Ch. 221..230

Chapter 221

"It’s finally time to show off the best of our amazing items!" the auctioneer announced. "Remember, today we will only be exchanging for items, as gold is too difficult to measure these items value."

Those on the first floor wanted in anxiousness. They had no hope of getting any of these items, so they wanted to just enjoy the show.

All of the nobles on the second floor looked up to the third floor. Hoping that they could somehow get one of the items that will be for sale, they knew it would be hard with so many royals present.

Everyone on the third floor looked at a single room. They all had an eery feeling that the rest of the auction would be determined by whether that man wanted something or not. And they all wanted to know what his budget was.

If they had any clue of the outrageous purchase Jack had made within the confines of his room, they would’ve given up on the auction.

Jack just watched as he normally did. He wasn’t interested in the first batch of items, but the mystery items that each auction house had prepared. His hopes were to find mythic-tier and legend-tier items.

"First up, we’ll sell a plethora of lv. 60 and lv. 65 items, both peak-tier and holy. After that, we’ll get into the mystery items to finish the auction," added the beautiful woman on stage. "Now, here’s the first item, a peak-tier lv. 60 bow! Who will make the first offer?"

Some nobles on the second floor made the first bid but were quickly passed by the people on the third floor.

"Jack, what are you getting today?" asked Keela.

Eliza chimed in as well, "Yeah, what are you after now? Haven’t you already gotten everything we need?"

"I’m not sure. I’m just waiting for the mystery items, to be honest. I don’t care about any of these items," answered Jack.

Argyle sighed, "You really are hard to please, aren’t you? Do you know how many people would shrivel up in anger if they heard what you just said?"

"Well, it’s true. I’ve already traded away a peak-tier lv. 70 item, will they have anything worth that much?" replied Jack.

"I’m sure there will be such items. There aren’t many of them, but the royal families typically own lv. 70 items that have been passed down for a long time. So, if they find something they really want, they might trade those away for something more suitable to them," explained Argyle. "Don’t think that you won’t have any competition when it comes to getting the best items today."

"We’ll see about that. I’d like some competition," laughed Jack. "By the way, how come you didn’t know that cloak was a legend-tier before? Is there no way for you to measure an item’s value?"

"Well..." Argyle scratched the side of his face. "For things like spells, we still have a way to measure them, since there are still some mages that have such level spells. But for manufactured items and weapons, we can only guess since we don’t have any records of how mythic-tier and legend-tier items are made."

"Hmm... So that’s why... I guess that makes things easier for me, I hope."

"After this, can you help me categorize our special items in storage, Jack?" asked Argyle.

"Special items? But I’ve already combed through your storehouses and couldn’t find any."

"That’s because the most special items are either on my person or with Baral at all times," answered Argyle. "If you could help us categorize the items, it would be a huge help."

"... I don’t know... Then I won’t be able to get my stuff for cheap."

Argyle laughed until he saw how serious Jack’s face was. "Seriously?!"

"Of course I’m serious. I may have a lot of money, but I don’t have an infinite supply of high-level items. If I had to trade for fair value, then I’d have spent almost have of everything I own on the cloak alone," stated Jack, startling Argyle and getting Eliza to giggle.

"Sorry, Father, but I’m with Jack on this one," added Eliza. "We’ll need all the items we can get and that would definitely affect us down the line. Besides, Jack needs his wealth to revive the Leisure Guild."

"Not you too, Eliza..." groaned Argyle.

Jack looked back to see Eliza smiling at him. He blushed slightly but he quickly looked away and paid attention to the auction, even though he wasn’t too interested.

A few lv. 60 peak-tier items were sold quickly and a lv. 60 holy weapon was on display now.

All the royals bid like crazy to get their hands on it. They glanced at Jack’s room, glad that he hadn’t made a sound as of yet. It was their hope that he either ran out of money form his ridiculous spending and they could get the items they really came for.

The holy staff was exchanged for a lv. 70 high-tier item in the end, but none of the royals were upset. Up next were more of the items they wanted and most of the kings would personally be able to wield lv. 65 items.

Like before, Jack only watched but he didn’t do anything.

Those in his room were no longer paying attention to the auction. Maura was making breakfast as Keela was helping Lina prepare things for the meal. Rydel and Maynard were enjoying their three-day drinking fest with Argyle, making the most of it before they had to return to their arduous traveling.

Eliza was massaging Jack’s back while he waited for the mystery items to come out later. That’s when Daliea approached them and asked, "Eliza, can you teach me?"

"About massages? Sure!" Eliza smiled and backed away from Jack. "I’m sure Jack won’t mind, so come on over. I’ll guide your hands at first and walk you through it."

"Thank you!" Daliea showed a shy smile and let Eliza start teaching with the silent Jack as a test dummy.

Time flew by as the party was occupied with their own things.

Soon, everyone was gathered around to enjoy a delicious brunch prepared by Maura and Keela with Lina’s help flipping some lopsided pancakes.

"Thanks, ladies!" Jack nodded to the chefs before he and the others started serving themselves.

The atmosphere in the room was light and friendly, very different than what was going on outside in the auction hall.

"I’ll offer a peak-tier lv. 70 weapon!"

"I’ll also offer a peak-tier lv. 70 shied, and I’ll add a mid-tier lv. 70 sword."

"Add a mid-tier lv. 70 breastplate to my offer!"

Two royals were in a heated bidding war as they both wanted the lv. 65 holy item.

The auctioneer stared at both displays for a moment before she said, "We’ll give preference to the mid-tier shield and the peak-tier morningstar."

With an angry grunt, the losing royal shouted, "Make it a high-tier shield!"

"Then we’ll prefer your offer. Will there be any more changes to the offers?" asked the auctioneer as she stared at the other royal’s room.

There was no response, but the items on their display disappeared, showing that they had given up the bid.

"Going once! Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong!"

"That was our final item before we bring out the mystery items. In one hour, we’ll start the next auction promptly," stated the auctioneer as she vanished behind the closing curtain.

After that, she hurried away behind the stage and entered a room where she found two of the three head managers. "Where’s Baral?"

"This doesn’t concern him. We wanted to inform you that there will be a change to the listed mystery items," explained one the manager from Celestial Crane. "This isn’t because of you, it’s because of that mystery patron."

She relaxed a bit more when he said that. "Is it because he didn’t bid on a single item today?"

"That’s exactly why," the manager from Golden Haven replied with a grunt. "We mentioned the idea to Baral, but he said they won’t be making any changes. Apparently, they knew he would come and have already prepared some items for him but didn’t warn us about such a high spender."

"True, the last time someone spent anywhere near as much was when the association founder personally shopped over a decade ago," added the auctioneer.

"For that reason, the value of the items will skyrocket near the end. Don’t be too hasty to accept offers without our approval. Most of these items you’ve never even seen so you’ll have no clue of how much to sell them for," stated the Celestial Crane manager. "Do you have any questions for us?"

"Do you have the new list?" asked the woman skeptically, finding it hard to believe that she couldn’t evaluate the new items properly.

She was handed a large piece of parchment and glanced over it. Very quickly, she got caught up quite a few different items. "Are we really selling all of this?"

"Make sure to memorize that list and the descriptions we’ve added," replied the Celestial Crane manager.

They then left her alone to study the new items and inform the owners of the updates.

Chapter 222

"Everyone, I’m proud to finally begin the most anticipated portion of the annual auction, the mystery items!"

By now, everyone was eagerly watching the stage.

Jack was no exception. What got Jack especially riled up was Argyle’s attitude about the mystery items.

Though Argyle didn’t know what the other auction houses were going to offer, he did hear about how they altered their item lists. He had already done so before he submitted it, trying to take advantage of Jack’s deep pockets. And now that the other two auction houses were doing the same, Argyle wanted to see Jack’s plan of attack and whether he would run away with every mystery item.

Both Hurmot and Kaldor were in a different room on the third floor, the room reserved for the owners.

"Where is Argyle, that pestro?!" shouted Kaldor. "Is he actually hiding away with that mystery buyer? He’s got some nerve not warning us about him and showing favoritism."

"Can you blame him?" laughed Hurmot. "Wouldn’t you do the same thing in his shoes? Besides, we’ve also made adjustments to suit him with our new mystery items."

"Just you wait, I’ll walk away with the most winnings this time! You can’t compete with the items I’ve decided to give up," roared Kaldor, boasting with his chest out.

"We shall see what Everla does with our new lists. I’m curious to see how arranged the items this year? Whose items will be sold first and whose items will be determined as the most valuable for the end?" murmured Hurmot, staring at his eldest daughter on the stage. "Time will tell."

"Just wait and see," chuckled Kaldor, calming down as the first item was brought out.

Everla, who was given the responsibility of ordering the items according to price, watched the men roll out the first item to her side. "I’ll fill you all in on a special secret. This year, all three auction houses have gone above and beyond to offer you the very best items they have to offer."

"As an example of how generous they are this year, our opening item is something we would normally save near the end. It’s a mythic-tier spell scroll!"

While the crowd went nuts, Kaldor frowned.

"What?! Your daughter did this on purpose!"

"Oh, so that one’s yours, is it?" Hurmot chuckled.

