The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 1

"Hurry up! Crypt Lord Duorda will emerge any minute! If you need to heal or swap equipment, now's the time," the squadron commander yelled to the hundred-man army.

Every player quickly checked their statuses and acted accordingly. Almost everyone clustered around the clerics and medics, waiting for their turns to be fully healed. In the meantime, they all checked their storages and began to switch armors and weapons, trying their best to counter the imminent threat specializing in death magic.

The squadron commander looked over his hundred-man army with pride before turning towards the ten assigned party leaders to relay commands. "Remember that we must be vigilant, be ready for anything."

"Oh, come on. Lighten up," joked the third party leader, boasting bulky armor and a war hammer bigger than his head.

"Quiet, pay close attention to everything," the commander was already scanning the army yet again. "You all know of the real threat we face. Didn't you check the achievement board this morning?"

Some party leaders were startled as they remembered, others just looked around and waited for someone to explain. The seventh party leader spoke up, "That fiend only has a single achievement left."

"What!?" the ignorant third party leader yelled as he finally caught on. "You can't be serious? But that's imposs—"

"It's true," the squadron commander confirmed. "Any guess as to what his last one might be?"

The bulky party leader shrunk back as he guessed, "None for all, all for none?" When the commander nodded, the tank party leader ran back to the others yelling, "Hurry up! Don't waste any time!"

Suddenly, dark mist shrouded everything and everyone, circling the tomb and marking the boss's arrival. Unlucky for everyone there, the randomized timer favored the dungeon boss and caught everyone off guard.

"Get in formation, what are you doing!?" the commander was furious at the terrible timing but could only move the plans forward without a second thought. "Tanks surround him! Archers and mages form an outer ring! Clerics and medics hide behind the archers and buff our soldiers! Stay in mid-range, anything long range can be countered by the black mists!"

Everyone followed orders and listened to their respective party leaders as they took control and assaulted the risen crypt lord. The grind to dwindle the boss' health went fairly smoothly as the boss reached critical health, where he'd be buffed and his attack's became randomized.

"Careful everyone! Get closer and avoid the mist! It's toxic and will drain your HP!" the commander reminded everyone of Crypt Lord Duorda's crit abilities. "Every attack he makes will drain your life and heal him, so watch it!"

The tanks were running low on stamina and skill points, doing their best to keep the boss from moving. Clerics and medics worked overtime to replenish everyone's skill points and health, not focusing on anyone in particular but maintaining the general health of the squadron just above the red.

"Hey! What are you doing?" a medic party leader yelled at a medic that broke formation and ran towards the tank. Many people hesitated at the sight, resulting in a timing issue of the once steady stream of attacks. What caught everyone off guard was what the run-away medic was wearing.

The squadron commander's eyes flared in fury. He immediately turned his bow away from the boss and toward the mad medic. "Archers and mages shoot him! That's a full set of Leeroy Jenkins' Battle Plate, the legendary 'kamikaze armor!'"

All eyes were on the rogue medic and all sixty-five archers and mages aimed. Despite the tension, the tanks felt with the boss and the fear in the eyes of the squadron, the rouge medic wore a smile as he reached the inner circle and easily squeezed past the occupied tanks. He dove at the crypt lord and yelled, "I've done it!"

Before anyone could finish him off, the 'kamikaze armor' was activated. Bright white light flashed across each of the hundred players' screens, blinding everyone from the battlefield. Three seconds passed before it faded, and everyone was left staring at the desolate catacombs. Nobody was left, not even the crypt lord. All that remained were the boss drops, left freely for whoever passed by the boss floor next. The last achievement, "None For All, All For None," had been achieved.

"YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!" only a single gamer out of the hundred was excited beyond belief. "Finally!!! I did it!" Unlike the others, his screen didn't return to show him the empty battlefield. It cleared up to the now full achievement board. In bright gold, his gamer tag, Jack_J, stood at the top in spectacular fashion.

Seeing it in such a glorious fashion, he remembered how much more he preferred that character over his real-world identity, Jackson Jones the twenty-two-year-old high school janitor. With thousands of hours clocked in "A Hero's Tale," he genuinely wished to leave reality behind for his fantasies.

After a few minutes in awe of the achievement, he tried to click back to the home screen but wasn't able to. Instead, a highly decorated message from the game's creators covered the screen. Jackson read it carefully, anticipating some insane gift to be given.

"It is our honor to congratulate you Jack_J the Achievement Junkie for your accomplishments. Your countless hours of heroics have culminated in such grandeur that it is impossible to fully describe in words.

"As promised, we offer you this unique quest that will allow you to further dive into fantasy and escape your dismal reality. May you always adventure with heroics in mind."

At the bottom of the message was a button to open his new quest. Without hesitation, Jackson led his mouse towards it and clicked it eagerly. To his shock, he was being electrocuted by his mouse and computer. His muscles spasmed and his eyes flinched in pain. He could move away from the keyboard and could only watch as his screen faded to white and lit his entire room, blinding him from the old bowls of instant ramen and soda cans scattered across the worn-out studio apartment.

It wasn't clear when Jackson came to, he slowly opened his eyes and rubbed his face awake. Slowly he looked around himself to realize he was no longer in his apartment, or alone. He was laid out on a cold stone floor in the midst of what looked like a summoning circle from "A Hero's Tale." Outside the circle stood a small crowd of people with amazement in their eyes.

"What the..?" mumbled Jackson as he slowly stood up.

 

Chapter 2

"What the..?" Jackson scratched his head and looked to the people crowding around him. "What’s going on?"

"A HERO!" the man in front yelled in excitement. "It’s a hero, the summoning was successful!"

While the crowd was in awe of Jackson’s presence, he thought to himself about the situation. The last thing that he could remember was finally getting the last achievement and accepting the new quest. Thinking back to the quest description, if him being transported to a new world was the quest, then the description of escaping reality was very fitting.

"Hero, you must come with me," the same man spoke again and motioned towards Jackson. "My name is Arnole, I’m in charge of his highness’ personal magic guard. I’ll explain on the way."

Arnole turned and quickly led the hesitant Jackson through the stunned crowd. Jackson asked, "What’s going on? Where am I?"

"Calm yourself, hero, all will be explained. You are currently in the capital of the Reinolt Kingdom and we are on the way towards his majesty, Leodoro Reinolt," Arnole replied.

"And why are you calling me a hero?" Jackson asked.

"Because that’s what you are, a hero to the Reinolt Kingdom and the world. During drastic times in history, the various countries spare no expense to summon heroes to their cause. It’s rarely successful and not many countries have been able to pull it off. But seeing that you’re here speaking with me, we obviously succeeded," said Arnole with a proud smile.

"And what makes you think I’ll help you?" questioned Jackson, stopping Arnole in his tracks. "I don’t have a clue as to what’s going on in the world or how bad things are. For all I know, this country isn’t worth saving. Why should I join your cause?"

"What do you mean?" Arnole was at a loss for words. No summoned hero had ever said such a thing. In all recorded history, each hero took up their calling with pride and without hesitation. He felt like it was his rotten luck to get such a reluctant hero.

"Like I said, why should I join your cause? What good does it do me to give my life for a kingdom that I know nothing about and shares no relations with me?" Jackson rephrased his question.

Arnole felt some relief and replied, "Of course, you will be handsomely rewarded for your actions hero. The king’s throne room is further ahead, please hear what he has to offer before making any rash decisions."

"Fine, I’ll hear him out," Jackson stepped forward, rushing Arnole towards the throne room. He chuckled to himself, confident that he’d be able to squeeze every benefit possible from the king and this new country he found himself in.

Before long, they stood before a massive door with guards at both sides. The guards made no motions towards the two approaching them and only opened the door with smiles, glad to see a hero following their captain.

Arnole and Jackson walked right in, not even looking at the guards. They both had their eyes glued on the man sitting atop the golden throne in the center of the room. Wanting to warn the king of the hero’s concerns, Arnole tried to approach the throne but was cut off Jackson’s self-introduction.

"Greetings your highness. My name is Jack and it seems that you’ve summoned me, mind telling me why?" Jackson decided to ditch his old name and identity completely. He was in a new world and was given a new identity from the get-go, so why not replace his old, boring reality with the one he had always dreamt of as Jack_J, the Achievement Junkie.

"Oh, greetings young hero," the king was caught off guard and gave a simple greeting. Arnole came to his side and quickly explained the exchange he had with Jack, leaving the king startled yet more at ease.

"Sir Jack, let me fill you in further on the state of our world. Chaos is spreading across the land, regardless of the country. The despicable Chaos Syndicate is the cause of this. They are a powerful organization that has existed in the shadows for centuries and only grows stronger with time," explained the king.

