Ch. 441..450

Chapter 441

"Oh, so he chose to kill Jack outright..." Halmut commented on the scene they were witnessing, smiling as he did so. "Not a bad tactic, considering his mismatch with Eedaj."

Sterfen remained silent. His heart was pounding as Tralbok avoided all of Eedaj’s attacks. Witnessing Tralbok’s charge on Jack almost made Sterfen’s heart leap from his chest.

The four gods all watched as Tralbok used his time magic to avoid all attacks, even countering the darkness that tried to hide Jack. Tralbok’s wind blade attack put a smile on Halmut’s and Naparn’s face while Sterfen watched in horror. Yet their view was destroyed with the second appearance of that dark orb, not letting them watch Jack be slaughtered.

"Oh, Eedaj ruined the fun..." mumbled Halmut.

After a few moments passed, Sterfen felt a fraction of relief but hid it from his face. When Tralbok rose up out of that massive orb of darkness, Sterfen could still sense his connection with Jack as the demigod Sterfen chose.

But the battle continued as Tralbok then targeted the nearby Lorwynn.

With his battle experience, Lorwynn put up a good fight, considering his mortality. It surprised Halmut to see that his former champion was so resilient and proud before Tralbok. When Lorwynn tried to attack Tralbok with himself as bait, it filled Halmut with pride for choosing such a great champion.

Lyrun did his best to hide the worry on his face. Knowing that Lorwynn had left the holy gods didn’t anger or sadden Lyrun at all, but seeing Lorwynn confronted by a chaotic god was too much for Lyrun.

As Lorwynn’s former master and the man who taught Lorwynn almost everything Lorwynn knew, it was hard for him to see Lorwynn be hurt so badly. Lyrun had never intended for Lorwynn to become the holy champion and risk his life as such, yet his disciple’s abilities had attracted the eye of Halmut and forced Lyrun to hand him over.

When Lyrun had learned that Lorwynn was still alive and had abandoned the holy gods, he was relieved. Yet that moment of relief was momentary and soon crushed as Lyrun witness his former disciple be killed by Tralbok.

"At least he died proudly," stated Halmut, not caring what the others felt or realizing the feelings that Lyrun was hiding.

Staying his tongue, Lyrun hid his emotions while they watched Lorwynn’s body fall.

They noticed that Lorwynn’s body was caught and hurried toward those on the wall. Also, they noticed the two guild members rushing toward the Glacier Wyrm and the fallen Lorwynn.

"Oh... so he’ll live..." Halmut clicked his tongue, dissatisfied to see Lorwynn’s final moments tainted. "He should remain a corpse before we’re forced to do the traitor in..."

But their attention was stolen again as Tralbok chose a new target.

All four of the gods were on the edge of their seats, some in excitement and others in worry. They spotted Tralbok’s next target, putting a smile on Naparn’s face.

"Not bad..." stated Halmut, starting to chuckle. "I guess he’s trying to remove the potential threats before facing Eedaj. I wonder... Is he trying to save enough mana to use Moranti’s scythe again, or does he just hate the weak Leisure Guild that much?"

However, their attention was stolen again when they spotted the hooded man rushing toward the evolving fox as well. When that man threw the small black fireball, all of them were speechless.

Finally, Sterfen loosed a sigh of relief while the three holy gods watched with mouths agape.

Seeing Kori appear to defend his son was too much for Naparn to take. He shouted, "That blasted fox dares leave isolation again?! I should’ve taken both of his arms!"

"So..." Halmut’s eyes were sparkling in excitement. "He finally chooses to fight... Wait, did he just call that evolving fox his son?"

The leader of the holy gods looked away from the table, glaring at Naparn, who immediately silenced himself upon hearing Halmut’s question.

"Naparn, would you mind telling me how the neutral champion gained Kori’s son as his beast companion?" questioned Halmut. "Weren’t you in charge of keeping watch over Kori’s wife while she was apart from Kori? Why didn’t you inform me that they had a child?"

Under Halmut’s stare, the proud Molten God felt himself shrinking. "I... We made sure to watch them at all times."

"Then how did you not know about their child? And how did their child end up with them?!"

"That... Um..."

"Shhh!" Sterfen sounded out, intervening. "We finally get to see Kori go all out, so why not bicker and argue after I leave?"

Nodding Halmut returned his gaze to the viewing table. "Right... We’ll discuss the topic thoroughly after our guest has left, won’t we Naparn?"

The Molten God didn’t respond. He only shrunk back in his chair to watch in silence.

*****

’Argyle! Argyle, are you alive!’

’Kaldor...’ Argyle sighed as he replied. ’Both me and Jack are alive.’

’Good--’

’Send a high-level cleric or priest to Jack’s office immediately!’ shouted Argyle. ’Jack’s unconscious but I think his body is worse off than it seems. Hurry!’

’Okay, I’ll send someone.’

Finishing his conversation with Argyle, Kaldor looked to Hurmot beside him. "Hurmot, your daughter is a cleric, right?"

"Yes... why do ask?"

"Send her to Jack’s Office right now." Kaldor explained, "I’m not sure how, but Jack and Argyle are there now and Jack needs a cleric immediately."

"Oh! Then we’ll send a few priests along with Everla," replied Hurmot. The aging auction house owner mounted a Celestial Crane and the two flew off to the crowd still inside the Leisure Guild.

As they landed, Jack’s party hurried over along with the nearby Celestial Crane members.

"What’s happening? Is Jack okay?" Eliza asked, beating Maura and Daliea to the punch.

Hurmot nodded and looked to Everla, stating, "Jack’s fine, but he needs medical attention immediately. He’s with Argyle in Jack’s office as we speak."

Not replying, all three of Jack’s wives stored their beast companions and climbed onto Appa. They immediately took off, racing toward the main building near the front of the entrance. When they rushed to enter the main building, they spotted two men with levels higher than their own. None of them took those two men lightly as they dismounted Appa and brought out their beast companions yet again.

"State your business!" Daliea ordered as she activated her bloodline skill and transformed.

"Wait! We’re not enemies!" one man shouted.

The other coughed and retrieved an emblem to show the three women.

At the same time, Hurmot, his daughter, and one of his managers rushed over on the backs of two Celestial Cranes. What they spotted the two men, Hurmot shouted, "What brings you councilmen here. Are you after a fight?"

"No... We’re trying to learn what’s going on," stated the second councilman holding the emblem. "We spoke with a crane before entering here. Are you needing any more assistance?"

Laughing, Hurmot shook his head. "Unless you want to fight the gods, I’d recommend you don’t help us. Everything else is under control, apart from the battle deities."

"Then, was it also the guild that stopped the army outside the east wall?" the first councilman asked.

"What army?" Hurmot asked.

Seeing everyone’s confused faces, the two councilmen didn’t know what to say. The first councilman went on to explain, "According to the guards on duty, an army of more than ten thousand troops emerged from the distant woods. And they were all powerful foes too, over lv. 50.

"Yet, just before they reached the city walls, Tralon appeared. Without a word, Tralon took out a strange stone that started to glow before it broke. Then, he started to gather an unfathomable amount of spatial energy, all before he teleported away to the center of the army..." The first councilman paused for a moment, struggling to believe the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

"Then... spatial energy fell onto the entire army, shredding every warrior and mage in its ranks to nothing but scraps of flesh... None of the guards knew what to think, nor could they find Tralon anywhere."

 

Chapter 442

Rushing through the northern woods, Rikko continued to drag Hadurt behind him. "Give Rikko halberd!"

"No, I don’t want to! It’s mine now!" Hadurt argued.

"Rikko give back, but need to bait Pestro," stated Rikko. "Rikko need halberd for Rikko kill Pestro."

"Really? You can kill him?" Finding that hard to believe, Hadurt asked, "If you can kill him, then why didn’t you earlier?"

"Because Rikko no want all EXP. Now Rikko need kill Pestro or Rikko die. You want die?"

"No! But promise that he won’t take it back."

"Rikko stole halberd and Rikko never let go after Rikko steal," Rikko proudly stated while taking the halberd from Hadurt. "Rikko no let go ever, no worry."

"Okay..."

"Now, you run. Unless you want die."

"Fine, then let go of me!" Hadurt shouted and slapped Rikko’s hand but failed to affect the Goblin God’s grip at all.

"Okay... but you run back now. Rikko face Pestro."

Finally, Rikko released the berserker, who tumbled through the undergrowth before gaining his footing and running away at full speed.

When Pestro saw Hadurt run, he instinctually turned to chase. That was until he heard Rikko.

"Fat Pestro no want halberd? Or Pestro scared Rikko pop fat Pestro?"

Snarling, Pestro turned back to Rikko. He saw the Goblin God twirling the halberd and slapping his rear while laughing at Pestro.