"Enough! There’s no way that neither you nor Argyle offered nothing cheaper than that. She must be trying to start off the auction with a great item to rile the crowd," reasoned Kaldor.

"Who knows?" Hurmot shrugged and glanced toward Jack’s room.

He was lucky enough to have Argyle speak up for him and get a chance to speak with Jack. Though he only learned a few vague things about the young hero, it became blatantly evident that the youth was more wealthy than even Argyle during the second day of the auction.

Putting that together with his meeting with Jack, Hurmot planned his items accordingly, targeting Jack with every single item, not just a few. What he wanted was to empty Jack’s pockets as much as possible.

Sadly for Kaldor, he didn’t know anything about Jack other than the fact that he was insanely wealthy. He had no other hints and failed to prepare as well as the other two. But he wouldn’t admit it and would search for every excuse to support his stance.

In the meantime, Everla continued explaining the item. "This is the Tempest Slash wind spell, though it’s a one-time use item, you’ll only need to cast it once to wreak havoc on your enemies. Who will make the first bid?"

Immediately, the displays on the third floor filled with combinations of lv. 60 and lv. 65 items. It was difficult to determine the most valuable of them, but Everla handle the task like a champ with the assistance of the managers.

"We’ll recognize the bid of the peak-tier lv. 65 sword and the mid-tier lv. 65 spear as the highest thus far."

"I’ll offer a lv. 70 peak-tier halberd!"

Just when everyone expected Jack to strike, he did and his offer, like always, blew the others out of the water.

The royals were irritated by the man’s seemingly endless wealth. They had lv. 70 items, but they wouldn’t be willing to spend them so willy-nilly before the final mystery items, which were usually lv. 70 items.

For that reason, the other royals backed down. Since this year’s mystery items were far more valuable than usual, they would have to spend wisely and save the bulk of their budget to get an item they really want.

"Going once! Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong!"

Before the crowd could settle down, Everla spoke up again. She hadn’t disappeared like she usually did after a sale.

"There’s one other change that I’ve decided to implement for this year only," announced Everla, surprising even the owners. "We’ll be going through all ten mystery items in a row! There will be no break between them, so get ready for the second item."

While those on the third floor sighed and did their best to prepare themselves, those on the second floor were more excited. The crazy the auction got, the easier it would be for a bidder to make a mistake, giving the second floor a slightly better chance at the items.

Unaffected, Everla presented the next item at her side. "Again, we have a mythic-tier spell scroll!"

"Ridiculous!" Enraged, Kaldor stared at Hurmot. "She has to be doing this on purpose! There’s no way all of your items are that valuable!"

Calm as a spring morning, Hurmot looked up to the now standing Kaldor. "I can’t speak for Argyle, but I can guarantee that all of my items are worth more than those spell scrolls."

"Impossible! Show me your item list!"

"You know I can’t do that," stated Hurmot with a shake of his head. "You have no hope of changing the listed items now that we’ve started selling the mystery items. Just sit down, you’ll see for yourself that I’m not lying. I’ll even point out all of my items for you."

Kaldor grumbled and sat down with crossed arms. He watched on in anger, anxious to see if they really did offer better items than him.

All the auction houses owned incredibly valuable items, but they feared to put up their most valuable items. If there wasn’t a guarantee that they’d have someone able to pay the true value of the item, why would they offer such items?

Following that logic, Kaldor was even further baffled. If the other two really offered items of that caliber, he wondered if they would succeed in their bets or if they would lose those most valuable items to low bids.

"This mythic-tier spell scroll uses illusion type magic. The spell mentioned is Body Double," explained Everla. "For one whole day, you’ll have a clone of yourself that is mentally linked to you. It’s not too strong, but it can speak and sound just like you, as well as physically interact with other people. Other than it being lv. 10, there are no signs that the clone is a fake. Who will start us off?"

"I’ll give you a lv. 70 peak-tier helmet!"

All the royals that were eager to fight for the item suddenly frowned. Jack joining the bid made things much harder.

"Going once! Going twice..."

"I’ll also offer a peak-tier lv. 70 item!" shouted a royal as a wall displayed a shield.

"Hmm..." Everla was inspecting the two, searching for a difference in value.

"Add this to my offer," stated Jack, bring attention back to his room. He then added a mid-tier lc. 70 shield to his display.

"Do you have anything to add as well?" asked Everla to the competing royal.

The display went blank as the royal said, "I have nothing to add. Let him have it."

"Very well. Going once! Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong!"

Unfazed and emotionless, Jack stared at the stage, waiting for the next item. Suddenly, he asked Argyle, "Were any of those yours?"

"Nope. Of the ten mystery items, each auction house puts up three and the hosting house puts up four," explained Argyle. "My guess, knowing how shrewd Hurmot is, both of those items were from Kaldor and Golden Haven."

"Hmm... Sounds like you and Hurmot are both determined to empty my pockets."

"Isn’t that our jobs," laughed Argyle. "Besides, I’m sure you’ll be happy with the items you’ll have to help you on your journey."

"I guess..."

Back on stage, the third item was revealed and Kaldor frowned deeply, almost forming permanent wrinkles.

"Our third item will be this sixth level beast, a descendant Thunderbird!" announced Everla, unaware of Kaldor’s angry roars and her father’s chuckles. "You all should know about such a magnificent beast, so it needs no introduction. Let’s hear the first bid!"

"I’ll offer a lv. 70 peak-tier item!"

Now in the habit, everyone turned around to see Jack’s display screen, which showed an ornate dagger.

 

Chapter 223

Silence filled the room for a moment before a couple of royals activated their displays.

"I’ll also offer a lv. 70 peak-tier item!"

"I as well!"

"I’ll give you a lv. 75 peak-tier item!"

That shout startled everyone, mainly because it came from the second floor and not the third. All eyes moved in great surprise to see a noble holding a robe.

"This is a lv. 75 dragon’s sorcerer’s cloak. I feel free to inspect it as you see fit," stated that noble with a big smile.

That noble wasn’t the only one who was smiling. In his room, Jack laughed and removed his display items without a word.

"What’s wrong, Jack?" asked Argyle, who was more surprised by Jack voluntarily giving up the bid than anything.

The auctioneer also noticed that Jack removed his bid and asked, "Sir, does this mean you rescind your bid instead of increasing your offer?"

"Let my good friend have it."

That’s all Jack said, but since it came from the mysterious moneybags, the entire crowd went crazy. Did that mean that noble family knew who the mystery man was?

The Lyre Family head made a strange face, trying to make something of the unexpected development. He was focused on the fact that Jack acted like he was gifting the item, as if he could easily outbid him but instead called him a friend and gave it up.

Beside the Lyre Family Head, Tarnel started laughing and looked up to the room of that mysterious man on the third floor. He couldn’t see Jack, nor did he ever see Jack’s real face, but he knew enough to recognize that the mystery man was the one who had robbed the tomb and gifted him the same dragon’s sorcerer robe they were offering.

More roaring laughter was heard from the group beside the Lyre family as well.

There was a young man laughing his head off and staring up at that room. He wandered over to the Lyre family and threw his arm around Tarnel. With a whisper, he asked, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yeah, no doubt."

"Then Keela must be..." mumbled Flint. Suddenly, he started laughing even harder, but this time he stared at the room containing the Zuran royal family. "Wow... he wasn’t kidding about his background..."

Continuing the auction, Everla shrugged. "Very well, we will now send someone to inspect the item."

Just then, the Celestial Crane manager appeared in front of the Lyre family. He held out his hand, taking the robe and scanning over every piece of it. "It is indeed what he says. It qualifies as the highest offer."

"Great, are there any other changes to the bids?" asked Everla, glancing at the third floor and noticing the displays clear up. "Going once! Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong!"

The crowd was in an uproar! They didn’t expect a noble of all people to come out with the highest bid thus far, let alone win a mystery item.

Tarnel went up to his father and whispered something in his ear, causing a look of realization to flash across his face.

Laughing, the Lyre family head looked to Jack’s room. "Thank you for allowing me to win this noble beast. You can consider yourself a friend of the Lyre family."

That statement was made for a few reasons.

First, it was to show everyone that Jack was just being kind and that this was their first interaction. The Lyre family head didn’t want everyone coming at him to ask about the mystery man’s identity.

Second, it was to genuinely express gratitude to Jack. Without him, they wouldn’t have the robe in the first place, let alone win the beast. And they knew Jack had a lv. 85 staff and spent five minutes alone in the tomb, so they assumed that he had more wealth then they could imagine.

Jack didn’t reply but he continued to laugh inside his room.

Keela also laughed, happy to see that both Tarnel and Flint were still doing fine. She had already noticed her father, but she didn’t care to pay him any attention.

"Moving on to the next item, it’s actually another sixth level beast!" As Everla got the crowd focusing back on the stage, another caged beast was rolled out.

All of the royals, who were confused about a noble family having a lv. 75 item, had no time to think about it as they refocused on the next item.

"This one is mine," stated Hurmot, calming Kaldor ever so slightly. "Hmmm... to think Argyle beat my starting piece as well... I wonder..."

