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Chapter 324: A New Beginning
🕑 Added 2023-12-12 17:36:01 +0000 UTCAnd so it begins! Guys, I really am excited to give you this book. There is no synopsis for you to read yet, but I will tell you that the main arc will be Jack training with the Black Hole Church. Prepare to see his strength increase by leaps and bounds, to witness the wider universe and the higher ranks of power, and also watch him make enemies left and right -- mostly their fault.
Also, I have added one scene to Book 3 in editing. It's right before Jack joins the final battle. Not too important, you can skip it if you want. I have inserted it at the respective chapter, but I also include it here for those who are up to date. The extra scene is after the first ***, and the first chapter of Book 4 comes after the second ***.
Enjoy!!!
***
Jack teleported before the Forest of the Strong. The sight was nostalgic. This was where everything began, the starting point of his journey. It was only a year, but it felt like so long ago.
How far I’ve come… he thought with a faint smile. He then blinked it away. There was no time. He had to get Sparman and rush to the battle. Thanks to the teleportation abilities of their starship, this small detour would only take a minute.
Besides Shol, Dordok, and Jack himself, Sparman the robot was the only D-Grade of their forces. However, his strict programming made him unable to join the battle. His orders were to guard the Forest of the Strong, and that is all he would do.
Unless Jack, who had been rewarded Sparman as a bodyguard after winning the Integration Tournament, ordered otherwise. That was exactly why he was here.
Jack flew stealthily into the forest, easily dodging all the F-Grades on watch. His Dao perception noticed Sparman at the same time that the robot noticed him. Yet, Sparman did not move, so Jack rushed there.
He arrived at a small clearing. It was the forest gym, where he’d met and dueled Harambe a long time ago. Only a few gymonkeys were currently here, all injured from one battle or another. Harambe must have been resting elsewhere.
Sparman sat on the ground, leaning against the bananarm tree. And he looked like shit.
Jack’s eyes widened. His mouth gaped. He struggled to believe this. The all-powerful D-Grade robot was almost in shambles. Broken wires stretched out of his limbs, while burnt circuits were visible from several spots where his plating had been torn away. Sparks fizzled around him, his head was permanently bent to the side, and his eyes changed colors randomly.
“Sparman!” Jack exclaimed, both joyed at their reunion and saddened by the sorry state of his friend.
“Hello, master. Did you miss me?” the robot replied in a thankfully normal voice. “I assume you did, because I’m very lovable.”
“What the hell happened to you?” Jack asked.
Sparman forced his mechanical mouth into a strained smile. “Nothing happened.”
“What do you mean nothing happened? You look like shit!”
“Always the charmer, master. No wonder all the female humans swoon over you.”
“Sparman!” Jack exclaimed. However, it seemed that the sarcastic robot would give no answer. Why? he thought. What happened? Sparman is at the D-Grade! Nobody on Earth could hurt him!
Then, his eyes lit up. He understood. Sparman may have been the strongest creature on the planet during the one year grace period—after the overseer—but the Ice Peak had many E-Grades, even some peak ones. Sparman had been ordered to protect the forest; who knows how many assaults he had endured? Dozens? Hundreds? Unable to step outside the forest due to his strict programming, all he could do was defend and hope he didn’t take too much of a beating.
Over the months, the assaults must have grown in power. Sparman was always here to defend, even in rain or snow, even against insurmountable numbers. His wires had been pulled out, but he still fought. His plating was torn away and his insides burnt or frozen, but he still fought.
Jack felt guilt. He was the one who ordered Sparman to protect the Forest of the Strong, not thinking about the long-term consequences. Due to him, Sparman was now almost broken, a mere shell of the proud robot he used to be. At his current state, Jack doubted the robot could even stand!
And nobody on this planet had the means to repair a D-Grade robot.
Jack understood everything in an instant. Sparman’s eyes remained calm, not wanting to reveal his pain and make him feel bad, but Jack already knew. Warmth filled his heart. He shook his head. He had come here to bring Sparman to the battle, but that would not happen. The robot had already given it his all—he would rest, and Jack would handle everything.