"If Pestro scared, then say so. Rikko be easy on fat Pestro if Pestro want," Rikko taunted again and again, proving he was falsely titled and was more befitting of the name Trash Talk God or the God of Taunts.

Caving into his rage, Pestro rushed after Rikko. But he failed to catch Rikko before the goblin began to run again.

"See, Pestro too fat. Rikko help Pestro lose weight. More running, more!"

The dark demonic energy coursing over Pestro started to look like burning fumes from the Demon God’s anger. With both swords in hand, Pestro hurled wave after wave of demonic energy to fell all trees nearby.

With no trees to aid in Rikko’s escape, the Goblin God finally stopped. His motionless body was turned away from Pestro, who stood still while his rage built more and more.

Then, the sudden sound of trickling water filled the air.

Pestro didn’t know what to think. He kept his focus on Rikko, not bothering to investigate the sound further.

Rikko finally turned around to face the Demon God, releasing a long sigh of satisfaction and relief. At the same time, Rikko readjusted his loincloth.

"Aaahhhh... Now Rikko done. Pestro still want halberd?" Rikko held the halberd out, acting as if he would willingly hand it over.

Pestro was confused for a moment, until he spotted the yellow liquid dripping off of the halberd.

"RIKKO!! YOU FOUL GOBLIN!"

"So Pestro no want?" Rikko frowned, continuing his act. "Then Rikko keep safe. Now worry, Rikko care for halberd forever."

"RIKKO!"

Throwing himself at Rikko, Pestro showed no mercy. He used full-power attacks that tore apart the ground and shook Rikko’s clothes as they passed by him. But Pestro was gaining more and more speed with each swing of the sword.

Rikko kept narrowly avoiding each blade. Occasionally, he would block an attack using the halberd.

After almost a minute of that rampage, Rikko attacked back. The goblin slid past the two swords and swung the halberd toward Pestro’s side. He missed as Pestro sidestepped but some of that yellow liquid sprayed off the tip of the blade and onto Pestro.

"There, now Pestro smell better," Rikko chuckled as he backed away again.

Noticing the goblin piss on his belly, Pestro angrily wiped it off and continued his rampage.

The two seemed to be quite coordinated. One focused on attacking while the other mostly evaded to only sneak in a few attacks here and there. Yet neither of them seemed to have an advantage against each other.

That continued for another minute or two before Pestro roared, "Coward! Fight me for real!"

With relentless fury, Pestro continued to attack, forcing himself to his limits to increase his speed even more.

Rikko noticed the change in pace, finding the new speed quite dangerous. There were a few swipes that caught a piece of Rikko’s flamboyant loincloth as he blew around. Rikko attacked yet again, swiping at Pestro’s belly.

The Demon God though nothing of the blow, quickly sidestepping into his next attack. But he suddenly felt something jab into the side of his belly.

"Oh, Pestro no pop..."

Looking down, Pestro noticed how the goblin was now closer than ever with the halberd barely puncturing Pestro’s stomach. And when Pestro lunged to grab Rikko, the goblin swiftly moved again while unsheathing the halberd’s blade from Pestro’s fat.

"Well, Rikko no pop Pestro... Rikko only kill Pestro now," Rikko stated, shrugging as if he had no other choice."

"You... What did you do?" questioned Pestro.

"Rikko do what?" Tilting his head to the side, Rikko played coy. "Rikko stab Pestro but Pestro no pop. That what Rikko do."

"But why were you so fast?!" shouted Pestro.

"Oh... Because Rikko fast."

A slight crackle of electricity sounded, catching Pestro off guard when he spotted blue lightning dance over the blu goblin’s body.

Smiling, Rikko stated, "Now... Rikko fastest!"

Pestro attack with both swords, but Rikko had vanished before his eyes and his fined tuned senses.

"Up here!"

Slapping Pestro across the face with the blunt side of the halberd, Rikko gave himself away. He was standing on Pestro’s shoulders, smiling from ear to ear.

"You!"

Rikko vanished yet again, not giving Pestro the chance to cleave the goblin in two.

Figuring out Rikko’s speed was simple now. Pestro deduced that Rikko had finally started using wind magic earlier, but Pestro had no clue that the Goblin God could wield lightning magic as well. That proved that Rikko was toying with Pestro the entire time, keeping his speed at the perfect level to keep Pestro distracted and away from everyone else.

Also, Pestro deduced that Rikko had no finishing move that could kill him. The stab into his stomach was barely enough for the demon god to feel it, let alone take any major damage.

The two gods had approached their paths to greatness with similar strategies, only varying one thing. They both chose to focus on a single stat. One focused purely on strength and brute force to become the ultimate barbarian. The other focused on only speed, turning himself in the speediest rogue to ever live.

"Even with lightning magic, you’re so weak!" Pestro shouted, returning Rikko’s taunts with his own.

"Pestro fat but no have thick skin," Rikko teased while wagging his finger back and forth. "Rikko have thickest skin, so Rikko no mad. But Rikko sad... Rikko want see Pestro belly pop..."

"Take me on like a man! What are you, scared?" Pestro questioned, trying his best to taunt the Goblin God.

"Yes, Rikko scared," replied Rikko. "Rikko scared Pestro no want to play with Rikko. Then, Rikko need kill Pestro because Pestro no fun..."

"Then come on!"

’Rikko, where are you?’

Evading Pestro’s attacks, Rikko answered the telepathic call, ’Eedaj go north. Rikko play with Pestro there. Where Tralbok?’

’He’s busy with Kori...’

’Oh, Kori here! Rikko want see Kori too!’ Rikko started to clap his hands while dancing around Pestro’s swinging blades, taunting the Demon God with his actions and not his words.

’You’ll see him later. Let’s cripple Pestro again before that.’

’Okay... then Rikko wait,’ replied the goblin, still evading and not attacking. ’Rikko use wind and lightning already but no hurt Pestro. Pestro mad mad so Rikko distract. Eedaj go for head when arrive.’

’Alright, just don’t die before I arrive.’

’Rikko too fast for Pestro. Rikko no die!’

The two gods continued, one getting giddier the more he dodged and the other growing more furious than he could ever have imagined possible as he missed time and time again.

 

Chapter 443

Pestro was losing his patience fighting Rikko. He wanted so bad to kill the goblin, but he was starting to believe that he would never get the chance to in a head-to-head match.

However, Rikko’s trash talk was god-tier and drove the raging barbarian further into rage with each passing second.

What Pestro didn’t know or suspect was that Eedaj had escaped from his fight against Tralbok and was waiting nearby. That was something that Rikko hid well by distracting Pestro with more witty, simple-minded banter.

Waiting at the tree line, Eedaj tried to think of how he could best use his surprise attack.

’Eedaj what take long?’ Rikko asked. ’Use fire illusion. Together we rush Pestro.’

’But--’

’If Kori fight Tralbok, we need end Pestro fast. Rikko no want Tralbok save Pestro again.’

Agreeing with the goblin, Eedaj sighed before throwing a couple of invisible fireballs and casting invisibility on himself.

Like before, Pestro sensed the incoming invisible fireballs and slashed them apart. But Rikko slid past Pestro’s defenses at the same time to lad a few quick blows.

Baffled, Pestro looked around for Eedaj but failed to find the Mind God. "Eedaj?! What are you--"

"Pay attention or Rikko kill Pestro!" Rikko snickered, slicing toward the Demon God’s neck.

Not wanting to tank that targeted attack, Pestro stepped back and ceased his yelling. But there was no way that Pestro would forget about the unseeable threat looming around him. An invisible Eedaj with invisible fireballs was a terrifying support when combined with Rikko’s fast jabs and stabs. Pestro realized that he had been trapped yet again and there was no escaping with Rikko running at top speed.

"Then just die!"

Pestro snarled as the black clouds over Gilga expanded to cover the northern forest. Hideous black lightning started to fall upon the battlefield, threatening both of Pestro’s opponents.

Rikko didn’t find it too difficult to deal with thanks to his overwhelming speed but Eedaj felt his mobility reduce drastically. Though he could remain invisible, now Eedaj couldn’t run around the battlefield willy-nilly and attack from wherever he wanted. It worked well at minimizing Eedaj’s potential threat while he remained invisible.

"Too slow!" Rikko chuckled, storing the halberd and retrieving his own two personal daggers. Lighting coat one blade and wind coat the other as the goblin started to get into a rhythm.

The Goblin God rushed again, not worried about Eedaj. He lunged at Pestro as fast as lightning with his electrified dagger.

Dodging the blow the best he could, Pestro defended with one of his swords while backstepping slightly. The Demon God prepared for the second attack that he was certain would follow.

And just as Pestro expected, Rikko threw another attack. Literally, he threw his knife mid-swing.

