True to his words, Ramias' delivery man was over the next day, bright and early as he would always arrive. The same calm, yet focused smile on his face, as though he had done similar deliveries a hundred times over- something Jack suspected he had indeed done. The man handed over the ring that was filled with all manner of materials, ranging from tier 0 all the way up to tier two. Jack also noticed that the materials were those that were on the cheaper side on the market. 'A smart man indeed.' he mused to himself, once again seeing a seasoned merchant perceiving any and all 'loopholes' that could be exploited for maximum gain. It took Jack a few minutes to clean out the ring, handing it over back to the messenger with a nod and a word of thanks, sending the man off to continue with his own daily tasks, of which Jack did not doubt for a second that there were many. Still, his own schedule had been set with the delivery, so he got to it right away, creating both items for the kids and Ramia to sell.

  The next couple of days were calm and quite monotonous for Jack, while the kids remained to rest and recuperate from their extended excursion into the forest that ended with several days long dungeon dive. During this time they mostly fooled around with Viki while the rest of the farmer squad worked on the gardens and Jack was stuck in his workshop. They also played with Ori quite a bit, as the freshly hatched ouroboros was quite playful, especially so since everyone present, save for the three housekeepers that kept to their own, were considered family and Jack was, as mentioned before, quite busy with crafting.

  It was on the day that the kids finally decided to once again head out for another forest expedition that the first signs of the snooping visitors in town could be felt by his group, as a small group of fresh faces had found their way to their walled mansion and were looking for the owner of the place. The kids ran into said unfamiliar group as they exited and were instantly approached by the one in charge while the rest of his group were somewhat blocking their path forward.

  "Why hello there." the unfamiliar man spoke as he approached, a confident and cocky smile that bordered on a grin plastered across his face. "And here we were at a loss as to how could we contact the residents of this beautiful place. I wonder, if your group could perhaps be interested in a rather lucrative deal?"

  "Not interested." Izumi replied without a moment of hesitation, the mans demeanor oddly reminding her of the rapist group they had dispatched back in the tutorial grounds. "You are in the way. Move." she coldly added, her eyes and posture clearly indicating the lack of welcome for the group before them.

  "Come now little girl." the leader apparent strained his smile now, one of his eyes even twitching the smallest of twitch as he tried to maintain the same confident demeanor "You have not even heard our proposal."

  "Because we don't care." Kenji stepped up and inserted himself between Izumi and the man in question. "We have dealt with the lecherous types like you, so walk away and don't approach us if you know what's best for you." his tone was cold. Colder than Izumi and a clear disgust was apparent in his voice. He and the rest of their group saw the unconcealed lustful stares some of the men from the newly arrivals were directing at the girls and they felt disgust, thus Kenji stepped up to get rid of the undesired party, and while his armour was still not replaced with the new variant, his shield and mace were replaced, looking just a bit sharper and more dangerous than the previous ones he wielded. He had formed a habit to always wear them clearly displayed whenever he left the home serving as a deterrent to any small time crook looking at Kaede and her gentle demeanor. Not that any of them were not in full combat hear right now, what with them heading out for an expedition.

  It was only when Mika and Kate stepped up though- their own combat gear looking much, much more dangerous- that the group blocking their way became tense. Both the greatsword that Kate wielded and the one handed sword at Mika's side gave the other group quite the pause. It became clear they had their own appraisal within their ranks and the man had it at rare grade at best, as the man was whispering and trying to get the attention of their leader for what was a warning of his appraisal failing on the two swords. Newbies, be they gifted or not, could not afford epic quality stuff without some serious backing after all. It was the words that the girls spoke, their voices filled with ice and half restrained anger that sent a veritable sea of warning 'pings' through the heads of the arrogant group.

  "Quite the sinful bunch, are they not?" Mika said to Kate, her hand resting on her weapon and gripping its handle, joined by Kate whos hand reached after her own weapon "Indeed they are. Ask." the other added with voice dripping with venom.

  "What criminal acts have you committed recently." Mika asked, adding at the end "Confess" as she pointed her hand towards the man in the very front of their group, her skill activating and initiating a fight of wills in a metaphysical space. In just a split second, it was over, with not a single indication of any fight taking place, however, a somewhat semi vacant gaze had now appeared on the other group leaders face as he spoke moments later- voice calm and almost mechanical.

  "Kidnaping, ransom, robbery, rape and slave trade." the man answered and the listless look in his eyes disappeared, replaced with confusion, shock and anger, coupled with panic and a bit of horror. They might not have encountered a Justicar themselves, or experienced their skills on their own skin, not before now that was, but the command 'Confess' had been engraved in the bones of most criminals- be they petty thieves or mass murderers, necromancers or demon worshipers- sending down a chill their spines at the mere thought of ending up in a room with one such person.

  The paling of faces behind were quite telling as well that the rest of the group also realized just how much shit they were in now, and some of the brighter ones were already spinning hundred eighty degrees and strinting away towards the nearest corner, only to feel extremely sluggish and collapse with a scream as their legs were pierced by arrows, released from Chiyo's bow at frightening speeds.

