The Achievement Junkie

Slivia looked at Jack's pensive expression for a moment before she nodded and said, "Okay, then now what? How do we divide the goods?"

Jack took the map and opened it up for them both to get a better look. To Slivia's surprise, the map was of the entire continent yet she didn't recognize it at all since it was from Ancient Kartonia, like all starter maps for new players of "A Hero's Tale."

"Is this… Ancient Kartonia?" guessed Slivia.

"You guessed it," said Jack with a smile and put the map away. "Let me have this, it might come in handy later. What kind of scroll and book are those?"

"The scroll is a one time spell I think. I don't recognize it, but what else could it be," answered Slivia. "The spellbook will teach any mage the peak-level spell Flame Burst! At the right merchant, we can get a fortune!"

"Nope." Jack closed the book and pushed it into Slivia's chest. "That spellbook is for you."

"NO!" yelled Slivia. She stored the scroll and pushed the book back to Jack. "With your flame body, this spell would be perfect for you! I've already taken two sets of armor and the spell scroll, so you can't tell me no."

Looking into her determined gaze, Jack opened his mouth to respond but couldn't form the words. In the end, he surrendered and stored the book away. "Fine, but let me see the spell scroll. Maybe I can recognize it."

With a satisfied smile, she took it out and held it open for him to see. After a few seconds passed she asked, "So, what do you think?"

Jack's eyes went wide as he recognized the spell. Though it was only lv. 15, it was quite rare. He was guessing that it might be the only low-level teleportation scroll he could find without having a summoned hero make one for him.

"You need to keep this and not show it to anyone, do you understand?" stated Jack, looking deeply into her eyes.

"I guess, but what is it?"

"Do you promise?" reiterated Jack. "Do you promise to not show or tell anyone and save this for emergencies?"

"I… I promise," sighed Slivia, touched by Jack's concern for her.

"Good," said Jack. "This is a low-level teleportation scroll that can allow you to teleport yourself anywhere within a kilometer. Nowadays these don't exist, right? So save it for when you need it most."

Slivia's heart fluttered when she realized how much Jack cared for her. Her face softened as she nodded and put the scroll away. "I don't want to waste such a treasure, so you better protect me and keep me from using it."

A soft chuckle sneaked out of Jack's lips. "I'll do my best. But just in case, don't hesitate to use the scroll when you need to."

Without waiting for a reply, Jack left the tomb and returned to the forest outside. Slivia took a moment to calm her heart and followed behind him.

Soon they were back inside the city and heading to the town square. As they entered the market, Jack grabbed Slivia hand and pulled her past numerous tents.

She looked at his with a smile, happy to see the blush on his face. "You have a merchant in mind?"

"Of course! Both me and Zariff know him; he's definitely the best you can find in the city." Jack ignored the many merchants trying to catch his attention with shouts and signs. It didn't take long for them to find a humble stand with an old man sitting calmly. "Let's head to the back. You'll want to see this."

"After you," replied Zarris. The elderly merchant quickly opened the curtain and held for the couple to enter before doing the same. "Before we get to business, would you care to introduce to this lovely lady of yours? My name is Zarris."

"Oh, she's not my--"

"Hi, I'm Slivia, Jack's girlfriend," Slivia quickly introduced herself before Jack could answer shyly by reflex.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Then you'll share his discount whenever you want to browse my wares," said Zarris with a sly smile. " Now, what's so special that you rushed here before sunset?"

Jack looked to Slivia and said, "Go ahead and show him the armor, the valkyrie set first."

"Okay." Slivia walked to a nearby table and in a flash, a few matching pieces of armor appeared on it. "What do you think?"

"Hmm…" Zarris took his time to inspect it, letting his expert poker face show his professionalism. Minutes passed and he finally looked back at the couple. "Do you already know what this is, Jack?"

"Of course, it's a limited edition valkyrie set that was created during Ancient Kartonia. I knew you would be interested so I made sure she showed you first. What do you think it's worth?" asked Jack.

