Another week. Yet another week of what was mostly boring napping within the carriage, interchanged by a nights rest in yet another fort, similar to the first one they spent a night in, passed by slowly as Jack's group got closer and closer to the outer regions, though not all was doom and gloom. Jack used part of that time napping using and abusing his privileges to enjoy Nivis' lap, the elven girl remaining quiet and composed through all that time, more in her element as she was serving her new master, all while going through the memories Jack had unsealed, sometimes answering a question or two from either Lita or Sindu, other times trying to better understand her own emotions towards everyone around her- be it a part of her present or past. The girl realized more and more just how unfair a treatment she had gotten, with her entire family turning their backs on her and throwing her out to the wolves. The realization hitting doubly hard when she knew for a fact she was not guilty of the crime she was accused of. Why should she care then if they in turn get the short end of the stick? And so Nivi conditioned herself as time went on, preparing for a chance she might get at least a modicum of vindication, the fate of her family becoming grimmer and grimmer by the day.

  Eventually though, the ir journey came to an end as their carriages came upon a much larger fort than all the previous ones combined, looking more like a city than a fort, with plenty of residents to boot- no less than ten thousand total. The city was filled with all manner of craftsmen, be thet a smith, leatherworker, tailor or enchanter. Plenty more traders had their shops opened, though clearly during their off season, with most of them going into a frenzy of sorts with the start of season of conflict, purchasing a lot of fresh acquisitions from the raiding parties and then peddling those same acquisitions all over the major cities during a season of calm.

  But the differences here when compared to the inner region of the great steppe did not end with the large fort and the rather specialized professions of its inhabitants. One only had to look past the fort to see the most glaring change, one that allowed for free folk to even exist within the steppes outer regions to begin with. Unlike the inner region where nothing but one never ending grassland, an occasional lake or two notwithstanding- stretched as far as the eye could see with beastmen created- crafted by humanoids though- walls of their settlements the only thing obstructing ones vision.

  The outer region was much more diverse in matters of flora, with sizable patches of admittedly low- no higher than a dozen meters- trees and shrubbery, though enough to create a very much needed spaces to hide from both the natural predators that stalked the land as well as the beastmen raiding parties that came from the inner part of the steppe, all too eager to raid and pillage. It was these forested areas within the great steppe that created plenty of blind zones, both as a place to hide in as well as simple obstructions to ones vision, ensuring that proper tracking was necessary to find and follow the free folk tribes who constantly migrated from one place to another, too well aware of the danger they faced if staying in the same place for far too long- unless of course one was like the elven 'nation', with a territory heavily warded and hidden from any would be invaders. Normally, Jack, much like any successful raiding party would have to send out scouts in advance to search for traces of the elusive free folk- something the larger clans would begin doing just about at the same time the high level dungeon Jack had been offered a spot on behalf of the fox beastmen would open.

  Thankfully, Jack's spirit sense was much better for the purpose, allowing him to spot any possible scouts of the free folk, no doubt sent out to keep an eye on the borders of the two regions to get the first hand information on the coming scouts, allowing their own tribes to be the first ones on the move, heading further in the outer regions, creating more distance between themselves and the beastmen settlements and forts, some even going so far as to hide in the deadlands. There were some tribes that believed that dying to the claws and jaws of ferocious wild creatures- be they predatory animals or monsters- was more desirable outcome than being enslaved by the 'furry bastards'.

  At least Jack would not need to worry about the time needed to return to Avalante, his connection to the dungeon near it allowing him to use any other dungeon within the steppe to create shortcuts, ensuring that no distance was too far for his near immediate return, so long as he could find and clear another dungeon that is, a condition that he knew was not an obstacle at all. Not with the difficulty and preset spawn locations as they were here. The small portal he had his maid squad use from their inn home in Lion's Pride was a bit of a special case due to the relative proximity and the prolonged, semi permanent duration of the portal formed. With the ever increasing distance he would have to tap into pre-existing connections, just like the one that connected all dungeons within the steppe. With that, no matter the distance, all dungeons he had visited and cleared were within arms reach.

  Another night at a local inn later, the group was ready to head out, their target- any free folk tribe really- ready to be searched for and found, only for their group to run into a bit of a hurdle in a form of a rather large group of beastmen soldiers if the chainmail armor, spear and shield combo, and their numbers were any indication.

