Chapter 390 - Days MDCCLXXII - MDCCLXXXIV

It took twelve days to accumulate enough points to upgrade the device. Hatta had stored 200 000 000 points in crystals, and everybody during this period came up with another 100 000 000. I got the rest.

It was late evening. When we finally had everything we needed. Everybody gathered in the city center as the news of me being able of opening a path to earth was spread among the people. I put my hand on the device and bought the fifth upgrade. The whole city started to shook, and people had trouble maintaining their balance. Several dozens fell down when an altar rose from the ground to elevate the sphere. That was it.

I immediately brought the memory put in my mind by The Great One, and I was let into previously not accessible part of the shop. Now I could transform the device itself. I could make more access points, change the rules of the dome, block some items, but more importantly, I could open the gates to every world I've been in previously, or even attempt to find a new one close to the one we have been into. 

I retracted my hand and turned to the people.

- We need 100 000 000 more points to set up and open the gate! I don't have that much, so we will have to wait at least another two days! - I shouted.

I didn't know how they would react, I suspected people to get upset for some reason, but instead, loud cheers erupted, and people started jumping, hugging each other, laughing, and whistling. I never saw them so united, maybe except for The Invasion.

- Good job, Peter - said Hatta, as he came closer from the first line of people around me.

All my friends were there. Even Ki'rai, although she refused to talk to me.

- So two days more - said Aisha with a smile.

She had her arms tightly wrapped around herself like she was cold.

- Oh, I cant wait to visit my old gym. I'm gonna wipe the floor with everybody - said Nil.

Boris patted him on the shoulder.

- You are an asshole - he said.

Sanders just laughed it off.

Everybody seemed happy. Even Nobuo was smiling. For a moment I wondered who is waiting for him out there, back in Japan. Maybe a wife, maybe even kids, or maybe nobody, but there was definitely something, or somebody, he wanted to visit.

It was late, and people felt like celebrating, so I saw two groups splitting. One went to Velvet Lotus for a planned party, and the other to the pub. There was a bunch of people who wanted to check the new items in the device.

My disc player was already an envied item in the whole city, and people knew - because I told them - that with this upgrade they will be able to get electronics. Not only that but also electricity in the buildings. Many people really wanted that, because all the olive lamps, candles and rest were simply annoying to have.

All of us ended up in Hatta's office, gathered around the table. Only Blue was missing, still on his way back from the hunting grounds. There was not enough space for everybody, so some people were just standing. I was among them.

- So what's the plan now? - asked Boris. - Do we even know where the gate will lead when we open it? I didn't want to end up in the middle of an ocean.

- It's hard to aim exactly, but I can target it close to a specific city - I explained

- We should vote on that, and by 'we' I mean everybody in the city. That's only fair - said Aisha.

- I agree - said Will.

The rest of the people nodded.

- You sure the barriers will be able to withstand if somebody sends an army at us? - asked Hatta, looking at me with a concerned expression on his face.

- Yes. I have a plan. I'm gonna put so much mana into that barrier that it will withstand whatever they will throw at us. Well...  maybe except for a nuke.

- They wouldn't nuke us, would they? - asked Jayadeva.

He was clearly worried about such a possibility.

- No. They won't - I said. - This is everything everybody would want to have. They might send troops, try to blow up the whole thing, but nobody will risk nuking it. We are safe as long as my barriers will withstand, and they will.

- Where are you gonna place them? - asked Jayadeva. - It can't be here. They might destroy the gate. It should be out there.

- But if it's here, they might not risk using explosives because that would damage the gate, and the path would be closed - said Hatta.

- But what if they will try it anyway, knowing that we might reopen it? - argued Jayadeva.

- How about we do both sides? - asked Boris.

- Then the barriers will be weaker - I answered his question.

- Maybe it's better to wait, and make sure we have enough to protect ourselves? - proposed Jayadeva. - We don't have to open it in two days. We could wait for four or five, or even more. It's worth it if we will be sure of our safety.

- But everybody is expecting it to be open soon - I disagreed. - You really want to postpone it?

- I want to be safe. Me and my son... We don't have much out there, we have way more here, and I don't want to lose it because we were impatient.

- I agree with Jayadeva - said Aisha. - as much as I would love to go out there even today, we should take a smart approach to this. We already waited for so long... What difference will make couple more days?

- I agree - said Will.

I didn't expect this from him.

- Okay, let's wait - I gave up. - I will make two sets of barriers, on both sides. We should also get a building, like a hall or something, to put the gate into it. We need to know who is getting in, and who is getting out, and that would help. We should also think of making something that would help us to know who is who. Like identification or something.

- I have an idea - said Jayadeva. - We already have the badges for hunters to identify how strong they are, and where they can hunt. We should just enchant those a bit. Nobody out there will be able to forge those.

He kept looking at Will while talking because he was the man behind the whole hunting ground management.

- Ok. Let's do that - said Hatta. - We will take care of the building and identification, and you Peter, will open the gate and set up barriers. Does everybody agree?

Everybody did, and the meeting came to an end. I left a bit worried. The day, pushed in time again, was still slowly approaching, and to be honest, nobody could predict how it all will go down in the end. We could only hope the outcome will be a happy one for everybody.

This place could really change everything...

That period of time came to an end with 41 902 049 points remaining on my account, and 19 class points.