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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:2026-10-07Words:225,086Chapters:48/?Comments:429Kudos:435Bookmarks:87Hits:16,998

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Special thanks to [USER=310364]@Massgamer[/USER] for proofreading!

Chapter 16

"What the hell happened, Julia? General Wyland is spitting mad because the teleportation security just up and left with barely any notice."

Thomas Fischer was already having difficulty getting powerful cultivators and their Towns to join the NWG and follow orders, so having the Salamander Group go off randomly like that was quite a bad look.

"Tanya has already returned and has made her apologies on that front. She's offered to deliver them personally to you, as well," Julia explained. "She… had recently learned of her mother's death and so went to Billyville, a Town that recently set up a Teleportation Array, to deal with their Incursion."

He leaned forward. "The Ratkin? Or Ratmen? They killed her mother?"

"Err, no. She's claimed she went there because Billyville kept her father safe all this time and so she wished to repay the favor by helping them close their Incursion, but I think that was only part of the reason. Ms. Degurechaff likely just wished to just kill things."

Thomas frowned. That wasn't at all the read he had got from the young woman. Absurdly confident for her age, sure. Highly talented in her class specialty, a given. Lethal with her magic, naturally, given her place on the Ladder. But she had also shown herself to be highly professional, direct, and precise.

The image that Julia was painting did not seem to fit her.

"You think she is unstable?"

Julia looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure. The Fall has changed people a lot and put pressures that we didn't have in our old world on many. It's difficult to remember at times, but she's not even twenty and has probably had more days of life-and-death fighting than days without since the merger began. Add on the trauma of learning that her mother died, and I think she naturally snapped. I also think she knew she snapped, and thus sought an outlet to work out her grief and frustrations."

"So a day or two of killing Ratkin and she's back to normal? Will she go back out there again the next time she has sad thoughts about her mother?"

Julia smiled tentatively. "I couldn't say for certain, but it won't be Ratmen she kills. She closed down their Incursion."

Thomas shook his head in surprise. She had defeated an Incursion? Just like that?

How powerful is she? General Wyland's staff made a report on all the Incursions we are aware of, so either our intelligence or their analysis is wrong about the strength of the Ratmen, or Tanya is far more dangerous than we originally understood.

Life in the Multiverse was full of dangers, and Thomas made certain they always had a contingency plan. If Tanya tried to do something, like take over, there were plans in place. They had recovered two M109A7 Paladin artillery vehicles and had them pointed at the main Teleportation Array area at all times. They also had 24/7 sniper teams covering the entrances and exits.

The plan would be to unleash the artillery and then kill anything that tried to get out, in the extremely unlikely and unfortunate event that it were to prove necessary.

Thomas didn't want to kill Tanya, for more than a few reasons, but mostly because her Enchanted gear was a major force multiplier. He and the rest of his high-level staff, for example, all had one of her defensive amulets. Bringing lower-leveled soldiers and raw recruits quickly into the low teens with the help of her items had been a huge boon. Word had spread quickly that the Armed Forces could get you to level up quickly and they had potential recruits now beating down their door. The NWG was even gifting a few of her purchased items to leaders of Outposts and Towns as their network spread, subtly implying that Tanya was part of the NWG while not directly stating as such.

By the time they learned the truth that she was more of a merchant/mercenary, they would have already joined up. And of course, their negotiators had never stated she was a direct part of the NWG. Deception was fine, but directly lying in agreement-making would damage their credibility.

"I understand Nigel and Billy were mostly coming to the auction to find help in closing their Incursion, so will they still be attending?"

"I believe so… as will Tanya of course, but she's also informed me she will be unavailable to help with security for the next week as she intends to provide more help to Billyville."

His jaw clenched. That was disappointing.

"I'll speak with the budget group and see if we can't provide a pay increase to her to change her mind. Did she say it was just for a week?"

"She was noncommittal, and the auction is in a couple of days." She looked at her notes. "Sir, in all honesty, I suspect she intends to use the gathering of peoples for the auction to sell her services to deal with other Incursions. Her weapon Enchantments give her Cosmic Energy, maybe even faster than normal cultivation, but she clearly makes the most progress compared to her peers on the Ladder by doing things like closing down Incursions. I believe we will need to hire her to do just that, or some others will do it first."

Thomas sighed. They just weren't ready to go that far yet. Incursions seemed to vary wildly in strength, and their prestige could not afford any failures.

"Do what you can. Remind her that if it wasn't for our Teleportation Array, she wouldn't have found out where her father was. See if you can tug on her heart strings now that you think she's more emotionally minded."

"I'll see to it, but I make no promises, sir."

***

Sofia laughed as Zhou groaned.

"It's for a Class Quest! Just ten nights and it will be accomplished. Based on the name of it, I believe it will allow me to provide a service that doesn't involve pure carnality."

The stoic, deadly spear of the battlefield wearing such a hangdog, pleading expression caused her to laugh once again. It was so funny how men could become so needy. It wasn't her fault the System made such a Quest for her Class. She suspected it had to do with the idea that a Courtesan was not just a sex worker, but someone who could provide many kinds of services.

The Class had not made her want to have sex with everyone, so the idea of being able to still grant benefits without that element of lustful intercourse was going to be useful. However, the requirement to spend ten nights of service in which the client did not reach culmination, was making Zhou… pouty.

"Sofia…"

"No, you agreed before we started!"

He gave a frustrated groan. Sofia still found the suggestion humorous, but managed to stop expressing it. When the conditions for his improved Cosmic Energy gain the next day had been met and she saw the progress for her Class Quest, they just laid there and talked.

"You've moved up a few rungs. With my help, you might breach the top fifty soon."

He nodded. "The auction tomorrow will slow me down for a day, but it will be an important time to network. Information is a priority, but so too is seeing if other groups will consider bidding for our services. There are potentially unique items that will greatly help the Salamander Group or just Tanya directly. One of the Information Crystals talked a great deal about Dao Treasures that can help advance someone's Dao Seed."

Sofia had yet to obtain a Dao Seed herself. She wondered, what with her Class, what that would even be. She didn't quite have an understanding of what the Dao even was. What did 'the boundless truths of the Heavens themselves' even fucking mean? The way Tanya described it seemed different from Zhou's explanation, which didn't sound anything like what Kim saw it as. It was honestly frustrating to her.