“Thank you,” he said from his heart. “For everything. Without you, many of our friends would be gone.”
“Don’t mention it. For a robot as handsome as myself, this was nothing. Speaking of, when was the last time you took a bath?”
Jack fought back the urge to smile. “You have no nose,” he said.
“I possess many gifts. Specifically, there is a nose compartment stuffed at the back of my neck. I breathe through tiny holes in my right armpit.”
Jack couldn’t tell whether this was true or false, but he laughed. “It was nice to see you, Sparman. Rest well.”
“I can still fight,” the robot insisted, but Jack shook his head.
“You have already done enough. Leave the rest to us.”
“But I—”
Before Sparman could finish his sentence, Jack flew away—he still had a battle to catch, after all. The robot was left mid-sentence, with his half-working mouth still open to speak. Watching Jack fly away, he slowly closed it. “Thanks,” he whispered, then leaned back and let his energy levels drop to the minimum. Like that, he could survive another few days.
He really had run out of steam. Now, it was all up to Jack and everyone else. Sparman only hoped they survived.
*** (here starts the first chapter of Book 4)
Jack glanced between his friends and the door. The wait was killing him.
“Would you look at that!” Gan Salin, the loyal canine, exclaimed. “The almighty King of Earth intimidated by a closed door!”
“You’d be crying if you were about to have children,” Nauja the Barbarian cut in, jabbing his shoulder.
“But I’m a guy. I can’t give birth.”
A moment of puzzled silence followed before Edgar, the pacifist magician, changed the subject. “Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?”
“I bet on a boy,” Captain Dordok—or rather, former captain— replied. He laughed. “Jack has so much man in him, there’s no way he can make a girl!”
The birds were chirping. The new sun was shining, and a slight coldness permeated the atmosphere, along with the faint morning mist hanging from tree branches. Everyone was gathered in the middle of the Forest of the Strong. This was where Jack’s System life had begun—and, now, it was about to become the place where an entirely new life started.
Vivi’s pregnancy was coming to an end. Jack’s child would be born today.
For this day, everyone unrelated had been chased out of the Forest. The remaining people were only Jack, Edgar, Gan Salin, Nauja, Dordok, Brock, and Harambe. The professor was also present, but she had insisted on going inside with the nurse to make sure Vivi was okay. The Sage, as a D-Grade healer, was also inside the room.
Jack hadn’t felt such anxiety since his fight against the planetary overseer three months ago. He clenched his fists.
His first child was about to be born. Would he be a good father? Would everything be okay inside that room, or would something terrible happen?
Brock must have sensed his worries, because he walked up and placed a hand on Jack’s shoulders. “All good,” he said. “Big Sis strong. Baby bro strong. No worry.”
“Thanks, Brock,” Jack replied, feeling a little relieved. Brock was right. Vivi was a strong cultivator, and the baby carried his blood. There was no way anything would happen…
He glanced at the door again.
In fact, the people present weren't the only ones who couldn’t wait. Across the entire planet, billions of people were glued to their screens, waiting for the announcement. The king and queen of Earth were having a child—what could be more important than this?
But the fame didn’t make the almighty, so-called King of Earth any less worried. His heart was shaking like a leaf. It was an instinct stemming from deep inside his soul, something that he neither wanted nor could stop.
Well, perhaps he could use his Dao to suppress these feelings, but who would do that?
He was about to become a father.
Harambe approached slowly. A big, lazy smile was on his face, and he slung an enormous arm around Jack’s shoulders. He then mimed that he’d felt the same when his girl was about to give birth, but it would be okay. Being a father was great. Jack would love it.
Easy for you to say, big guy, Jack thought but didn’t speak the words.
