Ch. 171..180

Chapter 171

"It’s been a long time, Jack. Far too long."

As Jack was spun around, he was startled. He hadn’t sensed anyone or anything. Even though he wasn’t searching for people, that person was able to slip past his awareness, meaning they were far stronger than Jack.

Jack frowned and carefully looked up to the man who had grabbed him.

That man was wearing a purple robe, but it was more ordinary than expected. He was tall, thin and wrinkles littered his face. His pointy ears stuck out of the man’s long silvery hair and were starting to droop, almost losing their point. However, the man’s eyes were wide open and filled with vitality.

The anger on Jack’s face vanished, quickly replaced with surprise and joy. Jack almost bit his tongue to keep from cursing the old man.

"What, you don’t recognize me?"

"T-Tralon?"

"Ah, so you do remember me," the old man laughed and put both hands on Jack’s shoulders, looking the young hero in the eye. "If you were back, how could I not come to see you?"

"But... You’re supposed to be in Trodar? And how are you even alive?!"

Argyle approached the two and chuckled, "So, did you like the surprise? Let’s go somewhere private and talk, okay?"

He motioned for Jack, Tralon, and the others to follow, leading them to a large banquet hall filled with all kinds of food. "Everyone, let’s celebrate this great occasion!"

With loud cheers, everyone took their seats and enjoyed the great spread.

Too distracted by Tralon’s appearance, Jack sat with Tralon to the side on a sofa. The old man looked at Jack and suddenly became more serious. In a low whisper, Tralon asked, "How can I know for sure that you’re my master?"

"Without me, you’d still be the week Tralon Smitton. And who else was crazy enough to run a place like the Leisure Guild than me, Jack_J, the Achievement Junkie?" Jack whispered back, happy to talk with an old friend.

"You really are him..." Tralon then dropped to his knees and bowed before Jack, not caring about all the attention he brought to Jack.

"Hey! Get up, will you? How will I explain this to everyone else?"

"Well, everyone here is your family now, so why not?" Tralon laughed as he returned to his seat on the sofa. "Please, don’t hold this against Argyle. He’s a sincere person and won’t treat his friends wrong, he’s even helped me and the guild on a few occasions."

With a small grunt, Jack replied, "I can understand why he did it, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was forced into this. That’s not even mentioned everything else that resulted because of this."

Shrugging and dropping his head, Jack frowned. Sure, he just gained a new backer and two beautiful wives, but was that what Jack wanted?

"Master, please don’t try anything too rash. I know you and I know how you like to make trouble," stated Tralon. "With Argyle’s support, you’ll have more freedom to act in the future. Knowing you, you want to leave the association and join the Leisure Guild again, despite the terrible state Trodar is in."

Nodding, Jack asked, "That reminds me, how is the guild? And how is Gilga? Are there any problems in the Trodan Council?"

"The guild is still intact, for now. Many of the rising politicians want us gone in order to take what’s left of our treasury and the council will be reorganized late next year," explained Tralon. "To save the Leisure Guild, you’ll have to be strong enough to enter Trodar before then. If you’re too late, I’ll likely lose my seat on the council and the guild’s days will become numbered."

"How strong are you now, Tralon?"

This entire time Jack was unable to read Tralon. He couldn’t see anything about him of the items he was wearing. Jack knew it was a skill of Tralon’s, but he had to ask, especially after hearing that Tralon was also cursed by Skaryn’s Vengeance.

Tralon slowly sighed, "I’m lv. 61 now. To think I was once a lv. 85 and accompanied one of the greats of ancient heroes... If it wasn’t recorded in history, no one would believe me."

"And how strong are the others in Trodar? Are there too many stronger than you?"

"None are over lv. 70, thankfully. But with all the other councilmen ranging between lv. 66 and lv. 69, I know we won’t be able to hold out for much longer. And even if we survive, there’s no telling what the outcome of Trodar’s wars will be," stated Tralon.

"... So, how strong should I be before I can start to help?"

"If you’re not even lv. 40, then I don’t think you’ll have enough sway with the other council members. Preferably, I’d like for you to return at your peak, lv. 85... Then they would finally show respect to the marvelous guild you built," explained Tralon.

"Lv. 40... This will be harder than I first thought." Jack scratched his head, trying to think of what to say next.

Jack had a thousand questions for Tralon. He didn’t have enough information about the hundreds of years between now and Ancient Kartonia, and Tarnel may have been the only person alive that could answer those questions.

"Jack," Tralon interrupted Jack’s train of thought, "I don’t have much time to chat, sadly. The guild doesn’t know that I’m here, nor about us meeting each other. There were three reasons I came today."

"First, I needed to verify if you were really him and if so then ask for your help with the guild. Second, I came to return this to you."

A plain, ordinary-looking ring appeared in between Tralon’s fingers. He then handed it to Jack and continued, "Third, I came to renew my pact and once again become an inheritor."

Staring at the ring, Jack started laughing hysterically. "This... You’ve kept this junk with you all this time?"

"I thought it might come in handy at some point," laughed Tralon. "Now, please renew my pact!"

Again, Tralon kneeled on the floor for everyone to see.

Jack glanced at the others in the room, noticing that most everybody was watching them and utterly confused by how close they seemed.

Whispering so no one else could hear, Jack asked, "Are you sure? I’ll be editing the pact soon and making a better version if you could wait a little while. You’ll need all the EXP you can get with your curse."

"That’s unimportant, please, form the pact immediately. If the new pact is better, than we’ll form that one after you return to Trodar," Tralon insisted, holding out his hand in wait for Jack to begin.

"Fine."

While Jack made the small cut on his finger and wrote the pact on Tralon’s hand, the others were amazed. Most of them had no clue who Tralon was, they only knew that he was stronger than almost everyone present. Yet, this proud old man was happily kneeling in front of Jack, begging him to be his master.

Argyle smiled when he saw that. He felt that he had done the right thing, forcing Jack and himself to be allies. They would be able to use each other for their own selfish reasons. And seeing how devoted Tralon was to Jack, there was no doubt in Argyle’s mind about Jack’s story being the truth. What better evidence could there be?

"There, it’s done," said Jack, wiping the blood off his hands with a handkerchief. "Do you really have to leave already?"

"Yes, I have to hurry to a council meeting and I’m already late as is. But, it was worth the trip." Tralon smiled as he rubbed his hand over the spot where the pact was formed.

"How are you getting back then?"

"Don’t you remember? It’s the reason why you chose me as a companion in the first place!"

With that last shout, many different colored lights appeared and gathered around Tralon. In a flash, the lights condensed around Tralon until both he and the lights had completely disappeared.

"Oh yeah... You specialize in space magic..." Jack mumbled to himself as he stared at the empty space where Tralon once stood.

Now, he had gained a new inheritor, but he knew that he wouldn’t be getting any EXP from it since Tralon was always busy running the guild. But, a thought ran threw Jack’s mind and he started laughing hysterically again.

Maura and Eliza both looked at each other and then at their husband, not knowing what was going on.

While the others in the room were busy trying to wrap their heads around Tralon’s sudden use of high-level teleportation magic, Jack was combing through his system’s features. Almost immediately, Jack found a new option in his [Inhertior Skills] tab, one for Tralon.

Opening it up without a second thought, Jack couldn’t help but start panting from the excitement. A massive list of learnable spells appeared in front of Jack, rendering him speechless.

Chapter 172

Before Jack could dive deeper into his newly acquired skills, a few people approached Jack. Both of his wives, Argyle, and Zariff all walked towards the distracted Jack, curious what was going on.

"Jack, who was that man and why do I get the feeling that you know him better than you know me?" asked Maura.

"Probably because I do know him better," Jack laughed as he exited his system and joined everyone for the fantastic meal.

While Jack had only started to eat, those that were finished had some questions for the young hero. Argyle asked, "So, Jack, are you still mad at me? This should make up for everything if you include the support I’m now giving you."

"I haven’t decided that yet." Not wanting to admit it, but Jack was actually ecstatic about meeting Tralon and even more so about him renewing his pact. Now he’d gain access to all sorts of spells and many different types of magic.

Tralon specialized in space type magic but he could also wield holy and earth type magics as well. This was the first inheritor to give Jack access to spells, and Jack knew what most of them would be without looking. The most exciting part was that Jack was sure that Tralon knew mythic-tier spells and a couple of legend-tier spells. He couldn’t help but get excited while he was forced to wait for a better time to take a look.

But one thing was certain, Jack was already considering forgiving Argyle. Getting his hands on such powerful magic would’ve been impossible without this happening.

"Well, I’ll wait till the day you do. I’m sure it won’t take too long," Argyle joked as he looked at both his daughter and Jack.

"That reminds me, I’m in a hurry and will be leaving Federal City before dark. I’ll need to get some supplies for me and the party that will be traveling with me," stated Jack before stuffing his face with some grilled lizard meat.

"So soon? You’ve just been married to my beautiful daughter and you already want to leave. Why not--"

"I’ve already decided. My original plan was to leave this morning, but someone had to go and change that," staring back at Argyle, Jack spoke forcefully, showing that he wouldn’t change his mind.

"Fine."

Suddenly, a ring was thrown to Jack, which he easily caught. Perplexed, Jack looked back at Argyle, waiting for an explanation.

"There are some things that might be helpful on your journey. You can still go grab as much travel supplies as you want from our archives, but consider that ring a gift to my new son-in-law," Argyle shrugged as he spoke.

"... Thank you, Argyle." Turning to Zariff while taking another bite, Jack threw him a different ring. "Here, you keep that until they heal you."

Zariff quickly inspected the ring and almost choked on the air in his throat. Inside, he found a peak-tier lv. 85 staff and a chest, one which was filled with about twenty thousand gold.