She told Zhou as much when he tried to explain it again.

Maybe it's because I'm a mortal and not a cultivator.

It was so annoying that she couldn't properly cultivate. With some practice she had learned she technically could, but her body was just not able to process Cosmic Energy in any decent quantity. This night with Zhou gave her more Cosmic Energy than a whole month of trying to cultivate.

"Focusing on your Dao is not the same as cultivating. It is about…"

She listened and vowed to try again, but didn't have much hope. She took a lot of solace in that she was relatively safe now. They had moved to Billyville for the time being, both because there were still plenty of Ratmen to hunt down that had been scattered after their Incursion was defeated, and because Tanya wanted to shore up the defenses of the Town in thanks for taking care of her father.

Edwin Degurechaff was not at all what she had imagined. Given Tanya's intensity in everything, she expected something like a drill sergeant. Though, funnily enough, Kim used to be a drill sergeant and she didn't act like what Sofia pictured either. There wasn't anything wrong with him. It was that he just felt… ordinary. Someone like Tanya shouldn't have an ordinary father, it just seemed wrong.

"Are you listening?"

"Sorry, my mind wandered for a second. When do you think this place is going to get proper electricity like New Washington?"

"Soon, actually. The NWG didn't want to sell any, so Tanya started pricing her defensive treasures, those protection amulets that trigger when a very dangerous attack is about to hit you, in terms of solar panels and batteries. Billyville already had some wiring, and one of the mortals here used to be an electrician. It won't be long now."

Sofia stretched, enjoying how it made Zhou's eyes watch her every curve. She knew her Class made her even more desirable than before. For the longest time she couldn't understand why people were so obsessed with leveling up. She knew intellectually having a higher Level made you less likely to die and helped you fight, but they treated it like a drug. Now that she had her own Class Quests and knew that another Class Quest would appear when she hit Level 35, she understood it.

With all those Nexus Coins Tanya pays us with, maybe I'll even be able to afford an E-grade Nexus Crystal or two. I may be behind most of you cultivators, but I'll be catching up soon!

***

"Ma'am! I did it!" Will said excitedly.

Kim stopped her cultivation and looked up at the scarred, eager face of one of the men she'd taken under her wing those months ago.

"Did what, Will?"

He was grinning ear to ear. "I formed my first Dao Seed! The Dao Seed of Heaviness."

"Hell yeah! I knew you had it in you. That sounds like it fits really well with your Class as well."

He nodded. "Sure does. It gives +10 to my Strength and +5 to my Endurance. After our fights with the Ratmen, I've almost finished my Class Quest for something called [Seismic Smash], which I'm pretty sure has something to do with bashing the ground and using that as a weapon."

Kim was really happy for him. They had all been close to dying at one point or another, but Will had probably come the closest in the group. That giant fusion of tiger and rhino had only been an inch away from killing him instantly.

They talked a bit before Kim returned to her cultivation. It was probably one of the aspects of the Multiverse she didn't like very much. While you were cultivating, you had to concentrate. The same was true, more or less, while hunting and fighting, but at least there you could jabber as much as you'd like. When it was time to cultivate, you pretty much had to clam up and focus on moving the Cosmic Energy through your pathways and back out. It was tedious as all hell, but there wasn't a point in being inefficient about it. Not gaining Cosmic Energy whenever you could just made it harder to protect your people.

"Since we've closed the Ogre and Ratmen Incursions, what do you think will be next?"

Kim shrugged. "I don't know. That big auction is taking place soon. Boss lady is probably going to have people bid for our services as a side thing. I don't think the NWG is too happy, but they still want the things she can Enchant so they aren't going to press her too much about it. It will be harder when they move to a private network for their Teleportation Array instead of keeping it public."

The reality of the situation still blew her mind. They were on some sort of a super continent now that was wider than the distance from the tip of North America to the end of South America. Even larger, actually. People from thousands of miles away were going to be instantly transported to the auction. It would have taken people weeks, if not months, even at a high Level to cross the terrain normally.

"I hope it's those Yrd Stonemen the NWG briefed us on. Seems like my Class would love fighting them," he said with a grin.

"I bet it would, though I think Tanya would prefer something that bleeds a bit more."

Will gave a shudder. "Yeah, her sword can fly and drink blood? This new Multiverse is bizarre, but she always takes it to another level. I wonder when we'll be able to get Spirit Tools of our own."

"There was one on the Contribution Store for the Ratmen Incursion, but you'd have to have been killing Ratmen for months to qualify for it. I think those items are pretty rare, but they'll turn up eventually, I'm sure. So save up, and don't spend all your money buying Crystals for nights with Sofia!"

He flushed a bit. "Hey… now it gives a benefit, so…"

Kim laughed. "I'm just fucking with you, kid. I'm not your momma, so you do what you want. Life's too damn short."

"Technically, it's pretty long once we become E-grade Humans," he snarked back.

She shot him a glare and then told him to get so that she could get back to cultivation. Concentrating again on the Cosmic Energy didn't seem nearly as tedious or as sluggish after the brief interruption. She focused her breathing and let herself drift into an intense and otherworldly focus.

***

I loved my dad, but the extra care he wanted to provide the children of Billyville seemed excessive. The bottom line was that if we didn't close the Incursions, humanity was doomed. Creating defensive treasures for every kid… I mean, it was just such a waste. I was an adult, I could tell him no, but I also didn't want to.

Instead, Dorel, who turned out to be a fantastic sounding board for crafting ideas, had another solution. The children could be herded into a large area, with family homes connected to it, and the entire structure could be put under unique Defensive Arrays that I had helped Enchant.

We had the Nexus Coins for them, but the added pièce de résistance was my use of the Enchantment that linked them together. There were pros and cons to this. There was no free lunch in the old world, nor in the Multiverse. Linking together Defensive Arrays meant that the total amount of effort needed to destroy all of them was lower. The amount each could handle before collapsing when combined was less than the sum of their parts. The advantage in what we were doing is that they all remained standing until total collapse. Meaning, any single mutated beast that managed to strike out at the family homes and children' sanctuaries would be shit out of luck unless the entire Town was overrun or no defenders were left to handle it.

