Ch. 141..150

Chapter 141

"Dong, Dong!"

A loud bell sound throughout Ponlinne early in the morning. Most people already knew what it meant and hurried back toward the catacomb’s entrance.

Outside the catacomb’s entrance which had just opened and become an exit, all the noble families were patiently waiting. None of them had left and were anxious to see what their people had found in the tomb.

To their surprise, a lot of people quickly exited the moment the bell sounded. It was as if they had been waiting for the opening for some time. The most shocking thing was that only a select few of those who had entered still hadn’t arrived. Also, the spectators were wondering why they all had such long faces.

Passing the crowd and meeting in the center, each of those people that had entered was furious.

The family heads were all astounded. Each of their people was there except for their own children. As they took a headcount, they realized that only five people were missing; each of the young family heirs and the middle-aged man who had asked all the questions.

"Explain yourselves!" The Treall Family head shouted. He was disappointed to see Gret missing when he had given specific orders to watch over him, especially because of the mysterious middle-aged man that already had a grudge with his family.

"Sir..." They didn’t know what they could say in order to avoid their master’s wrath. They knew they may lose their lives if anything had happened to their master’s son.

Seeing them unwilling to answer only enraged the Treall Family head further.

"What happened to Tarnel?" asked the Lyre Family head. He was much calmer and believed that his son would be alright.

"And Flint? Did he cause trouble again?" Flint’s father sighed and rubbed his forehead like he was used to strange things happening to Flint.

When the Pon Family noticed that Keela was also missing, they didn’t say anything. The guards they had assigned appeared disappointed, but they weren’t sad or furious. Seeing the guards’ calmness, the Pon Family head decided to wait and see what would happen once the last few people exit.

Almost thirty minutes passed without any activity from the catacomb.

The Treall Family head couldn’t take it any longer. "What happened inside? Spit it out!"

Both of the assigned guards shivered, struggling to say anything. To the Treall Family’s surprise, it was Tarnel’s brother who spoke first.

"Your excellencies, someone has taken my brother and the other heirs as hostages!"

That announcement stunned the crowd and angered the family heads immediately.

Tarnel’s brother continued, "The middle-aged man, Jack, shattered both of my brother’s arms and one of his legs to keep him as a hostage. Then, he forced us to hand over our personal storages. Whenever we tried to speak up, he only caused Tarnel more harm and told us to wait by the entrance for the remainder of the time. If not, he said it would only cause the hostages more harm."

"The same happened with Gret, except all of his limbs were shattered," one of Treall’s young talents added, not bothering to mention how they were the first to anger Jack.

Then, everyone was surprised to hear the Maronn Family members start laughing. The same guard who supported Flint’s decision in the catacomb spoke up. "Don’t worry about Flint too much. He offered himself to Jack without Jack even asking a thing. We still have all our rings if you don’t believe us."

When the Maronn Family head saw the rings still with his people, he chuckled and found the situation very amusing. If someone was so daring to try such a thing as take the family heirs hostage, leave it to his son to try and befriend such a person.

"Flint will be fine," joked the Maronn Family head. Glancing at the other family heads with mocking eyes, he continued, "If not, it’s his own fault for being stupid and angering someone stronger than himself."

"Shut up!" yelled the Treall Family head. He was furious! Based on what the others had said, his son was treated the harshest of them all.

"And what of Keela?" The Pon Family finally asked the others.

"She too was kidnapped, but we were promised that she would be returned without a single scratch," answered one Pon Family guard.

"Very good." Recognizing that his daughter was only a victim of circumstance yet handled better than the others, he was content. Also, he and the other family heads knew that they wouldn’t let the culprit off, so he decided not to get angry too quickly.

Another half-hour passed as the crowd chatted about the news. Everyone wanted to know what had happened and why someone was willing to anger so many noble families publically. Would that person be able to avoid punishment?

Not much later, some faint footsteps were heard from inside the cavern. As the footsteps grew louder, the crowd grew quieter.

Five silhouettes eventually came into view, but everyone was shocked by what they were seeing.

Treall was wrapped up like before and had his crutches. Though he was fully healed, they wanted to keep the illusion that he wasn’t until Jack had disappeared with Keela.

Flint was his usual self, strolling in the back of the group without a worry in the world.

Gret was by more the most miserable. His four broken limbs were dragging behind him as Jack had him tied to a rope at his side.

In front of Jack was Keela. Though she was smiling like always, there was a blade being held close to her neck.

Of course, the center of attention was Jack. He was the one who had caused all this. Gret was being dragged behind him, Tarnel was struggling to walk with crutches because of him, and Keela was being threatened by his sword.

All the family heads had completely different reactions to the scene.

The Maronn Family all laughed as Flint hurried to his father’s side as if nothing strange was going on.

The Lyre family looked at Jack coldly. They could see all the harm Jack had caused Tarnel but were also surprised that Tarnel was bandaged and already healing. It wasn’t like your typical hostage situation.

The Treall Family was livid. Every moment the watched Gret be dragged across the ground in his crippled and gagged state, they wanted to tear Jack apart even more.

The Pon Family was unusually calm. Keela’s father and the other family elders seemed unaffected by the whole scene. They were wondering what came next and how the middle-aged man planned to escape their wrath.

In the chaos of the situation, most people forgot that those who enter were supposed to present their findings to the Pon Family. It seemed that this definitely took precedence.

Tarnel hobbled off to his family. When his father was about to say something, Tarnel shook his head and whispered something into his father’s ear.

For a moment, the Lyre Family head’s eyes sparkled but he quickly regained his composure and said nothing else, only calling for the other members of his family to return to his side.

Flint’s father did the same after Flint told him a few things. The man’s grin grew even bigger and couldn’t contain his laughter. It appeared that he was making fun of the other nobles who had suffered, but only he and Flint knew the real reason.

Angered beyond belief, the Treall Family head yelled, "Release my son immediately! I’ll have your head for all the disgrace you’ve brought my family!"

"You suck at handling negotiations, don’t you?" Just then, Jack let go of the rope and let Gret fall on his face. "There, I let him go. Good luck getting him to walk back without me!"

"Why you--"

"Hold it." Those two words and a drop of blood on Keela’s neck got everyone to freeze. "If a single person steps forward without my okay, I’ll make sure one of these will face the consequences."

Placing his foot on top of Gret’s head, Jack looked at the family heads. "I’m guessing none of you want me leaving without an explanation, right? And you’re all probably wondering if I found anything. Sadly, I don’t think we can come to an agreement."

"Pestro! If you lay a finger on my son you’ll--"

"Grrrrhhhhh!"

Pained groans started to leave Gret’s mouth as Jack put more pressure on his head. "Again, you really suck at negotiations. What’s the point in threatening me while I still hold all the leverage? You’ve got it backward."

Jack looked to the Pon Family and bowed his head slightly. "Thanks for the oppotunity to explore your cavern. After my exit, you’ll be able to check out the cavern yourself to see what we found. I’m sure you’ll be more than happy."

Unsure what Jack meant, the Pon Family head squinted at Jack and asked, "And my daughter? What about her?"

Suddenly, Jack started laughing loudly and arrogantly. All other sounds in the crowd were drowned out by his laughter. A few more seconds passed and Jack quieted down. "You don’t need to worry about her."

Out of nowhere, each of the family heads felt a sense of unease. But no matter how fast they could react, they were unable to do anything as a giant bird swooped down and snatched Jack and Keela out the crowd. Fast as lightning, the bird’s silhouette vanished into the distance.

"Contact Commander Pire!" yelled the Pon Family head. Outside of all his calculations of possibility, he and the other family heads would’ve never anticipated a giant roc to appear and aid Jack’s escape. Who could have?!

Chapter 142

High in the sky just beyond the borders of Ponlinne, two people were being carried in the talons of a roc. Suddenly, they both disappeared and reappeared on top of the roc behind another man.

"Jeez, kid, your luck with women is crazy!" shouted Rydel.

Keela blushed, uncertain how she should interpret the meaning of Rydel’s statement.

"Shut up! Let’s hurry and get out of here!" yelled Jack. "Don’t waste time, just go!"

Not wanting to mince words verbally, Rydel replied telepathically. ’Seriously, kid, weren’t you coming here to revive your girlfriend? And now you’re bringing another girl home? If you manage to pull this off, I can’t wait to see the look on her face.’

’Shut up and fly!’

Seeing that Jack wasn’t in the mood for jokes about his love life, Rydel set his gaze on the horizon and let Ayden toward the border.

Uneasy about being so high in the air and riding on such a powerful beast, Keela clung tightly to Jack.

Before they exited the tomb, Jack had mentioned that he only needed to stall for some time and that he wanted Flint and Tarnel to hurry to their families so they wouldn’t get involved. Jack never mentioned how exactly they would get away after stalling long enough.

Never in her dreams would Keela imagine that she’d have a chance to fly through the air on such a magnificent beast. After a while, she got a little more comfortable and started to enjoy the flight. She did, however, keep clinging to Jack but he acted like he didn’t notice.

Many hours passed and they would soon be approaching the Zuran-Reinolt border.

Excitement swelled up in Keela’s and Jack’s eyes, both for their own reasons. Soon, they would be out of harm’s way.

"CAW!"

The roc gave a shrill cry and caught everyone’s attention. As they looked ahead, the three passengers saw a few black dots appear above the clouds. Soon those black dots started to multiply and grow larger.