As the old man mumbled to himself and the infuriated Golden Haven owner stewed in thought, a large two-headed black and gray wolf roared inside of its cage.

"This Two-headed Wolf has a descendent bloodline from the mythic Cerebus bloodline. And like the Thunderbird, this one is still young and can be tamed. What will be the first offer?"

"I’ll offer a lv. 70 peak--"

"This lv. 75 longsword! Peak-tier!" The booming voice of the Maronn family filled the entire auction hall.

As he pulled out the longsword, the other nobles all stared enviously at the two noble families that exhibited greater wealth than the royal family over them.

The Zuran king stared curiously at the two families. He wasn’t mad because he already got what he had come for, but he wondered how they obtained such valuable treasures. And now that they were publically traded for these beasts, he would look a fool for snatching them away from the nobles.

It was a tricky thing, but he didn’t entertain the thought since he already had too many issues to worry about and would soon need both noble families to support him in the near future.

The same manager inspected the sword and sighed in amazement. "It’s exactly what he says."

Everla smiled. "Are there any other bids?"

No one said a thing. For the same reason they didn’t bet against Jack earlier, those with the ability to bid up the offer waited till something more valuable showed up on stage.

"Going once! Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong!"

"YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!! Flint, I’ve gotten you a new friend, so treat him well!"

"I will father! Thank you!"

The father-son duo shouted there conversation, inciting the jealousy of every prince present.

Again, Argyle was startled to see Jack laughing and reluctant to bid. "Do you really know them?"

"Yeah, I know Flint and Tarnel, those two family heirs," replied Jack. "I met them when I ran into Keela. I’m glad they found a good use for the gifts I left them."

"What?! You’re the reason they had those?!"

"Who else would be?" Jack chuckled. "Let’s keep watching. I’m curious when you’re first item will come up."

While the next item was brought out, Everla shouted extra loud to speak over the loud Maronn family, "On to the next item!"

"This is a lv. 70 holy sword! Said to be blessed by the Sword God, Tyres, this sword has the ability to pierce even peak-tier armours and shields. Who will be the first to--"

"One lv. 80 mid-tier weapon!"

"..."

All went silent, even the two owners on the third floor. Everyone was distracted by the axe that appeared on Jack’s display, struggling to believe their eyes.

"... A-are there any other offers?" Everla struggled to get her question out. When the dead-silence continued, she started the countdown. "G-going once... Going twice... S-sold!"

"...Gong..."

While everyone was still in awe, Jack looked back and asked, "Argyle, was that from you?"

"Yup, and I’m glad you liked it!" laughed Argyle, happy to win the best item by far.

"I’m sorry, but that might’ve been one of the biggest robberies of the day," chuckled Jack, shutting Argyle up.

"What do you mean?!"

"That’s not a holy weapon, it’s a mythic-tier sword."

Argyle’s happy expression vanished. As a lv. 71 swordsman and a wealthy auction house owner, Argyle had already owned a lv. 70 holy sword, hence his willingness to exchange it at the auction.

But a mythic-tier sword... That alone was priceless in the world, but the fact that it was a lv. 70 sword made Argyle’s heart ache more than when Jack revealed the truth about the legendary cloak.

Overhearing the conversation, Eliza and the others burst into laughter. The sudden change from total bliss to heart-wrenching pain on Argyle’s face made Eliza shed a tear form laughing too hard.

She knew that this auction was her father’s petty way of competing and outsmarting Jack after losing the cloak. Yet now, everything was thrown back in his face by another unfathomable loss on Argyle’s part.

"Sorry, Father, maybe next time." Eliza came over and hugged her father as she tried to stop laughing.

"Is that a furnace?"

Unlike everyone else, Jack was still looking at the stage and saw the next item coming up. His appetite to spend wasn’t yet satiated, and he planned to go for it all.

 

Chapter 224

Everla sighed and redirected everyone’s focus back to the stage. "Everyone, I think you’ll all find this next item very interesting. It’s a furnace, the very items used to create such weapons as the one you just saw. This is one of the best in the continent, at the very top of the peak-tier and possibly even higher. Who’ll get it?"

"One lv. 70 peak-tier item!"

"I’ll also give a lv. 70 peak-tier item!"

"A mid-tier lv. 80 spear!"

There was no question as to where that last bid came from.

Everyone, in particular the royals, all wondered how wealthy that mysterious man was. Sure, there were people who had such items, but they shouldn’t have that many of them. And usually, they were treasures that a royal family would cherish in hopes that they could somehow break through to lv. 80.

There weren’t any known blacksmiths that could create lv. 80 items, so there were truly priceless.

Yet here was Jack, practically giving them away in comparison. All the royals grew even more curious as to who the mysterious bidder was. Some wanted to align with them in hopes of gaining some benefits, while others wondered if they could rob them of everything.j

Since no one bid higher, and since it wasn’t the first lv. 80 item Jack had offered, Everla found it a bit easier to keep herself together. "Going once! Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong!"

Up in the owners’ room, Hurmot grinned with a twinkle in his eyes.

Kaldor, on the other hand, was so red in the face that people looking at him could imagine steam coming off of him. "You offered such an item?! Are you insane?!"

"I don’t think so, because I just gained a priceless lv. 80 item," replied Hurmot. "That item alone might be enough to bring out a few reclusive experts to next year’s auction. It was a great investment."

"Then what’s your final item? You were crazy enough to offer that, so how much of a madman were you really?" questioned Kaldor.

"I think the true madman is Argyle. To think that he still has three items left after my furnace... What in Halmut’s beard did he put up?"

Coming to the same realization, Kaldor quieted down and watched to the rest of the auction, feeling down on himself. Compared to the year before, Kaldor had made a killing this year. But by comparison, he was shortchanged from the opportunity.

Jack was hiding a smile, content to get his hands on a mythic-tier furnace. With that, he would be able to create mythic-tier weapons. But only if he found a suitable blacksmith and had something to base such weapons on, like his new mythic-tier sword.

However, Jack was glad to get it and would search for a blacksmith at a later point in time. For now, he would focus on grinding preparing to reshape the Leisure Guild.

"Our next thing up for grabs are these boots, but don’t be fooled," shouted Everla, keeping the audience active. "These ordinary-looking boots are unique lv. 70 holy items that are blessed by the Illusion God. It allows the wearer to appear to be in two places at once, making them very difficult to face in close combat. What will the--"

"One high-tier lv. 80 breastplate!"

Some people were already looking up to Jack’s room before he placed the bid, anticipating an unbeatable offer to come from him.

"Going once... Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong!"

In the eyes of the crowd, Jack’s pockets only kept getting deeper, never running out. It scared the royals. They feared the worst, that not a single royal would get their hands on a mysterious item.

"Were those yours Argyle?" asked Jack.

"Yeah..." pouted the auction house owner. "Let me guess, they’re mythic-tier?"

Jack’s nod was answer enough for Argyle’s heart to skip a beat. He was glad to get a high-tier lv. 80 item, but it still hurt to lose another mythic-tier item that he could use personally.

Everla was already bringing out the next item, getting used to Jack’s dominating bids. "There are now three items up for sale, and I don’t believe we’ve ever sold anything this valuable before, at least not in my lifetime."

Those words shook the crowd. The royals with items to compete with Jack were glad they held themselves back. Now was the time for them to compete.

Giving Hurmot a peculiar look, Kaldor asked, "What did you put up...?"

"You’ll see," stated Hurmot, not letting his eyes leave the stage.

Two items were wheeled out at the same time, confusing the audience.

"Everyone, both of the next two items have been evaluated at the same price. For that reason, we will sell them both at the same time," explained Everla. "Both of these ancient books are spellbooks. But, there’s something special about them. Inside, you’ll find mythic-tier spells."

A deep breath was taken by everyone collectively, even Jack.

With a frozen gaze, Kaldor’s mouth was agape. "You... You both put up mythic-tier spell books?!"

Hurmot was also entranced, but for a different reason. "If we both put up mythic-tier spellbooks, yet neither of them were the last item, just how crazy was Argyle?!"

"These spells are--"

"I’ll offer a peak-tier lv. 80 item for each spellbook!"

"..." Everla stopped talking and looked toward that room on the third floor, along with everyone else. "Y-you have two peak-tier lv. 80 items?"

Suddenly, two weapons appeared on Jack’s display, a glaive and a metal claw. "Both are peak-tier lv. 80 items. If you must, you’re welcome to send someone to inspect them."

The hearts of the royals all seized up. Most of them were unable to even compete with one lv. 80 peak-tier item, yet Jack had thrown out two at once.

The couple of kings that had a peak-tier lv. 80 item with them hesitated. They definitely wanted one of those spellbooks, but they also remembered that there was one item left. Meaning, that there was something even more valuable after those spellbooks.

"Are there any competing bids?" asked Everla, who laughed and struggled to believe how profitable this year’s auction had been. "Since no one has said anything, I’ll begin the countdown for both items at once."

"Going once... Going twice... Sold!"

"Gong! Gong!"

Finally, Argyle felt much better. He already knew that the spellbook was peak-tier, so this matched his expectation.

Hurmot couldn’t stop laughing. From Jack’s aggressive bids, he had the feeling that he had underestimated Jack’s wealth. But he was still glad nonetheless because he got a lv. 80 peak-tier item.

