by how much? And will I even be in the top one hundred rankings?

***

I was ready, but Masha was cautious about doing an all-out attack. It was understandable, but I had warned her about the disparity I saw in our strength growth and that of the Ogres. We had compromised, and in the next few days the big assault would occur. In the meantime, we received some guests.

Thirteen Humans arrived at the gates of the village and unlike most of the stragglers who had shown up, these folks looked disciplined. Their leader was a hard-eyed woman named Kim. She had previously served in the military, and then as a PMC performing security in what she called 'the sandbox'.

"We were wiped out by insect-like creatures. Over two thousand Humans had gathered and we were making progress; we even had an Outpost… they slaughtered us. The last two weeks has just been about getting as far as hell away from them. We passed by another Ishiate village, though they didn't seem as welcoming as y'all. No fight broke out, but they denied us entry."

"What was the village called?"

"We didn't even get the name before they waved their weapons at us and gathered dozens of their people. I have no idea how strong they are, but they'll need to be very strong to deal with the bugs."

"Will you be continuing your journey?"

Kim looked unsure. "It might be best, but we could use a few days respite. I don't know if you'll have any better luck. There's less of you here."

"I know people are wary about showing their Level, but I'll show mine if you show yours."

That got her stern face to crack into a grin. "You first."

I showed my Level 33 Status Screen and she recoiled as if she was burned.

"H-how? I just barely got to Level 24 and I'm the highest Level in our group and I was the second highest back before the bugs came."

"I had a good Tutorial run," I said.

Zhou coughed. "Your Status Screen, Ms. Kim."

Kim shot him a glare and then revealed the Status Screen, confirming her as Level 24. I had believed her, but Zhou was right. Trust, but verify.

It looks like I'm still quite a bit ahead of the curve.

"Tomorrow we intend to try to close an Incursion against what amounts to giant humanoids. I also have some unique Enchantments that might prove mutually beneficial…"

I ended up improving her and one other person's weapons to have more oomph in them when they fought. These were permanent and included my Cosmic Energy leeching effect, which they had agreed to. Having extra people who had experienced conflict on a large scale was always good.

When dawn and the day of the attack came, I Disenchanted several items and had my pool ready. It would slowly leak over time, but I would be able to put up dozens of Temporary Enchantments. My favorite ones were what I added to our supply of slingstones and arrows. Thirty Humans and ninety Ishiate fighters were prepared and we advanced. The enemy had their towers and defensive arrays, which recently had been able to resist arrows just fine. Well… let's see about my exploding projectiles.

Sure enough, the well-aimed arrows and slingstones exploded in gratifying fashion as they struck their targets. The Ogres, realizing their defenses would not hold up against this new threat, rallied and charged us. I had chosen where we unleashed our barrage with a purpose. The land sloped just enough to force them to go a bit uphill. In a post-merger world, that wouldn't slow anyone down. But… it did cause the heavy rocks we brought to be sent rolling downhill. And as they shoved off and picked up speed, the number of rotations necessary to activate my Temporary Enchantments on them was reached, making them grow both larger and about five times heavier.

Instead of barreling aside said rocks, a dozen Ogres, including several armored ones, were crushed and sometimes even obliterated by the heavy rocks. Dazed by what just happened, the Ogres seemed unprepared for our charge. Fireballs and Ice Spikes rained down as well and more of my explosive ammunition was used.

It wasn't all fun and games though, as the Ogres were still dangerously strong. I winced as I saw an Ishiate warrior get too close and with a single swing of an Ogre club, their furry face disintegrated. I avenged him with a potent Fireball. The Ogres backed away now, but we kept on them. Their base housed an Incursion Beacon and the portal back to their own lands. Somewhere nearby was the Ogre Leader, once we took him out or forced his retreat, this conflict would be done.

It seems it won't be that easy…

An orange-skinned Ogre emerged from the base. Unlike the other Ogres, who had skin pigmentation similar to humans, this one was bright orange. Four heavily armored Ogres with large, metal axes surrounded him as he pointed and the surrounding earth began to rumble. Ogre-shaped constructs of earth and rock then rose up and began attacking us. I sent a Fireball at one and unfortunately found out they seemed rather resistant to the spell. I wasn't sure if it was because of the spell's fire element or because it was a magical construct, but either way it wasn't good news. I dodged a javelin as I shouted and commanded the Ishiate archers to focus on that one.

"Zhou, try to slow the golems. I'll try to deal with the leader."

"By yourself?"

"I'll be fine."

Hopefully.

I did have a whole brand new bag of tricks to use. My magical accoutrements had expanded as I stretched my mind for inventive ways to abuse my enchanting powers. I had my bear cloak, my armor, my sword all Enchanted. I had also placed an Enchantment on a bracer that could form a protective barrier that was fairly similar to what I could do in my second life. The problem was that once I activated it, after it was overloaded with damage I couldn't reactivate again… until I learned [Temporary Enchantment]. Each time took Cosmic Energy to form it, so it wasn't an invincibility hack, but it was still quite handy.

I also had boots that would allow me to stand on surfaces that would normally not hold my weight, and a number of primed stones that I could quickly set an explosive Enchantment on and basically use them like grenades. Which just happened to be my plan. I blitzed past the frontline of Ogres and golems, heading straight for the orange leader. I charged my bracer, and as I ran and dodged some thrown javelins I was quite glad I had it on as the orange Ogre spat out a word and a purple beam struck me as soon as he lifted his hand.

That was fast, I would have to have a Dexterity at least twice as high to have any hope of dodging that.

I summoned a hasty Fireball and then reestablished my shield. That was the other difficulty with the magical barrier, I couldn't use Fireball with it up effectively because the magical distortions were too great, but I could also end the effect in a moment due to the way I established my initial Enchantment. It was all about finding a way to make things work.

