The Achievement Junkie

"It's already happening!"

That phrase surprised everyone on the streets. No one had a clue what the man was talking about, yet he was so serious and acted like the news was urgent.

The front door to the Adventurers Association swung open. In a flash, the man was already inside and narrowly missed the first few drops of rain that rolled over the city at frightening speeds.

"Everyone, get ready!" Zariff yelled from the reception area, making sure that every single person in the building could hear him. The hulking man ran upstairs and entered the conference room. "Anything new?"

Around the large table sat a few lv. 30 adventurers who hadn't gone far from the capital, as well as Jack, Maynard, and King Leodoro. A town map was laying across the table for everyone to see; there were a few portions highlighted and drawn on, showing some kind of half-baked plan or strategy.

"No, he hasn't finished the autopsy quite yet. It's taking him longer than he thought," answered Jack.

"So… Plan B?" asked Zariff.

Jack shook his head. "No, plan C. I'm not sure if the king should fight just yet. We can all guess that he'd be targeted. We have two objectives during this crisis: one is to save as many citizens as possible and two is to make sure the king survives by the end of it all."

"I'm surprised to see ya wanting to help the king so badly. Did something happen between ya?" Maynard spoke up, saying what most others were thinking.

There was no way Jack could mention the Chaos Syndicate just yet. According to what he'd heard from the king, Rydel, Maynard, Zariff, and everyone else, the Chaos Syndicate was a shadow organization that never acted publicly and never left a trace.

Once, a syndicate scheme was found and announced publicly in another country. The syndicate members managed to escape somehow and that nation's capital was engulfed in flames and burned to the ground within three days.

Since then, the public hasn't heard anything about the Chaos Syndicate, just the leaders who somehow get targeted or wrapped up in the syndicate's schemes.

Though Jack didn't want to directly face the Chaos Syndicate or force it to act rashly, he loved the thought of ruining the syndicate's plans.

"Nothing, just trust me." Jack met Zariff's gaze, showing his unwavering confidence.

The branch chief shrugged. "So be it. Just know that there will a lot of citizen casualties."

Jack opened his mouth but no words came out. He looked conflicted and unsure of himself after all.

"I'll bear that weight and responsibility, so long as I'm living of course," added the king. "It's all my fault anyway since I'm the one who let that monster of a man in my Royal Court."

The room was silent for a moment. Everyone stared at the young hero. Though they were all more experienced than him, Zariff has made this an official association assignment and chose Jack as the man in charge, with the king personally taking the role of co-leader as the man who ordered the assignment. So, whether they liked it or not, every other adventurer had to obey Jack's orders.

"Leo, are you sure you want to do this?" Zariff asked the king, searching for any kind of hesitation.

"Yes, it has to be like this. I accept the blame for letting Arnole taint my Royal Court, but his reputation will suffer just as much, if not more than mine. As the strongest member of the Royal Court, he's our champion. If the champion doesn't act to save the people, then why would the people declare him the champion?" reasoned Leodoro.

"Then, until this blows over, we'll have to tolerate each other a little longer," added Jack with a smile.

From the outside in, it didn't look like the Adventurers Association was doing anything.

However, the north side of Reinolt City had begun to experience terror as it had never seen before. The pier was razed soon after the messenger had arrived at the association branch office.

Dozens of soldiers were rushing to the pier, but they were too late. They arrived to see a destroyed dock house and some tattered waterfront homes. The storm was still getting worse. The rain felt like small, icy pellets against the skin and thunder strikes covered the sky.

Over two dozen cetuses were running rampant through the north end of the city. Some were smaller than those of the first wave, which surprised the soldiers. There were ten that were the same as those from the first wave but there was one cetus that was larger and its scales were a deeper blue. No one had any clue how strong it was. It didn't attack much, but it stood in the center like a general watching over his army.

"Men! Send word to the Adventurers Association immediately requesting full support!"

At the back of over two hundred soldiers, Captain Fronks comfortably yelled his orders. A horseman quickly left toward the association building, but no request was made for the magic guard.

Like before, Captain Fronks used the weakest men as cannon fodder to stall for time, not daring to get his own hands dirty or ask any of the other two captains at his side. One was Captain Prat and the other was the newly appointed captain from the dock house. He had run away under the cover of his men, showing them his cowardice.

"Captain Fronks, do you think they'll come this time?" asked Captain Prat.

"Of course, they have a reputation to uphold. And that chief of theirs may act tough, but he's too soft-hearted to not aid those civilians in trouble." Fronks spoke plainly, confident that the association would arrive soon.

Unbeknownst to him, King Leodoro had snuck out of the castle with a few men and he was one of the men call the shots for their current operation. Had Fronks known that the cold king was helping the association, he would never have come to the pier personally.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and two-thirds of the army had almost perished. The cetuses had turned their attention to the soldiers, leaving the houses alone for the time being.

"Where's that bloody messenger! The association should be here by now!" yelled Fronks. He noticed that cetuses were trying to circle the remaining troops to keep any from fleeing. "Captains! Break the encirclement! Men, make an opening facing the city center!"

Silence. There was no response from any soldiers and no response from either of the other captains.

"That's an order! Make way!"

Suddenly, the sound of hooves was heard in the distance. All the troops looked that way in search of hope. They know their captain had sent for the association, so they had some hope left after all.

As everyone was feeling the better and the morale was rising, the sight of a lone messenger riding his horse caused the mood to lower again.

The rider didn't dare get too close to the circle of cetuses. Instead, he yelled to fulfill his duties as a messenger. "Captain Fronks! Until you bring an official work order contract, Branch Chief Zariff and the Adventurers Association will not act in tandem with the Royal Court!"

"HUH?!"

Everyone's heartbeat skyrocketed as those words reach their ears. Captain Fronks was fuming mad, his face was redder than the ripest of tomatoes. Captain Prat's lowered his head in disappointment and the newly appointed captain was terrified.

Fronks shouted at the top of his lungs, "What do you mean! How insolent! What were that coward's exact words?"

Under his coat, the messenger held tightly to a small bag of gold. That gold was given to him as compensation for delivering a message to Fronks verbatim. The messenger took a deep breath and replied, 'In the chief's words, "If the powerful Royal Court is so much stronger than the Adventurers Association, then why do you need us? Till I see a contract, that pestro can manure for all I care!'"

Every troop had given up at that point. Most of them couldn't last a single strike against any of the cetuses, and now their only hope of survival was ruined by their captain's relationship with the association.

They all knew what happened last time the cetuses arrived and Captain Datmut's court-martial wasn't kept secret either. It was obvious that Captain Fronks disliked and mistreated the Adventurers Association, and he wasn't the only commanding officer to do so before. It was said that Arnole, the court chief officer, had done the same in times past.

Now, thanks to what they thought was only an unhealthy rivalry, those soldiers were enraged. They were disappointed in the association, but they were even angrier at the Royal Court for causing such tensions in the first place.

Fronks meant to yell back more orders, but the messenger hurried away before Fronks or any cetuses had much time to act. By the look of it, the messenger was headed for the king's castle.

Captain Prat sighed, "This… This is a tragedy for the Royal Court."