Having such an item already set both Celestial Crane and Fat Goose auction houses apart from Golden Haven. Each auction house had a lv. 80 item, but none were high-tier, let alone peak-tier. This could heavily influence the development of both auction houses and attract the most reclusive experts for another spectacular auction.

Left out, Kaldor was struggling to control his rage. He only managed to gain a peak-tier lv. 75 item. For such an item, there were only two blacksmiths in the world that could make them, making it priceless.

Yet he didn’t just lose in terms of profit, he was completely outclassed by the other two auction houses winnings.

"Who’s ready for the final item?"

With a great roar, the crowd cheered as one last item was rolled out on a pure white trolly. As the last item, everyone was sure that the royals would give it their all to fight Jack for it.

But before Everla could explain anything, Jack already shouted out an offer with his gaze fixed on the white trolly.

"One peak-tier lv. 80 item!"

Everla stammered, "Please, let me explain what this--"

"I’ll also offer a lv. 80 peak-tier item!"

"Me too! And I’ll add a lv. 75 peak-tier item!"

Two voices cut her off. The royals finally couldn’t stand Jack’s dominating bids.

Sighing, Everla looked up and saw all three displays. She noticed that the first royal also added a lv. 75 peak-tier item, yet Jack’s display didn’t change at all.

"Give me a moment to review the two leading offers. Then we’ll decide who will walk away with these--"

"That won’t be necessary!" shouted Jack. The image on display changed completely, replaced with a sword. "I’ll offer a mid-tier lv. 85 weapon."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The only thing heard throughout the auction hall was heavy breathing. Everyone was trembling from excitement and amazement. Jack’s offers would always get more radical and never lower, even after everything he put up. It was too much to comprehend, coming from a mysterious buyer with no known background and someone who was guessed to be a young man.

Both Kaldor and Hurmot had goosebumps.

At that moment, Hurmot knew that he had underestimated Jack’s wealth. He wished he had put something up to match Argyle’s last item.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!?!?!"

Kaldor roared. It was too tough of a pill for him to swallow. "That idiot actually put his Phoenix Lilies up for auction?! And it’s the entire bouquet?!"

Chapter 225

"G-going once..."

As Everla started the countdown, all the royals looked to Jack’s room with determination. They all decided that they would learn who that mysterious person was, no matter what it took.

"Going twice..."

Hurmot and Kaldor were bickering over the final result of the auction, one of them furious at the other two owners and one mad at himself.

"Sold!"

"GONG!!"

"E-everyone, again we’d like to thank you for coming and participating in this year’s annual auction. For now, we’d like to ask you all to wait either in the auction hall or in your private rooms as the items we just sold are delivered to their owners," stated Everla, getting everyone to look back to Jack’s room.

If not for the two nobles who somehow got the sixth level beasts, all of those items would be delivered to a single man.

They all understood what she meant by that statement. The auction houses were supporting that man’s anonymity and didn’t want any prying eyes.

"After ten minutes, we’ll open the doors of the auction hall and allow everyone to leave as they wish," continued Everla. "We appreciate your support of the auction houses and we look forward to next year’s auction. It should be even more glorious!"

As she made that last statement, Kaldor grunted, "You two should’ve told me that you were going to other such ridiculous items."

"Why? So you wouldn’t complain and whine after we completely outshined you?" Hurmot gave a cold laugh. "This is business, you know that. Thanks to that mystery man, the next year’s auction will be amazing! Good luck scavenging items to keep up next year."

Hurmot finished speaking as he left the room, leaving Kaldor to wallow in anger.

Up in his private room, Jack sat down on the couch as he waited for all of his new items to be delivered. "Argyle, those Phoenix Lilies were yours, right?"

"Yup."

"Are you really okay with that?"

"Of course!" replied Argyle with a resounding laugh. "For me, they just stay in storage all the time. And thanks to you, I won this year without any debate. Even that wise Hurmot couldn’t compete with my daring plan this year."

"If you say so."

Soon, a knock came from the door. Again, it was the managers. And, again, Jack said nothing, only exchanging the items through the side compartment.

He quickly took out the bouquet of Phoenix Lilies. A decision had to be made.

Phoenix Lilies were wondrous items that would keep someone from dying. Upon death, the holder of a Phoenix Lily would revive with half of their strength. In a world without respawn or resurrection, this item was literally a lifesaver.

But there was one problem. There only had six Phoenix Lilies.

They now had a party of eight, nine if Jack included Bowzer. This complicated things.

"Here you go Lina, make sure you always keep this with you."

"Thanks, Big Bro! It’s so pretty." Lina smelled and cherished the beautiful flower.

He then looked at the last five flowers in his hand. With them, Jack looked at everyone else in the room. "Guys, these are Phoenix Lilies, if you didn’t know. With them, the holder will instantly be revived after a killing blow, but I only have five left..."

"Let the girls have them," stated Maynard.

Rydel nodded. "Yeah, they should have them."

In response, Jack walked up to both of them and handed them each a lily. "Maynard, you’ll always be on the front lines and will likely be away from the cleric the most. You should have one. And Rydel, you’ll be the party scout so you’ll have plenty of times where you are on your own and might need this."

Neither of them rejected the item. They understood that Jack was trying to divvy them up based on the party’s needs, so they couldn’t argue.

Next, Jack looked at the remaining four girls.

But before he could say anything, Daliea spoke up while shaking her head. "I don’t need that. Just let the others have them. Remember, I’ve got the most magic and the most mana out of everyone here. With my illusion magic, I can always escape from trouble in the worst-case scenario."

Touched, Jack smiled sincerely a Daliea. He was glad he wouldn’t have to worry about the girls growing apart from the uneven distribution of such valuable items.

Handing the last three out to the remaining girls, Jack sighed, "Also, I have these to give you both."

Both mythic-tier spellbooks appeared in his hands as he extended them toward Keela and Eliza. "I’m only doing this because when you learn them, I’ll also have a chance to eventually learn them thanks to my subclass. Make sure to use them wisely."

Eliza gladly took it and jumped up to hug Jack. "Thanks, Jack!" She also tried to kiss his cheek, but he pushed her off of him before she was able to.

Keela smiled and gratefully took it. Standing up, she also hugged Jack, but it was quick and obvious that she wasn’t trying anything more.

Jack looked back to Argyle and took out the mythic-tier sword. "Do you want this back?"

"You mean it?!" He got excited and started to reach out for the sword.

"For the right exchange, I’m willing to give it back."

"That’s what I figured... What do you want?"

"I’m willing to give up the sword but only for something from your restricted storage."

Argyle sighed and scratched the side of his face. "I should’ve known... Very well, I’ll show you the Fat Goose’s restricted storage later. For now, we’ll have to wait for the royals and everyone else on the third floor to leave."

"Can’t we just leave, you and me?" Suddenly, Jack’s entire appearance changed into that of a Baral, the Fat Goose’s first manager.

"I guess that works. Follow me."

The two then left the others alone in the room, without worry.

They ran into a couple of royals who were lounging in the hallway and had seen Argyle and "Baral" exiting Jack’s room. One of them was familiar to Jack and asked Argyle, "Master Argyle, do you know the man from that room? I’d like to invite him to a feast."

"Sorry, but I have sworn to absolute secrecy. No one is allowed to know his identity or inquire about him from the Fat Goose," replied Argyle with a quick nod while continuing to walk past.

Jack looked back at the Maltor king, curious what his motives might be.

Argyle led Jack to the back of the guild quarters and eventually to a door with a magic seal. He took out a key covered in inscriptions and placed it in the door. At the same time, the inscription on the door started to glow and move.

"Everything beyond this door is only known by myself and Baral, so like everything else about you, keep these things a secret. And if you want something, just ask and I’ll let you know if I find it to be a fair trade," explained Argyle.

"Very well."

Both of them entered the room and resealed the door behind them and let no one know that they were inside.

"Go ahead, take a look around."

Before Argyle told him to do so, Jack was already inspecting every item on display.

There weren’t too many items, only a couple of dozen. But there were also some empty spaces, most likely from the items that were just auctioned off and not yet replaced by what the Fat Goose had received in exchange.

Jack only found a handful of mythic-tier items, but no legendary items.

A bit bummed but still happy to get something valuable, Jack inspected the four remaining mythic-tier items.

Though Jack didn’t say it out loud, Argyle understood that those four items were all mythic-tier and were valued around the same price as that sword.

"Which one do you like?" asked Argyle.

Jack focused on two of the items, going back and forth between them. It took him almost a minute, but he finally pointed at one of them. "I want this one."

"Hmm... Interesting, but that makes sense since you can use that item now and not at lv. 70 like the rest. But can you actually use that?" stated Argyle jokingly. "I accept the offer."

After a toss of the sword, Jack then grabbed the mythic-tier spellbook with a big grin. Jack brushed his fingers over the cover and mumbled the spell’s name to himself, "Time Stop..."

"I know you want to learn it right away, but we should get back to everyone else," stated Argyle, pulling Jack back to reality. "You’ll probably have to stay the night, but after that, we can sneak you our the place. I’ll order a feast to be prepared."

