In less than twenty minutes, the walls of Avalante came into view. Jack and the group had just reached the top of a small hill and could now see even further ahead into an endless steppe. Further ahead, stood a large settlement, with dark brown walls approximately twenty meters high, serving as rather capable outer defense- even in a world where magic existed. Of course, a true level ninety powerhouse would still flatten the place without actual effort, but for those below level fifty it would be quite the hassle to and effort to break through.

  "Those walls cannot be made of stone, can they?" Jack asked, his soul power already stretched out and inspecting the place, the wall giving off a peculiar feel like brick, though there was something off about it.

  "No sir, rocks are a rare commodity around here. Most buildings are made with mana infused bricks. A material not all that much different normal bricks, just much more durable and with shorter shelf life as clay, making it good for local building but terrible as a product to sell. With the river so close by and absence of any proper mountain ranges in near vicinity, people settling here did what they could with what could be found here. Or so the story goes here." Sindu explained.

  "Know anything about how people settled here? From where I come, the general consensus is that proper civilization outside of the borders of their controlled territories in nigh impossible, with most land the dominion of dungeon monsters roaming around. With only small groups, traveling around like some sort of nomads capable of surviving." Jack asked, rather interested in the possible answer.

  "While we don't know if true, there is a tale that speaks about it. It speaks of a hero- his beastman race lost to time- who freed the ancestors of the beastmen and captured and enslaved their previous humanoid masters, leading the caravan formed of their united numbers away from the lands where the humans still resided. There are plenty of exploits he achieves along the way, leading the group further and further into the savage lands- the place where dungeons had taken over- eventually finding this very steppe, a naturally formed safe zone of sorts, with no active dungeons within it, where they then settled. The first city- Saviors Den- is a holy site, mostly abandoned by now, though whenever the overlords of the steppe hold meetings, with delegations from each city invited, it is always held there. Something about their future being decided in front of the hero and their ancestors."

  "Interesting." Jack hummed, his mind slowly working over the information received, calculating its viability, only to find no real reasons as to why it could not be true. The river he had crossed from the ant infested jungle- no doubt a result of an overflown dungeon- made it clear that the world could, and definitely did somewhat limit the expansion of the dungeons, most likely even those have some sort of a lifespan. Was it any wonder that after who knows how long, some would 'die out', leaving behind a perfectly safe and viable place to live with the absence of new dungeon monsters emerging from the now non existent dungeon. The question now was different though, and so Jack did not hesitate to ask.

  "Do dungeons spawn within the steppe?"

  "Yes, they do. There are maps that can be bought in town that show times and places new entryways appear."

  "Come again?" Jack asked, confused "The entry points are fixed and dungeons spawn in the same places repeatedly?"

  "Yes? Why are you so surprised master? That is how it has always been." Valente asked, looking back as though Jack had just mentioned something weird.

  'Now that is something new. Wait, something does not mesh here.' His mind went overdrive, finding a rather notable error in the equation, though he needed more info on this particular topic to iron out the details.

  "What kind of internals are we talking about? And what level of dungeons?"

  "Anything up to level twenty I believe. And as for their cycle? A week or so, some places more, others less. Have not been inside one myself, so I cannot give you any details about it master. Those places always are teeming with beastkin so other folk who live in the steppe tend to avoid them."

  "What about rewards for completing them?" Jack continued.

  "There is always a chest at the end after boss monster is slain, that much we know."

  "What about destroying dungeon core?"

  "What's that master?"

  "Right, haven't gone to one yourselves." Jack tapped his head "What about extra attributes upon clearing?"

  "I have never heard of such a thing, and I bet if it were true, the lucky ones could not keep their mouths shut. Is it different where you come from? Just where does master come from then?" Valente spoke, her carefree and sometimes ditzy mind going places with her questions.

  "Maybe someday I will share. That info cannot be spread by the way. Consider that an order." Jack spoke, receiving a response of "Yes master!" in unison from all girls, the mark ensuring the gravity of the order is understood.

  As they moved ever closer to Avalante's wall, with Jack deep in thought about the clear differences in how dungeons seemingly worked on this continent- perhaps on this steppe- more and more fields came into view, with numerous different crops planted and a large number of mostly humans tending to such fields. Some were watering the crops, other weeding them, others still collecting some produce from plants that seemed suspiciously similar to overgrown cucumbers.

  And despite the number of humans working in the fields- or maybee precisely because of said number- Jack also saw plenty of beastmen around, each and every one in leather armour of sorts and with the same shield plus spear weapon combo, with bow strapped to their backs and a whip at their sides. Clearly overseers. Their levels- and classes for that matter- stood at around the same point as the guards he had taken out near river.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Jack noticed that the beastmen had sharp senses, with many heads turning his way from more than a few hundred meters away. Was it their relatively dark clothing, the smell of blood in him, or their movement itself, Jack did not know, nor did he care all that much, but it was clear his arrival would not be a surprise to the locals. The closer they got, the more eyes were on them, with a number of workers soon sneaking a look every now and then.

  Jack increased his pace by just a little, placing himself at the very front of the group, ushering the girls to follow him now, asking a few questions about the procedure regarding entry in the city. Turned out that being a past merchandise delivered to this city, Sindu was more than familiar with the process, providing Jack with valuable insights and knowledge to navigate the coming encounter and subsequent conversation.

  "Those guards out there do not seem all too fond of me." Jack snickered as the group neared the massive wall and the clearly open gate, manned both from the top of the wall and with several guards at the gate itself.

  "Might be the smell of beastkin blood around you master. They have sharp noses and you did not take a bath." Sindu spoke quietly, clearly worried about the possible consequences. She clearly did not regret coming under Jack's wing. No matter what, it was safer than trying the alternative.

