Chapter 49: Preparations finished
"Finally…. Finished."
Taking a few steps back, I took a long glance at the results of my hard work. Located on the side of the small, concrete dome that surrounded the crypt area, a tiny speck of dense runes and characters marked the very first day of the Boruta"s sanctuary.
But those few steps to the back were more than enough to put me in the right perspective. Comparing the small bit of those meaningless runes with the entire surface of the dome made it clear, that if I wanted to truly fill the entire thing, it would take me years.
But wait a moment, why I was carving some funny markings on the concrete surface of a dome?
To think.
"Benefits? Well, I have yet to establish the sanctuary on this land. But you can be sure about one thing, Pavlo. They will be worthy of the effort put."
This was the sentence that convinced the young master of Baskar family to join the cult. Or rather, to not jump the gun, express his willingness to join if the opportunity for the ritual arises.
And it was back then, when I realised something so simple yet d.a.m.n important, that I momentarily forgot my ability to speak.
Why should I bother trying to solve all my problems alone?
Given the benefits of having the system, as long as I could sparingly distribute them, I could easily obtain immense manpower and local influence. At the cost of some items, I would scavenge from the futuristic apocalypse world, I could turn this entire city into my own mansion!
But everything had to take place in its respective order. With Pavlo expressing his willingness to join, I neared the point of obtaining the first follower. Given the means of his family and his contacts, I would dare to call him quite a useful one at that.
And that meant, I had to double my efforts at preparing myself for this new role of mine. Yet, before I could even begin thinking about this, there was something that heavily weighted on my consciousness.
"Hey, if you don"t mind me asking, do you have any access for those funny weapons of the past? I think they would make quite a nice decoration for my office."
This was the second sentence that I spoke back at Baskar"s place. And now, with a bag full of guns already waiting for its use in the bas.e.m.e.nt, I was ready to deal with that one problematic affair of mine.
It was time to test whether the guns were as useless against magic in the other worlds as they were on earth.
But I didn"t rush it. Instead of hurrying myself up, I patiently waited for my act to play through its entire duration.
Once I distanced myself from the wall of the dome, I looked up, before falling down on my knees. Cupping my hands directly on my lap, I hung my head low and closed my eyes. And only after wasting half of a d.a.m.ned hour in that stupid position did I raise, making sure to add as much grace to my moves as I could.
Only then did I finally dare to press open the vault doors to the inside of the dome. Once I made sure the huge, steel doors that barred the entry to this place were properly closed, I moved forward and opened another set of doors - embedded directly into the former ruins that now turned a flat foundation of the bas.e.m.e.nt into a small, rocky hill.
"It"s nice to be back…"
Outside of the moment when I stashed the bag with guns in here, this was the very first time for me to return to the bas.e.m.e.nt. Ever since I left it, I focused all my efforts and willpower at solving the first batch of problems. But now, I was about to return to the magic world, where Ayda awaited my help.
After descending down the set of stairs, I finally pushed the last set of doors open before stepping inside the bas.e.m.e.nt. Even though the damage to its walls and insides was rather visible, it still stood strong, in spite of all the mayhem that happened above it. And it was as comfy as ever.
But right now, I had no time to bother myself with how comfortable or not this place was. I came here not to chill, but to take my time preparing before coming to Ayda"s help.
Even if the guns were to prove completely useless, there was still a lot of stuff that any post-battle scenario would require. And here"s where the help of the earthy scientists would come to my aid. Because despite how little they managed to achieve in terms of incorporating magic into the existing technology, there was one thing when both science and tradition managed to succeed.
Herbalism and general medicine. With how some of the spots around the world turned more and more dangerous due to the influx of magic, the market value for anything that could give those daring to get there another chance skyrocketed. Sensing the opportunity, all the way back in the early days of the apocalypse, several different groups came up with different ways to use both existing and old herbs to increase the effectiveness of simple healing tools like bandages, tonics or ointments.
And right now, besides some small, sweet gifts that I bought in the first store, I randomly encountered, the weapons and the healing materials were the only things I was about to bring to Ayda"s world.
"Okay then, here goes nothing…"
Speaking to myself as I pulled out a random gun that appeared quite dangerously before stuffing its magazine full of bullets. While I used the firearms in my life before, they were nothing more but toys for people potentially interested in pursuing the sports shooting career. When it came to real, hot guns, I knew nothing outside of what I learned on the internet.
But I wasn"t going to strive for headshots from a great distance. What modern weapons were the best at in the hands of an amateur like me, was the old tactics of spray and pray it will hit!
With the gun in my leading hand and a flash grenade in the other, I was now prepared to get back in a fight. The question was, would those items be of any use on the other side of the doors?
This question could be only answered by actually testing it out, so by setting the destination with just a single thought of mine, I opened the doors and stepped back into Ayda"s world to help her ward off again those d.a.m.ned, unknown attackers.