Two of the axe-wielding Ogres came at me and they moved with competent ease. But their Dexterity was not my equal. I moved in on one and kept him in between me and the magic-using Ogre and threw some explosive rocks at the armored Ogre's kneecaps. The detonations were formidable and he went down with a cry of pain.

I tumbled under his legs and launched a distracting Fireball at my target's face and then came in low with my sword, lashing out at the side of the big orange Ogre's knee.

My sword had been Enchanted specifically for cutting through armor and flesh… but it bounced off accomplishing nothing.

I had to dodge another Ogre's axe and then threw myself behind another one just as the orange one's hand came up to lash out at me with his magic. The purple blast struck his own ally and the sizzle of flesh warred with a scream of pain. Then an axe slammed down towards me and I couldn't move out of the way in time, so I raised my armored forearm instead. I felt the crack of bone, but my Enchantment held and the axe didn't actually cut my flesh.

"FUCK!" I screamed as I tumbled back and put up my magical barrier. Just in time too as the purple heat struck and shattered it. It wasn't looking good, but fortunately we still had numbers on the Ogres after all our prior battles. A few had the same idea as me and exploding projectiles covered the immediate area. The head Ogre was completely unwounded by them, but one of his guards I had previously crippled was dead and I got the bulk of the Cosmic Energy.

Which was important, because my Disenchanting reserve was all used up by this point. However, since my powers ran off Cosmic Energy, as long as I received a steady supply of in battle, I could keep on fighting. I just needed the mental fortitude to keep going and find a way to get past the defenses of what looked to be the strongest foe, and hopefully the leader, of this Incursion.

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Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

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Tanya von DegurechaffThea MarshallZac

Additional Tags:

Crossovers & Fandom FusionsStrong Female CharactersPost-ApocalypseLitRPG

Language:

English

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Published:2026-07-30Updated:2026-10-04Words:219,820Chapters:47/?Comments:420Kudos:423Bookmarks:87Hits:16,515

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Zhou did not enjoy fighting the golems, but he was well-suited for them after his [Leech Strength] had raised his Strength to new heights. His Blood Lance class focused on the use of a spear and the first Class Skill he unlocked gave him a temporary increase to his Strength attribute based on the amount of blood he spilled. His current Strength had ballooned to twice as high as normal after feasting on the Ogres, though that was where it seemed to plateau.

Enough to deal with these mindless things!

The creatures of stone and earth were massive, but that also meant they were ungainly. And with his enhanced Strength and his Enchanted spear, courtesy of Tanya, he was able to smash the lower legs of the golems and topple them one by one, making them easy to avoid and finish off. Zhou raced from golem to golem, looking to make sure none of them ran amok among those least able to defend themselves.

When he had hobbled the last of the golems, he turned to where Tanya was fighting and winced. Things were not looking good for her. She was still successfully dodging and three of the axe-wielding Ogres were down, but one of her arms hung loosely by her side and the bright orange Ogre seemed impervious to harm.

An Ogre got in his way and he blocked its descending club by shoving it upwards with the haft of his spear. The earth churned around him, but the club rebounded off his solid defense. He would never have been able to do that were it not for [Leech Strength] augmenting his Strength. Off balance, the Ogre fell to a quick heart-thrust from his spear.

Tanya, with only one functional arm, had sheathed her sword and then somehow got on top of the orange Ogre's back. Her good arm had a stone in her hand and Zhou felt fear for her. Denotating that rock at such a close range could do her serious harm, for her explosion enchantments were no joke, and it wasn't as if dozens of other explosive arrowheads and slingstones had been able to get past the Ogre's defenses!

Zhou raced forward and watched as she thrust the rock into the ear of the Ogre, possible only due to his comparable size, and then kicked away from him before sending out a quick Fireball to strike his head. The spell had not had time to properly form, but it held just enough concussive force to detonate the on-impact enchanted rock wedged in the Ogre's ear with a muted boom.

Zhou leaped and jabbed his spear into the armored Ogre's ribs as it clumsily tried to swing at Tanya. The armor was pierced, but much of his thrust's force was wasted and the Ogre was still uninjured. Zhou was backhanded for his troubles, hitting the ground and rolling to reduce the force of the hit. He was quite thankful for his decision to put his Free Points into Endurance. With a groan he got to his feet and watched as Tanya sprinted toward the shellshocked orange Ogre who had crashed to the ground, dazed.

What will it take to kill this thing? Ah… that will do it.

Tanya's attempt to slash and stab the Ogre had failed as he was covered in what looked like clothing, but it acted more like armor from head-to-toe. However, his eyes were not covered by it, and that's where Tanya's blade pierced up and through to his brain. The creature shuddered for several seconds before finally growing still.

And as if some hidden signal had been given, the remaining Ogres all fled back into their base and toward the Incursion Beacon. He remembered vaguely that once the leader of an Incursion fell the portal back to their homeworld would not remain open for long. They had done it!

***

Outside of some of the early Tutorial fights, this was the closest I'd come to dying in a battle. However, the flood of Cosmic Energy for slaying such a powerful foe, as well as the other enemies, and the extra amount coming from my Cosmic Energy-leeching weapons was enough to earn me several levels. I would check my Status Screen in a second, but first I had some loot to sort out.

The clothing the orange Ogre wore was E-grade! And what was more, it also had the ability to be reshaped based on who wore it. The difference between F-grade and E-grade was really absurd. My F-grade weapon, even with the Enchantment I put on it to allow it to slice and pierce things more easily, did not make any headway through it. I was tempted to keep it for myself, but I was also tempted to Disenchant it and then try again to upgrade an F-grade item to an E-grade one. The issue, however, was that more complex and harder Enchantments did have a larger chance to fail to Disenchant. Or… just let me make it a Peak F-grade item instead of an E-grade one, which would not fulfill my Quest.

I don't have to decide now.

