The closer we got to the shore, the stranger the situation became.

My passengers obviously didn't except for us to travel to this exact island, thus when we passed the halfway mark of our journey, their peddling started to slow down, to the point where I was actually the only one providing forward momentum to our boat when we neared the sandy shore.

Maybe it was the taboo they were scared off, maybe the fact that there was no distinguishable line between the sands of the beach and the dust of the desolate land, but something about this island made them just give up any hopes of surviving!

While it made me quite annoyed since I had to do all the work myself now, it was more of superfluous feeling, since from the very beginning I was the one actually doing to most work!

Whatever was the cause behind those men, strange behaviour, it lost its all influence over them as soon as we reached the shallow waters and jumped off the boat to carry it on to the shore.

At this point, it was impossible for them to not notice the peculiar situation on the island nor the presence of my magnificent but kind of plain tower.

Since it was the first time I was going to introduce someone to my home, it only struck me now how simple look it had to it! Instead of some carvings on the walls, sculptures guarding the windows or even simple arches making the entire building look way loftier… It was just a round tower, stretching for about thirty meters into the sky, with its diameter changing for about only a meter from the ground level as compared to the very top.

"Is this the place you want us to live? While I'm not gonna hold myself back from admitting how imposing it is, how do you intend to grow food? This island is empty as far as I can see, so we won't be able to hunt for the animals either!"

From the moment they stepped on the shore, my new companions regained their confidence, with their voice even gaining a slight tone of reverence.

Thinking about it, they could brag how they were the first people from their tribe and the entire island to appear on this land, boosting their courage and killing off most of the stress they previously had. In this light, my promise had to turn more and more likely to be realised, but while their newborn hope should prompt them to attempt putting some trust in my words, the reality surrounding them had to constantly eat away their new resolve!

"You don't have to worry about it for now. If it's the matter of food, I can always bring it from the other islands, but I don't think that will be the problem later. Just follow me!"

I didn't see any point in trying to explain to them how the small world looked or worked. I could save a lot of time required to make them understand, just by letting them in!

"Blop!"

"Entering the Stronghold area!"

"Detecting other, sentient lifeforms."

"Activate defensive mechanisms or register new guests?"

At first, I hoped that it was Bonger coming back from his deep slumber, but from the mechanic feels to the words I heard in my mind, I realised that it was just an automated reaction.

They are my guests. I want to turn them into the permanent residents of the first floor of the tower.

"Blop."

"Blood offering is required to register permanent residents!"

"Host needs to pour the blood of the future residents on the floor he wants them to have access to."

Oho? That was yet another unexpected bit of information!

Starting from the fact that they clearly couldn't see the deployable placed around the entrance, there was some process of registering them in?

Since I didn't know whether I could allow them to enter the tower area before registration, I made them stop about one hundred meters away from the demarcation line between the dusty desert and the sphere of stronghold influence.

"I will need a bit of your blood, guys."

Taking a small cup, I turned to the men behind me. From the sudden whiteness covering their faces, it was as clear as the sun rising to the west that my words scared them to no end.

"Chill out! I need it to deactivate my home defences. Unless you want to be fried upon entry, I need to make sure this place will recognise you as its residents. The only problem we have is that I don't have any sharp tools on me…"

While I could just cut their arms or some other place with a thin strand of the entropy, I wanted to do a small test of their resolve.

We left all the crafting tools back on their home island, as it was a property of the military in the first place. I did so as to not sour the relations with such a petty theft, but now it presented me with a chance to force them to exit their comfort zone and actually prove their resolve.

"That won't be a problem."

Once again stepping out, the oldest of the trio raised his forearm to his mouth and bit strongly on his own skin. Just from this, I could see that he really hoped I would keep my end of the deal, as he avoided his hand, which was way easier to bite to the blood, probably with the need to keep his hands intact for the sake of his future job.

Moving the makeshift cup under his forearm, I allowed a few drops of blood to fall into it, before looking at the other two men.

Even if the fact that I was filling a cup with their blood could be prone to be misunderstood in the future, it wasn't like I had any other tool on me that could gather a liquid!

After a short moment of the hesitation, the two remaining men finally bit on their thumb and palm respectively, before allowing few drops of their blood to flow into the cup.

"While the entrance seems to be still quite a bit away, my home already stretches almost to this very place. I need you to stay here for the moment, but try to not move around for too much. I don't want any unfortunate accidents happening!"

With those words, I swiftly left for the tower.

As soon as I crossed the line between the desert and the area of my stronghold, I heard the sound of people gasping for the air.

Looking behind, I saw a look on the bewilderment of their faces, as they looked around with surprise, unable to direct their gaze directly at me, despite only about a hundred meters separating us.

Did that mean I was invisible for them while inside the tower, just like the deployable I was just passing by? While I didn't expect any expert that would come seeking my death to be affected by such a small thing, it was still nice to know that I could hide in plain sight!