The Achievement Junkie

Before long, there were four groups of people surrounded by a growing crowd outside the Pon Manor. One group stepped forward and led the others to the outskirts of town while the crowd followed.

Those in the lead were from the Pon Family and they had to be on their best behavior as the hosts for such a grand occasion.

Behind them were the Maronn, Lyre, and Treall Families, each keeping their distance from each other. They may not have been enemies, but none of them planned to mingle or chat amongst the groups. Each group came with an agenda and didn't want to share any benefits if they didn't have to.

The sun had yet to set when the Pon Family stopped just before exiting the city walls. They turned towards the others and smiled brightly.

One man among them stepped forward and announced, "Everyone, we're glad to have your help exploring our family's special catacomb. For those who don't know the rules of the event, allow me to explain."

All eyes and ears were on him as the man continued, "Since so many people have arrived, we've adjusted some of the rules to make things fair. Only those who are between lv. 20 and lv. 29 may enter the catacomb, without exceptions. Also, be aware that everyone must be respectful of each other. Fighting should be done between us and the monsters roaming the catacomb. There are many young geniuses here and we don't want anything unnecessary to happen to you all."

Jack scratched his head, realizing that it would be even more difficult than they had anticipated. Without Rydel, Jack would very likely be alone as the weakest person to enter the catacomb.

"Keep in mind that the reason we're allowing you all to enter is to help us secure some of our family treasures deep inside. If you find anything of value, you are to report it. Now, we won't steal or take anything from you unjustly. Know that we will compensate anyone who can bring us treasures from inside very handsomely," explained the man. "Any questions?"

"What kind of monsters are inside?" Someone from the Treall Family spoke up.

The man smiled and responded, "A good question! Inside are many types of undead. You must be careful because more undead will spawn without end. For that reason, we constantly need to raid and purge the catacomb. They should all be under lv. 30, however, if someone above lv. 30 should enter, then undead under lv. 40 will spawn also. That's why we must regulate your levels, so please don't be mad with us."

Another person from the Maronn family asked, "What kind of treasures are inside? Is there anything, in particular, we should keep a lookout for?"

"Inside you may find random magical items. We've found many things, ranging from magical weapons to armor, or from gold to valuable gems. If you find gold or gems, you may keep them for yourself, but anything magical in nature should be traded to us of the Pon Family for something of equal or greater value."

"How big is the catacomb?" That time a crowd member asked, probably from someone waiting to enter after the noble families.

"It's not too large, but it'll take you all night to explore the catacomb fully. We'll give everyone till tomorrow morning at sunrise to explore the caverns. At that time, you'll be called back to trade in your items. Anything else?" asked the man, still patient and waiting to clear any doubts.

"What if we don't want to trade our findings with the Pon Family?"

Jack's question caught everyone's attention, especially those from noble families. They were especially curious about how the Pon family would handle such a situation.

With a chuckle, the man answered, "I'll be honest with you, we hope that everyone will willingly trade the goods with us. We promise on our name to offer you something just as valuable, if not more! Isn't that fair if we're the ones allowing you to enter the catacombs?"

The same voiced responded again, saying, "But what if the person doesn't come from a noble family? How can we guarantee that the trade will be fair? And if it's not fair, how can we avoid being pressured into a trade we don't wish to make?"

This time the man felt irked by Jack's words, but he didn't show it. "We can assure the fairest compensation, how else have we become known as the generous and kind-hearted Pon Family? To all those here without any sort of background, you'll be treated the same as those from noble families in terms of compensation."

"And what if nobles team up against us inside the catacomb? They have powerful backers to make sure nothing happens to them, but how can you guarantee our safety? What happens if someone dies inside, will you provide investigation and seek out justice?"

"If anyone is to die inside by any means other than from the undead, then it shall be investigated immediately before anyone is allowed to leave. Is that fair enough?" The man's voice was becoming colder with every answer.

Everyone understood that he was mad that the same person was asking such blatant questions.

"Good, I'm glad the Pon Family is so caring, even for us!" Jack ended the conversation with a compliment, letting the man continue without ruining the mood.

"Very well. Now, let us enter the catacomb. When I call your group, please step forward. Pon Family!"

A group of five people stepped out from behind the man. Three of them were young like Jack, but the others were older. Rydel warned Jack that those two were both lv. 29 and probably sent to be bodyguards.

"Maronn Family!"

Another group of five people stepped out of the Maronn Family. Like the Pon Family, three were most likely the young masters while the other two strong bodyguards.

"Lyre Family!"

"Treall Family!"

The other families followed the same pattern, proving to Jack that it's not going to be as easy as he wanted to find that tomb in secret.

"Now, for those inside the crowd, we'll only be letting fifteen of you participate. We'll have a quick screening and select who will be joining the others in the catacomb. Step forward if you'd like to enter."

Jack and many others in the crowd stepped forward. One-by-one, the Pon Family inspected the many people, instantly sending away some candidates without a second thought.

In no time a man approached Jack, who still appeared to be a slouching middle-aged man.

"Name and level," asked the man performing the screening.

"Jack, and I'm lv. 20."

"What a load of crap!"

A shout was heard after Jack answered the question, startling the man who was handling the screening. He looked to the Treall Family and saw that one of the young masters was the one who had yelled. The man asked, "Is something wrong?"

"There's no way that old man is lv. 20! I've seen him fight with my own guards personally and I demand he reveal his level to all of us!" shouted Glen, the lv. 15 young master from the Treall Family.

He was already in a bad mood for not being able to enter the catacomb. Now that everyone over lv. 30 was barred entry, he and those from the Treall Family understood that they were the weakest because their young talents were the weakest of the noble families.

Glen then saw Jack and could help but yell in disgust. He truly didn't believe he was only lv. 20 and he wanted to let loose some anger at the same time.

"That's what you're complaining about?" Suddenly, Jack's level information was no longer so mysterious. "There, take a look for yourself."

"L-lv. 20…" Those from the Treall Family were stunned. They understood that this man was probably the person who caused a ruckus in their town. But could a lv. 20 really be that strong? He had overpowered two guards and used a rare fire spell that would have burned both of the guards to death had it made contact.

"Can I go in now?" asked Jack, showing his impatience.

"You can step forward and enter. Remember to respect the young masters," stated the man as he moved on to the next candidate.

Jack didn't quite understand why the screening went so smoothly, not until the screening had been completed.

'We're all below lv. 25…' Jack realized that the Pon Family was trying to rig it in favor of the noble families.

Killing people wasn't allowed, but they never mentioned anything about stealing each other's treasures. If the nobles dominated the others, wouldn't the fifteen regular people just help them gather the harvest and make things easier for the nobles?

He snickered and gave Rydel a meaningful look. 'Since there's a change in plans, maybe it's best if you wait with Ayden till I call you. When we exit the tomb, I'm sure things will get complicated.'

'Don't worry too much. You've got your sudden death skill and I've got one of the fastest beasts. Put those together and we should be able to make a clean getaway when the time comes. Good luck!' Rydel winked and turned to leave.

Jack sighed and looked around him. Once they were inside the catacomb, he had a feeling that the nobles would stop acting so noble.