The Ogre leader also had his own Cosmos Sack and my eyes must have glimmered with pure avarice as I saw everything that was within. For one thing, the magical sack itself was massive on the inside, larger than my old dorm. He also had been incredibly rich, with all sorts of items within the sack. Though I already felt absurdly rich since the System had rewarded me millions of Nexus Coins for killing an Incursion leader instead of the much smaller normal amounts for killing something. The Ogre had almost a dozen High F-grade weapons, most of them somewhat exotic and not all that practical for Ogres to use, which might explain why they weren't distributed to his men. I saw a whip, a boomerang, a pair of sai, and several other kinds of weapons. There was even a bow that was sized for someone even larger than an Ogre. Unlike his E-grade clothing, the bow didn't change size to fit its wielder.

Among other interesting treasures, there were two Low Quality Fruits of Strength at the F-grade. I wondered why the Ogre hadn't already consumed them… then I realized that perhaps he was already at the Strength cap for his Race. For Humans, it was 175, but I had no idea what it was for Ogres.

Perhaps he was waiting until he upgraded his race? Or maybe he wanted to trade them to someone else for an Attribute Fruit he would have preferred instead? I really don't know how the barter economy even works here anymore.

After that, it was interesting to see how loot and resources were divvied up. The Ishiate all agreed that the person who received the greatest portion of the Cosmic Energy for kills got full dibs on the dropped resources, even when there were joint Human/Ishiate hunting parties. Among the Ishiates themselves they concentrated their resources on whatever might be useful for their highest Level members, who had first claim on anything.

This was an example of the rich getting richer, and the System seemed to encourage it. Power was not necessarily linear. A Level 30 person could make use of a powerful resource far better than a Level 20 person could. In fact, a Level 30 person could probably easily handle multiple Level 20 people without it being too much of a problem. There were probably exceptions, but getting your Class was a true gamechanger.

As I had slain the Ogre leader, I had more than one-hundred times increased my personal wealth. It really was absurd, and I hadn't even finished going through his inventory! There was a [Prayer Mat] within the sack which I looked at dubiously based on its System given name, but based on the aura I felt coming from it I believed it might work similarly to a cultivation manual. Speaking of which, the Ogre had his own Peak F-grade cultivation manual, which was inferior to my own E-grade one I had won as a reward. However, it also seemed that beyond just boosting the user's cultivation rate, this one also improved the efficiency of Intelligence growth?

Ugh, what I wouldn't give for a proper damn tooltip function within the System.

To my shock, the next set of items I looked at were Information Crystals. These, as their names implied, stored large amounts of interesting information one could easily access, not unlike a computer hard drive or other information storage devices. One had information on a whole set of racial Classes for Ogres, which would have no applicability to me directly, but I could potentially infer things from them for my own Class options in the future. One of the interesting things was a section on avoiding 'bottlenecks', where someone could end up stuck as a F-grade being and never progressing to becoming E-grade. What threw me was that they weren't talking about their Race-grade, but rather the grade of their whole being, or perhaps maybe their soul.

I shook my head, I didn't have time to dive too deeply into it yet, but there were other crystals that provided details on other subjects such as Arrays, old conflicts between various factions, and even a crystal devoted just to botany. Moving past the crystals I also found a large section of healing pills, poison antidotes, and medicinal bath supplies.

Zhou cleared his throat. "You are aware that your arm is still broken, yes?"

I grimaced. "I got a bit excited looking through their leader's belongings. With my Vitality and my [Minor Healing] Skill, it should be good as new in a few days." It wasn't just my arm that was wounded, but it was the only injury present that created a significant limitation in my ability to act.

He looked at me oddly. "At your Level, does your pain tolerance increase?"

"Eh? I don't think so."

He continued to stare at me before wandered off to take a look at the belongings of the Ogres he had obtained the majority of credit for killing. I had to consider carefully how much I wanted to share with others from my haul. Ultimately, my goal was to find my family. Zhou's idea of going around and helping Dynamic Quests while I searched for my family had merit, especially with the huge prize I had just earned. He had also said how this was probably one of the best ways we could help humanity as a whole, but I got the sense he was arguing from rote instead of passion.

His view was that, with my stat buffs from leading people helping others, I should have a small army with me to help quicken the process of subduing Incursions and/or other System-created Quests. It was a good idea, but that added other elements for me to be concerned with, such as travel time with a large group and things like pay and structure. Did I want to fool around with all of that?

Meat shields were what kept me successful in my second life. I wanted this life to be different, but until the Incursions are dealt with and I can locate my family, I need to be proactive, even if I have a Class focused on crafting over fighting.

Despite my injuries, I felt the sudden urge to dwell on my recent battle via cultivation and decided to go with that feeling. Only moments later I saw visions of battlefields in my second life mixed in with the explosive Temporary Enchantments I had used in the battle today.

[Dao Seed gained – Fire]

Another Dao Seed? I had asked Zhou if he got one and he had told me that he hadn't. Meanwhile, I now have three. I guess it was time to see what it did, apply my Free Points, and see what my attributes looked like now.

Name: Tanya Degurechaff

Level: 34

Class: [F-Rare] Enchanter

Race: [F] Human

Alignment [Earth] Human

Titles: Defier of Gods, Indecipherable Anomaly, The Eleventh Goddess, Devil of the Rhine, Chosen of the Skies, Flame Savior, Commander of Men, Adventurer, Giantsbane, Full of Class, Rarified Being, Genesis Crafter, Quest Breaker, Invasion Breaker.

Strength: 38

Dexterity: 70

Endurance: 45

Vitality: 46

Intelligence: 93

Wisdom: 117

Luck: 41

Free Points: 0

Nexus Coins: 4,482,120

[Dao Seed of Volition – Early. Dexterity +10, Wisdom +5]

[Dao Seed of Delegation – Early. Wisdom +10, Intelligence +5]

[Dao Seed of Fire – Early. Intelligence + 10, Dexterity + 5]

I also had a new Title. [Invasion Breaker: Stop an incursion in world. All stats +5]

After checking with Zhou and Masha, neither of them got that Title, so I assumed it had to do with the fact I had the highest Contribution score. Which also meant I could not only afford to get the [Constitution Pills] to further improve my Race-grade, but I also had more than enough to pick up some other potential goodies.

