Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 861: Mission Compound

"So creepy," Gaun muttered as he looked at Zac testing various expressions with his disguise."Well, it's your face," Zac laughed.

Having spent the past day in what could almost be considered a bonding session the two had gotten a bit closer, even if Gaun had been the only one providing information. The wandering cultivator occasionally tried to pry into Zac’s background a few times, but he had mostly kept his thoughts to himself.

Luckily, Gaun had almost been the perfect target for infiltration. He didn’t know anyone in the Salosar Cluster, apart from some surface-level-connections to people at his level. It was the same with Karbron as well. Just like the missive said, he had only been there for ten years. What the missive didn’t mention was that he had spent most of those years recuperating from wounds he had gotten after losing the struggle for a treasure in the wild.

He did mention a few of his acquaintances that might appear in the area because of the Beast Tide, but it would take another two years at the least before the first ships from the Tumbling Sky Cluster reached Salosar. By then, he should be long gone.

“Alright, it’s time to go,” Zac eventually said. “Do you have any preferred area of the Zecia Sector you wish to teleport to, or do you want me to send you to a random D-grade world?"

"If possible, I want to be sent as close to the Allbright Empire as possible. But not the Red Sector of the empire,” Gaun said without hesitation, clearly prepared for the question.

Zac looked at the Wandering Cultivator with surprise. The fact that Gaun wanted to travel to the Allbright Empire wasn’t too surprising since it was one of the most flourishing parts of the sector. Only a few factions, like the Dravorak Dynasty, were slightly more powerful, but the Albright Empire was considered more accommodating to wandering cultivators.

However, the fact that he specifically mentioned the Red Sector, the area of the Allbright Empire that bordered the edge of Zecia and the Million Gates Territory, indicated he knew about what was going on over there. Someone like Gaun was unlikely to know about the war already considering how much Zac had spent on that kind of intelligence, even if some murmurs had started to spread.

Zac knew all kinds of details, but that was only because he got an early warning on the Bloodwind World and spent dozens of D-grade Nexus Coins on intelligence reports. It was obviously impossible for a wandering cultivator to do the same.

Even more baffling was that Gaun specifically wanted to avoid the Red Sector, even though the big factions over there were screaming for manpower for everything from building War Fortresses to joining Mercenary Squads. Gaun was obviously not afraid of danger since he had been planning on joining the Beast Tide, so why shy away from that?

“You know about the changes in Zecia?” Zac ventured to make sure.

“I was lucky enough to learn a thing or two while I recuperated. I've worked as a private guard for one of their re

The Starfall Monarch.

The Starfall Monarch, or Keon Dakess as his real name was, was one of the most powerful templars of the Void Gate. Altogether, it was estimated the Void Gate had around ten Monarchs, with the Void Priestess being by far the far strongest one. But the others were nothing to scoff at, and the few who had made an appearance in the outer world had performed impressive feats that left a lasting mark.

And since Keon Dakess was the other party to the contract, it meant he was probably somewhere inside the enormous recruitment station – it was no wonder everyone was on their best behavior. Unfortunately, there was not much else to be gleaned from the contract. It didn’t have any other clauses except the non-disclosure agreement, and the only hints of what was going on were listed on large plaques between the entrances

Essentially, they were recruiting everyone from Middle E-grade and up, including supportive non-combat classes. The recruits would be able to choose missions based on the Void Gate’s estimate of enemies, timeframe, and danger. However, the Void Gate took no responsibility in cases the challenge would prove harder than expected.

Their only accommodation was the promise that all units and all missions would consist of at least half their own people, which hopefully meant they weren’t planning on using the outsiders as cannon fodder in some sort of human wave tactics against the tide.

Since nothing was out of place, Zac signed the contract and picked up the goodie bag with the resources provided. However, he immediately dropped it off at another table as he walked further inside, just like most of the warriors above High E-grade did. Zac didn’t think the items had been tampered with, but he simply did not need the things inside.

A small sign said that all resources returned would be provided to young cultivators who studied at the Void Gate's public schools throughout the area. Zac had already heard of those places before. They were simple schools that taught anyone willing to listen the basics of cultivation. They also had things like gathering arrays and gravity arrays to help set a foundation.

Not only that, but all students who visited would get provided food and a small stipend, which was a big attraction to the less fortunate. Therefore, these schools almost acted as orphanages for children who were down on their luck for one reason or another.

Part of the motive behind these establishments was simply to help the less fortunate, but there was a practical reason behind it as well. It was a cheap method to look for diamonds in the rough, and the Void Gate often recruited from these public schools. Secondly, it was to breed positive karma.

Karma was elusive and intangible, but it was an absolutely real concept in the Multiverse. And even if you didn't believe that the universe would reward you for good deeds, there was still the System to consider. With the Void Gate helping it with its prime directive - raising warriors - the System would help out in various ways in return.

It could be things like the talents getting more attention and better quests, Mystic Realms finding their way to their domains, to lessening the severity of the manmade tribulations the System liked to launch at established factions. Thus, these kinds of schools were quite widespread in the Multiverse. A small fraction of the students got recruited by a proper faction, while most learned the skills to get a job.

The final group became wandering cultivators, unwilling to give up on their path for a more mundane life. In a sense, they chose to go against fate just like a Defier. Many of these wandering cultivators might have the basic foundations to be defined as a cultivator by the System - but so what? Most cultivators didn't make it past the F-grade, especially not those without any connections or opportunities.

Seeing the table and the large piles of offerings left by the wandering cultivators, many of whom had attended the very schools they now donated to, Zac was filled with an indescribable emotion. The struggle and irreconciliation that the table represented resonated with Zac to his very core. However, he didn't get the chance to see if this feeling would lead to something more as someone stepped in between him and the donations.

"Is there something amiss?"