The plan was rather simple yet quite clever at the same time. Selin would carefully pick out one of the slightly older hunters. One that could play the part according to her criteria. Then, the man would be slowly and seemingly pushed aside, as though he was slowly falling behind, and apparently developing a grudge. Then, during one of his 'solo' outings he would begin to go on to vent, he would stumble upon some of the scouts keeping their eyes on Selin's tribe, all the while grumbling and complaining about his own situation. Then, as if to vent his anger further, he would then offer the scouts information that was supposedly kept hidden by his own tribe. For a fair price of course. The information would then travel to one of the tribes observing them, but due to their ever growing power, a single tribe could never hope to try and steal the spot Selin was occupying, resulting in the shared information to spread further. And that's were the leakage would happen. The likelihood of the news staying well contained was next to none, with tribes heading their way to either negotiate with Selin's group or form alliances with other tribes to take them down. Either way, the word would spread and soon enough Jack could pick as he wished.

  Even the danger to Selin's own people was next to none. Not only were they growing stronger but Jack was also interested in their continued development and success, setting the unreasonably powerful man as their guardian of sorts if worst came to pass. And to add yet another layer of security, Selin had managed to deepen her quickly budding friendship with Jack's maids, earning yet another avenue of assistance if shit hit the fan.

  The maids, and Spartacus in extension, was yet another point of wonder for Selin. No matter how seemingly similar the girls seemed to have been to her and Mina the first time the two groups met- at least as far as presence and power went- their progress had been leagues above her peoples, as though Jack was some sort of a divine being, elevating his own servants above the rest of the lesser beings around him. If only she knew just how close she was with that errant thought. Unlike Selin's tribe, Jack's maids were equipped with experience acquisition boosting equipment, allowing for their growth to be faster, noticeably too at that.

  Time slowly passed as multiple plans were put into motion, both within Selin's tribe and all around them, going all the way to the lands of beastmen where the strongest clans were preparing and beginning their journeys to take part in the upcoming high level dungeon clears. Among them, a few clans were slightly disappointed due to a certain human mercenary not appearing. Clicking of tongues and smirks filled with disdain and overwhelming sense of superiority crept upon the muzzles of many a beastman as they could not hold back scalding remarks regarding the stupidity of humanoids. Or perhaps it was a sense of danger that had kept the human mercenary away, his days numbered had he actually arrived and taken part in the event. Either way, Jack was forgotten as quickly as his fame had risen, with the minds of beastmen focusing on their upcoming high level dungeon dive and the season of conflict that would follow soon after. Plenty of bloodthirsty and impatient members of their respective clans were starting to act twitchy, their minds already fixated on the upcoming raids and bloodshed that was tied to it all.

  Other tribes of free folk also had both obvious and secretive meetings as word of a certain tribe having lucked upon a variable dungeon of sorts spread. As the rumor went, one of the Frog Pond's entrances seemed to offer a higher level dungeon than it normally did, allowing said tribe to grow stronger than it was expected of their kind. And sure, that particular tribe was no contender for a title of ruler of the outer steppe, but the fact remained true- they were growing stronger. And far too fast at that. And that tickled the current 'overlords' something fierce. The only reason they were not already upon Selin's tribe was simple as well. The season of conflict was fast approaching, and their particular zone had not been raided for far too long, making it near guaranteed they would soon be faced with bloodthirsty bands of beastmen of varying sizes. And no matter how much one would like to believe the rumors, it had to be taken with a grain of salt. Was it spread by one of their rivals, hoping for the other to fall for it and head back closer to the inner region, serving themselves on a platter for the beastmen raiders? Everybody knew something like this had never happened before.

  Still, there were some tribes that went all in on the rumor, making covert moves to earn a piece of that particularly juicy pie. They sent out small delegations of their people to make contact and understand the matter better. Others still- those more ravenous and savage in nature- went further, preparing for a quick but bloody takeover, claiming both the tribe and the location as their spoils. No matter the rumors, there could only be so much growth possible in the supposedly short time Selin's tribe had spent near the dungeon in question. A tribe steeped in blood and wars would surely make short work of such amateurs. Still, caution had to be taken, so such bloodthirsty tribes did the next best thing, seeking out another, notably weaker tribe that could be roped in, as well as taken care of in the end.