The process itself didn't net me a lot of Cosmic Energy, but experimenting with how fractal energies worked in conjunction with inscription and my own Disenchanted parts of beasts opened my eyes to new avenues. It wasn't some System-given blessing, but I felt far more confident in using my [Temporary Enchantment] ability in creative ways. While I still had to use the base Enchantment, the flexibility in Cosmic Energy density, duration, length, and in some cases, effect, was much greater to me now. The epiphany, even without a Dao Seed or Title, filled me with renewed confidence.

Dad also didn't want me to go crush the people who murdered the make-shift city authorities of his former slice of Chicago. That time could be better spent crafting things that could help people, or in closing the Incursions. After my crash out with the Ratmen, I decided to agree… for now. Plus the place didn't even have a Teleportation Array set up, or if they had one, it was private, so it'd take over a day of travel to get there, even if I just sprinted it myself, and then back. I wasn't going to miss the auction, nor did I want to delay potential, lucrative contracts, so I'd put it on the backburner.

Now for the auction itself and the immediate focus on saving Earth from the Incursions. It is rational to triage and prioritize tasks. But one day…

I had gone up several rungs on the Wealth Ladder thanks to the lucrative contracts with the NWG, as well as the metric ton of equipment looted from fallen Ratmen, so I was well prepared to bid on any goodies the NWG had in store for it. I ended up giving the E-grade spear to Zhou. There was a Peak F-grade scythe that I had on the Disenchanting chopping block that I would be using the essence of in forging a new shield for Kim. Based on the energies contained in the scythe, I felt that it was some sort of entropy Dao used to craft it. I suspected that as a shield it would be able to block certain types of destruction energies better, but I'd have to see when it came time to work it.

The venue for the auction was the National Opera, and it boasted a rather massive lobby for the crowds of guests to mill about in. I had Zhou, Shella, Sofia, and my dad with me. Nigel and Billy would be arriving a bit later. I wanted to get there a bit early and feel out the people I might be able to sell goods or mercenary services to. Plus, it wasn't like the Salamander Group was officially part of Billyville. I was only there because my dad was comfortable there, and the rest of my group was only there because I was there.

We were among the first to arrive, but not the first. It was quite an eclectic bunch. Humans and Ishiate, but a few Ishiate were sporting guns and far more modern clothing. I asked Shella about that.

"Tinkers," she said with disgust, but then sighed. "Our village has long opposed them, but in light of what you Humans create, I suppose they truly are not so bad. Wars have been fought with them in the past, but we all must survive against the Incursions, so I will be polite."

Sofia had split off and said she wanted to hear what everyone was talking about. I ended up having a lengthy conversation with an Outpost leader who was actually somewhat close to where Jayden was located. He had traveled to a nearby Town to use the Teleportation Array and was actually looking for help to finish a Dynamic Quest that would upgrade his settlement into a Town. I told him about the Salamander Group and that I would be offering my services to the highest bidder.

"Ah, but how strong are you? Can you show me your Level screen?" He looked me up and down, noting my armor, but also looking doubtfully at me. "No offense, but if you aren't at least Level 30, I don't think you and your people can help much."

Dad started laughing and I nudged him with my elbow. He could at least wait until the man actually saw my Level. I wasn't here to hide, after all, so I made my Level visible from the Status Menu and his face took on a reddish hue.

"I'm so s-sorry! I didn't know you were the Enchanter! Please forgive me."

That would have been the time to laugh, but my dad had jumped the gun. Oh well. I reassured him that I took no offense. I doubted he could afford my rates, but I offered a small discount on my Cosmic Energy-leaching weapons after briefly explaining the minor slippage when wielding it.

I made the rounds for an hour, talking about my weapons and the Salamander Group's prior success in closing Incursions to potential clients. Then a very interesting group walked in. Monk, or Super Brother Man, had arrived. He was barefoot and had the oddest companions with him. One was an Asian man in what looked like sailor garb from centuries ago, who was the least out of place. At his side was a white-haired, red-eyed humanoid with horns. My contacts didn't twig on any hidden illusions, so I figured this might actually be a genuine Demon.

If one of the Incursions included Demons, perhaps closed before the NWG even heard of it, then anyone who didn't make it back through the portal would be stranded here.

Next to him was a short Zhix. That was probably even more shocking than the Demon. As best all the reports could tell, the Zhix relentlessly attacked everyone. The NWG had tried to talk with them, but they were unrelentingly hostile and wouldn't even attempt to communicate. I just had to find out what was going on there. I was so curious that I almost missed the blue elfish-looking humanoid in a suit who had already started walking off to speak to others.

"Seriously, what the hell? Is that the secret to power leveling so fast, gathering allies from other worlds? Zhou, please try to go chat with the blue person in a suit and find out what he's about while I talk to the others."

I then walked over to the bald man and smiled. "So, we meet again."

"What is it with you and blonds?" the Demon asked, and then disappeared into the shadows before either of us could answer. I marked his magical travel to a surprised waiter he scared before downing two glasses of champagne they were holding.

"Uh, yeah. I was a bit stressed at the time. I do hope your friend learned something."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I only know her name. I was temporarily working security while I did my crafting."

"Huh, so you are some sort of hybrid Class?"

Before I could answer him, several people stomped up and one pointed at the Zhix next to Monk.

"You have a lot of balls bringing one of those things here," one of the front men growled as he balefully glared at the insectoid being.

The Asian guy stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"I don't know your history with the Zhix, but we have brought Ibtep here in order to help facilitate peace between our species. Our main priority should be the Incursions rather than fighting amongst natives," he said diplomatically.

Laudable and excellent news.

"Hello, human, I am Ibtep," the Zhix said, ignoring Monk's attempt to quiet him. "I am sorry there has been some confusion between our people, resulting in accidental deaths. On the bright side, it is only weakness leaving your swarm, making it stronger."

That was clearly not the right thing to say.

"What the FUCK is this thing saying? YOU BASTARDS KILLED MY HOMETOWN!" another one of the men who had stomped up roared, his eyes bulging in anger. Two of them drew swords and one a wavy-looking dagger.