Very satisfied with everything I earned, I returned back to Brightflower Village and focused on healing my cuts, bruises, and my annoyingly broken arm.

***

"Why won't you even try to join me on the hunts? Tanya is probably going to leave soon. Are you really going to just stay here?"

Sofia shook her head. She had zero interest in risking her life in battle, especially not when she had a much better path.

"I'm not even that far behind you in Levels, and I put points in Vitality so I could keep up while running."

Zoey's eyes widened. "Wait… can you actually cultivate? I thought you were mortal like the rest of us."

"I think everyone can cultivate to some degree. Zhou seems to think so, at least. But no, that's not how I'm progressing. I get barely any Cosmic Energy when I cultivate, and I mostly use it to break down Nexus Crystals to balance my internal pathways."

"How are you getting those Nexus Crystals? Those are valuable, and both Tanya and the Ishiates don't believe in just handing them out for nothing."

Sofia shrugged, weighed if she wanted to say what she was doing, and then just went ahead and said it.

Fuck it, she's the one who was always talking about how sex work is real work.

"Zhou is paying me from his share of Nexus Crystals. He enjoys an hour of my time, he gets his rocks off, and I get to level up without fear of dying. I hope when I do reach Level 25 I'll be able to pick up a crafting class like Tanya and never have to fight even once."

Zoey's mouth worked. "You're a whore?"

"Sex worker, and yes."

"After…" Zoey swallowed thickly, no doubt her mind going back to the wretched memories of being a literal sex slave.

"I'm reclaiming my power. Look, after what we went through, Zhou is actually kind, gentle, and not bad on the eyes. He's got that older refined gentleman aesthetic. It's an hour of labor a few times a week that has earned me steady progress. I don't want to die, and I don't want to fight. This works for me."

Zoey looked disgusted.

"And what if we are attacked on the road?"

"What of it? I'll depend on Tanya and Zhou like everyone else. I have a sword and one of those one-use exploding daggers. I almost thought about remaining here, but this village would have been toast if Tanya hadn't arrived when she did. Those Ogres killed people in one hit most of the time."

"I can't believe this."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "You don't have to. I don't need your approval. I hope you survive out there, fighting monsters, but that's not what I want to do."

Zoey looked frustrated, but Sofia honestly could not understand why, nor did she care. Meditating after breaking down a Nexus Crystal for Cosmic Energy was peaceful. She could not imagine going out in the wild and dealing with heart-stopping terror every second. This was so much better than doing manual labor, like the other girls, or fighting, like Zoey.

The Ishiates, or 'furries' as her old camp had called them, seemed pretty decent. Many of them were cultivators and so time not cultivating or fighting slowed them down. Having the regular day-to-day chores be completed by other people gave them the opportunity to gain levels faster. Not to some obscene degree, but a couple of extra hours of slow cultivation a day wasn't nothing. In exchange for that labor, they provided room and board, safety, and a small pittance of Nexus Coins. Those doing said labor simply had no means of accomplishing anything beyond subsistence.

Of course, subsistence via labor in a relatively safe village was by far better than the abject misery John put them through, so they were content. Sofia had been tempted to do the same, but her own chartered course now seemed far more promising. She was certain people would judge her, but she'd rather have people's scorn than be dead.

***

I still had a lot of decisions to make when Masha took me aside, asked me about my plans, and if I was going to claim the small grove that was beyond the now-disappeared Incursion Beacon. The grove itself was a place of higher than normal Cosmic Energy for cultivation. However, if too many people used it at once, the effect would be diminished significantly. Additionally, several plants that were filled with Cosmic Energy would almost certainly grow within it and provide the basic building blocks for mystical pills, medicinal baths, and potentially even Attribute Fruits like the two Strength ones I was still pondering what to do with.

"Masha, I didn't get assigned the Dynamic Quest and I'm not the head of this Outpost. I know it is now officially a 'Town' and with it the number of buildings and Arrays you can purchase has increased dramatically, but my intention was always to move on from here."

Her ears quivered a bit, a physical manifestation of relief. At least, as best as I could tell.

Hmm, was she worried that I would try to take over? I would probably be successful, but I'm not going to try to enforce my will on others with the threat of murder.

"Thank you. We plan on staying and hoping the Zhix don't expand in this direction. There is also a Quest we can initiate that would have us defend ourselves from waves of enemies, but we intend not to pursue it if you are leaving."

"What would it have given you?"

"A few things, but it seems the major one would have us turn into a City. That probably would expand our options in purchasing buildings and other things, but they are already so expensive that I don't think it would be much benefit for a settlement our size."

I was curious so I asked about some of the prices.

"Some things seem doable now. An F-grade Small-Scale Defensive Array only costs 75,000 Nexus Coins. But some of the more expensive items… I don't understand how we'll ever be able to afford them. The E-grade Medium Size Town Defense Array is five million Nexus Coins. The E-grade Teleportation Array is ten million Nexus Coins."

The Teleportation Array is absurdly expensive, but that could prove very useful depending on how it worked.

"Can you give me a full list? I'm making the Information Crystals available for everyone to look at before I leave, so I think that's more than fair."

Masha nodded quickly. That was a gesture that meant the same for both races.

After taking a look at it I made the decision to donate a couple of hundred thousand Nexus Coins to the Town to allow them to get the F-grade Small-Scale Defensive Array as well as some of the other more affordable buildings. I was leaving behind a number of my Enchanted weapons here as well. It wasn't charity for no purpose, this would improve their odds of survival and therefore have them remain a source of passive Cosmic Energy income for myself, so long as they kept using my weapons at least.

Another topic at hand was would I allow any Ishiate to travel with me. I was surprised she even asked, and why would I say no? My only stipulation was that I intended to move at a rather punishing pace, and if people couldn't keep up, they would be left behind.