"With global chaos as their goal, they hope to topple the other world powers and reign supreme. We don’t know who leads them or how they control the chaos, but their threat has grown incredibly over the past few years."

"So, you want me to fight this chaos?" Jack guessed. "And what’s in it for me? Like I told Arnole, I have no reason to fight for a kingdom that I don’t know or have any connections with. And if you’re hoping to touch on my sense of justice, you’d have better luck summoning a new hero."

Both the king and Arnole were stunned at how blatantly Jack spoke. The king replied, "Of course, you’ll be rewarded for your bravery and your willingness to help us in our time of need. What is it you’d like, hero?"

Jack began his list of requirements, "I will need all information on the country and world that you have; maps, trade routes, and a list of allies and enemies would be a good start."

"Easy enough," King Leodoro nodded.

"Second, I’ll need funds to begin my adventures. I can’t be going into battle naked, not again at least," Jack laughed as he remembered one of the more ridiculous achievements that he had to accomplish before.

King Leodoro was hesitant to reply, "Very well."

"Third, I need your complete trust. My methods can be... unorthodox at times, and I don’t need you or anyone else interrupting them."

"Sir Jack, I can assure you that you will have my full support and the help of my Royal Court, the strongest force in the entire Reinolt Kingdom," said King Leodoro, who was trying to imagine how unorthodox Jack’s methods may be.

"And fourth, I refuse to swear loyalty towards you as my king," stated Jack.

The room went silent. All guards were shocked at the new hero’s statement, Arnole included. The king regained his composure and rebutted, "Hero, I have gone to great lengths to summon you and bring you here. If there is anything that you disapprove of, please make it known so that—"

"I never asked to come here," Jack interrupted. "Yes, I’m grateful for the opportunity to come here and explore a new world, but I have no reason to call you my king. Sure, you’ve summoned me and you reign here. I will acknowledge you like a king and show you your deserved respect, but what have you done for me other than dragging me into your problems? You’ll give me these things that I’ve asked for, but that’s only logical because it’s to your greater benefit for me to solve your problems for you. Am I wrong?"

 

Chapter 3

"Hero, please take a moment to understand the situation more fully," the king tried to soothe Jack’s unruliness.

"You know I’m right. Besides saying that your Royal Court is the strongest force in the kingdom means that there are other forces. Surely you aren’t trying to tie me down before I can truly understand the situation more fully, right?" Jack stated.

Internally the king was furious at the gall of the newbie hero in front of him. He was certain that no other king before had to deal with someone so difficult, at least not immediately after summoning. "You mistake my intentions hero. Of course, you’ll be able to align yourself with whoever you feel fit, I just don’t want any misunderstandings or bad intentions to exist between us. Like you said, it’s best for all of us to allow you these things you’ve asked of me."

After speaking, King Leodoro snapped his fingers. A line of servants entered the room from the smaller side entrances, holding various gifts for the hero. Jack was pleased to have won the dispute and accepted them gratefully. "Thank you, King Leodoro. I’m confident that this will help me to fulfill my duties as a hero."

"Now, before we bestow these gifts upon you Sir Jack, please inform us as to what your specialty is," asked the king.

Jack was taken aback by that, not fully understanding the meaning. Seeing Jack’s confusion, the king continued, "You may not know this, but you summoned heroes are different than us mortals. We must rely on our efforts to grow stronger, but it’s recorded that all heroes arrive with a certain special set of skills or abilities. For example, a hero’s natural physical strength will be enormous or their affinity for magic will be beyond our mortal comprehension."

"How can I find this out for myself?" asked Jack.

"Records say that heroes come with something called a ’hero menu’ and can access it with a simple thought. I have no clue what that means, but give it a try," answered King Leodoro, somewhat baffled himself.

Like the king said, Jack easily opened up his hero menu. He noticed that it was the same menu from "A Hero’s Tale," the only difference was the missing buttons to save and log out. Jack immediately opened the status screen and saw his current stats, which didn’t seem like anything amazing to him. What caught his attention was his class, a lv. 1 Hero. Never in all his time playing "A Hero’s Tale" did he ever hear about a class like that.

"What does it say hero?" the king could tell that somehow the legends were true, and Jack had accessed his hero menu.

"According to this, my stats aren’t broken at all. Give me a minute," said Jack, who confused the king with the use of the word "broken."

Exploring the menu led Jack to something interesting, he already had a sub-class. Selecting his class in the status menu led him to his new class tree. In the game, there were two different class trees that you selected when creating a character, that of a mage or a warrior. From there you could eventually choose a sub-class to specialize in a certain weapon or type of magic. Each class would offer different skills, either passive skills that self-occurring or active skills that had to be used manually.

However, under his new class as a hero, there was only one sub-class and it was already selected for him. It was labeled as "Achievement Junkie" and had a massive skill list. The downside, all of them were listed as "???" and had yet to be revealed. Jack also saw an additional button inside the "Achievement Junkie" sub-class that he had never seen before. It was a personal achievement board. Like the skill list, all the possible achievements were labeled as "???" and left Jack wanting to know more.

"Hero?" King Leodoro spoke up, annoyed at Jack’s feigning ignorance.

Jack remembered where he was and exited the menu to speak. "It seems that my class and sub-class have already been chosen for me. Have you heard of the ’Hero’ class King Leodoro?"

"I haven’t. The legends always talked about how each hero was a unique swordsman, sorcerer, necromancer, and the list goes on. But I’ve never heard of one with such a class. Are you sure that you don’t have any special strengths or abilities?"

"Who knows?" replied Jack, his leisurely attitude annoyed the king even more. "I’ll figure it out soon enough. For now, I’ll need those things I asked for."

"Hero, can I really trust you?" King Leodoro asked seriously.

"What do you mean?"

"Just that. According to legend, the summoned heroes have always accepted their responsibilities without complication and always have some specialized skill to offer in return for everything we give them. But you have no such skill or ability, what kind of hero are you?" the king spoke his mind, everyone present was thinking the same thing.

"So, you’re saying that unless I can provide some specialty, I won’t receive your help?" Jack cut to the chase.

"Check again, I’m sure that you must have something special to offer us," King Leodoro would’ve loved to reject helping Jack, but it was exactly like what Jack said. By helping Jack start his journey, he would be helping his kingdom grow stronger and better protect his kingdom’s people, including himself.

"Screw it," Jack said as he turned and began to walk towards the main exit.

"Hero!" King Leodoro yelled, his patience with Jack wouldn’t hold up any longer.

Jack could tell that the king would soon lose his patience and possibly accuse him, so he decided to be the one to walk away. He didn’t want King Leodoro to have the chance to cast him out like a faulty hero, so why not leave on his own terms? Without looking back, Jack said, "I’ll figure it out myself. You can keep your gifts, I’m sure others would jump at the chance to have a hero among them."

The furious King Leodoro yelled and barked orders at Jack, but Jack paid him no attention and left the throne room. He convinced a guard to show him out and made sure to leave a sour taste in King Leodoro’s mouth. Jack thought to himself, "That’s what you get for not accepting my terms. If you can’t accept them all exactly how I ask, then you’re not worth my time. I can still help that jerk’s kingdom with their problems, but he’ll never be my king."

After exiting the palace, he followed the path into the city. He was surprised by the immensity of the city’s center and had to give some credit to the arrogant king. Looking around he noticed a few shops that he knew he’d be visiting a lot; they were the weapon, medicine, magic, and general shops. But he didn’t plan to stop there first, why would he without any money?

On one of the street corners, there was a town guard in steel plate. Jack asked him about the best organizations to join as a new adventurer and where he could find them. To his surprise, the guard gave a long list of names.

According to the guard, adventurers could join one of the many noble factions hosted by noble families and receive a lot of monetary gains. If an adventurer wanted more connections with powers outside of the Reinolt Kingdom, then they should join the Adventurers Association which was an international power with branches inside of the various kingdoms.

There were also many guilds specializing in certain things, like a swordsmen guild or an enchanters guild. Another international power was the Religious Council, the head of one of the world’s most powerful churches. And finally, the guard proudly suggested joining the Royal Court.

Not giving it a second thought, Jack excused himself from the guard’s pitch for the Royal Court and made his way towards the Adventurers Association. Confident in his intuition, Jack determined that the Adventurers Association was by far the most lenient with their members, even if they might not offer any new member a lot, to begin with. But maybe being a hero would change that.

 

Chapter 4

There stood Jack, in front of a large building not too far from the city center. It wasn’t too imposing or heavily decorated, unlike Jack’s original thoughts. Looking almost rundown and worn from long time use, it was simply a large building with a sign saying, "Adventurers Association." Jack hoped that the inside would be in far better shape and entered.

There weren’t too many people in the open room. On one side was a bar that wasn’t even half full despite being near sundown and the other was a reception area to welcome guests. A head popped up from behind the reception counter and greeted Jack, "Welcome to the Adventurers Association. How can I help you?"

