Jack's group decided to return home after dealing with the particularly large monster group and cleaning up the site of their fight, leaving nothing but pools of splashed blood behind them, with the Virtuoso grinning happily at the amount of matter he had acquired. Sure, it was just a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things, or even compared with the amount he acquired from collecting everything in the tutorial dungeon he had solo cleared, it was still a decent amount and would allow him to create a weapon of some quality for himself as well. He could run around his supposed playground of a tutorial with a rare weapon only for so long while having equipped his two party members with epic quality stuff.

  The group had spent plenty of effort on the combat, dealing with the monsters while ensuring their just moments before felled boars would remain untouched. There was no way the group was willing to let any of the stench, or foul blood for that matter, to stain the precious meat of said boars. Kaede had already mentioned a few ways she would like to try and cook it, conjuring the ideas of said feast in the minds of the gluttonous men in her party. Was it any wonder that the two men became more dangerous than fanatic zealots on a mission to protect the holy relics of their faith? Thus the carnage ensued as monsters had emerged from the forest.

  "I even leveled up." Kenji smiled as the group slowly walked back towards the village, the position of the sun serving as a general guide. Thankfully, the sun was not the only guiding tool for the party to find their bearings, teh group lacking either a scout or a hunter, or any other class that would serve as the guiding hand. Jack was well aware of said issue beforehand, thus he had created a compass of sorts, with it pointing towards it's other piece, left in their home in the village, ensuring a timely return.

  "Me too!" Kaede beamed as well, the duo explaining their plans on how to allocate their newly gained stat point each. Kenji would up his strength, the next few levels going into vitality, while Kaede would up her intelligence so she could start practising her dual casting now that she was at the threshold Jack had mentioned, earning a nod of agreement from the older man in the party.

  'Would you be as surprised if you knew the full extent of the value your gear has?' Jack mused in the safety of his mind, the hidden attribute coming to mind when he thought of the items in the hands of Kenji and Kaede.

  Hidden(EX)- Blessing of the creation and destruction. Something cannot be created from nothing. Creation begets destruction to create anew. Beings killed while equipped with this item provide additional experience.

  Quite the ingenious little enchantment Jack had tacked on all three items. The shield and mace, both one handed items provided fifteen percent increase, totalling a whopping thirty percent, a massive amount for the stuff he had spent on creating them. The chime as a two handed item provided thirty percent increase. Were Jack to have more matter on his hands and better experience with the class and crafting in general, he might go for a higher quality item as well, upping the increase even further, but it was what it was. Still, if said hidden effect would be known to the rest of the gifted in the tutorial zone, internal war could appear on the horizon. Not that it ever would get out though, he had made sure of that.

  And as they kept on walking, not encountering any other monster packs, Jack once again asked the question that was always lingering in the corner of his mind. 'Where is the regressor though?' he would bring up the question every now and then, having seen not a trace of the guys in question, Of course, due to the number, estimated at the very least, of gifted that had arrived in the village, Jack had come to the conclusion that there were more than one such tutorial zone, splitting the initial thousand plus people in several groups, a guess that was indeed correct, though he was sorely underselling the actual amounts of fresh blood summoned forth.

  The trio returned back behind the 'safety' of the village wall just barely before dusk, welcomed by their home by a rather nervous, perhaps even worried group of four women, clearly having been there for quite some time, waiting for their return so their scheduled conversation could take place. It was obvious that the girls had not expected Jack's parties small evening hunt to last quite so long.

  "We were growing worried about your safety beyond the wall." Izumi spoke once the trio was close enough for her not to raise voice in greeting "We were even about to head out to search for you." she added as Jack walked past her, a slight nod of acknowledgement of their presence, combined with a single 'follow' as he unlocked the door with a relatively primitive key and entered. Sure, it would not be easy for someone to break down the doors, assuming they had leveled a bit and invested in their strength, but the whole reason of the lock was to show if someone had tried to force their way in using less obvious means than pure and brute strength. For that, the lock and key served purpose enough.

  Once inside, Jack fished out a lantern that he then placed on the table, lighting it up and creating a rather cozy, if a little middle aged feeling in the freshly made wooden house. The fresh smell of the wood, combined with the slightest smell of some sort of a pleasant aroma, as if someone was burning some sort of incense within the building, all while Kenji and Kaede moved towards the kitchen area, lighting fire in the stove, the smaller wooden logs being just barely, as though unsuredly, licked by the slowly growing flame, gaining more and more ground as it devoured the prey in it's paws, already looking for the next victim to claim and devour.