"Enough," I said and used a harmless [Temporary Enchantment] to change the quality and volume of my voice. I had originally designed the Enchantment as a way to communicate across the battlefield, but I had difficulty with switching it on or off, so never bothered keeping it as more than a knickknack. I was not going to permanently be shouting, but as something temporary it was fun to use. When I cast it, I could modify the sound of my words to be far more ominous sounding, which I did here.

In my regular voice I continued, "I am not currently under contract with the NWG for security, but I will not hesitate to respond with lethal force if you attempt to harm one of their guests."

These people were some of the ones who had already met me before Monk's group had arrived. They knew who I was. Fourth on the Ladder. Someone who had closed two Incursions. They sheathed their weapons in a hurry.

"Why are you sticking up for these insect-lovers?"

"We live in a society. Everyone here agreed to no violence and all of us want this auction to be a success. That's the first and only reason you need, but I'll give you another. We know almost nothing about the Zhix. Just like Humans serve under many different banners, it is possible they do so as well. I, for one, would like to hear what they have to say. If nothing else, it will let me know more about their society, along with their potential strengths and weaknesses."

One man still seemed to want to push his luck, but his companions pulled him back. One turned toward me and lowered his head.

"Sorry about that, Ms. Degurechaff. We didn't mean to offend."

The Zhix looked at me and then gave me a shallow bow. "I am Ibtep, ambassador of Nonet, Anointed of the hive of Kundevi. Strength to your hive."

"And to yours," I said and returned the bow at the same level as he had done. At least I thought it was a he, though I wasn't quite sure, but it didn't matter for this. "I am curious about your people. I have encountered the Zhix before, but none of them tried talking and I was forced to kill them."

Monk looked at me. "Who are you?"

"Enchanter Class Tanya Degurechaff, at your service. I am head of the Salamander Group, a private security force adept at taking down Incursions. I also have a large variety of goods to sell, some of which will appear in this auction."

The man studied me, some mental calculations taking place as he took too long to reply.

"Uh, well, we might need your services, depending on the price. I may be in the market for a variety of things to trade for what you might have. What can your Enchanter Class do?"

"Almost anything, within reason and the right materials. There's an obvious power gap that I can't exceed, for now, but I can Enchant armor to be quite durable and protective, I can make weapons that can pierce all but the most powerful monstrous hides, I can create defensive treasures that will deflect deadly attacks, and even more mundane things. What would interest you?"

"I'm not sure, I guess that will depend on how much money I have left after the auction," Monk replied.

I laughed. "Fair enough. Beyond that… I do want to talk to you and Ibtep about the Zhix. If we don't need to fight, I would rather we didn't. I also am very curious about the blue fellow and your Demon friend. However this goes, I would like to pick their brains."

Monk nodded. "We'll see how much time there is after the auction. Port Atwood wants to make friends and work toward closing the Incursions, so our interests align. Thank you for earlier, but if you'll excuse me, there is someone I wish to talk with."

My first impression of him when he had first visited the NWG had been a very poor one, but it seemed like he was someone I could potentially work with. I doubted he would need us for mercenary work with his obscene lead in Levels, but I bet he could use some of my Enchanted gear. And if not him, maybe the people he hunted with.

The Marshall Clan also had an interest in my wares, so I might be busy Enchanting for a bit. But we'll see if anyone is ready to get serious about closing Incursions after the auction.

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Rating:

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Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Fandoms:

Characters:

Tanya von DegurechaffThea MarshallZac

Additional Tags:

Crossovers & Fandom FusionsStrong Female CharactersPost-ApocalypseLitRPG

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2026-07-30Updated:2026-10-07Words:225,086Chapters:48/?Comments:429Kudos:435Bookmarks:87Hits:16,998

Tanya's Defiance of the Fall

Failninjaninja

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Special thanks to @Massgamer for their proofreading help.

Chapter 17

Ogras thought that, as far as gatherings went, this one was pretty boring. There hadn't even been any bloodshed! There were some interesting people so far, including the blond Enchanter. That was not a very common Class, but he had heard of it before. Some of their later Class Skills made them highly sought after for niche enhancements that you couldn't get through Inscriptions or Arrays.

When the auction doors finally opened, the Defier and group were ushered to the front row. Ogras was eager to see what wares were available. Clustered in the room was a massive giant of a Human that made Ogras wonder if there were some Bloodlines active on the planet somehow. Not being part of the Multiverse until recently should have made that impossible, but spatial travel was still possible. Frontier Sectors had that happen in Cosmic Vessels, but the cost of such a thing and for what purpose eluded him completely.

"Nigel told me the strong sit in front. I knew you were smart, bald guy. But Billy is not only smart, Billy is also rich," the giant said with a loud voice as he thumped down close to them, taking up two seats himself.

"I'm sure there are enough good things for both of us," Zac answered.

Seeing an opportunity to learn information about potential enemies, Ogras looked over in the direction of the Marshall Clan, the group that was backing Thea Marshall.

"Hey, girl, I hear you're the strongest woman amongst the Humans. At least sometimes." He had been told by Zac that Thea had been briefly overcome on the Ladder by Tanya before the Enchanter dropped back down. "We saw your jump in the Dao Ladder a while back. Did you find something good? Are you interested in selling it?" Ogras asked with a toothy grin.

The lucky ruler of Atwood tried to play too nice. He did that far too much for Ogras's taste.

"I am sorry about him. Different cultures and all that," Zac said while flashing a smile.

"Weaklings often have big mouths to compensate. I'm more curious about you. What are you called?" Thea asked.

"Uh, people call me Monk," Zac replied uncertainly.

You are the strongest on the Ladder, stop acting like a weakling.

"She's got a mouth on her," Ogras said, not minding the insult. "You should kidnap her back to Port Atwood. You'd have strong babies."

Something almost happened at the edge of his awareness, as if some Skill or possibly even a Dao manifestation had started to come to life, but a loud clearing of the throat from one row behind them put an end to whatever it was that had been about to manifest.

"My earlier announcement applies to you too, Ms. Marshall."

Ogras blinked as the two blond-haired, blue-eyed women of almost the same height stared at each other.

"Careful, Degurechaff. A good working relationship means you shouldn't interfere when I'm putting trash in their place."