"Consider it a thank you for all the support you’ve given me. Now, I don’t owe you anything." Jack then focused no his food, devouring it as quickly as possible without regard for manners.

By the time he finished, everyone had eaten their fill.

"Eliza, can you take me to the archives? We need to hurry and leave before dark, or we won’t make it to the next town."

"Sure thing, dear," Eliza replied, fluttering her long eyelashes. "Follow me."

Both Jack and Maura left the room behind Eliza, leaving their parents and family inside the banquet hall. Those left behind made sure to chat more openly since the kids had left, letting both sides of the family learn about the other’s actions toward Jack up to that point.

After a few minutes, Eliza led them to a storehouse. Holding up an emblem of the Fat Goose to a stone on the wall, the large front door slowly opened for them.

"This is the archive where you’ll find all kinds of travel equipment. Take whatever you like, only the best for my husband," said Eliza, looking back to her new man.

"Thank you." Not sparing her a glance, Jack immediately started combing through the many items in the warehouse.

After almost half an hour, Jack finished collecting supplies. He grabbed a few large tents, saddles, rope, torches, and everything else he thought might possibly have a use. Returning to the entrance, Jack found Eliza and Maura talking to each other. It was clear to Jack that they were both uncomfortable with the other, making him wonder how that will affect their journey.

"Eliza, I never asked what class you were; mind telling me?" Jack asked her even though he could see it with Eagle Eye. At least he would be kind to his new wife, whether he was forced into it or not.

"I’m an enchanter. With me in the party, everyone will be much stronger while your enemies will be weaker. That I can guarantee." She was still trying to act seductive, doing her best to entice Jack in some way.

Since the moment she learned that Jack and Maura had also gotten married, Eliza made it her goal to take as much of Jack’s heart as possible. She didn’t mind the marriage being so sudden. For her, it was almost a dream come true. Never before had she been in a relationship, but what girl hadn’t dreamed of one day marrying a great hero? As for them not knowing each other, she felt that would happen over time. With arranged marriages being so prominent among major guilds or noble families, Eliza felt lucky that Jack was the one who had become her husband.

"That’s good, you’ll fit right in with the others," replied Jack, giving her a slight smile. "Since we’re ready, let’s go."

Not wasting any time, Jack and his wives returned to the banquet hall to say their goodbyes. Next, they went to the stables and each took a horse for themselves, as well as one extra horse.

After leaving the Fat Goose Guild, the party went to the Adventurers Association headquarters and told them they would be leaving early. That way the association would send the new branch president without them and that they wouldn’t need to worry about sending bodyguards with Jack.

As evening set in, Jack and his wives had already left Federal City. They were hurrying on the road, trying their best to reach the next town before nightfall.

It was later then they had expected, but the party reached the small trade town before the sun disappeared for the night. Since Federal City was one of the few megacities on the continent, there were many settlements surrounding it that saw all kinds of travelers and visitors.

The party found an inn with a stable and decided to stay there for the night. After putting the horses away for the night, they entered the inn and found the front desk.

There at the front desk, was a man leaning against the wall, as if he was waiting for someone.

Maura was surprised to see him, yet Jack wasn’t. Curious why he was there, Maura asked, "Rydel, what are you doing here?"

"I hurried over a while ago. I’ve been here since yesterday, waiting to escort you guys back Reinolt. Without a lv. 30, the journey would be much harder with monsters trying to ambush a weak party," explained Rydel. The hunter then sighed when he looked at the other woman at Jack’s side. "This will be hard to explain when we get back."

"I’m sure Keela will understand, if not, she’ll just have to deal with it," said Jack.

"I wasn’t talking about Keela, I was talking about Daliea."

Remembering what he had said to Daliea, Jack suddenly understood what Rydel was talking about. This really would be hard to explain.

"Anyway, I’ve already paid for your room," stated Rydel, handing Jack a room key.

Jack took the key and handed it to Maura. "You and Eliza will share a room. I’ll stay with Rydel." He tried to escape up the stairs but Jack was stopped by a surprised Eliza.

"Huh?! We just got married and instead of a honeymoon, you’ve decided to hurry back to Reinolt. That’s understandable but you won’t even stay with me, your wife!" Her shout startled some of the customers at the main floor’s bar, but she didn’t care and continued shouting. "And what about her, you think you can just give one wife special treatment and ignore the other, how shameless?!"

"Quiet down!" yelled Jack, trying to calm her. "I haven’t given either of you special treatment. I may talk with her a bit more, but that’s because we’ve known each other longer."

"But--"

"Eliza, let’s go to our room, I’ll explain everything there," Maura chimed in, grabbing Eliza by the hand.

"Hmph! Fine... Since he wants to act like that, maybe he doesn’t deserve to spend time with us." Willingly following Maura, Eliza went upstairs and found their room.

"You’ve got your hands full, but I’m surprised you don’t take advantage of all this. If anyone else was in your shoes, they’d be overjoyed," the hunter joked with Jack, lightening the mood of the main floor.

"Let’s go up already, I’ve got to check a few things and then we’ll discuss the plan." Taking the lead, Jack went up with Rydel to their room without a second thought, anxious to learn about his new spells.

 

Chapter 173

Rydel opened the door to their room and let Jack in. "I’ll be at the bar, you want anything?"

"I’ll be busy for a while, but go ahead and order two special meals for Maura and Eliza," answered Jack.

"You mean, your wives?"

"Just hurry up and make the order! I’m sure they’re hungry," yelled Jack as he shut the door, ending the conversation.

He stored his cloak and let Bowzer rest on Jack’s pillow. Lately, Bowzer had been getting drowsier by the day. According to the fox pup, it was because his body was preparing to evolve and reach adolescence. Soon, Bowzer would no longer be a puppy.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of the bed, Jack opened the achievement system and quickly selected Tralon’s skill tab.

Almost one hundred spells were listed in front of him. Most were low-tier and mid-tier, but Jack was still excited to gain so many spells to learn. Jack altered the system slightly and added a new tab inside his skill list labeled [Spells.]

The [Spells] tab was used to list all spells that Jack had learned thus far and all spells that Jack would be able to learn through the system. He also categorized it, allowing him to filter the list by tier and by type.

Choosing the tier filter, Jack quickly found all the high-tier spells that would be within his fingertips. Dividing them up by type, Jack read the three columns,

[HIGH-TIER SPELLS]

[Earth Type]

[-Earth Wall: 50 skill points]

[-Stone Skin: 75 skill points]

[Holy Type]

[-Blessing: 50 skill points]

[-Lesser Replenish: 50 skill points]

[-Greater Healing: 75 skill points]

[-Lesser Party Heal: 75 skill points]

[-Holy Weapon: 75 skill points]

[Space Type]

[-Pocket Dimension: 100 skill points]

Looking over the list, Jack was speechless. It wasn’t because of the spells he could learn, it was because the price was outrageous!

Thinking about it, Jack felt his heart breaking into a million pieces. ’If high-tier spells cost this much... What about peak-tier? Or mythic-tier? I don’t even want to imagine the legend-tier price..."

Not wanting to imagine such outrageous prices, Jack looked at the most promising high-tier spells. The first was, of course, the only space type spell, which was also a spell he had never heard of in-game.

[Pocket Dimension]

[Space type; 100 skill points. A one time spell that can create a separate space in its own dimension. The creator can put anything inside or take anything out at any time without expending mana. The pocket dimension is a vacuum and can be used as an infinite personal storage.]

’Whoa... That’s perfect!’ Though Jack had never heard of it till then, he wanted it all the same. It would allow him to store things without storage items. That would mean it was practically impossible to steal his things!

’Let’s check the earth type next.’

[Earth Wall]

[Earth type; 50 skill points. It creates a barrier of earth near the caster in whichever direction the caster chooses. Mana consumption: very low - average, depending on the size of the wall.]

[Stone Skin]

[Earth type; 75 skill points. The target’s skin becomes as tough as stone for the duration of ten minutes. Mana consumption: low.]

’Hmm... not bad. Next, the holy type magic.’

[Blessing]

[Holy type; 50 skill points. The target will gain an additional 10% health regeneration and 10% mana regeneration for the duration of ten minutes. Mana consumption: average.]

[Greater Healing]

[Holy type; 75 skill points. The target will heal up to 70% of its maximum hit points. Mana consumption: average.]

Jack also skimmed through the other holy type spells, but they were all similar. Greater Healing was a better version of the mid-tier spell he could learn for twenty-five skill points, Lesser Healing, which healed up to 35% of a target’s maximum hit points. Lesser Replenish was the same as Lesser Healing, but it restored mana instead of hitpoints. And Lesser Party Heal was a 35% heal for the entire party.

Holy Blade was a spell that could make a weapon temporarily gain holy damage as a bonus effect. It was useful against undead, demons, or devils. Other than that, it would only slightly boost the weapon’s damage.

It took Jack a minute build up the courage to check the peak-tier spells. Most of them were just better versions of the high-tier spells, but they were all useful in certain situations.

[PEAK-TIER]

[Earth Type]

[-Earth Fortress: 100 skill points]

[-Swallowing Earth: 250 skill points]

[-Create Golem: 250 skill points]

[-Iron Skin: 300 skill points]

[Holy Type]

[-Greater Replenish: 100 skill points]

[-Lesser Party Replenish: 150 skill points]

[-Party Blessing: 150 skill points]

[-God’s Eye: 200 skill points]

[-Greater Party Healing: 350 skill points]

[-Revivification: 400 skill points]

[Space Type]

[-Lesser Teleportation: 300 skill points]

[-Spatial Slash: 400 skill points]

[-Spatial Disruption: 400 skill points]

’...’ Jack was too caught up on the sudden jump in price to think clearly about the spells themselves. It took a moment to calm his panicking mind, but eventually, he started to open up his skills and inspect what benefits they gave him.

