"What…are they doing?" Rhizen looked around, confused, gazing at the people doing weird hand signs at each other whenever they passed by.
"Well…" The leader thought for a moment before saying, "It's just a show of appreciation to the work attitude of the other person. We express our appreciation this way."
"Since when did this happen?" Druvus was confused, "We have barely been away for a day, and they look like completely different people. If this is something new, how come they look perfectly used to such an action, as if they've done it for years?"
"They've been at it nonstop from the moment this fortress was built." The leader smiled, passing by a couple of people as he made hand signs at them, displaying a superior skill level.
It caused the Ianon and Rhizen's group to gaze at each other.
Rhizen whispered Ianon, "You mentioned arriving here yesterday once the fortress was installed. Did this happen then?"
"No, they were still discussing about the hand signs back then." Ianon replied, "So, this happened after that."
"Is this the prayer hall that you mentioned?" Rhizen asked, gazing at the group of people that were praying, "Why do they look so zealous?"
"People need something to rely upon. And in times of apocalypse like these, it is all the more necessary." The leader said, "And, thanks to it, my work has reduced a lot. I don't have to mediate any fights, stop tensions between groups of people, etc. Everyone is working to better their lives, as if we're back in our old society."
"And since there's only around three thousand of us, we've become a close-knit community." He said, expressing relief.
Before this fortress appeared, he had been busy, almost killed on multiple occasions by those that were unable to endure the harsh, threatening life daily.
As Rhizen had seen the leader's struggles and had also participated in resolving conflicts from time to time, he understood the leader's expression of peace.
Entering the prayer hall, he observed the mural, reading through the story before gazing at the symbol on the altar, finally observing the name written underneath, "Gahrat."
"So, that's the name of the Mountain Deity?" He asked, seeing the others nod in response.
He then remembered something, asking Ianon, "Oh yeah, you were drawing his face before…"
"Well, I got distracted by our conversation in the end." Ianon smiled wryly, "No worries, I'll sketch it once we get a piece of paper after this."
"That won't be necessary," The leader interjected, "If it's his face, some of the women are embroidering it on a large piece of cloth. It'll be done in a week or so. And since some of those are professionals, it should be pretty accurate."
"Well, then it should be fine." Ianon laughed it off.
Rhizen observed the devoted expressions of everyone, feeling something was off a little, asking the leader, "Only you seem normal. Everyone else is a bit too…"
"Devoted, right?" The leader laughed, nodding in response, "Well, whatever works to maintain peace and development, I guess. Besides,"
He grinned, pointing at himself, "They are just amateurs. A professional constantly pray from their heart to express their thanks."
…
"What does Dita mean, uncle?" The cobra, Dita asked in curiosity.
"It means you're awesome." Compass Carburettor said, picking this name only because he felt it suited it, not because he knew of the name's meaning. 'Well, the meaning is what we attach to it anyway. Even otherwise, when it is portrayed as such enough times, it becomes the truth.'
He casually harboured a terrifying thought, patting the cobra, asking it, "What do you want to do now? Stay here, or in my space?"
"I'll return to your space," Dita spoke, vanishing, "I can observe everything through your senses anyway. And it's safe for me here."
This was the true extent of its ability that was unlocked after they formed a connection. When Compass Carburettor summoned Dita, it was condensed on him as a helmet, allowing him to sense the space of Grisha that was nearby.
He flashed, appearing within her space for a moment, connecting with all her senses. Though, he returned immediately after, watching Grisha gasping, for he had burdened her. She was only at Stage 2 while he was at Stage 3. So, the burden on her space was huge.
In this world, as long as he engaged in close combat, whenever there was a threat to his life, he could hide within the space of the opponent. Moreover, he could also kill their mutated beasts, rendering them powerless.
Also, the true extent of this power lay in its ability to plunder. That is, he would be able to plunder the mutated beasts of others from within their space and make them his. Though, the maximum number of mutated beasts he could possess was dictated by his Stage.
This aspect would never change.
'The mutated beasts of System Hosts.' He thought, getting excited, 'They should have been improved by the Systems and would be a lot stronger than the usual mutated beasts.'
"But first, I have to upgrade the strength of all mutated beasts, especially Dita's…" He muttered, deep in thought. After all, unlike the other mutated beasts, Dita was only able to grow by devouring the mutated beasts within a space.
And, only humans had that. So, that means, either he had to sabotage other humans or exclusively hunt the mutated beasts of System Hosts.
"Well, the apocalypse should have plenty of bad guys," He muttered, throwing it to the back of his head, thinking, 'Now, how can I fight against the System Hosts?'
Of course, he had zero intentions to let them leave. But, upon using Info Scanner, he frowned, 'It seems they've performed a lot of Quests before coming here. Albeit slow, their Mental Energy reserves are increasing.'
"This is troubling," He sighed, looking at Grisha, "Do you have any bright ideas?"
"Hmm," Thinking for a moment, Grisha pointed at the ants, "Even though this might cripple their development in this region, why don't we continue to hunt the ants at this pace and reach Transcendence? Or at least, hit the limit for our Darlac growth?"
"You do have a point," Compass Carburettor nodded, "Since the enemies have a large Mental Energy reserve, we need to face them head-on sooner or later to kill them."