"The Zuran sky navy..." murmured Rydel, catching Jack’s and Keela’s attention. "Get ready for a bumpy ride, because things are about to get complicated."

"Can’t Ayden outrun them?" asked Jack.

"Normally, yes. But with three people on her back, Ayden and those hawks should be equal in speed," explained Rydel. "There are a few options. One, we stay the course and take our chances in the air, but I can’t guarantee anything since we’re high up and there’s no telling what would happen if she or you fell."

"Second, we descend and go the rest of the way on foot. That way, we’ll meet back up with Ayden after entering the Reinolt Kingdom. What do you think, Jack?"

Unhappy to be delayed, Jack was forced to make a hard decision. "Get us down. We’ll have to go on foot. Have Ayden try to distract the sky navy, maybe it’ll give us time to escape them.

Not wasting a second, the roc descended at the speed of sound and rushed to the ground. It slowed momentarily and let it’s riders hop off before bolting back into the clouds, heading in a new direction to avoid the sky navy.

On the ground, Jack, Keela, and Rydel hid as the Zuran sky navy flew past. They had acted fast enough for them not to notice the change of riders.

"Alright, kid, you’re the one with the map, so you’re taking the lead."

When Rydel passed command to Jack, Keela was astonished Rydel was clearly a talented and experienced person. If Jack was this person’s leader, what status did he have?

With a sigh, Jack raised his hand and placed it on his face.

Keela watched carefully as her heart started beating and her thoughts were racing. ’Is he going to show his real face? What does he look like? I hope he’s handsome.’

As the mask came off, Jack’s entire aura and stature changed. His posture was now confident and heroic. Jack’s face was young and handsome, bringing a smile to Keela’s face.

"What’s wrong?" Jack asked as he saw Keela fixated on him.

"Idiot, it’s the first time she gets to see her hero’s real face. Let her take in the moment, will you?" laughed Rydel.

Intense blush flooded Keela’s cheeks as she looked away to avoid eye contact with Jack.

"Whatever, let’s go," Jack pulled out the map of the Zuran Empire and started heading for the border town. "Bowzer, you can come out too."

When a cute, furry head popped out of Jack’s cloak, Keela was startled. She wasn’t sure what to think. Why would Jack have such an adorable beast companion?

Sensing Keela’s gaze, Bowzer blinked and got a good look at her while he perched himself on Jack’s shoulders. Seeing that she wasn’t afraid of him, Bowzer leaped into her bosom, startling her.

"His name’s Bowzer. Don’t worry, he super friendly, especially with cute girls," stated Jack.

"Does that mean you think I’m cute after all?" Keela asked timidly.

Before Jack could respond, Bowzer started cuddling up to Keela and licked her cheek, as if to confirm her question.

"What kind of fox is he? Not many people are willing to take foxes as beast companions, don’t they cause too much trouble?"

Chuckling to himself, Rydel itched his stubble and said, "This little guy’s different. If we told you what he was, you’d be too afraid to pet him."

"Come on, don’t’ be ridiculous! He’s too cute not to pet!" argued Keela, still pushing for an answer.

"He’s a Hell-flame Fox," answered Jack.

"A what?!"

"We told you," joked Rydel. "Don’t worry though, he’s way too friendly. He only attacks when he or Jack get threatened."

Keela’s voice trembled. "You mean... this fox pup is really a Hell-flame Fox?"

"Mhm."

Thinking of recent news, there was a story related to a Hell-flame Fox that had started to circulate in the Zuran Empire. No one believed it, but it still existed nonetheless.

It was said that a new summoned hero had emerged in the Reinolt Kingdom. Though he was still low-leveled for a summoned hero, people said he had tamed a Hell-flame Fox and flipped the capital upside down with the help of the Adventurers Association.

"If... this pup really is a Hell-flame Fox, doesn’t that mean..."

"That your new friend is Jack, the summoned hero from the Adventurers Association?" Rydel finished Keela’s question for her, smiling while he did it.

"Really?"

Jack sighed and looked back at Keela. "Yes, that’s me. I told you before, that you’ll have to follow me until you can take care of yourself. Until then, you’ll have to hide your identity. Here, wear this."

As Jack handed her a dark brown cloak, she smiled resplendently and accepted it. It was on her in seconds and now they were all like common travelers as they reached the main road. Though it was slower than traveling by air, they had no choice but to put up with the change of plans.

By nightfall, they reached the Zuran Empire’s border town. With less than an hour of walking, they’d reach the border checkpoint.

Last time they avoided it with Ayden’s help, but now that the Zuran sky navy was involved, that option no longer existed.

"Hey, kid, what should we do now?"

Taking a moment, Jack pondered his options. They could either try to hurry through the border at night, or they could wait till morning and hope security would be more relaxed.

"What do you think, Rydel?" Jack trusted Rydel’s opinion greatly.

The hunter clicked with his tongue and started thinking out loud. "I know you don’t want to waste time, but our safest bet is waiting till morning. Early tomorrow we can find a merchant caravan to hire our services, which should make the border check go much smoother. However, you know that will greatly affect our time."

"On the other hand, we could try to pass the border check tonight, but I can guarantee that it will be more difficult since their expecting us to try and escape as fast as possible. Since you’re the one who wanted to make the trip in the first place, I’ll let you decide for us all."

Scratching his head, Jack was weighing the options out in his mind. He could either choose a safer passage in the morning, or a more complicated passage in the middle of the night.

Neither option was great, but he still had to choose.

Keela then grabbed Jack’s sleeve, surprising him. She said, "Go in the morning. We’ll get caught if we go now."

"And why’s that?"

"How are we going to hide me?" asked Keela, bringing up a good point. "If we join a caravan, then I can pass as a sick woman. That way, you have reason to join a caravan to have safety in numbers."

"She’s got a point kid," added Rydel. "It’s too late to find a caravan now, and our best option is to wait till morning. Is that okay with you?"

"Fine," answered Jack. He looked unhappy, but he would have been unhappy with either option. Though it would take more time, wouldn’t it save more time in the end by avoiding conflict?

Chapter 143

Morning came slowly for Jack and his small party. They stayed at a simple inn to avoid any unwanted attention. As the sun rose, they were already on the streets searching for a caravan to join.

It wasn’t hard to find a merchant willing to give them passage for a fee. Considering that Keela was pretending to be gravely ill to cover her face, it was quite a sum that they had to pay, but it was part of the plan.

The merchant offered to lower it if Rydel took a role as a guard, but he was too worried about his sick daughter to handle guard duty.

All three were cooped up in a covered wagon together with bundles of merchandise. In an hour, they would have crossed the Zuran-Reinolt border and be able to fly the rest of the way.

With their change of plans, they were cutting it very close to their deadline.

Sadly, other than by Rydel’s roc, there was no other way for people from Reinolt City to reach the border, if not, then Zariff and Maynard would have rushed there overnight. Instead, the three of them would have to hope for the best.

Jack had started to wonder what else might go wrong. If he could prevent such issues from happening, then he’d be able to change his fate and Slivia’s.

"Jack, calm down already. If we make it, then we’ll make it. If not, you said you were already aware of our chance of failure," stated Rydel in a hushed tone. They made sure to speak quietly while in the caravan.

Not satisfied with his chances, Jack ignored Rydel and kept trying to think of possible ways to speed up the journey.

"Umm, are you okay, Jack?" asked Keela. It was easy for her to sense that Jack didn’t have the calm and confident attitude he showed in the catacomb.

"I’m fine, I just wish that we could go faster." Not wanting to talk, Jack leaned back and closed his eyes.

Rydel and Keela both started to worry about him, but they couldn’t do anything. So, in the meantime, Keela and Rydel talked about everything that was happening in the Reinolt Kingdom.

Also, Rydel started to explain what the Adventurers Association was and what it stood for. Since Keela was raised in the Zuran Empire, she had only heard about the Adventurers Association from passing stories. Now that she would be officially joining Jack’s party, it was important for her to become an association member and learn about her future role in the team.

Keela was lv. 27, but Jack was able to overpower because she was a pure cleric and could only cast healing spells. Of course, she was extremely talented at those and was a perfect fit in their party dynamic.

’Jack, calm down.’ Bowzer popped out of Jack’s cloak and started rubbing his soft fur all over Jack.

’I’m fine Bowzer, why don’t you play with Keela. She still has to get used to you, okay?’

The fox pup frowned but he nodded. ’Okay.’

As Bowzer crawled into Keela’s arms and let her pet his fur, Jack was trying to find ways to distract himself.

Then he remembered about all the loot from Ponlinne’s tomb. Not wanting to whip out valuable items in such a place, he went to his skill list first and purchased Eagle Eye. It was too good a skill to pass up.

Then he went to his achievement list and claimed his latest reward.

[When everyone knows your name, but not your face: claimed]

[Because well-known in a country using your real name but not your face. Reward: 20 skill points.]

After buying Eagle Eye, Jack was left with thirty-five skill points, which he decided to save for a rainy day.

Next, Jack inspected Ponlinne’s activity log. Since he had more time to kill than he wanted, he figured that he might as well use it.

First, Jack confirmed that Ponlinne had managed to reach lv. 87. It was true! Jack had no clue how considering the level cap in "A Hero’s Tale," but it had happened.

Second, Jack started inspecting the activity log for everything involving the catacomb. Like he had guessed, it was the same ancient crypt that Jack had visited in-game. However, according to Ponlinne, it had changed.

