Defiance of the Fall

It didn’t have a lot of information , just a list in the same manner as the titles .

Dao seed of Heaviness – Early . Strength +10 , Endurance +5]

While the menu or information wasn’t very spectacular , the stat bonuses were quite good . As Zac’s main stats were Strength and Endurance this seed’s bonus was a perfect gift . Perhaps a reason why he learned the Dao seed so smoothly was due to this .

It also made him understand the importance of Dao to the system . He just gained a seed of the Dao of Heaviness , and it was only an early seed . Both things indicated that he had just taken the first steps to understand this concept , but it already gave a boost worth a few levels .

What would it give if he managed to improve it to a higher level , like the Late stage? And what happened if it stopped being a seed and turned into the real thing? The boost it gave would likely be astonishing .

Zac felt that the seed and the fractal in his mind were somehow connected . He gained it while trying to emulate the powerful feeling in that axe swing after all . He once again turned his sight inward and gazed upon the axe fractal again .

He couldn’t tell exactly how , but he sensed that the pattern of the fractal somehow subtly changed . It also no longer seemed inert as it was before , but emitted an aura that gave Zac the familiar sense of weight and intractability .

It was the same sense of heaviness that he somewhat managed to instill into his swings while trying to emulate the axe-man . Now that he could contrast it to the aura in the illusion , he understood that the Dao of Heaviness was only part of the whole picture , and the suffocating aura of the axe was something far greater .

Still , it was a step in the right direction . His seed was only at the early stage . There surely were ways to improve upon it , and perhaps someday his axe aura , or Dao , might be as mighty as the one he saw .

Now that the fractal felt active again , he once more tried to circulate cosmic energy through it . This time it actually worked , and the fractal lit up .

Suddenly his vision changed , and fractals started appearing . Some shone up like glowing footprints in the ground , and others were lights forming arcs and trajectories around him . The lights seemed to have no effect on its surroundings , not lighting the ground or trees up in the slightest . Furthermore , when Zac moved his head the lights moved with him and slightly adjusted . Meaning it came from the system in the same manner as his different menus .

It felt like he was wearing augmented-reality goggles , giving him an extra layer of reality that only he could see . At least he assumed only he could see the lights and the menus , as they only seemed to respond and change in reaction to Zac’s movements and commands .

He tried to touch the fractals that formed the trajectories , but it was like trying to touch a rainbow . Furthermore , as he moved his hand the lights adjusted and moved as well . After adjusting to his new vision he tried stepping on the glowing footprints and moving his body according to the illuminated trajectories . He found himself swinging his axe in a slanted upwards motion . The movement felt smooth and natural , and it felt like he was able to bring the full force of almost his whole body into the swing .

He kept following the glowing instructions and found himself performing a multitude of attacks . There were not only normal swings , but every part of the axe was used . From the butt of the haft to the spike on the back-side of the head , everything was used in an array of methods to maim and kill enemies . It even showed how to use the rest of his body , such as grabbing with his off-hand , footwork and tackles .

It couldn’t be said that the fractals in the air taught him actual Skills , but rather basic guidance on how to properly move and handle an axe .

Every strike had one thing in common , it contained the mass and intractability of his Dao . It made him realize many aspects of his weapon of choice as well . An axe differed from a sword in that it was balanced toward the head , whereas a sword was closer to the handle . This gave an axe a higher forward momentum and higher destructive power .

To master the axe he should focus on the part where it excelled , meaning this power and forcefulness . Its disadvantage was that it wasn’t as flexible as a sword was . The bladed area was also far shorter with an axe , so some precision was needed for a killing strike . At least until he could swing his axe in the fantastical manner of the man in the vision .

Zac kept going through various motions as he moved toward the camp . He was entranced by the beautiful simplicity in the moves , and the power they managed to bring out .

Suddenly he stumbled and fell down , shocked to notice that he was completely and utterly drained . He hadn’t completely recovered his energy from his vision earlier , and it seemed like using the axe fractal consumed large amounts of cosmic energy .