Chapter 265 - Day CMLXIII, Part II

People started moving, peaking at me while they headed toward the pile of crystals.

- One crystal per person for now - I quickly added, while letting the batt disappear.

Then I turned towards Alexandra.

- How about you go there and keep an eye on people, so they won't end up taking more than they should? - I asked her.

She slowly nodded in response and actually went to supervise. The only one who didn't move was Slaven.

- Not hungry? - I asked, facing him again.

- No - he replied after a moment.

He clearly was unhappy with me in charge. I didn't know yet if he will bring trouble or maybe I can somehow make him truly follow my word.

- You've been on the top for some time now from what Alexandra told me. You should know more or less how many points people will need to be able to stand up to those monsters from before, don't you?

He needed a moment to not only think my words through but also to calculate.

- Yes - he replied eventually.

- Great. That will be your job for now. You will make sure everybody is on the level to be able to contribute to the battle. Then we will work on upgrading the device. Now go to work.

He didn't move, which annoyed me a little.

- Look. I have eight days to prepare you for this place, then I'm gone. So this won't be a democracy. This will be a tyranny, with me on the top, and everybody will listen, one way or another. Feel free to curse me when I'm gone, but right now there is only an option of following what I say.

He looked me straight in the eyes but didn't say a thing. For a moment I thought that I really will have to beat him up, but then he finally moved. I was not sure, if he was going to just leave, or will really follow. My doubts were cleared pretty quickly, as he headed to Alexandra, and talked with her for a moment. She peaked at me few times while talking, and finally started walking my way.

- You want Slaven and me in charge? Did we understand you correctly? - she asked.

There was still a little bit of fear showing in her moves, and the way she spoke. 

- Yep.

- You want to prepare people to face this place, right?

- Yep.

- And then you will be gone?

- Yep.

- You... You really don't want anything else?

It cost her a lot to say those words. She was still suspicious of me. I couldn't blame her. Until yesterday's night, I was a normal guy, but now she knew I'm some kind of superhuman, who actually took over this whole place kinda by force and fear.

- I'll take soda if you have some. You know what? Coke. Coke would be better. With ice.

That made her lips twitch a bit. The ice got broken.

- Just go and make sure all of the people are fed, and then tell Slaven to count the rest of the crystals and split them so people can start upgrading themselves. People need to be able to fight those things, and then we need to upgrade your sapling, so you can get some proper equipment.

- Wait... Sapling?

I sighed.

- Let's talk about this later. I need a nap right now. You bastards woke me too early.

She nodded, and we parted ways. I went back to the ruins and put the barriers around to get some sleep, and she went to fulfill her new duties.

I slept around an hour or maybe two, but when I woke up, everything felt much better. I was invigorated, and also curious about what they managed to do. There was also a part of me that was surprised that nobody tried to do anything to me while I was asleep. I was wondering if I scared them too much, or perhaps inspired them to follow my lead somehow.

I went outside and. The sun was shining bright in the sea. It was hot, without almost any wind. A bunch of people stayed in the city center, working. Some tried to make equipment, sharpening longer pieces of wood to turn them into spears. There was also a group of scavengers, looking for material in the ruins.

The pile of crystals was gone, just as Slaven and his men. Alexandra on the other hand was sitting under a wall of a building closest to the one I was sleeping in. She stood up as soon as I showed myself, and went towards me.

- We did what you wanted - she said.

- Great. Did people upgrade themselves?

- Yes, but only a bit. There were not enough crystals.

- Yeah... I hope we will have more monsters tonight.

- You sure you can handle that? I mean I heard you are really strong, and I saw what you can do, but...

- Not mean to brag - I interrupted her - but a month ago I ripped the head of a werewolf off, with my bare hands. I also killed a bunch of bears the size of a truck and handled over a thousand orcs almost every day for over four months, all by myself. Now I'm the worst thing around, not a bunch of ugly kittens. If you want to be afraid of something, be afraid of me.

She was taken aback by my words. I saw her eyes went bigger and bigger as I spoke.

- Ok - she was holding her smile. - You made me feel confident.

- I might need to teach you guys how to fight. Just upgrades are nice, but when you can put your body to work because you actually understand int, and know what to do is even better.

- That might be a good idea - she said, and went silent for a second or maybe two, before speaking again. - Might I ask you something?

- You just did.

- Yeah... Sorry. I'm stupid - she kinda panicked, rising her hands closer to her head, and shaking them in a strange gesture. She was clearly nervous. - How long have you been in your world? I mean the place you came from...

- Almost three years now.

- That's... That's long. You mentioned something about a sapling before. Can... Can you tell us more?

I sighed. That was going to be a long and very tricky conversation. Especially if that asshole was watching. I peeked at the sky like I was expecting him to be there, sitting on a cloud and watching.

- Yeah, I can. But don't raise your hopes high. I know only a little. Let's gather people around. They might want to hear that.

She nodded and went to inform others, as I slowly made my way closer to the device.