Defiance of the Fall

Zac looked at his second tally with a smile. Getting 125,000 merit hadn't felt too impressive when he saw it the first time, but he was far more appreciative after joining his first campaign. He'd repelled half an army almost on his own and then conquered the world, yet it only rewarded him 600 merit, including the bonuses he got from his designation.

Certainly, that was a decent amount for one hour of work, considering Emily and Rhubat only earned around 10,000 a month. But it wasn't like he could get this amount every hour as long as he kept fighting. He could feel it'd take a day to stabilize his overused pathways and recover his energy. And even if he were ready, where would he go? If he forced early assaults on the other warfronts, casualties would quickly balloon.

The real problem was the battlefield and its low grade. The static rewards for large-scale tasks such as conquering the enemy fortress were very low, and his merit was drastically penalized since he out-leveled the warfront. Zac guessed it was fair; the System wanted people to push themselves and break through their limits at the edge of life and death. It would be a problem if people like him were allowed to farm low-grade battlefields for infinite merit without taking any real risks.

He would have to take real risks and enter higher-grade battlefields to earn more merit, but that was easier said than done. He first wanted to finish his upgrades since you could run into elites and higher-stage Hegemons on those warfronts. But there was also a problem with his faction. Their lack of Hegemons could partly be made up for with his elites' equipment and individual strength. But their wartime supplies were lacking.

The Atwood Army had limited stockpiles of good siege machines and Array Towers since they could only produce High E-grade weaponry, with the occasional product reaching the threshold of Peak E-grade. With every faction across Zecia screaming for these strategic resources, they were only left with scraps, if anything, when trying to purchase items from the outside. As such, the number of high-grade engagements they could enter was limited.

But there was a possible solution to the problem.

"What now?" Vilari asked.

"Let's check out the Merit Exchange," Zac said, and the Mentalist led him to a nearby structure.

Triv had already covered the general rules of the Merit Exchange. Simply put, there were three of them; General Exchange, Limited Exchange, and Faction Exchange. The listed products were individualized based on your grade, designation, and evaluation. Defenders would see more treasures leaning toward survivability, while commanders had access to War Arrays, communication methods, and protections against assassination.

The exchange was guarded by three Revenants and a Raun spectral, who quickly bowed upon seeing who was approaching. The two entered, and Zac found the Merit Exchange looked almost identical to the Recruitment Center. Dozens of floating crystals were lined up, though someone had added small booths with obfuscation arrays for privacy.

There were only a few Revenants inside, and Zac curiously looked on as one after another emerged from respective booths. The two entered one of the free exchange booths, and the surroundings blurred. Zac put his hand on the waiting crystal, and a screen resembling his Town Shop appeared. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelenglish.net . (ꜰ)ire.ɴet

For a moment, Zac felt himself back in the Orom World, looking at the vast number of items that could be exchanged. There were all kinds of wares, from raw materials to pills, weaponry, and ancillary items like talismans or arrays. The items were mostly in Peak E-grade or Pseudo D-grade, with only a few being Early D-grade—in other words, things that would be used by an Early Hegemon on the frontier.

Some wares, especially the E-grade items, were marked as grade-exclusive. That meant they'd be removed when he broke through to Middle D-grade and hopefully replaced with better stuff. Then again, high-grade items were much rarer, to the point Late Hegemons almost had nothing to buy in the general store, with all their resources being limited.

As expected, nothing piqued Zac's interest in the General Exchange. You could even get better stuff in his empire's Contribution Store, not to mention his private stockpiles. The only benefit was that you could buy as many as you wanted of every item, and the prices were very fair. Zac only skimmed through the contents to get a general sense of what the System offered before swapping to the Limited Exchange.

Things quickly got more interesting. For one, there were no E-grade items, with all wares being Pseudo D-grade or higher. Just the opening screen showcased all kinds of useful items. There were unsurprisingly Core-Strengthening Pills from High to Peak-quality, including attuned ones that could more efficiently nurture his core. You could also buy powerful-looking arrays to improve your cultivation speed, defensive treasures, and various Natural Treasures.