Pestro was baffled as the Goblin God threw the blade mid-swing to extend his range and land a blow. It meant giving up that dagger, but the dagger covered in wind kept its course and bore into Pestro’s shoulder.

"See! Rikko kill Pestro if need," joked the goblin, tossing his second sword back and forth between his two hands.

Pestro grunted, acting like it was nothing as he resumed his barrage of sword attacks.

That attack didn’t deal much damage but it was carefully lodged in Pestro’s shoulder. And thanks to the jagged teeth on the back of the daggers, Pestro didn’t want to remove the dagger without reason. Plus, by not removing it, Pestro kept Rikko from wielding both daggers and minimized the attacks that Rikko could make.

"Pestro want keep dagger?" Rikko frowned as he evaded the Demon God.

"That was nothing! Go ahead and try it again if you’d like!"

Pestro did his best to steer Rikko toward the strikes of lightning but failed as the nimble goblin managed to avoid each bolt raining down around him. It was impressive, even to Pestro.

All the while, Rikko smiled playfully. "Okay... But if Pestro want dagger, Rikko make Pestro pay..."

Not knowing what Rikko was planning now, Pestro kept his eyes peeled on the goblin. But by the time Pestro realized what Rikko was after, it was too late.

The knife in Pestro’s shoulder suddenly heated up, becoming red-hot in less than a second. The aroma of sizzling flesh filled the air, causing Pestro and his sensitive nose to flinch back. But the knife started to turn around in Pestro’s arm, tearing the Demon God’s muscles and ligaments apart.

Finally, Pestro attempted to pull the blade out but it was ripped from his shoulder before he could grip the dagger.

Standing before him was Eedaj, now making himself visible with the red-hot dagger gripped in his flaming hand. A sight that left Pestro mortified, especially after he lost feeling in his right arm.

"See! Pestro always pay!" laughed Rikko, still resuming his attack. "Pestro die soon, so bye-bye!"

Rikko’s dagger coated in lighting was thrust again and again, keeping Pestro on his toes as the hulking man escaped the attacks with scratches and cuts. The pacing of the fight was completely one-sided now. Pestro’s momentum was completely overtaken.

Eedaj cooled down the knife and passed it back to Rikko, letting the tag team face the crippled Demon God full-force. Other than Eedaj’s low mana, the two gods comboed well to keep Pestro on the ropes. They played with him, letting him evade killing blows with minor scratches.

"Too bad Pestro no fun... Rikko need end it now!"

With both daggers getting coated in lightning and wind, Pestro readied his one able arm and weapon to defend. As Rikko charged, Pestro tried to parry one blow and allow the second attack to hit Pestro’s side, a place where the attack wouldn’t cripple the Demon God further.

The parry was successful and Rikko’s second attack was going as Pestro planned as well. But when a hand suddenly gripped Pestro’s head all alarms went off as Pestro had experienced that same grip not too long ago.

"Eedaj--"

"Cerebral Collapse!"

"AAAAaaaaAAaaaahhHHHhh..."

Falling over, Pestro’s body flopped and was left ragged. Pestro’s mind was mostly intact but he couldn’t feel his body at all. The only sensation that Pestro felt were his eyes and sliver of mobility with his mouth. All other hopes of movement were dashed as Pestro was hit for the second time by Eedaj’s attack.

The false Eedaj behind Rikko faded as Eedaj no longer hid his true self, letting his real body become visible over Pestro.

Snickering and dancing, Rikko waltzed over and removed his dagger from Pestro’s side, which Pestro couldn’t even feel anymore. "See! Pestro pay for everything!"

"You... won’t..."

"We’ll get away with it," stated Eedaj, knowing exactly what Pestro wanted to say. "Tralbok is busy handling someone else at the moment, so don’t expect him to show up again and reverse the situation."

"W-Who..." Pestro asked, trying to cling to some semblance of hope.

"Sadly for Tralbok, he chose the wrong person to target. Tralbok started to pick off people instead of facing me." Eedaj explained, "He tried to kill Jack but failed. Then, he managed to chase down and kill Lorwynn, but I believe he’ll be back up soon thanks to the quick thinking of the guild. And finally, Tralbok targeted the Hell-flame Fox that happens to be Jack’s companion. Would you like to guess the parent of that Hell-flame Fox?"

"... No... way..."

"Yes, way," continued Eedaj. "In fact, just before Tralbok could kill the young fox, Kori rushed out of the Leisure Guild to take Tralbok head-on. I guess he had snuck in as one of the new recruits to keep an eye on his son. He didn’t plan to make a move though, as it would go against his contract with Halmut. But how could he watch his only son die before his eyes after losing his wife already?"

Pestro said nothing else. The Demon God closed his eyes and tried to take it all in while not offering Rikko any more satisfaction.

 

Chapter 444

"Defend yourself and die!"

Kori no longer contained his feelings, rushing Tralbok with all of his fury contained in his small flame body.

Not daring to take the Fox God lightly, Tralbok attempted to distance himself. But he was startled that the Fox God’s natural speed could keep up without the use of wind of lightning magic.

Tralbok evaded while doing his best to remember everything he could about Kori and the few Hell-flame Foxes that have existed in Kartonia. Two of the three major incidents involving Hell-flame Foxes were Kori making a name for himself, but the one Tralbok keyed in on was the third and final incident Kori caused.

By then, Kori had already become a god and gained his pitch-black flames. And he ended up dueling with another god who had boldly challenged the Fox God’s pride.

That face-off was the inciting act behind the fairy tales labeling Hell-flame Foxes as natural disasters waiting to happen. It was the fight that destroyed a nation’s capital and left all spectating gods stunned. How could such a close duel of gods not be memorable, especially when the two gods were from the same faction?

Proud as ever, Naparn had denounced the Hell-flame Foxes as lower beings to Magma Dragons, even though their bloodlines were equally powerful. It was just after Halmut’s battle with Skaryn, leaving Naparn entirely in charge of the holy gods during Halmut’s initial recovery phase. And given Naparn’s grudge against Kori for not joining the war, Naparn’s natural pride drove him to punish the fox’s reputation, stating that the fox’s defenses were rubbish and that the Hell-flame Foxes were the equivalent to a glass cannon.

Not taking that lightly, Kori disputed with the Molten God verbally first, but Naparn insisted they test his theory, remaining confident in his higher level.

When Kori eventually ignored Naparn, the Magma Dragons incited a few Hell-flame foxes to battles. But they would team up and pick on the foxes, never killing them but crippling them or taking a limb as a trophy.

Unable to stomach such a thing, Kori lashed out against Naparn in the Molten God’s territory. The divine Hell-flame Fox leveled the capital city that was later rebuilt with the rise of the Maltor Kingdom as Scorch City.

Enraged, Naparn descended from Olympic Chateau to find Kori waiting for him within the ashes of the city.

The two gods faced each other without mercy, putting their mutual allegiance to Halmut aside.

Though the battle was very straightforward with both gods fighting in their beastly forms, in the end, the battle resulted in a draw. Naparn’s natural defenses and attacks as a Magma Dragon proved formidable but Kori’s pitch black flames also proved unstoppable. There were no tricks to the battle, only pure, unadulterated rage between the two most powerful wielders of fire magic.

Keeping Kori’s flames in mind, Tralbok had to come up with a strategy on the fly for facing his newest opponent. Even if Tralbok knew that he had a single level advantage over Kori, Tralbok would never dare to test himself against the undying black flames that Kori controlled.

"You call that defending yourself?!" Kori shouted. The Fox God was tired of Tralbok running and tossed out a dozen of those small black fireballs.

Spotting those fireballs was an instant red flag for Tralbok. They appeared to be the same expanding fireballs as the one that defended Bowzer and devoured Tralbok’s earlier attack.

Tralbok halted momentarily and shot up into the sky to avoid the minefield of black fireballs.

This strategy only worked for a moment though as more and more black fireballs formed around them. Soon, Tralbok found himself and Kori entirely surrounded in those black fireballs. They formed a perimeter in the air, giving Tralbok only a few hundred meters of space to move in.

Tralbok attempted to reverse and counter them, but he realized that each fireball was cast individually and Kori must’ve been able to cast so many at once due to his bloodline.

Some would argue that wielding more magic types was always better and made for stronger opponents. Such people would find facing an elemental specialist incredibly difficult and Kori was an example of that. While most people can only dual cast spells, Kori could cast up to half a dozen at a time so long as they were fire spells and weren’t his most powerful attacks. That was one of the bonuses to having a single element if it was mastered, something that Kori’s bloodline and training had accomplished.

Seeing no way out, Tralbok turned to Kori one last time. "Kori, must we do this? Sure, you’ll deal me quite a lot of damage, but that doesn’t mean I can’t kill you in the meantime."

"Then prove it!" Kori shouted and rushed Tralbok as he regained his hundred-meter height and foxy flame body.

