The coming days were quite peaceful for Jack who was immersed in his own sword crafting frenzy, mowing through the materials Ramia had provided- of which there were a lot- and creating swords according to the properties Ramia had requested, focusing on the more demanded stuff among the weapon market. Swords with focus on sharpness and durability with strength as the attribute or sharpness and durability with dexterity as the attribute, satisfying the desires of warrior types as well as duelists for one handers and pure strength + power for two handers. He had damn near locked himself in his workshop, though he was still present for all of the meals the guild shared as usual, learning some of the news that the kids picked up on the admittedly limited time they spent within the city. As already established, they spent most of their time on their expeditions to the forest, traveling further and further away from the town, now focusing on two day outings, spending one night in said forest to reach deeper and encounter better and stronger opponents.

  The results were also quite noticeable, as not only had the group pushed a level further, earning one for Jack as well, but Mika, Kate and Carla were also getting closer and closer to level twenty, though they would still need one or two such excursions to get there. Their progress also meant that Jack was earning more matter by the way and he did not hesitate to spend a part of it to empower the kids, their well being and safe return always a priority in his mind. Thus, he had not only made the demanded better sleeping bags, ensuring comfortable and relaxing night's rest for the kids, but also made a couple more 'oh shit buttons' providing them with additional safety should they run into problems too much to handle.

  Not all was fine and dandy though as it seemed that word had already spread about Jack and his ability to craft epic quality swords of the lower three tiers, earning more than one visit to his mansion from too arrogant and self important local nobles, deamn near demanding they get gifted one, lest trouble find Jack and his new guild. Obviously, Jack had not paid them any mind, not even deeming it necessary to grace those fools with his presence. It had always been either one of the kids, mostly Izumi - if the party was home during the incident- or Alonso who had sent them off, throwing the threat back at the overly self important prick trying to throw their non existent weight around. A simple "What was your name again? Need to ask Ramia about this the next time boss speaks to him." seemed to be enough to make said pompous fools to tuck their tails between their legs and scurry away, scared of what that old and extremely dangerous fossil might do. Words about Jack being the spice creator had also spread, along with the fact he had an exclusive contract with Ramia already signed, making any attempt at stealing his recipes pointless. For all that the world was ruthless and quite lawless, a merchant with a brother the likes of Ramia's held way, way too much sway around.

  The kids had also encountered a sort of an event related to the spreading of the aforementioned news, as they were now approached every now and then by what seemed to be eager fresh faces, looking for ways to join Stolen Constellation, yet stuck when learning at the adventurers guild that there was no active recruiting happening on their interra's part, or any conditions set for hopefulls to strive for. Such approaches even happened out in the forest on rare occasions, perpetrated by entire parties that had no actual affiliations to another established organization, or so they had claimed. The kids had been prepared for it though, looking at each of such approaches as a simple attempt to gain some free benefits at the expense of their guild and sadly for all those attempting such maneuvers, they never even entertained the idea- all on board with Jack's vision of a small, tightly knitted elite organization.

  There was progress, obviously, when it came to the kids growing stronger, their experience coming in at a stable pace, even allowing them to level up once more, though Jack- being higher level than the rest of them- was still a bit away from level twenty-five and his first proper class upgrade. That was something he was also quite excited to see, for the class upgrades at level twenty-five, fifty, seventy-five and hundred were each a qualitative change that provided explosive growth and new might.

  Ori too was growing nicely, receiving plenty of fresh meat whenever she desired to fill her gullet. Since Jack was mostly stuck in his workshop, making swords for sale and new gear for the kids, he had less time to spend on the adorable, little white snake. He did figure out a great solution to the problem at hand though, sending the small creature along with the kids every other time they went out, allowing her to feast on choice meats she found to be the best from whatever the party heading out managed to track down and kill. This decision also earned him extra love from the girls, the presence of the adorable white creature along with them doing something to soothe and energize them at the same time.

  It was on an ordinary, if quite pleasant day- the sun was high in the sky without a single cloud to obscure the warmth that it provided- that trouble once again came to Jack's mansion in the form of a decently sized group that demanded audience with whoever was in charge of the guild stationed within the property, only to be blatantly told to get lost. Ramia had sent over one of his men to serve as an impromptu gate guard, fulfilling the task left neglected by Jack and his people ever since they moved in. Then again, with the nature of their group, that came as no actual surprise to the merchant himself. Still, with the gate guard there and having received instructions from both Jack and Ramia, the man did as he was told, sending away any and all would be visitors with so rare exceptions that they might as well not exist. Ramia of course was one such exception, though the man had little to no need to visit, what with the constant calls he had with Jack regarding their joint enterprises.