"Are you wanting to sell it or trade? If I remember correctly, you were still searching for some rare materials, right? I could hold onto it in exchange for other products or for future trade as well," reasoned Zarris.

"So, what value do you give a full set of high-tier armor? Shouldn't it almost be equal to a peak-tier item?" countered Jack, making sure to admit that understood the armor's rarity.

"If it were a higher level, of course, but it's only lv. 10. Only some incredibly wealthy nobles will want something like this, so there's no real demand at the moment. But I would definitely make it worth your while in trade value."

"Got anything you'd recommend for her?" asked Jack, nudging Slivia forward.

"If I was able to find anything about Death Rattlers nearby, then that would've been best. However, I have some great armors that, although not high-level, are unique and stylish while still offering great boosts to your abilities."

"She doesn't need armor; she has her own peak-tier set. What else do you have?" replied Jack.

"Peak-tier armor set!?" yelled Zarris. He immediately cast a spell to keep any nearby ears from possibly hearing their conversation. "She has a peak-tier set!? Can you please show me?"

"She can show you, but it's not for sale. Do you even have anything good enough to trade for it?"

Slivia returned to the table and slightly frowned. Reluctantly, she waved her hand and retrieved her "feline femme" armor, placing it on the table.

The moment it hit the table, Zarris appeared above it and snatched the cat ears with sparkling eyes. "This really is… Where did you find this?"

Shocked, Slivia looked back at Jack with half a smile, unsure of what to think. She was ecstatic to have something so valuable, but it wasn't anything like she would expect peak-tier armor to be.

"Now you've seen it and I've proven that I can bring you valuable items as a patron, so I look forward to us taking care of each other," answered Jack. "What do you have that can help her as a cleric, maybe a high-tier weapon, or even a peak-tier if you have one?"

"You know that this would only cover most of a peak-tier lv. 15 weapon. If it were a lv. 15 set then maybe, but you still--"

Suddenly, approached the table and a small pile of white coins appeared on the beside the valkyrie armor. "That should cover the rest, right? I think you're one of few people in the city with peak-tier items, right?"

Jack showed off the platinum with a wry smile, hoping he guessed correctly about the mysterious merchant that also works with Zariff, one of the three most powerful people in the country.

Nothing happened for a few moments as the two men stared each other down, each holding fast to their assumptions of the other. Finally, Zarris smiled and said, "I guess you've proven to be a good enough business partner and just as mysterious myself."

Just then a metal staff materialized in his hands. It was silver with gold accents and a cloudy white sphere embedded into the top.

"This is a peak-tier silver staff designed to boost a cleric's healing abilities and their own health capacity at the same time. I think this would be a fair trade, right?"

"What do you think?" Jack grabbed Slivia's hand and helped her grab the silver staff from Zarris.

Slivia was in shock. She, who had always struggled to afford adventuring gear that wasn't preowned, had come to gain peak-tier armor and a peak-tier weapon within the span of a single day. This was too much for her to process all at once.

"Go on, see how it feels."

She nodded and grasped the staff tightly. Sending some of her energy into the staff, she felt a rush of pure, holy energy wash over herself. It took some time, but she eventually looked at the other two people present and said, "This is amazing…"

"Then it's yours." Jack quickly shook Zarris's hand and continued. "Got any high-tier swords and bows for lv. 20 and lv. 25?"

"I don't want peak-tier?" asked Zarris as two bows appeared in one hand and two swords in the other.

"Nah, I won't be at that level long enough to be worth that much."

"Fair enough," laughed Zarris. "For these, two-hundred platinum is enough."

Without a word, another pile of platinum appeared on the table and Jack stored the new weapons. "If you hear anything about the Life Tree Dew or Death Rattlers let me know."

"Of course. Till next time," replied Zarris with a quick bow.

Jack looked to Slivia and saw that she was still stunned to see so many things of insane value at once. "Hurry and store your armor, it's getting late."

Slivia snapped out of it and stored her armor. With Jack's hand in hers, they left the marketplace and strolled back to the association building.