As the group was walking around the town of Zetsuya, David activated his Sakai to cover the entire town, looking for a certain building.
'Hopefully, this takes after the anime adaptation and Toa is only being used as a human magic experimental test subject. The forced prostitution version pissed me off.'
After finding the building and seeing inside, he changed his mind on how he was going to do things. At first, he wanted to lure people out and do things secretly, but rage clouded his mind and he instead chose chaos.
'Fuck it, why take a long time to do things? The quicker the better...'
While they were walking, David was creating a few spells to help him in the future and also help him hand out punishment.
Since Tomoe's katana was only quickly created by David in the past, he decided to take this time to also think of how to create a new katana that would be Tomoe's permanent weapon as well as how to create a fan weapon for Mio.
Makoto already had a shortsword he got from the Highland Orcs so David didn't think about creating a new weapon for him.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at a building with a sign that read 'Zetsuya Adventurer's Guild' on the front of it.
"Makoto, I'm telling you ahead of time that we're not going to be staying in this town for long and that things are going to get really ugly, really quickly, okay? If you're squeamish about seeing humans die, I'll send you back to the Cradle," David said with a serious expression.
Makoto paused for a moment to think.
"..."
He then shook his head, "No, it's fine. You must have a reason for doing whatever you plan to do so I won't say anything."
David smiled and touched Makoto's forehead.
He transferred the knowledge of the written and spoken Common language of the world so that Makoto would be able to understand and speak with others in Common.
He also altered Makoto's soul a little bit and removed the restriction the goddess placed on him that prevented him from speaking Common.
'Huh, that was surprisingly easy...'
"You can now speak the Common language. I've also removed the restriction the goddess placed on you."
Makoto smiled widely, "Thank you, David! Hahaha, that shitty goddess won't stop me now!"
David just chuckled and entered the guild with the others.
When they entered, David released a small amount of his Reiatsu and immediately, everyone in the guild jerked their heads in his direction with cold sweat dripping down their foreheads.
He then walked up to the receptionist at the counter and smiled a charming smile that totally contrasted with the terrifying pressure he just released.
"Good afternoon. I'd like to register as an adventurer with my companions here."
The pretty blonde woman was stunned by David's demeanor before she nodded her head dazedly.
She then motioned for another employee to bring out level measuring scrolls.
Once the scrolls arrived, David touched it and it turned pale blue.
"Um... Rank E, level 1...," the receptionist said in disbelief.
When David's level was made known to everyone, the silence broke and everyone started laughing and mocking David.
"Hahaha! To think we were intimidated by a mere level 1!"
"Haha! There must have been someone else in town and we just happened to think it was from him. How embarrassing!"
David ignored the comments and instead motioned for Makoto to measure his level next.
Makoto walked up and grabbed a new scroll, resulting in the same pale blue as David.
"BAHAHA! THEY'RE BOTH WEAKLINGS!!!"
The raucous jeers and mocking intensified.
David ignored it again.
"Tomoe, Mio, you're up next."
An irritated Tomoe and Mio came up to measure their levels and the scrolls they used turned completely red.
The receptionist was stunned. "These scrolls are good up to level 400! Quickly, bring out bigger scrolls!"
The girl who brought out the scrolls nodded her head and ran to the back to get bigger level measurement scrolls.
"Th-This scroll measures up to level 1,600."
Tomoe and Mio grabbed their scrolls and most of it turned red.
"T-Tomoe-sama... Your level is 1,320!"
"What?!"
"EHH?!"
"No way!"
The crowd was shocked by the high level, but then Mio's turn came.
"M-Mio-sama, your level is 1,500!"
"EHHH?!"
Everyone was flabbergasted by the two powerhouses, though someone was rather unhappy.
"Excuse me?! There's no way Mio is a higher level than me!" Tomoe shouted with a dissatisfied face.
Mio just held her cheek, "My, I don't really care which of us has the higher level~."
Tomoe turned toward the receptionist, "Bring out another scroll! I want to measure it again!"