With Kori committing to a battle that even the fox wasn’t fully confident in, Tralbok looked to the north and deeply frowned. At the same time, that purple scythe from earlier reappeared in Tralbok’s hand.

Before Kori could pounce on top of Tralbok, the God of Time stabbed his second foot with the scythe and shouted in pain as he was teleported away in a subtle blink of purple energy.

Roaring in dissatisfaction, Kori consumed all of the black fireballs and returned to his normal fox form with no fire. Kori then dashed back toward the west gate and ate the flames protecting his evolving son. He ignored the shouts of Rikko as the Goblin God and Eedaj dragged the motionless husk of Pestro out of the northern woods. Instead, Kori reactivated his flame body and started to devour Bowzer’s rampant flames.

Somehow, Bowzer’s shouts and howls lessened. It seemed like the fox wasn’t feeling as much pain with Kori’s help.

*****

"Oh, so Tralbok was saving his energy in case he wanted to escape. He’s such a schemer, that one..." Halmut sighed, unhappy to not see Kori fight at full strength.

"If you’re unhappy about the outcome Halmut, you should ask Naparn about the incident that destroyed Magma City," Sterfen commented, feeling much better as the situation proved to end positively for his side.

"Right, I was resting while that happened. Tell me, Naparn, what caused the destruction of the city you and your people were so proud of?" Halmut asked.

Stiffening up, Naparn beat around the bush. "Well... that’s a very..."

"Naparn had challenged Kori as a punishment for not participating in the war effort but Kori refused," Lyrun spoke up, explaining everything succinctly yet in detail. "The Magma Dragons then started to pester and team up against Hell-flame Foxes to prove they were stronger. Angered by the crippling of the few Hell-flame Foxes that survived the war, Kori laid waste to Magma City and dueled with Naparn to a draw, all while Kori was only lv. 95 and Naparn was lv. 97."

"That--"

"What?!" Startled, Halmut shouted with a baffled look plastered across his face. "Naparn... Is that why you didn’t tell me about your acts against Kori’s family?"

Naparn kept quiet but his silence was answer enough.

Feeling torn, Halmut thought carefully about the current relationships he had with the holy gods. Sadly, had he known that Kori showed so much potential, Halmut would’ve definitely supported the fox over Naparn despite Naparn being a dragon. Yet Halmut had already missed his chance to fix Kori’s standing in the holy gods. Already, Kori’s family had been hunted down and Kori gave up his arm recently after he left his isolation, which was reported to Halmut unlike the first time Kori left isolation to face Naparn.

Halmut understood that it was too late to right the wrongs that had been done to Kori and that Kori would never be loyal with Naparn around. And given the current situation, Halmut made his decision.

 

Chapter 445

With a loud sigh, Halmut retrieved two scrolls. The other three gods saw Halmut take one in each hand. But before handing them over, one of the contracts suddenly caught fire.

"Halmut, we had a--"

"I’m only honoring the contract that Kori agreed to long ago," Halmut stated, not flinching at all. "This is technically his third offense against his isolation, which merits the loss of his godhood."

"That--"

"It’s too late Sterfen..." The remains of the contract fell out of Halmut’s hand and fell to the floor. "Now, I’ll give you Lunara’s contract for both Lyrun’s and Naparn’s lives."

"That’s ridiculous!"

"Would you rather I kill you now? Release Naparn first and then I’ll hand you the contract and escort you out like a proper guest."

Sterfen eyed Halmut, utterly repulsed by the sudden development. Then, Sterfen grinned and snapped his fingers.

Lyrun finally took a deep breath, feeling sweet relief as the Mark of the Reaper vanished from the elf’s neck. A thin scar was still left from the blade, something that would never fully heal thanks to Sterfen’s abilities, but the threat to Lyrun’s life was gone.

"Now hand it over."

Smiling back to Sterfen, Halmut replied, "Very well... I like your confidence, so I’ll play along this time."

Halmut casually extended his hand, passing Sterfen the contract to his wife’s godhood. "I suppose this means that we’ll be enemies after your departure from Olympic Chateau?"

"Yes, but that’s by your decision, not ours. Feel free to not do anything and maybe we won’t need to face you in the end..." Sterfen paused to open the scroll and take a peek at the contents of the contract. Then, he chuckled and shook his head. "But I doubt a greedy pestro like you could keep yourself from trying to kill them off for your own EXP."

"We’ll see," Halmut replied with his false friendliness that could fool almost anyone. "For now, at least let me congratulate you on the birth of your daughter. I’m sure she’ll be something special in the future."

"Oh, Jack and I are sure of that. I’ll see myself out so no need to walk with me. Just make an opening in the barrier so I can step out."

"Very well."

With that, Sterfen walked out of Olympic Chateau with only half of his goal realized, yet still fully satisfied to finally have freed his wife.

*****

As Rikko rushed to greet Kori, the Fox God started to groan and pant.

Dropping his flame body, Kori reverted to his normal fox form. He writhed in pain for a moment, leaving everyone in suspense as to what was going on. Then, a mass of holy energy erupted from Kori’s body, causing the fox to howl in pain.

It only lasted for a moment, Kori was left panting and breathing heavily. His body was shaking and struggling to stand straight. He laid himself down beside Bowzer, with a small, relieved smile on his face.

"Kori, what happen?" Rikko asked, carefully patting his old friend on the back. "Kori okay? Wait..."

"Yeah... I guess Halmut was watching after all..." Kori sighed, not dwelling on it too much.

"What?!" Eedaj was startled and read the fox’s mind to learn the truth of the situation. "Kori... your level..."

"Yeah, I know... I guess I’m no longer the Fox God, am I?" Kori chuckled, trying to play it off. "Either way, at least Bowzer’s okay and I don’t have to worry about that contract anymore."

Amazed at Kori’s optimism, Eedaj sighed. Rikko, on the other hand, was instantly back to his jovial self.

"Kori let Rikko ride? Like old time?" questioned the Goblin God, easing the situation with his humor.

"Later, okay Rikko? Right now, I want to make sure Bowzer’s evolution goes well," answered Kori. "Also, shouldn’t you go check on Jack? Do you know where he is?"

"That..." Eedaj paused for a moment but smile and quickly resued the conversation. "Jack’s currently in his office. I guess he forcibly teleported away to avoid Tralbok, which is both great and devastating at the same time."

"He pushed too hard, huh? I’ve been there..." Kori sighed, reminiscing about the days passed.

"Either way, we need to attend to Jack and make sure to include you in our latest strategy," stated Eedaj.

Looking back at the Mind God, Kori raised an eyebrow and asked, "And what strategy is that?"

"To raise more gods. Pretty simple really."

"Yeah, but--"

"After we let Jack kill this ugly, breathing corpse, then he’ll gain more EXP then ever before and we’ll be able to use his dying energy to temporarily revitalize your immortal potential," explained Eedaj. "And since you’re now at lv. 89, I’m sure you’ll be able to level up within a week’s time and become a god again."

"That’s... That’s what you’re doing?!" Surprised and convinced, Kori started to laugh. "That explains why both Lorwynn and that chaotic champion sided with you. I didn’t know that such a strategy existed."

"You’ll have to thank Daruun for that. Now, all we have to decide is which god will make you a demigod now."

"Rikko choose Kori!" The goblin instantly shot his hand up to the sky.

"No can do, Rikko. You’ll choose Hadurt since you both wield wind and lightning. That would be ideal," stated Eedaj, replacing Rikko’s smile with a grumpy frown. "That leaves Guuro and Jin as the only ones who haven’t chosen demigods, but Jin is off doing who knows what so I doubt he’ll be available..."

While Eedaj pondered it more, a bright flash of light filled everyone’s views. A sense of worry took their hearts but was quickly replaced with joy as Sterfen now stood before them all.

"Kori... I’m sorry but I couldn’t get your contract before Halmut activated it..." Sterfen sighed.

"That’s fine... Wait, what do you mean by that?" questioned Kori.

Sterfen smiled lightly, retrieving an unfurled scroll for the former Fox God and the others to see.

"No way! You actually got her contract?!"

"All I had to do was take Naparn and Lyrun hostage, no big deal," chuckled Sterfen, surprising them all further. "But Halmut used your contract before handing it over, saying you breached it by leaving isolation again."

"Yeah, don’t worry about it... I’m just amazed that you got Lunara’s contract and lived to tell the tale," Kori laughed along with Sterfen. "I’m sure she’ll be glad to be free. I may have lost my godhood, but I’m so happy they can’t hold that contract over my head now..."

"If Lunara is free to join us, then she’ll be able to choose a demigod too, right?" added Eedaj. "That means Guuro can choose Lorwynn and Lunara can choose you, Kori. It may not match up with your magic types, but you’ll have a slight affinity to water magic out of it."

"Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ll be able to cast my few holy spells anymore... Bummer..." Kori sighed. "I guess having some of Lunara’s skills or abilities wouldn’t hurt though. "

"Sounds like a plan," Sterfen stated. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see my wife."

"Don’t you want to go with Jack? He’ll be able to teleport after he wakes up," Eedaj added.

Sterfen shook his head. "Nah... I just hurried back to make sure everything was okay. I’m going to go ask Lina if she wants to help me bring Lunara back to Trodar. Maybe we can make it back and surprise Jack when he wakes up."

"Well, I’ll be waiting here with Bowzer. Once his bloodline reaches the third stage, I’ll be glad to go along with whatever plans you have for me," stated Kori, glancing back to his son.

Each of the gods and the former god smiled. With excitement for what was to come after enduring such an intense battle, they happily ignored Pestro’s mumbling.

 

Chapter 446

"... Jack..."

"Jack."

"Come on, Jack, I know you can hear me."

Sighing, Jack finally opened his eyes. Strangely, Jack felt no pain.

"Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’re still unconscious," stated a familiar voice. "I’m visiting you because I was asked to show you something and I was kind enough to help."

"Gramps..." Jack looked around to find himself with Daruun up in the clouds. "Who asked you to show me something? Is there someone more powerful than you that--"

"Don’t start fantasizing too much, Jack. Something like that won’t be happening as you currently exist on a planet I made from scratch. No one else in the universe can know about your existence until you surpass lv. 99 and pain enough power to travel beyond this planet," Daruun explained.

"Then... who would be so important that you’re their messenger?" asked Jack.

Sighing, Daruun showed an uncomfortable smile. "It’s not that they’re more important than me, but that I respected them enough to grant their dying wish. I’m talking about Tralon."

"Tralon! How could he--"

"Let me show you what I mean..."

Daruun waved his hand, sending him and Jack through a flash of light. They reappeared on the east gate of Gilga.

"What are you..." Jack was about to continue his emotional questioning when he spotted something out in the distance. "Is that... an army?"

"That’s an army of over ten thousand men, all ranging from lv. 50 to lv. 60. Those are the scraps of the syndicate that weren’t as driven as the main force that you’re facing on the west side. With five centuries to build up their forces, this much is to be expected," explained Daruun. "And this army is attacking at not too long after you joined the fight in the southwest fields."

"Then... this is where Tralon--"

"Speaking of Tralon..."

Just as Daruun’s words trailed off, Tralon appeared in a flash of teleporting light, right on cue.

"Just watch Jack. Save all your questions for afterward."

That was all Daruun said as the duo saw Tralon’s reaction to the massive army rushing the east gate. And seeing their high speed, Tralon understood that they would enter the east gate within minutes, unabated by the weaker soldiers atop the city wall. In response to seeing them, Tralon took out a small stone.

"That’s a--"

"Wait, Jack..."

They continued to watch as Tralon poured mana into the already cracked stone, breaking it to pieces. At the same time, the rest of the world froze as an apparition of Daruun appeared before Tralon, amazing Jack.

"So," the apparition spoke to Tralon, "have you decided on what your third and final question will be after so long?"

"Yes... I would like to know what are the different outcomes involving this army based on what actions I decide to take," Tralon stated, staring confidently at Daruun with hope.

The apparition nodded. "Very well. There are two main outcomes to consider here. The first is if you decide to not interfere. If you decide to focus your attention elsewhere and aid the other battlefield instead, this army will carve through the city until they reach the Leisure Guild property on the other side.

"This will create far more casualties than the battle that destroyed half of Federal City and will result in Gilga nearly being removed from the map. The Leisure Guild has the strength and forces to win, but they will suffer great losses as well. And without the city’s economy, the new subordinate guilds under the Leisure Guild, as well as the trading pact with Korten, will greatly suffer. The wealth that the guild possesses will be used to rebuild the city and not the guild."

"... And the second option?" Tralon asked, swallowing some of his nerves.

"Should you decide to act against the incoming army, you’ll be able to reduce the army’s forces by a good fraction with your powerful legendary spell. However, that will leave you unable to participate in the battle or even move for a couple of days in your current condition," answered Daruun.

Tralon stroked his beard, not satisfied with either of those answers. Then, he asked, "Is there no way for me to stop the entirety of the army?"

"It’s not that such a feat is impossible... There are just some conditions that you would have to accept for it to happen," Daruun replied. "Would you like to--"

"Please, explain to me these conditions," Tralon firmly stated. "I’ve watched over this city since it’s birth over a millennium ago and I’ve cared for it ever since... And should the city be destroyed and its citizens be massacred, then it will also affect the world’s perception of the guild and Jack. Also, the only way to fend off this army completely would be using Dragov in the middle of the city, destroying the remaining portions of the city while defending it. There would be no point in such an action."

For Jack, watching this scene take place, he was speechless. He didn’t know what Tralon had been up against or what Tralon had been thinking when Jack suddenly received Tralon’s final telepathic message. But now... he felt his heart open and tighten at the same time as he already knew the outcome of the soon to be mentioned conditions.

"I’m glad you’re thinking so clearly..." Daruun’s apparition added with a sigh. "As for the first condition, It has to do with your mana capacity. For you to cast such a large spell, it goes beyond your current mana capacity. Forcing yourself to increase the spell’s size in your current condition will destroy the mana lines within your body, giving you less than twenty-four hours of life before succumbing to a natural death with no hope of resurrection."

"I see... but that will allow me to capture the entire army within a single spell?" Tralon asked, not swayed in the least.

Shaking his head, Daruun’s apparition continued, "There’s one more condition. Even if you force the spell to grow larger, you can’t control it beyond the spell’s range. So, to overcome that final hurdle, you would need to do what?"

Taking a moment to think, Tralon mumbled to himself while stroking his beard, "If I can’t extend the range... Then I would have to maximize it, possibly... I would have to be at the center of the army?"

"Yes," Daruun agreed. "You would have to begin the spell and then teleport yourself to the very center of the army the moment before you cast it. That would allow you to maximize the range of Rendering Space and allow the entire army to go down with a single spell. But... that inevitably leaves you vulnerable to the spell as well."

"You’re saying I’ll be killed by my own spell?"

"Correct, should you choose to--"

"Very well." With a nod, Tralon swallowed the saliva in his throat along with the last of his nerves. "If one life can save thousands, then it’s worth the sacrifice."

"Are you sure--"

"Yes, Daruun. I’m willing to accept those self-destructing conditions," stated Tralon. "If I would die after the spell anyway, it won’t make a difference if I die by my own spell."

"That spell will instantly reduce your body to shreds and minced meat, leaving your flesh unrecognizable among the masses of the enemy army. Are you alright with that?" asked Daruun.

Tralon nodded. "If that’s what it takes, then I’ll accept. I’m sure Jack will find all of this EXP helpful. I just wish I could give him all of it and not just half..."

"Such is fate, something we can only attempt to predict while we try to find our own path," Daruun stated.

"Daruun, can I ask you one last thing? I don’t need an explanation so it shouldn’t need a new tutorial stone to ask."

"Yes, Tralon. I’ll make sure Jack learns that this was your will and your decision," Daruun answered Tralon before Tralon could even ask the question.\

 

Chapter 447

Alleviated to hear that, Tralon smiled. "Thank you, Daruun. Without your guidance, I never would’ve sen Jack again or would’ve witnessed the magnificence of the city and guild that Jack had created. I was able to take part in that spectacular legacy, my proudest achievement."

Daruun’s apparition sighed. "Tralon... Don’t worry about Jack. I’ll make sure he knows everything regarding this decision, and I’m sure he’ll understand your intentions. Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"No... There’s nothing else."

"Then," Daruun added, "let me say this. Thank you, Tralon, for everything you’ve done and for always taking the path that most would waver from ever accepting."

"Thank Jack, he’s the one who taught me that," Tralon replied with a touching smile.

With that over, Daruun faded away and the world around Tralon began to move again.

Tralon wasted no time as copious amounts of raw spatial energy started to gather around his arms, startling the frightened guards on the city wall. While preparing the spell, Tralon sighed and contacted Jack for the last time.

Personally witnessing the smile on Tralon’s face and the tears in Tralon’s eyes, Jack couldn’t keep his own waterworks from taking place. Jack had no doubt that Tralon died fulfilled and satisfied at that moment. The look on the aging mage’s face in his final moments was proof of that.

’Jack... Are you there?’ Tralon asked.

’Yeah, what--’

Tralon interrupted Jack, not wanting to waste his final moments as the army was about to reach the city walls, ’Jack, let me thank you one last time.’

’Tralon, what--’

Mid conversation, Tralon teleported away into the center of the horde of enemies. He drew a lot of attention, but that didn’t matter to Tralon as he focused on saying his final uttered sentence, ’Thank you, Jack... for everything...’

