Chapter 278 - Day CMLXXIV

- Welcome back - a voice rang out in my head, a familiar one.

I opened my eyes. The enormous tree towered over me. It was so peaceful. The rays of light were passing through the tree crown, throwing shadows on the ground. Dancing shadows because of the gentle wind caressing the leaves.

And there, in front of the gigantic tree trunk, was this small ball of light. A wisp. The Great One.

- What do you want again?- I replied.

I was standing maybe a few steps from him. Even though the last thing I could remember was lying in my bed.

- To make another deal. The last one was a tremendous success, so I want to continue.

- You want to send me somewhere to fix your stupid game?

- It is not a game. And no, I don't want you to leave this world. There is no need for another intervention since other colonies are doing just fine.

- How many? How many other cities with humans do you have out there?

He laughed.

- One day you will find out, but not now.

I gritted my teeth.

- What do you want from me? Are you gonna threaten me again?

- No. I want to offer you a mission, and a reward. Find Loistavadvaar, and go there, but beware, the road to that place is dangerous, and you are not ready for it, so grow in strength first.

- Why would I go there? Can you stop playing those stupid games?

- I'm not playing games. If you want to find out how to open a gate to earth, then do as I say. That will be your reward. A way back home.

- We can figure that out on our own.

- No. You can not. Did you ever wonder why the weather is so nice around you? Why are there no animals? Or why any of you don't get sick? I configured your sapling to shelter you from many things before I summoned you. You won't believe me, but I never wanted any of you to die. You were to progress and become stronger, but instead, you were concerned too much with fighting and killing one another.

- Like I'm gonna believe your lies. You send monsters to wipe us out. Fuck you, and fuck whatever you want.

- I understand your anger. I hope one day you will understand my decision as well.

- You are an evil, sick bastard. I will never understand you.

- Perhaps, but if you want to go back to earth, fulfill your mission. Otherwise, you won't be able to make a path to your home planet. Only I can reconfigure your sapling to allow it. If you want to learn, go to Loistavadvaar.

- What If I don't go there? Are you gonna send another army of monsters?

- Although I could, I won't do it. That was a part of our previous agreement. If you won't go, you are just not gonna find a way to go back. That's it.

- We don't need you! Xuvi found a way. We can work with them.

- Yes, they do have a way, but they are not interested in working with you. They want to use you, and as soon as they find out that their research on mind-controlling technology is futile, they will try to annihilate you, as you are just as big of a threat to them, as Bahumdabars used to be.

That left me speechless. I knew Xuvi have their secrets, and they still are a possible enemy, so I just couldn't tell him that he is wrong.

- Why did you even let them live? Tell me, and I'll consider going to that fucking city.

- They are a safety measure. During the Bahumdabars era, I found that Xuvi, as a race, are relentless in pursuing their goals. Although I despise them, their worldview, and everything, sometimes, as you humans say, you have to fight fire with fire. Although I would prefer your race to succeed. You have many flaws, but you are not inherently evil.

- So we are supposed to ignore them if they start coming after us?

- They are afraid of me and will keep hiding. Focus on your mission, and forget they even exist.

- Yeah, east to say. Cant you just cut the crap, and tell me everything? If you are not playing a game with us, then stop.

- I already made this mistake once. I told everything to Yashasvee'mies, and at first, he agreed with my proposal, but as soon as he grew content with his achievements, he turned his back at me. I will tell you what this is all about when you are ready, not sooner. Grow stronger, visit the Loistavadvaar, then I'll tell you more.

- I want to...

I found myself lying in the bed, and talking to the ceiling of my room.

- Fuck.

Pissed of, I got out of the bed and went to the bathhouse, then to the cafeteria. I was too angry to cherish the tasty food, and the fact that I needed to wait at least one more day for my friends to come back, so I could finally get all of this mess out of my chest, was not helping.

I tried to drown my sorrows a bit at the pub, but they didn't have enough alcohol for me to get drunk, so I left even more annoyed.

I spend the rest of my time walking around the city and thinking about what I'm gonna do next. With the anchors, I could cover two, or maybe even three spots, and didn't have to worry about food or camp, since I could just return to my room at night.

Eventually, I decided to find the lizardmen boss and harpy boss, then think about what to do next. Right now I needed plenty of class points instead of regular ones. The device also needed an upgrade.

This should have us access to more advanced materials like rubber, metal alloys, and chemicals. Which would bring us almost to the level of civilization we had back on earth. I immediately thought about showers, music, video games, and fast food. 

The day came to an end with 82 566 130 points remaining on my account.