  "What's the purpose of you visit to a place as remote as our cozy little fort? You should know that the next season of conflict is still more than a couple of months away, and we take those rules very seriously. So, what is the purpose of your arrival?" the leading guard ask, clearly displeased and with a hint of authority, but careful enough to still leave a way back out for both sides. Since the man did not speak in english, Sindu translated, then relayed back Jack's message word for word as per Jack's direct order, thus the reply came out a bit rude.

  "Are you all blind, stupid or simply retarded? Look at the size and races of the groups members, then remember the last time a raiding party of similar numbers and composition went into the outer regions to raid. Once you do all that, maybee try and think of another reason we might head out."

  That clearly pissed the spokesman off, though he dared not to react too aggressively for the words were indeed correct, and the fact alone that they were spoken signified that the group was not your average human mercenaries, rare as they were. Such arrogance ever only came from groups with second awakening experts, or spoiled brats of the upper beastmen clans, but since the latter clearly could not apply in the given scenario, only the former answer made sense, almost instantly confirmed by a rather firm grip on the patrol leaders hand, his own groups dedicated appraiser warning him not to take any foolish action.

  Gritting his teeth and swallowing down the humiliation he perceived he had received, he spoke with a rather forced smile "Apologies then. Clearly it was our mistake. Go on then." once that was said, he quickly turned around and marched away, the imaginary fumes coming from his head almost materializing in the real world.

  "Let's head out then." Jack commanded his own group, paying no more attention to the retreating group of guards, his focus locked on the task ahead. He was sure that with his particular set of skills it would not be all too difficult to catch a glimpse of a scout or two, but to get them to rush back home to warn their own people, all while remaining at a respectable distance with the group that he had brought along would be more of a challenge- not that it would stop him.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  And so Jack's group left the final beastmen fort behind, heading inside the outer region, their minds sharp and focused on their surroundings.

  "Do relax a bit." Jack advised as they walked "For the time being I will be the eyes and ears of our group, warning you about any changes in our path, as well as give you plenty of advanced warnings about incoming hostiles so you can respond accordingly. I will not take action in live combat however, only interfering if the monster encountered is beyond your ability to take down, and even then only once you have fought with it and the chasm in combat power becomes all too apparent, or a fatal blow would have landed."

  "Yes master!" came a unified response, the maids becoming visibly less tense, their faith in Jack's words and ability slowly becoming something akin to blind faith.

  Some ten minutes later, the group had reached the first forested patch of grasslands, the trees reaching no higher than six to seven meters, though providing plenty of shade and obstruction of vision. It was at about the same time that Jack gave first warning about approaching hostiles.

  "A pack of dog like creatures are approaching from two o'clock." he warned facing the forested patch "Seven individuals large. Take your formation and lets see the fruits of your training in that beginner dungeon."

  The maids quickly formed ranks, dragging Nivi to the center as she was still new to their group, just barely aware of the combat style they had developed, and prepared to meet the incoming beasts, Spartacus took point, radiating an aura of confidence and valor, like a general of mystical armies, giving both courage and determination to stand tall and proud in the face of the incoming enemy. Soon enough, the first growls and huffs could be heard not far ahead, betraying the arrival of the beasts, momentarily followed by the shaking of the underbrush as one after another, slightly blurry kanine shapes leapt through, rushing towards the maid formation, seemingly ignoring Jack who was all alone and stood slightly to the side.

  Unlike the seemingly enraged and mindless monsters of the dungeons, these kanines did not charge directly into the shields of the front line, choosing to dart to both sides, circling around the group, snarls and growls leaving their muzzles. Every now and then, one of the seven would make a quick turn and seemingly lunge inward towards the group, only to turn away at the last possible moment, as though reacting to the shift in the groups defence as one of their front liners was ready to intercept it. It was also becoming quite clear that the kanine group had left a small opening in their formation, seemingly urging someone to crack and flee. A rather smart trick for mere beasts, one that no doubt worked on most herbivore packs and even some small groups of either humanoids or beastmen, but it was bound to fail here.

  A loud yelp suddenly filled their surroundings as one of Arshas arrows was released at the appropriate timing and impaling one of the kanines in its flank, seemingly penetrating a lung, followed by a rather sudden flash of light, momentarily blinding the kanines and providing the perfect chance for Spartacus and the twins to clip another three individuals, their wounds partially lessened by a last second attempt to dodge- the beasts sense of smell and hearing still warning them of the incoming threat.

  The tide of the rather crude battle immediately changed however since more than half of the kanine group had been wounded, forcing them to try and run away as they realized their chosen target was by no means the weak and easy pickings the beasts had assumed they were. And so, the beasts turned tail and ran, some faster, some slower, with the wounded ones limping as fast as they could behind them.