Since Alexander Petrovic wounded and humiliated Harambe, over three months had passed. The big brorilla’s body had healed, but his heart had not. Or, rather, it had changed. Harambe had mellowed. He remained strong and working out intensely, but he’d lost some of his edge, some of the dominating strictness he used to possess.
Perhaps it was not the injury, but the fact that his own son had avenged him, simultaneously claiming the position of big bro. It was the natural way of life; the old gave way to the young. For Harambe, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. When he lost the position and responsibilities of being his pack’s big bro, he was finally able to enjoy life.
He had transitioned from a strict father into a dotting grandfather—though Brock was only a year old and childless.
Jack had even spotted him feeding bananarms to various Bare Fist Brotherhood members.
As disheartening as this change sounded, Jack enjoyed it. It brought him pride. The only reason Harambe could relax was because there was no danger afoot. The Animal Kingdom was gone. The planet was far outside System space. Jack was so overwhelmingly strong that any threat would disappear the moment it reared its head.
Finally, Earth was safe.
Jack looked to the sky and took a deep breath. The Fist inside him pulsed. The air hugged him, and the Dao cried out in joy.
He had protected his home, family, and friends—what better way to honor the Dao of the Fist?
It wasn’t just Harambe. In the three months since the planet was moved outside System space, peace had finally returned. The Ice Peak had been dismantled. Any remaining Animal Kingdom members had been captured and isolated, and they would be slowly given a chance to integrate into society. Earth had entered an era of endless prosperity, where cultivators used their gifts to advance the world instead of ruining it. Already, food was aplenty, and many of the world’s problems had been resolved.
Under the rule of Jack and the Bare Fist Brotherhood, everything was as great as it could be.
Edgar had retired to the mountains and begun constructing a magical academy; a literal castle on a hill, filled with magical artifacts of his creation. Though he could no longer advance in cultivation after breaking his deal with the echidna devil, the power he already possessed was more than enough for mundane applications.
The professor had taken over the administration of the entire Earth on Jack’s behalf, doing a stellar job.
Sparman had recovered from his various injuries. After the war was over, many artificers and engineers of Earth had pooled their forces to repair him, making him as good as new—though his sarcastic wits remained unaffected. He had accepted the job of teaching combat at Edgar’s still-under-construction academy.
Gan Salin and Nauja had moved into two little houses on a hill near the Forest of the Strong, splitting their days between cultivating and resting. They wouldn’t stay here forever—after all, Nauja had abandoned her tribe to experience the wider world. However, they had decided to wait until Jack’s child was born.
Vanderdecken was the star of the planet, the second most famous person after Jack himself, and Brother Tao had gone on to found many monasteries teaching martial mastery and buddhism. How his faith remained unchanged after meeting the System, no one knew.
Though, perhaps there was a hint of truth to it. Jack still remembered Chuto, the jovial fat guy he met in Trial Planet, whose powers resembled very closely the Buddha of Earth.
In these three months, Jack himself had also settled down, enjoying life as he stabilized his cultivation. The Sage was right. To reach the peak D-Grade in such a short time, he had advanced way too fast. He needed to slow down before he could advance again—at ever greater speeds. Moreover, the weird world inside his Dao Tree—the one with the monstrous, snorting turtle—had never opened its door again for him. He didn’t know when it would happen, or how to force it open, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Therefore, he relaxed. He and Vivi had not married, but they did spend a lot of time together. They became a couple, not just because they would soon have a baby together, but also because they liked and respected each other.
The only one who kept cultivating at full speed was Brock. He spent most of these three months in the D-Grade dungeons of Earth, conquering them one-by-one.
There were ten D-Grade dungeons on Earth. After Jack had cleared out the one in Antarctica, where he hid before his final battle against the overseer, nine remained. Brock had conquered five of them. He’d traveled to the peak of Mount Everest, to the depths of the Marianna Trench, inside active volcanoes, and even on the clouds themselves. The spirit of brohood followed him everywhere. He didn’t just conquer dungeons; he assimilated many of their denizens into the bro army. Now, Earth wasn’t just protected by Jack, Brock, Dordok, and the Sage—the only D-Grades on the planet—but also by literal armies of D-Grade creatures ranging from fire elementals to cloud giants.