The receptionist just sheepishly said, "Y-You're both the highest levels within the entire Adventurer's Guild. You're now registered with the guild so there's no point in measuring again..."
Tomoe gritted her teeth and crossed her arms, pouting like a child.
David walked up and patted Tomoe's head. "It's fine. You're still one of the strongest existences in the world, right? Don't sweat the small stuff. Anyway, we have work to do after we get our licenses so just hang tight for a bit."
Tomoe smiled under her master's headpats and forgot all about her irritation with Mio's level.
While waiting for their licenses to be created, David put up a 24:1 time dilation barrier around himself so he could spend more time working on his spells while they waited.
Four hours later for David and ten minutes for the others, he had finished the spells he was working on and disabled the time dilation barrier.
They now had their licenses in hand containing their name, rank, level, and various other miscellaneous information.
David cast two of the spells and in his left hand was a katana that looked exactly like the first one he created. It was 106 cm in total length. It had a golden hilt and guard with a blue leather-wrapped handle and was resting in a black sheathe. Unlike the first katana, this one had various enchantments on it.
It was sharp enough to cut even the hardest materials like tofu, it would never break, it could extend its length as far as Tomoe desired, it was bound to Tomoe so she'd never lose it and only she could wield it, and it could amplify her magic up to 100 times if she had the mana for it.
In David's right hand was a pink lightweight metal foldable fan with two beads and tassels at the tip, three wavy white lines running down from top to bottom, and a spider motif on the bottom.
It had the same enchantments as Tomoe's katana.
"Tomoe, the katana I created for you before was just a placeholder for this one. This one is much stronger and is bound to you. Nobody else can use it and it will increase your combat efficiency by several folds."
David handed the katana to Tomoe and without waiting for a response, took her old one and used a new destruction spell on it that simply erased an object from existence.
"Uwahhh, this blade is wonderful, young master!" Tomoe said as she held her new katana, feeling the power emanating from it.
David then turned to Mio and handed her the fan.
"Mio, this fan has the same enchantments as Tomoe's katana. Nobody but you can use it and you'll never be able to lose it. With a simple thought, it will appear back in your hand no matter what."
Mio took the fan and after a few seconds of staring, held it close to her chest with hearts in her eyes.
"My first gift from my husband~! I love it!"
She then jumped at David and hugged his arm tight, nuzzling her face into his shoulder.
"Makoto, I saw that you already have a weapon and didn't know if you wanted a new one or not. I have a few ideas for weapons for you, but I didn't want to try creating one without your permission."
Makoto smiled and waved his hand, "It's alright, David. I'm satisfied with what I have. Besides, I plan on using magic archery most often in the future anyway so I don't mind not having a new weapon."
David just smiled and nodded.
'You'll definitely be using more than just magic archery in the future, but I'll let you walk your own path.'
With the new weapons and licenses in hand, David snapped his fingers and cast a barrier over the Adventurer's Guild building, trapping everyone inside.
He then released his Reiatsu once more and made everyone aside from his group unable to move.
"Listen up! There are disgusting bastards among you who like to take advantage of weak people and pose as heroes! The main culprit is Mils Ace, the so-called strongest adventurer in this town! I'll be looking through his memories to investigate everyone involved with him! If you're innocent, just relax! If you're guilty, pray to your shitty goddess that I have mercy on your souls!"
After David finished giving his warning, he peeled the reluctant Mio off his arm and turned to look at a blonde man wearing a red coat and a stupid red hat, Mils Ace.
Mils had a terrified expression on his face after feeling David's power. When he saw David walking closer to him, he pissed his pants and struggled as hard as he could to move.
However, it was all useless.
David arrived right in front of Mils Ace and looked down at him with disdain.
"Honestly, you're not even worth bothering with. However, my friend would be troubled if he found out what you've been doing in the future and wasn't able to save a certain woman."
David 100% lied.