This time, Jack inspected the earth type spells first. Earth Fortress was a better version of Earth Wall, creating a dome of earth around the target to completely cover them. Swallowing Earth was very much like creating a small earthquake to trap the enemies inside the earth itself. Create Golem was simple and straight forward, making a temporary fighting companion that followed basic commands. And Iron Skin was the upgraded form of Stone Skin.

The common trend in all of them was the increase in mana consumption. Mana consumption was measured from very low, low, average, high, and very high. All of the peak-tier earth spells had at least an average mana consumption.

Next, Jack looked over the many holy type spells. They also had a spike in mana consumption and were mostly better versions of the high-tier spells.

Other than that, two spells were unique; God’s Eye and Revivification.

God’s Eye was a peculiar spell that Jack was unfamiliar with. It allowed the caster to see their surroundings from beyond their own perspective as if they were looking down on the earth from the heavens. They could discern how many creatures or people were in the area, or they could search for specific things. The mana consumption was low, but it would continue to use mana the longer the caster had it active.

Revivification was the most expensive and it was easy to understand why. It was a spell that could revive someone from an unnatural death within one minute of their death. During most situations it was useless, but on rare occasions, it could be one of Jack’s most powerful spells.

When Jack started looking at the space type spells, he laughed at his own misfortune. The space type spells were the ones he was most interested in, but they were always the most expensive.

Lesser Teleportation would let Jack travel to anywhere within a ten-kilometer radius and had average mana consumption. It would be handy, but it wasn’t good for party play.

Spatial Slash was an offensive type spell and was well worth the 400 skill points to learn it. A wave of spacial energy would be sent through the air, cutting through anything in its path. With an average mana consumption, it was a terrifying spell to be facing.

Of the three, Jack was most interested in Spatial Disruption, because it would disrupt the movement of anything within fifty feet of the caster. Of course, the caster could control it so that allies were unaffected, leaving enemies wide open for attacks. Jack imagined casting this spell while letting Rydel and Maynard slaughter anything that dared move.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to purchase any mythic-tier spells for a long time, Jack didn’t want to spend too much time on them, but curiosity still got the best of him.

[MYTHIC-TIER]

[Earth Type]

[-Summon Earth Elemental: 600 skill points]

[-Diamond Skin: 700 skill points]

[Holy Type]

[-Greater Party Replenish: 500 skill points]

[-Resurrection: 800 skill points]

[Space Type]

[-Greater Teleportation: 750 skill points]

[-Collapsing Space: 900 skill points]

Jack was blown away again by the rising price in skill points. He wondered how he could ever gain so many skill points to learn them all.

Then he took a deep breath. If he remembered correctly, he had forced Tralon to learn two legendary spells. If Tralon still knew them, that would mean Jack could possibly learn them. But Jack was afraid to look at them, fearing he might faint from the price alone.

Thinking and calming himself, Jack finally looked at the legendary spells available to him.

[LEGEND-TIER]

[Space Type]

[-Rendering Space: 1500 skill points]

[-Spatial Rift: 1750 skill points]

[Rendering Space]

[Space type; 1500 skill points. The caster can isolate any number of targets and render the space around them, lacerating their very molecules. The fewer the amount of targets, the more powerful the spell. Mana consumption: very high.]

[Spatial Rift]

[Space Type; 1750 skill points. A spatial rift is forcibly opened, connecting any two locations by means of the spatial rift. This allows large groups or gigantic creates to travel across any span of distance in a single step through the rift. Mana consumption: exponentially high.]

Lost in thought and longing, Jack imagined using such terrifying spells personally. It was going to take him a long time to even learn peak-tier spells, let alone legend-tier.

Chapter 174

Downtrodden, Jack frowned and left the room. Wanting to drown his new woes in brundy, Jack joined Rydel at the bar.

"Hey, so, what was so important that you couldn’t come down sooner?" asked Rydel.

Jack sighed, "It seems I got too excited for nothing..."

"Whatever it was, it seems like it can wait if you’re not wanting to talk about it. Anyway, want to fill me in on the plan?"

"I’ll give you the gist," answered Jack. "First, we head back to Reinolt and gather up the party. Second, I need to alter my Inheritor’s Pact. It should only take me a few days of study and practice, but it has to be done."

Rydel laughed, "Why, so you can take all our EXP instead?"

"The opposite, I don’t want to take any of your EXP. We’ll be too close for it to matter, and it would be bad if I was the only one leveling up. I need to find a way to balance it while keeping our benefits. Thanks to some new supplies I bought, it should only be a matter of time until I have it ready."

"I’ll drink to that!" Rydel cheered, downing the last of his brundy. "Kid, I hope you keep your promise. You didn’t forget that you’ll be helping me get blessed by that god, right?"

"Of course not! That’s the next part of the plan," replied Jack. "We’ll be heading for the Aazoon Kingdom once the pact is ready. But we’re not taking any roads unless it’s absolutely necessary."

"Really?"

"Really, otherwise we won’t be able to get so many people to level up. However, with so many people, we should be able to face some pretty powerful beasts with tons of EXP!"

"Calm down, Jack, you’re getting ahead of yourself." Rydel slapped Jack’s back with his empty mug. "By the way, weren’t we supposed to search for that sword god in Zuran for that old samurai?"

"Well... Actually, I don’t plan to go there at all..."

Giving Jack a strange look, Rydel asked, "And why’s that?"

"Because the sword god isn’t a neutral god," answered Jack. "Only the neutral god are trustworthy."

"Seriously? I thought Halmut, the god of the heavens, was the one who defeated Skaryn and saved the world?"

"It’s true that they fought and that Halmut won, but do you think Skaryn was the only side that instigated the war?" snickered Jack.

Baffled, Rydel tried to figure out what Jack meant. "You mean... that both Skaryn and Halmut were the cause of the Holy War?"

"Precisely. When both of them were just as influential as the other, eventually, they decided to try and overtake the other’s influence. With more influence, wouldn’t the gods become more powerful? Powerful enough to have no rival?" reasoned Jack. "Does that not make sense?"

"No, that makes perfect sense," agreed Rydel. "Is that why Trodar was hit harder than everyone else because it was always a neutral state and never holy nor chaotic?"

"Yup, like always, you figure everything out so quickly."

With a loud sigh, Rydel left a couple of gold coins on the bar counter and stood up. "Don’t stay up too late, kid. We’ve got a long day of riding tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Jack retrieved a gold ring from his storage. It’s dark green gem was hazy in the light of the inn’s candles. "Here, this is for Ayden."

"Huh?"

Rydel took it and inspected it. Without a second thought, Rydel smiled and dashed out of the inn. A couple of minutes passed and then he returned inside.

"Thanks, Jack. I’ll make sure to treasure it." Having thanked Jack for his new bestial storage ring, Rydel went upstairs with a beaming smile on his face.

Left alone at the bar, Jack sat there for a long time, thinking and pondering about what he should do next. The biggest thing on his mind was what he should try and buy from his new spell list.

After the wedding, Jack gained fifteen skill points for getting Eliza to admit that she liked him. Though they had gotten married, Jack still received fewer points than either Maura’s and Slivia’s achievements. It was proof that they just didn’t know enough about each other to get so serious so quickly.

Lucky for him, all low-tier spells that Tralon knew were given to Jack for free. Unlucky for him, they were mainly practical spells like Light, which only created a small ball of light.

Spending twenty of his thirty skill points, Jack upgraded his mana regeneration to lv. 3. Jack figured that since he couldn’t get any high-tier spells, then he should at least do something that would aid his spell casting and skill using.

There was one major flaw to having so many skills and spells; both spells and skills use mana. Without an absurd amount of mana, Jack’s huge arsenal of abilities wouldn’t be too difficult to face. For that reason, Jack was determined to level up his mana abilities to the max if given the opportunity.

As the night dragged on, eventually Jack took himself upstairs and slept next to Bowzer. Not once did Jack go and see his wives.

When the morning sun woke the party up, they all hurried to the bar for a quick breakfast. Once that was over, they all mounted their horses and dashed down the road toward Reinolt.

*****

Just outside Reinolt City’s south gate, two adventurers were farming EXP from anything they could find. By looking at their levels, it was clear that both of them were too strong to gain much benefit from killing such low-leveled creatures, but they did it anyway.

"Keela, don’t go off too far! Ya know we need to stay near the city. Jack and the others should be arriving soon."

"Okay, Maynard. Let’s just head back then," Keela pouted, unhappy with the results of all their farming. She had managed to level up, but that was only because she was already at the very top of lv. 27.

Even after spending a month grinding through the forests outside of Reinolt City, nothing special had happened to her.

’Hey, where are you two? We should be approaching the south gate in a few minutes.’

A mental message rang out loud and clear in Maynard’s mind. He smiled and replied to Rydel, ’We’re at the edge of the south forest, so we should be able to meet ya outside the gate.’

Looking back to Keela, Maynard smiled. "It seems they’ll be here soon then we thought. Let’s hurry back, or ya will miss them."

"Really?!" yelled Keela.

Since the others were back, it meant that she wouldn’t have to stay near the city anymore. Plus, she had heard from Maynard that they’ll be going to other countries soon. Their journey would finally be starting and she’d be able to level up together with Jack and them.

"Try not to act too surprised when ya see Jack. A few unexpected circumstances happened in Federal City."

"What do you mean? Is Jack okay?"

"Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. If anything, he might be better than fine," laughed Maynard. "Either way, I just hope ya don’t act too surprised and die of shock."

"What happened in Federal City? If it wasn’t anything big, then you wouldn’t be making such a big deal out of all this!" Keela shouted at Maynard, hoping that he’d just admit the truth.

"Ya will see. Anyway, let’s get going."

The two-person party quickly made it back to the south gate and stood off to the side of the road. As carts and travelers passed, Keela scanned them all in search of Jack while Maynard was calmly passing the time with meditation.

