I Hate Systems

"Alright, do it." Compass Carburettor said, patting the back of the leader. He was the one who obtained the External Item of Fortress.

Nodding in response, the leader took in a deep breath, arriving at the peak as he closed his eyes, thinking for a moment before summoning a pearl-like cylinder. He then gazed at Compass Carburettor, nodding in response before placing the cylinder on the ground.

Woong!

A sonorous sound reverberated through the surroundings as the cylinder turned into a cluster of hair-like roots, piercing through the ground as they vanished.

Immediately after, the ground began to mildly tremor as everyone was startled, looking around, unable to understand just what was happening.

Slowly, the ground began to resemble a pearl in both texture and colour as everyone looked in shock.

Something jutted out of the ground far away, beginning to rise, forming a wall that surrounded them. These walls formed around the middle ground of the hill, stopping after reaching a height of twenty metres.

Slowly, numerous other structures began to grow out of the ground as the people scattered about, arriving at places that were becoming flat, resembling roads.

Soon, many buildings, rather tall structures appeared within the walls as many institutional places also appeared.

There was a place that resembled a plantation, covered by soft mud that was fertile, perfect for growing crops. It had been achieved by grounding the rock underneath and transporting the resultant soil by selective targeting.

This way, the minerals in the soil would become perfect for growing crops. Four wells were situated around the town centre, and a building existed between them, raised high up.

This was the water tank, meant to transport water into all the buildings. And, countless structures resembling a tree formed its functional getup, meant to siphon water from the wells and store them in the water tank.

There was the tallest building in the centre of the fortress, cylindrical in shape, spanning twenty stories. It not only allowed them a great vantage point to look at their surroundings, but the place was also secure enough to not be under threat from bird-type mutated beasts.

There were locations for sentries to be posted everywhere.

As the buildings were in an apartment structure, it not only saved space but also made the area within the fortress more spacious, allowing them to do a variety of activities.

There was a barracks, attached to a training ground. There was even a forge to make weapons. Finally, there was a large open dais in one location, meant to give speeches for rallying everyone.

There were a flight of stairs installed everywhere, allowing for smooth travel. Moreover, there were two gates installed beyond the fortress, and the only way to reach them was through a mechanical lift installed at the top of the walls. This prevented any enemies from breaking through the gates to rush inside.

After all, even if they broke the gates, they would only be met with walls after that. And, this gating mechanism only existed to form an enclosed area to assemble before charging out. It was a safety net per see.

"This is your spot," Compass Carburettor said while gazing at one of the two people that obtained a Vitality Bowl, pointing at a small raised platform near the four wells.

It was circular in shape, filled with soil within. When the fortress was being created, the soil underground was shifted to make this channel. So, from here, it was easy to place a Vitality Bowl and have access to an undiminished supply of minerals from the earth.

Upon his command, the man with the Vitality Bowl walked forward, gently placing it at the designated place, noticing that the Vitality Bowl fit the spot perfectly.

He then willed for it to begin generating water, noticing a layer of water form in it after a couple of minutes. With that, the water level continued to increase before overflowing, transported through a small channel into the nearest well.

Channels were split off to each of the four wells, manually controlled.

And upon seeing the water pouring into the well slowly, everyone roared in amazement.

Compass Carburettor then led the people towards the walls, beckoning for the man with the External Item of a Ballista to come forward, pointing at a small rectangular patch of soil. It was like a small flower bed.

But, it was positioned on the wall, with the layer of soil leading all the way into the ground. The man arrived before it, gently placing his External Item, seeing it beginning to grow like a tree before turning into a menacing Ballista.

"Even though its range is only 200 metres, you can retract it upon a moment's notice and head towards the necessary location." Compass Carburettor spoke.

He then brought everyone towards an open field situated in the centre of a circular building that spanned five storeys.

The person that walked forward was a middle-aged woman, placing her External Item in the centre, watching it begin to grow into a massive tree that spanned a height of twelve metres.

And, growing on them were bundles of clothes of all colours and fabric, causing the eyes of countless women to lit up in response.

Finally, the group arrived atop the tower in the centre where a woman planted an External Item, one that grew up into a large tower. She then placed her hand on it, murmuring something for a good couple of minutes before turning around to nod at Compass Carburettor, "It's done. I've made it recognise everyone standing here as allies."

"Great," Nodding in response, Compass Carburettor then brought them towards the underground floor in the tower, making the last of the group plant her External Item into the circular patch of soil there.

The Vitality Bowl perfectly fit into it, beginning to generate a liquid mixture fit for consumption. "Any form of food would be available in liquid mixture here. It's the same for medicine too. Also, if you have enough food and medicine stockpiled, you can begin making pearls from it. It can make one pearl per day."

Those that were able to hear his words inhaled a sharp breath in shock, understanding the implications in his statement. Just this meant that they would become self-sufficient and would also be able to defend themselves against their foes.

The Ballista would attack their enemies without wasting any pearls. And the Vitality Bowl would produce not only food, medicines, and water, but also pearls.

'Now, for the most important thing..' Compass Carburettor thought, controlling his urge to laugh.