  And so time went on, with everyone slightly moving forward, each busy with their own tasks and plans. Jack too had been quite the busy man during this whole time. Obviously, he had been doing quite a bit of crafting, with plenty of people standing in the metaphorical line for his creations. Firstly, he had made the gear for the kids who finally reached their own second awakenings, with Jack going all out to provide them with gear that defied reason. Enchanted and disguised to still look like just above average stuff. Then he had made another shipment for Anastiela, the beautiful blonde angel visiting the kids and getting her hands on yet another batch of Jack's creations. Then there was Selin's tribe, slowly earning their own materials and merits for gear upgrade. Only Ramia was left somewhat untended, what with Jack missing and thus supposedly unable to craft anything that the older merchant could sell. Still, Ramia had plenty of spice recipes Jack had provided the merchant with, ensuring a steady and quite considerable flow of money.

  Then there was his repeated rereading of the newly acquired books, his mind slowly sorting through the information and re-assessing what he had learned from there. Sure, he was not about to mess around with eldritch forces as he was now, but there were a number of concepts Jack could mess around without risking his own ass and that of the world by accidentally inviting some indescribable entity to play.

  Last, but not least, were Jack's infrequent delves into the dungeon where he tested whatever he had come up with, often resulting in quite the gory and sometimes outright disgusting sights. Plenty of ideas he had discarded in the process, either the spell he had worked out too slow and cumbersome to cast, or its effects far too volatile and uncontrollable.

  "Well, that's a bust." Jack groaned as he willed forth a burst of fire as it enveloped his body momentarily, burning away the black, gooey and foul smelling sludge that covered most of his body. He had just finished yet another of his experiments, testing another spell he had recently come up with, only to discard it a few tries in. Sure, the destructive potential was there, Jack could not deny it, as not one monster had appeared so far that could survive it. And while deadly, it was the way that said deadliness manifested that was the problem. Once cast, it would infiltrate the targets body and activate, mutating and twisting its cells in an unpredictable way, shredding the targets body as it was twisted and turned during the transformation. Then, once it was morphed beyond recognition, it would shrink, as though devouring itself from inside, only to violently explore at the last second, covering the near immediate surroundings in the sticky, black goo that now covered Jack.

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  "Then again...." he stretched out his words as he mulled over his latest creation "If I increased the range, lowered its effect power, it could work as some sort of an intimidation tactic." His mind was working full throttle as he headed towards the dungeon exit, yet another level twenty nine boss felled by his crazy creations.

  "Mah, let's just shelve it. I have plenty, more successful creations worthy of daylight." he came to a decision as his feet crossed the dungeon exit portal. A moment later, his body and mind was greeted by a warm, yet quite dry air and bright sun, a magnificent day welcoming him back. Jack moved a few more steps forward, ensuring he would not get in the way of anyone entering or leaving their own dungeon instance and only then did he took a proper moment to enjoy the pleasant weather he was greeted with.

  Despite his seemingly relaxed, some might even say lazy, appearance, his spirit sense was already hard at work as it enveloped the entire camp and a large territory around them, not only catching a glimpse of their own scouts stationed further outside and keeping their eyes open, but also quite the number of foreign individuals, keeping their eyes on Selin's tribe from a fair distance away, seemingly in a tacit understanding with Selin's people to stay out of each others way. 'Damn girl, your plan might have worked even better than you could have expected!' Jack praised Seline in his mind, filing away all the information that he deemed of any importance.

  Jack did not get to slack of in the warm and sun for long, however, for no later than ten minutes later, he caught the sound of footprints approaching, with him as the clear destination.

  "Yees?" Jack lazily asked, his eyes still closed as he remained where he was.

  "Sir, Selin would request your presence in regards to the plan." It was Mina Ast who spoke a few moments later, slightly surprised about Jack's sharp senses despite his seemingly closed eyes and relaxed demeanor. She supposed that was the sign of a true expert, once again realizing just how far a road ahead she still had to walk.

  "Hmmm, fine. Lead the way." Jack grumbled a bit, but aware better than anyone about Selin's reasons- even if the tribes leader most likely did not know even half the scope of things- rose to his feet and followed Mina. A short while later, Jack sat across from Seline and gestured for the woman to speak.

  "As you no doubt already have sensed, there are plenty new scouts around us, keeping their eyes trained on us. What you might not know sir, is that there are several tribes who have sent their people to talk with us. To discuss the rumors swirling around and a possibilities of cooperation."

  "I guessed something like that would happen sooner or later. What of the tribes who have sent their people over? Reputation wise at least?"