"Didn’t you say that they were supposed to be here by now?" asked Keela.

Keeping quiet, Maynard kept his mouth and his eyes shut.

"What, did you miss us that much?"

A familiar voice came from behind Keela and the moment she heard it she turned around with a smile. "Jack!"

Diving at him with her arms wide, Keela laughed and tried to embrace him.

Suddenly, two people appeared in front of Jack, blocking her way. One of them was easy for Keela to recognize, but the other wasn’t. "Who’s this?"

"This is Eliza. She’ll be traveling with us from now on," stated Jack. "And I’m sure you already recognized Maura, despite her new clothes."

"Dear, who is this, and why is she trying to lay her hands on you, my husband?"

Eliza’s sudden statement rocked Keela’s brain heavily. "H-husband?! What is she talking about, Jack!"

"Calm down, both of you!" yelled Jack. "We’ve finally arrived and you’re not letting us relax after our long journey."

Keela quickly looked at both Eliza’s and Jack’s hands, finding both of them to be wearing wedding bands. "WHAT?! What happened in Federal City?!"

"Only our wedding," Eliza joked around with Keela.

It was easy for her to see that Keela was also trying to get after Jack. Sadly for both her and Maura, Jack had only agreed to marry them in name and not in act. Other than the moments where he would put on a show as their husbands, Jack would treat them like he had before. Even when Eliza tried to sneak into his tent at night, she was quickly rejected.

Since she hadn’t been able to make much progress with Jack their entire trip, she at least wanted to let off some steam. And since Keela was practically begging for it, Eliza played along.

"What, were you rejected and failed to get Jack’s heart? Unfortunately, you can’t even be his second wife, even if he agreed."

"What do you mean?!"

With a subtle laugh, Eliza looked Keela in the eye and pointed at Maura. "Just see for yourself."

Keela blinked a few times but quickly focused on the ring Maura was wearing. When she saw it, she felt like a freight train had hit her head-on. It was too much to take in or understand, so she was getting angrier by the second.

Chapter 175

At the top of her lungs, Keela screamed, wanting an explanation for all this. However, when her bright red face turned to look at Jack, she couldn’t find him. Rydel was still riding his horse and was now holding the reigns to Jack’s horse as well.

"Where did he go? He thinks he can just leave without an explanation?!"

Laughing, Rydel glanced at Maura. "Since Jack took off, how about you explain things? By the look of things, it would be better that you talk and not Eliza."

Maura sighed, "Keela, come with me and I’ll explain everything. Let’s head back to the association building and we’ll talk on the way."

"Fine, but I refuse to give up! This only means that I need to try harder!"

Together, Maura and Keela led the way with Rydel, Maynard, and Eliza in tow. Eliza looked at the calm samurai and asked, "Are you Maynard? They told me a lot about you and your bloodthirsty-style."

"Yup, that’s me," answered Maynard. "And ya must be Eliza. How does it now that ya are finally out on your own adventure? Is it better than being cooped up at home?"

"Actually... It’s my first time outside of Federal City..."

"Seriously?!" Both Maynard and Rydel shouted, surprised by just how protective her father had been.

"You’re father must have really cared about you. I’m surprised he gave you away so easily to Jack," mentioned Rydel.

"Me too, but he said that it was better for me to be with Jack than anyone else. And if my father felt that it was better to be with Jack and not himself, than he must have a lot of confidence in Jack," stated Eliza, with a thoughtful tone. "But every time I ask Jack about what he and my father talked about, he never explains anything. And since he’s not here, can either of you two explain it to me?"

"Hey, he may not be here, but I don’t think Jack would appreciate us talking about his secrets so openly," replied Rydel.

Maynard nodded. "Ya will see with time. Now that you’re together with Jack, ya will learn first hand, just wait."

"But I’m not sure that we are together..." groaned Eliza. "My whole life I was sheltered and raised in Federal City, dreaming about the day I’d get to leave. Father always said that I’d only get to leave after I’m married. Now that’s finally happened, and to a hero no less! But he doesn’t treat me like he should treat his wife... Jack’s nice to me, but I feel that it’s only out of obligation."

"Can ya blame him though?"

"What do you mean?" Eliza asked Maynard, who so casually sided with Jack.

"Ya do know that your father blackmailed him into this, right?"

Confused, Eliza looked at Rydel, not wanting to believe what Maynard just said. Sadly, she only saw the hunter shrug his shoulders and chuckle in response. "You mean he really was blackmailed? Then why is he being nice to me when he never wanted to be with me?"

"Knowing that kid, he probably doesn’t blame you at all. If anything, he probably feels sorry for you. He’s too kind-hearted to not take care of you, even if you only became his wife by coincidence," explained Rydel. "He’s a great guy, but he’s going through a lot more then you give him credit for. In time, though, you may be able to grab a piece of his heart if you’re patient."

She looked back at Rydel shyly. "You... really think so?"

"Sure! We know Jack, and it’s only a matter of time till he accepts ya. Problem is, that might take longer than ya expect," mentioned Rydel.

The rest of the way, Eliza rode her horse in silence at Maynard’s and Rydel’s sides.

Back at the association building, Jack had already returned and hurried into one of the empty dorm rooms. Locking the door, Jack took his time to prepare plenty of papers, magical ink, and more. It was time to start adjusting the pact.

Without any distractions, Jack wondered how many hours it would take him to finalize the new pact.

At the entrance of the association building, Maura and the others finally arrived. Though Jack arrived first, he hurried through with his sudden death skill to not draw any attention. But now that Rydel and Maura were back, how could they not draw the attention of the entire branch?

Many people swarmed Maura, wanting to know what happened with her father and why he hadn’t returned with them.

Instead of answering those questions, she let Rydel handle that. Maura greeted everyone and led Keela and Eliza inside to the bar. Though her mother was no longer cooking there, the new cook still wouldn’t be bad.

Rydel and Maynard were the ones to start answering questions. When they mentioned Zariff’s dismissal due to being cursed and poisoned, it was a lot for the other adventurers to take in. And when they said that they would be leaving with Jack as his official party, the bar was in an uproar.

Many of them were jealous of the hunter and the samurai. Everyone wished that they had become closer to Jack when they had the chance. But since that ship had sailed, instead they celebrated with Maynard and Rydel, toasting to their future journeys.

There was, however, one person who wasn’t cheering or toasting with everyone else at the bar. She calmly stood up and walked toward the two men at the center of the commotion. "Are you really leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, Jack’s got some big plans so we’ll be heading out as soon as he finishes something," replied Rydel.

"Does that mean Jack is back?" asked Daliea.

Maynard chuckled, "Yeah, he’s probably locked himself away by now. I don’t know how long he’ll take, but ya will have to wait cause no one’s allowed to disturb him."

Nodding, Daliea looked around to see Maura with Keela and another girl that she didn’t recognize. When she saw the rings on Maura’s and Eliza’s fingers, Daliea squinted her eyes in thought.

She asked Rydel, "Did Maura get married?"

"Oh, you noticed..."

"So, she did? Where’s her husband, I don’t see him anywhere."

"Umm..." Rydel looked to Maynard as if to ask him to explain instead.

With a loud sigh, Maynard motioned to Daliea to come closer. He let her stand directly in front of him as he whispered something into her ear. It almost took a whole minute for him to stop whispering, but Dalieas face showed surprise in seconds.

After his quiet explanation, Daliea looked perplexed. She thought in silence for a moment but eventually said, "Okay. Then I’m coming too."

"We thought you might say that," grumbled Rydel. "I don’t have anything against it since you’re plenty strong. Actually, I’d be happy to have you come along. But you’ll have to convince Jack first."

"Like I said, I’m coming too. Jack won’t mind, I’ll make sure of it."

Both Rydel and Maynard looked at each other and laughed. Though they already knew this would happen, seeing the jealous look in Daliea’s eyes was proof that she still hadn’t given up her chase for Jack.

*****

Time past and two whole days went by without warning.

Jack was still locked up in that spare room, not letting anyone disturb his practice with pacts or Bowzer’s long naps. Finally, Jack let out a sigh of relief.

The young hero relaxed and looked at the piece of paper in front of him. It was covered in a pattern similar to the old pact, but now it was far more complex. With added shapes, symbols, and etchings, it looked far more powerful than it had been previously.

One of the biggest requirements for pacts was that they were only usable for summoned heroes, so Jack naturally filled the hardest requirement.

Second, it was about forming an original magic contract made in magic ink. Since JAck was using the best magical ink, paper, and quill money could buy, that requirement was also fulfilled.

That only left the pact symbol. It had to reflect the words and meaning of the contract, utilizing the many shapes and etchings to do so. And now that Jack had finally succeeded in balancing it all three steps, he could use his new pact.

His door soon opened, and a slightly tattered looking young man exited. Jack made his way to the bar to get some much-needed food.

It was about midday, giving Jack time to perform all the new pacts and say his goodbyes. Soon, he would finally be leaving Reinolt and starting his own journey without the association’s influence. They would still back him so long as he didn’t do anything too stupid, but they wouldn’t decide his trip for him.

With that over with, Jack enjoyed a good meal and waited for the others to come to find him. And since he had been stowed away for so long, his exiting seclusion was already getting spread around the building and reaching his friends’ ears.

 

Chapter 176

The first person to find Jack wasn’t who he had expected, but the person he had forgotten about many times.

She silently sat beside him, going unnoticed until she asked, "So, when do we leave?"

Finally sensing her, Jack was startled and looked up. When he saw Daliea, he chuckled, "Wow, you don’t leave any room to argue, do you?"

"Nope."

"We leave tomorrow morning," replied Jack. "I still want to say my goodbyes and we also have something to do before we leave."

"Right, you still need to give me your seed."

