I’m gonna do a bit of a fast forward now. That’s because those days were pretty much the same. I was alienated by Nacho’s group. They kept watching me and made sure I didn’t find some people to stud up to them. From the perspective of time, I’m not blaming them as much, as I was back then. I hated those guys, but they were still a prelude to what was about to happen.

I kept getting up, eating breakfast, and going to hunt in the woods. Also paying my little tax. It was usually two, to a maximum of three stones per day. At some point, they started to hunt more, but even though, still kept robbing me every single day. That’s how a full seven days passed.

You might wonder why wouldn’t I rail up some people, and stand up to Nacho’s gang. There were Aisha with her crew, Will, and the firekeepers. That big of a group would easily kick their asses. My answer would then be: I didn’t want to risk any injuries. All they would need is a moment when I’m alone, to get me, and break my legs or arms. With injuries like that, I wouldn’t be able to hunt, which meant I wouldn’t be able to survive. Nobody would help in the long term.

Let me give you some statistics.

I managed to add 13 crystals to my stash hidden in the woods, for a total of 20.

I acquired a total of 1000 points on top of that and had to give up 15 crystals, that’s 1,5k points.

Life expenses, with some minor repairs of my shield, costed me 291 total. Which meant I had 1124 by the end of hunting on the seventh day. I was deadly tired. To the point of random nosebleeds.

I was about to dump over 900 points into the device, to cure my exhaustion, but the two strongest groups came from the woods. They just pushed me to the side. Why? Well, they were about to upgrade the device. Wuxia group pulled their stash of crystals, hidden in one of the buildings, under guard. Juan then did just the same. A big pile grew on the glyph. Then Zhang Yong put his hand on the device and closed his eyes.

Something happened to the whole city, or maybe even a bigger piece of land. We could feel this very faint shaking of the ground. Sphere shifted a bit, or maybe I was just seeing things, but symbols on the cobblestone definitely changed. They moved and rotated like gears in a complicated machine. Just to end in a very similar geometrical shape. That was It.

Wuxia and The Mariachis occupied the device for several hours checking what changed. A huge crowd gathered around them to hear the news. You could feel the excitement in the air. People were speculating what’s gonna happen. I, on the contrary, just sat on a big piece of rubble and listened.

Soon few things were announced. First that we could buy new things in the device. Second, that the prices on some of the items went down a bit. Then the third, also the last one, that from now on both groups, Wuxia and The Mariachis, agreed on putting a tax on everybody who wanted to use the device. Single crystal at the beginning of each week.

– I told you so – said Will almost giving me a heart attack.

– Holy shit, Will. You scared the shit out of me – I said while touching my chest, over the racing hearth.

– Sorry, but I just needed this moment of glory.

– Glory?

– Yeah. I was right, and you were wrong. Or was it somebody else? Anyway…

– Seriously Will?

– Oh come on. I thought I’m gonna cheer you up with my bullshit. You look terrible. I heard rumors that Nacho’s group is bullying you.

– I have no mood for stupid conversations, and I’m fine. You shouldn’t believe every rumor.

– Yeah, sure. I would offer help, but I’m not sure if I can. Anyway, what are you gonna do now?

– What do you mean?

– Well… You look like shit now, and that’s only Nacho taxing you. There is gonna be a new tax. What are you gonna do about it?

– I have something in mind.

– Care to share?

– I’m gonna talk with Zhang Yong, and I’m gonna tell him that I can’t afford to pay two taxes.

Will laughed.

– You are very optimistic, Peter. Do you think they will let you just talk with their leader? On top of that, you believe they will help?

– I’m gonna yell on top of my lungs. He will hear it.

– And then what? Do you think Zhang Yong is gonna go and help you? I don’t think so.

– He will. Right now Wuxia and The Mariachis are trying to lead us into a brighter future. They might not care about me as an individual, but they will care about a bunch of nobodies doing what they want in their front yard. How can they lead us, when they can’t do anything with Nacho’s group? That’s a blow to their reputation. Zhang Yong is not gonna take it.

– I… I think you are right. This may really work, but Wuxia is not gonna be happy if you use them like that. Are you sure it’s a good solution?

-No. I’m not, but I have no better ideas. I hope they will fix my problem, and just let it slip this time. They are a big group, and this could be also a possibility for them to establish their position over The Mariachis in the eyes of us, the rest.

– That’s playing with fire. I hope it will end well for you though.

– Thanks, Will.

– Oh, and if somebody from Wuxia asks me if I know you, I’m gonna deny it.

I couldn’t stop my laugh.

– Sure. Deny as much, as you want.

– I should go now before people start to tie us together.