"This is neutral ground, not a place for violence." She glanced at the older man sitting next to her. "I don't wish for any clash of powers here where others could get hurt."

"Are you two related? From the same lineage?" Ogras blurted out. There wasn't a direct family resemblance outside of height, hair color, and eye color, but he wasn't an expert in Humans. They also both had the same letter at the start of their names and were battling it out for the top female spot on the Ladder.

They both looked at him, Thea with contempt, and Tanya with a small shake of her head.

"I don't believe so."

Zac gave a heavy sigh and soon enough the auction began. Music began playing as the large curtains were raised. A man in a suit walked out on the stage and stood behind the podium.

"Welcome all to the first Grand Auction, held by the New World Government! It is an amazing sight to see so many coming together from all corners of the world! It is truly a testament to humanity's resilience in the face of adversity. We're also happy to see friends from other races joining us here today. I am hoping this is the start of a long and fruitful cooperation between our species."

Hah, little chance that the Ruthless Heavens will allow that.

The man explained the rules of the auction and Ogras listened as he planned on participating.

"Be aware that no coercion, threats, or other disturbances are allowed during the auction. A first offense will result in a warning, but repeat offenders will be escorted out of the venue. With that, I hope you will enjoy the auction, and that you all find something that will help you in the fight against our foreign invaders. The first item up for auction is a set of five E-grade Nexus Crystals."

The bidding started at 25,000 Nexus Coins and quickly went up from there.

"Two hundred thousand," the elder of the Marshall Clan suddenly said, and the hall quickly stilled.

"Two hundred fifty thousand," Ogras said with a grin while waving his paddle at the old man.

"That's coming out of your own pocket," Zac said.

"You have a thing or two to learn about auctions," he replied. "You need to let people know you're a force to be reckoned with. That you have more money than sense. That will discourage people from bidding against you, helping you save money. No one likes to lose a bidding war, after all," Ogras said in a deliberately loud voice.

"Three hundred thousand," the old man responded with a snort.

Ogras was trying to teach something to the axe wielding Human, but his advice felt like it was landing on deaf ears.

He'll learn, or he won't. Either way as long as he continues to get stupidly lucky, he'll probably survive.

There was no further bidding on the Crystals and Ogras was pleased that he had essentially cost a bidding opponent one hundred thousand Nexus Coins. Not a huge sum at this point, but that was one hundred thousand fewer Nexus Coins for the Marshall Clan would have to bid on other items with.

"Up next is a sword made by Tanya Degurechaff herself. Peak Quality F-grade with enhancements that improves its cutting and thrusting power. Normal mutated beasts below Level 40 should not be able to withstand its power, but note that the creator mentioned that there is a 1% deduction in any Cosmic Energy that you will obtain with kills from it."

Ogras glanced behind him at the Enchanter. He realized exactly what could cause that, if she had implanted some sort of miniature fractal that mimicked that of a Mother-Daughter Array. But how? The Multiverse was unimaginably vast, but such a thing shouldn't be possible for someone at this grade. Sure, D-grade Hegemons who could craft could do all sorts of miniaturizations, or so he'd heard, but this?

He began bidding immediately.

"Making it more expensive for other people again?" Zac asked him.

"No," he whispered back. "I want to understand how she did it. That sort of thing shouldn't be possible, from what I understand. We need to take one back to Port Atwood and get it examined by Calrin in detail."

The Sky Gnome was frowning thoughtfully and looking at the blade as well. It was bid on highly, but Ogras left it for now. It was too early to splurge, and there might be other great treasures that he wasn't aware of. It ended up being scooped up by someone who looked like a weakling.

It isn't a Spirit Tool. Maybe I'll steal it from him when the auction is over.

Metals, woods, herbs, and even a low-grade Attribute Fruits were auctioned off in quick succession. Even some wyvern eggs made it on the stage. Then came various liquors. Ogras found that he had a liking to what the Humans created, so he won a few of the bids for those. They weren't nearly as expensive as more of the enchanted weaponry, armor, and E-grade Crystals.

When an amulet of protection, a defensive treasure, was announced, Zac leaned over and asked if it was worth it.

"For you? No," Ogras snorted. "Any blow it can stop is probably one your stupid Title-boosted attributes could withstand. But for your recruits, it might be the difference between living and dying. Too pricey to give to regular people, but for a few of the people you've identified as having potential, they would be useful."

For about two hours the auction continued. Much of it was completely uninteresting. Tanya's equipment was not the only ones for sale, but the others were of lower quality and not going to be much help for anyone higher on the Ladder.

"This concludes the first half of our auction. I am happy that so many of you have found something of interest. We will take a short break for thirty minutes, and refreshments will be served. The second half contains far fewer items, but I am sure that each and every one of them will astound you," he said with a smile.

"Hopefully the second round will be more exciting," Ogras commented.

"You took an interest in one of my Enchanted weapons," Tanya broke in. "I'm sorry you weren't able to win it, but I am in need of information. I have some enchanted equipment that is for sale and not part of this event."

Ogras smiled. "Information? What are you looking for?"

"Well, I want information about the Zhix and potential understanding between our two species. You are a Demon and I don't know what your blue friend is, but I am curious about your knowledge of the Multiverse. The Tutorial was scant on a lot of useful information. I dislike flying blind."

Let's see what she'll give me for free.

"We might be able to make a deal… But I'm curious as to how you got that enchantment to have part of the Cosmic Energy harvested refunded to you, the creator. Such an Array or Inscription should be far too complex, or too large, for such a weak weapon."

She shrugged. "I imbued it with my Dao Seed."

Ogras looked at her in disbelief. That was advanced for a world that had just been integrated. Though the Origin Dao could be active and allow people to develop their Dao at rates that would make the rest of the Multiverse jealous, especially during the first year or two. It was an advanced concept, but she was high on the Dao Ladder. It did make a lot more sense than trying to miniaturize something so complex onto an F-grade weapon.

Having what he needed he gave her a smug grin, "Thanks, I'll think about buying something, but for now I'm good."

Tanya frowned. "I see. Mr. Ogras, I do still want a chance to ask you some questions and understand the bigger picture of the Multiverse. If you are no longer interested in a weapon, what does catch your eye?"

Pleased with how this was working out for him, he began to barter in earnest.