The crypt that Jack knew was for low-level grinding where the lower you went, the stronger the undead. It ranged from lv. 15 to lv. 35.

Ponlinne, in some diary entries, mentioned that the crypt had started to change after the Holy War ended. It had started to spawn monsters of all levels, but only in accordance with whoever was inside the crypt.

He had sent a party of lv. 20’s inside and they returned after facing creatures as strong as lv. 29. Yet, whenever Ponlinne entered, he had to face lv. 80’s and had once seen a lv. 88 creature before he ran away.

Jack had guessed that Ponlinne stayed near that crypt to try and grind to level up. If there was a new patch or expansion that raised the level cap, then that would explain why Ponlinne made his home there. Where else would a cleric be able to solo grind other than facing strong undead creatures?

Checking information about his death, Jack discovered that Ponlinne had died against a lv. 89 lich king. Though Ponlinne was a powerful wielder of holy magic, the lich king was too much and caused his death.

Ponlinne had even tried to run away from the battle, but the lich king made it impossible. The moment the lich king had caught him in its sights, it chased Ponlinne until he was dead.

"That’s one way to go. At least he was still only a player at the time."

Jack started to think about what he would’ve done if he were stuck in a place like that. It wouldn’t be easy, but Jack thought he would at least enjoy the thrill while he could.

Also, Jack wondered what had caused the crypt to change. Ponlinne had tried to investigate, but he wasn’t successful. He did, however, discover some rather interesting information about the crypt.

Depending on who was inside the crypt, the layout would change. The higher someone’s level was, the deeper the crypt went. According to Ponlinne, the lich king was the final monster at the very bottom of the crypt. Behind the lich king’s tomb, there were closed doors. Had Ponlinne succeded, he thought those doors would open to reveal the real secrets of the crypt. Sadly, he failed against the final monster, even with his holy magic being super effective against undead.

Just then, a distant shout rang out. "Halt!"

The wagon came to a gradual stop and the sounds of horses trotting also stopped. Against Jack’s wishes, the entire caravan had stopped.

Unhappy with the sudden development, Jack grunted and exited the wagon in search of the merchant.

"Excuse me, but what’s going on?" asked Jack.

The merchant shrugged, "Nothing, the border patrol is just backed up. Apparently they’re being extra cautious today, something about a noblewoman being kidnapped by a middle-aged man on a bird. Seriously, these stories just keep getting weirder and weirder.

"Tell me about it," sighed Jack. "Any idea how long it’ll be?"

"There’s a huge pile-up, so we’ll probably be adding at least another half a day to our trip, maybe even a full day. I’m sorry for the inconvenience."

Squinting at the many wagons ahead of them in line, Jack shrugged his shoulders and hid his anger. "I guess that’s just the way it is. Hopefully, this will blow over quickly. Thank you."

He walked back to the wagon and informed Rydel and Keela of the news.

"Wow, this makes things more difficult. We should be fine, but it’ll definitely take longer." Suddenly, Rydel looked more concerned. "Jack, you know what this means, right?"

Jack didn’t respond, but both Rydel and Jack could see the pain in his eyes.

"Everything’s going to be okay, Jack, really. It’s just going to take some more time, that’s all." Keela did her best to try and comfort Jack. Little did she know, she made it worse.

Seeing Jack like that, Rydel added, "Hey Jack, don’t try anything funny, no matter what! If we’re caught, they have plenty of people over lv. 30. Even with your fox, there’s no guarantee that we could escape through a fight. And don’t try and blame her either, This would’ve happened either way, and you know that deep down."

Not wanting to accept reality, Jack’s eyes started to water. With all his heart, he wanted so much to dash out and force his way into Reinolt, but Rydel was right.

There was no chance of them breaking through the border with only those him, Rydel, and Bowzer attacking. Plus, they would have to protect Keela, which would be next to impossible.

The Zuran Empire was an ancient empire that had survived for a long time. Though the Zuran Empire was being held off thanks to a powerful expert in Reinolt, the empire’s overall strength was head and shoulders higher above Reinolt’s. All the guard captains were at least lv. 30 and they could never guess how many lv. 30’s they would have to face to breach the border.

Against all of Jack’s hopes, wishes, and plans, he was forced to quietly wait in a wagon for his chance to peacefully cross the border, effectively failing to save Slivia.

 

Chapter 144

Waiting their turn for inspection, Jack was not happy. Night had already passed and the morning sun was rising before they had their chance to be inspected.

The inspection was very thorough, two dozen guards inspected each caravan one at a time rather than one guard per inspection like what usually happened. Though it was extremely time consuming, Jack’s party passed the inspection without too much trouble.

By the time they had crossed the border, six and a half days had passed since Slivia’a passing. It would normally take a day and a half to go from the Zuran-Reinolt border to Reinolt with on Ayden. Not taking time to sleep would save a few hours, but would that let them reach the capital in time?

After reaching the Reinolt Kingdom, Jack’s party said goodbye to the merchant. Well, Rydel and Keela said goodbye as Jack stared into the distance endlessly.

The last time Jack spoke or looked someone in the eye was when he relayed the information about the line for border inspection. Since then, Jack’s eyes sank deeper into his skull and all emotion disappeared from his being.

No matter what they said, neither Rydel nor Keela could get him to react in any way. Whenever Keela asked Rydel about what was wrong, Rydel would only shake his head and sigh. He told her that she would know in time and that he wasn’t one to say anything.

Once they were done saying goodbyes, Rydel led them into the woods to meet with Ayden.

Rydel’s fears had come true. He had guessed that the hawks could at most keep up with Ayden and try to maneuver to contain her, but he was scared of that. What he feared was the man in charge of Zuran’s sky navy. With a merciless and cruel reputation, the sky navy commander controlled a Thunderbird and could at least match the young roc, if not catch her.

After Ayden had dropped off the others, she was able to avoid the dozens of giant hawks that chased her, but they had bought enough time for the high-level Thunderbird to arrive. After that, Ayden was only able to escape with an injured talon and a damaged wing.

There was no way Ayden would be able to fly at her top speed for an entire day, let alone fly to Reinolt City without resting.

They took off with some struggle but the ride smoothed out after the young roc started gliding through the clouds.

Within an hour, the party noticed someone approaching them from below on a Thundercat. The cat was starting to look tired and ragged, but the man riding it smiled when it saw the roc flying overhead.

The roc didn’t stop. Rydel glanced at Maynard and mentally told him to not say a thing. Jack kept staring ahead as if he was already imagining himself running through the streets of the capital toward the association building.

Keela was behind Jack, hugging him from behind the entire time even though he never realized it. She didn’t know Jack that well, but she knew he was extraordinary from his reputation and his demeanor in the catacomb. When she first saw Jack’s face, she became determined to become some part of his life. Even if she wasn’t his first wife or was a concubine, she wouldn’t care.

Having been betrothed her entire life to someone who was known as a perverse man with many women since he was young, the prospect of being the concubine to a strong, passionate hero like Jack was like a dream come true.

Seeing Jack like this, Keela was clueless about what she could do to help. Without even knowing the cause of all this, all she could do at the moment was try and be there when he finally speaks again.

Night came and they were forced to make camp. Ayden laid down, resting while Rydel caught some beasts as food for Ayden.

As expected, Jack said nothing and did nothing. He didn’t eat or play with Bowzer, nor did he stay too close to the campfire.

Late in the night, Maynard had caught up and saw Rydel stoking coals. The samurai talked telepathically in order to not wake Keela or disturb Jack by accident. ’How is he?’

’He’s... getting through it,’ answered Rydel. ’He’s out in the woods right now. My guess is that he’s thinking of her.’

’Today was the seventh day, right? Ya know, this will hit him hard. The kid only bounced back fast last time cause he had a chance to bring her back. But now...’ Maynard sighed, ’now he’ll have to face the truth again, with no way out.’

Shaking hid head, Rydel looked Maynard in the eye. ’We both know that the kid needs to grow up. This will be good for him."

’Yeah, but do ya know how long it’ll take for him to get over it? Will he still want to leave for the Polt Federation or go to Trodar? Will he still want to help us?’ asked Maynard, just speaking his mind.

’I don’t.’ Rydel shrugged. ’I have no clue. He’ll have to get over this some way or another. If not, then the kid isn’t the hero that I thought he was.’

They talked for some time as Rydel informed him about the earlier parts of their trip and what Jack had done in Ponlinne.

When Maynard heard that Jack had taken a lv. 85 staff that was hidden in the city’s statue, his eyes twinkled. Every time Jack went somewhere new, he always managed to find treasures that no one knew existed.

Maynard and Rydel each took a night watch shift and morning eventually came. As they packed everything up and stored it away, Jack emerged from the woods. He was the as before, but it was evident that he hadn’t slept and the bags under his eyes made his sunken expression look miserable.

While Maynard and his Thundercat had left early to try and arrive at the capital around the same time, Ayden took off through the skies.

She flew a little faster after a good night’s rest, but it still took her the rest of the day to reach Reinolt.

Not bothering with the city gates, the party flew directly to the association building. But before they had fully landed, Jack was already on the ground and running into the building.

As he rushed through the halls, many adventurers tried to say, "hi," but Jack them no attention. Bolting up the stairs and into the conference room, Jack’s finally stopped. His breath was heavy and he looked terrible.