With that final goodbye out of his mind, Tralon forcibly ripped the fabric of space around him, casting Rendering Space across the entire army.

A torrent of spatial energy flooded the eastern field, nearly disintegrating everything and everyone that stood in its wake. The intimidating army of over ten thousand had been shredded into a paste in less than a second.

All the guards rushing to the east gate were astounded, speechless at the sight of such a phenomenal spell. Had they not been there to witness that event, hardly anyone would’ve believed it to have been possible, let alone that it happened moments before the city was breached. After a few moments to take in the newly updated situation, the guards began to shout and praise the powerful mage who saved them all, forgetting the weakening reputation of the former guild master.

"So, do you have any questions for me?"

Still watching the scene take place, Jack’s ethereal presence stood beside Daruun. "... No... There’s nothing else to say..."

"While I’ve awakened your subconscious, you should check your achievement list. You’ll be amazed at what Tralon and the others have helped you earn," Daruun added.

Emotionlessly, Jack blinked and opened his menu. Then, he took his time to open the achievement list.

"This... This is thanks to Tralon, isn’t it?"

"Well, having the dueling gods was a great part of it as well, but Tralon saving the city was by far the greatest contribution. How can an achievement be great if there’s no left alive to admire it?"

Jack kept his eyes locked on his newly completed achievement, unable to say more.

[Rise of the Leisure Guild: complete]

[Successfully eclipse and surpass the former, ancient reputation of the Leisure Guild. By demonstrating the guild’s ability to repel all forces with minimal casualties, including gods and being outnumbered by the thousands, the reputation of the Leisure Guild has surpassed even the organizations that gods have supported for over five centuries. Legendary reward: 2000 skill points. Event reward: 5000 skill points.]

For quite a while, Jack remained motionless and speechless while staring at the achievement. Daruun said nothing either. He patiently waited for the hero to eventually claim the achievement and look back to him.

"Are you wondering about the rest of the fight? Or would you like to hear about that from them first hand?" Daruun asked.

"Go ahead and sum it all up."

"Very well." Daruun explained, "Tralbok chased and killed Lorwynn after failing to kill you. While Lorwynn was rushed to the most powerful clerics the guild had on hand, Tralbok rushed Bowzer in an attempt to kill the fox. However, Kori, who had disguised himself as a new recruit of the guild to keep an eye on Bowzer, stepped in to save Bowzer and forced Tralbok to retreat.

"With Kori handling Tralbok, Eedaj rushed to aid Rikko in crippling Pestro, which they did. They dragged him back as a husk of his former self, waiting for you to wake up and finally kill him."

Amazed to hear that, Jack looked back to Daruun. "They crippled him to the point that I can kill him?"

"Correct. That’s what Eedaj had planned all along," continued Daruun. "Now, there was also something else taking place elsewhere while this battle concluded. Sterfen made his move on the holy gods in Olympic Chateau, using your summoned Spectral Dragon as the perfect distraction to catch them off guard. With them unaware, Sterfen took both Naparn and Lyrun hostage in exchange for Kori’s and Lunara’s contracts."

"That’s--"

"However," not letting Jack get too excited before he finished, Daruun interrupted Jack, "Halmut refused to hand the contracts over until after the battle, as he didn’t want Sterfen returning to make the battle so one-sided. And after witnessing Kori’s appearance and learning more about the deep-rooted hatred between Kori and Naparn, Halmut decided to activate Kori’s contract before relinquishing it to Sterfen. In the end, Kori lost his godhood and dropped from lv. 95 to lv. 89 and Sterfen left Olympic Chateau with your mother’s contract.

"But, you’ll be glad to know that Kori will again be able to ascend using the same strategy as Hadurt and Lorwynn," Daruun added. "So, we’ve received one new neutral god in Lunara and we’ll soon receive three new neutral gods if handled correctly."

"By handled correctly, what do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I mean that they’ll have to fully focus on leveling up. Thanks to the battle, Hadurt is now lv. 89 and Lorwynn is halfway through lv.88. So long as they go to the right place and just focus on EXP gain, all three will manage to ascend in their week-long time frame," answered Daruun.

"Would Earthen Keep work for them?"

"Yes, that’s where I’d recommend. They’ll be the perfect distraction for your sneaky entrance. Then, while they grind EXP on the first floors, you’ll be crawling through all ninety-nine floors to reach your tomb at the bottom."

"And I’ll be strong enough to face the boss myself?" questioned Jack.

Daruun chuckled, "Not in the way you’d expect... Also, you’ll be placed eerily close to godhood after killing Pestro, but reach won’t reach lv. 90 so easily. After finding your tomb is when you should worry about the grind to ascension. Trust me, you’ll be glad you went that route first instead of grinding with those three."

"Hmm... so I’ll be able to handle Crypt Lord Duorda alone, but not in the usual sense..." Jack scratched his head, trying to imagine what Daruun could be hinting at. "What, do I need to up my charisma and seduce him?"

"Perhaps..." Daruun laughed, intrigued by Jack’s attempts to predict the strange exchange that Jack will experience at the end of Earthen Keep. "Don’t worry so much about that. I know that you’ll be fine in the end, so just focus on what’s most important for now. Make more pacts with gods, make a public statement as the Leisure Guild for all the city and world to learn, and enter Earthen Keep confident that you’ll eventually find your old in-game avatar."

Jack sighed. "Fine... then I’ll just wait and see since you’re so confident about the final floor."

Daruun smiled, glad that Jack would focus on the task at hand and trust in his word.

 

Chapter 448

"... Aaaaahhh..."

"Jack? Jack!"

"Huh... Ohh!"

Jack finally opened his eyes, finding the real world around him and not an illusory vision supplied by Daruun. But before he could speak or see everyone around him, Jack was bombarded by tender yet firm embraces from his wives.

"Jack... Why do you have to scare us like that?" Eliza sighed, speaking softly into Jack’s ear.

"You always do this to us," added Maura. "But we’re glad you survived a god chasing after you."

Daliea was the first to release Jack and give him some room, adding, "Only you could survive a god’s wrath... I’m proud of you."

Taking all that into consideration, Jack struggled to sit up without any aching. "How long was I out this time?"

"Six weeks," a familiar voice stated.

"Mom... What are you doing here?"

"Your father brought me here, free and clear of my contract," Lunara replied. "We’ve been waiting for you to wake up. Now, the Leisure Guild can finally make a public statement about the battle."

"Couldn’t--"

"It has to be you, Jack." Catching the hero off guard, Sterfen walked across the room to take his wife by the hand. "Who other than you can rile up a crowd? As the guild master, it’s your duty to make such statements and allow the world to understand just how spectacular your guild is."

"Well... that makes sense... Where’s Lina?" Jack asked, noticing that only one family member was missing.

"She’s playing with her friend from Aazoon," answered Lunara. "Do you remember the little princess that Lina saved?"

"You mean Princess Erina? Why is she here?"

Sterfen raised his other hand. "That would be my fault. When I arrived in Aazoon and let Lunara destroy her contract, she made sure to inform King Wilheim. When he heard that, he begged me to take Prince Willim and Princess Erina with me to Trodar.

"Apparently, with the association and the syndicate showing their true colors, many kingdoms were terrified by the true difference they had in power. Some alliances have formed recently and a few kingdoms have started to war over land and power, seeking a means to grow stronger and attempt to rival the powerful association."

"Will war break out in Aazoon?" Jack asked.

"It’s a likely possibility," Sterfen answered. "I guess King Wilheim was eager to see that his children were safe, and he insisted that Trodar was the best place to be."

"He’s not wrong, but what does King Wilheim intend to do if war breaks out?"

"I’ve no clue." Sterfen shrugged. "He did ask to speak with you when you woke up. Just ask him later when you get a chance."

Lunara pulled Sterfen to Jack’s bed and sat beside Maura. "For now, I’m just glad that you’re alright. But you can’t keep doing this to yourself, Son. I don’t want to see you die before you get your chance to ascend."

"Don’t worry, that will be happening sooner than later," Jack chuckled. "Dad, where’s Pestro being held?"

Giving Jack a strange look, Sterfen replied, "He’s in Eedaj’s courtyard. How did you know--"

"While I was out, I was lucky enough to speak with Daruun. He explained a few things to me... including what happened in the east field."

"Oh... So you know about Tralon?"

"Yeah... But I’ll talk more about him when I give that speech you’re so eager for me to present to the city," replied Jack. "For now, we need to discuss what’s next."

"We’re way ahead of you," Lunara added with a smile. "After you kill Pestro, I’ll choose Kori as a demigod, Rikko will choose Hadurt as a demigod, and Guuro will choose Lorwynn as a demigod, though it did take some convincing for Lorwynn. Then, we’ll help them all level up at full speed."

