Bab 28: Makeover

"Fourteen Lost Souls. . ." I muttered to myself. That's the hall I've been able to collect throughout the past however long thanks to the very generous and capable Olive Flinn.

What can I do with fourteen Lost Souls?

Well. . . prepare to be disappointed is the least I can say.

Within the Shop, and of the branches of the Shop, the ONLY tab I'm able to purchase thing's from is still the Domain tab. Like I mentioned previously, the other tabs i.e. the useful tabs operate under a system of extortion!

In order to purchase anything that I can bring outside of my Domain I need to essentially commit genocide or at least miraculously stumble upon the equivalent number of Lost Souls, but as a gambling man, my odds are not looking great.

So that leaves us with the Domain tab and after existing and sleeping and seeing nothing but the pale orange stone that stretches endlessly no matter where I look, I must say, I am in desperate need of a Domain makeover!

I know! I know! It sounds like a complete and utter waste of resources, trust me I get it, but I feel like I'm experiencing China's white room and I'm near positive I'm losing my mind.

So a makeover!

And thankfully, with fourteen Lost Souls backing me, I'm actually able to do some pretty interesting things to the Domain.

For ten Lost Souls I can completely change the material that encompasses my Domain which basically means I can turn the stone into dirt or gold or even water. The issue with this option, which I'm sure is glaringly obvious, is the fact that it doesn't exactly fix my original problem of seeing nothing but the same thing.

With ten Lost Souls, I can change the Domain's material and weather, manipulate the terrain to form mountains or caves, grow flora and erect trees, but all of these cost ten each. In order to completely develop my Domain, I'll likely need somewhere around a hundred Lost Souls, a far cry from my current predicament.

So with changing the actual Domain out as an option, I'm now opting for a bit of a workaround. Instead of changing the Domain itself, what if I just create something within the Domain? A house perhaps?

Scrolling through the Domain's sub-tabs, my eyes quickly skimmed the list until I found the [Buildings] tab. There, a wide array of structures appeared before me!

Nests made of bones, coffins with exorbitant designs, and at the bottom of the page, an all-encompassing castle glittered before my very eyes!

"Holy shit. . ." the words slipped from my mouth.

Studying the various castles, I couldn't help but momentarily fantasize over the life of a King – overwhelmingly luxurious, every need taken care of on a whim, extravagant balls with dancing and horse racing. The dreams of my childhood rushed through my distracted mind.

But now, it seems like they don't have to be mere dreams anymore?! Of course, I don't know how I'll ever manage to collect ten million Lost Souls, but a man's gotta dream don't he?

Rapidly ascending back to the top of the [Buildings] tab, I looked at the three options I could purchase, each of them costing ten LS.

The first, a 'Mundane Cottage' which came equipped with, that's right, two rooms! Not one, not three, but two! A bedroom and a kitchen/living/dining room all put together! And the bathroom and washhouse exist outside of the cottage, attached to the outer walls.

The second option, a 'Mundane Cabin' which, like the cottage, comes with the same features and layout, but with dark wood accents and a structure built on logs rather than the white and brown cottages.

As could be expected, the third option too provided the same layout and amenities, but possessed a more medieval, gothic atmosphere as expressed in its name 'Mundane Peasantry.'

Having lived in a world largely void of forests, as they had been razed to the ground by fires and subsequently died under the ashen sky, a cabin-style dwelling drew my attention more than anything. Relinquishing my ten LS, I purchased the 'Mundane Cabin' and instantly the screen in front of my eyes changed to an overhead map of my Domain.

Organized on a grid, the holographic image of the Mundane Cabin moved alongside the flow of my finger as I directed it across the map. Thankfully, the map too actively shows where I'm standing. I would be a bit annoyed if I accidentally placed the cabin a day's walk away.

According to the map, Baku and I are currently at the northernmost section of my Domain, a few notches away from the invisible portal that repeats the Domain's space. Deciding that it felt like a good place to settle, being on the top and all, I moved the virtual cabin on the screen a few squares on the grid away from me and confirmed it.

Out of thin air, a massive portal split the space in my Domain apart! From the depths of the blackness, a rustic cabin appeared instantaneously! Built entirely of logs stacked upon each other, my new home reminded me of the Lincoln Logs I played with as a child!

The Mundane Cabin was neat and quaint. It had a perfectly triangular roof that topped it like a hat along with a large window that bore into its dark interior. Pushing the wooden door open, the interior of the cabin was desolate.

In the corner, a sad excuse for a bed lay propped against the wall. Beside it, an amateurishly crafted bench stood as its nightstand. In the opposite corner of the room, a single rocking chair was positioned towards the main window of the cabin. Behind the rocking chair, lined up against the cabin's walls, an empty bookshelf constructed of the same dark wood stretched itself all the way towards the ceiling of the cabin.

