A pleasant, if a little monotonous pace overcame Jacks everyday life after the little show the foolish party at the gate of his home had constructed, only to fail spectacularly in regards to their set goal. Worse still, they lost what ground they had gained with the upper crust of at least this town, what with Jack's- as a promising new rising star crafter- or the kids ever growing status as either a capable enough party that head out constantly or for their incredibly good performance during the monster tide.
Jack had. of course, contacted Ramia as soon as Rebeca had left, informing the merchant about the likelihood of a need for a conversation that would involve all parties concerned- namely Jack himself, Ramia and either Rebeca or someone else from her side. Ramia did express his own caution about the fact that the kids were kept an eye on by the powers that be, especially Rebeca herself, as while there was little in the way of information circulation around about the rather reclusive commander of the towns elite squad, there were snippets that Ramia, as a shrewd and seasoned merchant had still picked up over the duration of his stay within Valkia.
The woman came from some sort of a noble bloodline, though as stated before, Ramia did not have more to go on. That and the fact she rarely- if ever- took matters in her own hands, leaving most of the interactions someone of her status would be forced into to her subordinates. Of course, in case where pure action was the necessary measure she would be there, ordering and leading her squad from the front lines, wielding both sword and magic quite expertly. There Ramia had another observation to add as he did recognize- through second hand reports admittedly- that the woman was using some sort of a modified combat style that originated from elven 'Magic battle dancers'- a rather specialized melee combat class focused on quick movement, heavy burst damage and precision strikes.
Jack noted the info but did not pay all too much mind to it- neither was he a long time resident of this world, nor did he in particular felt a reason to be suspicious of Rebeca or her superiors. Best case scenario- they wanted to establish good relationship with a promising upcoming guild, in which case Jack had nothing to complain about, or they were feeling out the likelihood of either drawing Jack and his people into their service or forcing them. In regards to the latter, neither really was a problem. Should they try and entice his group, they would politely, yet firmly decline. Should they try the latter approach, Jack was not against showing just how dangerous could be his retaliations.
With another couple more expeditions into the forest, the entire kids group- save for Mika, Kate and Carla- hit level twenty, finally reaching the point where they could swap out their gear for the newest shiny stuff Jack had cooked up, though the most flashy pieces were still kept in reserve. The next time they would head out, They would stay for a bit longer while ensuring no one could keep track of them and then return to town in their new gear, disguising it as an acquisition from a dungeon or something, and since no dungeon remained after its core was destroyed, save for perhaps modified caves with unique flora or fauna that could then be exploited for the resources, though once again, such special things did not always remain behind. More often than not, there would be almost no traces of a dungeons recently cleared.
It was the middle of the night when the entire mansion was silent- the residents currently home all sleeping, when a change occurred in Jack's room. His eyes sprang open, as though torn from his rest by a warning about unwelcome guests infiltrating the perimeter of his property, though there was no flash of panic, anger or any other negative emotion. On the contrary, a small and pleased smile slowly crept on his face as he was focused on the system window before his eyes.
Level 25 reached. Class upgrade initialized. Scanning for possible advancement routes.........
Scanning......
Scanning.....
Advancement routes complied.
What should have been a list, relatively large as it usually was for the first advancement since there was not true specialization chosen as of yet, was a simple, single line of text, displaying a lone choice of advancement. Jack was not surprised, nor was he disappointed, for the class was much, much better than anything else he could have possibly hoped for, thus, without wasting another moment, he mentally selected the only available option for him.
There were no flashy lights that accompanied his advance, no tearing, torturous pain that assaulted his body in the wake of the transformation. Nothing that would betray his newfound power. What was there however, was a new clarity that suddenly washed over Jack's being, making his already sharp perception sharper still, expanding his already large field of spiritual perception even further, making no place within the city borders out of sight, at least if he so decided. It was not infallible though, for while he would be made aware of any element actively plotting and planning against him or his, it did nothing for those that were up to no good but did not aim at him or his- a small, yet quite notable loophole in his perception that would result in quite the annoying chain of events sooner than he could have ever anticipated.
Awakened twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(Ex)- the next stage of Twin aspect of creation and destruction, making its already unreasonably overpowered and basically broken parts even more so. Creation is now even cheaper and there is a constant, if relatively small at the moment, formation of matter that the aspect can use as he wishes without the need to constantly hunt for matter to absorb. Spirit +10.