While he said that, Argyle was twirling his "new" sword around, quickly adjusting to its weight. Rather than putting it back into the restricted storage, he happily stored it away in his personal storage for later use.

Chapter 226

Both of them soon returned to the room upstairs, again avoiding some lingering royals in the hall.

Within the hour, servants brought up over a dozen trolleys of food, startling the royals in the hall. When all of the trolleys were pushed into that mysterious room, the royals didn’t know what to believe, since it was enough food to feed a few dozen fully grown men.

What they didn’t know was that the bulk of that food was for Bowzer and Lina, who were practically bottomless pits for all kinds of food.

The others were resting on the couches, enjoying the meal with some small talk.

"So, Jack, what did you get from my Father for that sword?" asked Eliza.

"Something pretty good, I’m sure it will come in handy at some point," replied Jack, not giving much detail. "Hey Rydel, pass the roasted turkey!"

No matter who asked, Jack and Argyle wouldn’t say a word about their special exchange.

Argyle had also offered to exchange for the displacement boots, but Jack turned him down. He would need something to entice a lv. 70.

"Since you won’t talk about your special exchange, will you tell us more about what we’re doing in Barren City?" Eliza stared at Jack with a frown.

"There’s not much to talk about. We’ve only got one thing to do there, get a strong expert to join the Leisure Guild wholeheartedly."

"Jack... You do realize how hard that is, right?" stated Argyle. "It’s not like during Ancient Kartonia. Now, lv. 70’s are the strongest experts in the continent and don’t need a guild to support them."

"True, but I’m sure we’ll get someone at some point. Since I can’t get to that level soon enough, I’ll have to get someone that already is."

"But to go to Barren City... Are you sure you don’t want us coming too?" Daliea looked to Jack subtly and shyly.

He sighed, looking at Daliea and the others. "Trust me, we’ll manage, okay? I’m not sure how long we’ll be but it’s best that we don’t take too many people. The less attention we draw, the better."

"But I want to come too!" shouted Lina stubbornly.

Jack sighed, "Lina, I’m sorry but it’ll only be for a short time. I’ll be back after I do something."

"But--"

"Lina, it has to be this way. The only way you could come along is if you stayed in Maura’s ring the whole time, but you don’t like the ring, right?"

"Ohhh..." Lina groaned. "Please, Big Bro?"

"No!"

Maynard agreed, "Don’t worry, Lina, they’ll be fine and you’ll see them again soon."

"Plus, including Bowzer and the other beasts, we should be able to handle anything lv. 40 and under. With Eliza for support, Maura controlling the fight, and me and Bowzer on the front lines, we’re quite the party," reasoned Jack.

Not arguing with that logic, the others were forced to be at ease.

Jack quickly pulled out the atlas he had purchased and pointed to a small town. "You guys should aim for Gillan. It’s a decent-sized town and it’s just outside of the woods where you’ll find plenty of lv. 30 beasts and even some lv. 40. But remember, avoid hurting any elves unless it’s life-threatening."

"Yeah, yeah, we got it, Jack," chuckled Rydel as he downed some wine. "I hope you enjoy your honeymoon to Sandros."

"This is not a honeymoon!"

"What’s a honeymoon?" asked Lina.

Eliza giggled. "Well, a honeymoon is when a man and a woman--"

"It’s not anything like that! This is not a honeymoon, this is strictly business and you two will be in your own room. Got it?" shouted Jack, not giving Eliza any wiggle room.

"...Fine..." grumbled Eliza.

Maura frowned.

She was always around Jack and he was already a key part of her life. If he wasn’t there, everything would just feel wrong. And she was already growing used to sharing a bed with him and Maura would miss that.

For the rest of the night, they chatted and reminisced about their past few months of travel. After morning came and the auction hall was cleared, Jack and his party were successfully sneaked out of the auction house.

The party returned to the Heavenly Palace Inn for one last night in Federal City. Before the split up the next day, Jack had to go on the promised shopping spree with the girls.

Once they arrived at the Heavenly Palace Inn, Jack was approached by Marisha and she whispered, "That same man who spoke with you before is here waiting for you. He said you would want to speak with him if I mentioned it."

Jack nodded and turned to the others. "It looks like someone is here to speak with me again, so you all can go on without me. I’ll join you in a little bit."

As everyone else went to their private booth for breakfast, Marisha led Jack to a private room in the back of the restaurant.

After entering, Jack silenced the room and sat down. "What brings you here, Lorwynn?"

The old man kept his amiable smile. "I didn’t know that you had managed to find not only Ponlinne’s staff but everything left behind from the Medic Guild. That was quite the show at auction. I enjoyed it."

"So, what of it? Are you just here to take it all for yourself?"

"I could... but I won’t," replied Lorwynn, baffling Jack.

"But why would you--"

"I have my reasons for letting you run loose for a little while," interrupted Lorwynn. "If those reasons prove true, then they’ll eventually explain themselves. But since the association wasn’t able to figure it out, I’ll let this slide."

Staring deeply at Lorwynn, Jack’s mouth was agape as he tried to think of something to say.

"Where are you heading next?" asked Lorwynn. "I’d imagine that you’re not ready to take over the Leisure Guild and there are a few stops on the way. Where to next?"

"..."

"You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I can’t say I blame you either, we are technically enemies, after all," Lorwynn laughed. "So long as you stay out of Talrania, that’s all that matters."

"Talrania? What’s in--"

"Stay out of Talrania and don’t search for anything concerning Talrania. If you do, then I will be forced to act against you, is that understood?" stated Lorwynn, dropping his friendliness for the first time.

"Yeah... I can do that..."

"Good, then there won’t be any issues." Returning to his usual self, Lorwynn continued, "How soon are you planning to take over the Leisure Guild, a year?"

"..."

"Yeah, probably a year. I hope so. If not..." Lorwynn stopped talking, keeping himself from saying too much. "Anyway, I wanted to link our contact crystals. You know, just in case."

"I guess we can do that." Reluctantly, Jack pulled out his crystal and linked it to Lorwynn’s. "Is there anything else?"

"Jack, I’m not sure you fully understand what your role is as Daruun’s champion. It’s much bigger than you realize," replied Lorwynn. "Of us three champions, your job is the hardest, and you’re also the latest to start preparing for it."

"So, you already--"

"Yes, I’ve already met and fought with the other champion," Lorwynn finished Jack’s statement for him. "It’s been almost two hundred years since then, so we’ve both grown a lot, I’m sure. But don’t worry about him, you’re too weak to do anything about either of us."

"Then what should I do? We’re enemies, yet you’re giving me advice on what to do as a champion?"

Lorwynn’s beard bounced as he nodded. "Precisely. You should form your own power, which you’re currently doing, and focus on just grinding. You shouldn’t try to find any trouble that you’re not ready to handle. This is a war of attrition that can’t be won overnight. So, what won’t you do, Jack?"

"...Go to Talrania or investigate Talrania."

"And?"

Jack sighed and grumbled, "I won’t search for the third champion."

"Good! As for what your role entails as Daruun’s champion, that’s for you to figure out on your own. Do you have any other questions before I leave? There’s no telling when we’ll next meet, if at all."

Jack stared at Lorwynn and asked, "How’s Halmut doing?"

"He’s doing just fine for the time being."

"Why haven’t the other holy gods done anything since they won the Holy War?"

With a snicker, Lorwynn replied, "Simple, Halmut ordered them not to. And as for the chaotic gods, they don’t dare try anything since Skaryn was sealed away. Anything else?"

"No, that’s all."

"Very well, then I wish you the best of luck on your journey, Jack." The old man stood up and was about to open the door when he whispered, "Seriously, Jack, I’m rooting for you."

Then, he left the room and shut the door before Jack could look back and stop him. Jack opened the door to ask Lorwynn what he meant, but the old man had vanished.

 

Chapter 227

Jack sighed, not sure how he should feel about the conversation he just had. He was left curious about too many things without any answers, and he wasn’t even allowed to search for the answers himself.

But he couldn’t complain. There was a chance that Lorwynn was right and Jack would only bring himself trouble that he’s not ready for.

Until he was higher leveled, Jack would only focus on the Leisure Guild and grinding EXP.

The young hero left the booth and found his companions eating without him. Taking a seat and grabbing a turkey leg, Jack tried to eat away his troubles.

They all asked what happened, but Jack didn’t answer any questions or explain anything.

Like always, Eliza tried to get near Jack but not even a massage was enough to break his defenses this time.

As the sun set, Jack took the liberty to be the first to retire for the night. In his own room with Bowzer, Jack let his mind drift.

Eventually, his tiredness overcame him and Jack was sound asleep.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

With a yawn, Jack was forced awake. "What is it?! It’s the middle of the night!"

"You have a guest, and he said it was urgent!" shouted Marisha.

"But I’m sleeping, just wait till--"

"Brat, just open up the door! It’s an old friend of yours!"

Hearing Zariff, Jack was startled and confused. Jack got up and rubbed his eyes as he hobbled toward the door. As he opened it, he was met by a surprisingly familiar face. "Tralon? What’s up?"