"We are grateful. There are two who wish to join you. Both have not reached Level 25 and are hoping to obtain the same Class you did. If so, they intend to return to the village… is this also agreeable?"

I shrugged. "I'd prefer it if they obtained different Classes, as that way certain tactical gaps can be filled. If they are able and useful companions, I would also appreciate them staying with me longer. However, no, I have no qualms with them following in my, as you say, footprints, and also becoming Enchanters. I should warn you, though, that it is a Rare class, so it may not be likely for them to obtain it. It may even be Race-locked, as I didn't see that class in the Information Crystal about Class paths for Ogres."

The Information Crystals were quite helpful, but I wish they weren't so specific to Ogres and the paths they felt the System would reward them for taking. I was rather concerned about the apparent Level 75 bottleneck, too. By then, you had to qualify for a Class based on your actions and your existing Class. With Enchanter already being a Rare-grade Class, there was a real possibility there wouldn't be an upgrade waiting for me at Level 75. To say nothing of the stupid Trial I apparently would have to face in order to break through and become an E-grade being.

The information contained within also talked about how sometimes people were stuck there for decades. All that Cosmic Energy couldn't be used to level up if you were stuck and unable to advance. Sounds like a nightmare.

"You have helped us greatly. Tanya. You are a friend of the Ishiate, and we will gladly use your weapons."

With my meeting done, I waited for the time the Tutorial Pixies had mentioned would come; the dawn of the fourth month and the opening up of the World Ladder.

[Ladder System initialized. Enter pseudonym or real name?]

I had assumed it would be our real names, like on Contribution Ladders, but this gave me pause. Did I want my name to be out there? I decided I did. Both because I intended to make myself useful in whatever eventual new economy made itself known, and because if I was hopefully placed high enough that my family would see my name. There existed a danger that someone could find my family and hold them ransom for some exorbitant amount of Nexus Coins, but I would be fine with that. I'd kill those people later if they harmed a single hair on their heads, but if they found my family for me, I'd be happy.

I chose "Enchanter Class Tanya Degurechaff" and confirmed my selection with the System.

Ladder – Level

Rank | Name | Level

1. Super Brother-Man | 47

2. Salvation | 37

3. Thea Marshall | 36

4. Enchanter Class Tanya Degurechaff | 35

5. Joker | 34

6. Enigma | 34

7. Dahlia | 33

8. Dillinger | 33

9. Thwonkin' Billy | 32

10. Abbot Everlasting Peace | 32

…

100. Merrick Smith | 27

My jaw dropped. Someone had already hit Level 47? I knew I could have reached a higher Level than rank two and three if I hadn't spent so much time with Jayden and his crew, but I doubted I could have hit 47. Just what sort of super-soldier or MMA fighter was that guy? I did have to smile at the fact that the Ladder went all the way to a hundred and when I saw that the 100th spot was Level 27, I looked for Zhou's name. He had reached Level 30, so he should be on it somewhere.

81. Zhongguo Zhou Jie | 30

He had been quite certain that his home country would dominate the leaderboard. He himself had doubted he would be listed among the top one hundred in any category, but was eager to see if he would recognize the names of the current CCP heads, CMC, or perhaps a business tycoon from China. None were showing up, though it was possible they had hidden their identities. But if China had remained a strong nation throughout this upheaval, they probably would be boasting like Zhou had tried to do.

No doubt he is dreadfully disappointed, but I figured this would be the case. Exceptional individual talent prospers under the byzantine rules of the System. With the breaking apart of landmasses and cities, governments were bound to fall, especially with the erasure of communication satellites and the fact that the Earth is so much larger as it combined with other planets.

Ladder – Wealth

Rank | Name

1. Super Brother-Man

2. Smaug

3. Joker

4. Enigma

5. Thwonkin' Billy

6. Salvation

7. Greed

8. Little Treasure

9. Enchanter Class Tanya Degurechaff

10. Thea Marshall

I was dumbfounded. Apparently other people must have closed Incursions and found enemy leaders with massive reserves of cash, because I was pretty far down the wealth list. Though I wondered if this was liquid wealth, or did it include the collected value of items?

No way to tell.

The final ladder was for the Dao.

Ladder – Dao

Rank | Name

1. Abbot Everlasting Peace

2. Guru Anaad Phakiwar

3. Enchanter Class Tanya Degurechaff

4. Thea Marshall

5. The Eternal Eye

6. Silverfox

7. Abbot Boundless Truth

8. Super Brother-Man

9. Father Thomas

10. John Doe

Overall, I couldn't be too displeased that I was on all three ladders' top tens. Having Titles that were earned before I was even born in this third life had given me a headstart and still continued to give me an Attribute bump, so it was also possible my Level didn't accurately reflect my combat prowess. I almost certainly had more actual combat experience than anyone alive. The high rate of conflict during my second life made me see more engagements than any living soldier of today. To top it off, I also felt strongly that my Class gave me a hidden advantage in combat with its nasty tricks.

Then again… who is to say someone else doesn't have a unique Class? I turned down an Epic Class, what if someone out there has one and has some completely insane ability that I don't have a counter for? Best not to get ahead of myself.

That I was strong in the Dao made sense given my highest stat was Wisdom, which according to the Tutorial helped in understanding the Dao. It would be interesting to see what sprouted next, as I didn't find too much similarity between my three Dao seeds.

I also had a new Class quest when I had briefly cultivated sensing I was a hair away from Level 35.

Spirit Tool (Class) Disenchant a Spirit Tool (0/1)

I'd have to look into what the hell a Spirit Tool even was in the first place, but it sounded like it was a new type of item I could create with Enchanting. Meanwhile, I was nearing the completion of another Class Quest:

Suppression (Class) Disenchant 1,000 items (884/1,000)

It would have to wait as I was eager to get on the road. The group that would be coming with us included Zhou, Zoey, Sofia, and Kim. Three guys who had arrived with Kim were also joining up, as were the two Ishiates; Dorel Night and Shella Night, a married couple. Dorel crafted bows, slings, and dealt with furs, while Shella was a painter who was a village cook before the merge. They had continued to do those sorts of tasks while also joining hunting parties because they wanted to obtain Crafting Classes like mine.