***

That Demon was like some demented version of Zettour. I wasn't sure how much was playacting to put people off guard and how much was subtle calculation, but he absolutely understood he had an asymmetrical information advantage over me. When the 'Sky Gnome' also joined in the conversation, I felt like I was getting dragooned again for a special assignment.

"I know you want to think about it," Ogras said, showing his teeth, "but we don't intend to turn on our Teleportation Array for public use, so we do have to make a deal sooner rather than later."

"Fine.. Ten protection amulets, two Peak F-grade Enchanted weapons without the Cosmic Energy 'tax', and a Peak F-grade armor that is resistant to fire. Those can be ready in three weeks, so before the big Eastern Trigram Hunt."

The Eastern Trigram Hunt was… well, I didn't know exactly what it was. Apparently some people received tokens for it during the Tutorial and in about a month's time it would open up. It would last for thirty days and was considered a "Treasure Hunt." I knew the NWG was going to be auctioning some of them off, and I had briefly considered going, but I decided I had too many orders to fulfill and if a ton of the rankers were already planning to take part, it could leave many places vulnerable.

And everything works off supply and demand. If the supply of high level folks is limited…

During the interlude, Zhou had already informed me about two different offers to help with Dynamic Quests. They weren't for Incursions, so I probably wouldn't accept those offers, unless we truly weren't going to get anyone ballsy enough to try to end an Incursion at this point. I felt it was a mistake to let them sit around and grow stronger. The enemies who had come through had higher levels and stats than we did, but they were being artificially suppressed by the System. However, that suppression was already dissipating, so the sooner we struck the better as I didn't think we would grow faster than they would regain their strength. Though admittedly, that was just guesswork on my part. I lacked information, which was why this fucking Demon had me over a barrel!

"In exchange, I'll give you six hours of my precious time to honestly answer all the questions you have, to the best of my knowledge, about the Multiverse at large upon delivery of the items. Fair's fair, I won't speak slowly or in a matter you can't understand, and you don't lay booby traps that will make your items explode. For now… you can give me one of those defensive treasures so we can examine it and make sure you follow through correctly, and I'll answer a few freebies in the time we have before the auction resumes."

Which was like ten minutes. There had been some other stipulations, such as not revealing secrets about his people or Port Atwood, which was fine. I wanted some other information. The place of our meeting would be Billyville, where Billy would turn their Array public for a brief period of time at confirmed time for Ogras to make use of to arrive, hand over the goods, and we could have our sit-down.

"Done. First, are all Incursions roughly equal at the start, and they just grow more or less difficult to deal with based on their actions here and individual competencies?"

Ogras laughed. "Hah, no, not at all the case. The Ruthless Heavens don't do 'equal.' That would be far too fair, and fairness is for the weak."

That was disappointing to hear, because that meant we might face far more formidable Incursions than the Ogres and Ratmen. While the reverse could be true, I didn't like surprises.

"Incursions are invitations," he continued, "or more accurately, paid invasions. A force from outside a newly integrated world pays the Ruthless Heavens a fee to open a temporary gateway. Through the gateway they bring what they want. Warriors, beasts, supplies, weapons, wealth, but the System makes them pay for everything. Bringing enough to ensure success, which is never assured, is a sure way to bankrupt even powerful forces. You Humans have a saying, 'the juice needs to be worth the squeeze', and that's the reason why you Humans have a fighting chance. Not in a hundred thousand years could you hope to withstand the power of the Undead Empire, even the lowly local faction of the Zecia Sector, if they could just send as much as they want through."

I blinked. That was a lot of useful information. I wanted to ask what the Zecia Sector was, but I had limited time and wanted to get to my question about the Tower of Eternity token.

"I was rewarded with a Tower of Eternity token. What is that?"

The Demon looked surprised. "Huh, well, as always the Ruthless Heavens play favorites… I guess it is to be expected for a top ranker. Before you break past Level 75 and evolve into an E-grade being…"

"Wait, is that different from my Race?"

"Did you get defective Tutorial Pixies?" he asked with amusement.

I gave him a look.

"Hah, no, your Race is different than what you are. There are already Humans who have probably evolved to E-grade, but no one has advanced beyond Level 75. The Tower of Eternity is a System Trial. Nine floors of nine levels each. You can spend up to a year within the Base Town, but your time in the Tower is limited to ninety-nine days. Though it is time dilated, so for the rest of the Multiverse only a day passes."

The System can just casually mess with time? If I could do that I could get so much more crafting done…

"So it is a formalized Dynamic Quest and if you clear the 81st level you get a reward?"

He guffawed. "You get rewards for each floor you clear, and pretty damn good ones too. The Title improves the higher you get. If you can clear the 4th Floor then you'd have my respect. You can go when you reach Level 50, but most wait until Level 75."

"Why?"

"Because you can't go after you become an E-grade, you can only take it at F-grade. Why? Ask the Ruthless Heavens. And you don't want to go right when you hit Level 50, because you probably wouldn't even make it past the 2nd floor. Not without a lot of help from rich Clan members, which this world doesn't have."

After that, the auction resumed and I had a million other questions. Damn him, now my curiosity was really piqued.

This time it was not the original auctioneer running things, but a celebrity. An actress named Emma MacHale came on stage, causing quite a stir. Ogras, for some reason, suddenly tensed and began an argument with Monk, who had a hand on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't be stopping me; you should be fighting me for who gets to take her back," Ogras said in a whisper that was a little too loud to be private. Zhou and my dad exchanged glances, while Zhou repositioned himself in his seat in case violence was needed.

I waited and then was relieved when Monk seemed to have it under control. The actress on stage began speaking and another near-violent crisis passed.

"Welcome, all, to the second half of the New World Government Auction! I am Emma MacHale, your host for this section of the auction," she said and threw out a radiant smile. Whatever else might be true about the Demon, one thing was for sure, he clearly knew beauty when he saw it. I was hopeful that Ogras also came from a bizarrely different cultural viewpoint on proper courtship, much like Ibtep and his horrific 'condolences' for Human deaths. Because otherwise…

"As my colleague said earlier, there will be fewer items in this second half, but each and every one is a true treasure. At least we think so, since, honestly, we do not know exactly what some of the things for sale even are!" the hostess said with a laugh.