Since he knew what Mils Ace had done, he would never let him go. Unbeknownst to David, one of the spells he created was a rather intricate spell that was extremely similar to what K.T. had used in the past and he was excited to use it on Mils.
Level fraud, debt manipulation, human trafficking, extortion, smuggling, and various other illicit acts. David strongly believes that this world would be better off without Mils Ace running around.
David knocked the hat off of Mils' head and rested his hand on the top of his hair.
He then used a new memory searching spell and after only a few minutes, he had the identity and location of everyone involved in his criminal syndicate. He used his Sakai to look through every person in the town and marked all those involved.
He removed his hand and ignored the look of absolute terror on Mils' face and turned to look at the rest of the crowd in the building.
"Good news! There are indeed a few of you that are innocent! Others, however... Well, it seems you've been living a good life working for this scumbag, so unfortunately, yours lives are forfeit. Please make sure you live properly in your next life!"
David snapped his fingers and everyone involved in Mils' criminal syndicate aside from Mils himself felt a burning sensation in their feet.
When they looked down, they saw a black and green flame slowly ignite on their toes.
"AHHHH!!!"
"SAVE MEEE!!!"
"STOP THIS!!! I'M SORRY!!!"
Screams and cries for mercy were audible throughout the town as those marked were being devoured by ominous flames from the bottom up.
The spell David created is called Flames of Punishment and it amplifies the pain the target feels while burning them alive from the tips of their toes to the top of their head. It also makes sure to keep them conscious throughout the entire punishment until they finally turn to ashes.
It's essentially a more advanced version of the flames he used on the demons before.
[What is it with you and turning people to ashes?]
'Thanos did it and it looked cool. Plus, isn't it terrifying to think about?'
[...I guess it does look kinda cool.]
'Heheh~.'
David continued to stand next to Mils Ace as he watched the people slowly burn until they were nothing more than ashes blowing in the wind.
The latter part of the spell created a slight breeze to carry the ashes off, so they were literally nothing more than ashes blowing in the wind.
David clapped his hands to bring the attention back to him.
"Now then! All of the scum in this town have been removed, at least the ones involved with Mils Ace. If you don't see a family member or a friend, you know what happened to them. I advise you to live properly and not do something as foolish as tricking women and making them your property. The outcome would be rather unfortunate, no?"
David turned to look at Mils with a sadistic grin before grabbing him by the hair.
He looked down at Mils and only saw desperation and fear.
"You like owning people, right? Well, you now have the honor of being the first person that I own. Isn't it great? Hahaha~!"
David snapped his fingers again and a large glass orb with a flat bottom appeared in his hands.
Inside the glass orb was a vast expanse of sand and sand dunes.
The top of the glass orb had what looked like a sun and it was beating down on the artificial desert.
"Your punishment is one that will last for eternity, Mr. Ace. I hope you enjoy~!"
David released Mils' hair and snapped his fingers for the last time, transporting Mils to the desert inside the glass orb.
The glass orb was what David called 'The Land of Repentance'. It had multiple spatial runes embedded in it that made it an endless and looping desert with an artificial sun in the sky so hot that it would almost cause a human's skin to bubble just from the exposure.
There were multiple healing runes set up as well that would keep the residents alive for eternity. No dying of old age, no suicide, and no killing other residents. In fact, the residents aren't even able to touch each other.
⟪ The Land of Repentance is truly a work of art. I'm proud of myself for creating such a wonderful device, heheh~. Now, Mils Ace will spend eternity under the scorching sun and above the scorching sand. He'll suffer from extreme dehydration and starvation, but he won't be allowed to die. I think it's a rather fitting punishment. Hmm, I should make other lands of repentance with different elements. That would be interesting... ⟫
Tomoe looked at David with a smirk while Mio was trying to hold herself back from dragging David to bed.
Makoto looked at David in both awe and slight fear.
When David saw how Makoto was looking at him, he just smiled wryly.
"I can tell you everything he has done to make you understand, but I'm not sure you'd want to know. Rather, I'll just show you one of the things he's done. Come on."