I am very curious what choices the System gives for them when it is time.

That made us a group of ten, with two people on the Level Ladder and Kim not too far behind Level 27. I chose to lead us west. I sensed the density of Cosmic Energy might be higher east, but I did not want to run into the Zhix again. Interrupting their Quest, which seemed very similar to the Wave Quest that Ishiates of Brightflower Village were not intending to do, was a bit of a fluke. I'd rather spread my wares to plenty of other places before tangling with them again.

Author's Note: I was slightly devastated to re-read the passage of the first Ladder dropping in the books. 'When the Ladder was introduced, the hundredth spot on the leveling rank had been 27' line is a few pages later after they show the Ladder. Argh. Which meant that the first time we see the Ladder and its 100th spot being at Level 30 was not that first time the Ladder was visible. I went ahead and just lowered some people's level from the book Ladder we do see, which means it isn't the exact match to what you'd find in the Ladder since that section is some indeterminate amount of time after the Ladder first dropped.

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Published:2026-07-30Updated:2026-10-04Words:219,820Chapters:47/?Comments:420Kudos:423Bookmarks:87Hits:16,515

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

Edwin Degurechaff wiped a tear from his eye as he saw his daughter on the Ladder. Mostly it was due to the knowledge that she was alive and well, but there was more than a little pride there as well. Tanya had always been an overachieving and independent child. When she demonstrated such intelligence and curiosity, he and Melissa had encouraged it. When she began giving them stock tips, they figured, why not? Said tips did very well, and they could tell Tanya was gratified in the trust they had demonstrated in her.

While Tanya had gone the full academic route, it was her younger sister who had decided to go into athletics. Gifted with height, Julia had shown great promise in basketball. Their family was everything Edwin and Melissa had wanted, and then the tragedy of the Multiverse struck.

It was terrible. Chicago was split apart in so many different fragments and mixed with other worlds that there were no reliable utilities of the sort. He and Melissa had been together when it happened, but Tanya had been at the university and Julia at a basketball practice. The first thing they had tried to do was look for them, but it was fruitless. Both areas where his children had been were nowhere near them anymore, or perhaps they were nowhere near the original location of Chicago at all. It was difficult to tell, and having extra celestial bodies made figuring out where they were on this new planet equally futile.

I can only imagine the horrors on the coastline. What exactly must be occurring with the tides now that there are four moons?

Later, they would learn more about what happened to the world, but the first few weeks were a nightmare. It was mostly other humans that were the problem at first, but then when animals started to grow larger and more aggressive, it made an already deadly situation catastrophic. There had been so much death, violence, and disease in those first weeks. People didn't even know what was safe to eat or drink.

When the Tutorial ended and cultivators began to appear, things grew worse. The local area of Chicago they had been in had secured some small semblance of order, but the cultivators threw that completely into disarray. They were equipped with clothing and armor that could stop bullets, and Edwin quickly saw the writing on the wall when a dozen of the cultivators banded together and killed the surviving firefighters and police that had tried to stop the worst of the carnage.

He and Melissa had gathered some of their neighbors and journeyed out into the wilderness. It had been the right call to make with the information he had at the time, but it did not ease his guilt much. Melissa died under the jaws of a predator that wasn't even from Earth. Edwin barely remembered the weeks that had followed, but as someone who could bandage wounds and provide medical care, he was valuable to others.

In this strange new Multiverse, people could naturally recover from injuries if they improved their Vitality, but urgent trauma care could still make the difference between life and death. As a Doctor of Dental Medicine, he had performed a number of surgeries. From wisdom teeth extractions, dental implants, and jaw reconstructions, he was well-versed in medical care, even if he wasn't a traditional medical provider that had gone to medical school.

He gained a few Attributes and Levels as everyone had to pull their weight as they sought somewhere, anywhere, that was safe until they finally made it to an 'Outpost', as the System called it. Edwin had not cared too much to learn all the new terms; he just tried to stay alive and provide care to those who got injured and sick. Caring for mortals was so much more difficult than cultivators, as those who had gone to the Tutorial were almost physically unable to get sick, and even drinking tainted water or spoiled food barely fazed their impressive constitutions.

The place ended up taking the name 'Billyville' and it was safe. At least safer than Edwin's slice of Chicago or the wild had been. And the reason for that was Billy. Billy Task Jr. was not a normal person. Edwin knew that his mind was not that of a normal adult. It was terrifyingly simple, but fortunately the powerful man was also genuinely a good person who helped those around him.

'Mama always says you need to help those in need.'

Billy said and lived by those words, and he was always the first to protect the Outpost from any harm. Edwin took care of the mortal population's health, and he was given food and a place to stay for his services. When he needed supplies, he only had to ask for them and they were provided.

That all changed when the Ladder appeared. When meeting new people, he introduced himself as normal, giving his first and last name along with a firm handshake. So when the Ladder appeared, it wasn't long before Billy's friend, or, as Edwin privately thought of him, his 'handler,' paid him a 'friendly visit'.

Nigel had a British accent and had confirmed Edwin's relationship to Tanya.

"My good man, you do realize this is quite the opportunity, don't you? You quite clearly have an exceptionally talented daughter, and that might mean you are on the higher end of mortals when it comes to cultivation. It may also prove true that you could become of greater use to the community."

"I… I don't know if that is a safe assumption. I'm content with just taking care of those with lower Vitality when they get sick."

"And you could do that so much better, my good sir, if you had a Class. You simply must begin hunting with us. I assure you, you'll be kept perfectly safe. The Ratkin breed, well, like rats. It is imperative that we learn what you're capable of."