  "Good Job Chiyo, Emi." Kaede spoke, ordering the rest of their team to apprehend the remaining members of the scum squad while at the same time giving Fumiko the task of dragging some city guard over so the bastards would be chained up and dealt with accordingly. The crimes confessed were very harsh, and thus should result in just as harsh a punishment. That was the advantage of having a Justicar around. A successful 'Confess' and you have a clear cut and undeniable proof of one's guilt, in cases that that was even necessary. Unlike their modern world where innocent until proven guilty, in words where might makes right, that was often not the case at all, with those deciding the fate of the supposed culprit often arbitrarily deciding their fates, lack of evidence, or to the contrary not mattering at all. Justicars however ensured that whenever they were present, no innocent man would be punished for deeds they were not responsible for. Justicars were extremely averse to evil and had a strong sense of justice, just as their class name suggested.

  "I can take care of them you know? We don't need the guards to take action besides witnessing it all." Kate spoke once the enemy group was apprehended and incapable of escaping.

  "Got them all?" Izumi asked as she too approached.

  "Of course we did. No one escapes my 'Track evil.' Not this kind of scum at the very least." Kate huffed, clearly proud of her own skill. As an Avenger, she was one hell of a monster when it came to tracking and delivering vengeance upon those that had harmed others deemed innocent by her. And with her previous experiences, her moral compass had solidified even more than a generically good person of earth would be- with the slight exception of her own guild. She could likely see them do quite a bit of evil before she would ever start questioning if they had been corrupted and gone the wrong path. Not that such a thing would happen, as Mika would be the first one to notice their fall towards such an outcome and would do her damndest to stop it from ever happening.

  "I know your hand must feel the itch to dispense some much needed vengeance upon the scum before you, but I would say that such an easy way out should not be given to them." resounded the voice of Jack as he appeared at the gate, his eyes locked on Kate as he continued. "Would it not be better to have them suffer at least a bit for all pain they have caused? The town should know just the way to do just that. And if not, we can always come back and finish the job." The last words of his did send a shiver down the backs of not only the group bound in chains now, but also the few guards that had appeared just from around the corner, the casual approach to killing other human beings, if quite the scum at that, was not something that new gifted like Jack and his group- something that the guards were aware off by now- could usually propose.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Thanks to the next few minutes, the Stolen Constellation also learned why the captured group was even approaching their mansion, as though they owned the place and did not have to worry about a single possible mishap/ Turns out, the group mostly consisted of gifted from a previous summoning, having grown too addicted to the scummery they were engaged in. They would arrive in a town like any other ordinary adventurer group, learn about new residents in the rich merchant or noble quarters with no connection to actual nobles, and then approach one of said places, offering lucrative deals and information that seemed similar. In the meantime, they would learn the layout of the place, the strength of the defenders, the possible merchandise- be it property of beautiful women- and all the other good stuff that would then allow them to proceed with the execution of their plan.

  Here came the problem though, as their modus operandi had been so successful that they were coasting on success, growing overconfident in the process. Add to that the number of asian beauties that came into their view- a commodity quite rare around these parts- and their lust clouded their actions even more. And to that the cold and downright dismissive attitude of Jack's group, already extremely suspicious and without the slightest desire to entertain the thug groups approach, as well as the unreasonable reality that there was an actual Justicar among them, and the result was as it was- the scum group decently beat up and bound in chains.

  That too was quite the murmur inducing event- the moment that the guards gathering learned that there was an honest to god Justicar within the town. Mika was covertly gazed at with awe, respect and fear in equal measure, no doubt invoking the desire to run away in anyone who had some darker secret close to their chest. A rather standard situation for Justicars, though not one that Mika had faced so far. Not that she would be affected by it all that much, if any at all, since the entirety of her guild had her back, not the least bit worried about her skill. That was also another thing about both Kate and Mika- any man not a part of their small guild was instantly assumed to be a scum of some sort, hiding their fangs under the guise of politeness or whatever else they portrayed, with only Ramia barely qualifying as an ok individual- all by proxy to Jack.

  "Think someone will come visit once the words about a Justicar in our party spreads?" izumi asked Jack, her voice even and calm, though also loud enough for Mika to hear.

  "Possibly, but that does not matter. She is one of us and unless she herself decides to leave us- something I would fight against quite animatedly as I have grown rather attached to her as well- there is nothing that could be thrown my way to force me to act any other way." he then added "And that goes for all of you. You are my family here, and I will be damned if I don't fight to protect you, so no matter what ails you, come to me and Carla first. Don't let things fester and result in more hurt than necessary."

  "On an unrelated note." he spoke a short moment later, a small grin on his face as he did so "Will you skip the excursion, now that more than an hour had been wasted of your morning?"

  "As if!" Fumiko snorted, joined by a chorus of the remaining kids voices.