  "The group of four were noticeably nervous, some more than others, the coming battle of words and wit would no doubt be their greatest battle yet, deciding the further course of their fates like nothing before. And yet, the challenge to overcome was no easy feat to achieve either, each misstep possibly leading into a deal with the devil himself. Theirs, was a tight rope to walk, but despite the cold sweat forming on their palms, their will was steeled and gazes determined." taking the opportunity of silence that had settled over them, Jack took it and spoke in a calm tone, as if narrating a documentary about nature, catching the group of four of guard. They stared at him as he finished the small paragraph that had bloomed in his mind, allowing a momentary silence to to settle over the room once again, replaced only by a faint sound of fire crackling and the light humming of Kaede as she prepared the first of many dishes she had talked about with the wild boar meat as the main ingredient.

  This pleasant silence did not last long though, Izumi, not inclined to receive another rather accurate narration of their situation, cleared her throat before starting to speak. It was her group who had approached Jack's with the desire to discuss something so it was also their obligation to not only start the conversation but also lead it along it's natural path to some sort of a conclusion, hopefully resulting in something that would benefit them greatly while paying a price not all that disagreeable with them either. It was indeed a hard task to pull off, yet Izumi had been trained and conditioned to pull of precisely such things by her father. Jack did throw her off a bit though, the man's gaze or mannerisms made him a tough nut to crack. What was it he wanted to achieve, survival notwithstanding? What did he need? What could they offer? All questions rushed through Izumi's mind as she spoke, her face betraying nothing as her expression was calm, friendly even, a faint, yet amiable face adorning her admittedly pretty face.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "I believe we might have started our acquaintance on a slightly negative note, our own inner disputes creating a sight no doubt unpleasant to witness. It was our own fault as we had failed to realize the danger we had invited in our midst, resulting in that unpleasant scene and you taking in Kaede and Kenji. While it hurts me to lose them, they are cherished classmates after all, it fills me with warmth to see them happy and smiling in this dark and dangerous new world we have found ourselves in. And for that, as the class representative, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

  "Please," Jack spoke, his tone slightly exasperated "there is no need to try and butter me up. That tactic will not work, so get to the part where you suggest a working relationship and what you believe you can offer for my services. I highly doubt there is any other reason why all of you would be here. That contractor of yours don't seem like a politically charged person."

  Jack's words froze the girls momentarily, his words indicating one of two things- either Kenji and Kaede had told him a lot about their classes, something that, while possible, was quite unlikely, unless he had his hooks deeper in the duo than expected, or the man himself had appraisal as one of his skills. The latter part did make decent amount of sense though. The man was a rare crafting class, so it was to be expected for him to have some sort of way to understand new materials brought to him. He did not make them guess though, adding just moments later "Yes, I do have Appraisal of my own, so get to the point, will you?"

  "Very well." Izumi nodded, proceeding to go into detail regarding what they could offer in exchange for Jack's services, which was admittedly quite weak offer, all things considered. Their group right now was rather weak, consisting of two melee classes- samurai apprentice and duelist, assisted by a scout and non combat class- contractor. Thus, Jack estimated their actual combat capabilities as rather weak, easily taken out with just the slightest mistake on their part, with injuries during heavy combat being their greatest flaw right now, though he could also admit that it was his fault the other group was in the condition they were in. He had poached their healer and a tanker. Hanzo being thrown out was not his fault, or so he reasoned, for it was only a matter of time before the latter guy went overboard, receiving the same decision.

  "Not much of a profitable deal on my end this offer of yours appear as, or am I missing something?" Jack asked at the end, his face betraying nothing as he looked at the four girls on the other side of the table. His head turned towards Kaede and Kenji who were still cooking the party's supper, a pleasant aroma sneaking over to the table.

  "What do you guys think? Should I even consider their request? I will think of some devilish contract to ensure we don't come out the other end at a loss then."

  "Izumi san is not a bad person per say, even if she sometimes has her sight on too far a future and I would hate to see Chiyo san suffer. She has never done anything wrong to me. And Fumiko san and Emi are not that bad either." mentioned Kaede, her back still turned to the discussion table as she continued with the preparation of the meal.

  "I second Kaede." Kenji chimed in, his opinion apparently aligning with Kaede's.

