The remaining supplies were neatly sorted and arranged, making Jack smile just a little at the meticulous way it had been done. Many a scum had remained among the few surviving men, but it seemed that they were not entirely retarded, choosing wisely not to piss off the entity that had dealt with their remaining guards with startling ease and had spent a similar amount of effort- or lack thereof- to remove their slave collars as well.

  Jack could not be bothered to sort his new stuff right now, so he did what any creature of his status and state of mind would- storing the carts in their entirety in one of his storage rings, leaving more than a fair share of bystanders with their mouths agape. If he could store all that away, what else might he have stored just the same way? That was no doubt a question that swirled in the minds of those witnessing the scene. None was dumb enough- be it their momentary stupor or the still fresh memory of Jack's previous actions- to develop a greedy desire for what was his and in turn plot against him.

  With everything left for him neatly stored away, Jack raised his head up, seemingly gazing towards the horizon, while in reality was was doing a quick scan of the area, making mental notes of the remaining groups of people he had just freed and the directions they headed off to. He would take no action in regard to them, but he did save a list of sort of their status information. The likelihood that some of them will be captured again was high enough, and should any of them be dragged along yet another beastmen raiding group that found its way to the Cradle, Jack might just get to hear quite the tragic tale.

  It would not be right and proper if Jack could just grab his new stuff and leave without anyone trying to strike up a conversation with him. And as expected, a couple of people were approaching him from both sides. At least in this particular case, Jack could see one party of said hopefuls he was actually willing to interact, however briefly. Zena- the girl that had found her way to where he was intercepting the retreating beastmen and even joined in the extermination of aforementioned mob. Be it bravery, anger or just need for a closure, the girl had shown courage with her action, and the least Jack could do was hear her out.

  The same courtesy, or goodwill, would not be extended to the other approaching entity. A somewhat tall, lanky and quite shifty looking man, accompanied by another two, shorter and bulkier, though clearly dumber as well, henchmen. The fake smile plastered on that face, as well as his scheming demeanor- information by the courtesy of Jack's won appraise- did not help the man's case either. Sure, he might not be planning to backstab Jack himself, but he would no doubt look for ways to find an 'in' with him, and then milk that 'in' for all it's worth. Sucked for the man, for he would find no such luck with Jack.

  Unfortunately, it seemed that the shifty looking man- Jacob- was not well versed in body language, or straight out ignored all the not so subtle cues Jack gave him. Jack's body turned sideways, hands crossed over his chest, and head turned away from the man. Sure, Jacob might not be able to see Jack's face, but everything else screamed the same message- Not interested, so get lost. At least Zena had the saving grace of Jack's head turned her way, with the shoulder facing her way slightly lowered. A wall lowered while also raising the other side higher up. And as a well trained hunter, her eyes were good and she could spot the lack of danger, or displeasure coming from her savior.

  "Blessings upon you a thousand times, oh great warrior." Jacob started speaking, his hands cupped and head bowed as he did so. "Not only did you kill the beastmen who had captured us, but also showed us even greater mercy and removed those damn collars as well. Honour demands we repay such grace, yet we are sorely lacking anything of value to do so with. As such, to not dishonor our ancestors, we can only offer our own hard work in turn if it pleases you."

  "Not interested. Now walk away." Jack responded in short sentences, his voice cold and disinterested, his head not once turned towards Jacob and his two goons for even a second.

  "Zena is it? A fine showing back there." Jack then spoke, his tone less cold now, a slight approval surfacing for a split second.

  "And yet it was nothing before the might sir displayed." she replied honestly.

  "True." Jack did not deny the obvious truth "But it takes courage to do what you did. You could have waited with the rest, none the wiser to what happened over there. But you sensed something and deemed it necessary to investigate. And then acted accordingly to what you saw. The fact remains you could have died. And that, was a possibility for only one of us. You wanted something. Do tell."

  Zena looked back towards her own group for a short moment, steeling herself to ask what was necessary. Then, after a long breath, she did so.

  "It's fallen onto my shoulders to look after and guide those left over from among the people sir saved. Ones rejected by all others. It is no doubt presumptuous, and shameless to ask for more, but I must do so nonetheless."

  "Hmm." Jack hummed before Zena could actually ask, though it was clear what it was she would, so Jack saved her the trouble of doing so. "A way forward, is it?" he tilted his body slightly to he side, seemingly looking past Zena to her group, allowing silence to descend around them. Jacob still had not left, teeth clenched and brain racking for ways to get another chance.

  "Young or otherwise disadvantaged many of them might be, but they do not lack in intuition. The fact they found themselves under your wing is proof enough." Jack explained calmly. "Sure, why not. Selin will no doubt find a place for you and yours. Go back and gather your people. The details will be worked out once we reach the Cradle."

  Jack turned his head towards Jacob and his two goons for the first time. "And it's still no to you. Get lost, for I am losing my patience with you."

  That, finally, was clear enough for Jacob to get the que, quickly turning around and rushing towards his own group, his two lackeys stumbling right behind him. Jacob was not the smartest, or strongest in his old tribe, but he was sleazy and shifty enough to know when to run. And now was the time. Some ventures were indeed better to be abandoned early. It was clear he desired nothing more than to disappear from Jack's sight, quickly gathering his own group to depart, all while trying his damn best to maintain whatever facade he had construed as he recruited those around him. It was not Jack's problem however, leaving Jacob's actions to the background.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  His attention was focused on Zena and her group, observing her people a tad more closely. As he had stated before, they were nothing all too special, at least not at the moment- either too young, bland or otherwise easily overlooked, with rare few exceptions in between. Still, he had plenty of greater beauties- if his desires suddenly flared for who knows what reason- waiting back with the kids, especially in the form of Anastiela and the dragon sisters he had briefly interacted with. Not that he expected any of said beauties from Zena's group to try their luck with him. Not only had they just recently lost their homes, but they knew nothing at all about Jack. Even his appearance was a mystery to them.