Zariff, who was waiting inside the room, bowed his head and quietly left. Rydel and Maynard had already told him how Jack was acting. Even Bowzer had been staying with Keela since the night before, so why would Zariff be able to get anything out of Jack?

Once the door was shut, Jack locked it and used the stone on the wall to cast silence. Slowly, he stepped toward the conference table.

On top was a soft bedspread, turning the table’s center into a comfortable place to lay down and sleep. Slivia’s body was laying atop that bedspread, looking the same as when Jack last saw her.

Besides the bedspread, the only difference in the room were the many etching and symbols that had been carved into the table.

The Magic Corps had sent their most powerful cleric to enchant the table as a means to preserve Slivia’s body and internal organs. Her corpse wasn’t even cold yet thanks to the table’s new magical properties.

Sadly, the cleric didn’t have a high enough level to do anything else. Body preservation spells that could be cast without enchantments were only possible for people over lv. 50.

A small, sky-blue gem appeared in Jack’s hand. Clenching it tightly, Jack looked at her as she lay there with that same smile on her face.

"Why..." Jack stammered, no longer able to contain his emotions. "Why..."

Pushing the life spring gem toward her, Jack was hesitant. Deep down, Jack knew that it was impossible to bring her back with the liquid-filled crystal, but he also wanted to try it anyway.

Fighting with himself, tears were streaming down his face. Veins were bulging as his fists clenched tighter and tighter. Movements were shaky, heavily affected by Jack’s broken will.

"He knew this would happen... and he still let me go... Why?!"

"She gave up her life for me, and I can’t even save hers on my second chance?"

"What... What am I supposed to do with this now? How can I..."

Jack would blurt out different lines randomly, sometimes in anger, other times in doubt. There were also moments of pure sorrow and emptiness.

"Sliv... I’m sorry..."

The moment he was told about the inspection pile-up, Jack knew that he wouldn’t make it. The reason he said nothing the rest of the trip, was because he spent the entire time trying to think of what he could say to Slivia. Unfortunately, he was still speechless and couldn’t imagine a single thing that could ease his heart.

 

Chapter 145

Night passed slowly, like drips of wax on a candle as the wick gradually burned down to the candle’s base.

It didn’t take long for the atmosphere around the association building to become somber. Everyone was excited to see Jack again and they all knew that the higher-ups for association headquarter would arrive the next day, but that mood subsided quickly.

The conference room door remained locked that entire day as well. Not a sound came from inside, giving others the impression that Jack had used the stone of silence.

Unaware of what Jack was doing or how he was trying to cope, the rest of the world kept spinning.

King Leodoro paid a visit to check on the situation. Tridon did the same, wanting to learn what happened on the trip. When they heard the news, neither decided to stay long and left.

At night, Zariff was at the bar on the first floor, a mug filled with the finest wine he had in front of him. It looked like the branch chief was having a staring contest with his drink.

"Dear, don’t worry too much. Just drink up." A gentle hand grabbed Zariff’s from the other side of the counter. "You know that he’ll be okay. Give him some time."

"I’m not just worried about Jack." Without realizing it, Zariff didn’t even bother calling Jack a brat. Burdened with too many thoughts and duties, Zariff didn’t care about such a petty thing.

His curse had gotten worse, draining enough EXP to force Zariff down to lv. 35. It was only one level, but it was a heavy toll on Zariff’s mentality since he had no way to stop it.

Also, Zariff would occasionally glance back at the reception desk to find it empty. He was also worried about his daughter. It’s not like she had fallen in love with Jack, but she definitely cared about him. Every hour, on the hour, she would go up the conference room with a plate of food and knock on the door. She’d wait five minutes and then return to her desk duties.

"What’s wrong? Do you not want your daughter getting too close to him? You know she’ll have to leave one day with a man of her own, right?"

Marisha’s verbal jabs hit Zariff’s heart in a sore spot. He really had been too tough on his daughter. Whenever she tried to go on adventures, he wouldn’t let her. If a boy ever tried to show interest in her, Zariff would scare the boy half to death and keep him from approaching his daughter.

He had never asked his daughter’s opinion on anything. If she ever liked any of those boys, he would never know and he wouldn’t give her a chance to leave his protection either.

Zariff’s tough stance on parenting derived mainly from what had happened to Slivia, in fact. After finding her and learning what had happened, Zariff decided that such things would never happen to his daughter who was little at the time. He returned from that mission a different man, more caring toward his family but also overprotective.

"When will you let her live her own life outside of you?" Marisha kept talking and poking at her husband’s heart. "Would you rather her eventually run away from us or help her find her own way? If she somehow manages to get that boy’s heart, wouldn’t that mean she’d be better off than staying with you all her life?"

It was like a bomb had gone if in Zariff’s mind. His mind was always closed off and never bothered fully considering his wife’s harsh words before. Now that his mental state was weakened by the recent events, his wife’s words eventually reached him.

"You... really think so?" asked Zariff.

"How could I be wrong? You married me because I’m always right, right?"

With a loud sigh, Zariff let out a sad chuckle. "You’re right..."

Marisha held his face and smiled. "Dear, you won’t lose her, you never will. She just needs to grow up and live how she chooses. You and I both know that she’s interested and getting to know more about Jack. She stopped trying before when Slivia arrived, but now she may want to try again."

"But isn’t it too soon? With everything--"

"Everything will be fine," said Marisha with reassuring confidence. "From the look of it, Jack will never lack in female companions, but is that such a bad thing?"

Zariff groaned as he started chugging his drink. That was one of his biggest concerns regarding Jack. He respected the kid and would always be working with him, but it was evident that he would always attract more women.

In a cruel world like theirs, it wasn’t too uncommon for people of great renown to have multiple women. Even King Leodoro had both a wife and two concubines. But would Zariff wish for his daughter to just be another number in some man’s harem? Every parent wants the best for their child, especially when it involves their future partner.

"Let her live, Zariff. Even if she and Jack get together and he has other women, would that be so wrong if she’s happy?"

Searching for an answer at the bottom of his mug, Zariff finished the last few gulps of his drink. As he slammed the mug down, Zariff grunted, "Well... I just want to be happy."

"Then you’ll support her if she goes after Jack?" asked Marisha as her lips neared his.

He was hesitant, but he still answered, "Fine..."

Sharing a quick kiss, Marisha brushed her hands along his face and neck. As they separated, she gave him a devilish smile. "It’s about time. I’m so glad, will you help me celebrate tonight?"

Understanding what his wife was up to, all Zariff could do was grin and bear it. Offering his full support, he took his mug to the back of the kitchen. The kitchen was quickly shutdown before Marisha dragged her husband away.

*****

"Thanks for everything, Maura."

Keela’s friendly voice filled the dorm room. Across from Keela in the other bed, Maura smiled back at her new roommate. "It was nothing, don’t mention it."

Maura had brought her some dinner and decided to eat together. She wanted to get to know her new roommate and that was one of the only ways she could think of to break the ice.

Keela was like Slivia in many ways. Both were clerics, beautiful, blonde, and kind.

Unlike Slivia, though, Keela was the same age as Maura but was much higher-leveled. Coming from a very privileged family had helped her a lot, but Keela was also very talented.

"Did you make this stew yourself, it’s amazing! Even our best chef’s food wasn’t this good," complimented Keela, but she really meant it.

"No, my mom made it. She’s probably the best cook in the country. That’s how she convinced my dad to keep visiting her, because he couldn’t find better food anywhere else, even during his missions," answered Maura. She was exaggerating a bit, but that’s what her mother had always told her.

"Well, I’d love to learn from her sometime. Would that be possible?"

"Of course, she’d love the help."

"Great!"

Both girls were happy at the moment as they finished their meal, temporarily forgetting the somber mood.

"Hey, Maura," Keela spoke up as she put her empty bowl to the side. "Can I ask you a personal question? If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to."

"Sure, why not?"

Keela blinked and sighed, hesitant to ask. "Maura, do you like Jack?"

Maura’s smile vanished she looked away. She couldn’t hide the blush rushing to her cheeks.

"So you do. Well, I want to get to know him too."

Hearing Keela’s confident statement made Maura finally look back to her new roommate. "Are you serious?"

With a nod, Keela replied, "Yup. Who could be better than him? I was always betrothed to a pig prince who only cared about having women to pleasure him. Jack took me away and gave me a new life, and I want him to be a part of it."

Keela noticed Maura’s awkward silence and giggled. "You know, that doesn’t mean you can’t try too, right?"

"You mean..." Confusion filled Maura’s eyes as she looked at Keela’s soft smile. "But won’t you--"

"Why would I get mad? If anything, you knew him first and have more reason to be mad at me," laughed Keela. She had already learned about everything with Slivia from everyone inside the association. Unknown to Maura, Keela had also spoken to Marisha. In fact, it was Marisha who reached out to Keela.

Marisha told Keela everything, including how her daughter had backed off the moment another woman came into the picture. Wanting some help, Marisha asked Keela to have a chat with Maura regarding Jack and how they both felt about him.

"Maura, let me tell you something. Jack is a rare breed in Kartonia. The world is cruel and very few people are as genuine as Jack. He’s still young and hasn’t fully matured, but I’m confident that he’ll never become some cold and emotionless to those he cares about," explained Keela. "I don’t know him well at all, but I know enough to be willing to give him everything. Maybe it’s because I compare him with that pig prince, but it still makes me happy, so why not?"

