The Achievement Junkie

Seeing that Lorwynn didn't want to waste time, Jack nodded and let the man talk uninterrupted.

"Good, first let me explain who all is here. Before you are the thirty-two Regional Advisors that help us manage to the association and the many branch chiefs. Here beside me are the nine councilmen and the three guardians of the Adventurers Association. Together, we make up one of the strongest forces in all Kartonia," explained Lorwynn.

"Normally, we wouldn't have everyone here to meet you, but something else also came up so we decided to meet you personally while we were already here."

"It's an honor to meet so many powerful experts," said Jack as bowed to the table and then the desks.

"Jack, we want to know if you have any goals or if there's anything that we can do to help you. Also, we were told that you had a few requests for us. Is that correct?"

"Yes, I have a few requests," answered Jack. "But before that, I'm curious, does the association have any other summoned heroes?"

Lorwynn shook his head with a slight frown. "Sadly, we've never been successful at summoning a hero ourselves. You were a special case because no one ever summons such a low-level hero. Who can guarantee that they'll level up or work hard to get stronger? The point of summoning a hero is to summon someone strong and powerful that doesn't need anything other than some good equipment."

"However, we're very glad that you have joined the association and that you've shown more growth than any hero we've seen thus far," added Lorwynn. "Keep this up, and you could be joining everyone in here in no time."

"Well, I'll be honest. I'm more interested in traveling and growing stronger as fast as possible. I won't be satisfied with such low levels."

Jack's statement shocked everyone in the room. To be called low-leveled as some of the most powerful people in the continent, it was like a slap in the face.

To Lorwynn it had the opposite effect. His warm smile grew and his eyes sparkled. "That's great! Since that's what you're after, are you wanting to form a traveling party? Is that what you're after today?"

"You're very understanding, Lorwynn. That's exactly why I'm here, and I already know who it is that I want. There are three association members I know personally in Reinolt that I would like to request officially become my party. That way they won't get conflicting orders and will only have to answer to me," reasoned Jack.

"Hmm… We can make that happen, but wouldn't you want to take someone a bit stronger too, just in case. I'm sure we can find a willing volunteer in the room if you just ask."

"No, I'm fine with just those three. It'll be Rydel, Maynard, and Keela from the Reinolt Branch. Thank you for your help, Master Lorwynn." Jack bowed again, insistent to keep his small party.

Though he quite liked the association, the fact that another champion was already so high up in the organization didn't sit well with Jack. Besides, if Jack could revive Trodar and help it rise to glory like before, couldn't he form his own superpower organization?

"Very well, it will be arranged," Lorwynn agreed, acting as if he had never made a suggestion in the first place. "Now, there is something that we would like to talk to you about. We've heard that you were able to find an ancient hero's tomb. And it wasn't just any tomb, but the tomb of Ponlinne the Great from the Zuran Empire. Is that correct?"

Jack's smile vanished and he became straight-faced as they finally admitted what they were really after.

"I won't lie to you. Yes, I did find it and yes, I was able to get ahold of Ponlinne's magic weapon. There were a few good items inside the tomb, the best being the life spring, from which I took a life spring crystal. May I ask why you want to know more about it?"

"The Adventurers Association isn't one to take things forcibly from its members. In fact, we encourage members to strive to find their own treasures and resources everywhere they go."

"Then why do you want to know so much about the treasures that I've acquired for myself?" asked Jack, not acting neither warm nor cold to the association founder.

"Jack, we want to ask you to donate some of the treasures that you've acquired in Ponlinne's tomb. Of course, the life spring crystal is yours and it will save either your life or someone else's in the future," explained Lorwynn. "However, how do you plan to use such powerful items when you're only lv. 22? We wish to hold on to them until you're stronger and can better wield the items that would be useful in the future. Until then, there are many people who would benefit from using such treasures until that time."

Giving Lorwynn a strange look and a dry smile, Jack stated, "So, you want me to give away my treasures as a donation so that I might get a couple back when I may need them later? And what if I wanted to use them for trade? Like I said earlier, I won't be satisfied with such low levels. To grow stronger faster, I'll need those items as either resources or for trade to get resources."