  "Off you go then. I will take care of the rest here." Jack shooed them away, wishing them luck and safe return as he did so. Only when the kids were out of sight did the smile from his face dropped and his demeanor changed entirely as his attention returned to the guards still cleaning up the place and taking away the bad guys. He spoke to the guards then, his voice carrying a special chill and warning.

  "I do hope that none of the scum here will mysteriously disappear without receiving appropriately harsh punishments, or worse still, escape on their way towards their destination- the cells."

  "That will not happen." Came another, slightly familiar voice to Jack from the flank as another group appeared from behind a corner- their forms obscured by dark cloaks, only their general body size discernable with ones eyes.

  "Oh, and you would be?" Jack asked, well aware that he - as in Jack- had not yet met Rebeca Siral, the elite squad special officer of Valkia. Thankfully, Rebeca seemed in a decent mood, or simply was trying to establish a friendly first contact with the guild member of an unaffiliated Justicar.

  "Of course, where are my manners." she stopped a few meters away from Jack, removing her hood and revealing quite the attractive face as she nodded her head slightly in Jack's direction.

  "I am Rebeca Siral. A special officer of Valkia's elite defender team. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister?"

  "Jack. The guildmaster of Stolen Constellation."

  "Just Jack?" she asked with as slightly raised brow. "I thought you gifted had two part names like us, no?"

  "Impressive intel gathering speed. You already know we are gifted. As for the answer- yes, we do, just like I, but due to special circumstances, my family name is one I have not used in a long time, thus it just feels odd to include it."

  "Ah, thank you for the clarification Jack of Stolen Constellation." she smiled lightly as she made another one, extremely miniscule bow of her head in acknowledgement. "I have the gist of things, but would you mind answering a few extra questions about the entire incident?" she then asked.

  "Not a problem, plus my worry about a potential corruption that would allow them to slip away would be dealt with now that I know you will make sure they receive their just punishment." Jack nodded in return, proceeding to sum up the events and the result, creating a rather vivid and clear explanation about what had happened.

  As they were finishing up the conversation, with Becca having tried several times to innocently ask how Jack's group had come in possession of a Justicar- or questions around her- only to receive a shrug or two from Jack, she brought his attention to another thing she had 'accidentally' noticed from afar.

  "Were the sword wielders of your guild equipped with epic grade weapons, or did my senses lie to me. I caught sight of them as my group rushed here after we received info of the confrontation happening here."

  "What a lucky coincidence." Jack replied, a knowing look on his face. "But yes, they are indeed. For all the problems I will have to deal with on my path to growth as a Virtuoso, when the stars align some incredibly insane results do tend to pop up." His face was now near maniacal grin as he finished. "And those swords are just a result of precisely that. Seems I am something of a sword Virtuoso."

  "Would it be possible to replicate the results then? What's the variable on the item properties?" Becca asked then, hundreds of questions and ideas already filling her mind.

  "That's a bit personal, I would think. Which crafter would spill his trade secrets. If you have questions, or might be in need of a quality sword between tier 0 and 2, I would suggest you approach a certain trader by the name of Ramia. I believe that with his backing and protection, one of your standing should be aware of his existence."

  "What would be your connection with him if I might ask?"

  "I was lucky to wander into his shop when I needed some things sold the first time I arrived in the city and his name came with begrudging respect from other traders around. Formed a contract of exclusivity with the man in regards to a spice blend I had come up with while inside the tutorial zone for us gifted."

  "Wait, you are the source of Ramia's new spices?" she asked with slightly raised voice, though luckily quiet enough to not earn too many of the guards attention.

  "How else could I have gained the cooperation of a man like Ramia and the funds to purchase the property we are in front of?"

  His words made scary amount of sense, if Becca was being honest with herself. The question of how he and his guild- nearly all of them fresh gifted- could afford this property had crossed her mind, shelved for the moment while she dealt with problems more urgent, though now she supposed that was answered. She did feel the perfect moment to ask another question to probe for information.

  "Have you seen a ring of deconstruction then?"

  "I wish." Becca could hear longing and a bit of spite in Jack's voice as the man continued "The old bastard- just a bastard now I suppose- refuses to give me one for observation and research, saying they are too few in numbers and too precious to let me do that. Does he not understand just what kind of inspiration could I possibly gain from studying it!"

  Realizing the clear hurt in Jack's voice, she made the best compassionate expression she could muster and tried to pacify him. "I believe your time will come, especially so when the words of a new gifted with the ability to craft epic grade swords from tier 0 to 2 spreads. Expect your days to grow much busier in the future."

  "I hope so. I truly do." Jack's voice sounded a bit defeated, but still carried within it the spark of faith in greatness to come. Becca, with everything she could have expected learned, carefully navigated a simple conversation for a minute or two longer before excusing herself and departing to deal with other important tasks she was supposed to take care of, sent on her way with a simple, though a bit languid wave of Jack's hand.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 23

  Class- 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- 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. Monster debugger.The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme.

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