"Pfffew!!"

Spitting out his drink and almost coughing up his lunch, Jack was caught off guard with Daliea’s bluntness. He knew she was like that, but this was the first time that she had done so out in the open.

Also, unlike in the past, Daliea was no longer hiding her true appearance. Ever since the battle with the syndicate, the goblin city had been named as allies of Reinolt.

Most of the goblins would never come here, but Daliea and her captains were different. The captains would commonly be going back and forth, trading azure crystals for different supplies to help the goblin city grow. Daliea hadn’t even gone back yet, not since she had to wait for Jack.

The worst part was that Jack didn’t really see Daliea as a goblin. She looked far too human, other than the light gray color of her skin and her pointed ears. If it wasn’t for her skin, Daliea could possibly pass for a young elf even. Jack attributed that to her being from the rare shadow goblin race, but he wasn’t sure why they were like that.

"Jack, you no longer have the same problem as before, so why can’t you give me your seed?" asked Daliea, not giving up in the least.

"Daliea, I’m married now. How could I do that?"

"You’ve already married both Maura and Eliza, so why not me too? I already told you, I’ll give you everything."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying not to get a headache. "Daliea..."

"I’ve already talked with your wives, and they agreed," added the goblin queen.

"What?!"

Daliea continued, "Yup, so long as you do the same with them, they are fine with it. So why not?"

Backed into a corner, Jack pouted on the inside. Looking her in the eyes, Jack admitted, "Daliea, please don’t keep bringing this up. I’m flattered but I’m just not ready for any of that, not even with my wives. I only want to go that far with someone I love."

"So you don’t love your wives?"

That question grated hard on Jack’s ears because he never thought he would be asked such a thing. "Well... At the moment, not enough to go so far."

"So in the future, you won’t be against it? Then I will wait till you’re ready," stated Daliea, smiling happily.

Defeated, Jack finished his food in silence as the rest of his new party trickled toward the bar.

"Alright everyone, we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning and I’ll explain the plan on the road. For now, just make sure you’re ready to leave." Jack then looked to Maura, Eliza, Keela, and Daliea. "Ladies, you’re all coming with me to go see Tridon, so please, no fighting along the way."

"Tridon?" Eliza had no clue who that was.

"Let’s go!"

Jack left with girls behind him, leaving Rydel and Maynard to finish the preparations for the trip.

Jack’s group caught everyone’s attention as they walked through the street. After being gone so long, it was natural for the citizens of Reinolt City to find their hero’s appearance so sudden. And with so many beautiful women beside him, including the goblin queen they had all heard about, the party was a sight to behold.

Before long, Jack and the girls reached the Salendar Manor, but Jack was startled by what he found.

There were many new buildings and it looked like the stables had almost quadrupled in size. More guards could be found everywhere, showing that the family’s security had greatly increased.

Curious about the recent changes, Jack asked the guards if he could speak with Tridon.

At first, they refused, but after learning that they were speaking with Jack, Reinolt’s hero, they quickly passed the message to Tridon and were allowed inside. It didn’t take long for Tridon to appear personally and welcome them.

"It’s been a while! How’ve you been?"

"There’s too much to explain, but I do need your help," replied Jack.

With a mischievous laugh, Tridon smile. "Oh, so you’re too busy with your wives to explain anything to me, an old friend?"

Jack sighed, "Let me guess, Maynard?"

"And Rydel. They both visited yesterday and filled me in. Let me guess, you’re wanting to take some beasts as gifts to your wives?"

"Tridon--"

"Oh, that would be great!" shouted Eliza. "What kind of beasts do you have? Anything that’s both powerful and cute?"

"I’ve got all kinds of beasts, but his time I’m not giving any away."

"What do you want?" asked Jack.

"I want three peak-tier weapons; lv. 25, lv. 35, and lv. 40. I’ve heard that you’re plenty wealthy and married a rich girl from Federal City, so that shouldn’t be difficult, right?" reasoned Tridon.

"Tell you what, I’ll see what beasts you can offer us and then we’ll discuss the price. Is that fair?"

"Makes sense," Tridon stroked his beard and chuckled. "Come, I’ll show you everything I’ve got, including the new stock."

"By the way, what happened here?" asked Jack.

Sticking his chest out with pride, Tridon replied, "You’re now talking to the Reinolt Beastmaster, head of the nation’s Beast Manor, the newest national power. In terms of strength, we’re almost equal to the Royal Court thanks to all the new recruits who want to tame their own beast and join the ranks."

Surprised that King Leodoro was supporting Tridon so much, Jack smiled. He was happy that the Reinolt Kingdom was growing stronger after almost falling apart. It made him feel more comfortable about leaving them all behind.

Soon, they were all inside the stables and the girls were all looking at the many different beasts. Each of them was searching for what would become their personal beast and possibly one of their best friends.

Jack looked to Maura and said, "You should go after one of the strongest Cetuses. Wouldn’t it be perfect to compliment your water magic?"

"But aren’t those too strong to control? I’m only--"

"Remember, as soon as we leave, you’re level will change," added Jack, reminding her of the EXP pots he planned to give them all.

Though she was hesitant to think Jack would give them all something so priceless, Jack wouldn’t flinch at all. In his eyes, they would only become mid-level adventurers and that wouldn’t even qualify them as experts in his eyes. For the rest of the world, reaching lv. 30 was an amazing accomplishment. But for Jack, reaching level thirty was only a milestone that would allow him to travel and start the true grind, the push to become a high-level expert.

"If you say so."

Maura made her way to a Cetus’ pen, catching the attention of the other girls who hadn’t chosen one yet. On Maura’s shoulder was Bowzer, who Jack had woken up specifically to help them tame the strongest beasts.

With Bowzer activating his flame body, the cetus easily agreed and allowed Tridon to give it a mutual seal with Maura.

"That one was worth a lv. 35 weapon on its own, pretty fair for a lv. 34 cetus, right?" Tridon laughed as he started to name his prices. He knew that Jack was only going to take his best beasts, so he was sure to set a good price.

"That’s fair." Like it was nothing, Jack took out a pair of claw-like gauntlets and threw them to Tridon. "These should be useful to you, right?"

"Perfect!" Tridon happily stored the new weapons which fit his fighting style perfectly. "What’s next?"

Jack looked at the other girls. "Make sure to pick a beast who shared similar abilities with yourself. Trust me, I’ll explain why later."

"Okay!" Excited that Jack was finally doing something so special for her, Eliza didn’t hold back. "I want that one!"

Not wanting to be outdone, Keela hurried to her favorite beast. "And I want this one!"

When Jack saw the beast the girls were pointing at, he shook his head and laughed. They were going to make him spend a lot.

"Wow, they want my only dryad and my only fairy. That’ll cost you." Tridon shrugged and smiled at the same time. Though they were rare types of beasts, he only had them as a part of his collection. They weren’t too useful to him.

"How much?"

"Since the Forest Dryad is lv. 31 and the Light Fairy is lv. 33, how about a trade for those lv. 40 and lv. 25 weapons?"

Though it wasn’t much to Jack, he couldn’t help but feel like they were trying to get him to spend as much money as possible. But he couldn’t argue because they had chosen the ones he thought were best for them.

"What kind of weapons do you want?"

"I need a sword for Troni and something else for me."

Taking a moment to think, Jack retrieved two items. One was a sword and the other was claw type weapon, commonly used by strikers. "Will these work?"

"Sure!" Tridon smiled wide, happy to now own a lv. 40 weapon. "They’re all yours!"

For the dryad, Bowzer didn’t even have to use his flame body to tame her. The Forest Dryad had a feminine figure but didn’t have a human face. They were plant-type beasts and were known for their control abilities, perfect for Eliza as an enchanter.

The Light Fairy actually took a liking to Keela without any help, probably due to the magic they shared. Both of the only used holy type magic and the fairy would much rather travel with Keela than stay in a pen all her life.

Glancing at Daliea, Jack asked, "And you? Which do you want?"

Chapter 177

"And you? Which one do you want?"

Daliea looked around the stables but only shook her head in disappointment. "None of these."

"Really? But what about that Flame Tiger, wouldn’t that be perfect?"

"It would be okay, but it’s not the most suitable for me," stated Daliea. "I can cast three magic types and fire is my weakest of the three."

"Three magic types?! How come you never told me that?" asked Jack.

She shrugged while keeping a straight, emotionless face. "You never asked."

"..." Jack didn’t reply, taking a moment to think. After a few seconds, he also shrugged. "What’s your other magic types?"

"Illusion and dark."

Jack’s eyes sparkled as he thought about the many dark type beasts in his memories. They were all mysterious and had strange abilities, some even shared both illusion and dark types. He couldn’t help but agree with Daliea, that none of the beasts Tridon had would suit her as well as those.

"Tell you what, let’s get that flame tiger for now and we’ll get search for a dark type beast during our journey. How’s that?" Jack asked Daliea, hoping she would agree.

She looked at Jack, surprised to see him acting so kind to her. Though she knew that humans were no longer afraid of her, Jack was the only human that ever acted so kind to her, even after he kept rejecting her advances.

"Okay."

Daliea walked up to the Flame Tiger’s pen and entered without a second thought. It was lv. 35, one level higher than Daliea.

Before Jack had a chance to let Bowzer help her, the Flame Tiger roared and lunged at Daliea with intent to kill. From its actions, everyone could tell that the tiger was still new to being imprisoned and hadn’t lost its killer instincts.

But while everyone else was afraid for Daliea to get hurt, the Flame Tiger’s claw swiped through her and Daliea’s figure became illusory, disappearing completely.

As the tiger and everyone watching were confused, Daliea appeared to the side of the large tiger. In her palm was a blazing hot ball of yellow, white fire.