  Another such exception was Rebeca Siral, having earned the consideration due to her station within the city, her beauty and the respectful way she had interacted with both Jack's group and- unbeknownst to her or anyone else- the mercenary. That also meant that the town lord would be allowed inside to converse as well, but with that the special people list was more or less done, leaving anyone else visiting to be turned away with sour faces and foul mood.

  This time however, it seemed that the group would not be content with being sent away just like that, creating a bit of a scene at the front gate. Their passive aggression seemed to escalate to the point that some threats- even if somewhat veiled- were thrown that they might just have to use force to gain entry, at which point the guard just laughed in their faces and replied.

  "I should not be saying this, what with the likelihood of property damage the residents will have to deal with, buuuut..." the guard dragged out the word before continuing "I say that would be preferable to the pointless shrieking and overall annoyance you have made in my earshot. At least then you could be put down like the rabid dogs you are acting as and I would not be made to suffer as I have."

  "Care to come and say that in my face?" a near two meter tall, heavily armoured man grumbled, his hand resting on a large, two handed sword that was strapped to his back.

  "And risk unnecessary injury? Please, only one us us could be that stupid, and it's clearly not me." the guard quipped, all too relaxed despite the seemingly perilous situation he was in. "I have to wonder, are you even aware of who the 'Intrerra' residing here is working with? Is whatever retarded idea cooked up in your mind worth the risk of provoking their backer? I sure as hell would not think so, then again, we have already established the level of stupidity that you and your group operate at."

  Stolen story; please report.

  The spectacle, if it could be called that, kept on going for quite a while- the group now damn near blocking off the main gate incessantly demanding to speak with whoever was in charge, time and time again being rejected with merciless and savage taunts, all courtesy of the gate guard.

  'Should I give the man a raise? A bonus of sorts?' Jack mused as he was- obviously- aware of the whole interaction, though still paying it little to no mind at all. Had the group at the front gate been anyone of importance, or respectful and well mannered enough, the gate guard would have at least offered them a meeting some days later, making excuses- actually true at that- that everyone who could make decisions regarding the guild itself were either absent from the property or in seclusion, thus it was not possible to meet them at the given time. Since that was not the case however, the current situation was a direct result, irritating and driving the foreign entities more and more pissed.

  Jack did call the kids and suggested they extend the duration of their expedition this time, explaining the issue at hand, but at the same time assuring that their presence was not needed to solve it. He also explained that he had a glaring suspicion that the whole mess was forming because the party at the front gate had- for some unknown reason- determined that they could most likely challenge Stolen Constellation to Interra wars, wagering something in exchange for something else of a similar value.

  What they did not realize, oddly enough, was that there was literally nothing that people of their level and background did not have anything that could even arous Jack's interest, less so prompt him to take action against them in the form of accepted Interra war. Though he did suppose that it was about time to send the fools packing, having wasted their breaths and nerves for several hours already.

  "For fucks sake! Go bother someone else!" Jack called out as he approached the gate where the commotion was going on, adding as he reached the guard who was on duty "Why have the guards not removed them from the premises? Should they even be allowed in this district to begin with? Just look at them."

  His words clearly ticked the party making the scene even more than they had already been, prompting the leader of the group to damn near snarl and walk closer, though still in control enough not to cross the lines he should not.

  "The fuck are you? You better be someone in charge or things might just get ugly."

  "Go ahead. Make them ugly. Perhaps then the guards will finally do something." Jack replied in a voice loud enough that the nearby guards who had gathered could hear, only earning a helpless shrug from the closer one to the mansion property.

  "My apologies sir." The guard bowed his head towards Jack, not willing to risk offending someone he likely should not "But their documentation is in order. We can do nothing unless they brake some law."

  "And being a nuisance does not count? If so then go and find Rebeca Siral from the elite squad and inform her of this mess. And convey that I am quite displeased with the situation. And do inform her that The message comes from Jack of Stolen Constellation."

  "R-right away sir." the guard stammered but nonetheless left in a hurry. The way Jack had just spoken of the elite squad did not made the guard feel that the man was telling lies and just trying to sound self important. Better to deliver the message than risk the wrath of both the man and Rebeca Siral. The woman could be damn scary when she wanted to be.