Blown away by Keela’s blunt explanation, Maura was unsure how to process such information. It took her a moment to open up and respond. "Keela, you won’t get mad if I go after Jack? Even if I’m the one who gets him in the end?"

Breaking out in laughter, Keela shook her head. "You don’t get it, do you? Even if you go after Jack and you marry him, I still wouldn’t give up. Why don’t we share him?"

 

Chapter 146

As night was turning to dusk, loud horses were neighing outside in the streets of Reinolt City. There was a team of horses guiding a horse-drawn carriage and the entire group was hurrying through the city.

Eventually, the group came to an abrupt halt outside of the association building. Everyone hopped off their horses as one man in front knocked on the door.

Not giving the association time to greet their guests, a couple of men stepped out of the carriage. One, in particular, marched to the door and pounded it hard, shaking the hinges harshly.

"What do you want?!" A voice yelled as the front door swung open. That’s when Zariff realized why someone had bothered disturbing their night and interrupted his time with the wife. "Everyone, hurry in. You can park the carriage in the back."

"It’s about time," complained the man who nearly destroyed the door with his harsh knocks.

"Regional Advisor Wain, there’s no need to be mad. I’m sorry for the delay, but we were told you would arrive tomorrow," explained Zariff. "Also, I didn’t know that you were coming. I thought only Branch Chief Liam was coming."

"I decided last minute to come and see everything for myself. Considering it may involve the syndicate, I had it my job to investigate," replied Advisor Wain. "Now, where’s the young man you said discovered it all? I’d like to get to know him."

"Umm, can that wait till tomorrow, Advisor Wain?" Zariff noticed the advisor’s strange look so he continued, "That kid, Jack, is currently upstairs, but he’s unavailable at the moment."

"And why’s that? He must be doing something pretty important if he can’t meet with Advisor Wain," stated Branch Chief Liam, who closed the front door behind him.

"It’s a long story, mind if I explain over a drink and some good food?" asked Zariff, leading them to the bar. "Marisha! Advisor Wain and Chief Liam just arrived and they’re starving!"

Like lightning, a silhouette in a cozy robe appeared from down the hall. "Advisor, chief, it’s good to see you. I’ll whip up something special for you."

"Good, now get to explaining." With a nod to Marisha, Advisor Wain sat down beside Zariff and gave Zariff his full attention.

Once Chief Liam did the same, Zariff stated, "You already know the attack we had anticipated came earlier than expected, but we managed to succeed thanks to the hidden expert in Reinolt. Though we won the battle with little casualties, one of the few people we lost was that kid’s girlfriend. She saved him but died doing so."

"But wasn’t that over a week ago?" interjected Advisor Wain. "If he’s too much of a baby to get over it after a week, then--"

"Let me finish, advisor, please," Zariff also cut-off Advisor Wain, making the advisor realize it was more complicated than he had assumed. "It was a heavy blow for the kid, but he came up with a plan. He and Rydel left for the Zuran Empire to bring back something that could save her and bring her back to life!"

"Zuran Empire! Bring her back to life!" Advisor Wain was caught up on what Zariff had just said. "You mean to tell me that they entered the Zuran Empire, found a priceless treasure, and made it back here before we arrived?"

"Yes, that’s exactly what they did. But they did travel by roc, otherwise, it never would’ve worked," explained Zariff.

"Traveled by roc..." Advisor Wain started to chuckle in excitement. He leaned in close to Zariff and asked, "So, what happened, what did they find?"

"They traveled to Ponlinne and managed to enter the Pon Family Catacombs. Only those under lv. 30 were allowed at the time, so Jack entered alone, but he still got what he wanted. Not only that, in order to keep others from knowing what he found inside, Jack kidnapped four noble family heirs and forced their bodyguards to wait by the entrance."

Panting wildly, Advisor Wain’s eyes were sparkling. He had heard that the hero accepted into the association was rather special and was known for creating miracles. What he didn’t expect was that not only were all the rumors correct, apparently, they were underexaggerated!

By then, food and drink had already been placed in front of them by Marisha. She was quiet, though, so she didn’t disturb her husband’s story.

"Tell me more!" yelled the advisor as he grabbed the wine bottle and directly started drinking from it.

"The kid had already stolen Ponlinne the Great’s staff and used it to find Ponlinne’s hidden tomb within the catacomb. There, the kid found what he was looking for, a life spring," explained Zariff. "He took the life spring gem and everything else inside the tomb. Then, after everyone exited and Jack made friends with the noble family heirs, Jack escaped with the Pon Family head’s daughter. She’s here and has joined the association in order to escape her betrothal."

"Astounding!" Advisor Wain pounded his now empty mug on the counter, shaking the bar. "What else was in the tomb? There must be some amazing treasures!"

"I have no clue."

"What?! What do you mean?" asked Chief Liam.

Shrugging, Zariff continued, "Exactly that, I have no clue. After everything they did, Jack failed to arrive in time to save her. He had seven days to get her that life spring gem, but thanks to the sky navy’s interference they arrived late at night on the eighth day."

Chief Liam and Advisor Wain kept silent as they pondered Zariff’s story. Such an amazing youth would become the star of the association someday. But, at the moment, they could also understand why the kid would take her death heavily on his conscience; even more so now that he had done so much to only come up short in the end.

"So, please, can it wait till tomorrow, Advisor Wain?" asked Zariff, hoping that the stern and cold advisor would soften up a little.

"I guess it can wait." Normally the advisor wouldn’t bother waiting, even if it involved the death of someone close. However, Advisor Wain understood that Jack could become a future face of the association and it would be best to be on good terms with him. Sure, Jack was young now, but for a lv. 20 do all that alone was amazing! And how could he forget that Jack was also a summoned hero with a Hell-flame Fox beast companion?

"Thank you, Advisor. Here’s to the association!" Zariff lifted his mug high, initiating a toast.

"To the association!"

They cheered and drank while they chatted and feasted. Not wanting to miss too much sleep, they kept their little meeting short and hit the hay.

In the morning, everyone was startled to find the regional advisor inside the branch. The order said that only Branch Chief Liam and a group of men would arrive. For someone like Regional Advisor Wain to arrive unannounced was a big deal! While Zariff and Chief Liam were lv. 35 and lv. 39, Advisor Wain was lv. 47; the difference was huge!

"So, Zariff, where’s that boy now?" asked Advisor Wain as they enjoyed a breakfast at the bar.

"He should still be--"

Just then, slow footsteps came down the stairs. It was too early for a lot of people to work up there, so everyone only thought of one person when they heard those footsteps.

"Jack!" Maura stood up and hurried to greet him. "Are you okay? You must be hungry, come with me."

Not saying anything, Jack let her drag him to the bar. His eyes were lifeless like before and he didn’t appear to be tired. If Maura had only just met Jack, she would have thought he was perfectly fine. But she had met Jack and she could tell that he was colder to the people around him than he had been before.

"Here, let me grab you a plate." Rushing to the kitchen, Maura didn’t bother waiting for a reply.

Jack blinked. He sighed and stretched his arms and back. Looking around the room, Jack noticed a few unfamiliar faces, two of which were seated beside Zariff.

"Chief, who are they?"

Zariff was startled for a moment. He didn’t expect Jack to call him by his title. It was different and Zariff didn’t like it, it felt like Jack was more distant.

Advisor Wain saw Zariff’s hesitation so he introduced himself. "I’m Regional Advisor Wain and this is Branch Chief Liam, the West Polt Branch Chief. You’re Jack, right?"

A simple nod answered his question, so Wain continued, "If you want, you can just call me Wain. It’s informal, but I don’t mind since it’s you. I look forward to showing you around the Polt Federation."

Since all that was left of the syndicate incident was investigating any leads or further connections with Reinolt, Chief Liam and Advisor Wain would become their escorts to the Polt Federation.

"When do we leave, Wain?" There was a slight smile on Jack’s face but everyone could tell it was only out of courtesy.

"The investigation shouldn’t take too long, so probably tomorrow or the day after," answered Advisor Wain. He wasn’t concerned with Jack’s coldness. He cared most about results, and Jack had already proven that his results were excellent!

 

Chapter 147

"Okay, I’ll keep that in mind."

As Jack finished speaking, Maura appeared with a plate of food. "Here, make sure you eat up. You haven’t eaten a good meal for a long time, so enjoy it!"

"Thanks," Jack replied with a nod.

Picking up the toasted bread, Jack smelled it first, as if he had forgotten what toast was. He started to slowly eat, making sure to eat everything on his plate but also not rushing or savoring it in any way. It looked like eating was a chore for him.

"Jack, are you okay?" asked Maura as she came back to the other side of the counter and sat beside Jack. "With everything that happened... If you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you. I’m a good listener."

A tiny chuckle escaped Jack’s lips. Only he and Maura heard it, but it was enough to make Maura feel a bit better.

Glancing to Maura, Jack smiled. This time, unlike his smile to Wain, it was genuine and pitiful. "Thanks, Maura."

Though Jack wasn’t much for conversation at the moment, knowing that Maura was there to help him filled a small portion of the void in his heart.

He had spent a lot of time thinking and reflecting on everything while he was locked up in the conference room. Thinking back, Jack couldn’t help but recognize that his relationship with Slivia was only in the early phases and didn’t have much depth, despite what he had always thought.

