Now that the last possibility of a prolonged combat of any sort was out of the question, Jack could observe the two red headed dragonkin women much closer and with proper scrutiny as he was helped along to reach Kenji and he had to admit, both were indeed gorgeous, exuding a blend of incredible beauty, strength and unique wildness that could rarely be found in women- a trait that most noble blooded dragonkin had. Something he remembered from his time in divine realm. While there were only a few divine dragons, there were countless dragonkin who served them, and since Jack, as a divine of destruction, was heavily respected by said dragons, he had quite the number of chances to observe said servants, coming to quite a few deductions about their character and traits.

  Reisha was around one point eight meters tall, with lithe and slender body, though she still had some decent curves to draw ones eyes to. In addition, if her sister was to be taken as a blueprint, since their facial features were quite similar, the younger of the two still had some room for growth, filling out that already tantalizing form of hers. Both sisters had lush locks of red, long and straight hair, falling over their shoulders, as if advertising the fiery nature of the women they belonged to.

  Beautiful, heart shaped faces, enveloped in those fiery red locks, emphasized their expressive and distinct reptilian like eyes even more so. Reisha had green ones and Zekira had yellow ones, creating a unique contrast, especially so when they stood right next to one another. A few, small crimson patches of seemingly decorative dragon scales could be seen on their uncovered arms, adding that extra sense of fantasy, ensuring one would not mistake them with mere humans, though they did look exotic and quite appealing, at least as far as Jack was concerned.

  Zekira was taller, around five centimeters shy of two meter height, exuding the same beauty, though more mature and carrying greater level of confidence and power, making everyone gazing upon her abandon any wild ideas regarding taming her or any such nonsense. As mentioned, she was also more voluptuous than her younger sister, straining her sleeveless shirt quite a bit, as though intentionally picking one that was a tad too tight to attain the current result, only to mock all those whose gazes were helplessly drawn over, only to realize the impossibility of reaching out and embracing the beauty.

  Jack did not fail to note that Reisha semed so overshadowed by her sister for an additional reason at this current time however, as she was scolded by the older sister quite hard at this point. It was clear that Reisha had acted out without the approval of parties leader, making quite a mess of things. By the time Jack was brought to stand right next to Kenji, even some of the city guards had reached them, all thanks to Jack's supposed exhausted state. The healing potion 'did it's job', healing any physical injury he had suffered, though it could not fix the mental strain and exhaustion one would feel after such a blow, allowing Jack to act as he did right now, playing the exhausted and weakened man that he should be after such a savage blow.

  "Go on, apologize." Zekira groaned, observing the supposedly feeble man before her, exclaiming in exasperation a second after she had done so, preventing Reisha from doing so. "A fucking Virtuoso?! Are you shitting me?" she glared at her sister who was seemingly becoming smaller and smaller as those words washed over her. "Are you going to tell me a Virtuoso triggered your battle instinct? Really?"

  "Nope! Not even a word!" she interrupted her younger sister who was obviously about to try and reason, only to be cut off before. "A-po-lo-gize. Now." she added as she squinted at her sister.

  "I'msorryIslammedyou." Reisha murmured under her breath, clearly unwilling, but at the same unable to go against her sister, only to be grabbed by the head and forced to bow quite deeply.

  "Sigh." she exhaled heavily as she addressed Jack who was the obviously aggrieved party. "It was clearly my sister's fault, doing what she did. I do hope I can make it up to you somehow to erase the injustice you have just suffered. Is there anything I or my clan do for you as repentance?"

  "Some high level materials would do. The rarer the better, but they don't have to be all that valuable." Jack spoke "As you already know, I am a Virtuoso and access to such things might help me find some inspiration. I believe someone as just as you would know what the right amount would be." Jack replied, his gaze slightly accusatory about the fact she so blatantly revealed he had been appraised, while also giving quite a bit of 'face' to both her and her clan.

  "That would not be a problem. Give me a moment to find it." Zekira replied, still holding her sisters down, maintaining the bowing position.

  "Please wait a moment." Izumi quickly stopped her, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket and writing something on it, handing it to Zekira. "We are not so rich or mighty to possess spatial tools and would rather avoid being targeted by thugs as we try and reach home. Your clan is no doubt powerful enough to safely deliver said reimbursement to your home. I apologize if my request sounds audacious." Izumi added, slightly bowing her head to Zekira.

  "A reasonable request" Zekira hummed, adding as she took the paper with the address "There is no need apologizing. Raise your head and hold it high. It was indeed slightly foolish of me to do as I did. I will send someone over to deliver the reimbursement once we have settled down."

  "Thank you for you understanding." Izumi thanked, bowed once again and excused their group, helping Jack as they all retreated, leaving Zekira and her group to deal with the gathered crowd and guards who awkwardly stood there, gazing at the pile of rubble where Jack had collided with a wall.