  "We are ready sir." A few minutes later Zena rushed back over, informing Jack about their preparations. It was to be expected though. There was next to nothing they had to collect before they could head out, and most of that near nothing could also be abandoned should they be pressed for time.

  "It's Jack for you. Your previous actions have earned that much. Come along." Jack replied, turning towards the Cradle and beginning to march in a brisk, but not overly fast pace. Too many children were among Zena's group, all of whom would be guaranteed to lag behind if he moved any faster. And since Jack had decided to allow them to come along, there was no reason to be a right and proper bastard.

  "This pace should be just about right so your younger ones do not fall behind, but do still keep an eye on them just in case." Jack said to Zena, his head remaining turned forward "And we will be passing through what remains of that beastman force you shot at as well. There are barely any bodies left, but do warn your wards if you deem it necessary. We are not stopping for quite some time after all sp they will just have to deal with whatever they witness as we pass through."

  Zena, being the smart girl that she was, quickly moved over to the rest of her group, having spent most of the time somewhere between Jack and the rest of the group, separated by a dozen or so meters at all times. She first spoke with Aki, recruiting the otherwise quite and shy girl to aid her. Then, the duo passed through the group and spoke with them, explaining and mentally preparing them for what lie ahead. It might, it would not truth be told, be less than pleasant what the group would see, but it was important to get past it all nonetheless.

  Prepared mentally as they were, the sight that soon enough came into view still burned itself into the minds of all those that saw it, Zena herself including. Burnt out zones of half a dozen meters in diameter could be seen everywhere, with piles of ash covering scorched and half melted equipment, along with remains of bones in multiples places. A few of the younger ones hid their faces as they covered them with their hands, seemingly trying their best to hold back from vomiting what little food they had managed to get their hands on a short while ago. Thankfully, the dry air and smell or burnt wood hid most of the smell that accompanied such large scale flesh burning, but it was still hard enough for the younger kids.

  "Remember that each and every one of those piles of bones was responsible for your own tribes destruction and enslavement, as well as the death of those close to you! Is it so bad that they experienced such an end?" Zena's voice rang out, reaching the ears of all the groups members, changing more than a few faces as it did so.

  "Worse yet, they would no doubt have had us all be their slaves for life, breeding and slaughtering us like cattle at their own whims!" She continued, drawing more and more eyes towards herself.

  "We were lucky. We were saved not only from such a fate, but also given another chance at life. What is a little hardship in the face of such despair?"

  Low hums of agreement slowly resounded from the group, growing in volume by the second. Soon enough, cheers and song replaced the previous gloominess, with the middle aged women leading with example as they sang of better times. In this, elevated tone the group's step gained some pep to it, allowing them to get through the scorched zone all that much faster. True to Jack's earlier statement, aside from bones and fully burnt out zones of his explosive arrow impacts, only the smell of burnt wood and a bit of flesh lingered, allowing all those with their minds in better places to pass through relatively easily, keeping their pace as they followed Jack.

  Eventually however, darkness once again enveloped the land, making their advance nigh impossible, and for more reasons than just the darkness outside. The children were exhausted, barely holding on their legs. But Jack was well aware, choosing a place to stop and rest when heading further would result in first losses. They had covered quite the distance, but would still need to travel for a couple more days to reach his city. That was not all that much of a problem however. The city was safe at the moment, and Jack's maids could manage for the short while that he was absent. Hell, they might even return to the dungeon to push some extra levels in the process.

  A camp was set and everyone got busy with their own tasks. Some of the women scraped together what was left of their supplies and made a somewhat decent meal- a light soup that at least filled their by now grumbling bellies. Some told stories of mighty warriors and their adventures from their own tribes, always endings with a lesson of sorts. To hold on. To persevere. To live. Jack did not join them, his mind locked on their surroundings and actively scaring away any opportunistic animal pack that decided to wander too close for his liking. A single flare of his aura was all it took to send them all running with their tails tucked between their legs.

  Two days of near constant walking, with few rare stops to rest and eat something in between. The children were especially exhausted, but they too had their own little unyielding warriors spirit inside, refusing to give up and continuing on. The stories shared during their evening meals had done wonders to push morale up, allowing the pace the group had moved at. And Jack had done more than Zena could have ever dared to dream, let alone ask for.

  She had realised on the second that how much of a deterrent his mere presence was, chasing away all predator packs that came anywhere near their group, while at the same time reigning it it when they approached grass eating animal packs where he would proceed to kill a couple, allowing Zena's group to eat much better meals. And were those meals fit for a king, especially for tired and hungry mouths whose owners had walked for days. A feast fit for a king indeed.

  And finally, after three days of near constant walking, they had reached their destination- the silhouette of an actual wall looming on the far end of their sights. With each step forward, more and more voices joined in on the excitement, their gazes locked on the walls- a structure they had never seen in their admittedly short lives. Even the pace of the group rose by a slight margin. How could it not? Everyone wanted to rest, and of course see the city upon which walls the beastmen force was beaten and broken.

  "Heh." Jack smirked as he sensed the excitement growing within the voices of those behind him. "It might be a bit early, but welcome to the Cradle."

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 37

  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.