  "So?" Jack returned his attention towards the troublemakers "get lost before the woman arrives. I don't think she will like it very much that the home of one of cities more famous new adventurer parties is being besieged by a bunch of retards."

  "So you are one of the people who can speak for the Stolen Constellation then. Good. We, the interra Shining Lance challenge Stolen Constellation to Interra war. Your organization, had shown quite the disrespect and disregard for us and we cannot in good conscience take it lying down. As for the wager"

  "Oh, shut it." Jack unceremoniously interrupted the speaker "There is nothing that you could possibly have that would be worth the hassle of cleaning our weapons after you would be destroyed. So we refuse your challenge. Go pester someone else if you so wish to die."

  "Scared much?" sneered the leader and speaker of Shining Lance, cleary trying to provoke the bravado of Jack. Little did he know that the poor fool was barking up the wrong tree. Jack might look young, but his mental was an entirely different beast altogether, doing nothing besides earning a hearty laughter from him.

  "Yea, sure. Let's go with that. I am simply trembling in my boots with fear and thus chose to run away with my tail tucked in between my legs. Sound good?" Jack spoke once his laughter died down a bit, followed by a shooing sign as he was indicating that the fools party should get lost. Unfortunately, it did not work, though the atmosphere did change very soon after that as less than fifteen minutes later, rather quick steps resounded close by, moments later revealing the whole elite squad of the town coming from around the corner, lead by quite the exhausted guard who was now panting and puffing, falling to his knees the moment he could clearly see Jack and the troublemakers.

  "We meet again, Rebeca. Would have loved it to be in much more pleasant circumstances, but we cannot always get what we want, now can we ?" Jack spoke, his previous, mocking tone that he had taken up as he replied to the Shining Lance nowhere to be seen, replaced by a neutral, if a little welcoming tone. "But if there is anything I loathe to deal with, it's fools that think they can create a disturbance at my doorstep. I hope that it will be taken care off with haste?"

  "Yes. My apologies for the disturbance. We will solve the issue immediately." Becca nodded her head as she replied, her expression one of polite courtesy quickly shifting to a cold and uncaring one as she turned her attention towards the other party involved. It was clear at that moment even to the blockheaded fools that they had made a grave error, only reinforced when Becca started to tear a new one in their metaphorical asses for the shit they had pulled, resulting in what was indefinite ban on the group from ever accessing the zone of the city, their current pass confiscated and a warning to the guards issued so the ban was recorded in their own books and reinforced.

  What little murmurs of indignation that came from the party in question were also quickly shut down as Rebeca silenced them with a simple gesture, reciting a few of the less known laws that were in place in the city, pertaining to creating disturbances in the upper class neighborhoods. As cited, the Shining Lance could even be subject to quite the hefty fines, but seeing that Jack's status as a non noble was not as high, they were let off with a relatively lesser punishment. Not that the one issued was any less painful for the group in question, as even the fine enforced was striking their pocket quite soundly, but it was not like the group could not pay either. Their gamble on the hot bloodedness of Jack's group had failed, putting them quite a ways back on their own goals and plans, perhaps even resulting in the eventual disbanding of the interra in the end. Not that Jack cared much about it. One reaps what they sow and sleep in the bed that they make.

  "I would hate to see you off without some token of gratitude for the good you do for the town, so maybe I could entice you and your companions to a cup of tea and some quite extraordinary snacks? Surely you could spare the time for a well deserved rest, if only a little" Jack spoke once the problem was removed from the premises, holding Rebeca in place for a while longer. He was extending a metaphorical hand, opening doors for Rebeca to make inroads with what was no doubt an up and coming new and incredibly talented sword smith at the very least.

  "of course, We would love to." She replied, a small bow of her head in thanks as she and her elite squad teammates followed along Jack into his mansion. It also gave her group a chance to see what was going on inside the compound, as not long after the new interra settled in they had lost any and all access to the place. It was as though some sort of an invisible- yet not transparent- wall popped up overnight and separated the compound from the rest of the city. Needless to say, such a development was quite the scare for the towns leadership, but at the same time due to them being associated with Ramia, there was nothing they could do to investigate without straining their already non existent cooperation. The invitation however gave them a much needed permission to gather at the very least basic intel on the developing situation.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 24

  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,