"My name is Jack, I’m interested in joining the association," said Jack with a slight smile to the cute, brunette behind the counter.

"Really!?" she shouted in excitement, standing up to see Jack properly.

"Yeah, is that surprising?" Jack asked.

"We rarely get visitors, let alone adventurers wanting to join. My name is Maura. I’ll take you upstairs, but first I’ll need some basic information. What’s your full name?" said Maura enthusiastically.

"Jack J. That’s it," said Jack, implying to not ask further.

"Okay..." said Maura, weirded out by the lack of a last name. "I’ll need your level and class before I can take you upstairs for an interview."

"Umm, I can tell you, but can you please keep it a secret?" asked Jack nicely.

"Sure, but I’ll have to at least tell the branch chief, he’s the one in charge of the association within the whole kingdom," stated Maura, intrigued to hear more.

"That’s fine," Jack agreed. "I’m a lv. 1 hero."

"What? Lv. 1?" Maura was disappointed to hear such a low level. "Wait, you said, ’hero’ is your class?"

"Yes, I’m a lv. 1 hero. Can I go see the boss now, or do you need to know if I’m a virgin too?" asked Jack with a wry smile.

"No, no, that’s enough," uncomfortable, Maura went up the stairs and left Jack alone at the reception desk.

"Hey, brat!" a voice yelled across the room from the almost empty bar.

"Huh?" responded Jack, appearing to be annoyed.

"You said you’re a hero. That true?" a large, bald man covered in scars and past wounds turned around, obviously buzzed.

"Yeah, what of it?" asked Jack as he walked across the room.

"That’s great news!" yelled the man, throwing his arms to the sky. "A hero in the Adventurers Association, could anything be better?"

Jack sat down beside him and noticed that there was no one serving the bar, the few people there were serving themselves. He asked, "Why is that so great? There must be plenty of strong adventurers in your ranks."

"Nah, we don’t got nothing!" the drunken man laughed loudly. "But with you here, we can change everything! What’s your name boy?"

Having second thoughts about the Adventurers Association, Jack tried to calm the man down. "Relax old man, I’m just checking it out. I’m not joining anything just yet."

"Say that again," said the man, suddenly acting more serious.

"It’s no big deal, I’m just curious about the association. That’s why I came to see—"

"You’ve already applied, and I’ve already accepted you. You’re already a member and wish to quit without a reasonable explanation? You’ll have to prove your able to with your strength," stated the man. He pounded his fist on the bar, splitting it in half and leaving only splinters where his fist made contact.

Confused and concerned for his safety, Jack looked at the others who used to be peacefully drinking at the bar. They were unaffected by the large man’s attitude, almost like they expected it.

"There you are!" Maura shouted as she came back down the stairs. "I forgot you were at the bar. We have a new appli—"

"I know, I’ve already accepted Mr. Hero and he’s already wanting to quit," the man interrupted her.

"Wait, your—"

"I’m Zariff, chief of this here branch," the drunken man interrupted Jack all the same. "I’ve already accepted your application and you’ve already become a member of the Adventurers Association, are you sure you want to quit now?"

"You can’t just force me to join! What would everyone think about your precious Adventurers Association after they hear about this?" Jack threatened.

"I don’t care if I have to curse out the king himself, let only you. All I know is that I have an unruly association member and he needs to learn his place," Zariff glared at Jack with ice-cold eyes.

"But—"

"No buts! Come with me brat, let’s get you geared up," Zariff motioned to the stairs, not caring about Jack’s personal feelings or whatever rumors may spread about him.

"Please Jack, just follow him," Maura plead with puppy dog eyes, one of Jack’s few weaknesses.

Jack took a second to exhale and relieve the little tension he could. He said, "Fine, but you owe me one."

"Really? Thank you, Jack!" said Maura happily.

"Wait up you old fart!" Jack yelled, running to catch up to Zariff who was halfway up the stairs.

"Try and keep up brat! If you don’t hurry, I won’t give you anything," replied Zariff. He led Jack to a back room on the second floor and pushed Jack instead before closing the door behind himself.

"What was that for?" asked Jack.

"This is our armory, your only lv. 1 so don’t get too greedy," stated Zariff, still ignorant of Jack’s attitude. Quickly, Zariff handed some clothes to Jack and a pair of boots.

Jack had appeared in this world wearing the simplest of peasant clothing, so anything was better than what he was wearing. It saddened Jack that he had walked away from the king’s offering of luxurious, top-of-line gear, but he just kept his sour face and changed clothes.

He didn’t dislike the outfit. It was a dark leather cloak over a thick, wool-like shirt. The pants were also thick, resembling medieval jeans. Though they were a little big for him, the boots fit well and were comfortable to walk in while giving plenty of support.

"Good, now for weapons," said Zariff. He walked to the opposite of the room where weapons, armors, and shields were scattered all over. "What’s your subclass, brat?"

"Mine’s different, and stop calling me that," answered Jack.

"Anyone who talks back without the strength to back it up is a brat. So, what’s your sub-class brat?" barked Zariff.

Jack temporarily accepted Zariff’s logic and said, "Just like my class, my subclass is unique."

"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Zariff, sobering slightly as he tried to realize the peculiarity that was Jack.

"Like I said to Maura, I’m a lv. 1 hero. My subclass is achievement junkie."

"Huh? What kind of garbage is that?" laughed Zariff. "What are you really, Mr. Hero?"

"I already told you. I’m a lv. 1 hero, subclass achievement junkie. I know just as much about it as you, I was only summoned a few hours ago."

"Summoned?" Zariff’s eyes went wide. "You’re a summoned hero?"

"Yeah, what’s the big deal?"

"HAHAHA!!" Zariff couldn’t contain his laughter and fell to the floor. Jack tried to pull him up but was stopped by Zariff, who said, "That idiot of a king, Leodoro Reinolt pissed you off didn’t he?"

"Of course! Who in their right mind wouldn’t be?" said Jack.

"This’s great!" Zariff kept laughing as he stood up and pulled out a large chest from beneath a pile of armor. "If you’re not specialized in anything, just take your pick. All of these are great for starting."

Jack caught sight of the chest’s content and was happy to see all kinds of weapons. During his long walks between the castle and the association, he messed with his hero menu settings. He made sure to activate his status bar, letting him always see his health and status.

Also, he activated notifications. This let the menu automatically show him info on any items or enemies he came into contact with. It would even give him updates on any missions or achievements, but he didn’t know that yet.

Thanks to the hero menu, he knew which weapons to consider and that all of those weapons were just as good as the ones offered him by the king.

"Got anything in mind?" asked Zariff.

"I’ll take this," said Jack, happy to find something familiar to him.

"Oh, a hero choosing a bow. That’s new."

"Really?" asked Jack.

"Yeah, I’ve never heard of a summoned hero with a bow. They were always powerful mages or spectacular warriors. I would know, I was trained by a summoned hero who wielded a war axe. The bow is typically a coward’s weapon," explained Zariff.

"So, what’s wrong with that?" asked Jack, catching Zariff off guard. "If I can guarantee victory and survival without coming face-to-face with anyone, why argue over the tactics? In the end, the winner will be remembered, and the loser will be forgotten."

"Hmm, you’re pretty interesting for a brat, Mr. Hero," Zariff chuckled. "Anyways, we’re glad to have you. Just don’t get any thoughts about my daughter, got it?"

"What do you m..." Jack swallowed his words as he caught on to the situation. "I would never try anything with Maura, I promise."

"Looks like you do have a good head on those shoulders after all. So, I can disregard you being a pervy virgin, right?" joked Zariff.

"Hey, hey," Jack tried to defend himself.

"Good luck brat, you’ll need it if you’re after Maura," said Zariff as he left the room.

 

Chapter 5

"Hey, what’s next!?" Jack yelled at the exiting Zariff.

"What do you mean? That’s it. Now you go fight monsters and make me money," said Zariff nonchalantly.

"Huh?" Jack immediately became depressed.

"Papa, you forgot the level analysis!" Maura’s voice rang out from the first floor.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Zariff grabbed Jack’s arm and dragged him across the hall into another room. He proceeded to throw Jack onto a makeshift bed with no delicacy whatsoever, saying, "Relax and don’t move a muscle."

"But I—"

"Can it! I said don’t move!" Zariff yanked the bandana off his neck and stuffed it into Jack’s mouth. Before Jack could do anything else, Zariff placed his hand on a raised podium with a translucent gem in the center. It lit up, along with the bed Jack was laying on. Obedient and wanting to avoid any other unexpected tactics from Zariff, Jack stayed still for half a minute until the light around the bed faded.