– Me too. I’m going for a walk.

He gave me a curious eye. It was an obvious lie. I didn’t want to go for a walk. In my condition such activity was stupid. What I really wanted to do, was use the whole situation to move my stash inside city walls. There was no way Nacho, and his people are gonna tail me in the middle of all this – I kept thinking.

I didn’t immediately head to the gate. Instead, I headed in a random direction, then spend a few minutes wandering around the buildings while also checking if somebody is tailing me, and then I bee-lined straight to my stash in the woods. Everything went smoothly and I started to dig up what I buried.

– So that’s what it was about – said fucking Will coming out from behind one of the trees.

My heart almost burst out of my ribcage.

– Fuck – just slipped out of my tongue.

– Maybe later. I’m too tired now.

– What do you want? I’m not giving you any of my crystals.

– Relax. I just followed you out of curiosity. I’m not here to rob you.

He waved his hand.

– Then why are you here? – I asked as calmly as I could.

– I was just curious where are you going in such a secret. Now I understand why you didn’t want to tell me.

I did not answer, and just packed crystals into my pockets. Then I started to head back. I was supposed to hide them in the city, but because of him, I couldn’t. So there was no other way, to just head straight to the device, and cash in what I’ve been piling up.

Will tried to talk to me, but I just ignored him. For me, there was no other choice, but to sell crystals. I couldn’t risk hiding them when I knew he knows about them. Even when he stayed behind to the point I lost a view of him I kept heading to the city center. All I’ve been planing went to shitter. I was screwed and had to salvage all I could.

Since everybody was about to see me with 20 crystals I could no longer use the Wuxia group to help me with Nacho’s guys. I clearly was able to manage myself. I was clearly able to pay them both. There was no way to rail up everybody by playing on their emotions, as I was planing before.

I walked all the way to the city center. The original crowd around the device dispersed, and now there was a pretty long line of people wanting to use it. A few hunters from Wuxia and The Mariachis were collecting crystals from them. I got in line. Soon many eyes focused on my pockets obviously full of precious stones.

It didn’t take much time for Nacho to find out. He sat on a piece of rubble where he had a clear sight of me and watched. When our eyes met for the first time I knew he is gonna kick my ass very soon. Fortunately, he couldn’t, for now.

When finally my time came I had to pay my tax, then I put all the remaining 19 crystals on the stone, and touched the sphere while closing my eyes. I browsed through items briefly and quickly found out that I can buy a cloth, and sewing thread. With something like that I could make pants for myself, and a lot of other useful stuff. There were also wooden planks available, and many other things. Still, nothing made of metal.

I got rid of the exhaustion taking its toll on my body for 900 points. Then I bought a big square of leather to make a bag out of it. Also a few smaller leather straps, some thread, a small piece of bone, and finally a flint knife, which was one of the new items in the store.

The big leather piece was one square meter, and I paid 50 points for it. Two straps were 6 together. They were wider than the ones I used for the shield. The thread was a ridiculous amount of 10 points for one meter. I bought two meters for a total of 20 points. The next thing was cloth. That actually was the most expensive. It was 80 per square meter. I bought two square meters. The knife was also pretty costly. I paid 25 points for it, but it was actually worth it. It was kinda like a short kitchen knife but made of flint, and obviously thicker in some parts. Still very sharp, though.

Then I took some food. 5 carrots, 10 oranges, 5 apples, 10 avocados, and also 10 bananas. Every single one of those was 2. Don’t worry, I’ll do the math for you. The total was 80 points of food.

So all this shopping took 1241 off my account. I still had 1783 points, and because it seemed like a big number, I invested some in my statistics. I upgraded my constitution seven times for a total of 315 points. Then I also upgraded dexterity for a total of 660 points. By the end of shopping, I still had 808 points on my account.

I felt amazing. Invigorated. I don’t know if it was because I got rid of the exhaustion, or because I invested in statistics, but I did, and it brought me to hope that I might succeed in what I was about to do.

[0)ᴠᴇʟ I took all of my newly bought things to the side and started to work on making a backpack and a pair of pants. Nacho was watching. Hours passed, but he didn’t move from the piece of rubble. He had to teach me a lesson.

It was dark when I finished. My fingers were bleeding because of multiple stabs. The bone needle I made, and couldn’t use properly, was the culprit. After finishing I filled my stomach with a few bananas, and oranges. I ate as much as I had to, to fit the rest in my new backpack. Then I sat as close to the building occupied by The Mariachis. I felt comfortable in the new pants. It was more of a mental comfort than a physical one.

That’s how the day ended.. With a total of 808 points on my account, and a fully rested body.