There was also a generous assortment of skills, manuals, and techniques. The System had even put up unique potions or treasures that could award special constitutions, though those were both extremely expensive and few in number. Not even Zac could afford them, with the cheapest being listed at 750,000 merit for a simple attuned constitution. The top one was so expensive it filled Zac with helplessness.

[Celestial Aperture Constellation: 12,500,000. Grade limited. (1)]

Certainly, the item was amazing, essentially reforging your body to form a secondary circuit through your body. It increased cultivation speeds, affinities, and provided significant attribute boosts. It even added natural abilities like a bloodline would. But over ten million as an Early D-grade cultivator… That was decades of hard work, even for Zac—literally thousands of heated engagements like the one he'd just experienced.

There were a few dozen more items like it, each reminding Zac of the things he'd seen at the last levels of the Tower of Eternity. They were clearly the long-term prizes for the sector's top talents, ensuring they kept pushing themselves. However, Zac doubted most of these things would ever be cashed out.

Accumulating the necessary merit was easier said than done. The cheaper items could provide strength or survivability right now, which could mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield. If you didn't spend anything, you risked being overtaken or killed by those who used the merit exchange to snowball their strength.

For Zac, getting any of the top-tier grade restricted items was impossible, considering he wasn't planning on sticking around in Early Hegemony for long. Besides, Zac believed he had better opportunities waiting for him in the Left Imperial Palace, so he instead focused on the mid-range wares.

In contrast to the best stuff, these things were surprisingly affordable. The General Exchange had given him a decent idea of how the System valued merit in terms of Nexus Coins, and some mid-tier items, such as Attribute Fruits or skills, were listed at a fraction of their real value.

"It even has absolute temporal chambers?" Zac exclaimed as he read through the list. "So cheap!"

The things seemed identical to the treasure the Umbri'Zi Matriarch gave him, and Zac could finally piece two and two together. "Emily and Rhubat bought one of these?"

A cultivator could technically force a breakthrough and form a core without a nucleus, but it was extremely foolhardy. For one, it drastically increased the difficulty, putting the process closer to that of a mortal. And even should you succeed, the result would likely be much worse than if you just took your time. In other words, it wasted time rather than save it.

The theory was the same as with his own breakthrough. The sturdier the nucleus you formed, the better the core you could build around it. If you rushed things, you were liable to create imperfections that would lead to a lower-quality core. Saving a couple of years in the E-grade only to waste centuries in Hegemony wasn't a worthwhile trade.

That issue could be solved with a Temporal Chamber. Emily could easily have jumped into the temporal pocket to finish her nucleus before breaking through. Of course, the best Temporal Chambers in her price range would only provide a year, far less than what most cultivators spent on their nucleus. For example, Catheya had already worked on her nucleus before entering the Perennial Vastness. Even inside, she opted to spend the better part of a decade to improve it further.

But it was good enough. You didn't need to aim for perfection for every little thing. He'd rushed his breakthrough in the F-grade, and things worked out fine anyway. Between a year or two on the outside and another within, his follower's nuclei would likely be good enough not to create any issues, at least in the early stages of Hegemony.

"Most of the sealbearers who had accumulated merit in the Million Gates Territory bought one right away. I also have a chamber ready to use as soon as I've figured out the details of the core I wish to form," Vilari confirmed. "They are one of the hottest commodities, and the Temporal Chambers were even cheaper before. Everyone wants to buy time to break through or upgrade their skills."

"Good," Zac nodded. "Wait, the prices aren't static?"

"The popular wares rise in price as the supply dwindles," Vilari said with some helplessness. "The System doesn't want us to ease our way into things. The moment we relax, we'll find ourselves further away from the items we need. Even worse, we believe the Limited Exchange is shared with the Kan'Tanu. The projections from the peak factions indicate items are disappearing faster than they should."

"So any treasure we're too slow to get falls into the hands of our enemies," Zac sighed. "Ruthless Heavens indeed."