"We’ll discuss that now." Tralon walked right in, pushing past the tired Jack and closing the door. He quickly cast silence and sat on the bed. "Jack, a few things have happened and we need to talk."

"Alright, go ahead."

"Trodar is in trouble. You already know about the current wars, but it’s nothing too serious at the moment. But now Sandros appears to be getting involved again," explained Tralon. "There’s not enough evidence to convince the council to act, but I’m certain that Sandros has agreed to join hands with Limneer, making things far worse than they should be."

"What about you guys? If you’re the weakest member of the council, then how come you aren’t acting?"

"To keep the wars from breaking out into chaos and causing too many casualties to count, Trodar signed a war pact with Limneer, Prachten, and Iscantor. That pact agrees that none of us will send anyone over lv. 40 for the time being. In a couple of months, that pact will be null and void though, so it seems Limneer is trying to get Sandros to help overwhelm us while it’s still applicable."

"Hmm... So, in other words, the current war effort is about who runs our of supports first?"

"Exactly," replied Tralon. "If none of us nations can guarantee the safety of our men, which most are under lv. 40, then there’s no reason for them to uphold their current government in the face of other offers."

"And since the nations all used to be one in the first place, the citizens aren’t exactly loyal to those new nations, are they?" reasoned Jack.

"Right again. But that’s changing as they’ve proven that they can hold up against us. If anything, it’s our supporters that are considering abandoning Trodar," stated Tralon. "With the newer nations thriving and growing, they’re not happy about our inability to reclaim our territory. And with Sandros joining the fight, as well as Iscantor trying to for a trade treaty with Korten, the people aren’t too happy with the council."

"So, shouldn’t the council act to stop Sandros?"

"It should, but most weren’t in favor of it. They’d rather hold out for longer to save our troops, at least until it’s time to renegotiate our war pact."

"Then... why did you come here to explain this to me?" asked Jack.

"Because I think this is the opportunity you’ll need to gain the favor of the people. Think about it," explained Tralon. "Right now, they can’t send anyone lv. 40 or higher, so wouldn’t it be the perfect moment for you to step in as the hero when the council waited on the sidelines?"

"Actually, that’s not a bad idea."

"However, I will tell you that the Leisure Guild doesn’t have anyone we can send to help you. Most of our members aren’t even lv. 30... And those that are older members are mostly lv. 40’s. You’d have to handle this on your own."

Scratching his head, Jack sighed, "Then, do you think I should take my whole team? I was already thinking of heading to Sandros to try and recruit a lv. 70 for the guild."

"Don’t even think about that right now. Considering the current state of the guild, not even considering Trodar as a whole, no free lv. 70’s would agree to join. You may have great items, but that’s not enough for them. And they’d just kill you, not caring about the association," reasoned Tralon, putting a frown on Jack’s face.

"Jack, you have to believe me on that. You don’t know enough about Trodar’s current situation to understand that, but you’ll figure it out soon. But for now, I think you should go and investigate the movements of the Sandros military. If they really plan to move together with Limneer, then do anything you can to delay them. With enough delay and evidence, the council will make a move against them."

"So... should I bring my whole party?"

"I don’t think you should," stated Tralon. "This is mainly for secretly tracking military units so you don’t want a lot of people, but you’ll also want to bring one of your strongest party members. I’d bring one of your strongest party members and your stealthiest party member. That way you can gather intel, and then hit them hard before you run away."

"Then Rydel is definitely coming along. As for the other person... It would have to be Daliea. She’s arguably the strongest in the party, yet she also has illusion type magic. I’m sure that will come in handy," reasoned Jack, sharing his thoughts.

"She’s the shadow goblin, right? I think that would be perfect."

"Is there anything else you’ve heard of? If Limneer is finding a new ally, why wouldn’t Prachten or Iscantor?"

Tralon sighed, "That’s what I fear as well. We know that Iscantor is focusing on trying to ally with the Korten, so we’re not too worried about them trying anything too sudden. But we haven’t learned anything about Prachten’s movements, which is suspicious but we have no leads."

Staring at his map, Jack had a sudden thought. He frowned and asked, "Prachten wouldn’t agree to work with Talrania, would they?"

"No, there’s no way." The old pointy-eared man shook his head. "Talrania is completely isolated from the rest of the world and doesn’t let in any outsiders. Trying to work with them would be even more difficult than with the elves."

"Really?" Shocked, Jack rethought the situation. "Then what about Churstin to the south?"

"Maybe, but we haven’t noticed anything. For now, just focus on Limneer and Sandros. The moment you confirm they’re allies, find a way to delay them. After that, contact me immediately and I’ll summon the council to act accordingly."

"Also, consider this an official assignment of the Leisure Guild, so I’ll give you these." Seven emblems appeared in his hand as Tralon held them forward. "With these, you and your party will officially be recognized as members of the Leisure Guild."

Jack laughed, "What about the exam process that I set up?"

"You made it, so I don’t think you have to take it. Plus, there’s no time nor need for such a test. I look forward to the day that you can take the patriarch’s seat from me. If the world would allow it, I’d give it up right now," chuckled Tralon.

"I’ll need one more emblem, we gained another member recently. She’s the daughter of two gods, so I was happy to accept her as my little sister."

"Two gods?" Tralon stroked his beard in thought. "Jack, did you become a demigod?"

"What makes you think that?"

With a hearty laugh, Tralon patted Jack’s shoulders. "You used to steal from the gods, on multiple occasions, yet you always returned safe and sound. I’ve been around long enough to know about demigods. And if I were a god, I’d agree with your new father that you’ve got the potential to become a god."

"Well, I’ll make sure you talk with Sterfen and Lunara sometime. I’m sure you’d be able to answer a lot of their questions."

"Anyway, I should get going now. Again, the others don’t know about my sudden leave, so I need to hurry back."

"Wait!" Jack grabbed Tralon’s hand before he could escape. "Let me give you the updated pact. I don’t want to steal your EXP when you clearly need it against your curse."

They quickly rewrote Tralon’s pact, only to get interrupted by someone contacting Tralon. The moment the pact was complete, Tralon waved goodbye and disappeared in a flash of light.

 

Chapter 228

As the morning sun rose and shown through the windows, all the members of Jack’s party awoke and made their way downstairs for their usual breakfast. But Jack was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen Jack?" Eliza looked around the breakfast table.

Maura shook her head and frowned. "No... Mother said he had a guest last night and Jack left immediately after. When she asked if she should wake us up, he said it wasn’t worth it and that he would be back in the morning."

As Eliza’s lips twitched downward into a frown she crossed her arms and glared at her food. The site of eggs and bacon and biscuits didn’t make her any happier but she ate all the same.

The party enjoyed the breakfast or at least tried to. Rydel and Maynard dug into the meat eagerly without a second thought. They knew Jack would be back and it didn’t bother them in the least. Nina didn’t pay too much attention, so long as she had the attention of Mara, chatting her ear off. Keela tried to calm down Eliza, gradually succeeding until Eliza agreed to eat without Jack.

It was only a matter of time before there was a knock at the door. Maynard hurried to open the door. Jack entered with a frown on his face. As he sat down Eliza was the first to speak up. "Where were you? And how come you didn’t tell any of us that you left?"

"I didn’t see a reason why I should... All I did was go to the marketplace." Jack sighed as he started to shovel eggs into his mouth.

"So, did you find what you’re looking for?" asked Maynard.

Jack swallowed his food before he answered, "No, I didn’t..."

"And what’s so hard to find that it wasn’t in the federal market?" asked Rydel.

"It’s a long story," mumbled Jack. "You guys know how I find hidden tombs, right? Well, there is a particular item that’s commonly found in ancient hero tombs of the weaker players. I want that item but to do so I need to find an item belonging to now-dead weak players."

Maynard and Rydel both looked at each other and smiled.

Lina then spoke up, "What’s a hidden tomb?"

"It’s a place for fallen heroes. There you can find their past items and their treasures. But the treasure I want isn’t valuable in terms of money, yet it’s priceless to me. That item can let me speak with Daruun since I’m pledged to him."

The others around the table stared at each other. They did know what to feel.

"So you had a way to contact the God of Fate and you didn’t tell us about it? Not even your wives?" grumbled Eliza.

Jack shook his head. "Nope."

Hearing his casual answer Eliza didn’t know how to respond. She was fuming yet she didn’t know why. Rather than yell back, Eliza stuffed bacon in her mouth and glared at Jack like a wife would before putting her husband in the doghouse.

Unfazed from Eliza’s gaze, Jack looked to the others in the party. "I need that item because it will help me and all of us in the future. Also, it will make sure that our plans are steady and more successful. So until I find that item, I’d rather not leave Federal City.

Maynard laughed, "That’s it? That’s all you had to say!" Both he and Rydel ordered another few rounds of brandy, no longer worrying about traveling in the day.

Daliea finally made herself known. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don’t think so, sadly." A slight smile showed on Jack’s face. "I’m the only one who can recognize items that formally belonged to ancient heroes."

"Okay. But if you find a way for me to help, then let me know," insisted Daliea.

"The same goes for me," added Maura.

"And me too, Big Bro!"