She went on to explain that Thomas Fischer, now the formal mayor of New Washington, would be providing information that the crowd shouldn't miss. As I knew what was coming, there were the first of a few entrance tickets to the Treasure Hunt. The Marshall Clan, Billy, and Ogras started the bidding, taking it from 250,000 to 350,000, and then finally to 500,000. Monk and Ogras began fiercely whispering again, and then Ogras looked glum for a second, before Billy ended up winning the token for a full million Nexus Coins.

An Ishiate won the next one. Then the Marshall Clan picked up two. They moved on to other treasures from there.

"Next up, we have a unique material an explorer found in a cave. It is not a metal that was previously found on Earth, and it doesn't conform to the laws of physics," Emma said as it was rolled out. "Its weight drastically changes depending on its temperature, and inside a fire, it actually floats! Perhaps a skilled craftsman can make something amazing out of this thing in the future."

The Sky Gnome, who went by the name Calrin, began the bidding, but I quickly joined in. We quickly began a bidding war and it went up to almost a million Nexus Coins before I bowed out. I was tempted to push even further for it, but I didn't actually know if I could make use of it well. I wasn't a Blacksmith, after all. He looked very happy to have won and I again grew annoyed by the information asymmetry at play here. Monk, or Super Brother Man, clearly had a leg up on us and deep reservoirs of knowledge on the way the Multiverse worked due to his companions. No doubt, every foe he fought, every scheme he laid out, was meticulously calculated by him and his advisors to speed ahead of the rest of humanity.

The next item was a stone that they demonstrated could make a flower wilt. The NWG had little information on it, other than that it absorbed plant life and that it didn't give off radiation. I didn't have much interest in it, but apparently many other people did.

"One million," came the voice of Thea Marshall.

"One point one million," Nigel said as he held up the arm of Billy.

"One point five," Thea said as she threw a glance over at Nigel.

"One point six," Nigel followed up with some hesitation.

"Why is this stone so valuable?" Zhou asked beside me.

"I don't know. I could guess, but that's all it would be," I replied, keeping my voice even, though I did feel some frustration. I hated not knowing what was going on. When you were in the dark, you were most vulnerable. Having accurate battlefield intelligence was vital.

Monk raised his paddle. "Two million."

"Two point five," Thea answered with an annoyed look.

"Three million," Monk said easily.

Billy dropped off and then it was just Monk and Thea, with Monk winning it for six million Nexus Coins. A truly staggering sum. I had more at this point, thanks to my lucrative sales, but this was getting a bit ridiculous. What the hell did that rock do?

They then brought out some plants and herbs that weren't found on Earth, and Shella participated and grabbed a few for pocket change. When one started getting pricey because the Marshall Clan began bidding aggressively, I went ahead and dropped three hundred thousand Nexus Coins to win it. Shella's ears shook with appreciation.

We'll be the ones using the eventual final product, so unless I am wrong, this is a wise investment!

The tranquility and professionalism was once again broken by Monk and Ogras. They were arguing with Calrin, and then the Demon roared.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

The shadows began to move oddly and I was rethinking the deal I had agreed to. What the hell was wrong with these people?

The NWG finally stepped in and warned them, though they had glanced at me first and I had nodded my head slightly that, yes, if it came down to it, I would help out. My first move would be to interpose myself between Dad and them, and then send out [Crimson Siphon] amongst them while I readied an empowered Fireball. I didn't think it likely that they would start violence, or at least not sustained violence, as there was a lot to lose even if Super Brother Man could win. But they were making peace, Ogras even smoothed out his white hair and smiled.

"Sorry, sorry. How about I take Miss Emma out for dinner to show my contrition?"

The whole hall booed and demanded that the auction continue. The last part of the auction was a bit boring as it was most High quality equipment that was inferior to the stuff I sold. However, I hadn't made a lot, given the other commissions I had been fulfilling, so there were more buyers than there were products, which led to a rather ridiculous situation where someone bid higher for a High quality armor than my Peak F-grade armor.

"As the final item of the evening, I present to you the [Sword of Storms] an E-grade sword fitting both wind and water cultivators."

Now that was something I wanted. I was eager to examine it because I could use it while I sent [Crimson Siphon] dancing among my enemies. The wind element might mesh well with my Dao of Volition, but if it wasn't a good fit, I could always Disenchant it and try to craft an E-grade item again.

Hmm, I wonder if I could upgrade my boots to take to the skies again. I've tried doing it before, but F-grade at best lets me Enchant it with increased jumping ability. Ah, so many options.

A random cultivator and I got into a bidding war over it before I snagged it for three million Nexus Coins.

"Thank you all for coming and bidding today! I hope to see you all again at our next event. With this, I give you Thomas Fischer," Emma said as she quickly left the stage, followed by applause and hooting.

Thomas, Julia, and several other people I recognized as important people of the NWG came onstage.

"Welcome, all. I have already had the pleasure of meeting many of you, but for those who do not know me, I am Thomas Fischer, the leader of New Washington. I was once the Deputy Secretary of Defense for the United States government, but today, I stand before you as a representative for the New World Government."

Julia displayed the stats that he had to share. That by their calculations, Earth was down to less than two billion people, and that over six billion were dead in just five months into the integration. It was a shocking number, but I actually was surprised it wasn't worse. It was just an estimate based on the area they had mapped out and the people they found compared to the size of the new planet, so it could be off by a considerable margin, good or bad. But either way, it was clear that no greater loss of life had ever struck mankind. The System had as good as murdered billions.

"Every day, our brothers and sisters fall due to either the harsh environment we have been thrown into, or the invaders who aim to take our lands for their own," he continued, somberly looking over the subdued audience. "But now it is time for humanity to unite."

***

Zhou had grown sensitive to Tanya's moods. Her 'poker face', as Americans called it, was very good, but he could tell she was growing more and more annoyed with Monk's group. The threshold for violence among these people seemed absurdly thin to him. It wasn't just Monk's group, but others seemed overeager to start hostilities even if, logically, it was completely fraught with risk.

As Thomas Fischer continued his speech, he still felt upset that his beloved China had not done well since the merger. It seemed as if they were unlucky enough to appear next to one of the more powerful Incursions, one that grew stronger with each kill they made. The Undead Empire had grown to now be the largest, or at least the largest they knew of, threat to mankind, given how many settlements it bordered.