Edwin was nervous, as he had never liked fighting. But if his daughter could do it…

"All right. At least until Level 25."

"Marvelous! Come, we also have some better equipment for you as well. We certainly want you to feel at ease and be at your best."

Where are you Tanya? I would give anything to see your too-serious face again. And Julia? What about you? You aren't on the Ladder, but in a world that hopefully still has at least a billion people, that doesn't mean you are dead. Please be alive.

***

I set a punishing pace as we headed west. For the first hour we all ran at a pace faster than world-class sprinters. However, it soon became apparent not everyone could keep up. The two who faltered the most were Sofia and Jared, the former who was the one gaining levels using the world's oldest profession.

I had… ignored most of my sexual drive for several reasons. For one, I wasn't good with forming relationships with people that didn't have clear-cut expectations. Work colleagues were fine, comrades-in-arms in the military were even better, and student group work was also easy enough. But romantic relationships? The whole thing felt… inefficient, and I had trouble seeing myself doing that.

Sofia choosing to sleep with Zhou in exchange for F-grade Nexus Crystals allowed me to peek at a possibility that might be mutually satisfying, but there seemed to be no good time to bring it up. Enchanting and Disenchanting still took time to do. Cultivating took time, as did exploring my Dao. It also just made me uneasy and, frankly, filled me with dread even bringing the subject up. But I did think about it. Sofia was an attractive lady. She had curly black hair and had some impressive curves. She was a more modest height compared to me, but that was irrelevant to her sexual attraction.

Meanwhile, Jared was one of the folks who came with Kim. He was not a cultivator. As a mortal, he was stuck primarily gaining Cosmic Energy and experience via fighting. And since he had not gone through the Tutorial, he was also behind level-wise. He followed orders quickly and didn't balk at any task, but I still didn't want to make exceptions and slow our overall pace too much.

Zhou came up with a solution for Sofia by having her cling to his back while moving. Zhou was a physical front-line fighter and was on the top 100 Ladder. The extra weight didn't bother him at all. The old perv probably even found the run more enjoyable this way.

I could volunteer to take a turn…

I pushed that thought aside. A short time later I saw Jared breathing heavily and starting to stagger. Kim ran up beside me.

"Can we slow just a bit? I don't want to lose Jared."

"He knew the rules."

Jared heard us talking and pushed himself forward to run next to us with a burst of energy. "If I fall behind, I can catch up when you camp. Trail… should be… easy… to follow."

Kim scowled. "God damn it, no. That's not happening. Here, get on my back."

"Ma'am, I…"

"Do it!" She barked, and Kim slowed for a moment to allow him to hop on.

Another hour passed and now it was Kim who was flagging; however, they ended up alternating. Kim would set Jared down and he would run for a bit while she ran unencumbered, and then he would go back to being carried.

All right, points for being resourceful and camaraderie. I'll call for a short break.

Eventually I called for a temporary halt and said I would work on an Enchantment while Zhou led the two would-be Ishiate crafters on a brief hunt for anything that might garner some Cosmic Energy. There didn't seem much that would interest me, but those below Level 30 could find things that provided some meaningful experience. I was personally a bit eager to see what Dorel and Shella might get in terms of Classes. I had visions of potentially doing some sort of crafting-combo item. It might be a pipe-dream, but as I focused on the Dao of Volition I felt that it was possible to take a path of my own making. And if it resonated enough with the Dao, the neutral adjudication of the System might allow for a brand new creation.

Or the idea that already exists somewhere because it makes sense and I just don't know it yet because the System doesn't like giving us pertinent information!

I finished crafting a pair of one-use explosive fire daggers. The Enchantment was permanent until used, but by making it one-use only it allowed the Cosmic Energy costs from making it to be smaller. It would be smaller still as a Temporary Enchantment, but that would last only around an hour on its own. The purpose behind these ones was that they could be activated by a user and let loose a concentrated blast of fire in an arc where they slashed. By pushing my Enchantment through my internal pathways while centering it on the Dao of Fire, I was making it deadlier and hotter than my previous creations.

I handed one each to Kim and Zoey. "These should work even better. I know you already have one of my old ones, Zoey, but this will be a good ace in the hole if you face something you can't break through with your normal weapons."

Zhou and the Ishiates returned with the carcasses of some unknown mutated animals. They weren't present on Earth or the Ishiate homeworld, which made me a bit nervous because that meant we might be in a patch of ground that was from the Zhix homeworld. Still, other worlds could have merged instead, or maybe this breed had just wandered into the area. Either way, I had more Disenchant fuel from their gray hides.

As we picked up to march out once more, Sofia claimed Zhou's back again and I saw Zoey roll her eyes.

Honestly, if I was a micromanager, I would make Sofia run so she might grind a few extra Vitality points from the rough march until it was absolutely necessary for her to ride Zhou, but I wasn't like that. Jared chose to run until he couldn't anymore, and then I went ahead and carried him myself for a bit. As I suspected, it was a trivial weight, even though I hadn't even bothered to put any Free points in Strength or Vitality. The Title bonuses made me physically stronger than anyone except maybe Zhou.

The others murmured and I suspected my esteem went up within Kim's group. That wasn't the point of my gesture. Jared was a hard worker and knew how to follow orders. Why would I sacrifice a meat-shield… err, comrade when I had a way to avoid us slowing down this way? Besides, as one of the higher level mortals I had encountered so far, it might be interesting if being a mortal opened up different Class options.

***

That evening our group took a deep dive into Class discussion with the Information Crystal about Classes I looted from the Ogres.

"Picking a Rare class has some downsides, because the path toward becoming an E-grade being isn't as clear," I explained.

"Moot point for most of us," Kim countered. "I only got one Uncommon Class and it was Wave Whisperer. We aren't even around water. The rest were Common, so I chose Warrior as the most flexible looking one."