"What are you waiting for, come check this out," said Zariff, pointing at the podium.

Jack spit out the tattered bandana and walked up, careful to be on the opposite side of Zariff. He put his hand on the podium and his eyes lit up the same color as the gem. Like he was in a vision, Jack saw his body floating in an abyss. With only a thought, he could zoom in closer and see what he was wearing, the stats of each piece of clothing, and his stats. Unlike his status screen, every statistic was far more precise; it even included a list of his magic affinity, telling him what types were the best and worst for him to focus on.

"What do you think brat? You’re not much to look at; no wonder the king just let you leave without swearing to the Royal Court," joked Zariff.

"So what? I’m sure I’ve got some OP abilities once I unlock some of my achievements," said Jack. "Just wait and see, I’ll have that king furious that he didn’t give me what I asked for. And once it’s too much to bear and he finally begs for forgiveness, I’ll rub it in his face and reject his offer for a second time."

"You got a bad case of revenge don’t ya," Zariff smiled. "As long as you can bring in enough money for your keep, I’ll let you strip naked and streak through the castle if you want."

"You know what? You’re not half bad for an old fart."

"And you’re not too bad yourself for a cheeky brat. Just don’t forget to store your analysis before exiting," said Zariff.

"How do I do that?" asked Jack.

"With one of these," Zariff pulled out a gem similar to the one embedded in the podium, only much smaller. "These are stat gems. They’re called something else, but that name’s too stale and long so we call them stat gems. You can make them into anything, but they’re typically made into an item or put it in your armor. Then you can always look back at your last analysis, it helps during those long EXP grinds."

Jack took the stat gem and placed it on the podium. Instantly, the light from the center gem passed to the stat gem and slowly died down. Then Jack tried using it and found it just as easy to use as the podium.

"Great, now all that’s left is to stamp your application with the Adventurers Association’s seal," Zariff ruthlessly grabbed a fat stamp from off the desk in the corner and slammed it down on Jack’s application that was laying there atop the same desk.

Suddenly, a notification popped up for Jack. He selected it and a couple welcoming messages opened up, saying:

[Application to Adventurers Association accepted]

[Achievement System activated]

Jack immediately opened his class tree and saw that a few of the branches and skills had become visible. Checking the achievement board, the results were the same. Ecstatic, he began to cackle in front of Zariff.

"What’s up brat?" asked Zariff.

"Finally! I guess I had to officially join some organization first, but some of my skills and achievements are visible now," answered Jack.

"What in Halmut’s beard does that mean?"

"Not sure, but it’s part of my weird hero classes abilities. I can finally figure out what I need to do next. But only after I joined something?" asked Jack, somewhat startled at Zeriff’s phrase based on the god of the heavens within "A Hero’s Tale."

Zariff shrugged his shoulders and began to leave. "Here you’re only considered an adventurer after joining some kind of power. Not sure what happens to you now, but don’t break anything. And if you’re looking for your room, go talk to Maura."

"My room? I have a room?"

"All members get a room. It’s not free, it’ll be paid for by the bounties and missions you fulfill, got it? So, go and make me money!" Zariff disappeared down the hallway, surely on his way back to the now-broken bar.

Jack sat down on the bed, opening the class tree in the meantime. First, he checked out his new available skills. Only five became visible: bow, physical resistance, evasion, intuition, and persuasion. He thought this was peculiar and selected bow first. It opened up to a description and its level.

[Bow – lv. 0]

[Basic proficiency with shooting arrows from a bow. Further training needed to improve or specialize. 0/5 skill points]

Reading that, Jack got an idea. Clicking the next one for damage resistance supported his claim.

[Physical Resistance – lv. 0]

[Basic ability to resist physical encounters or damage. Further training needed to improve or specialize. 0/5 skill points]

Jack began to think to himself, "So none of these skills can do anything yet, but they offer a way to improve or specialize in anything. Is that it?"

He looked through the remaining three skills and it confirmed his hunch. The only thing he wanted to know was why did he only reveal these skills. After some thought, he tried something. Leaving the bow behind, Jack walked back into the armory and picked up one of the swords lying around. Just then, a notification popped up and Jack smiled.

"So that’s how it is. By coming in contact with something relevant to a certain skill, the respective skill will be revealed and become trainable." Without second thought Jack began to grab and put down every item he could get his hands on. Not a single weapon or piece of armor was able to avoid his clutches.

Once he had opened up another ten or so skills, he checked his skills list again. Seeing them all at lv. 0 confirmed that he had to train a skill and wasn’t given any freebies.

Moving on to the achievement list, some were within his expectations and some caught him completely off guard.

[Join an organization: completed]

[Join a superpower organization: completed]

[Get revenge on King Leodoro: in progress]

[Seduce Maura: in progress]

[Complete first mission: incomplete]

[Get Zariff’s recognition: incomplete]

"What the..." Jack’s mind was working overtime to figure out the meaning of such weird achievements. He chose the first one to see it’s description.

[Join an organization: completed]

[Become an active member of an organization. Reward: 3 skill points. Would you like to claim the reward?]

Smiling at the easy achievement, Jack claimed his reward without a second thought and did the same with the next achievement.

[Join a superpower organization: completed]

[Become an active member of an organization with international recognition and influence. Reward: 10 skill points. Would you like to claim the reward?]

Going back to the achievement list, there was an update.

[Join an organization: claimed]

[Join a superpower organization: claimed]

[Get revenge on King Leodoro: in progress]

[Seduce Maura: in progress]

[Complete first mission: incomplete]

[Get Zariff’s recognition: incomplete]

Eager to learn what the system was wanting him to do about King Leodoro, Jack perused the next achievement.

[Get revenge on King Leodoro: in progress]

[Fulfill your hunger for revenge towards King Leodoro through means of humiliation, torture, or death. Reward: varies upon manner and severity of completion.]

"That’s darker than I expected," thought Jack. "But why would such an achievement exist? There’s even one about Maura, and I’ve only talked with her a few minutes at most. Sure, I thought about sliding into her DMs but..." He paused his train of thought and opened the next achievement.

[Seduce Maura: in progress]

[Get Maura to admit she has romantic feelings for you, regardless of the severity. Reward: varies on the depth of feelings conveyed in her confession.]

"Seriously? Did this happen because I thought about asking her out?" pondered Jack. "But some of these are way too specific to be generic achievements like the first two. The only explanation is that the system is adaptable and self-generating. If that’s true, doesn’t that mean that there are technically endless achievements?" After thinking about a possibly endless list of achievements, Jack felt a fire in his belly ignite. The perfect challenge for Jack, the Achievement Junkie.

Jack checked the remaining achievement to see the reward it offered but was disappointed to see that is was very vague and offered another varied reward. Not forgetting about the 13 skill points he just received and anxious to use them, Jack returned to the skill list and thought carefully about what skills he wanted to upgrade. Not even a minute passed before he upgraded his bow and noticed the updated description.

[Bow lv. 1]

[Proficiency in shooting arrows with a bow within 20 meters. Further training to specialize. 0/10 skill points]

Happy with the results, Jack also upgraded his evasion.

[Evasion lv. 1]

[Proficiency in evasion, mainly in close combat and somewhat against mid-range and long-range weapons. Further training to specialize. 0/10 skill points]

Dumping the last 3 skill points in persuasion, Jack hoped that he might increase his chances with Maura. Using up the last of his skill points and armed with a better understanding of his achievement system, Jack smiled and walked downstairs to ask Maura about his room.

 

Chapter 6

"Hey, can you take me to my room?" Jack leaned in over the reception desk.

"Sure, just give me a sec," said Maura, who was sorting through a stack of thick, worn-out papers. Upon closer inspection, Jack noticed that they were bounties and mug shots. Maura saw his wandering eyes and said, "This is the newest batch of bounties. We’re always updating them so there’s no confusion."

"There must be a lot of money in bounties with such a fat stack. Why so many?" asked Jack.

"Since Reinolt City is in the center of the kingdom, we have bounties for the entire country. Plus, Papa likes to always have them on hand. You might’ve guessed it but he’s the kingdom’s leading bounty hunter."

"Seriously?" Jack peeked over at the bar to see Zariff getting even drunker. "He’s big enough for it, but don’t you need to be smart enough too?"

"Hey, Papa is way smarter than he looks; smarter than you at least," said Maura.

"Don’t lump me in with that old fart." Jack looked back to Maura, turning away from Zariff like he was disgusted to be near him.

"Oh yeah? What was that about you quitting again?" teased Maura.

"No, don’t—"

"You quittin’ again you cheeky brat!?" In his drunken stupor, Zariff gave Jack a glare that was cold enough to freeze hell over.

