Defiance of the Fall

Perhaps he could rent out the mountains to cultivators in the future at exorbitant rates . He could only assume that cultivating in this kind of environment would be far more effective compared to doing it at a place with a normal density of energy . It could be a great source of income if he got a town up and running in the future . There was something about the thought of becoming a post-apocalyptic slumlord that gave him a comforting sense of normalcy .

Zac spent half the day killing monkey packs and scaling the closest peak , with his efficiency in monkey dismantling starting to reach a sublime level . There were some surprises where unexpected backup that Zac had missed entered the fray , but it generally only resulted in more Nexus Coins for himself . The scariest moment was when a monkey somehow managed to sneak up on him , biting him in his inner loin . Just slightly to the left and the monkey would have eaten his precious jewels .

He reached the peak midday , and after a brief survey could conclude that this peak wasn’t the home of the Herald . The air felt quite fresh up here , and Zac decided to have his dinner with a view . He sat down between some rocks to look more inconspicuous and retrieved some fruit and dried meat from his pouch .

His experiments with food and the pouch was a great success . Everything he put inside kept even better compared to a refrigerator , the fruits and slabs of meat still looking pristine after over a week . He didn’t dare start a fire for some barbeque this close to the demon town though , so he could only stick to his dried rations .

As he ate he looked over the mountain range . His view from the peak afforded him a unique vantage , and he made some new discoveries .

There were a total of five real peaks , of which he sat on the western-most . The peak he occupied was slightly off on its own , whereas the other four were a bit more clumped together .

Between the four peaks there seemed to be a secluded valley that wasn’t visible from down below as it was located a few hundred meters above sea level . The mountain range itself had some sparse vegetation , such as some windswept shrubbery and small trees , but the valley seemed quite lush with an abundance of leafy growth . Zac even thought he could discern a small pond or lake , but couldn’t be sure as a large part of the valley was covered in a mist .

The valley certainly looked intriguing , like a secret little paradise hidden from sight . If he was on a treasure hunt he’d bet all his doubloons that any riches the island had to offer were hidden there .

More importantly , it also seemed like a good resting place for a Herald .

The only thing making him unsure was the fact that the monkeys seemed to like the rocky outcroppings and cliffs of the mountain . It would be a bit odd if their leader preferred to stay in a forest instead .

The great elevation also allowed him to finally confirm that he was indeed on an island . He hadn’t been able to see anything behind the mountain range before , and knew there might have been land on the other side as well . But steep cliffs gave way to the ocean at the end of the mountain range , looking almost as though the mountain had been sliced clean off . Perhaps the System simply had chopped off part of a larger mountain range and slapped it onto the edge of the island . It was quite the sight , with a drop of at least 100 meters down into the waters below .

Zac finished his meal and made his way back down the mountain slopes again , and started trekking eastbound for the other peaks . He kept killing every monkey pack in his way , bringing a storm of carnage to the mountain . He was somewhat surprised that there still wasn't a more concerted effort to catch him by the monkeys by now , as the monkeys seemed to care greatly for each other .

But they stayed in their groups still , and made perfect targets for him . He even gradually dared to attack larger packs as his confidence grew . Initially he skipped the gatherings that were too large , but by now he felt confident enough to attack most packs .

Zac thought that he would actually gain another level this day , but he was forced to suddenly stop fighting during the evening . It wasn’t because he was hurt or lacked targets , the problem was his axe .

His war-axe possessed a self-repairing and sharpening feature through its inscriptions , but it seemed it couldn’t properly keep up with Zac’s recent activities . During his barghest-genocide it had no problems staying in good shape , but here it was dull and blemished after only one day .

Zac realized that the tough rock plating on the monkeys’ bodies was the problem . His strength and endurance provided all the power he needed , but it was his weapon that failed him . He was quite confused about the whole thing though . When he fought the monkeys he always used his skill Chop] to create the translucent enlarged edge to cover his actual axe head . Still , his actual axe was worse for the wear .