"That isn't too bad. The Ogre Class section talked about some Common paths. Warrior can easily lead to Captain or Champion, neither of which sound like they are restricted to Ogres. You probably won't be able to qualify for some of the other specific, racial paths, but those two sound solid," Zhou explained.

Zoey looked a bit perplexed. "So… why is it so difficult to advance? How come you get stuck in a bottleneck? Why don't you just do what you need to do to become eligible?"

"Because the System doesn't like explaining itself," I grumbled. "It doesn't say what you need to do to become a Champion, but the Ogres, over the course of who knows how many years and generations, noticed the trends. Warriors who excelled at giving orders and leading people were more likely to get the Captain Class. But unlike the Level 25 options, you can have zero applicable options if you haven't done enough according to the System. And that's on top of the other requirements!"

"Other requirements?" Jared asked a bit nervously.

"Yeah, see this section here. You need to form a Dao Seed, and preferably a Dao Fragment, which is a combination of Seeds. The latter isn't required, but it makes advancing your soul to E-grade easier. That's on top of getting your Race-grade to E level. Which, out of everything, sounds like the easiest piece, unless you are Zhou's age."

Assuming that what is stored in this Information Crystal is correct…

Zhou gave me a flat look. He wasn't all that old, so he shouldn't have too many issues, assuming we continue to get the type of loot we had been getting. When we arrived at another Outpost we could try the medicinal baths and the Contribution Awards had offered [Constitution Pills], so I felt that upgrading your race was probably the simplest step compared to grinding your way to Level 75, making enough progress with your Dao, and unlocking a Class.

The group laughed and the discussion continued on to talking about what would be most useful.

"Should we come to you for advice when we hit Level 25?" Zoey asked.

Zhou spoke before I could. "It doesn't hurt, but you should also meditate and not make a rash decision. This is your future, after all, and you must align your inner spirit toward what will allow you to be successful."

"Maybe," I added. "Remember, it's the System that is governing all this. This whole 'know thyself' and inner peace nonsense is a means to an end. These so-called 'universal truths' are a run-amok AI's interpretation of what they should be. Just remember, this is all a veneer for Cosmic Energy distribution. I'm all for working together and making synergistic choices, so by all means come to me for advice. That said, I'm not going to make you pick a certain Class, nor will I kick you out if you choose not to take one at all."

"Speaking of…" Kim said with a smile. "We should come up with a name and seriously consider selling our services to beleaguered Outposts and Towns. Sure, we get some wonderful rewards, but why not get paid twice? Once by whatever Contribution Ladder they have, and then again by whatever settlement itself we help?"

Zhou thought that was a fine idea while I had… concerns.

There was a balancing act to play here. I absolutely wanted to get stronger, but I also didn't want to deplete the survivability of settlements by extracting too much from them. Every friendly community I left behind was another one that could use my weapons and let me farm Cosmic Energy passively. More than that, it's another set of eyes and ears who might come across my family. I knew the odds were astronomically tiny, but there were now two communities that would be on the lookout for Degurechaff family members that met the description of my father, mother, and sister. Every single additional community helped.

"That's not a bad idea," I conceded, "but I also want to make sure we stay in the good graces of communities we visit. But let's talk group names, I suppose. To better advertise ourselves. What do you have in mind?"

"The Riftbreakers?"

"The Enchanted Company!"

"The IRS, Incursion Response Solutions."

The last was said by Kim with a laugh and I shot her a look. I thought about it for a second and decided to honor my comrades in my past life.

"I've always been partial to the creatures, so how about the Salamander Group?"

A few people thought it wasn't ideal or descriptive enough, but Zhou said the leader should have the final say. I didn't care that much, but then Jared chimed in with support as well and then the rest. After most people agreed, Dorel asked.

"What's a 'salamander'?"

***

We continued travelling west until Kim's handy binoculars spotted trouble.

"Boss, you gotta see this."

I peered through them and saw hundreds of… well, zombies approaching.

Zombies.

It wasn't enough that there were mutated beasts and Incursions to deal with, but somehow the dead were up and ambulatory.

"Time to get some experience and hopefully learn a bit about these things. They might even have some loot, but still, if they prove too tough, it should be easy to disengage from them given their slow speed."

The undead came and I used [Temporary Enchantment] to power up with fiery goodness the arrows of the few bow wielders we had. Two of them were our Ishiate would-be crafters, and their arrows and my fireballs rained down on the enemy.

Which proved quite devastating. I was rather disappointed at the paltry Cosmic Energy gained, though.

"Cease fire. Switch to close combat, let's see how fast and strong they are before wiping them out."

Everyone but Sofia and the two Ishiates waded in. The zombies were slow, but they were hardy, swarmed, and hit hard, so my soldiers had to be cautious.

Truthfully though, this was a slaughter. What was honestly shocking was that some of the zombies were from races that I wasn't familiar with.

"This one is a Zhix!" Zoey pointed out.

I examined the now unmoving corpse and frowned. While it was a good thing that these strange undead creatures were fighting the Zhix, this wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

"This band came from the southwest. I think we should avoid them for now. If the undead are an Incursion and the Zhix are fighting them, we can't very well sell our services to either side. I want to find other Ishiate and Human settlements."

I got nods in response, though Zhou looked taciturn. I looked at him.

"Thoughts?"

"I'm fine with sticking to the plan, but it occurs to me that both sides might be weakened by their struggle."

"Or one side decimated the other," I countered.

He raised his hands up partially in surrender. "You lead and we will follow, Captain."

"Captain?" I said with a wry smile. "Let's not pretend we are the military here."

Kim laughed. "What should we call you? CEO?"

"Tanya works. We don't need that sort of formality unless we truly evolve into a large-scale organization. There's just ten of us right now. I was okay with giving us a name, but don't take this too far." After a moment. "In fact, in mixed company, I'd prefer not to be identified as the leader at first."

Now I just have to hope that some other direction leads to more Humans! If push comes to shove, I can head back to my slice of Chicago, but I'd really rather not retrace ground I know that doesn't have my family in it.

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