"Jack, please think this through. Who could possibly trade for things as valuable as Ponlinne's staff? Such treasures are priceless." reasoned Lorwynn.

"Are you saying that the Adventurers Association doesn't have anything worth trading for my treasures?"

Catching Jack's hint, Lorwynn chuckled. "You wish to trade the items with the association?"

"If you don't want them, then just say so. But don't try and tell me that you don't have something of worth to trade, you're one of the strongest groups in all Kartonia and one of the richest," stated Jack.

Taking a moment to think, Lowynn stroked his beard softly. "What do you want, Jack? And what are you offering?"

Suddenly, a staff appeared in Jack's hands. Though it appeared like a normal wooden staff, everyone present was smart enough to realize that it was a true treasure.

"You wanted Ponlinne's staff, right? You can have it after his poison and curse are removed."

"Jack, you're demands are too harsh. There's no way that we can--"

"I'm just asking that you help the man who was devoted to your organization enough to face the Chaos Syndicate personally. He was even poisoned and cursed while on an official mission. You weren't the ones who assigned it, but you should also help those who are so badly treated while representing you," stated Jack.

"Besides, if you can't do it, then who else could? We've already been searching for ingredients to the poison's cure. We heard that we needed refined cleansing powder, right?"

Jack looked over at Zariff and nodded, waiting for him to show his refined cleansing powder to the room.

"We already found one of the ingredients. If we can find one of them, then the association should be able to find the rest. Or is a lv. 85 cleric's staff that was handcrafted from a life tree sapling not worth it to you?"

Everyone was shaken by Jack's words. As a lv. 22, he showed more confidence than most people attending could muster themselves.

"I can't guarantee anything about the curse, but I think we can take care of the poison," answered Lorwynn.

"Well, how about this. After his poison has been cured and you can at least find me a clue as to how the curse can be lifted, then I'll hand over the staff for you to keep indefinitely. Is that a bad deal?"

"What else do you have to offer? I'm sure there were plenty of goods in that tomb."

Jack laughed and put the staff away. In its place, Jack retrieved three other weapons, two lv. 55 and one lv. 65. "There were also these and a few chests worth of gold and platinum, but you're already plenty rich so you don't need coins, right?"

"Right, but those three weapons would be perfect for some of the men here today. What do you want for them?" asked Lorwynn.

"Weapons," said Jack with a simple smile. "I need lv. 30 and lv. 35 weapons for myself and my party, and they should be peak tier considering what I'm offering you. That's fair enough, right?"

"That can be arranged," answered Lorwynn, who was still smiling. "You're quite the negotiator for a new hero."

"I just want to make sure both sides of the deal benefit. Plus, I think you're getting a steal of an offer for Ponlinne's staff, to be honest."

Lorwynn didn't respond to Jack's comment. He knew what the organization was capable of, and Jack was right.

Helping find the other ingredients and only finding a lead to help Jack solve the curse was easy. They only had to search the market and pay a lot of coins for special ingredients if they didn't already have them. And after some digging through ancient texts and other sources of information, finding a lead on the curse shouldn't be too hard.

Within the month, Lorwynn was confident that Ponlinne's staff would be in their hands. When that happens, they'll make a public announcement to try and draw in more recruits and attention. It was perfect for them.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'd like to get going. We have somewhere we need to be," stated Jack. "It was a pleasure doing business."

Lorwynn nodded and looked to Advisor Wain in the back row. "Take them to the armory and let him choose what he wants. Once he's satisfied, bring us the weapons he traded us."

"Y-yes, sir!" Advisor Wain stuttered under the sudden pressure. Not only was the founder himself giving him an order, but it also involved high-level items as well.

Turning his attention back to Jack, Lorwynn bowed his head and said his goodbye. "I wish you luck on your journey, Jack. Make sure to stop by whenever you need something or would like to talk."

"If I have a chance, I will."

With that, Jack and Zariff left the room behind Wain, who was taking them to the armory on the fifth floor.