366 Charm

The closer I got to this temple-looking building, the better understanding of its scale I got. And it was enormous!

With its height going at least as far as my own tower, half of its floors extended into a more pyramidical look. With the topmost levels looking to be at least twice the size of the width of my tower, just the first sideways expansion alone more than the area of the floor!

Even the size of my factory which I was so proud off was nowhere close to how insane this single structure was! If not for the fact that the number of side expansions was far lower than in the typical Eggyptarian pyramides, amounting only to seven layers, each consisting of several floors.

By the time I reached the mark of about one kilometre away from the base floor, I stopped hiding, straightened up and just walked forward. In just a few steps, I entered an insanely tight crowd of people, all starting at the monstrous building that at this distance, seemed to be just at the reach of one's hand. With my steps speeding up, I just pushed all those passersby aside, making my way towards this wonder of a building.

The closer I got to what seemed like the entrance gate to the immediate garden surrounding the entire structure, the louder were the prayers of everyone around me. At this point, I could also understand how did this relatively small number of tribal people got so tight, despite this place being so big.

For some reason, despite the gates being kept completely open and unguarded, no one dared to step through them! As if the sight of the countless fountains, trees and combs of flowers were repelling, all those people preferred to stay in this stupidly tight crowd and just pray towards the monument!

Forcing myself to keep my face from taking a look of pity, I was just about to step through the gate when my body suddenly froze.

"STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

It took me a moment before I noticed that no one was actually pointing their fingers at me. There were no guards rushing with their swords or spears unsheathed, there was no alarm going off.

"You done contemplating? There is something in the air… As if someone was using charm on you!"

Only now realising it was Bongers voice that actually stopped me, I shook my head and somehow managed to shake this strange feeling off my mind. Indeed, something strange was happening! 

As soon as the realisation struck me, the veil that was covering my eyes shattered, showing me the real image of what was going on, on the other side of the open gate.

While the entire subdimension gave off the pleasant vibes of sunny plain, the garden surrounding the building was in fact a desert! Not only that, no matter where I looked, I could see countless bones sticking out of the sands, with the occasional storms of fire sweeping through the part of the 'garden' that I could see through the gate!

What the hell is going on here! It's the first time when not only something was capable of breaching my mental resistance, despite it steeming from my maxed overall resistance stat. Just this fact alone forced me to finally start respecting whoever created this place, as not only my equal but potentially even a senior!

If the power manifesting in that hero of theirs were on part with what I already experienced, I had to prevent his appearance at all costs!

Thinking about this, I looked behind, only to see countless people deeply intoxicated by their own prayers, as if they already lost the ability to think for themselves in order to enter the collective consciousness and synchronise all the prayers they were offering. Intrigued by this event, I scanned the entire area with my energetical vision.

Fuck!

In that instant, all the alarms in my body, mind, soul and spirit set off. 

My entire vision turned red, with the predator's mindset activating for the first time in a long while! In this single moment when I saw this mindblowing picture, all sorts of emotions fired up in my mind, despite my battle focus being in its full swing.

Awe.

Horror.

Astonishment.

Jealousy.

Insignificance…

Before my personality was swept by all those emotions and forced to join into this hive of collective something, I felt all the strings that were slowly pulling me away from myself snap, before my mind returned to its calm state of bloodthirst that replaced my previous anguish.

"I had to forcefully evolve your executioner path, that was the only way for me to save us from that thing!"

With the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I felt like a newborn god. Looking down from my strangely elevated point of view at all the people gathered around me, I couldn't help but see all their heads suddenly detaching from their bodies in punishment for what they almost did to me. 

Despite still being high on adrenaline and bloodthirst, I could feel the entropy crawling out from the pores of my skin and forming innumerable blades all over my body. 

*It's been a while since I last levelled up…*

"Bart! Calm the fuck down! It's not you either!"

While I never could detach myself from the Bonger so far, somehow I managed to cut him out of my mind.

*All those people… They would be worth tons of exp…*

Looking down, the faces of the crowd turned hazy. I could no longer see their distinctive traits as if they were all just a group of monsters from some kind of MMORPG game. 

*Did I ever hesitate to kill a mob in a game?*

With this question suddenly resounding in my head, my vision blanked out, as if my entire mind focused on the single task of answering it alone.

*No.*

*I have a system and can decide the life or death of those mobs below me. Am I wrong?*

*No.*

*Then for what am I waiting for? With all the exp I could get from those fuckers, I might even be able to save Eve!*

As if something clicked in my mind, the combined onslaught of my passion and wrath snapped the last bit of morality out of my head. Taking loose aim, I reached with my right hand backwards in order to gain enough momentum and pushed my fist forward.

Snap.

But on the other hand, those gardens are soo pretty!

Retracting my hand and swallowing up all the entropy right through my skin, I couldn't help but peek at the opening of the gate. Those fountains with the fresh water gushing out from them looked like they could sate the thirst of even the most dehydrated person while allowing them to have a taste of the clearest water ever found in the world!

Unable to hold my desire, I moved one step forward, then another one, only to be stopped right before I passed through the gate.