David looked over at everyone in the guild briefly before offering a final warning.
"Those that have died deserved every bit of it. If anyone dares to send someone after me, I'll wipe this town off the face of the planet."
[Wouldn't you be as bad as Mils Ace then?]
'I wouldn't actually do it. Come on, what kind of person do you think I am?'
[Someone prone to succumbing to his anger and in possession of incredibly destructive powers.]
'...I wouldn't hurt innocent people, Chaos-chan.'
After the warning was issued, David pulled his Reiatsu back and allowed everyone to move freely, but nobody dared to say anything. Nobody moved a muscle even a few minutes after David had left.
Some of them had long known that Mils was a criminal, but they couldn't do anything about it. However, they weren't worried about Mils anymore. Instead, they were now terrified of the man who was capable of doing what he just did without breaking a sweat and keeping a smile on his face the entire time.
...
After David had left, he and his group arrived at a building that was now littered with ashes.
He led them to a certain room and opened the door, allowing Makoto to see inside.
When Makoto saw the girl lying on the ground with lifeless eyes, he was shocked at first, but then when he paid attention to her face, his mana exploded.
He was clearly pissed.
David patted him on the shoulder and put a stronger concealment rune on him, putting a lid on his mana completely.
"That's not Hasegawa," David said.
Makoto turned his head and looked at David with wide eyes.
"How... How do you know about Hasegawa?"
Nukumi Hasegawa was the girl from the archery club that confessed to Makoto. She's a very sweet girl and Makoto has felt guilty for making her cry by rejecting her confession ever since it happened.
"I can read some of the future, but I can also read some of the past. Don't worry about that since it's not important though. This girl, Toa, has only been used as an experimental test subject. However, imagine the others that this group has taken advantage of. Toa got off easy compared to some of them."
David brought out the Land of Repentance and handed it to Makoto.
"Now, do you think what I did was too cruel? Too inhumane?"
Makoto took the glass orb and looked down at Mils Ace who was curled up in a ball.
He didn't respond to David's question and instead just stared holes into the orb.
David walked past Makoto and crouched down in front of the red-headed girl on the floor, Toa.
He waved his hand and cast a simple healing spell that brought her to her peak condition.
Her eyes regained clarity and she looked around, startled.
When she saw David's face, she was stunned for a moment due to how handsome he was.
When David saw that she was alright, he didn't wait for her to say anything and walked up to Makoto before taking the orb from his hand and patting his shoulder.
"You should check on her, make sure she's alright."
Makoto nodded and walked into the room.
David turned to look at Tomoe and Mio.
"Come on, let's free the others. I'm sure they must have heard the screams of the people here and are worried."
The two nodded and they all started breaking down the doors of various rooms that were holding people captive.
Each time they freed people, they would reassure them that they're free now and that Mils and the others have been punished.
After half an hour of freeing people and reassuring them, there was a larger group of people now standing outside of the building that held people captive, though most of them had already scattered.
David snapped his fingers and teleported a little orange-haired girl next to him.
The little girl looked around and was terrified, until she saw Toa standing next to Makoto.
"Onee-chan!" The little girl said.
She ran up to Toa with tears streaming down her dirty face.
"Rinon!"
Toa kneeled down and hugged the little girl, Rinon, who ran into her arms.
"Onee-chan! It was so scary! The people, they started burning and screaming! I didn't know what was going on and then they all turned into ashes!"
Toa patted Rinon's head to calm her down.
"It's okay now, Onee-chan is here. Calm down, okay? You're starting to talk like a baby."
Rinon just hugged Toa tighter and didn't respond to her joke.
David cleared his throat and started to address everyone.
"Ahem! Now that you guys are free, you can do whatever you'd like. We're heading to Tsige to take care of some things so you can either follow us or do your own thing. It's up to you."
Toa turned and looked at David with tears in her eyes, obviously happy to be free and see that her little sister is safe.