  "Who goes there?" One of the gate guards barked at Jack's group when they were around thirty or so meters away. The man clearly smelled blood or conflict, his grip on his weapons tightening. "Don't start no trouble here!" he added, clearly cautious.

  "A traveler! Perhaps merchant- if my possessions find interested parties. Or mercenary for the right price. I have many jobs. Which one you need?"

  "A joker too?" the guard barked, his nose twitching at the scent of blood, light as it was. "What's with the weirdly dressed humans behind you?"

  "My slaves. Some fools gifted them to me after a failed robbery." Jack shrugged.

  "Remove the hood!" the guard continued "Gotta make sure you not one on the bounty list. And come just a bit closer." he added, grip still tight, his body tensed and ready for action.

  As Jack slowly walked closer, another guards ran over to the one questioning Jack, whispering in the beastman's ear, though from the expression of the former, the news received were anything but pleasant.

  'And there is the appraisal. Sheesh, just how weak are the people in this place? How come they have no one over level twenty among the guards?' Jack was honestly baffled. Was this place really that weak? 'Those ants would easily wipe this whole city out within a day if this is the extent of the average combat power. Then again, I am pretty sure Valkia would also stand no chance. There is near endless supply of those level thirty buggers.'

  Jack could understand the growing panic in the guards eyes as well. It was clear that the appraiser could not tell anything about Jack, besides his name that is, and that alone was more than enough to warn the guard about the minimum level of the approaching man, clearly spelling trouble should the situation not be handled with care and correct attitude. The guard was at a temporary loss of what to do, only to be saved by one of his colleagues who had apparently missed everything of their conversation down here as he shouted.

  "Oi! Ain't those Mustafars slaves?" Or so Sindu whispered in Jack's ear. Unlike the guards who did speak english, the one up top had not deemed it necessary- or perhaps possible in his case- to use the language chosen for the conversation below.

  "So the fools gifting those slaves to you as they decided to try and rob you?"

  "If the girls were once a property of that Mustafar, clearly the attackers had been his men as well. Now I have a name of the person to hold accountable for their actions. Judge a master by his dig and what not. And no, the women are mine. You are free to check their slave marks if you wish to confirm. I do not mind."

  "If you will excuse me then." the guard nodded, his tension starting to recede as he realize that he was dead either way if the stranger before him decided to go on a rampage. Better ease the man a bit with a friendly attitude, respect and what not. As he stepped up to the women, he checked their marks one by one, confirming that their owner was indeed a person named Jack, much like the present.

  "All seems to check out. Two silver pieces for entry for you sir. Two coppers per slave, totaling in three slivers and two coppers."

  "Alright then. What about the duration?" Jack asked as he reached his hand back, with Sindu digging through the pouch of coins they had looted and piled together from the guards Jack had slain back near the river. There was too little coin for Jack himself to hold on to and the girls were better aware about the prices in the city than him anyhow.

  "There is no clear cut duration. I would suggest you visit Quest Hall and get your workers card. Or head over to Snakes Den if mercenary work is more your style and yourself identity card there. Once one of those is acquired, the fee is waived, though you will have to do some jobs for either of the organizations to keep said card active." the guard explained as he scribbled down their arrival in his logbook and received the coin.

  "Noted." Jack nodded, reaching back and taking a few extra copper coins as thanks for the info shared and handing them to the guard nodded back in appreciation. It might not be much, but such gestures piled up for someone like the gate guards, bringing in a few extra coins near every day of the peace season.

  "It's clearly not the season of raiding right now." Jack hummed just loud enough for his girls to hear as they crossed the gate, the inner layout of the town slowly revealing itself to their eyes- though only Jack was new to this particular sight.

  "Indeed master. No way would we be sent outside the walls to collect water. Cheap as we might be, it would still be lost coin for Mustafar, especially with how dirt cheap water is in town."

  "Though not cheap enough apparently to buy it when you can safely- more or less- send your slaves a few kilometers away to the river to fetch it. On that matter, I assume it is because of those Kraiko serpents that the city is not built at the coast of the river?"

  "Indeed master. Plenty of people die every year to them, especially so during their mating season when they leave the water and slither through the steppe in search of a perfect place to lay their eggs."

  "Lead us to the market district. I doubt the coin we have left will last us long in this city. I wonder what value does the stuff I have with me hold around here." Jack wondered, his eyes taking in his surroundings.

  Just as Jack had been told, buildings here were made near universally from bricks infused with a bit of mana, making them more durable. The doors were made of wood, with plenty of windows- all covered in glass- adorning the walls of said houses, though there were curtains in every window, obscuring what was going on within. It was also clear by sight alone where lived the poor people of the city and where the wealth owned by the residents of the houses began to rise.

  Closer to the wall, all homes had no more than a single story, with different levels of wear and tear on their walls. The further one moved within the city however, the better the state of the buildings became, with the height of the buildings rising as well. First, two story buildings began to appear, with numerous of those having some sort of a sign hanged at the door, clearly some sort of a business located within. Jack had to ask the girls to explain each sign he found even remotely interesting- each and every one of them were written in the local language.

  "Of course. How else would it go?" Jack sighed under his nose, detecting a couple of different groups tailing him already.

  'Just the local bigshot people, or has that shitty merchant also sent his men as well? I doubt the latter would have the full picture.'

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 30

  Class- Awakened twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(Ex)

  Stats unassigned: +4

  Attributes:

  Strength- 24 (14+7+3)

  Vitality- 23 (12+8+3)

  Dexterity- 21 (15+6)

  Intelligence-15

  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. Slavemaster.

  Gear: amulet +2 vit: weapon- Gundao+3 str. Rings- spatial storage,