It was a shame they’d run out of enemies.
The only unknown variable still in play was the sole C-Grade dungeon of Earth, which remained undiscovered. Jack had people searching everywhere, but nobody found it. Where it could be, he had no idea. On the bright side, even if he found it, there was nothing he could do about it yet. He was only at the peak of the D-Grade; though he could fight weak C-Grades, he couldn’t advance any more without breaking through, so conquering that dungeon was out of the question.
After traveling and fighting ceaselessly for three months, Brock had increased his cultivation to the middle D-Grade. For the first time, he was actually approaching Jack. The two had even sparred once, and the brorilla could take a few moves. Until Jack broke through, the more time that passed, the more Brock would approach him in strength.
How far he’s come… Jack thought, looking over at Brock with pride. We are finally real brothers now. Equals. Standing side by side. He’s the only one that can keep up with me—I can’t wait to adventure together.
Thinking to that point, Jack opened his status screen. Looking at it was a habit by now, a calming one. It helped take his mind off the coming baby.
ERROR: PLEASE REPORT TO THE NEAREST AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY OR FACE EXTERMINATION.
Name: Jack Rust
Species: Human, Earth-387
Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (D)
Grade: D
Class: Cosmic Fist (King)
Level: 249
Strength: 1760
Dexterity: 1760
Constitution: 1755
Mental: 200
Will: 200
Dao Skills: Meteor Punch IV, Iron Fist Style III, Space Walk III, Neutron Star Body II, Brutalizing Aura II
Daos: Dao Tree of the Fist, Dao Root of Indomitable Will (fused), Dao Root of Life (fused), Dao Root of Power (fused), Dao Root of Weakness (fused)
Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Ninth Ring Conqueror, Planetary Leader (1), Grade Defier
The System hadn’t forgotten that something was wrong with him—the Life Drop—but at least it was kind enough to keep displaying his stats. Perhaps this was its way of maintaining contact so he could be caught later.
Fortunately, it seemed that the Sage was right. The System had no way to locate him outside System space. Otherwise, three months was ample time for the Hand of God agents to arrive; and the person who had protected them before, the Head Envoy of the Black Hole Church—the mischievous-looking Heavenly Spoon Sovereign—was long gone.
Jack would need to leave soon, too. Though Earth was safe, the universe kept moving. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life here. He wanted to visit the Black Hole Church, cultivate amongst peers, face trials and challenges, and reach the apex of strength. A fist could rest, but it could never stop.
He would wait a bit, though. His child would be born first. He would spend a little time with it, and only then would he depart for the wider world yet again.
He didn’t know which of the two he looked forward to the most.
The answer gave itself. The closed door swung open, and Jack froze completely as he watched Vivi step out, covered in a white towel. Half his mind focused on her long, dark legs and bright smile. The other half went to her arms, which were gently wrapped around a large ball of fabric.
The professor and the Sage followed behind Vivi, each sporting a wide smile, but nobody even glanced at them.
“Well, what is it?” Gan Salin asked, seeing that Jack was tongue-tied. “A boy or a girl?”
“Both!” Vivi replied, opening her arms a bit to reveal that she was holding onto two little forms, not one. Her smile widened further. “It’s twins!”
Jack looked at his own children, the continuators of his bloodline, and his heart was filled with love, overflowing with joy. He laughed out loud, a booming, manly sound. “My children are here!” he shouted. “Celebrate, everyone; today is a day we must remember!”
Comments
Rob Ert
So Jack was at level 249 when he fought the overseer but did not advanced a single level after he defeated the C grade?
Kurt Nighfind
Always hate when children come into a story
Knight Rhoden
Finally! Stoked to see you return!
Nyroe
WE SHALL NAME THE TWINS LEFT AND RIGHT! Cross and Hook also works!