Seeing that fireball, Jack felt his hair wanting to stand up in fear. He found it hard to believe that fire type magic was her weakest type. How could that be when her flame was so hot?!

Sensing the flame, the Flame Tiger looked at Daliea with hesitation. Even as a flame type beast, it could sense a high degree of threat from that fireball. Its movements calmed as the tiger let Daliea approach it without retaliation.

When she saw that, Daliea knew that she had tamed the beast. Putting out her fireball, she petted the giant tiger. Since she was already small, the massive three-meter long tiger seemed enormous. Yet the goblin girl had still managed to tame it, even getting the tiger to lick her face and accept her as its new master.

Tridon was startled by the scene.

Since Jack had left, Tridon had signed a contract with the king, making his Beast Manor an unofficial branch of Reinolt’s military. He received funding and supplies from the Royal Court, as well as the majority of the animals they had in store. Also, Tridon had purchased many more beast with his new funding to grow his rising organization.

That tiger was the most expensive of the beasts he had purchased and was the most ferocious. It was still in adolescence and had the potential to break through lv. 50. Even he, Reinolt’s Beastmaster, had trouble just getting it in the cage.

Seeing the goblin queen, who was one level weaker than both Tridon and the tiger, dominate the tiger so easily, Tridon was aghast. He felt somewhat humiliated, but he wouldn’t let the others know that.

"Tridon, the seal," Jack spoke up, reminding Tridon of his part.

"Right!"

The large man quickly performed a mutual seal for them, further amazed that Daliea could get the tiger to agree. It seemed too good to be true.

"Alright, since we’ve gotten what we came for, let’s go," stated Jack. "Tridon, thanks for the help and the beasts. Here, I think this is worth the tiger, right?"

A storage ring was thrown to Tridon, who caught and inspected it instantly. With a big smile, Tridon replied, "Sure, I think a lv. 35 beast net is well worth it! It was a pleasure doing business and good luck on your journey."

"Thanks. I’m sure we’ll meet again, in time."

With a light bow, Jack’s party said their goodbyes to Tridon and thanked him for the beasts.

Using the bestial ring that Jack had already given to Daliea, she stored all the beasts without trouble.

It startled Tridon, but he said nothing but he had heard from the others that Jack had become extremely wealthy. He just hadn’t expected the young hero to have so much more than himself.

In no time, they were back outside the Beast Manor, wondering what was next.

Jack took the lead, saying, "Let’s go see Zarris. I’d like to see him one last time before we leave."

Maura looked at Jack and asked, "And what about the king?"

"Knowing him, he’ll probably show up at the association building to say goodbye," replied Jack. "Besides, I have something to ask Zarris."

The ladies all followed Jack as they walked to the central square. Maura helped Jack contain Eliza and Keela, not letting them wander off in search of expensive, useless goods.

Zarris was outside his tent, manning his little stand as usual. It was easy for him to notice Jack’s party coming his way. When they came into view, he asked, "Jack, how have you been? Did you like Federal City?"

"Can we go in the back? There are some things I need to ask you."

"Sure, step right in." Zarris held the flap open, letting Jack and the girls enter the tent. Out of habit, Zarris cast silence and smiled. "So, what do you need today?"

"There are a few things, but first I have a question." Jack got straight to the point, not trying to waste the little time he had left of the day. "You were that mysterious voice that saved us from the Chaos Syndicate, right?"

"Hm, was it that hard to figure out?" laughed Zarris. "I tried to thank you for the information about the syndicate last time you were here. If you hadn’t tried to contact me for supplies to face the syndicate, I would’ve been too late to do anything."

"I knew it! That means you’re at least lv. 50, right? And you can cast both wind and space magic."

"Right again, you’re on a roll today."

Curious, Jack asked, "What did the king give you to persuade you to stay here?"

"A pretty good sum of money and whatever supplies I ask for, but the contract should be up for renewal soon and I’m not sure if he can afford it," stated Zarris, totally calm like his disappearance wouldn’t affect anything.

"Hmm... What level are you, exactly?" Jack was sure that Zarris was using an item to hid his information, probably as part of the deal so that no one would ever know who Reinolt’s protector was.

"I’m lv. 56, why?"

"Then let me make you an offer." Suddenly, a staff appeared in Jack’s hand. It was made of bone, as light as a feather, and appeared to hover over the ground. "Are you interested in this?"

Zarris’ eyes couldn’t contain his desire for the weapon in Jack’s hand. "What are the terms?"

"For another three years, keep watching over Reinolt. Also, if you have any other friends that would like a similar deal, I’m more than willing to pay for it."

"A have a friend who might be willing. He’s even stronger than me, but he even greedier."

"What level and class?"

"He’s a lv. 63 monk," answered Zarris. "Got anything for him?"

A golden quarter staff appeared in Jack’s hands, glowing in the low-lit tent. "I think this could work."

Nodding, Zarris agreed with Jack. Sure, he and his friend were high-leveled, but that didn’t mean they were the strongest or had the best weapons. Peak-tier weapons at their levels were practically priceless and hard to come by. A few years of service in a small kingdom was well worth such treasures, especially when there was a chance that nothing would even happen.

"I’ll contact him immediately. Knowing him, he should get here by the end of the month," said Zarris.

"Perfect, then I won’t have to worry about this place while I’m gone." Jack handed both weapons to Zarris, who gladly stored them away. "Also, do you happen to have any space type spells for sale?"

Chuckling, Zarris’ eyes sparkled. "You can cast space type spells?"

When Jack nodded, Zarris laughed and retrieved a book from his ring. "Here, consider as a part of our previous deal. That way I don’t feel like I’m cheating you to badly."

Jack took a look at the book, happy to get a free high-tier space type spell. "Thanks, Zarris! We should get going, but I’ll be back before our agreement is over. If anything interesting comes up in Reinolt, just contact me."

Zarris laughed, thinking Jack was joking about the contact crystal. But then Jack pulled out a deep purple contact crystal, and Zarris’ eyes went wide. "You got a high-tier contact crystal too! You must’ve left Federal City like a bandit."

"I guess, you could say that."

While Zarris was referring to those few items he showed, Jack felt the same way but about other items, mainly the bestial rings, Sterfen’s Cloak, and the fossilized egg. If the system was correct, that egg might even be worth more than the cloak in time.

 

Chapter 178

Jack’s party left Zarris’ tent and started heading back to the association building. It was already late evening after choosing beast companions and going through the central square.

On the way back, Eliza and Keela convinced Jack to buy them all food from the street vendors. It wasn’t the jewels or gifts that Jack hadn’t let them buy in the central square, but they were still happy they convinced him to buy them something.

"So, Jack, when’s our wedding?" asked Keela, while she ate some grilled beef skewers.

"Don’t even joke about that!"

"Who said I was joking? Since you’ve already gotten two beautiful wives, what’s wrong with a third?"

Giving her a death stare, Jack firmly stated, "We are not having this conversation." Then, Jack started walking again, not caring if the girls followed him or not.

"Wait! I’m sorry!" Keela ran after him, as well as the other girls.

Daliea was the only one who remained unfazed by it all. In her mind, all she had to do was be patient and the time would come where she could be with Jack.

Eventually, they all reached the association building by sunset. It was lively and filled with music, unlike most nights. When they entered, they were surprised to see the insides decorates with lights and paper lanterns. A big sign was written on the wall, saying, "Good luck on your journey!"

"Hey, you’re finally back!"

Jack recognized that voice and laughed. "Brunar, how have you been? It’s been a while."

"I’m doing great! Now that I’m lv. 24, I can go deeper into the south woods and the mountains. Soon, I’ll be lv. 30 and can travel all on my own." With some pink in his cheeks, Brunar lifted his half-empty mug. "It’s all thanks to you, so let’s celebrate! You’re leaving soon, so enjoy the night!"

Laughing as he grabbed a mug of his own, Jack joined in on the fun. "If you say so, then I’ll join in!"

The ladies all smiled and found their own things to do. Some were at the bar, like Eliza and Keela who were started to become good friends. Maura followed Jack, joining his occasional toasts and cheers. Daliea did the same as Maura, but she went unnoticed for the most part.

Maynard and Rydel were sitting together with Tomas and Trevor. The samurai finished his drink and turned to the others. "Men, it’s been an honor to fight alongside you."

"Same! I can’t wait to see who’s stronger by the time you get back," replied Tomas. "Are you sure you don’t want to take Trevor with you? He could use the experience."

"That’s not up to us, but Jack. And if I’m not mistaken, he’s already accepted more people than he had originally planned," Rydel answered, pointing at the four girls in various parts of the bar.

With a hearty laugh, Tomas lifted his mug. "What a lucky boy! Here’s to Jack, the young heartbreaker that will soon pass us all!"

"Aye!"

They all clinked their mugs together, joining the cheer and hastily downing their drinks. The first to finish was Rydel, followed by Maynard and Tomas. The last was Trevor, who couldn’t compete with the other men’s drinking habits.

"So, where are you all headed off to now?" asked Tomas, who had now calmed down.

"Aazoon," replied Maynard.

"Oh... Any reason why?"

"It’s a secret, but I’ll be sure to share it in the future. For now, everything we’ll be doing is a secret to everyone, including the association."

"Even to the association..." Trevor was taken aback by Rydel’s seriousness and his willingness to hide information from their superiors in the Adventurers Association.

Tomas chuckled, "Understood, we’ll both keep our mouths shut, won’t we Trevor?"

"Um... Yes, father," replied Trevor, now even more surprised that his strict father supported such behavior.

"Listen carefully, son, there are times in a man’s life which don’t need to be shared, even if a superior officer asks for it. Sometimes, it’s best to keep it to yourself and grow at your own pace," explained Tomas. "If you can someday understand that, son, then I’m sure you’ll surpass me in both strength and character."

"Yes, sir!" Trevor shouted, enthused by his father’s touching words.