  "Not that bad either eh?" Jack hummed as he tilted his head back, resting it on the chair as he did so. "What to do? What to do?" he continued as his fingers slowly danced on the table, the sound creating rhythmic taps as his mind was occupied with options he could explore. Izumi and her companions just waited in silence, well aware that they were at the mercy of his mood right now.

  "While it could be said that it is partly my fault your group is in the sorry state it is now, lacking two, crucial members you had previously, it's also not at the same time. Still, whatever my part was in the whole situation, I refuse to shoulder your mistakes on my dime. I ain't no charity works here, so If I am to agree, there will be plenty of rules in place to ensure I get my money's worth back for the job I am going to put in." he sighed as he finished speaking, his gaze moving towards Emi.

  "Make notes, miss contractor, for there will be plenty. First and foremost, you will be joining our hunts from now on and will work to earn the materials for your own gear. I don't have no piles of extra stuff lying around to just gift them out for free. I will keep track of how much your contribution is in the fights and when there is enough stuff to make a new piece of gear for you at which point you decide which member gets theirs first. There must be a point in the contract that in the case we go our separate ways, the items I have crafted will be returned."

  "Would that mean you can end our cooperation at any point?" Izumi asked, her tone even, careful not to displease Jack right now.

  "Not the intention. That particular point in the contract would be in case your group decides to go off on their own. Might have explained it somewhat blandly, my mistake." Jack explained, elaborating on the whole reasoning behind it. "And I would like to ensure that we have access to your contractor services with a discount once we are outside the tutorial no matter how we end up in the end."

  Jack then went over more points he wanted the contract to contain, though none were aimed at binding the other group in a scheme or anything. From what Izumi and the girls could make out, he was forming ironclad contract that would ensure his side was not only not fucked over in one way or another, but also came out ahead, though not at the expense of their own lives. In the end, the contract could be summarised with one sentence- You earn a decent amount, while we earn more and no funny business. A deal far too good to be normally true, but they also understood that said contract was as it was for one reason only, though technically speaking there were two reasons, both of whom were still working on their supper at the moment.

  "Will that be all, or is there anything else you want added?" Emi asked once she had summarised all the points Jack had made.

  "Hmm, no, I think that is about it. How long till it's made? I doubt you yourselves would like to stretch out the time it takes to upgrade your gear and whatnot."

  "I think I should be done by morning." Emi bit on her finger, her eyes directed upwards, a sign of her doing some actual calculations and answered a few moments later.

  "Then come back in once it's ready. We will head out to hunt as soon as that is done." Jack confirmed, then added a rather important piece of knowledge that placed the four visitors on edge "The monster groups are growing larger and stronger by the way. It seems whatever is our target is either getting closer or growing stronger. Figured you should know. See you tomorrow then." he then waved them off, signaling that their little conversation and deal was concluded for the day.

  Once the four girls were gone, Kenji asked a rather obvious question "Why not ask them to stay for dinner? It would surely help to bring them over if they could enjoy the same food we do. It's obvious that we have it much better than the rest of the people around."

  "You are correct there, but that is a short sighted way to look at it. While true that it would smooth things over a bit, it does not guarantee they would align themselves with us once outside. While I am sure I could eventually make spices that would make whatever is available out there feel like bland trash, it's also true it would take a lot of time and effort focused on that single aspect of crafting. Time that would be better spent on elevating my ability to provide you with much better equipment, for while I am going to depend on you to help me progress once out there, I detest the idea that I would not in turn provide you with gear of equal or even better value. What kind of a big brother would I be if I were to just coast on your effort alone all because I helped you get ahead in the tutorial?" Jack explained, his thought process and decision warming the hearts of the duo with his reasoning. Left unsaid was the fact he could, if he so wanted to, do everything on his own, his class being just that busted, but where would be the fun in that? Acting from behind the scenes, using his 'Virtuoso' cover to explain his dominance here while playing the puppetmaster afterwards and solving the problems cropping up from the shadows if need be. And it's not like he did not fint it fun to be around the two lovebirds, their general actions bringing a small smile to his face more often than not.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 9

  Class- Twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(EX)

  Stats unassigned: +11

  Attributes:

  Strength- 17 (9+7+1)

  Vitality- 16 (7+7+2)

  Dexterity- 11 (5+6)

  Intelligence-7

  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)

  Spells- temporary spatial storage (shrinking)

  Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo.