Chapter 9

Jack The Ripper. That was the name he was famous for; a merciless murderer who would strike human, elves, dwarfs, beastmen and pallums with cruel glee.

He was evil.

He would skin women alive, crush the hopes and dreams of men and train children to be just like him.

He enjoyed that.

He was originally a salesman from the Guild who was an overworked employee, always working for the good of the idiotic adventurers who seemingly could not take a hint. At first, he tried to do his job as immaculately and efficiently as possible.

Adventurers, he hated them.

They were quite possibly the most idiotic of species to ever exist. Behaving irrationally, superstitiously, with delusional dreams of grandeur. They typically died with the dreams they cultivated having abandoned them which was absolutely delicious.

Just seeing those self-righteous, arrogant and detestable cretins find their place — beneath his feet — was truly the most delightful thing he had felt.

Adventurers, he loved them.

Seeing their faces twisted in despair as they can't help but contemplate how their life reached such a point is such a pleasurable moment and it always will be.

Hence, he took the forbidden fruit — he led adventurers to their deaths, purposely giving them false information.

He was found out eventually, but he was saved by someone like-minded. Erlik, the man who had off-handedly given Jack his surname as "Eric". They both loved seeing inferior cretins fall into despair, they both loved seeing the crushing weight of their dreams tumble down on-top of them and what's more… they both hated each other.

It was simple really, those of their own kin — of their own similar brand of bloodthirst — instinctively hate the other.

Why? Because they hate themselves. They hate that they were created in such a way, they hate how they know that they will not change, they hate how they know that they're satisfied staying where they are.

He hated that red-headed boy, but he also was intrigued. The boy was like him and yet the small child with eyes beyond his years chose a path different from his own whilst fully knowing there was little chance for him to obtain that which they seek.

Genuine compassion.

They were envious of it — but unlike many others they didn't stew on it but rather brought themselves closer to their own brand of compassion.

Erlik's compassion was taking in like-minded individuals and giving them the power to enact their cruelties on the petty inferior species.

Jack's compassion was simply slaughtering people and releasing them from the hardships of life with the sweet release of death and raising others like him.

That boy's compassion was replicating and imitating other people's compassion whilst living for the people capable of said compassion.

Truly intriguing how differently they turned out.

…Now if only his own daughter would stop giving him such a stink-eye just because he was teaching that boy his true nature.

Jackie was truly a wonderful marvel, hell he would be tempted to say that he feels even the slightest of genuine compassion for her.

Her mother was a whore — a devious whore to be precise — she would purposely birth children instead of utilising protective measures so she could sell them off once she fattened them enough; she had consecutively done this for many years and had become quite the wealthy individual but she kept on doing it for pleasure and lack of other means to make wealth.

That is where he met the nameless girl.

She was one among many batches of products that were sold off to Erlik that particularly drew his eye. Or rather, her body littered with scars, bruises and burns were enticing but her golden-eyes were the most encapsulating (and no, he did not fancy a child — he had slaves for that).

Her eyes were that of a normal girl put through agony, despair and suffering to the point she broke into someone with a similar temperament as Jack himself.

That was so amazing it had saved them the trouble of breaking her in like her fellow siblings as she was already broken.

However, what Jack found particularly amazing and surprising was that she was capable of something important. She was capable of compassion, it may not have been directed at anything humanoid but it was compassion nonetheless.

Then he had an idea: to create a being just like him, but capable of the concept of compassion. It was absolutely genius.

She would become Jack The Slaughterer The Second — a being far worse than the First whom had difficulties with predicting the intricacies of emotional human behaviour; she had great talent too — it was almost as if she was destined for this path.

Hence he gave her a name.

Jackie Eric, daughter of Jack Eric.

The next Jack The Ripper.

†

Aisha Landar was nervous as she walked the streets of Rakia. She had died already, she wasn't ready to die another time.

Traumatised? Of course she was! She may have lived in a world in which all people who could utilise magic were someway mentally unstable, but that didn't mean she had such fortitude that she could shrug off death or potential death with a casual shrug.

What's worse is that she knew who. Jack The Ripper — he looked just like her memories remembered during her travels in which she encountered the genuine Jack and not the fake Jackie who was just a collage of wraiths bounded together.

Not to mention that her teacher that Brigid managed to somehow convince to teach Aisha in her Ergokinesis magic was missing to help some random boy defeat a Level 3. You would think someone from the modern world would be excellent in Ergokinesis but rather all she can do is the basics whilst she's seen and heard many with the same magic do miracles bordering True Magic which she herself could not even hope to comprehend.

Burkhart Ringstat, whilst a relatively old Level 3, is renowned due to his ability to do magic that allows him to strike above his Level range and that's not to mention that each Level grants a drastic power increase from the last. Runecraft, Trapcraft, Illusioncraft and so many more types of magic he was capable of with just Ergokinesis — not to mention his proficiency. Hell, it's a well-known fact that Burkhart was a teacher to the Level 7 "Mage King" Ryner Lute.

Such an accomplished individual was supposed to be teaching her! Not some random ruffian.

…Maybe her physical body was influencing her thoughts drastically.

"Nya!" Ah, Aisha bumped into someone again.

She looked down and saw it was the same catboy from yesterday.

He pouted "Are you doing this on purpose?"

GRUMBLE

Ah, that was kinda cute.

Aisha raised an eyebrow "I'm the one who should be asking that — you bump into me and let your stomach rumble — is this a plan for me to feed you?"

The catboy shook his head. "No."

Aisha sighed. "Since I'm going to buy you another meal today, how about we introduce ourselves?"

The catboy nodded. "...Chlo." He was so silent!

Aisha smiled gently. "Okay Kuro-san, let's go." She held the boy's hand and led him to a nearby restaurant. Mwuahahahaha! She had her purse too! You thought she was broke, but it was actually her — Purse-chan!