True, if she were alive then it had a great chance at blossoming into a beautiful romance. There were no doubts concerning that. However, the opposite was also true. Since she had passed before they got too serious as boyfriend and girlfriend and she wouldn’t be able to come back to life, then what good would it do for him to mope and wallow about something that never was or would be?

It was hard, Jack wouldn’t deny that, but he understood that sooner or later he would have to move. As for whether it would be sooner rather than later, Jack didn’t know.

Seeing Maura’s gentle, caring side again touched Jack. During his many stays in the infirmary, it was always Maura that came and helped him. She was somewhat cold at times, but Maura would always help him and listen to him during those occasions.

Thanks to that, Jack’s vulnerability made it easier to lean on Maura during such a difficult time. And if there were ever a time where Jack wanted a shoulder to lean on, it was at that moment.

"Then hurry up and eat, we’ll go talk in my room." Taking the initiative after seeing Jack warm-up for once, Maura pulled Jack away from the bar and toward the dorms.

Jack meant to speak up and take her to his room but she kept pulling him away. Eventually, they wound up in front of Maura’s and Keela’s room.

Maura opened the door and checked if Keela was inside. Since she wasn’t, Maura held it open and pulled Jack inside. Locking the door behind them, Maura noticed his confused, shy expression. She joked, "What? You’ve never been in a girl’s room?"

"N-no..."

His nervous answer caused Maura to blush as she replied, "W-well I couldn’t think of a better place to sit down and talk in private. Do you not want to be in my room?"

"No, that’s not what I meant!" shouted Jack, still showing his nerves. "I just... didn’t expect it, that’s all." He still had the plate in his hand, but his small appetite had already disappeared, so he put the plate on a side table.

"Jack, you can now. Say whatever you want and forget about everyone else," said Maura.

"But what about--"

Maura raised her hand and let a flash of blue light leave her fingertips. The blue light filled the room and disappeared quickly, surprising Jack.

"Silence? You can cast magic?" asked Jack. He was stunned because everyone had said that Maura was a warrior, not a mage.

"Don’t tell anyone else, okay? Other than my mom, no one else knows, not even my dad," stated Maura.

"Then, what class are you?"

"I’m a spell-sword, but that’s between you and me, got it?"

"Yeah, of course," answered Jack. "It’s just surprising, aren’t spell-swords very rare?"

Thinking back to Ancient Kartonia, spell-swords were only common amongst heroes. Finding an NPC spell-sword was like finding a needle in a haystack the size of a continent.

With a nod, Maura smiled. "That’s why my mom wants me to travel and learn more, but my father would never let me..."

"Why not? With that subclass, you could easily become stronger than that old fart."

"Because Papa always said it was too dangerous for me. Without him to protect me, he’s afraid to let me do anything. Training basic water magic isn’t too hard with my mom’s help," explained Maura. "The only reason why Papa doesn’t know already is because I’ve only recently leveled up and haven’t officially entered my information yet. Once he sees that, there’s no telling what he’ll do."

Jack sighed, "That’s too bad, having a spell-sword around would be a huge help."

"Jack, you’re planning to leave Reinolt, right?"

"Yeah, but everyone knows that, so why ask?"

"I’m coming with you!" Maura took a deep breath before she blurted out her answer. Her tone was confident, but it gat shakier when her eyes met Jack’s. "I need to get stronger and level up, that’s only possible if I can leave and travel the world. And who better than to travel with than you?"

"I... Uh..." Fumbling on his words, Jack was struck dumb with nervousness. "This is pretty sudden... You know that I’m not like other people, right? I never know what I’ll do next and I’m way too unorthodox to make travel easy. Traveling with me--"

"I’m going with you, tell me why I shouldn’t! Do you not like me? Is it because you don’t want me around?" Maura’s voice had a hint of trembling in it as she started to think that Jack would refect her.

Jack sighed, not wanting to make her sad. After failing to save Slivia, Jack had become colder. What the others didn’t yet release was the reason why. If he had fewer people close to him than he wouldn’t always be worried about being too weak to protect others.

"Maura, it’s not that I don’t want you around, because I do. But I’m not strong enough to watch over you. I wish I was! Sadly, I’ve only recently passed lv. 22 after fighting dozens of undead. Who know’s how long it’ll take for me to be strong enough to protect you?"

As her heart felt like melting, Maura’s nervousness disappeared. Though Jack hadn’t realized what he said, exactly, hearing those words made Maura want to cry and hug Jack.

The only person to ever say that to her was her dad, and there was never anyone else willing to contradict her father and say such a statement. It was only a seed of love, but it was enough to make Maura’s heart skip a beat.

"Jack..."

Out of nowhere, Maura stepped forward and hugged Jack tightly. Her eyes were watery and she said nothing else.

"Maura... I’m too weak to guarantee your safety. I don’t want you or anyone else getting hurt because of me."

"Shut up, Jack." A soft whisper tickled Jack’s ear, shutting him up instantly. "I don’t care, I coming with you."

"Okay, you’re coming with me, but this will be harder and more complicated than you think. If you’re coming with me, then there are a couple of things you should know," explained Jack. "First off, doesn’t this mean your whole family is coming with me now? You old man wanted to tag along for a little while, and we both know your mom doesn’t want to be left alone."

"I’ll talk to them, don’t worry about that."

"Okay, then second..." Jack was still holding her and decided not to use his inheritor’s pact with her since she was low-leveled and needed EXP. However, he still wanted some of the pact’s benefits, like being mentally linked and sharing skills.

"What is it?" Noticing Jack’s awkward pause, Maura looked up at him.

After thinking about it a little bit more, Jack thought he might be able to make a new pact like in the game, but that would probably take time. "Nevermind, it’s not important right now."

"Okay!" Happy and excited, Maura hugged him tighter and buried her face into his chest. "Remember, if you want to talk, I’ll listen. I’m not strong yet, but I can listen."

Hesitating, Jack almost patted her on the head but couldn’t bring himself to do it. "I’ll remember. You’re the first person I’ll find if I need someone to listen to me."

"Good, then what should we do now?" Maura finally let go of Jack and gave him a little more space.

"Hmmm... I still need to double-check on my new treasures from the last trip," Jack mumbled as he brushed his hand over the storage bracer he found a while back. Inside, all of his chests from Ponlinne’s tomb were waiting to be opened.

 

Chapter 148

As Jack stared at his storage bracer, Maura’s eyes were twinkling. Her dad had mentioned that Jack found an ancient hero’s tomb in Ponlinne, and she was extremely curious to know what it was.

She had never had many chances to explore the world or go off on adventures. Since Jack was there with so many spoils of adventure, Maura wanted to see such treasures for herself. It was normal for her adventurous side to live through what her father brought home, but she felt even more intrigued since Jack was involved.

"Hey Jack, can I see the treasures too?" asked Maura.

Jack looked at her puppy dog eyes and shook his head while smiling. "If I show you this, then you have to keep everything you see a secret. Some things inside this ring may be beyond anything you’ve imagined, so I’m not even comfortable sharing that information with your old man. He may tell the association and I’m not sure if they’d be willing to watch me horde so many valuable items."

Thinking carefully about Jack’s words, Maura nodded and looked at Jack’s bracer in excitement.

Jack removed the chest and surprised Maura. Without warning, he opened it up and found it filled to the brim with gold.

"So much gold..." Maura was mesmerized. Her dad always tried to hoard gold away, but she had never seen so much at once out in the open.

Examining the box closely, Jack paid close attention to the box’s design. Finding similar chests, Jack pulled out three other chests with the same pattern.

Like he expected, Jack found that the three chests were also filled with gold. He stored them and pulled out another half dozen chests, each with the same design and with the same amount of gold inside.

Maura was in awe and was speechless. She couldn’t guess how much gold was in a single chest, let alone ten of them.

"Let’s check these ones." Since all ten of those chest shared designs and contents, Jack pulled out another half dozen chest but with a new pattern.

Opening it slowly, a smile showed on Jack’s face. "That’s what I thought. Maura, do you know what kind of coin this is?"

She shook her head slowly, letting Jack continue explaining.

"Have you ever heard of platinum?"

"That’s all platinum?!" She had never seen it, but Maura knew about the ancient currency worth ten times the value of gold. "All of these are... filled with platinum?"

"Yup," answered Jack, opening each chest to prove it. "Now that I’ve finally got some cash, let’s try the other chests."

Most of the chests were gold and platinum, but Jack was guessing that most of the chests had decent items. He didn’t have high hopes to find too many high-level items in those chests since the highest level items were all found on the statues. Luckily for him, he already knew what all of those are, so he wouldn’t have to show Maura anything. She was already overwhelmed, so Jack laughed when he pictured her reaction to a lv. 75 or lv. 85 weapon.

Excluding money, there were six chests leftover and they all share the same design. Wanting to not waste time, Jack pulled out all six and opened the first one before Maura had a chance to react.

"More items and their levels aren’t too bad," stated Jack as he looked at everything inside.

"Aren’t too bad..." Again, she was speechless. Maura couldn’t tell what level those weapons were because they were too high-level for her, yet Jack was treating them like they were accessories for an outfit.

"With these, we shouldn’t have to worry too much about getting new items as we level up." Just then, Jack noticed a sword inside one of the chests. As it gave off a frosty air, Jack smiled softly and picked it up. "Here, this is for you."

Brought back to reality by Jack’s words, Maura takes a closer look at what was in Jack’s hand. When she realized it was a magical sword, Maura stuck out her hand to reject his offer. "No way! Do you know how much a sword like that would cost?! And you use swords too, so you keep it."

