The Achievement Junkie

The room the had entered looked to be some sort of conference room, but it was different. Instead of a single table with chairs, there was one main table by the far wall with a few people seated in the middle of a single side. Closer to the door were a few dozen chairs and desks. Also, there were many seats along the walls, as if they were meant to have an audience.

Only about a dozen seats were filled, but Wain took them to the side instead. Trying to figure out what was going on, Jack followed Advisor Wain and sat by the wall.

Since he had nothing needing his attention at the moment, Jack opened up his system notifications. The blaring red notification filled his view and Jack's jaw almost went slack.

[Attention: Fellow champion found!]

Those few words were like a bomb going off in his head. The last thing he had expected to happen was to encounter one of the other two champions. And he was still too weak! If the champion was someone in that conference room, it was obvious that they were stronger than Jack.

Jack put his Eagle Eye to the test, hoping he might find some clue as to who the other champion was.

Looking over everyone, Jack learned that the weakest person in the room was Zariff, other than himself. To Jack's surprise, there were almost three people seated in those desks, and they were all at least lv. 46, some were even in the high fifties!

Eventually, Jack finished with the people in the desks and looked to the table. There were thirteen men sitting there, and they were easily the strongest in the room. Jack made sure to take a mental note of each of them to remember their faces well.

The seating was determined by strength. In the desks, the weakest people sat the farthest from the table. At the table, those on the end were all lv. 60 or higher.

After counting nine people over lv. 60, Jack found that the four people at the table's center were unfathomable. Even with his Eagle Eye, Jack had no way to read them.

Knowing that determined that one of them was the champion that his system warned him about. By following the rule that they were seated according to strength, Jack determined that the man at the center was the strongest there and most likely the mysterious founder he had always heard rumors about.

While Jack was busy guessing what how strong those four people might be, Zariff was frozen in place as he stared at the panel of people at the table.

When he became a branch chief, he had met a few regional advisors, such as Advisor Wain. The strongest of those he met was lv. 52. At the time, he was blown away and awestruck to meet someone so strong. But now… Zariff didn't know what to think.

A few minutes passed and those at the table finished their discussion. The room got quiet and the man at the center of the table turned to Wain, Zariff, and Jack with a warm smile.

"Come, we've finished with the other matter. Now, it's time to discuss a few things with you both."

The man looked middle-aged with a salt and pepper beard. He wore a majestic golden robe that made him appear to glow with boundless energy. Jack could tell that he wasn't a warrior, but a terrifyingly powerful mage.

Wain nodded shyly and stood up. "Thank you, Founder."

He led Jack and Zariff to the front of the room, just to the side of the main table. After that, he took his own seat at a desk in the back since he was only lv. 47.

"First, let's discuss the matter involving Branch Chief Zariff," stated the founder. "Please, step forward."

As Zariff complied and stood before the panel, a man at one end of the table spoke up, "Branch Chief Zariff, it is to our knowledge that you have now dropped in level from 36 to 35, correct? And how is that so, please tell us?"

"A few months back I completed an assignment for the man who was later revealed as a member of the Chaos Syndicate. During that mission, I ended up poisoned and cursed. If I remain uncured of the poison, I'll die within a year and even sooner if I'm forced to fight. The more strength I use, the closer I am to dying."

One of the mysterious men beside the founder squinted and asked. "Can I have a sample of your blood, please?" He then tossed a small vial to Zariff.

"Um… sure." Zariff retrieved a small knife and made a tiny cut on one of his fingertips. After putting a few drops in the vial, Zariff tossed it back and wrapped up his finger.

The man stared intently at the poison as his eyes glowed purple. "This… is walking death toxin!"

Everyone in the room was astonished to hear that. They all knew of the toxin, but few would be able to identify it.

"You'll definitely pass within the next three months if you aren't cured. Hmm… this is a little more complicated than I anticipated," mentioned the man, storing the vial of blood in his ring.

Zariff swallowed some saliva. He wasn't ready for it to be over so soon, he thought he'd be able to keep fighting it a while longer.

"You're definitely unfit to proceed as the Reinolt Branch Chief. In a month's time, you'll be bedridden and soon after you'll give up your last breath. That's my diagnosis."

The man's final words were like daggers in Zariff's heart. He didn't want to believe it.

"Is there any way I can be cured!" Zariff shouted, losing himself for a moment.

That same man shrugged. "It's hard to say. That would involve finding a cure and searching for incredibly rare ingredients that may be unavailable. We will, however, look into for you."

"Now, about your curse…" Everyone went silent when the founder started talking. "I'm glad we know that the syndicate's influence in Reinolt has disappeared. It also explains how you received the worst possible curse, Skaryn's Vengeance."

"Skaryn's Vengeance…" The others were startled, even more so by the curse than the walking death poison.

"To think a mere branch chief would encounter both walking death poison and Skaryn's Vengeance… I'm truly sorry. Even if we can somehow manage to save you from the poison, I have no way to remove that curse. No matter what, you will no longer be able to stay as a branch chief," explained the founder. "Again, I'm sorry that you've had to go through this at the association's expense."

As the founder finished, the same person at the end of the table looked to those in desks. "From this moment on, Zariff Jaldor shall honorably rescind his title as the Reinolt Branch Chief and shall remain an ordinary member of the Adventurers Association for the time being. As compensation for the troubles he's faced as the former branch chief, we shall gift him with five thousand gold coins and shall aid in the search for a cure to his poisoning."

All people present nodded in unison, accepting the terms and standing as witnesses of the decision.

"Thank you, Zariff. Now, please step back and all Jack to step forward," stated the founder.

As they switch places, Jack patted Zariff on the back to try and comfort him. He didn't fully understand everything going on in Zariff's mind, but Jack understood that Zariff was undeserving of such pain and stress.

When Jack stepped forward, all eyes were on him. Even those at the table all stared at him with interest, much more than they had with Zariff.

The founder was the one who started leading the discussion again, showing that they were giving Jack far more importance than Zariff. If anything, it felt like Zariff was just a casual affair while Jack's was the true matter at hand.

"So, Jack, let me introduce myself. My name is Lorwynn and I am the founder of the Adventurers Association. In due time, you may meet these men beside me, but we'll save that for another day," Lorwynn stated as he bowed his head respectfully. "I hear that you were summoned just a month ago, yet you're already lv. 22. That's amazing!"

Jack squinted his eyes, trying to understand what the founder was after.

There was no way they summoned the founder and all the higher-ups to greet a lv. 22 hero. Maybe if they weren't so strong, but Jack was guessing that each of the four unfathomable figures was at least lv. 70, and maybe the founder was lv. 80.

Lorwynn laughed when he saw that Jack wasn't nervous in front of so many powerful people. In fact, he was more composed than Zariff who was a former branch chief.

"Jack, you're probably wondering why so many people have gathered just to see you, correct?" asked Lorwynn. "Let me explain a few things and then we'll get to the matter at hand."