**-The-Master-Baiter-**
Zachary White
ENC 1100
30 April 2026
Litrpg and Identity
It is well-known that when people are placed into extreme environments, social norms can become closer to guidelines than laws, a fact that is not just evident, but perhaps the point of both of the two preceding texts. Defiance of the Fall; is a fantasy series by J. F. Brink, andsomeone under the pseudonym, TheFirstDefier. In it, the main character Zack is out on acamping trip when he is thrust into the apocalypse. Around him, the world is irrevocablychanged, he is introduced to magic and a mysterious system that allows him to grow in power, and he, alone, is forced to fight waves of monsters both bestial and sentient. Spending monthsalone, Zack becomes callous and ambivalent to violence. Primal Hunter is a series written under the moniker Zogarth, in which the main character, Jake, is thrust into his own kind of hell. Partway up the elevator in his office job, Jake is transported into a ‘tutorial’ in which the participants are encouraged to kill both the monsters that occupy the forest they now find themselves in, and each other. To his own shock and surprise, Jake finds that he thrives in this environment in a way he never did before. Both stories, despite being fantasy, demonstrate truths about how environment shapes identity. In particular, extreme environments can change identity by normalizing violence and changing the way we relate to others, and systems of reward and punishment shape personality.
Both novels force the main characters to abandon their previous sense of morality and accept violence as normal. This is something seen, or at least theorized about, in reality. The psychologist Albert Bandura, describes shifts of this type as ‘moral disengagement’, or a justification of behavior normally seen as harmful. For Zack, the protagonist of Defiance of the Fall, violence was never something he desired or had been previously involved in. Rather, due to his extraordinary circumstances, violence was forced upon him. Zack’s first exposure to violence was a confrontation with a demonic dog monster, and his reactions were normal responses of fear, like, “What the hell do I do? Do I run? His eyes searched frantically for a way to get out of this situation” (Brink and TheFirstDefier 24). The stream of monsters and violence did not end, though, and Zack was forced to change himself to adapt to his new circumstances, growing callous and desensitized to the violence, “...a month of living on the edge of death had given him a far more utilitarian mindset” (Brink and TheFirstDefier 61). This quote in particular is a strong example of the kind of mindset Bandura postulates in his moral disengagement Rainy 2 theory. A ‘utilitarian’ mindset like Zack’s prioritizes utility over morality, showing a degree of separation from acts of violence. Jake’s circumstances and mindset were quite different from Zack’s; however, he nonetheless came out of his experiences as a completely different person than he went in as. Unlike Zack, who was content with his life before the apocalyptic events he was thrown into, Jake was discontent. He lived as an average office worker and went through his days with a tinge of apathy. After being transported to the ‘tutorial’, Jake immediately took to the violence that horrified and intimidated his coworkers, “But at this one moment, as he held the bow, everything felt like it was as it should be” (Zogarth 45). It didn’t take long for Jake to realize that this sort of lifestyle was something he wished to pursue for the rest of his life.
Another outcome of the extreme circumstances the protagonists found themselves in, is in how it affected the way they related to other people. For Zack, the changes were straightforward. Although it is not entirely clear, it is implied that Zack was a normal, somewhat social person before the apocalypse, who, for example, had thoughts like this “...he was still a guy Zac wouldn’t mind having a beer with” (Brink and TheFirstDefier 10). But his experiences changed him into something that was anything but normal. His (infrequent) interactions with others came across as blunt, direct, and often, goal-oriented, rather than for the sake of sociability, like: “Scream and you die. Do you understand what I’m saying?” (Brink and TheFirstDefier 406). It is clear that the months of isolation and violence had a massive impact on his ability and desire to socialize. Once again, the effects on Jake were less severe, though his circumstances certainly had a clear effect on his sociability. Jake was said to be an awkward, and not particularly social person before entering the tutorial, “Jake did not feel like having any unnecessary social interactions” (Zogarth 47) however, due to friendly coworkers and the inherently social nature of his workplace, he spent a lot of time with others. Upon entering the tutorial though, Jake quickly abandoned groups to go hunt on his own. It could be said that Jake’s environment allowed him to pursue isolation, rather than force an unnatural change to his sociability. That said, his environment still clearly shaped his actions.
Other than the extremity of their environments, a major component of both stories was the existence of a supernatural ‘system’ which served as the arbiter of the impossible new worlds both protagonists found themselves in. In both cases, the system shaped the character’s actions and personalities by dispensing power as a reward for exceptional feats, usually involving violence. This is, by the way, related to another concept that Bandura touches on: deflection of responsibility. He theorizes that it is easier to justify normally amoral acts when justification for those acts comes from an authority (like a system). For Zack, after the apocalypse, almost every activity he found himself doing was in direct compliance with the system. In general, the system rewarded Zack for acts that grew his power, usually involving violence, and punished him -through inability to fight back - for weakness. For example, Zack was given a quest by the system to kill demons, for which he Rainy 3 would be given a reward “Demon Slayer (Normal): Kill 10 denizens with demonic alignment, each at least ten levels above you. Reward: +3% All Attributes when fighting enemies of demonic alignment…” (Brink and TheFirstDefier 38). Without this clear system of operant conditioning, it is unclear if Zack would have adapted as easily to his circumstances. The system operated in a similar manner for Jake. Weakness and aversion to violence was ‘punished’ with a lack of agency and an inability to defend oneself, while acceptance of the nature of the system was ‘rewarded’ with power and freedom. This conditioning likely shaped Jake’s actions less than Zack’s, as Jake was already a person who would have enjoyed the type of environment the system brought about; however, Jake was still clearly influenced by it. He spent his time actively hunting monsters and increasing in power in order to be rewarded, something he would have spent less time doing without the presence of the system “He wanted to hunt more” (Zogarth 48).
Ultimately, these novels show that both extreme environments, and systems of reward and punishment have a strong effect on identity; the former shows this through normalization of violence, and impact on sociability, while the latter shows how behavior can be altered through operant conditioning. Given the unusual nature of the character’s circumstances, it may be difficult to see how such information has relevance in day-to-day life, and, in truth, it does not. Rather, this information brings to mind questions about the human condition as a whole. For example, the extensive presence of violence and murder in both novels, despite the characters previously living normal lives, points to morality being far more flexible than many think it to be. This brings to mind questions like: “Would you or I be willing to kill if surrounded by violence, rewarded for killing, andpunished for pacifism?” or, “Is there anyone that could retain their previous morals under such extreme conditions?”