I woke up and went to get some food. On my way out I turned all the barriers off, except the one over the pile of crystals. I added there another layer, very thin and weak, just to inform me if somebody tried to steal some stones.

Then I grabbed my breakfast, and ate, trying to convince myself it's a nice stew, not a bunch of raw fruits and veggies. I could cook myself a piece of meat over the fire, but I felt like it would take too much time.

Then I left to the gate, wondering who will be the lucky person to try and steal some crystals when I'm gone. I was positive somebody is going to have such an idea. One or two crystals wouldn't make a difference, would they? That was wrong thinking, and I was gonna punish whoever tried that. To make an example.

Right now only a few people truly understood what I was trying to accomplish here, the rest just wanted to get stronger. Any advantage was very desirable, even if they had to steal from everybody. In fact, it's easier to steal from everybody, than to steal from a particular person. For some reason, if something belongs to the entirety some people get the idea it in fact doesn't belong to anybody.

Thinking about all of that, I made my way to the gate and waged a war against forest monsters. Without having to worry about Alexandra, everything went way smoother. Then I summoned shadows, made them pile up the crystals for transportation, and started heading back. Just after few steps, I felt my alarm barrier being broken.

It brought a smile to my face. I just knew it would happen. There was still a way more powerful one underneath that. I knew It wouldn't be easy to break this one but still rushed towards the city center.

When I arrived, a surprising view welcomed me. With the sun peaking over the mountain range and covering the city in bright light, next to the device stood a group of people, with one of them beaten up, and kept captured. It was one of Slaven's guys. He and Alexandra were both there, keeping up relative order.

- We captured him while he tried to steal crystals from your house - she informed.

I nodded.

- Who found him, and who beat him up? - I asked.

- I did - responded Slaven.

He was not bragging or trying to boost his standings in my eyes. He was confident and clearly ready for the consequences of his decision.

- Good job, but the punishment is too light. He won't be getting any crystals for as long as I'm here. Speaking of which, there is a pile by the gate. You guys should bring it here.

With those words, I went to the building I was occupying. The barrier was still intact, but there was a big piece of rubble, lying there, outlined by the dim light that managed to get inside.

Slaven really did a good job, great even. Not only he punished the thief but also protected him from my anger. As far as he knew, I could possibly have even killed that guy. He was slowly growing on me, despite the ring of slavery he created.historical

It was so hard to morally judge him. On one hand, what he did was terrible, but on the other hand, the people were fed and kept safe. Thinking about it made my head hurt, so I just stopped. I was not nearly smart enough to figure such a thing out, despite my upgraded intelligence.

I turned the barrier off and started transporting the crystals outside. All people were gone, even the thief. Slaven probably figured out it was not a good idea to leave the guy around me, even when he was in such a state. I wondered for a moment if I should have healed him, but then I got back to work.

Eventually, I moved the pile straight on the symbol and left it there. Then I went to find myself a spot in the shadow because it was too hot to stay in the sun. I started to wonder if this place was just simply hotter, or maybe because I usually was on the move, that I didn't have the same problems back in my world.

I had to wait quite some time for people to bring all the crystals back. Then I made Slaven and Alexandra count them, and ascertain how much we needed from the new pile to reach a million points, and upgrade the device.

That also took some time, but eventually, they were done, and we proceeded with upgrading the sapling. The ground shook, way more than I was suspecting, and I witnessed as part of the mountain range just collapsed, like it sunk underground. People fell to the ground, unable to maintain their balance. For me, it wasn't so difficult.

This world was functioning in a different way than ours. Or at least the device did. Not only a way of acquiring the points was based on something else, but also how it worked didn't match with my experiences. If I remembered correctly I found the second gate after they upgraded the device for the first time. I could be wrong though. During that times I didn't know the city as well as I did now.

When everything passed, Alexandra rushed to me.

- What was that? - she asked.

- I'm not sure, but I think you have a new gate over there - I pointed at the hole in the mountain.

- New gate, and new monsters? - asked Slaven, as he also got closer.

- Yes. I think.

- How strong will they be? - he asked, obviously a bit worried.

- From my experiences, they should be only a bit stronger, but we will see. I'm still here for five more days, so I'll protect you.

- But then you will be gone, and we will have to deal with this ourselves - he said.

- I'll make sure you are prepared.

He shook his head and left.

- Share the crystals equally with everybody, but the thief - I said to Alexandra and went to grab a few for myself, to have enough to eat.

I sold them, and bought food, then departed towards the new possible exit from the city.