"Right," Jack agreed. "I’ll rewrite the pacts so that they don’t give me EXP and I’ll make sure to have a pact with Kori that lets him keep all EXP from the get-go. That way, they’ll be able to level up in Earthen Keep."

"So you want to send them there after all?" asked Sterfen.

Jack nodded. "But Kims and Kaldor won’t join them just yet. Only after they ascend with those two join them. And while that’s happening, I’ll start my own mission."

"And what’s that?" Eliza asked. "Is that when you go away for a while?"

"Yeah... I’ll be busy sneaking through all ninety-nine levels of Earthen Keep to claim my own ancient tomb on the final floor," answered Jack, stunning everyone. "I’ve done it before, so why not do it again?"

"Jack... I’m sure you have your reasons, but how will you--"

"I’ll make a pact with you too, Dad. Then, I’ll have access to even your personal skills. Wouldn’t that make it possible?" Jack added.

Both Lunara and Sterfen were taken aback. After a moment of thought, Sterfen blinked and asked, "Jack... You can learn personal skills and spells?"

"It’s not easy, but I can learn them thanks to my subclass. Gramps made sure I’ll have everything I need to succeed," Jack stated proudly.

"Someone who can learn other gods’ skills... That’s a terrifying ability, Jack..." Lunara added, struggling to believe that Jack had such capabilities. "Adding your passive skills to that... That could make you the most powerful god..."

"That’s probably what Daruun wanted," Sterfen stated. "I’m guessing he learned from the god system he made."

"What? What god system?" Jack asked.

Sterfen explained, "Don’t you wonder why lv. 89 is the cap? Well, your grandfather said it was because you can only reach the strength of lv. 90 and higher by absorbing true cosmic energy and not the energy filtered by the world.

"There’s still plenty of that raw cosmic energy on this world but mortals have no chance of sensing it. That’s why a god needs to awaken that latent potential in a mortal in order for them to sense it and become what’s considered a god on this world. The best means of leveling up as a god is to actually help demigods."

Perplexed, Jack asked, "And why’s that?"

"Because every time a god helps a demigod ascend, that god will gain one level’s worth of EXP at that demigod’s ascension," Sterfen answered. "That’s how Halmut and Skaryn rose to the top without trouble. Because part of their contracts is that no one under them can aid a demigod, only letting either of them gain that EXP. Yet they failed to reach surpass lv. 99 all the same."

"Okay... but why would my abilities be an upgraded version of the god system?"

"You share skills with your pact and your system right?" Sterfen answered with a question.

"How did you know I have a system?"

"Because Daruun has mentioned it a couple of times. Remember, we can ask him questions too," chuckled Sterfen. "The exchange that takes place between a demigod and a god is similar to you and your pacts. We give our new child a portion of our abilities in exchange for receiving the residual EXP caused by your ascendance. Sound familiar now?"

While Jack and his wives were processing that, Lunara added, "I can cast a couple of holy spells thanks to my contract with Halmut. Well, I had that ability until now. But Daruun promised long ago that he would formally accept me as his daughter, so that will change soon."

"That’s why I think Daruun learned from the god system he put in place long ago to create your system," Sterfen clarified.

Still taken aback by the meaning of that statement, Jack mumbled, "My achievement system... is better than the god system?!"

"Yes, I’d say it’s an improved model built to focus on growth through well-developed relationships, like how Daruun had always wanted the gods to share a familial bond. Only, Skaryn and Halmut found a different way to manipulate the god system."

 

Chapter 449

"Now, that doesn’t mean the god system is weak," Sterfen continued, "I just think your system is a one-off improvement and not a system created for a multitude of gods. It takes more effort than the god system, but it offers much more for yourself and those you’ve created a pact with.

"What I wonder most is what benefits your demigods will receive."

Unable to answer that or conceive that with his current level, Jack was startled to imagine what his chosen demigods would receive. Considering that choosing a demigod would be more impactful than his normal pact, there was no telling what Jack’s system would offer those demigods.

A few knocks rapped on the door. Lunara smiled and shouted, "Hurry up! We can finally discuss everything!"

Eedaj opened the door, leading Rikko, Kori, Bowzer, Hadurt, and Lorwynn. The rest of Jack’s usual party entered next with the guild leaders. Then, to Jack’s surprise, Dragas and Guuro were the last to enter before they closed the door and cast silence throughout the room.

"Finally, you’re awake!" Dragas rushed to the other side of Jack’s bed, sitting beside Eliza.

"And why were you so worried about me?" Jack chuckled.

Dragas showed a pouty face. "How could my grandchild not have a father?! If you leave Eliza a widow, I’ll kill you and turn your body into fertilizer."

"Okay... I’ll keep that in mind," Jack smiled nervously and looked to the others around the room. "Sorry to keep you all waiting so long."

Lorwynn smiled warmly. "It was no--"

"Yeah, why did you take so long?! All you had to do was wake up!" Hadurt shouted with a smile. "Do you realize how tempting it was to kill Pestro personally while you were comatose? Now’s my chance to ascend, so why did you take so long?!"

Laughing, Jack slowly lifted a hand up to calm Hadurt. "Don’t worry, I’ve got a fun plan for Pestro. But before that happens, I wanted to make sure that we’re all on the same page for what comes next. You guys already talked about who’s making you three demigods?"

Kori answered, "Lunara will choose me. I think Rikko is choosing Hadurt while Guuro is choosing Lorwynn. Then those two will get a boost to two of heir magic types."

"Good, then I’ll mention what comes next." Jack continued, "After we kill Pestro and you three can reignite your latent potential, you’ll join me in Earthen Keep."

"You’re coming too?" Hadurt asked, raising an eyebrow. "Does that mean--"

"No, I won’t be helping you clear the entire dungeon. But you are allowed to kill anything and everything you can. You can’t miss this chance to become gods. We need all the support we can get and there’s no telling when you’ll get another chance," stated Jack. "I’ll be going solo, sneaking through all ninety-nine floors of the dungeon until I can reach the ancient tomb at the end."

"Ohh... Who’s tomb is that?"

Jack looked to Hadurt and smiled wide. "Mine."

"What?!" Hadurt shouted while everyone else out of the loop was stunned.

"It’s the tomb of my former body," Jack explained. "When I was chosen as Daruun’s champion, I started back at lv. 1 because I received a new body with even more potential. Though that made things difficult in the beginning, now I can do way more than I ever could in my last life.

"Also, I should find all of my old items in the tomb, including all of my old gear, equipment blueprints, EXP pots, and more," added Jack. "With that, we should be able to arm a small party to the teeth."

"Perfect! Then we’ll be able to make new gear and equipment on top of gaining some right off the bat," Lorwynn stated, seeing into Jack’s intentions.

"Yup, and given my system’s abilities, I think I can cheat smithing and weapon crafting..."

Most everyone turned to Jack with a strange look on their faces.

Noticing their confusion, Jack explained, "With my new body came something called a system, which, according to Sterfen, should be better than the god system. That’s how I’m able to access the skills of everyone with a pact, even the personal skills and spells of gods. That should also help me instantly become a master blacksmith to create my own weapons."

"Ok... so that means you can learn skills faster than anyone else?" Hadurt asked, trying to comprehend what Jack meant.

"Sorta... That’s a big part of it. But it also makes all of you stronger, as you all know," answered Jack. "But there’s one thing you need to remember. While I’m making this long dungeon run, I can’t leave until I reach the ninety-ninth floor. If I leave halfway, then I’ll half to start back at the beginning and waste even more time that will be needed elsewhere."

"That’s fine," stated Eedaj. "Considering what just happened, we know that the chaotic gods won’t be making a direct move anytime soon. We’ve practically eliminated their entire syndicate and they’re down to their remaining gods. And Moranti weakened their numbers already, so the chaotic gods will be acting carefully and thoughtfully.

"And the holy gods?" Jack asked.

Kori answered, "I don’t think we’ll need to worry about them either. They just lost two gods and now we’ve holed up numerous gods here in Gilga. Until Halmut comes up with some countermeasure for the increase of neutral gods, he won’t be stepping out against us, not in godly combat at least."

"Then now should be the best time for me to disappear for a while. All the more reason why I need to hurry and clear Earthen Keep," concluded Jack.

"And what should we do?" Rydel asked. "Is there anything we can do to level up while you’re gone, Jack?"

Jack scratched his head. "Hmm... You’re all around the mid-forties so we would need a suitable dungeon... Hadurt, do you know any dungeons that could work? With the syndicate on the ropes, I imagine that we could find an empty dungeon for them right?"

"Or..." Sterfen cut back into the conversation, "What if they joined some of the upcoming wars?"

"Why’s that?" asked Jack.