"No, no, you misheard. I’m just taking my leave so Maura can show me my room. Come on Maura," said Jack while yanking the giggling Maura away from her desk. She led him to a hallway behind the reception area that took them towards the dorms. "That was close, you almost got me killed."

"Ha, ha! I’m just teasing, get used to it," said Maura. "Your room is right here, the third on the left. Here’s your key. I would say you can unpack, but you didn’t even bring a change of clothes."

"Just give me some time, I’ll be fine after some missions and bounties," said Jack.

"Don’t expect too much, you’re only lv. 1. The lowest bounties begin at lv. 10, and those don’t pay all that much," said Maura, bursting Jack’s bubble. "My dad only goes for bounties over lv. 20, and that’s cause he’s lv. 36."

"Is that high?" asked Jack.

Stunned at Jack’s ignorance, Maura looked at him like he was a dumb caveman in the middle of a modern city. "Not high? Why do you think he’s the best bounty hunter? Papa is the third strongest in the whole kingdom!"

"What? At lv. 36? Who are the other two?"

"One’s the captain of the Royal Court’s magic guard, his name is Arnole. He’s lv. 39," answered Maura, proud to show off her knowledge. "Those two have been rivals for longer than I’ve been alive. Just don’t mention anything about Arnole around my dad; you haven’t seen him angry until then."

Jack took a mental note and vowed to never make Zariff angry, at least not until he was strong enough to fight back. "Wait, if the Royal Court only has the second strongest, who’s the first?"

"Not sure," said Maura.

"Huh?"

"I don’t know his name. Only the king, Arnole, and Papa know his name and level. He’s supposed to be independent of any power or faction, which might be a problem for others but he’s over lv. 50."

As a former maxed-out lv. 85 in "A Hero’s Tale," Jack’s view on levels was very biased. "Only lv. 50? That’s it?"

"That’s plenty! He’s like a national treasure! Having him is like having another army, he even stopped the last war by himself."

With that in mind, Jack began to better understand the world. If the coming chaos the king mentioned was anything like the chaos in "A Hero’s Tale," then the world won’t last for much longer. Jack steeled himself to level up as quickly as possible and form a strong party.

"Hey, what are you thinking about now? Are you stupid or something?" asked Maura.

"Of course, I’m not stupid, I’m just new here and don’t know anything yet. But if the strongest is only lv. 50, we’re going to be in trouble," said Jack, who ignored Maura’s confusion. "What level are you Maura?"

"Lv. 14, why?"

"I have an idea. I need to level up as soon as possible, and I’m sure your old man wants the association to make more money, so why don’t you help me out," said Jack.

"How can I do that?" asked Maura.

"Easy, you accept an easy bounty around lv. 10 and I join your party to farm exp."

"No way!" yelled Maura. "That’s so dishonest! How can you be an adventurer and just weasel yourself into EXP? I worked hard to level up and you can too!"

"Come on Maura. You owe me one, remember?" pled Jack.

"Yeah, but that was for your own good. If you hadn’t accepted, who knows what Papa would’ve done to you?" said Maura. "Besides, Papa would never let me go bounty hunting."

"Then how did you level up?"

"Through missions and dungeons, how else? Your lack of EXP is your problem, you fix it. I’ll be heading back to my desk, so good luck." Oblivious to Jack’s advances, Maura left without giving him a second glance.

Jack stewed over his problem, sure that he could find a way to breeze through the lower levels and save him some time. As the achievement junkie, he refused to do things like everyone else and waste his precious time.

"I’ll carry you kid."

A voice emerged from behind the open door to Jack’s room. Jack peeked inside to see a pair of bunk beds and a thin, lanky man laying across one of the tattered mattresses. The man said, "I like the way you think. Only a fool would waste his time with conventional methods when there’s a more logical and possibly unorthodox solution available.

Saddened, Jack said, "You mean I don’t get a room to myself? Curse that cheap, old fart."

"Yeah Zariff’s cheap, but he’s the best man for his job. You, on the other hand, you’re too low level to be saying anything. As I said, I’ll carry you kid, but on my terms."

"Fine, but at least tell me your name."

"Oh yeah, the name’s Rydel. I’m a lv. 29 hunter, so I think we’ll get along just fine," said Rydel, pointing at the bow on Jack’s back. "Some would hate having two hunters in a party, but I think it’s ideal. Don’t you agree?"

"Well duh. With two hunters, you have the greatest chances at a successful sneak attack or an ambush of arrows. You can eliminate the threat of injury and death," answered Jack.

Rydel smiled, "Good. These are my terms: you must do anything I say, I choose the location, and we split all drops 90-10."

"Sounds good to me, but are you sure you only want 10%? I think I can manage 20% if you want," said Jack, leaning casually against the door frame.

Suddenly a knife flew out of the bed and lodged itself in the frame, close enough to Jack’s face for him to see his breath fog up its shiny blade. Rydel mentioned, "I don’t negotiate, take it or leave it, kid."

"You drive a hard bargain, but 90% it is." Jack stepped forward to shake his new partner’s hand. "When do we get started?"

"Tomorrow, I’m taking today off," answered Rydel, rolling to his side away from the open door.

"What, but I needed to level up yesterday. I don’t have much time."

"Typically, I get a drink to clear my mind before heading out, but for some reason, the bar is in pieces until tomorrow morning. If you want, I can take my stress out on the idiot who caused it instead," threatened Rydel while turning his head back to peer into Jack’s conscience.

"Oh well, I guess grinding will have to wait. I’ll be back tonight," said Jack as he turned tail and left.

 

Chapter 7

Jack entered the lobby and saw Zariff fallen over the broken bar, grabbing at every bottle he can get his hands on. He chuckled at the bumbling giant of a man and glanced at the man’s daughter hiding behind the reception desk. Maura was busy filling out reports and stamping documents for official use and distribution of the association.

While wondering how to kill time, his stomach growled at him like a grumpy child that didn’t get his way. He walked over to Maura and asked, "What’s a guy gotta do around here to get some food?"

"Normally, I’d tell you to ask the cook but she’s out handling some personal business. She should be back in a few days though," said Maura.

"And until then?"

"Fend for yourself, what else?" laughed Maura. "There’s always the restaurant across the street. Papa’s friends with the owner, she’s really nice. She even gives association members a discount."

"But how do I do that if I don’t have any money?" asked Jack.

"Well..." Maura paused and didn’t let herself finish. She thought to herself, leaving Jack somewhat anxious before she continued. "Just forget it."

"Huh?" Jack could tell that Maura was hiding something. "What is it? There’s a way for me to eat free, isn’t there?"

"It’s not impossible for some people, but it’s definitely not possible for you."

"Oh, why’s that? Is there some kind of challenge?" questioned Jack.

"It’s not that simple. Besides, you can’t possibly beat Jezelle’s challenge," stated Maura firmly. She turned away from Jack, refusing to say more.

"Come on Maura, just tell me. I’m a big boy, I can decide that for myself." Jack repositioned himself in front of Maura and leaned over the desk. "What’s so scary about Jezelle’s challenge. She must be the owner, right?" Maura’s shoulder continued to grow colder but another loud, booming voice answered from the bar. "Hey, did you fellas hear that? Mr. Hero is gonna take on Jezelle’s challenge! Atta’ boy!"

"Papa, don’t encourage him!" Maura spoke up. "You know he can’t do something as crazy as that. Even you struggle with it."

"Nonsense! Let the brat try and man up. If he can beat Jezelle’s challenge, I’ll let him have whatever he wants." Zariff’s laughter sounded out across the entire building, catching everyone’s attention. Soon bodies filled the reception and bar areas. He jumped to his feet and made his way to the door saying, "Come on, let’s all watch the brat fail!"

Jack watched as the once-quiet lobby now filled with liveliness. Unsure of what to think he said, "Well, it’s too late to try and back out now isn’t it? I’ll see you there."

Not listening to Maura’s counterargument, Jack exited through the front door with the rest of the crowd. He scanned the building across the street, surprised at what he saw. In big, bold letters, there was a sign that read, "Jezelle’s" in worn-out pink. The rest of the building was made of wood and used a simple dark stain to contrast the eye-catching sign. To Jack, it looked like a big saloon out of an old western movie, minus the swinging door at the entrance.

Following the herd of adventures entering the restaurant, it took Jack a few minutes to make it inside. Once there he didn’t have a chance to look around before he was yelled at. "There’s the brat! He gonna take you on Jezelle. I hope you wipe the floor with him."

Brushing aside Zariff’s commentary with a smug face, Jack noticed the blonde beauty beside the drunken giant. Her curves were perfect, putting hourglasses to shame. She was slightly taller than the average woman, showing off her long legs through the slit in her ruby red dress. Jack was stuck staring at her before she spoke, "Are you checking out the competition? What do you think?"

Taken aback by her statement, Jack gathered his thoughts and replied, "Wow, you’re something else aren’t you?"