Skills: Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX), Spark of inspiration(EX).
New: Origin of matter(EX), Unbound by laws of the lessers(EX), The end made manifest(EX).
Origin of matter(EX)- constant creation of matter that is stored in 'Matter storage'. The amount created increased with time, levels and spirit of the aspect.
Unbound by the laws of the lessers(EX)- allows the aspect to easier step beyond the laws of the world he resides with his creations, making the cost of the items made become smaller and easier to made manifest.
The end made manifest(EX)- as the aspect of destruction it is so much easier for you to take apart whatever stands in your way should you desire so. Weapons and magic wielded is more destructive, rising in potency the longer the encounter is. Base amplification- 30%. Max amplification- 200% +10% for every five levels past 25.
The skills alone were impressive as all hell, Jack could do nothing but come to such a conclusion. Not only would his crafting be cheaper and easier, he would also gain more and more matter as time went on without licking a finger, once again providing him with a much easier path forward, gearing out both himself and the kids as the time went by, It also meant that he could ensure the kids never came to the obviously retarded idea that they need to toe the line between life and death to collect the necessary materials to reach the next stage. That was the last thing Jack would ever abide by.
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No, the greatest boon he had just received was in the form of the additional 5 spirit his class advancement came with. He knew damn well just how unreasonably hard, nigh impossible it was to advance ones spirit past twenty- as proven by the fact that he had not gained the five he earned from one of his achievements since his spirit was already past the threshold. Now, aside from having a special class that gave extra- just like his did- there was very few paths open for him, one of which would be unreasonably rare treasures doing the same, though the effect of such items depended on the amount of spirit one had- the lower your spirit the more they helped, making each such item, as unreasonably rare as they already were, not all that effective. Worst still was the fact that Jack could not even replicate them should he found one and then decided to analyze it in hopes of learning its 'crafting recipe.' Such items were kind of alive- the one thing that Jack could not do just yet. Sure, he could mend the living, but create entirely new life? That was beyond his unique skillset at the moment in more ways than one.
There was a silver lining in the fact as well though- one that Jack could appreciate for what it was- a boon of sorts. It was due to his inability to create such living beings that allowed him a longer journey at a much more leisure pace, doing as he pleased as he moved along, helping the people he had decided to surround himself with as he coasted forward, enjoying the pace of his second life that he was not forced to carve through hordes and hordes of bloodthirsty and maddened monsters, all with a singular desire to tear you apart and devour what little remains after the fact.
It took surprisingly little effort to adapt to the new range and power of his spiritual perception, as Jack focused on the entities that radiated ill will towards him and his. As it turned out, there was suspiciously few of those, though that might be because envy alone did not register in this new danger sense of his. One had to feel maliciousness towards his group as well as be in the process of putting a plan of action together to realize the vile acts they would eventually come up with.
With his spirit now being on the very threshold of thirty, he could also see the appearances of the aforementioned people that were plotting against him.
"Heh, fools, one and all." Jack could not help but half snort when he realized the very same group that had challenged them to a interra war were now scheming further, doubling down to take revenge for the way Jack had dismissed them as well as for the fact their ambition was thwarted by some newcomers to this world.'Fuck around and find out.' Jack just sighed a moment later when the amusement had fled his system, replaced by cold uncaring. He would still warn the kids the next time he would see them. While he was now basically immune to whatever plot they concocted, the kids were not nearly as impervious as Jack would have liked, though he also knew well enough that a small dose of danger was necessary to keep his kids sharp. And soon enough, he drifted back to sleep, ready to face the coming day with renewed vigor, plenty of thoughts of what and how to improve swirling in his mind, yet pushed to the side all the same- a good nights sleep was a sacred thing after all, even if he did not need it as much as he used to.
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A cave system, deep, deep below Valkia seemed like some sort of an ant nest, numerous men swarming back and forth with seemingly one mind and reason, pushing forward the task they had been given- one and all not only happy, but seemingly ecstatic to be a part of the endeavour. The men seemed to be pushing themselves ragged, though not so far as to collapse along their path- they new better than to overdo it and create more problems for their fellow believers with their untimely collapse.