  "Just send the cost of repair to our closest guild." Zekira waved the guards off, who quickly bowed and rushed away as soon as possible, followed just as quickly by the crowd of onlookers.

  "Now what am I supposed to do with you?" she sighed once again, releasing her sister from her bow position.

  "But I sensed it sister, I know for a fact." Reisha quietly piped up.

  "Was it just as it has always been? The sensation?"

  "Different, I can't explain how precisely, but different."

  "Mayhaps he is an exceptional Virtuoso, with bright future, or perhaps he had talked with the one you sensed. It does not actually matter though. What's important is to always appraise your targets and make sure you have all the facts straight. Our senses can lie to us sometimes and for no fault of our own. Remember that sister. Remember that well." she sighed again.

  "I will. I am sorry sister." Reisha hung her head, clearly feeling guilty.

  "You will still be punished." Zekira suddenly added after she ordered their group to get a move on again "But don't worry, it will be nothing all that harsh. A few hours of training with me every evening for the duration of our stay in this city."

  A pathetic whimper escaped Reisha's lips as the girl whined and trembled. Hers sister was just as much of a battle fanatic as her, no, doubly so, thus her coming week was shaping out to become one looong training camp from hell.

  ---------------------

  "How long will you keep acting?" Izumi asked Jack in a whisper after some ten to fifteen minutes of walking, clearly not believing he was anywhere near as exhausted pretended to be, though still mindful enough to wait for quite a while to ensure no undesired eyes were upon them..

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  "Till we reach home?" Jack replied in a questioning tone in just as hushed a whisper. "Your shoulder is quite cozy. Don't mind me. Oh, and there are approximately five groups trailing us. Better safe than sorry."

  Realising the problem they faced, she acted as though she was just ensuring Jack was actually fine, confirming with Kenji and Kaede in a normal tone of voice his supposed wellbeing- still exhausted, but otherwise fine. Thankfully, none of the observers tried anything funny, likely assuming that there was someone from dragonkin clan also tracking them to ensure their mistake did not result in a more tragic ending for said unfortunate party as they tried to return home. Thus, the group reached their mansion without much trouble, bringing Jack all the way to his room.

  "Should we set up night's watch as we expect some uninvited guests in the coming nights?" Izumi asked as they watched Jack slump in his bed, enjoying it's softness, now clearly acting the frail and exhausted part as a wide grin spread across his face, giving the supposed game away.

  "I have that covered with the array, or have you already forgotten?"

  "Have you tested it to be so sure of it's functionality?" she asked afterwards.

  "Yes, something like that. Don't worry, it works perfectly fine. And besides, I have someone taking night shifts already, so I have it covered." Jack replied, clearly avoiding going deeper on the topic, giving Izumi, Kaede and Kenji enough clues to confirm their previous guess that he had single handedly taken down one attempt to infiltrate their home.

  "We will let you rest then." Izumi spoke as she dragged her companions away "Someone will come get you for supper." she added before they left the room, closing the door behind them and leaving Jack to his own devices.

  Once outside, the trio split up, gathering their party to tell the rest about the accident and come up with a decision regarding their stance on the matter. While the trio had acted quite mature and calm after the combat had ended, it was quite clear that each of them was angry, quite notably so. Jack was their benefactor, a big brother of sorts and not to mention one insanely unreasonable crafter as well, and they had been unable to stop someone their age from harming him. That would not fly in their minds, thus the small council gathering they were all at.

  "So, am I correct to assume I am not the only one angry with myself for being too weak to do anything about all this? To protect our home and new family?" once the small gathering was together Kaede asked, her fists tightly clenched in anger and frustration as she finally allowed it to seep out.

  "I feel the same way. Even if Jack was not truly harmed, the incident proved just how weak and green we still are. He knew not to react and expose his full capabilities, allowing us to remain outside of the scrutiny of those in power, but it is only a matter of time until some one more greedy and unreasonable finds issue with our group. Only true personal strength will help us then." Kenji agreed, stretching out his hands and gently taking one of Kaede's in his own, reassuringly and gently squeezing it.

  "Mhm. We are too weak." Chiyo nodded in agreement, a rare hint of frustration gleaming in her eyes.

  "What can we do about it though?" Fumiko asked, a mean determination and desire to prove herself flashing in her eyes as well.

  "We head out and work our asses off is what we do." Izumi spoke then, having confirmed the unity of their group on the matter, since even Emi was visibly frustrated, downright fuming even, though it was difficult to say whether it was so because she felt just like the rest, or because she had been triggered because someone endangered her one and only snack spice provider in this backwater world. Jack had given Ramia plenty of spices to secure their groups financial stability, but even more were still held close to his chest, most of which were certain unique flavours- quite a few of which were Emi's new 'drugs'. The girl had always been a sweet tooth and Jack gave her everything her teenage heart desired without any of the actual baggage such food could endanger her figure with.