The speech was a decent one, but Zhou didn't know if it would hit the mark as intended. By and large, most of the people in the room didn't matter. Power was concentrated in the hands of the few. Even if the NWG had cobbled together over thirty settlements who agreed to their authority, that was still a tiny number.

Thomas ended his speech by saying, "We will take a short break in just a minute. After we reconvene, we will go through all the information we have gathered about the Incursions and the foreign invaders. There will be much exclusive intelligence there, and I urge everyone to stay behind and listen. It will not only help with your survival in the future, but it might help with your path to power. For this part, everyone here will be welcome to participate, as we're all together in the fight against Incursions. After that, we will focus on the organization of humanity. This part will have little information of value for our Ishiate friends, so we have prepared a separate venue for you at that point."

The speech came to a close and Zhou noted an official pull Monk aside while his group followed.

"What do you think?" Zhou asked Tanya.

"The NWG has already given us the intelligence they have on the Incursions. It will be interesting to see how many Outposts and Towns end up joining up. Nigel has already told Billy that he thinks Billy knows better than the NWG, but I imagine that will change if everyone decides to join in. The Marshall Clan doesn't look too impressed, though."

Edwin looked thoughtful.

"It isn't perfect, but if the NWG can bring order, that would be a good thing."

"If," Tanya agreed. "They've been coy about sharing if they want to bring back democracy or how their government will run. The devil is always in the details. I understand that taking a position now will alienate people, but it makes me leery of throwing my full support behind them."

They were interrupted by a group interested in hiring the Salamander Group. Their Town had a Unique Quest to slay five specific Peak F-grade beasts as the first of a three-part quest to turn their Town into a City. Tanya was asking questions about the Quest when a towering aura was unleashed backstage.

Tanya was right, it is Super Brother Man.

The power of it was immense. Even separated by some distance, its raw energy made most people cringe away from the source.

"Dad, take Shella and Sofia to the exit, Zhou, with me."

Edwin made to protest, but Tanya was already moving and Zhou raced to catch up to her. They blazed past two guards with guns who looked rooted to the spot. Finding the source of immense presence was easy. It could probably be felt for kilometers in all directions.

They made it backstage where a number of NWG officials were shying away from the almost visible corona of fury around the bald-headed man. One looked unconscious on the ground, though no wound was showing, while two others were conscious but looking ill just being so close to an unleashed aura of such magnitude. Only Thomas Fisher stood tall before it, but the strain of the effort was visible to Zhou's discerning eye.

"If I was an enemy of humanity, I would simply kill you all and seize control of New Washington! There is nothing you can do to me. But you want proof? Fine."

With a wave of Monk's hand, his aura disappeared and instead a prompt was summoned and hovered in front of the group.

[Planetary Aegis: First to stop an Incursion in world. Reward: All stats +5, all stats +5%]

Title screens could not be faked. The System itself disallowed it, which had discomforted Zhou in the implication that it was always watching at all times for such a thing. With Monk pulling back the force of his being, those on the ground slowly got to their feet.

"Is there a problem here?" Tanya said coldly stepping in between Monk and the officials of the NWG.

"These politicians were accusing me of being in league with the enemies of humanity. We have done our part. We have even defeated an Incursion, and now we're in the process of brokering peace with the Zhix in order to benefit all humanity. Port Atwood is standing on the forefront of protecting humanity. I heard you and Billy closed an Incursion, but has the NWG? They haven't, otherwise they would be bragging about it to everyone. Perhaps it is time they started to get a move on instead of playing politics."

Zhou found the situation interesting, despite the inherent danger they were potentially in. He knew he would not be able to meaningfully affect the outcome of a fight between Super Brother Man and Tanya, but planned to feint toward Ogras and then attempt to capture the Sky Gnome and use him as a hostage to get Super Brother Man to back down if it came to blows. What was amusing is that what Monk was saying was incredibly similar to Tanya's own irritation with the NWG. They didn't want to commit to a hard fight, whereas she was chomping at the bit to get her hands wet with the blood of powerful enemies.

Thomas Fischer stepped forward ahead of Tanya.

"I am sorry about my colleagues' words, Mr. Monk," he said with a contrite face. "We simply needed to make sure of your allegiance. If our plans for the future were exposed, it would risk them failing, which would impact all of humanity. We have been fighting the Incursions on multiple fronts for months, and honestly, it is a losing battle."

That is twisting the truth so close to a lie that it makes little difference. They have scouted them out but unless they have lied to us, they have expended no great effort to assault them.

Thomas explained how the Incursions were quickly gaining power, throwing off the temporary limitations of the System day by day.

"We believe that the longer things drag on, the harder it will be to expel their forces. Some of our analysts even believe that unless we defeat them within the year, then humanity is doomed. This is why we called so many forces here today."

A Japanese official inclined his head lightly. "But your victory and Billyville's gives us hope that our mission is doable. We hope we can rely on your power and expertise in the coming months, and together rid this planet of the invaders."

"Port Atwood will do what we can in the war effort, but we have our own things we are dealing with as well. And also, sorry to rain on your parade, but the Incursions aren't our only problem," Monk said solemnly.

Thomas frowned, inquiring as to what else was a threat.

"Ibtep, please explain to these people about the Dominators," Zac told his insectoid companion.

The Zhix explained about a powerful faction of the Zhix who had been able to cultivate before the integration. The Zhix thought they had been annihilated in a genocidal civil war between the two factions, but apparently the 'Dominators' had survived. That worried Zhou because that probably meant that group had a large leg up compared to humanity. When Ibtep displayed the Zhix Ladder, it was confirmed in the most horrifying way possible. The one known as 'Inevitability' had a Level of 98, and was not the only Zhix to have blown past the Level 75 F-grade cap. Even Tanya displayed uncharacteristic alarm.

Every few levels I feel the vast gap of power from where I was before to where I am now. Unless progress drastically slows post Level 75, and by all that we've seen implied in Information Crystals the opposite is true, I do not know if even Tanya, Super Brother Man, and Thea Marshall working together could defeat someone like that.

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Chapter 1611 - 16-18