Aside from the manual labour 'drones', deeper down still, the real work took place. A large number of aged men toiled inside a large cavern, slowly carving a runic patterns across the ground, then carefully filling the carved path with a preprepared solution that too was brought over to them and was made in a relatively smaller cavern right next to this one, ensuring a relatively quick deliveries when any of the 'artisans' needed a fresh batch. And a fresh batch they would get, for only the freshest was good enough for what they were working on. Nothing less than perfection, for even the slightest mistake might cause the whole task to fail, and none of those present could even stomach the thought of failure. Their mistress depended on them after all, and what greater honour than to be given such vital task by their mistress.
At the far end of the cavern, an outcropping on the wall was carved, hosting the upper echelon of the whole endeavour and a veiled person that exuded a faint and sweet smell just by standing there, calming and arousing the men around her just a bit, silently motivating them to push ever forward and ensuring that the job was done. The veil obscured the womans face, but her relatively thin, though non transparent cloak did little to hide away the killer figure of the woman. If anything, one could even bet that the cloak was even enchanted to hug her curves just enough to rosue the blood and desire in men. That hourglass figure and well endowed curves would ignite ones imagination like no other, though if Jack was present here he would no doubt spit out some joke about the sad times the carpenters would be experiencing here, assuming he would not take a great offence at the ritual being prepared here, for it stood against all that he had planned so far.
"How's progress?" the veiled bombshell of a woman asked after a while longer as she gazed at the activity below, her almost glowing red eyes almost piercing through any man she gazed upon.
"Soon young lady, soon. A couple of days at most." the man in charge spoke, bowing his head in near reverence. The lady was one of his great mistresses daughters, sent over to check on their progress. The great lady was growing hungry and needed sustenance, and sustenance she would son have.
"Excellent. Mother will be pleased. You have done well so far and will well rewarded for your hard work." the young lady added, her voice still just as alluring as the rest of her, though the man in charge seemed to have near unreasonable level of control as he did not try and steal a single glance filled with lust towards the 'young lady'. The rewards promised, and one before received by the man in question were far, far more important than momentary lustfull distraction. "I will inform mother then. Carry on." she added a moment later, turning around and leaving once the man in charge bowed once again, well aware that the lady neither needed nor desired escort. That and he had to keep his eye on the task at hand. The slightest of mistakes could spell disaster, and he was nothing if not pedantic and extremely cautious. And so, his eyes returned to observing their plan slowly coming closer and closer to fruition, pleasing their great lady in the process and earning untold rewards for the men toiling away for years as they had. In the end, it was all worth it.
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The coming week was filled with activity and work for Jack as he dived head first into the new tasks that he had already glanced at the moment his class advanced and finalised the coming morning, among which the greatest importance took the upgrading of the kids 'oh shit' emergency gear and supplies, greatest of which so far had been the spiritual attack he had made for them- a consumable item that would cause quite the damage to whoever it was used against, all while leaving the kids themselves unharmed.
Now, they had better protection in case all else goes to shit, both in the form of upgraded spiritual attack pendants as well as several other tools, among which the greatest was the mini summoning feature he had baked into the communication tool. The phone as it were. IF absolutely necessary, Jack himself could squeeze through and deliver some well deserved ass whooping to whoever threatened the kids, and then them as well for the sheer stupidity of having the need for Jack to appear in the first place, not that he would tell them about the promised but unspoken ass whooping they themselves would receive in such a case. Still, it was better to have it there in case of a real emergency.
The other thing that drew his attention from time to time was of course their merchant acquaintance and partner in crime as the two men kept communicating on the regular since Rebeca was also working hard to find a moment that would be convenient for all parties involved to sit down and talk out the finer details of the things she hoped Jack could cook up for her and her team. They did somehow manage to squeeze in such a meeting at the end of the week, promising to each other and themselves to come to a mutually beneficial agreement. And so, with the time having come and the kids once again out of the town, Jack and Ramia welcomed Rebeca in Jack's mansion once again as the trio sat down at a pastry filled table to discuss the almost guaranteed deal.
Jack Raja(?)
Age- 27
Species- human(?)
Level- 25
Class- Awakened twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(Ex)
Stats unassigned: +12
Attributes:
Strength- 24 (14+7+3)
Vitality- 23 (12+8+3)
Dexterity- 21 (15+6)
Intelligence-7
Spirit- Spirit- 30 (20+10)
Skills- Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX), Arukain language(C), Spark of inspiration(EX), Origin of matter(EX), Unbound by laws of the lessers(EX), The end made manifest(EX).
Spells- none.
Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. Monster debugger.The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme.
Gear: amulet +2 vit: weapon- Gundao+3 str. Rings- spatial storage,