Noticing the ceiling, I also noticed a hatch in the middle of it. Already physically enhanced beyond the realm of humans, I lightly leaped up and grabbed the latch in the ceiling. Pulling it open, a ladder suddenly collapsed from the ceiling and crashed onto the wood floors.

After picking the ladder up and placing it back where it belongs, I climbed up into the cabin's attic – a feature I was not expecting. Unfortunately, other than the two windows that prod out of the cabin's roof, nothing else occupied the space.

Returning to the cabin's main room, I slipped past the doorway that stood next to the bookshelf and entered the cabin's kitchen/dining room. In that room, that's about half the size of the main room, stood a plain wooden table with two chairs. Along the walls, cabinets and drawers filled the space – all empty of course.

With the remaining four Lost Souls, I purchased a modern mattress, a set of bedsheets with matching pillow cases, a pair of pillows, and a candle. And before the universe delivers any hate for the candle selection, I am trying to shake up the monotony that my senses have been subjected to – smell certainly one of those senses!

A delivery portal appeared in the center of the cabin's main room where my items were then instantly dropped off. For my bedsheets, I decided to go with a blue and black color scheme: a black comforter with royal blue sheets and pillows. Picking up my items, my fingers instantly melted under the softness that encapsulated them.

Lost in a dream, I didn't even bother to make the bed. Instead, I plopped onto the mattress on the floor and wrapped the luxurious sheets around me. In a hair's width of time, the welcoming sensation of sleep embraced me.

***

After the Admiral's militia returned, life at the camp turned upside down. The women of the twelfth, unhappy at being tossed around like ragdolls, demanded some form of retribution. As the numerical majority, the voices of group twelve did not go unnoticed. Daily, they would stride into the pyramid and interrupt meetings, demanding Skyler be imprisoned.

To their dismay, however, the Admiral refused to budge and with a large force of experienced veterans behind him, why should he? Instead, using the women's anger as fuel, Admiral Adams suggested the women of group twelve join Skyler instead of oppose her.

In doing so, the Admiral explained that the women would often be granted the opportunity to spar with the infamous Skyler and during those spars, granted they had the skill, they could wreak havoc upon Skyler.

For most of the women, this solution resonated with them. On the one hand, they'll become incomparably stronger under the Admiral's tutelage. The women weren't stupid after all, it's been a few days since their arrival and in that time many of them stumbled upon an opportunity to witness the Awakened in action.

Stunned and engrossed, like any normal person would be, the women wanted that kind of power for themselves. Note, however, that isn't to say that all the women possessed an eye for war; it's quite the opposite, in fact.

Many of the women became infatuated with Fey's work and her powers as a Painter. Visions of more fun powers clouded their minds like talking to animals or sprouting wings of their own. Most of them had absolutely no intention of risking their lives, joining a battlefield, or wanted anything to do with killing in general.

In addition to the large influx of group twelve joining the Admiral's training, many other casual camp dwellers decided to participate too. These were the unawaked folks who carried supplies around camp, helped the craftsman strip wood or mine stone, the general labor force every group of people unspokenly relied on.

The reason they decided to participate, however, differed from the new girls. This subsection of the camp's population joined due to the recent announcement of the pyramid's raid! Their only hope of escape from the jungle, a Gate different from the rest; one that required a crystal key obtained through the slaying of a particularly powerful creature!

Even in the scenario where the pyramid's Gate doesn't lead back to Earth, the fact alone that its Gate is different from the rest is cause enough to raid it. And with the differences of the Gate's activation, the threat beyond its doors must be similarly heightened.

It's common sense really. If the requirements to open the Gate in the first place involve slaying a powerful beast, then surely a beast more powerful must stand on the other side. Operating under that assumption, the Admiral demanded the camp adopt an 'all hands on deck' approach and with the approval of Doc and Fey, the order went into effect.

"Anyone who possesses deep within you the desire to return home, to see your children and your parents, to finish school and continue pursuing your dreams, I urge you to help us!" A day after coming to the decision, the Admiral delivered a speech to all the camp's occupants.

It was that very speech that inspired the many camp dwellers to join arms with the Admiral and fight alongside him and their new brethren! And so, as training passed so too did time.

A date was finally determined for the pyramid's raid – a few days after the thirteenth summoning. Interestingly enough, crafting events around the day of summoning had quickly become a trend for the inhabitants of the Land of Trees.

Church and Fey alike also found the notion of being transported to another world only to return a few days later to be particularly funny. It would also help a lot with the logistics the brainier members of the camp were interested in such as where and how they'll return to Earth, assuming that is what happens.

For example, will they be transported back to the exact spot they left? What about people out at sea like the Admiral? Will he plunge into the open seas upon return? With that line of thought another question arises: does how long you've been away have any impact on how you return?

Unlikely and yet still possible. It's this question specifically that urged the five spokespersons to settle on a day near the thirteenth summoning. A day that was rapidly approaching.