Hearing Jack’s nonchalant response and seeing that his confident eyes continued to stay on her, she smirked, "You seem pretty interesting yourself. I don’t get many like you here. Most people aren’t confident enough to keep staring after I call them out. The name’s Jezelle, and you’re Jack, right?"

"Yeah, that’s me. When I heard about a challenge that even Zariff struggles with, I never would have expected that someone as beautiful would be the culprit."

"There’s a lot you don’t know about me." She batted her eyelashes at him as she slowly approached. "So, Jack, are you ready to take me on?"

"Well, I’m sure if I should consider getting rough and tough with someone like you," said Jack. Jezelle was confused by his reluctance until she heard his next line. "With someone like you, who knows if I can hold myself back."

Jezelle giggled and walked faster. "Oh really? And what makes you think we need to get rough and tough? You’re not trying to beat me in bed, you’re trying to beat me at the keg."

Startled at Jezelle’s boldness, Jack noticed that Zariff had disappeared earlier only to reappear with two massive kegs behind him. Jack laughed, "That’s what this is all about? And you guys were worried for me because of this?"

"You’re pretty cocky for a lv. 1 adventurer, or should I say, hero?"

"Huh? How do you know about that?" asked Jack.

She was now a couple of feet from him and whispered, "Trade secret. Now, are we gonna do this or what?"

"You’re on!" Not letting his mind wander about Jezelle’s striking figure any longer, Jack made his way to the large table in the center with the two kegs atop it. Two mugs were sitting next to the kegs, both almost as big as Jack’s head. Before he could grab one, Jezelle was sitting down with a mug already filled and ready. In seconds he matched her. "First to puke loses?"

She shook her head and said, "First to finish wins. Puke and you’re disqualified. Got it?"

Jack nodded and they both turned to Zariff. With a great passion, the drunk yelled, "Down the hatches!"

The two of them immediately lifted the mugs upside down and guzzled down the first glass. Jezelle was slightly faster but Jack wasn’t left behind by any means. They both went strong for a few more glasses before Jack took a few deep breathes started to slow a little. "What’s the matter? Do you need me to teach you how to hold your liquor?"

Jack held strong against the distraction of her alluring gaze. After downing the next cup he chuckled, "So what exactly happens if I win?"

"Oh? They never told you?" she giggled and paused for only a moment to explain. "Anyone who beats me can have whatever they want from my restaurant, free of charge."

"And if I lose?"

"When you lose, you’ll have to pay for both of our kegs," Jezelle smiled devilishly, it was cold yet enchanting.

"What if I don’t have any money?" asked Jack.

"Then you and I will have to find some other form of payment."

"In that case," Jack put his mug down have finished, "it appears I’m full to the brim. I guess I’ll have to pay you back with the only thing I have, my body."

Many faces in the crowd were stunned hearing Jack’s nonsense. Zariff couldn’t contain his laughter and fell to the floor holding his gut. Maura, who had only recently entered the restaurant and was amidst the crowd, became somewhat annoyed and angry at Jack for admitting such words. Even Rydel had crept into the crowd and showed a big smile on his face.

Jezelle on the other had a perplexed expression on her face. Seeing it, no one would’ve imagined her current thoughts. She became very curious of her challenger.

Throughout the years many have challenged her, and the winners can be counted on a single hand. It was rare for her to meet another man that could keep up with her this far and even stay sober enough to say such a thing genuinely. Not to mention the fact that he’s only lv. 1, someone considered a weakling that could be beaten up by anyone in the whole city. Yet despite his lv. 1 status, he was confident enough to challenge her and even goad her on throughout the challenge.

"You are interesting Jack," Jezelle showed a genuine smile before she picked up the pace and downed another 2 cups easily. Jack was startled by this and again became competitive. He tried to pick up the pace but was only slowed down as he finally became sluggish. She spoke up, "Finally had enough?"

Jack shook his head and forced himself to finish the contents of his mug. With hands extended to refill it, Jack began to feel a churning sensation come up his throat. He did his best to hold himself back but the laughing Zariff intervened and slammed his hand on Jack’s back.

Immediately, Jack regurgitated the hard liquor from his stomach, projecting it towards the two cups being refilled and the pretty lady across from him.

 

Chapter 8

As Jack’s vomit flew through the air, everyone’s eyes widened, except for Jezelle’s. She was too focused on filling up her mug to notice what was coming her way. By the time she realized Jack had thrown up, it was already all over her arms and hair.

"I’m so sorry Jezelle!" yelled Jack as he got up to try and help her.

She put her hand up to stop him and took a few deep breaths. Jack’s nervousness grew further as he saw her slowly look up and meet his gaze with indifferent eyes.

To him, he wasn’t afraid of people getting mad, he was afraid of those who could hide their anger and scheme against him. This was why he hated forming parties and only did so when necessary for quests in "A Hero’s Tale." Jezelle blinked and sighed, "You only made it halfway? You disappoint me."

Those calm words jabbed into Jack’s chest, catching him completely off guard. He was expecting something far worse and he began waiting for the moment she blew her top. Jack pointed at Zariff behind him and said, "I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself after this old fart forced it out of me."

Jezelle peeked at the laughing man behind Jack and shook her head. Seeing the situation with an open mind and keeping a level head allowed her to understand what happened.

It was obvious to her that Jack was going to lose soon anyway, and she could easily end it like usual and charge him for everything. But she found Jack to be interesting and desired to get on his good side in hopes to better understand him. Seeing that an easy scapegoat was banging his hand on Jack’s back, she took advantage of the unexpected development.

"So that’s what happened. Well, you did barf, so you lose. But since it was due to interference, I’m afraid that big lug will have to pay up instead," stated Jezelle. Everyone was startled to see her so calm, cool, and collected while wearing Jack’s vomit. Maura, Rydel, and the other adventurers burst into laughter as Zariff got a rude awakening from his drunken stupor.

"Huh!? Jezelle, what are you talking about? You know he was going to—" Zariff tried to defend himself but was cut short.

"Everyone! Bring your mugs and fill them up! This round is on Chief Zariff," Jezelle shouted at the top of her lungs, making sure that everyone in the pub had reason to cheer and giving Zariff all the credit.

Zariff understood Jezelle’s character and knew that it was too late for him to complain. If he tried anything else, he would only find himself in a deeper hole. Embracing the moment, he resumed his laughter, "For every person that can best me in strength, I’ll offer another round! Lose and you owe me a drink!"

The restaurant was filled with cheers of happy customers and grunts from everyone trying to arm wrestle Zariff. By the end of the night, Zariff had gotten over half of the people present to owe him a drink and pay off part of his debt without a single loss.

In a corner of the restaurant, Jack sat down and let his body slowly recuperate. After almost half an hour of hearing everyone’s cheers, he was feeling better. Just then, a few plates of food made their way to his table and were placed in front of him. He knew that he hadn’t ordered a thing and could only look up to see Jezelle placing it down in front of him before sitting across from him. "I already told you I can’t pay."

"I know. It’s on the house," said Jezelle with a flirtatious smile. "Consider it a gift for giving me a chance to stick it to that old lug over there."

"I thought you two were friends?" asked Jack. "Let me guess, he beat you, didn’t he?"

"Are you always so straightforward with women?" she chuckled. "Yeah, after losing a couple of times, he finally got the best of me one day. All of his drinks and food are free, so he’s always coming over and eating me out of house and home. But if he’s treating others, he still has to pay me. If anything, it’s nice to even the score a little."

"Sounds like that old fart for sure," said Jack. "So, I’m just a means of vengeance, is that right?"

"A little, but I find you interesting. You’re different than everyone else I’ve met. I’ve never heard of someone with a hero class and a different set of subclasses."

"How do you know about that?" questioned Jack, giving off a sense of caution. "You’re an oracle, right? And you’re at least lv. 25 but not quite lv. 30 if my guess is correct"

Hearing Jack’s response, Jezelle was surprised and didn’t hide her curiosity any longer. "You’re right, I’m a lv. 27 oracle. You know your stuff for a lv. 1. Why is that?"

"Let’s just say that I’m not from around here."

She sighed and a soft laugh escaped her mouth, "So the king was trying to summon a hero after all. But why are you here and as a member of the Adventurers Association?"

"That idiot king and I don’t really get along. I’m very particular about how I do things. When he wouldn’t trust me and tried to force me to do what I hate most, I walked out of the castle without giving him a second thought," explained Jack.

"Sounds like Leodoro alright," said Jezelle. "He can be a jerk at times, but he’s not too bad as long as you’re not on his bad side."

"Looks like it’s too late for me then," Jack smiled and shook his head to try and clear his mind. "Besides, I’m a free spirit. An adventurer’s life is more fitting for me."