It wasn't hard to figure out what the System was thinking. As usual, it provided both carrot and stick. Those who pushed themselves the hardest would gain access to great benefits, some of them at the level of what he'd received from his various quests. And competing with your enemy for strategic resources meant neither side could relax.

"You've looked at the list of items more than me. Have you found anything you think might suit me?"

His 125,000 merit per body was far from enough to buy the multi-million merit items at the top, but he could sweep up a couple of mid-tier items per class before they increased in price.

"You ultimately know your situation best," Vilari smiled. "Skills or Skill Upgrade Arrays should provide a direct powerup, as would the Attribute Fruits."

"I'm not sure those arrays will work on an Arcane Class," Zac muttered.

Arcane classes provided more power and were better in tune with your Daos, but the drawback was how specialized they were. His pathways had become far more particular since breaking through. A semi-suitable skill might lose 30% of its strength with an Epic Class, but it would lose more than half on an Arcane. Or, just as likely, it wouldn't work at all.

Zac could feel that his connection with [Abyssal Phase] had worsened by quite a bit since it wasn't really aligned with his path. He could still activate it, but there was palpable resistance. He could still get around the issue by using Void Energy, but he would have to make some alterations when upgrading or fusing it.

The Attribute Fruits were a good option, though the Peak Quality ones cost 25,000 a piece. Even then, it was a bargain, considering it was just two or three months of work for your average Early Hegemon. Zac guessed those would soon increase in price with how rare such high-grade attribute fruits were on the frontier.

There was another interesting option that attracted Zac's attention.

[Early D-grade Tool Embryo Array: 150,000. Grade Limited (1,000)]

Focusing on the line provided additional information.

[Gives a twenty percent chance to awaken a piece of equipment with a Tool Spirit. An awakening is guaranteed to add at least one skill. A failed awakening will destroy the equipment.]

It was a huge gamble, but the payout was massive. Twenty percent wasn't great, but it wasn't a long shot like winning the lottery. And Zac believed it was possible he could nudge those odds in his favor with his Luck and [Lucky Beads]. He might even be able to assist the process with [Cosmic Forge]'s [Cosmic Infusion].

The item was quite rare, limited to just 1,000 copies. It might seem like a lot, but it was simply nothing compared to the incredible population of Zecia. Hegemons were quite rare even on C-grade continents, but there were millions and millions of them across the whole sector. Add to that the Kan'Tanu fighting for the same treasures.

These Tool Embryos would all be gone within a year.

The same was true with more than half of the items in the Limited Store because of their heavily rebated price. Those who didn't get what they wanted would snatch something of similar value before it was too late. Getting the limited resources would be a race where most only managed to get one or two before all the low-hanging fruit was bought out.

Zac guessed that only the top 5% of Hegemons would be able to get something before it was too late. Between the quality and surprisingly generous prices, Zac doubted the System would dole out treasure-providing quests for the war. It was all handled through the Merit Store instead.

Even then, Zac didn't buy anything. He had a huge lead on the competition thanks to his early contribution, and he wanted to first figure out what he could get his hands on or accomplish without spending merit. Why buy something for merit that he might be able to extract from the Undead Empire?

"Do you wish to see the Faction Store?" Vilari asked when Zac stepped away from the crystal, getting an affirmative nod.

The Mentalist led Zac into a side room that only had one crystal. Zac placed his hand against it, and a new list of options appeared. The cheapest section was full of war tools, from array towers to siege weaponry. Even Cosmic Vessels were available, but Zac quickly realized they were worse than the ones he produced in-house.

Zac wasn't too interested in the details of all the individual battlements. His generals had no doubt already analyzed which ones were suitable for his faction. He was more interested in their price range, and seeing the numbers almost made him recoil. The Merit Exchange was definitely a last-ditch solution.

So much for using the Merit Exchange to speed up the campaigns now that he was back. His faction would lose merit with every victory by paying these kinds of usurious fees. Zac was annoyed, but he continued to the section listing wartime features rather than items. Many of them he'd heard mentioned already, such as resetting battlefronts.