"Well, after half of the Trodan Council was proven to be syndicate members, that left the Leisure Guild with the majority of the remaining seats. Also, the people of Gilga are almost too grateful to the Leisure Guild, wanting it to resume control over Trodar like things were originally after Trodar was formed," explained Sterfen. "Because of that, it means the Leisure Guild will now be the driving force to reunite Trodar’s lost territories and could ally with other nations."

"Oh... So you want them to fight in the war with Prachten, Iscantor, and Limneer?" reasoned Jack.

"No, just the fight with Limneer," Vixus responded. "Prachten and Iscantor have both asked the Leisure Guild to host a war conference. They’ve already asked us if there was a way to end things peacefully or create an alliance."

"Really?" Caught off guard, Jack scratched his head again. "And since Limneer hasn’t, I assume you’re suspecting they’ll be the only ones to fight it?"

"Yeah, that’s what we’re suspecting," stated Vixus. "How would you like to handle it, Jack?"

Taking a moment to think carefully, Jack nodded and stated, "How about this... We’ll have each of them rejoin Trodar officially, but they’ll become territories under the Trodan flag? Then, they’ll each elect their own representatives to run the territories under Trodan rule. Does that sound fair to you?"

Vixus smiled, along with the others, replying, "That sounds very generous considering our overwhelming strength."

"And with the other nations about to war, I’m sure at least Prachten and Iscantor will be glad to have the Leisure Guild for protection," added Eedaj. "As new nations, they’ll be the first target for land-hungry kingdoms."

 

Chapter 450

"And since you’ll be leaving for some time, Jack, let me warn you of what should be happening very shortly," Eedaj added, getting a nod from the other gods and the former god. "History is known to repeat itself, so I can only assume that the amount of kingdoms across the continent will dwindle while you’re gone.

Jack and the others paid close attention as Eedaj explained, "I think all gods present would agree with my theory. Once war breaks out somewhere in the continent, it will spread like wildfire. By the time you return from the dungeon, I’m certain that you’ll find larger, more powerful empires where numerous kingdoms once stood."

"And that’s what King Wilheim was afraid of?" Jack asked, glancing at Sterfen.

Nodding, Sterfen added, "I agree with Eedaj. I’m sure we’ll see empires rise, but I think the other gods won’t remain hiding for long. I think they’ll come back and start to rebuild their followers now that gods have been reintroduced to the world. That’s one major reason why Halmut won’t attack us yet. He’d rather do it after having overwhelming numbers to thoroughly squash us out."

"What do you think about Aazoon? Do you think they’ll hold out?"

Lunara answered, "There’s a chance that they’ll remain as an empire in the end, but once gods get involved that could change... Aazoon had always been my domain, and, without me present, I’m not sure what will happen there."

"Hmm... Would you want to go back there?" Jack asked.

Surprising Jack, Lunara shook her head. "I’d rather be with my family."

"Personally, I like the idea of helping other nations but I don’t like the idea of spreading our forces too thin..." Jack added. "If it’s just territory wars, I’m perfectly fine with that. But I’m not sure how I feel about spreading out the gods that we have. Do you think that’s a safe bet?"

All the gods looked to each other, trying to come up with an answer. It was Rikko that answered, "Why no bring nation here?"

Unsure of how to respond, Jack and the others looked to Rikko with intrigue and doubt.

"Uncle Rikko," Jack asked, "do you understand what that would imply? How would we make room for other nations? Maybe we could save some major cities but we can’t fit that many people inside Trodar."

"Then make Trodar big!" Rikko shouted in laughter. "If Trodar big, Trodar fit more people. Goblins come too! They live in west forests soon."

"That’s great, but..."

"Rikko wants to expand Trodar’s borders," Kori clarified, getting a wink from Rikko as the Goblin God itched his nose.

"Oh... That’s... That’s not entirely impossible..." Jack started to entertain such a plan. "Is that what you meant, Dad?"

Nodding, Sterfen replied with a smile. "That’s exactly what I meant. You’ve already got one powerful ally in Aazoon, and given King Wilheim’s aptitude, I’m sure he’d be humble enough to relocate. As for Reinolt..."

"I forgot about Reinolt, to be honest..." Jack chuckled.

Daliea spoke up, "We already know the small goblin nation will join us. As for Kiong Leodoro, I’m not so sure."

"I think I’m more interested in the powers within Reinolt, like Tridon. Or even a couple of noble families in Zuran, perhaps..."

"Jack, the war between Zuran and Reinolt has been picking up more than ever recently," Rydel chimed in. "Since you mentioned him, you might like to know that Tridon has been a huge asset to controlling the war. With the Beast Manor added to Reinolt’s military strength, Reinolt grew far stronger, even after removing Zariff and Arnole from the equation. Tridon’s over lv. 40, last time we talked."

"Really? That’s great news!" Jack smiled. "Then we’ll have to keep an eye on him and Reinolt. He may be low-leveled, but his experience with beasts should rival Vixus. And with everything inside the storehouse, imagine if we could recruit the Beast Manor and upgrade it with our own strength?"

"That’s great but ya think he’d do that? With the war going on, taking him away would mean Reinolt would get overrun," added Maynard.

"Well, once gods get involved, what will happen then?" Jack asked, stumping the samurai. "If they need help in their war effort, I don’t mind you all going to help and gain EXP. But I refuse to let you all sacrifice your lives for Reinolt. Is that clear?"

Rydal and Maynard nodded while Trax just stood in the corner, unfamiliar with Reinolt but eager to gain EXP with his new training buddies.

"How will we transport everyone? I’m sure King Wilheim would like to know," Lunara asked.

"That... I’m not so sure anymore," replied Jack. "I never learned Tralon’s legendary spells so--"

"Didn’t you summon a Spectral Dragon?" Eedaj interrupted Jack with a question. "Wouldn’t his strength be plenty for such travel?"

"I have no clue," Jack answered. "Where is he by the way?"

"He should be staying with Dragov. The two of them seem to get along quite well, which makes sense."

Curious, Jack asked, "Why would that make sense?"

Eedaj answered, "Because both of their species are prehistoric. The only difference is that the Spectral Dragons were wiped out long ago and the few that existed in Ancient Kartonia were killed by the ancient heroes under Halmut’s orders."

Following that train of thought, Jack asked, "Does that mean Halmut was the one who killed the Spectral Dragons?"

"In essence, yes. Halmut ordered his own kind, the Sun Dragons, to slaughter the Spectral Dragons after Moranti chose to side with Halmut. Then... Halmut had his own kind slaughtered," Eedaj added, startling those present that weren’t gods. "He didn’t like the thought of someone of such a threatening bloodline rising to compete with him, so much so that he had the Spectral Dragons eliminated and had his own kind killed."

"Is his bloodline that much stronger?" Jack asked, still startled.

"Remember how Bowzer and Phoro began their evolution after reaching lv. 60 on the battlefield? Do you remember how that dragon, Karronteel also passed lv. 60 but didn’t evolve?" Eedaj’s questions left Jack speechless before Eedaj answered himself, "That’s because Spectral Dragons, like Sun Dragons, evolve four times and not three."

"Huh..." Baffled, Jack didn’t know what to say.

Eedaj continued, "Spectral Dragons will evolve at lv. 30, lv. 50, lv. 70, and lv. 90. If Bowzer’s and Kori’s bloodline is equivalent to what you would call a level eight bloodline, then Halmut’s, Moranti’s, and Karronteel’s bloodline would be level nine. It used to be said that a Spectral Dragon or Sun Dragon at lv. 80 could contend with a lv. 90 god, so said the rumor that I never saw tested."

"... And Halmut didn’t want them as competition..." reasoned Jack, catching on. "And that’s why he’s hesitant to face Moranti, who’s weaker by level but whose bloodline strength is similar..."

"That’s exactly why." Eedaj nodded and smiled. "And since you’ve managed to find one, that means we need to help him grow stronger."

"I have a proposition," Sterfen spoke up, grabbing everyone’s attention. "After this batch of demigods, I think all others chosen to become demigods should go through Jack."

"But--"

Continuing, Sterfen interrupted Jack, "I honestly believe the demigods chosen under Jack will prove to be more powerful than any we’ve seen before. Also, that will help Jack level up to rival Halmut quicker. Are there any objections?"

"Come on--"

All the gods rose their hands, as well as the current demigods and those who would eventually become demigods. With everyone giving their approval, Jack kept quiet and accepted his fate.

One voice spoke up before Jack could verbally acknowledge everyone’s decision. "Do you really think that, Sterfen?"

Turning to face Hadurt with a smile, Sterfen nodded. "If I wasn’t already a god, I would rather wait till Jack could choose me than to ascend sooner by another god’s hand."

"Really..." Taking the seriousness in Sterfen’s eyes into account, Hadurt sighed. "Then... I think I’d rather wait."