"Hmm, a summoned hero becoming an adventurer. What an interesting development," said Jezelle. "Either way, you’re always welcome here at the pub. Don’t tell anyone, but I’ll give you 50% off since I like you."

Shocked by Jezelle’s commentary and her generosity, Jack said, "Then you can expect to see me whenever I can find the time, thank you." Jezelle prepared to stand up and leave but Jack stopped her and continued, "So tell me, what the situation here? And I don’t mean just this kingdom, I mean the world in general."

She smiled and answered, "Chaos continues to grow no matter what we do. I don’t know too much about what’s happening outside the borders, but I know that we aren’t the worst off on the continent."

Jack squinted his eyes at her remark and pondered something for a moment before saying, "How big is this continent exactly?"

"There are thirty-two countries that make up the continent. The Reinolt Kingdom is by far one of the strongest and most powerful of the bunch, that’s why the king could afford to summon you here," said Jezelle.

"What do you mean ’afford?’"

"Exactly what it sounds like. To summon a hero, it takes a tremendous amount of mana from powerful mages, many rare treasures, and some perishable treasures that you can’t get back, even if you fail. With the success rates being lower than 20%, who knows how many times they had to perform the ritual," she explained it simply.

Jack began to laugh heartily and spoke up, "That what he gets! He deserves at least that much."

"Seems like it’s mutual hate after all. Anyways, all thirty-two countries make up the only continent in our world known as Kartonia. There are some islands and places far off the coast, but they’re insignificant compared to the continent," said Jezelle.

Jack was surprised to hear that there were so many countries. In "A Hero’s Tale" there were only a handful of large countries that made up the continent, and none of them were named the Reinolt Kingdom. He asked, "What do you know about the chaos? Or should I say the Chaos Syndicate?"

"Not much to be honest. All I know is that the Chaos Syndicate uses chaos as a source of their power, just like Skaryn the god of the underworld in ancient times. I have no clue how they do it, especially since Skaryn has been sealed away for who knows how long," stated Jezelle.

"Sealed away? Who was strong enough to seal Skaryn? Isn’t he the second strongest of all the gods?" questioned Jack as the gears in his mind began to turn.

"Who other than the strongest of all the gods? As the god of the heavens, Halmut fought with Skaryn centuries ago. Their battle lasted over a month without any clear winner, but in the end, Halmut found a way to seal him away into another dimension of vast nothingness. According to legend, chaos was nearly nonexistent after that."

Jezelle continued, "But during these past few decades, chaos has been growing nonstop and no one knows why. All we know is that the Chaos Syndicate, as the only organization that grows stronger with chaos, is most likely the source."

"Wow..." said Jack, mulling it over. "Seems like this Chaos Syndicate will be more troublesome than I thought."

Chapter 9

"Seems like this Chaos Syndicate will be more troublesome than I thought."

Jack had finally started to better understand his situation and clear his mind to brainstorm when another mug slammed down on the table. He looked to his left and saw Rydel taking a seat.

"I like you kid, but don’t get all heroic on me and take on the Chaos Syndicate just yet. Until your stronger than me, don’t even think about it," said Rydel.

"Oh, if it isn’t Rydel. What good fortune we have to gain your company," said Jezelle, poking fun at the tall, skinny man. "I’ll bite, why has the reclusive Rydel come out of hiding to speak with nobodies like us?"

"Can it Jezelle, don’t play innocent with me. I’ll get out of your hair in a second, so save the flirting for after I leave," said Rydel. "Kid, you may be low leveled for now, but with my methods, you’ll be leveling up in no time. Plus, I’m curious about what you can do with such a weird class and subclass, Mr. Achievement Junkie. What’s that supposed to mean, anyway?"

Jack’s eyebrow twitched after hearing Rydel. Not only was he seen through by this oracle, but he felt naked before Rydel’s all-knowing gaze. "I know you’re not an oracle, so how do you know all that?"

"First off, anyone with high enough authority in the association can access its stat gem and find the data it’s stored of all the branch members. Second, with you being so low leveled it’s so easy to see through you; like I’m looking at a child trying to hide candy behind his back," stated Rydel emotionlessly. "Even if you were high-leveled, my eyes can see through just about anything so get used to it."

"Eagle eye?" asked Jack, who wasn’t surprised to see Rydel gently nod his head in confirmation. Jack sighed and shrugged, "Figures, so how much authority do you need to have to access the association’s stat gem?"

"You can access the info on anyone up to five levels higher than you. Of course, you’re only allowed to use the stat gem unsupervised if you’re lv. 20 or higher. Otherwise, it’s impossible for you to fully access it due to the item’s level requirement," answered Rydel.

"That little one you have is the lowest quality stat gem and can only store one person’s information. The stat gem in that podium is a medium tier stat gem. It’s higher quality and much larger so it can store up to one hundred people’s stats and can power a stat analysis if it’s hooked up to the right equipment."

"Enough about your stats. Wanna try me again Rydel?" Jezelle spoke up. "I already drank half a keg today; you can consider it a handicap. Think of it as me going easy on you, what do you say?" She was interested in hearing that Rydel had the eagle eye ability, but the rest of the conversation was too boring for her to listen in.

"No thanks. I’ve already underestimated you once, so that won’t happen again," Rydel quickly sidestepped the offer.

"Oh, why not? Last time you almost drank 70% of the keg, I’m sure you’d fare even better now," taunted Jezelle.

Thinking back to his challenge, Jack was a little shocked to hear how well Rydel could handle his liquor. During his challenge earlier, after the third mug, he received a notification about a new skill for [Alcohol Resistance]. It was only lv. 0 after he unlocked it, but it still helped him almost reach the challenge’s halfway point.

"I already know your type, Jezelle. I won’t fall for a trick like that again. Kid make sure you’re ready by noon tomorrow," said Rydel as he got up and left without looking back.

"Now, where were we?" asked Jezelle gently, as if Rydel had never interrupted them.

Jack subtly shook his head at the femme fatale with a smirk. Seeing her decisively drive away Rydel, he wasn’t sure what to think of her. He continued their previous conversation, "I’ll figure out a way to deal with the Chaos Syndicate soon enough. What are the immediate threats that we face here?"

Jezelle smiled after Jack resumed the conversation without batting an eye. "We mainly face the threat of wild beasts and some monster settlements spread out across the country. For now, it’s not too bad but if we were to face all these threats at once no one knows what would happen."

"What about other countries? Does the Reinolt Kingdom have any enemies or allies?" asked Jack.

"You may have seen the bad side of the king, but he typically does very well when handling the relationships with other countries. There is only one country that would willingly fight us, but that’s not the king’s fault," said Jezelle.

"Oh? Why’s that?"

She continued, "The Reinolt Kingdom and the Zuran Empire have had a blood feud for as long as the Reinolt Kingdom has existed. Our nation is quite young, only seventy-four years old, yet we have one of the strongest foundations in all of Kartonia. Wanna guess why?"

"You were once a part of the Zuran Empire?" guessed Jack.

"Bingo," said Jezelle, somewhat surprised that he immediately figured it out. "The Zuran Empire was once the strongest country in Kartonia, but a civil war broke out and a few powerful factions broke free and formed their own countries. The Reinolt family was the first noble faction to succeed and they helped two other noble factions do the same. I’m sure you can imagine how furious the Zuran Empire was at the time. For now, they can only stand guard and maybe raid some border camps, but if they ever find a way to destroy the Reinolt family, they’ll do so in a heartbeat."

Jack finally started to understand why the world he found himself in was so different than that of "A Hero’s Tale." The world there was also called Kartonia, but it was made up of eleven countries across the continent, one of which was the Zuran Empire.

Based on Jezelle’s explanation, Jack guessed that the Kartonia he was familiar with from the game must have been the distant past. He was even more convinced of this due to her mentioning of Halmut sealing Skaryn centuries ago. During the timeline of the game, both gods held active roles in the world and the whole point of the game was to eventually defeat Skaryn and end all chaos.

"So that’s how it is," Jack mumbled to himself before continuing the conversation. "What about the Polt Federation, are they still around?"

Jezelle showed a confused expression. "Of course it is! They may be small, but no one in the past millennium has ever threatened them directly." She didn’t understand why Jack phrased the question like an old-timer asking if something from his childhood was still popular.

Jack sighed in relief, "Good, that makes things a little easier." In the game, the Polt Federation was a small republic that sat at the center of the continent that shared borders with almost every major country in Kartonia.

Being a free nation that attracted many merchants and businessmen, it was easy for it to become the largest center of trade and travel across the continent. The true power of the Polt Federation was rumored to rival the Zuran Empire, but no one knew for sure because it’s full strength was always hidden and never displayed.

"You’re very interesting Jack. How do you know about the Polt Federation?" questioned Jezelle.