"This is yours. If you’re coming with me, then your equipment needs to be at least this good." Jack forced it into her hands, eager to make sure she had the best equipment to keep herself safe.

"But Jack... You know I can’t let my dad see this..."

"You know, if you’re coming with me then you’ll have to tell him at some point. Till then, just store it. Besides, it’s a lv. 25 glacier shortsword. You can’t use yet anyway."

"Jack... I can’t do that. I don’t have anything to store it in," replied Maura. She looked away, embarrassed to not have such a simple item.

"Let me guess, your old man?"

"Yeah."

"Fine, then... Here, take this necklace." Without a second thought, Jack pulled out a storage necklace from one of the chests.

It was much more extravagant than the usual storage necklace, being made from gold and sapphires; it was obviously a cash item some player purchased and left behind in the guild. It was also a high-tier storage item. Maura would never need to worry about running out of storage.

Maura was too startled by the sword’s cold energy that she didn’t realize what else Jack had given her till it was already in her other hand. "Jack..."

"There, now you won’t need to worry about storage. With that, I bet it’s better than your old man’s," joked Jack.

"Can you... help me put it on?" asked Maura, batting her eyes enticingly.

Jack blinked and quickly gave in. "Fine, give it here."

Carefully, Jack put it around Maura’s neck. He paused for a moment as she stared into his eyes. They were quite close, close enough for Maura to feel his breath on her face, which had startled her, causing her to meet his gaze.

Coughing to clear his throat, Jack finished with the necklace’s clasp and backed away.

"Thank you, Jack." Maura was admiring her new necklace and her new sword, letting Jack have a moment to inspect the chests without her wandering eyes.

At that moment, Jack stored a lot of the weapons that were classified as mid-level in "A Hero’s Tale," meaning all weapons between lv. 30 and lv. 60.

Not much was left for him to see, but a few velvet sacks caught Jack’s attention. Opening one gingerly, Jack’s eyes went wide and he took a deep breath to contain his sudden rush of excitement.

"What’s in there?" It was easy for Maura to recognize that whatever was in the bag was extremely valuable.

"This... This changes everything!" Clutching the bag tightly, Jack shouted with joy.

"Why? What is it?"

"EXP pots!"

Giving Jack a strange look, Maura asked, "What are EXP pots?"

Jack returned her strange look and realized that such things were probably extremely rare, if not legendary in modern times.

"Listen carefully, and never mention any of these to ANYONE, do you understand?" When Jack saw her nod, he continued. "To be specific, these are low-level EXP pots, the most common kind. They’re only usable by people under lv. 30, so they’re useless for your old man and the others. But for us, they give you massive amounts of EXP and practically let you cheat. With enough of them, you can instantly reach lv. 30."

Jack didn’t bother explaining the other kinds of EXP pots. Of course, there were also mid-level EXP pots, but they were mythic-tier items rarely found in-game from boss drops. High-level EXP pots were practically nonexistent, so Jack was never planning on searching for any.

"Instantly reach lv. 30?! That’s impossible!"

"Nope. I’d prove it to you right now, but now’s not the right time to use them. After we come back from the Polt Federation, then we can leave on our own for Trodar. That would be a better time to use them," explained Jack. "If we use them now, it would be way too suspicious since I’m about to meet the association high-ups. When we’re alone on the trip to Trodar, people will already expect us to be leveling up so they won’t be too suspicious when we arrive in Trodar as lv. 30’s."

"Wait, why are we going to Trodar?" asked Maura. She knew a bit about the war going on there, so it caught her attention.

"I’ll explain that after we get back from the Polt Federation, till then..." Jack stored everything else, happy to know he had plenty of money to spend and items to trade during his time in the Polt Federation. Some people would try to save all the gold and platinum, but Jack only saw it all as a necessary tool for him to acquire what he would need.

"Let’s get back to the others, they’re probably wondering why we’ve been gone for so long," stated Jack as he moved toward the door.

As he turned the handle and pulled the door open, a person who was leaning against it on the other side fell on top of Jack. Momentarily, he was blind and only knew that he was holding something soft.

 

Chapter 149

Blinded and pinned to the ground, Jack moved his hands to try and figure out what had landed on top of him.

Jack was looking back at Maura when this all happened, so all he knew was that something was pushed into his face and blocked his view. He couldn’t see, but he was surprised at how comfortable he was. Whatever was pressed against him, it was very soft.

Soon, Jack’s hand got hold of something. It was also soft, yet firm in his hand. He could feel some kind of cloth over it as well.

"Wow, you’re more daring then I thought."

Recognizing that voice, Jack hurriedly got Keela off of him and saw the deep blush in her cheeks.

"What, you didn’t like it? It felt like you were enjoying it," Keela teased him, yet her face only got redder.

"That-that was an accident. Why were you up against the door, anyway," asked Jack, trying his best to change the subject.

Keela didn’t dare look him in the eye as she played with her hair. "Well, you both were in there for a long time. I thought you might be getting to know each other better, so I wanted to double-check."

"What do you--"

"No, we were just chatting, so don’t worry about us!" Maura yelled, cutting off Jack and making sure to keep Keela from touching the subject anymore. She remembered their little chat the other night and understood what Keela’s intentions better than Jack. "Come on Jack, don’t we need to go and speak with everyone to plan the trip?"

"What trip? Aren’t I a part of the group now too?" asked Keela. She was keen to not be left out, no matter how Maura tried.

"Right, let’s all go and see that old fart." Jack was the first to leave the room, leading the way for the two women behind him.

As they all walked through the halls, Keela was eyeing Maura’s new necklace. Having a hunch where it came from, Keela asked, "Wow, Maura, that necklace is beautiful! Where did you get it?"

Still a little shy about receiving gifts, Maura only gave Keela a quick glance. "Jack was nice and gifted me it."

"Oh, and there’s nothing for me?"

"Right now, we’ve got to see if their’s anything we need to do. Also, we need to arrange for the funeral..."

Keela said nothing else, not daring to followup such a sad subject by asking for free items. Instead, she smiled at Maura. "You’re more aggressive then I expected. Nice job."

"I didn’t do anything. He just found out that I didn’t have my own storage item, so he gave me the necklace. Nothing happened between us."

"Sure..." Keela winked at Maura, not daring to believe that Jack gave away such a valuable necklace that easily. She still didn’t know Jack well enough to believe that.

Soon they were back at the bar, but Advisor Wain and Chief Liam were both gone. Zariff was left alone at the bar as he looked at a paper placed in front of him.

"Hey, old fart, what’s that?"

Hearing Jack’s usual commentary, Zariff struggled to smile back at him. "Brat, we’ve got a few things to do before we leave. We’ll prepare a wagon and gather enough supplies. There’s also the funeral that’s happening later tonight."

"Okay, but you didn’t answer my question." Jack neared Zariff and looked closely at the paper. He blinked, shocked by what he was reading. "Is that--"

Interrupting Jack, Zariff turned to the girls and asked, "Maura, can you and Keela go clean up her body? Most everything has been done, but give her some new clothes, alright?"

"Sure, Papa."

"Of course, chief."

They both went upstairs to attend to Slivia’s corpse, leaving only Jack and Zariff at the bar. All other adventurers were assigned a part of the city to investigate for possible connections with the Chaos Syndicate.

"So, when were you going to tell me about this? What took you so long?" asked Jack, eyeing Zariff to make sure he doesn’t hide anything.

Zariff sighed and laughed at himself. "It was only a matter of time. I hadn’t reported my condition to the association cause I knew this would happen if I did. Now that I’ve already lost my first level to the curse, I had no way to hide it and Advisor Wain personally wrote my release papers."

"How long much longer will you’re released?"

"This trip to the federation will be my last as the Reinolt Branch Thief. After that, my wife and I will be ordinary members again," said Zariff, looking downtrodden. "It’ll be nice to not have so much stress, but I’m not gonna lie. I’m gonna miss the job, and the pay..."

"Calm down, in time you’ll be just fine. Even if you lose a few levels, I can help you get back to lv. 36 or even further," reasoned Jack. "Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if your daughter passed you in level? Maybe I’ll make that a goal of mine."

Not even wanting to imagine that, Zariff stared at Jack. "Don’t even--"

"Actually, that would be great!" From inside the kitchen, Marisha appeared and cut-off her husband. "Do you think you can help her do that, Jack?"

Jack scratched his head and nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, that won’t be too hard."

"Were you the one who gave her that necklace? It’s beautiful! That’s quite a nice gift, young man. If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess that you’re trying to take her for yourself."

"Maam, I--"

"Well, since she’s already accepted the gift, you’ll just have to take responsibility. Take good care of Maura for me," continued Marisha with a wink. "Also, now you can call me Mom if you’d like."

"I-I..." Jack had no way to respond to that. He started to realize why Zariff never argued with her because she always had something else to say that would force you to agree to her terms.

"Jack, I really do hope you can take care of my daughter, we both do. Every parent wants the best for their daughter, and we think you’re the best one for her. In fact, we think you’re the only one spectacular enough for her," explained Marisha. "Maura may be shy at times, but she’s more caring and genuine than anyone. Also, she’s also pretty special herself."

Guessing that she was referencing Maura’s subclass, Jack nodded and said a few words. "Please don’t misunderstand; she’s beautiful and I’m sure she could make any man happy. She came to me asking to travel with me and she lacked some supplies, so I gave her some things, including that necklace."