Jack looked around the table, smiling at the girls offering their assistance. He also looked at Keela who nodded, silently adding herself to the list.

"And make sure to ask me too..." stated Eliza, making sure she wasn’t forgotten.

Everyone then finished eating their food, some enjoying it more than others.

Rydel and Maynard stayed behind to enjoy themselves and drink while the girls went their separate ways. Keela asked Eliza for a massage so she went upstairs to their room. Daliea followed behind, making sure to always be learning from the master masseuse. Maura showed Lina around the city. Little Lina was excited to finally see and experience such a wonderful place without any rush.

Just think he said, Jack spent his time in the market combing through every single tent.

Most of the day had no results. Jack only managed to cover one-fourth of the market since he was extremely thorough and didn’t dare miss a single shop. Near the end of the day, however, as the sun was setting Jack was lucky enough to find a spear. It was a lv. 15 spear, peak tier. Just above the flavor text, Jack found the owner’s name, that of an ancient hero.

Without alerting the others Jack exited the city and retrieved the magnificent bird that he had purchased during the auction, which he quickly named Appa. Jack mounted the bird and let Bowzer sit on his head. While Bowzer kept the bird calm Jack quickly performed a mutual seal and made the bird his beast companion.

Thanks to his companion telepathy skill it was quite easy for Jack to lead Appa around toward his intended destination, the northwest region of the Polt Federation.

Without much trouble Jack found the desired location, performed the chant, and opened the tomb. Only a few low-level beasts were around so Appa and Bowzer cleared it easily.

In the meantime, Jack entered the tomb and found hardly anything inside. There wasn’t even much gold, let alone platinum. It was clear that this player never bothered to buy a thing and soon gave up on the MMORPG. And, sure enough, Jack discovered no tutorial stone; guessing that it was used up a long time ago.

The young hero and his beast companions quickly fled, returning to Federal City empty-handed.

They found the others eating dinner without them but they didn’t care. When the others asked what Jack had been up to and why he was late, he said nothing.

Bowzer tried to explain but no one understood a word of what he was saying.

The next day wasn’t any better. Jack managed to find another useful item, but it was impossible for him to reach that tomb’s location. He was already warned not to enter Talrania, so there was no way he could chance it just to find a tutorial stone.

On the third day, the unhappy Jack returned to the market to scour through the last of the shops. Again he found another item but he kept looking. Rather than hurry off to the tomb, Jack decided to finish searching and find all tombs after that.

Once he had finished looking at all the shops, Jack had two items and two leads. The sun had already set and the others were already enjoying dinner. But Jack exited the city on the same. Bringing out Appa yet again Jack left for the first of the two hidden tombs.

Appa’s speed proved immensely helpful. In half an hour they reached the southeastern border of the Polt Federation and entered Fulton. After another five minutes of travel, they descended into a forest.

Bowzer handled beasts in their way, letting Jack focus solely on opening the tomb. As he entered this one, which was the within a large ancient tree, Jack found a familiar sight. There was a single chest near the sepulchre with only a few gold coins and some starter items inside. But no tutorial stone.

They hurried to the next place, hoping to finally get their hands on what they needed.

This time they went southwest and entered Sandros. It took almost an hour for them to travel and then search in the sand for the tomb’s entrance. If Jack weren’t in such a hurry, he would’ve appreciated the pyramid-like tomb that was hidden in a mound of sand.

Beasts that resembled scorpions and spiders surrounded them, but again Bowzer and Appa took care of. It was easy. All of those visited areas were swarming with lv. 20’s, enough to kill the low leveled heroes but nowhere near strong enough for the flaming fox and the giant bird.

Whilst inside the tomb Jack started to smile.

A sarcophagus replaced the typical sepulcher and three chests laid beside it, proving the fallen hero to be a money player. The anxious Jack quickly dug through the chests and stored everything without any inspection until he reached that item, a tutorial stone. On it were a few cracks but it remained whole.

Without hesitation, Jack poured mana into it and the world went quiet.

"You were quite eager this time," stated a familiar voice.

Chapter 229

"You were quite eager this time."

"I’d ask if you knew how hard it was to speak with you, but I’m sure you already know. Can’t you make it easier for me, your chosen champion?" muttered Jack.

Daruun shook his head with his emotionless face. "It will be easier in time once you find my temple. After entering there you can ask me anything and everything you want. But until then you’ll have to find other means. Also, you should know that this tutorial stone has already been used once."

"Then I only get two questions?" Jack glared at Daruun, obviously unhappy.

"Precisely. Now, what would you like to speak about? Have you finally decided to be yourself or are you still waning to other people’s wills? Perhaps this is about your wife’s and all the time you enjoy spending with them."

"That’s enough... You know very well that my current relationship status would be very different had you warned me better in the past," mumbled Jack, trying not to light the fuse of his short temper.

"I did warn you and you decided to take the lesser of the two options. Therefore, the lesser of the two outcomes came to pass. You chose to try and have the best of both worlds, reviving a fallen friend while also keeping close to the Adventurers Association. Those were your actions and that was your decision," explained Daruun. "I may be the God of Fate but I don’t change fate, I can only offer you a glimpse into it."

Jack glared at the stoic god. Old feelings welled up inside him and he did his best to keep them down but some still squeezed their way out. "So, in other words, even though I’m your chosen champion, you’ll still leave me hanging out to dry without any warning of my friends dying?"

"The death of a person is practically impossible to stop, even more so if they’re closer to you. The more you fight fate, the harder it fights back, as you’ve started to learn. Knowing who will die,... When... Where... Those are things that you shouldn’t burden yourself with. And knowing them will only make things worse," mentioned Daruun under his breath.

"So I should just sit here and let people die?!" shouted Jack. "The reason I pledged to you in the first place was so that I can be prepared for every situation and can reduce the casualty and failure rate of everything me and my party does."

"Wrong..." Daruun held up a hand in pause. "You first joined me and my side to reduce the failure rate of your schemes and plans. This is the first time it ever involved including a party that you actually cared about."

Caught in thought Jack’s jaw stiffened, still agape. "Yes... But... That just means now I need to learn their fates as well."

"Wrong again. Precisely because they are your companions, you shouldn’t learn much of their fate," corrected Daruun. "I’m sure you figured it out by now but let me rephrase it. You, my chosen champion, were selected to fight fate. That means that the world will be fighting against you."

"That also means that anyone alongside you will also be fighting fate, but they’ll find it much harder than you do. To fate there must always be a balance; for every right, there must be a wrong. For every victory, there must be a defeat. For each person to rise, there must be someone to fall. That is the simplest law fate, the law of balance."

"Are you telling me that by being with my friends, they have a greater chance of dying?!"

"That’s one way to interpret it, yes. But they’ve also done so willingly."

"That doesn’t matter!" With a raging eyes Jack stepped up to Daruun. "What’s the point of me even having a party if all I do is bring them misery?!"

"That’s not all you bring," added Daruun. "You also add purpose and fulfillment to their lives, just look at Rydel. He was a lonely Hunter who would have scrounged for money until he had enough to eventually travel to Trodar. But what would it be done after that? Wouldn’t he have just given his life defending the country he grew up in? What about Maynard, the bloodthirsty samurai who was always looking for a challenge? Wouldn’t he travel until he was eventually overpowered and defeated in battle like he used to always go on about?"

"That’s enough..."

"And what about your wives?" continued Daruun. "Maura would’ve spent her life living by her parents’ rules and expectations if you hadn’t shown up. And though you don’t see it, Eliza was the most sheltered of them all and you were her ticket into the real world. You were the hero of her dreams, possibly the only person her father would have trusted her with. Without you, she never would’ve left the Fat Goose Guild, a shadow of her true self."

"Just stop--"

"Maybe you’ve forgotten about Keela. But you remember, don’t you? Without you, she would’ve been married off to a perverted prince as one of his many forgotten and abused wives."

"I said--"

"And that’s not including Daliea, the lone survivor of an abandoned race--"

"STOP!" Jack grabbed hold of the robed god. "Shut up already!"

"Should I? I didn’t even mention Lina, who would’ve never been born without you," added Daruun.

No longer able to control himself, Jack shook Daruun back and forth, letting his hot raging breaths cover Daruun’s face. "Just shut up! Shut up!"

Time passed as all the world remained frozen.

Teary-eyed with quivering lip Jack kept his gaze on the god before him but said nothing. Neither did Daruun. Both remained there, one weeping and one completely emotionless.

Eventually, Daruun spoke again, "You know nothing of fate. You know nothing of death. To you, the death of a friend is heavy on your heart, but is it heavier than the death of millions? Pursuing a noble cause in an unjust world will inevitably lead to the death of a few, but those few deaths can spare the lives of countless others."

"But... That doesn’t mean my friends must die," whimpered Jack, still trying to stand his ground.

Daruun shook his head. "I never said they had to. But you must realize the weight of your responsibility. Didn’t Lorwynn mentioned that your job among the three champions was the hardest? It’s because you’re not fighting one current, but two. You aren’t to picking a side, you’re making your own."