He took the words to heart and made sure to become more of his own man. Rather than only follow orders blindly like before, Trevor understood that he could do so and still be himself. If he had been like that from the get-go and never let people walk all over him with orders, he started to realize how much a difference it would have made during his prior assignments as a city guard captain.

"Good for you, kid!" Rydel lifted his mug up, toasting to Trevor along with the others. "Oh, and remember to fill in the new branch chief when he arrives."

"And when’s that?" asked Tomas.

"In the next few days. We left Federal City early so that we could leave without any eyes on us. It’s better for us, at least that what Jack was saying."

"I’ll let him know what he needs to know. The rest he can learn from the past reports."

Rydel smiled and added, "According to rumors from Jack, the new branch chief should be a lot stronger than Zariff, at least over lv. 40. Apparently, the association doesn’t want to give the Chaos Syndicate such an easy time if they return to Reinolt."

"That’s wonderful, I’ll cheer to that!" yelled Tomas as the others joined in.

The night was filled with chit chat and booze, so everyone was enjoying themselves.

Eliza and Keela were getting closer with every drink they shared. They were eyeing Jack, waiting for him to start getting drunk. If they caught him too far under the influence, they planned to work together and take advantage of him.

Jack, on the other hand, was only pretending to drink but had only filled his mug once the entire night. He didn’t dare to leave himself so vulnerable when Eliza had almost succeeded in sneaking into his bed a few nights ago. If she almost succeeded when he was tired and barely awake, there’s no telling what he would agree to after an entire night of drinking.

Both Maura and Daliea could tell what Jack was doing, but neither of them planned to try and take advantage of him. They both wanted to genuinely earn his heart and they were willing to wait till that would finally happen.

Though it took a while, morning still followed night and woke up the drowsy adventurers.

The first one awake was Jack, who didn’t dare to let Rydel of Maynard sleep in. He also knocked on the girl’s door too. Since each dorm had two bunk beds, all four girls had decided to share a room for the night.

Without pause, the door swung wide open, revealing the changing girls.

Eliza, the one who opened the door, was still in her underwear and smiling seductively at Jack. Keela was leaning over her bed, showing off her breasts while in her underwear. Daliea was already fully changed and ready to go, probably because she was up even before Jack and just waited. Maura, on the other hand, didn’t realize the door was open and continued to undress, showing off her fit figure in all its glory.

Jack reached for the doorknob, and shouted, "Be outside in five minutes!"

"What’s wrong? You know that you can look at your wives however you want, right?" Still holding the door open, Eliza joked with Jack as she played with her bra strap.

"Huh? AAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

When Maura heard Jack’s voice, she wasn’t too concerned. But when she heard Eliza’s statement, she instantly looked toward the door and locked eyes with Jack. In a panic, she screamed and tried to cover her naked body with her hands, which almost made it even more attractive to Jack.

"I’ll be waiting outside!" Since Eliza wasn’t letting him shut the door and he had already seen what he felt he shouldn’t have, Jack looked away and ran.

"Okay, dear, but don’t forget about us!" yelled Eliza.

She was feeling proud that she finally got a reaction out of Jack. It was obvious to her that Jack’s biggest reaction came from watching the nude Maura changing and acting shy, but Eliza caught Jack’s eyes roaming over her body all the same.

Maura saw Eliza looking out the front door proudly in her underwear. "Eliza shut the door!"

With a laugh, Eliza closed the door and joined the others in getting ready. In the five minutes given to them, they were dressed and ready to go.

When they came to the bar, they found a spread of eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and bread waiting for them. Jack and the men were already eating, waiting for the girls to join in.

"Hey, dear, do enjoy the show?" laughed Eliza as she sat beside Jack.

"Let’s not talk about that." Jack proceeded to stuff his mouth so that he was unable to reply.

Maura and Daliea sat down nearby, joining in the quick breakfast. Her shyness wouldn’t let Maura stop blushing, even if Jack was really her husband that was the first time she had ever shown herself to him. But it was unfair because it wasn’t up to her and she was the only one to do so.

Sensing that the tension still there, Eliza poked more fun at Jack while she filled a plate with food in front of her. "You know, if you would just ask, you’d be able to see her again. And if you ask nicely, maybe you’d get to see us all at the same time."

"COUGH!! COUGH!!"

Choking on his bread, Jack pounded hard on his chest hard. His face was tomato red as he stood up and started for the door. "Let’s get going already, there’s no time to waste."

Though Jack avoided the subject, it was clear to all the girls that he had liked what he saw, whether it was intentional or not. If anything, Jack proved that he found them beautiful by avoiding the topic.

It cleared some of the doubts that Eliza had had. She didn’t think it was true, but there were moments that she thought Jack swung the other way. Seeing Jack so shy made her happy. Now that they were on the road, the chances to get close to Jack would only increase.

Rydel and Maynard laughed loudly, understanding exactly what happened. They were the first to follow Jack, quickly followed by the women. I

n a few minutes, they gathered outside the association building one last time. In an hour, they were already outside the city walls.

Chapter 179

They traveled in silence down the main road for about an hour. That was when veered off the path and entered the edge of the South Forest. The others followed and Keela, in particular, was excited now that she would finally get to enter the South Forest for real.

Another half an hour passed, in which a few weak creatures had confronted the party only to get easily killed. Jack finally stopped and turned to face everyone.

"Alright, first off, let’s bring out our beast companions. From this point on, I only want to see them put away when other adventurers are around us or it’s absolutely necessary," reasoned Jack. "You all need time to bond with them, that way you and your companions can trust each other."

Maynard, Rydel, and Daliea all nodded, releasing all the beasts inside their rings. Each beast then stayed with their companion, keeping to themselves and not infuriating the others.

The Flame Tiger was an exception. It stuck up its chest, acting like the other beasts were beneath it. That was until it saw the Thunder Cat and the roc, which were also level five beasts like the tiger. But the cat and the roc didn’t pay the tiger any attention. Instead, they looked forward and saw Bowzer on Jack’s shoulders.

When the Tiger followed the Thunder Cat’s line of sight, it saw Bowzer but didn’t think much of him.

Sensing the tiger’s stare, Bowzer looked bat at it. Suddenly, the tiger sensed the threat of death, like it was only an insect in front of that small fox. It wanted to lash out and fight Bowzer, but it didn’t dare. The strength of Bowzer’s bloodline was enough to shut it up, so it wouldn’t dare anger such a threatening beast.

"Now that we’re finally alone and away from the public eye, I’ll hand these out."

Jack retrieved the other three rings and sighed. If he had known that Eliza would be joining them, he would have bought another bestial ring.

"Don’t worry about me Jack, my father already gifted me one," stated Eliza, noticing that Jack was one bestial ring short. "But why is that important now, we’re a long way from lv. 30."

Smiling and happy that Argyle had anticipated the situation, Jack finished passing out the rings, giving all seven party members a lv. 30 bestial ring.

"This is where things are going to get interesting. Those of you who are new to the party, everything that it is about to occur will fill you in on some of my biggest secrets. If you dare share this information with anyone without my permission, know that I won’t hesitate to silence you by any means. Is that understood?"

Keela and Eliza were shaken by Jack’s threat. One was his wife and the other was someone who had willingly left her family behind to join Jack, yet he still was so cautious. It was clear to them that these things wouldn’t be a joking matter.

"Since there are no objections, first, we’ll make sure that everyone gets the new pact."

"Pact?" Again, both Eliza and Keela were clueless about what was going on.

"Maynard, since you were the first person to get the old pact, how about you be the first to receive the new one?"

Before Maynard could reply, two people had already stepped forward and stood in front of Jack. They looked at each other and both nodded before looking back at Jack, waiting to see what he would do.

"Maura, Daliea, you both know what this means, right?" Jack asked them, wondering if they would hesitate at all.

"Yes!" Both of them shouted in unison.

Seeing that they were determined to be the first, Jack looked to Maura and said, "Okay then, you’ll be first and Daliea will be second. Both of you, hold out your hands. Everyone else, get close so I don’t have to waste any blood."

Just then, Jack retrieved a knife and slit the edge of his finger, turning his index finger into a makeshift blood-ink pen. He proceeded to draw the new pact symbol on the back of Maura’s palm.

Once he was done and he moved on to Daliea, Jack said, "Now, place a drop of blood in the center and it will be official."

Following his command, Maura poked her thumb with a knife and did exactly what she was told to do. The moment her thumb pressed into her hand, a sharp stinging pain came from everywhere the blood was. Slowly, the blood bonded with her skin and eventually vanished. The pain lingered a little, but Maura was feeling a lot better now.

By then, Jack had already finished with Daliea and Maynard’s pact symbols. While everyone was feeling the stinging pain of the powerful pact, Jack had a slight smile on his face.

The new pact carried a lot of the same benefits as the last one, but there was no exchange of EXP involved with this one. Since they kept the skill-sharing ability, Jack would still be able to learn the other’s skills while he would naturally be able to boost their skills.

Some of the girls were already noticing that they felt a bit different after the pact was finished. They felt lighter and more agile. Also, they felt that their bodies were naturally stronger even though nothing else had changed.

Daliea broke into laughter, struggling to believe how different she was now. "What kind of pact is this and why has my mana capacity increased?"

"It’s not just your mana compacity, but also your mana regeneration speed that’s increased," explained Jack, making Daliea smile even wider. "This pact allows you to access my skills and allows me the opportunity to learn your skill. Now, my subclass’ skills are very different. Instead of learning sword techniques, I can raise my sword skill’s general level."

"So far, I’ve raised my skills involving swords, knives, bows, dual-wielding, stealth, speed, health regeneration, physical resistance, mana capacity, and mana regeneration."

