Temple of Ruthras

Jack, who was holding the same tube communicator in his hand, nodded after receiving reports from both parties that he had sent out. It seems like both Ikami and Pyotr's group were more or less successful in their endeavors, with a few side quests along the way. Since both had finished doing what they had been asked, the actual agreement with the giants shouldn't be an issue…

 That just leaves Jack and the Fire Giants. Jack was currently seated in a bed that was obviously too big for his size. He was inside the village of the flaming red giants, who took pride in their blacksmithing capabilities. As for how he ended up in this situation from where we last left off, it wasn't all that surprising. When Jack issued the challenge, the old chief, who lived by tradition, could only accept… 

However, he had the authority to choose what they would compete in, and without a doubt the giants blessed by the god of blacksmithing chose blacksmithing as the competition. One person from the Red Giant Village would participate, and the other would be from the Green Giant Village representative, in this case, Jack.

Both of them will be given the same materials, and whoever creates the better thing wins… It sounded simple enough until you realized the judge was going to be one of the administrators of the planet. He has no idea how these giants even got into contact with one, but that was not important….The fact that an administrator was judging means he didn't have to worry about anyone breaking rules or it being unfair for him. 

At that point, what Jack had to focus on was making the best thing he could. But it also means that he could only rely on pure skills and luck at this point. He was not worried about…as long as it's a way of gambling, he will win; however, his skills…"Well, whatever happens, happens. I can't do much right now either way." 

He said as he fell back down on the giant bed and thought about what he should even create… Right, he needed headgear, but a helmet wouldn't look good. He was a king now. Maybe a crown would be better. 

While Jack was busy relaxing and thinking about things that probably didn't matter all that much, the giant chief and his son were also busy, mostly the chief, who was trying to pick out the best materials for tomorrow's tournament since they will be forging in the name of Ruthras. However, his son kept following him despite showing no real interest in blacksmithing until now.

"Father…no chief… Are you sure about letting that green skin stay in our village, let alone the tiny person to perform blacksmithing in front of our lord?" The boy spoke in a tone that reeked of both urgency and confusion at his father's decision.

"It's not about being sure, Kyaro. I've taught you a lot growing up, and upholding our traditions and values is among them. Besides, this is a ritual decided by God; we will not interfere in it," the chief replied in a stern tone while taking out two pure adamantite bricks and placing them on the table. He then walked over to the tribe's armory, coming back with two wooden boxes. 

"I still don't think this is right…. He's a green skin; you can never trust their kind," the boy retorted before angrily walking out of the room. The old chief could only sigh, hoping his son would come to terms with the situation and perhaps learn a thing or two from this…

It didn't take too long for the sun to set, and before one knew it, the next day had already begun. The sunlight slowly leaked in through the windows of the temple of Ruthras, where the competition was to take place. Izen seemed to be in awe of the building they were currently in, which was in the shape of a giant hammer. 

The temple was built in such a way that the middle of the hammer would be directly above the volcano… Within the middle was a singular platform being held up from every side via adamantine chains, and behind the platform stood a giant statue of Ruthras. While Jack was a blacksmith and had directly trained under one of the so-called students of Ruthras, he had no loyalty or faith towards this guy.

 He respected his teacher, but that's as far as his loyalty to the faith of Ruthras went…. However, Carus seemed to be in deep awe of the giant statue, which was understandable for a giant at the end of the day.Izen and Carus were to sit in a special stand designed particularly for spectators like them, while Jack and the person representing the Red Giant tribe would be in the middle of the giant platform held up by chains above the lava…. This…was a bad idea no matter how he looked at it.

 But it's not like he had a choice since an administrator was about to overlook everything; he just hoped for the best. After making sure he had everything, Jack flashed Carus a confident smile before speaking. "Alright, let's get this done and head back… I want to sleep in a proper bed."

 Carus nodded, but just before Jack was about to jump towards the floating platform, someone grabbed his hand. Looking down, he found little Izen holding onto it as she looked up at him and spoke, "I believe in you; you can do it."

 Jack really always considered himself a coldhearted person, but perhaps right now he felt like one or two murders for a child this innocent was a reasonable thing. He then nodded and smiled before speaking. "Don't worry, I'll have this over very soon, then we can go get ice cream."

 "We can get ice cream?" The little girl asked with a curious gaze, which made Jack realize the situation their world was in… Ice cream might not be easy to get… But then again, there was that machine ruler in the top 3… Jack could probably reach out to him. 

"uh…Yeah, I promise as soon as all this is done, we'll go get ice cream," he said, ruffling the hair on the top of her head before he descended down the chains to the platform…

Soon the voices in the entire temple quieted down as a man with green skin and a black cape descended from the sky. He knew the guy all too well, as he had been the one to administrate the king battles, for which Jack was grateful, but before Jack could say anything, Z was the one who spoke.

 "Your men are way too much trouble," leaving Jack simply baffled about what he meant.