"Thank you, David-sama, for your help. Makoto-san told me about your land that allows people to live there. If it's not too much trouble, would you allow my sister and I to live there?"
Rinon was stunned when she heard that her sister wanted to immediately take her to live somewhere else, but David was even more stunned.
'Eh? Didn't she want to be an adventurer and stuff? While it would be better for her to live in the Cradle, I'm trying to ship her and Makoto! If you live in the Cradle, I don't know if that'll happen!'
Although he was surprised by the request, David didn't reject her.
"That's fine with me. The more people we have around, the better it will be. There are some rules for living there, but they're very simple. You just have to get along well with everyone and settle any disputes in the arena. In the future, you'll have to pay taxes, but work should be easy to find since we're still working on construction."
It must be said, David has very good self-control. He talked to Toa while looking into her eyes the entire time and didn't let his gaze wander to her D-cup breasts at all.
Toa gave David a beautiful smile and happily hugged Rinon.
"Thank you so much, David-sama!"
"Don't mention it. Do you two want to go there immediately or do you want to accompany us on the way to Tsige?"
"If it's not too much trouble, could we go there first? We're both rather dirty and I feel ashamed to show myself to you in this state."
'No seriously, this seems to be going in the wrong direction. You're actually ashamed to show Makoto this side of you, right? Because Makoto talked to you and charmed you, right??'
"Ahem! It's no trouble at all," David said.
He waved his hand and created a Mist Gate.
"Walk in and look for a Highland Orc named Emma or a little girl named Komoe. Explain your situation to them and they'll get you settled."
Toa stood up and bowed to David, "Thank you so much! I promise to repay your kindness in the future!"
'Nope, just help Makoto find love and I'll be happy.'
David nodded and turned his attention to the other people that were freed.
There was a tall blonde elf woman with a pony tail, a short silver-haired dwarf woman with short twin tails, and a human man with shoulder-length orange-ish hair.
"How about you three? What do you all plan to do?"
The three looked at each other and nodded before the elf looked at David and bowed.
"We would also like to live in your land, please!"
'...I'm about to lose my mind. Aren't they supposed to be a famous party in Tsige that eventually has a run-in with the hero Hibiki or something?'
David was surprised again, but he quickly waved it off.
"Alright, that's fine. You heard me talk about the rules before, right?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, go ahead and go through the Mist Gate and find Emma or Komoe to get you guys settled. I'll come find all of you in a while."
Toa, Rinon, the elf, the dwarf, and the human man all thanked David and entered the Mist Gate.
Once they were in, David closed it and let out a sigh.
"Haaa... That was unexpected. Makoto, how did your talk with Toa go?"
Makoto looked down a bit.
"Um... It went well, she asked a lot about you so I told her everything I knew."
'No! Makoto, no! You were supposed to charm her and make her fall in love with you! Have more confidence, man!'
"I see... Well, do you want to come to Tsige with us or do you want to stay in the Cradle?"
"I'll stay in the Cradle, I still have some things I want to practice."
David smiled and nodded, "Sounds good. I'll set up a suitable training area for you so that you can go wild with your spells without worrying about the damage, okay?"
Makoto pumped his fist, "Great! I'm looking forward to it!"
David then opened up another Mist Gate and once Makoto went through, he closed it and shook his head.
"Maybe I should've worn a mask or something... Meh, whatever. I'll just let things take their course."
Tomoe grabbed David's left arm and attached herself to his side.
"What are you mumbling about, young master?"
"Well... I was hoping to hook Makoto and Toa up together, but it seems Toa is more focused on me than Makoto. It's fine though, it's not good to force relationships so if there's no attraction between them, there's nothing I can do about it."
Mio took David's right arm and didn't say anything, just stared at David's face with a smile.
"Is there something on my face, Mio?"
Mio nodded and moved her face closer before licking David's right cheek.
"It was just some food, but it's gone now," she said with a seductive smile.
'No, I haven't eaten today yet...'