"Either way, it’s a beautiful necklace and I’m sure she’s happy it came from you," Marisha added with a smile.

"Anyway, if there’s nothing else for me to do, I’m going back to my room until it’s time."

Jack took his leave, not daring to continue talking to Marisha any longer.

Zariff was feeling glum. The moment he admitted to supporting his daughter’s decisions, she had already started making a move on Jack and he couldn’t do anything. And having Jack joke about helping her become stronger than him, Maura’s own father, made him even more upset.

Marisha comforted her husband. She understood how much was on his shoulders and that he had his own problems on top of that.

*****

Night winded down and the sun was setting. The Adventurers Association building was empty, not a single soul could be found in its halls.

In the south end of Reinolt City, there was a large group of people walking alongside a covered wagon. Almost every citizen recognized some of the famous faces among that marching crowd.

Eventually, Jack and the others came to a halt as the wagon entered the cemetery and approached an open grave. The tombstone was simple, yet it stood out from those around it thanks to it having a peak-tier item embedded into the tombstone itself. Most people wouldn’t even realize it was previously an item if they had no way to appraise it. And since no one just decides to appraise random tombstones, the staff would be fine.

Some people argued, claiming that it was a waste of such a good staff. The idea started to become popular until they found out that Jack was the one asking for it to happen.

Everyone gathered around the grave as a select few lowered the casket from the wagon into the freshly dug pit. Some people offered a few words but most people just watched.

Slivia was a recent member and not many knew her personally, though everyone remembered her as the beautiful newbie.

After all words had been said, each person took turns adding a handful of soil to the top of the casket.

Jack stalled until he was the final person. Dirt slowly trickled out from between his fingers as his tears fell. Regardless of everything, he still felt responsible for her death and his inability to save her.

"Goodbye, Sliv."

His words were the last of the funeral and everyone sighed to think that the powerful hero who was on the rise had such a soft, caring side to him.

 

Chapter 150

The next day, the association building was back to its lively self. Most of the investigation was already done, all that was left was monitoring the situation and making sure that it doesn’t happen again.

In the back of the association building, Zariff and Marisha were both saddling up a horse. Around them were all the strongest members of the Adventurers Association’s Reinolt Branch.

"Chief, how come you’ve emptied out your room? Don’t tell me you’re not coming back!"

"We need you, Chief, don’t go yet. You haven’t even said goodbye."

Zariff laughed loudly, grabbing everyone’s attention. "Shut up, all of you! You’re annoying my wife. Besides, we don’t know what’s happening next. Maybe we’ll see you again, maybe we won’t. Either way, it’s all about making sure the association is our top priority and guaranteeing that only the best people are in charge. If I’m able, then I’ll be back to see you real soon."

"Chief..."

Rydel and Maynard stepped forward, separating themselves from the crowd. They both understood that the chief wasn’t planning to return to Reinolt. How could the proud Zariff let his people watch him slowly lose his EXP and levels? And how could he manage the branch when he would eventually no longer be able to do anything for the association?

"Are ya sure you don’t want us to join ya?" asked Maynard.

"Don’t worry, the brat will come back before he takes his leave. All the higher-ups want to meet him and he also wants to request you both as his personal aides and bodyguards. Once he’s back, you both will have permission to travel with him where ever he goes, and no one will be able to give you orders besides him," explained Zariff. "Also, they want all the lv. 30’s to stay here until Jack comes back with the new guy."

Understanding that Jack would return with Zariff’s replacement, they felt alright leaving Jack’s side for a little while. If it meant they would be able to travel with Jack indefinitely without anyone keeping an eye on them, it was worth it.

"Speaking of the brat, where is he?"

Marisha laughed, "Zariff, give him a minute. Maura was making sure he had a good meal before the journey started."

"What? And she didn’t offer me any?!"

"Calm down, I already made you an early breakfast, that is, if you don’t like my cooking, then I guess I won’t be able to make you anything until I practice enough--"

"No, no, I’m just surprised is all," Zariff didn’t let his wife finish.

He had made that mistake before and wasn’t allowed to eat her food for a week. While she and Maura enjoyed her delicious meals, Zariff would have to fend for himself. It was quite sad, and a very effective way for Marisha to manipulate Zariff on special occasions.

Rydel looked around and smiled. "Speak of the devil, here comes the kid now. Jack, you ready?"

Jack came out of the backdoor with both Maura and Keela behind him. Bowzer was on his shoulder and he was looking a lot more like the old Jack, from before Slivia passed.

"Yeah, I’m good to go. Let’s hurry up and get going," answered Jack.

Keela grabbed his arm, not letting him leave without her. "Jack, you said I had to go with you wherever you went I’m not allowed to leave your side. So, where’s my horse?"

"Keela, I have to make a few requests from headquarters first. After that, then you and the others will be following me everywhere. Just wait here, okay?"

"Then how come she gets to go with you?" reasoned Keela, pointing playfully at Maura.

"My family also has to go to headquarters, so Jack’s just coming with us to make things easier for him." Maura only gave her a glance before she mounted her horse that Zariff had prepared.

Jack scratched his head and did the same. "Keela, just stay in the city until I get back. In the meantime, get to know Maynard and Rydel. Since we’ll be journeying together, it might help to get to know them."

"Alright, let’s move out!"

That shout came from the front of the association building. Advisor Wain and Chief Liam were both waiting for them to hurry up.

"It’s time, let’s go!" yelled Zariff, leading his horse out of the association building’s back alley.

Marisha followed close behind him while Jack and Maura said a quick goodbye before they did the same.

Seeing Jack leave, Keela frowned. She was in a place she didn’t know, and the one person who was there for her had left with her love rival. Not too happy about it, Keela looked to Rydel and Maynard. "Where’s a good place to level up? I need to reach lv. 30."

Surprised to see her strange enthusiasm, Maynard and Rydel laughed. The best places to grind were in the southern forests of Reinolt.

Rydel answered, "Aren’t you supposed to stay in the city? That would--"

"Please, just help me level up as quickly as possible," Keela begged and bowed before them. "Everyone said Jack has reached lv. 20 in a month, so how long will it take him to reach lv. 30? I’m six levels higher than him, but he’ll pass me if I’m not careful."

Laughing even harder, Maynard shook his head in amusement. "Ya don’t get it. We already know that Jack will pass us, there’s no doubt about it. After he gets back and we start traveling all over, we’ll get left behind. Someday, you’ll understand why."

Confused by how casual the two proud men were, Keela had no idea why they acted like they expected and wanted Jack to pass them. Of course, she didn’t know that Jack was once an ancient hero from before the Holy War. If there was anyone who’s leveling could defy nature itself, it would be Jack.

"Well, I still need to grind and level up! Why don’t you help me?" Keela may have been humble in front of Jack, but she was still used to getting what she wanted most of the time.

"Jack said to keep you in the city till he gets back, so that’s what you should do. I’ll take you to the forest outside the south gate, but that’s as far as we’ll go," explained Rydel. "It’s still not the best for reaching lv. 30, but it’s better than nothing."

"Thank you! I’ll be ready in a few minutes."

Happy that someone threw her a bone, Keela hurried inside. She left Rydel and Maynard outside, not wanting to hear their laughter anymore.

*****

The road to the Polt Federation was long. It would take them over two weeks to reach the Polt-Reinolt border on horseback and to reach the capital city of the Polt Federation, it would take another couple days.

Though the journey would be a long one, it would be quite safe and trouble-free. With Advisor Wain with them, travel on the main road would be easy. Maybe if they tried to take shortcuts through wild areas it would be different, but they had no reason for that.

Curious about the Polt Federation, Jack looked to Maura beside him and asked, "Maura, what can you tell me about the Polt Federation?"

"Well, I was born there and we stayed there till I was almost fourteen. That’s when Papa was moved to Reinolt as the official Branch Chief. It’s been a while, but I like it more then Reinolt if I’m being honest," explained Maura. "It’s a place where you can find anything and every corner has a powerful adventurer with great stories!"

"Sounds like a fun place."

"You’ll have to be careful on the streets, dear, now that you have such a beautiful necklace. Since Jack gifted it to you, make sure he helps you keep it safe, so stay with him and don’t stray far, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," Maura replied with red cheeks.

"Hey, brat, don’t go running off right after we get there. We’re heading straight for headquarters and it’ll take most of the day for you to handle your business and for us to handle ours," added Zariff.

Marisha laughed and looked back at her husband. "How about we visit my favorite restaurant later, it would be the perfect way to unwind after a long day. What do you say, Jack, it’ll be our treat?"

"Sure, I can’t say no to a free meal, especially if it’s your favorite place," joked Jack. "Did you always live in Polt too, Maam."

"Didn’t I say you could call me "Mom" earlier? If not that, then at least call me by my name," Marisha teased him and made Maura’s face even redder in the process. "And yes, I grew up in Polt. My family owns one of the city’s most popular inns. That’s where we’ll be staying and dining tonight."

"Wow, that’s great!"

"You mean I’ll get to see grandpa and grandma again?!" Maura shouted.

"Yeah, you’ll see them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you too!" answered Zariff. "It’s been over five years since they’ve seen you, so they’ll spoil you, I’m sure."

"And I’m sure they’d love to meet Jack, too. What do you think Maura?" asked Marisha with a gentle smile.