Suddenly, a solemn tone of regret shook Daruun’s throat. "I left this world unattended for too long and grew out of hand... Sadly, I can do nothing personally. That’s what you’re here to do. To right the wrongs and fight the unruly system that grew unstoppable in this world. The rest of the world doesn’t know it, but they will eventually thank you for your interference in fate."

Still quivering Jack’s hands released Daruun’s robe. "Then how do I keep my friends safe? Why should I let them join me if some are going to die?"

"If you ask around, you may figure out that some of your friends have accepted that fate. You may find it wrong but your friends, in the worst-case scenario, might place more importance on your life than their own. And if you told them to leave, do you really think they would?"

Seeing that Jack remained silent Daruun took the initiative to change the subject, returning to his emotionless self. "Weren’t you going to ask me about Trodar and how you can control it?"

"Why do you always bring this up?" asked Jack.

"What up?"

"Something that I never asked for... Last time you made sure to talk about who I really was. This time you made sure to poke fun at me and tell me not to worry about my friends when they die because of me. What am I to you? I thought I was your chosen champion, the person you would help succeed no matter what..."

"It’s precisely because you are my chosen champion that I bring these issues up. If you don’t learn enough about the world and don’t have certain expectations, then what occurs in the future will be even harder for you," explained Daruun.

Jack clenched his fist and shook his head. "What if I don’t want that? What if I give up and decide to live a casual life instead?"

"That’s impossible," sighed Daruun. "For a time you would live a peaceful life, but you’ve already stepped on this path. Your decisions thus far would fail to prevent any casual life you may choose from flourishing. Your only hope of a peaceful life in this world is to fulfill your role as a champion and right the wrongs that past gods have done."

"... But that’s not what I signed up for..."

"In a way, it was. After completing the achievement list in your past life, you opted to accept the extraterrestrial quest you were given. And I know for a fact that your past self, even knowing what you’ve gone through now, would have accepted that quest. Am I wrong?"

Silence. That was the only answer Jack could give.

"Since that’s the case, shouldn’t we continue planning your next steps? You know that without me your plans will fail and you won’t know what to do." Daruun finally brushed and fixed his robe. "So, weren’t you wondering how you could gain control of Trodar?"

Chapter 230

"So, weren’t you wondering how you could gain control of Trodar?"

Jack didn’t respond immediately. Still pondering his role in Daruun’s plan, questioning more of Daruun’s intentions.

But he also understood that he had no choice but to eventually return to his friends who were waiting for the next part of the plan. "Yeah... I need to know how I can gain control of Trodar while saving it and what steps do I need to fill for that to happen."

"That I can help you with." Daruun nodded. "For you to save Trodar and gain influence over it there are a total of five steps that you must follow. Step one: you must slow the Limneer-Sandros alliance’s advance and find evidence for Tralon to push the Trodan Council to act. This will be one of the harder steps. Would you like to ask questions before I explain the other steps or after?"

"I’ll ask the questions afterward..."

Daruun continued, "Very well. Step two: you must find a way to cut off the supply lines from Churstin to Prachten, the very supply lines that the Trodan Council knows nothing about. Step three: you must help Korten in order to gain their trust. Also note, that your friend Daliea will be key to this and that without her this step will fail. Step four: you and your party must officially join the Leisure Guild. Step five: you will have to successfully be elected onto the Trodan Council."

Jack scratched his head in thought, still irritated with Daruun. "For step one will I need the entire party?"

"As you’ve already planned, I would advise that your party split up but in a different way. I believe a few party members should head to Prachten in order to learn more about supply lines. They won’t need to act, though, so there’s not too much danger there. On the other hand, those with you will be in immense danger as you infiltrate Limneer and forcibly halt their advance by some means after giving Tralon the evidence of their alliance, which breaks the war pact they signed. If you can’t slow down their advance, then the Trodan forces won’t make it in time to stop the invasion."

"Then who do you suggest I bring?"

"I suggest you add a couple people to those you already planned to bring along. Together with Daliea and Rydel, your small party is quite powerful for its level but you’ll still need the help of Eliza and Keela if you want to avoid catastrophe."

With widened eyes Jack looked back to Daruun. "You mean--"

Shook his head. "The catastrophe will only happen if they don’t join you. But if they’re with you, then that catastrophe will be averted. Their help in controlling battles and healing the party will be a pivotal asset during this first step of your plan."

"All right..." Feeling a bit more at ease Jack let his train of thought continue. "Where do you suggest each of our parties began our searches?"

"Maura, Lina, and Maynard should start their search in Talmook, to the south of Prachten. You and the others should start in Zurden. Once in your respective location, you should start searching for information and claim a place to hide in secret. The fewer the people who know of your existence the better," explained Daruun.

"Sounds simple enough... Why is step one so dangerous?" asked Jack.

Daruun shrugged and looked away. "Because you will be dealing with a small army that only a handful of people know exists. The moment you make yourself known, they will do everything and anything to shut you up and keep you from revealing them. If they’re found out, that means they’ve incited the anger of the high leveled people of Trodar, something that the Limneer citizens were always against. Which would then lead to a lack of support."

"And what would happen if I fail any of these five steps?"

"Then you will either fail to save Trodar or fail to gain influence over it, only saving it a couple of years before its imminent collapse," replied Daruun. "Again, this is an example of how difficult a claim against fate is. But if you succeed in the end against all the difficulty that lay in front of your party, then you’ll find yourselves in a much better position to protect your loved ones. Doesn’t that sound worth it to you?"

A slow nod came from Jack’s head. "And what should I know of the other steps?"

"Most everything will explain itself as the situations unravel. For step two, all you have to do is stop the supply line and that can be by any means you deem necessary. Step four is self-explanatory and step five will involve you running a campaign where you publicly announce your involvement in steps one through three so that the public will rally on your side," explained Daruun.

"Step three is the second hardest but is more than possible, so long as Daliea is with you. With her step three is a guaranteed success. Any other questions about this?"

"No, I don’t think I will get anything out of you besides needless details," grumbled Jack. He took a moment to think. With only one question left from the tutorial stone, Jack pondered what to do next.

"Shouldn’t you save the last question just in case?" Mentioned Daruun.

Hearing that, Jack couldn’t help but agree. After one last look at Daruun, Jack turned and walked away without a word. Just as he was about to exit the tomb, he heard Daruun’s last question.

"Would you like to know what skills will help you the most?"

His footsteps stopped. Turning around, Jack stared at the still emotionless God. "And what would those be? Wouldn’t that be a waste of my last question?"

Daruun showed a subtle smile as he shook his head. "Thanks to your efforts and your recent tomb raiding, you’ve now got seven hundred and fifty-nine skill points. Do you think it’s best to buy an immensely powerful spell or to distribute them amongst a few spells that are less powerful yet quite practical?"

"Just tell me already since you know best," whined Jack.

"What I recommend is that you level up both mana capacity and mana regeneration first, which will take 320 skill points. Then you should buy Spatial Disruption," advised Daruun. "This will aid your entire party at once and create the ideal environment for teamwork. As for the remaining 39 points, that’s up to you."

Jack scoffed, "Wouldn’t Revivification be a better choice?"

"I wouldn’t recommend it."

"I see..." Jack showed no hesitation as he opened up his skill list and purchased Revivification along with upgrading mana capacity and mana regeneration to lv. 6.

Daruun sighed and shook his head. "Very well... Good luck."

As Jack reentered the barren, sand-covered world under the dark night sky, he was tackled to the ground. Before Jack could do anything fox saliva painted his face. "Bowzer, calm down."

’Did you find it?’ Asked Bowzer.

Jack nodded and neared Appa. The giant bird lowered his wing and allowed Jack to climb on, followed by Bowzer. In moments the three of them vanished as if they themselves had become stars in the distant firmament.

*****

A knock sounded on the locked door of the Heavenly Palace Inn. There was no reply. Again, knocks came from the door.

"I’m coming, I’m coming," a distant voice rang out. A few moments passed till the door finally opened up after the lock was undone. "Thanks for choosing... Oh, it’s you, Jack. What took you--"

"I’m off to bed..." Exhausted both physically and mentally, Jack brushed past Martha and trudged up the stairs.

He stayed quiet as he passed numerous rooms and soon turned a door handle, finding his own personal space. Deep breaths filled his stomach and lungs, gradually calming him. In his tired state, Jack forgot to release Bowzer, leaving Jack alone in the pitch-black room as he struggled to drift to sleep.

Hours passed and the sunshine quietly crept through the foggy window covered in morning dew.

"Jack... Jack..."

Something heavy started to weigh down Jack’s chest, enough to wake him up when accompanied by the gentle calls of his name.

Jack tried to wipe his eyes but found himself unable. Something was on top of his arms, as well as his body. As he cracked his eyes open, it took a moment for Jack to clearly see the woman laying on top of him. He blinked. He noticed that she was still clothed and wasn’t trying to do anything but shake him awake. "Eliza... What do you want?"

"It’s time to wake up," Eliza smiled as she sat up beside him. "If you’re tired and sore I can always give you a massage?"

"Maybe later... For now, just let me rest..." Jack mumbled as his dark and tired eyelids heavily fell, shielding Jack from the morning sun’s rays.

"Fine... Rest well..." Standing up Eliza took a good look at Jack. She had never seen him so tired.