  "Good job, but we are going after them. The worst thing we can do is let such an aggressive pack to retreat, recoup and grow smarter after the fact. Such beasts become prime candidates for monsterification, evolving into bloodthirsty monsters. And sure, that would not be our problem to deal with should we chose to ignore them, but Spartacus might just call all this land his own one day, so why would we make his work harder when we don't have to."

  The tracking wasn't all that difficult, the trail of blood the kanines left behind large enough on its own that Arsha with her hunter class could track them well enough on her own, not to mention Jack's lock on the group of beasts with his spirit sense. The only hindrance was the relative speed of the pack, moving just slightly faster than the group tracking them, though eventually the former reached what seemed to be their home in the form of a rather large burrow, wide enough for even a human to walk in with their back straight.

  According to Jack, there was only one entrance, guaranteeing a dead end, though that also meant the kanines would fight all the more fiercely. Maids prepared accordingly and headed inside, with Valente preparing much smaller fireball, the amount of oxygen within the relatively shallow burrow faintly thinner. The group did not get deep before the kanines were made aware that they had been followed and cornered, with the whole group now resembling ferocious and berserking beasts as they charged at the maids, though it was more likely that this charge and the ferocity was their attempt to break through, especially so since at the very front were the ones that were already weakened by the injuries inflicted upon them during the previous scuffle.

  Unfortunately, Spartacus and the maids were more than used to dealing with such frenzied creatures that came straight at them, their reaction and response accurate and precise, taking care of the wounded four with speed and practiced finesse, their focus quickly turning to the remaining three healthy ones. A well aimed arrow that followed Valantes small fireball finished off one of the three, piercing it straight in the eye. The remaining two were caught by the twins and Spartacus and Lita duo one each, with the former getting pierced from two different sides while the latter received two very nasty cuts across its ribcage, slicing it open as though the bones protecting his innards were made of paper.

  The cleanup was quick and efficient, with Jack finally getting his hands on something of the organic nature to dematerialize, his matter storage filling up by a miniscule amounts- the below level ten beasts providing little in that regard. What interested Jack more however was the relative wisdom of the pack- the tactic used far too developed for simple beasts. That fact alone had a few rather interesting implications, with several of said implications possibly resulting into even more interesting developments further along the chain.

  "Keep track on the level of intelligence of the beasts and monsters we will encounter during this little trip. I sense there's something going on in the background." Jack warned the party as they departed the burrow, once again turning towards the outer edge of the outer region, heading further and further away from the beastmen controlled lands, passing by a small forested area after an area, every now and then fighting against a pack of beasts here and there, sometimes encountering a group of monsters laying in wait.

  As they headed further in, a small pattern emerged among the groups of beasts they encountered. Much like the kanines they fought against, the other beast groups seemed much smarter than one would expect, with each using some sort of a battle tactic that seemed far far too advanced for creatures that relied on their instincts entirely to survive. What was more peculiar was that the same intelligence did not apply for other fields of existence, seemingly only working for group combat.

  And unlike Jack, who had not lived here for his whole life, the rest of the group found it normal, the beats acting as they always had. It was only after Jack explained the stark difference between beasts here and what he knew of other places did the maids and Spartacus understood his previously odd fascination. By this time it was made abundantly clear to everyone present that Jack was an actual gifted himself, not a descendant of one like all those around him were, more so he had initially arrived in this world in entirely different continent, only finding himself here due to a small accident that Jack did not elaborate on. So introduced with multiple sets of examples that starkly differed from their own experiences, the group could do nothing but accept that theirs was the odd one out.

  "It's not like much is going to change in how we approach the search, save for a bit more attention spent on fighting the local fauna. And that too will be of a limited amount since our main goal is to track a tribe of the free folk, have them work for us in contacting others like them and then diving the nearest dungeon with the newly acquired groups as we up the difficulty, speed leveling all those involved until we are sure that they could put up a hell of a fight against the well established beastmen cities."

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 31

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

  Stats unassigned: +4

  Attributes:

  Strength- 34 (14+7+13(gear))

  Vitality- 28 (12+8+8(gear))

  Dexterity- 29 (15+6+8(gear))

  Intelligence-20(15+ 5(gear)

  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: Two handed sword(t3)+ 5 str +5 vit: Armor 3str +3 vit +3 dex; Ring 1 - spatial storage, ring 2 +5int, ring 3 +5 str; amulet +5 dex.