"Thanks, Mio," David said with a smile.
Tomoe realized what Mio did and copied her, moving her face closer to David's and licking his left cheek.
"You also had food on this side of your face, but I got it for you, young master!"
'...'
⟪ If you girls want to lick me, just say so. I wouldn't reject the advances of two beautiful women so why make excuses? They should know I'm not an innocent little boy, right? Tomoe saw my memories so she should know that more than Mio. ⟫
[Mio > Tomoe] 'You saw the young master's memories?!'
[Tomoe > Mio] 'Fufun~, I most certainly did!'
[Mio > Tomoe] 'That's so unfair! I'm jeal--offended on his behalf!'
David noticed the sparks flying between Tomoe and Mio and decided to just start walking.
He quickly left the town of Zetsuya and didn't look back, satisfied with what he'd accomplished.
[David, did you forget about the growth quest you completed for the Sovereign's Cradle?]
'Ah shit, I did... Go ahead and show it to me.'
[Ding~!]
[Growth Quest Completed – "Welcome to the Neighborhood!"]
[Description: Your Cradle's starting to look less like a lonely patch of dirt and more like a real home. With over a hundred souls walking its streets, a mix of races under your banner, and buildings popping up left and right, you've laid the foundation for your Empire! Now, it's time to connect to other worlds.]
[Condition 1: Reach over 100 total residents]
[Condition 2: Accept residents from at least two different races]
[Condition 3: House at least 10 buildings]
[Reward Unlocked: Dimensional Gate Tower]
[Effect: Allows you to create stable links to other realms or personal dimensions you've bonded with. Randomized dungeons with unique terrain, rare resources, and dangerous monsters will now appear in the Cradle. Randomized challenge zones for growth and resources will appear in the Dimensional Gate Tower. These challenge zones will reset over time and scale slightly based on your Cradle's current growth stage.]
David took a moment to read and reflect over everything.
'Hmm... It sounds pretty cool. The links to other realms are managed by the Tower and won't take anything from my energy, right?'
[Correct.]
'Sweet! That'll make linking dimensions much easier, heheh~. And what's the deal with the dungeons? I thought the Cradle would be a safe paradise?'
[The dungeons won't appear anywhere near your main community and the monsters inside won't be able to leave. They're the same types of dungeons that will appear in your home world once it completely changes so while these will offer you multiple resources for your Empire, they will also act as good practice for the future.]
'I see... What's the difference between the dungeons that appear in the Cradle's outskirts and the randomized challenge zones that appear in the tower?'
[The randomized challenge zones are more like pocket dimensions with varying degrees of difficulty that offer system-specific rewards. The higher the difficulty chosen, the better the rewards.]
'Wait, system-specific rewards? Are these rewards the things that I get from the system?'
[Yeah, things like items and powers you can get from the System Shop are what you can earn from the challenge zones. The challenge zones will appear once a month and you can only earn rewards from each zone once. Once they reset, you can challenge it again and earn more rewards, but it's still only once a month.]
'Hmmm... What if I--'
[No, even if you speed up the time in the Cradle, the one month timer reflects your home world's time. You can't cheat the system.]
'Dammit... Who all can challenge the tower?'
[Everyone. Also, if they die in the tower, they don't die in real life. They'll be able to feel everything as if it were real, but they won't lose their life. Low-risk, high-return. It's almost like giving it away for free, but not quite.]
'Wow, that's still pretty awesome. Where's the tower at? I can't feel it in the Cradle.'
[You have to accept the reward and then choose a place to put it.]
'I see... Looks like I'll be heading back to the Cradle early today then.'
David stopped walking and created a Mist Gate in front of him and the two women.
"There's been an upgrade to the Cradle that will let people get stronger. I'm going back early to take care of it and get it set up in a good location. You two wanna come with?"
Tomoe and Mio nodded their heads immediately, "Of course!"
David chuckled and entered the Cradle once again, forgetting all about the mass killing--I mean, punishment--he just committed.