As Jack listed his general skills, which they now had gained by default, the women all stared at Jack like he was a priceless treasure. On their own, such skills would still be good. But put together with learned or created skills, those general level skills would make all the difference.

Eager to test it, Maura retrieved a sword and was instantly amazed. For some reason, the sword felt lighter. It felt like it was becoming an extension of herself when she had only just retrieved it.

Daliea did the same, casting a small spell in order to be amazed that her mana regeneration really had increased. Both Eliza and Keela did the same, in awe of that Jack had such unique skills.

"That’s not all," added Jack. "I also have beast companion skills, which will let you borrow a tiny portion of your beast companion’s bestial magic and abilities."

With a nod to Maynard as the signal, the others all looked to the samurai.

Suddenly, static electricity was visibly dancing around Maynard’s body. As he activated his Sudden Death skill, they could hear the sound of electricity coursing through the air around them.

Looking behind them, there stood Maynard, still covered in electricity and smiling for them all to see.

"Also, know that whatever items you’re using or wearing will also be affecting your beast companion. So in other words, make sure both you and your beast companion are comfortable with the items you use."

"Are you serious? You have that many skills?!" Keela was baffled, finding this all hard to believe in though it was happening before her eyes.

"Yup, and soon I’ll upgrade my companion telepathy skill. That should be very useful for the party," added Jack. "Now, onto the next matter of business. Maura, Keela, and Eliza step forward and take this."

A velvet sack appeared in Jack’s hand, indicating to Maura that it was finally going to happen. The other two girls saw Maura eager gaze and wondered what else could be so helpful.

"These are EXP pots."

"WHAT?!"

Both Rydel and Maynard stared at the bag with jealousy in their eyes. They had heard about the tales of EXP pots, even though they had never seen them or known if they really existed.

"Yes, these are ancient EXP pots, but they’re only low-level EXP pots. That means they’re only useful to those under lv. 30," explained Jack. "You three shouldn’t be jealous since this is only a means of becoming mid-level experts. In my eyes, being lv. 30 is only enough to qualify us to travel and nothing more. Once we’re all lv. 60, then I’ll consider us a high-level party."

"But that will be far more difficult than anything you’ve ever done before. Also, our lives will be on the line at times and we’ll all have to work together when that happens. With these, all of us will at least be lv. 30 and we can start looking for real monsters to farm EXP."

Jack handed Keela one EXP pot and two to Eliza. Maura received four EXP pots, making the other girls jealous even though they knew it was because Maura was so under-leveled. With six EXP pots for himself, considering Bowzer’s level, they were all anxious to instantly become lv. 30’s.

Putting some mana into the EXP pots, they all felt a sudden rush of energy surging through there bodies. Once they had used all the EXP pots, the three girls were panting from overwhelming shock.

They really had become lv. 30 adventurers.

Chapter 180

Once all the EXP pots were used up, the party had gained five new lv. 30’s.

When Eliza double-checked her level, she shouted for joy. She thought she would take at least another year or two to reach level thirty, yet Jack had a way for them all to break through lv. 30 instantly. Wondering what else Jack might have, Eliza was starting to believe that her father’s high judgment of Jack wasn’t wrong.

Keela also reached lv. 30 and was on the brink of reaching lv. 31, but she felt a mix of emotions. She was originally stronger than Jack and thought it would make her more useful to Jack. But now, she was just like everyone else even though she had finally reached her goal of being lv. 30.

Then Keela and Eliza looked at Jack. They wanted to thank him but instead they felt a little mad.

Jack and Bowzer had both reached lv. 31 thanks to the EXP pots. As for him becoming higher level than them, it was all a matter of luck in how close they were to lv. 30 when they used the last EXP pot.

The girls didn’t feel too bad since it was Jack who had given them the EXP pots, at least that was until they looked at Maura.

By luck, Maura was on the cusp of reaching lv. 30 when she used her last EXP. Because of that, she was now lv. 32. She went from being the lowest of them all by a large margin, to the strongest of the new lv. 30’s.

Rydel and Maynard both felt their hearts ached to see the others all reach lv. 30 so easily. They could help it. The two of them had to grind for EXP and work so hard yet it took them most of their lives to grind and reach that level.

"Everyone, remember that this is nothing. We’re still too weak to do anything impactful," Jack reminded the party, bringing them back down to earth. "Our number one goal now is to grind for EXP. We need to all be lv. 40 before we reach Trodar, preferable lv. 45."

Hearing Jack’s dissatisfaction hit home for the newly leveled up girls. They had to stay humble and not overestimate their new strength, or they would pay the consequences.

Jack continued, "Our second goal while on the road is for everyone to pledge to one of the neutral gods. Strangely enough, there are seven of us and there are seven neutral gods. A coincidence, maybe..."

Maynard raised his hand and asked, "Why one of the neutral gods? What about the sword god, wouldn’t he be best for me?"

"No," Jack answered straight away. "Believe it or not, but we won’t be searching for any of the chaotic gods or the holy gods. Both the chaotic and the holy gods were the cause of the Holy War ages ago, and neither side truly cares for those who have pledged to them."

All of the girls, including Daliea, were confused by what Jack was saying. They didn’t even know those neutral gods existed and Jack was also accusing the gods they respected for being responsible for the Holy War, which claimed countless lives.

"Um... What do you mean?" Maura was the first to ask for clarification.

Sighing and shaking his head, Jack explained, "Listen carefully and know that everything I’m about to say is true, whether you like it or not."

The party nodded and let Jack continue. "Both Skaryn and Halmut have been vying for complete supremacy amongst the gods for a long time. The Holy War was only their way of trying to conquer each other and take the other’s influence. Both sides share equal blame and caused countless innocent lives to be lost."

"As for the neutral gods, you’ve never heard of them because they destroyed their own shrines and temples before the start of the Holy War. They wanted nothing to do with the war, so they disappeared from society altogether," explained Jack. "I know this because I’ve spoken with the ruler of the neutral gods personally and have already pledged to Daruun, the god of fate."

Everyone’s hearts were beating rapidly as they paid attention to Jack. If what he was saying was true, they had been lied to all their lives.

"Believe it or not, that’s your choice," added Jack. "But as a part of this party, each of you will pledge to one of the neutral gods and receive their benefits and blessings. With that, you’ll all become more powerful than common summoned heroes."

Again, their hearts wouldn’t let them calm down.

Becoming so strong was hard, but with Jack’s pact in place and possibly being blessed by gods made it seem possible.

They all quickly realized that Jack wasn’t joking when he said they were still too weak. It was easy to understand that Jack wanted them to become the most powerful party there was.

"There is a third goal we have while on the road, but it’s only if the opportunity presents itself," continued Jack. "We want to tame and befriend the most powerful beasts we meet. That way, we can either store them away or at least have a new strong ally. Any questions?"

Almost everyone’s hands shot up at the same time.

Jack spent the next hour or so explaining who the seven neutral gods were. He told them that he wouldn’t mind multiple people pledging to the same god if that’s what they wanted. So long as they pledge to one of them, Jack would be happy.

They then made their way through the South Forest, heading southeast. Since their first stop was Aazoon, they didn’t want to waste any time.

For almost a week, they traveled through the thick woods. They found beasts between lv. 23 to lv. 26, the same level range that Keela was wanting to find before becoming lv. 30.

Maynard and Rydel were happy to no longer give up any EXP, as they were finally starting to face monsters that could help them level up. Keela was also happy, soon she would become lv. 31 and leave Eliza as the only lv. 30.

By the time the neared the Aazoon-Reinolt border, they decided to visit a border town instead of camp.

It was Rydel’s and Jack’s idea because they wanted to see if there were any clues about powerful beasts or foes that needed to be defeated. The stronger the opponent, the better it was for EXP.

After checking in at a local inn, they all found a large table to share some dinner. They ordered their own meals, some eating lighter than others. The waitress, however, seemed a bit shaken when she took note of all the meals ordered.

"Is everything okay?" asked Jack, sensing the waitress’s worry.

"U-um no, I-I think everything is fine. Just let me check your order in."

The waitress hurried away, but she returned just as fast. A defeated look was on her face. "I’m sorry, but we’re out of beef and pork tonight. All we have are the salads."

"Huh? What happened to keep you from having beef and pork?" Rydel asked, sure that the small town should have its own farmers breeding animals and hunters to make up the difference.

"Um..." She looked at the party, hesitating to say anything but shaking as she faced them.

"It’s okay, we’re not mad. If anything, we might be able to help. We’re all from the Adventurers Association, so maybe we can do something about it."

When Jack mentioned the association, the waitress’s eyes started to water. Immediately, she wiped away her tears and started to explain everything.

"It all started about a week ago. Recently, all of the animals that the farmers breed are disappearing. With so few left, they won’t sell any until they can raise new stock."

"And what about hunters? There are some in the village, right?" asked Jack.

She nodded frantically. "Yes, we have plenty of hunters, but they’re all afraid to stray too far from town. The cause of the disappearing animals has been said to be wild bears."

"Bears?" Maynard was confused about why bears should be an issue for hunters.

"Yes, but they aren’t normal bears," explained the waitress. "The hunters have never seen such large bears near the town before. They should be from further in the forest, and they’re even more wild than normal."

Jack’s interest was finally piqued. "What do you mean?"

"I’ve never seen them myself, but the farmers and the hunters agree that these bears are too wild and strong for any of them to stop. The few times anyone has tried to kill one of those bears, three of our best hunters were killed, and they were all at least lv. 25!"

Looking at the others, Jack saw that everyone was paying close attention to the waitress’s explanation. Some excitement was seen in all of their eyes.

Returning to look at the waitress, Jack waved his hand over the table.

A small mountain of various beast meats appeared, startling the waitress. With a smile, Jack said, "Here, consider this as payment for our meals. We’ll check out the issue tomorrow morning and we’ll make sure it’s taken care of."