  "I take it we are reconsidering our holing up for the coming weeks then?" Fumiko asked loudly what everyone else was thinking at the moment.

  "Indeed. That is my suggestion. Thanks to Jack, we will be growing far, far faster than most, if not all other adventurers could ever hope to, allowing us to reach the breaking points that much faster. That will serve us twofold. First, we will be reaching the thresholds for more powerful gear and secondly we will be acquiring plenty of matter for Jack to ply his craft, allowing him to continuously replace our old equipment, once again fueling our growth further still, resulting in a never ending loop of steady progress. So long as we are ready to sweat and push past our limits time and time again that is."

  "Sign me up!" Kenji puffed out his torso as he struck his chest with his free hand and exclaimed "I will hold our front lines for as long as necessary. No longer still!" he nodded with conviction.

  "And I will keep you all going with my recovery spells." Kaede joined in.

  "And I will cut through all that tries to stop us on our path." Izumi smiled slightly as she spoke, quite pleased with the team she had found herself as a part off.

  "You and I both." Fumiko grinned as her competitive spirit and determination flared.

  "I will lead us to prey time and time again." Chiyo joined in, the usually quiet and unemotive girl also jumped in, moved by their teams spirit and determination, sharing the same fire in her heart.

  "And I will curse them all to oblivion. Be it monsters or people who endanger my stash! Jack I meant!" Emi fumed, leaking her true thoughts, though quickly correcting herself as she hid her face from the group in embarrassment.

  "It is decided then. We head out tomorrow morning once again and push ourselves to be better." Izumi concluded, stretching out one of her hands- her gesture clear.

  One by one, the rest of the group stretched out a hand of their own, placing their palms right atop one another, sealing their little pact, fierce determination glowing in their eyes, and with their little cabal established, they headed back to whatever tasks they had in mind of the day. Some of them disappeared in the kitchen, joining the already present farmer guys to make their next meal, others returned to their rooms, working on their skills and proficiencies in secret. Others still, like Izumi and Fumiko did so openly, heading out to the garden behind the mansion where they had made a makeshift training ground where they proceeded to spar against one another.

  Both girls had acquired, a courtesy of Jack, a set of wooden weapons that were mimicking their own choice armaments, allowing them to grow more precise and refined in their moves. With renewed and doubled zeal, the two clashed time and time again, trying to catch their sparring partner of guard and deliver a supposedly lethal strike. Their hardened weapons clashed again and again, seaking an error in their stances, a slight miscalculation in their balance that could be leveraged and exploited. They clashed until one such opening found, allowing for a 'death or severe wound' to occur, at which point they would stop their spar and go over the mistake and how they got there and how said mistake could be avoided. If there was no clear explanation, they would reenact the same situation, trying to figure out the flaw and ways to avoid it in the future.

  Of course, not all such mistakes were easy to detect or solve, sometimes taking them dozens of minutes, several hours at times even, to get to the heart of the issue, but whenever one such large hurdle appeared and was solved they would experience a sudden growth like nothing else. And sure, they had done such similar sparring before as well, but the scope and intensity had been nothing like now however.

  The evening came as always, once again bringing together the entire group as they enjoyed their meal. Once more small conversations went on as they dined, as they shared their days progress and new insights they might have acquired, with the most to say usually being their resident half dryad. The girl had come to life like no one before, seemingly having boundless energy and joy to life that brought smiles to everyone's faces, especially so Jack's, who himself was not even aware of the fact.

  "We think it prudent for us to continue our expeditions in the forest, despite the possible problems we might encounter with all those other gifted about to roam the city." Izumi spoke up after everyone was more or less done eating, realizing the time for a serious conversations was about right.

  "Hmmm. You all on board with that?" Jack just hummed as he asked, clearly realizing it was his blessing that the other party was seeking.

  "Yes!" a united reply came from the combat group, a determined gleam in their eyes.

  "Who am I to stop you then?" Jack chuckled, shrugging his shoulders with a 'what can you do' gesture "Make sure you don't go running off before the breakfast tomorrow though. I think I have just enough matter to make one extra thing to help your endeavours."

  Only once he received a number of affirmative nods did he rose from his seat and headed out, a small, helpless and yet proud smile all the same adorning his face. There was something in that expression that gave off warmth to all those that witnessed it as they realized they were a part of the group- the family.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 16

  Class- Twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(EX)

  Stats unassigned: +11

  Attributes:

  Strength- 24 (14+7+3)

  Vitality- 23 (12+8+3)

  Dexterity- 21 (15+6)

  Intelligence-7

  Spirit- 25 (20+5)

  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).

  Spells- none.

  Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme.

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