"It was just a hunch," he dodged the question and asked his own. "Do you have a map of Kartonia? I’d like to see it for myself."

Before Jack finished speaking, Jezelle had already activated the storage crystal in her ring and pulled out a map. She threw it to Jack and said, "Have it, I’ve got plenty."

Jack thanked her and unfurled the map across the table. At first glance, he spotted seven of the old countries he was familiar with, including the Zuran Empire and the Polt Federation. He was shocked to see so many things that had changed across the continent he was formerly familiar with. It startled him to notice the complete disappearance of some of ancient Kartonia’s strongest nations. The hardest blow was noticing that the country he was most familiar with had become the smallest in the entire continent.

Jezelle was perplexed by Jack’s sudden change in emotion upon seeing the map. She squinted her eyes at Jack as his gaze seemed to lock onto a single part of the map before he froze in his chair. Nonchalantly, she changed seats and slid to his side so she could try and figure out what he was so choked up about. Following his line of sight, she noticed the tiny country and was about to say something but was interrupted.

"What happened to Trodar?"

 

Chapter 10

"What happened to Trodar?"

The degree of seriousness in Jack’s voice sent chills down Jezelle’s spine. There was a twenty-six level gap between them, but at that moment she felt that Jack could be far more frightening than anyone she had ever met before.

She stammered, "Um... I’m not too sure... I know they’ve been at war for the past century and they went from being the largest nation in the continent to the smallest. We think it’s only a matter of time before it disappears like some of the other ancient countries."

Jack was taking long deep breaths, trying his best to stay calm. He waited a few seconds before responding. "Who is at war with them?"

"Almost everyone." Jezelle’s words stabbed into Jack’s heart. "Over the past century or more, they’ve faced threats from every border and some other nations would send support to neighboring countries to spite Trodar."

"Why?"

Jack’s one-word reply brought Jezelle a sense of caution. She knew he couldn’t do anything to her now, but she had the premonition to pick her words carefully as she continued, "Many were jealous of Trodar’s power and influence. In the past, Trodar was strong enough to even support the Zuran Empire during some critical times as a powerful ally. But when Trodar became the biggest target in Kartonia, the Zuran Empire offered no help to their former ally."

Suddenly the mug in front Jack and Jezelle exploded. Jezelle noticed Jack’s clenched fist that had slammed into the table. It showed tense, white knuckles and a trace of blood from where his fingernails began to cut his skin. She froze but was stunned to hear him say, "Continue."

"Five countries broke off from Trodar with the help of Trodar’s neighbors. Those rising factions offered some of Trodar’s best pieces of land in exchange for their support. The current Trodar has shrunken from a powerful political giant into a cower turtle that slowly grows smaller as more threats come after them," she summed the war’s history and sighed that it was over until she heard another one-word reply.

"Which?"

"Which what?" she asked.

"Which countries sent reinforcements?" Jack clarified. Jezelle swallowed all the saliva in her throat, leaving her mouth temporarily dry. She hesitated and Jack suddenly yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, "Which countries!?"

The pub went quiet. Everyone eagerly turned and saw the two stars from the earlier challenge giving off a deathly serious vibe. Even Zariff put down his mug and sobered up a little after hearing Jack’s shouting.

"Only three did, two were neighbors of Trodar who had formed an alliance and sent reinforcements to each other during different parts of the war. The only other one was..." Jezelle’s throat chocked on her final words, not letting them escape her mouth.

"Let me guess, the Reinolt Empire?" said Jack casually yet coldly. Jezelle only nodded slowly in response, not wanting to say anything else. Seeing that she didn’t want to talk anymore, Jack grabbed the map and rose to his feet to walk out. The beautiful women remained there, untouched and seemingly forgotten by the exiting figure. She had no clue what was so strange about Jack or what his relation to Trodar was, but she didn’t have any energy left to speak the rest of the night.

While on his way out, Jack passed by Zariff and quickly stated, "Chief, meet me in the main hall." He never slowed down or looked at the giant man; just kept walking towards the exit.

Everyone was baffled. The atmosphere of the entire place had made a complete turn, from cheers and laughter to grimaces and seriousness. Zariff glanced at the stiff Jezelle before he finished his drink and followed after the newest member of his branch.

He made his way through the association building and entered the largest room on the second floor, the main conference hall. Jack was seated at the head where Zariff usually sat. Without hesitation, Zariff grabbed a chair, placed himself at the head of the table beside Jack and said, "What’s up?"

"How strong do I need to be to safely travel?" asked Jack.

"Most travelers are around lv. 20, but that’s why I recommend traveling after lv. 25 just in case," said Zariff calmly. He could understand the vibe of seriousness from Jack and answered frankly, "Where you going?"

"Trodar, as soon as I can."

"Oh, in that case, don’t leave until your lv. 30. The borders there are regulated by the surrounding nations. Typically, only traders and merchants can enter, and that’s if they’re willing to pay the extreme entrance fees. Trodar’s economy has taken a massive hit due to this and is waning on the verge of collapse. If you’re under lv. 30 and try to sneak in, you’ll be caught for sure."

Jack nodded, remembering how Rydel said something similar. "Why was the Reinolt Kingdom involved in all this?"

"Because the Reinolt family has a deep grudge against Trodar," answered Zariff. "The Reinolt family came from Trodar but settled in the Zuran Empire as part of the alliance agreement between the two countries a few centuries ago. The citizens here don’t know that, but I grew up in the Polt Federation hearing about politics from across Kartonia. According to rumors, there was a falling out between Trodar and the Reinolt family soon after the alliance formed and ended in the Reinolt family being accepted as the strongest noble faction of the Zuran Empire."

Surprised, Jack shook his head and said, "That explains everything." Zariff was about to ask why when Jack began his long explanation.

"I won’t explain exactly how this happened, but while in my previous world I was able to interact with ancient Kartonia. In the past, I had heard of the rising Reinolt family in the streets of Trodar but never would have put the two together. That alone explains the king’s haughty attitude. I have a long history with Trodar and the southeast regions of ancient Kartonia. That’s why I must get stronger faster than humanly possible and travel to Trodar. If I can’t do that much, based on what you and Jezelle say, the nation is likely to fall very soon."

Zariff looked deeply into Jack’s eyes, trying his best to find fault or doubt. Seeing Jack’s clear conscience, he nodded and said, "Great, then we’ll do everything we can to help you."

"You believe me? You aren’t gonna ask how?" questioned Jack.

"Nope, I can see it in your eyes. Just like how a beast can vaguely sense people’s character, I can recognize that this means more to you than I can imagine," answered Zariff. "Besides, this will help that skinny fella get out and make me money. You’d better learn all you can from him. He may not be one of the highest level guys we have, but he’s the most useful and dependable member of the entire branch."

Jack was taken aback by Zariff’s high praise and internally vowed to do whatever Rydel said to gain EXP. He was certain that whatever Rydel had planned, it couldn’t be any crazier than what he had done himself in the past.

"Is there anything else you want to ask me? Sure I’m an old fart, but this old fart has seen most of the continent with his own eyes," said Zariff.

"Who’s currently in charge of Trodar?" asked Jack.

Zariff smiled and answered, "The only country in all Kartonia to keep their original structure of authority for over a millennium is Trodar. I’d imagine you’ve heard of the Trodan Council, right?"

"Of course I have," said Jack. Thinking back, he remembered helping set up the Trodan Council alongside his former guild members and occupying one of its seats personally. Jack calmed down slightly after hearing that the council was still in charge.

"The political structure of Trodar is amazing, one of the best in the world. Though they have shrunken a lot over the past century the people there remain loyal to the council and the nation; they fully support them in all decisions and military action. If it weren’t for such deep loyalty, Trodar would have long fallen alongside some of the other ancient nations," praised Zariff.

"Trodar is one of the few nations that can run on trust; their sense of justice was the greatest of all Kartonia. That’s why the Adventurers Association was originally founded within Trodar. Nowadays, the association still tries to help Trodar and stall the decline but due to the adventurers having free will, it’s almost impossible to amass an army willing to challenge so many different nations."

Jack chuckled, "Really? Sounds like lady fate likes me, seeing that she brought me here. Thanks for all the help chief. I’ll grow stronger thanks to your efforts." He turned and started to walk away when something was thrown harshly against his back and knocked him over. "Hey, what was that for!?"

"Just checkin’ if you were the same weak brat I met earlier." Zariff laughed as stepped over Jack, probably on his way back to the Jezelle’s pub.

Jack glanced up at the giant when he noticed the fallen item that had knocked him over. It was a coin purse. It wasn’t very big, but it was full of gold and silver, nonetheless. With a smirk, Jack snatched the purse and made a mental note to take better care of that old fart in the future.