The reason the eighth army couldn't back down in the previous battle was precisely because of this feature. They had recently finished a forty-day campaign that had led them into Kan'Tanu territory. Since they didn't have the confidence to hold onto a hostile world, they opted to reset the battlefield and restart from scratch.

Doing so after a successful operation only cost a symbolic fee, and it let the eighth army start another campaign to rack up merit. But they had been unlucky, being reassigned to meet a similarly successful army who'd already won a series of battles. The next battle would occur on the Mavai Continent if the fortress was sacrificed. Essentially, the Atwood Empire had almost been forced to pay the price for someone else's failures.

There were also options to close or open new battlefronts, the former costing one hundred times as much as the latter. You could also merge battlefronts, though that option was greyed out for some reason. Zac guessed it was still deactivated in this introductory stage of the war. The price tag of adding extra personnel beyond the free limit was also listed. For example, one thousand Late E-grade cultivators only cost 50 Faction Merit.

However, adding a single Middle Hegemon to a Peak E-grade Battlefield would cost a whopping 2,500 Faction Merit. It was even more expensive than the luxury battlements in the earlier sections. Zac shook his head, thanking his lucky stars that the System went by grades rather than attributes or strength. Still, he realized he had cost the Atwood Empire 100 Faction Merit to enter the Eighth Battlefront late to the game.

Zac continued through the list, and his heart beat with desire as the costs exploded.

[Upgrade world to Middle D-grade Mass: 250,000-1,000,000.]

[Upgrade world to Middle D-grade Energy: 2,000,000 – 10,000,000.]

[Relocate conquered Early D-grade world: 50,000-500,000.]

[Relocate conquered Middle D-grade world: 500,000-5,000,000]

There were roughly thirty options that touched upon the very foundations of your faction, and each was incredibly tempting. Apart from the straight upgrades of worlds, there were things such as Limited Trials, Holy Lands, Mystic Realms, and Planetary Arrays. Zac focused on one of the most expensive options, to upgrade a world's base energy, and a new screen appeared.

[Earth: 4,350,000]

[Ensolus: 6,575,000]

"So expensive," Zac grimaced, seeing the [31,384/37,479] at the top of the screen.

In other words, the Atwood Empire had earned just over 37,000 Faction Merit in three months, of which 6,000 had been spent already. Meanwhile, his worlds were surprisingly expensive to upgrade, even with their small sizes, no doubt because of their Life-Death attunement. Zac guessed Earth was a bit cheaper because of its size and because its energy density was already superior to Ensolus.

"We've tried to keep our expenditures at a minimum, but it's difficult when we could spend some Merit to lower casualties," Vilari commented when she felt Zac's mental state fluctuate.

Zac shook his head, filled with a mix of desire and helplessness. Many of these options could completely elevate your faction, especially upgrading a world's energy density. Upgrading Earth's energy would take over three decades at their current accumulation rate, provided they didn't spend a single Faction Merit point during those years.

It felt stingy, but Zac knew it was actually extremely generous. Upgrading a planet's energy density was almost unheard of on the frontier, to begin with. A few decades of war for such an opportunity was nothing to established factions. You could compare it to Clan Azh'Rezak, who had sold themselves as mercenaries for over 20,000 years with almost nothing to show for it.

Of course, sending some squads to fight the Tal-Eladar couldn't be compared to the life-or-death struggle against the Kan'Tanu. Just like the peak treasures in the Limited Exchange, Zac believed few of these opportunities would get exchanged. It wasn't even a matter of your own performance. It didn't matter if the Atwood Empire won every battle if the Kan'Tanu won the war.

Still, Zac wasn't deterred. If you didn't dare aim for the top rewards, then there was no way you'd get them. The shipyard quest wasn't the only opportunity for himself and his budding empire. The Intersector War was a perfect fusion of risk and reward; those who could thread the needle would come out the other end reborn.