  "Not much to say. None of the larger tribes have sent their people to negotiate. Either due to sheer arrogance or pride, I would not know. As for those who have, none are large enough to have earned a reputation that had reached us. Thus I have asked for your assistance sir." Selin then listed the tribe names they had been given, and what offers she had received. She had not confirmed, nor had she denied that they had a way to grow stronger, though her existence alone was a hint in and of itself. She had managed to gain a level during her own delving, limited as it was.

  "Ill have a look." Jack hummed, receiving information and a promise from Selin that MIna would guide him.

  "Right, do inform your people we might have to fight soon." Jack added nonchalantly.

  "Yes sir." It was Mina who responded to his words, immediately leaving the tent to start their preparations.

  "May I ask?" Selin spoke up a moment later.

  "Sure." Jack shrugged, not seeing a reason to conceal what he had sensed not that long ago.

  "Close to a thousand warriors are approaching us from the west. Right now they are a couple days walk away, since they are moving with stealth and energy conservation in mind. I can only assume some of the more bloodthirsty tribes had decided to strike first and heavily to take over the spot. Thus the numbers of fighters that surpass yours more than two to one. No need to worry though. We will have the defenses set up well before they arrive. I will have Mina gather some men to arrange that."

  "Thank you sir."

  "Don't sweat it. Your people are my toys. Only I get to play with them." Jack waved her off, a light smirk on his face betraying the joking nature of his words. His calm, relaxed even, mood lessened Selin's worry, if only a little.

  THe next couple of days were more hectic than usual, with Selin's tribe moving back and forth with much clearer purpose and gusto. The guests had been observed and vetted or failed by Jack the first day, so come next morning they could all return with good or bad news, ensuring no outsiders remained present for the time the warriors arrived. What initially looked like a simple, if somewhat large in size, campers site, had become a slightly fortified position. There was only so much one could do with the lack of great sized trees, rocks and time. Still, it was better than nothing, and with Jack doing a little bit of array magic, the tribe was much more defended than one might think.

  ------------------------

  Their thousand man group had made quite a time despite their relatively slow movement speed. It was what it was. Sometimes you just had to suck it up and do things with caution, lest your target learned of your approach too soon, getting just enough time to begin their escape. And thus they had been sneaky, very much so despite their large number. Despite the fact that some three hundred men were not of their own tribe but another, smaller one brought in to share the inevitable great spoils. Not that anyone the other tribe knew they too would end up mostly dead, with a rare few of their members taken as slaves. But that, that was a problem they would solve at a later time, once all the fighting and tallying of losses were sorted.

  Now, less than a few hours separated them and their quarry, with no amount of scouts reporting making a difference. All they could now do was desperately try and set up some shoddy defenses and resist with all they had. Not that it would help them in the end. Would make for one hell of a fight- and that was precisely what this cooperation of tribes wanted. A proper fight and plenty of spoils to collect. Case in point, now that stealth was no longer needed, the pace with which the thousand men large army moved was greater than before, with plenty cheers, songs and jokes resounding all around them. Vurkun, as the chief of his own tribe and the leader of the group that would ultimately win it all, could not be more proud. His men were disciplined well enough when it counted, playing their role as a willing ally to a teeth. Even he could barely believe just how well the two attacking tribes were getting along.

  The scouts of their prey had escaped just barely, no doubt having returned to their base, exhausted and terrified. Vurkun knew they had the numbers advantage, battle experience and the advantage of surprise, dampened as it was somewhat. Did not matter, victory was theirs. The couple hours passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye, their target soon enough appearing before their eyes. A simple temporary camp, not a single wall obstructing their vision. Their prey desperately sitting there as if waiting for their demise.

  "Look boys! There she is! Pretty ain't she? And we get to do her as we wish! Ha ha ha ha ha!" The chief of their ally tribe laughed loudly, acting as if he was the one in charge. It was fine. Let him think so for just a while longer. Let him exhaust his men and take the brunt of the damage. Let him gloat. Vurkun just cheered and egged the other chief on, stoking his ego and bloodlust. And would you look at that, it worked like a charm, their temporary ally pushed ahead with his men, all too eager to be the first ones to strike. The first ones to kill. The first ones to begin looting. Strength was not all that it took to lead a raider tribe successfully for years. One had to be cunning too. Even now, Vurkun was aware that plenty other scout groups had their eyes on the whole situation. That was precisely why he would clear this place out, and then migrate south once they were done here, far enough to be able to start anew.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 32

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

  Stats unassigned: +14

  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). Destroyers presence(unique legendary).

  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, Eldritch garbage disposal(legendary).

  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.