The Achievement Junkie

"It's been a long time, Jack. Far too long."

As Jack was spun around, he was startled. He hadn't sensed anyone or anything. Even though he wasn't searching for people, that person was able to slip past his awareness, meaning they were far stronger than Jack.

Jack frowned and carefully looked up to the man who had grabbed him.

That man was wearing a purple robe, but it was more ordinary than expected. He was tall, thin and wrinkles littered his face. His pointy ears stuck out of the man's long silvery hair and were starting to droop, almost losing their point. However, the man's eyes were wide open and filled with vitality.

The anger on Jack's face vanished, quickly replaced with surprise and joy. Jack almost bit his tongue to keep from cursing the old man.

"What, you don't recognize me?"

"T-Tralon?"

"Ah, so you do remember me," the old man laughed and put both hands on Jack's shoulders, looking the young hero in the eye. "If you were back, how could I not come to see you?"

"But… You're supposed to be in Trodar? And how are you even alive?!"

Argyle approached the two and chuckled, "So, did you like the surprise? Let's go somewhere private and talk, okay?"

He motioned for Jack, Tralon, and the others to follow, leading them to a large banquet hall filled with all kinds of food. "Everyone, let's celebrate this great occasion!"

With loud cheers, everyone took their seats and enjoyed the great spread.

Too distracted by Tralon's appearance, Jack sat with Tralon to the side on a sofa. The old man looked at Jack and suddenly became more serious. In a low whisper, Tralon asked, "How can I know for sure that you're my master?"

"Without me, you'd still be the week Tralon Smitton. And who else was crazy enough to run a place like the Leisure Guild than me, Jack_J, the Achievement Junkie?" Jack whispered back, happy to talk with an old friend.

"You really are him…" Tralon then dropped to his knees and bowed before Jack, not caring about all the attention he brought to Jack.

"Hey! Get up, will you? How will I explain this to everyone else?"

"Well, everyone here is your family now, so why not?" Tralon laughed as he returned to his seat on the sofa. "Please, don't hold this against Argyle. He's a sincere person and won't treat his friends wrong, he's even helped me and the guild on a few occasions."

With a small grunt, Jack replied, "I can understand why he did it, but that doesn't change the fact that I was forced into this. That's not even mentioned everything else that resulted because of this."

Shrugging and dropping his head, Jack frowned. Sure, he just gained a new backer and two beautiful wives, but was that what Jack wanted?

"Master, please don't try anything too rash. I know you and I know how you like to make trouble," stated Tralon. "With Argyle's support, you'll have more freedom to act in the future. Knowing you, you want to leave the association and join the Leisure Guild again, despite the terrible state Trodar is in."

Nodding, Jack asked, "That reminds me, how is the guild? And how is Gilga? Are there any problems in the Trodan Council?"

"The guild is still intact, for now. Many of the rising politicians want us gone in order to take what's left of our treasury and the council will be reorganized late next year," explained Tralon. "To save the Leisure Guild, you'll have to be strong enough to enter Trodar before then. If you're too late, I'll likely lose my seat on the council and the guild's days will become numbered."

"How strong are you now, Tralon?"

This entire time Jack was unable to read Tralon. He couldn't see anything about him of the items he was wearing. Jack knew it was a skill of Tralon's, but he had to ask, especially after hearing that Tralon was also cursed by Skaryn's Vengeance.

Tralon slowly sighed, "I'm lv. 61 now. To think I was once a lv. 85 and accompanied one of the greats of ancient heroes… If it wasn't recorded in history, no one would believe me."

"And how strong are the others in Trodar? Are there too many stronger than you?"

"None are over lv. 70, thankfully. But with all the other councilmen ranging between lv. 66 and lv. 69, I know we won't be able to hold out for much longer. And even if we survive, there's no telling what the outcome of Trodar's wars will be," stated Tralon.

"... So, how strong should I be before I can start to help?"

"If you're not even lv. 40, then I don't think you'll have enough sway with the other council members. Preferably, I'd like for you to return at your peak, lv. 85… Then they would finally show respect to the marvelous guild you built," explained Tralon.

"Lv. 40… This will be harder than I first thought." Jack scratched his head, trying to think of what to say next.

Jack had a thousand questions for Tralon. He didn't have enough information about the hundreds of years between now and Ancient Kartonia, and Tarnel may have been the only person alive that could answer those questions.

"Jack," Tralon interrupted Jack's train of thought, "I don't have much time to chat, sadly. The guild doesn't know that I'm here, nor about us meeting each other. There were three reasons I came today."

"First, I needed to verify if you were really him and if so then ask for your help with the guild. Second, I came to return this to you."

A plain, ordinary-looking ring appeared in between Tralon's fingers. He then handed it to Jack and continued, "Third, I came to renew my pact and once again become an inheritor."

Staring at the ring, Jack started laughing hysterically. "This… You've kept this junk with you all this time?"

"I thought it might come in handy at some point," laughed Tralon. "Now, please renew my pact!"

Again, Tralon kneeled on the floor for everyone to see.

Jack glanced at the others in the room, noticing that most everybody was watching them and utterly confused by how close they seemed.

Whispering so no one else could hear, Jack asked, "Are you sure? I'll be editing the pact soon and making a better version if you could wait a little while. You'll need all the EXP you can get with your curse."

"That's unimportant, please, form the pact immediately. If the new pact is better, than we'll form that one after you return to Trodar," Tralon insisted, holding out his hand in wait for Jack to begin.

"Fine."

While Jack made the small cut on his finger and wrote the pact on Tralon's hand, the others were amazed. Most of them had no clue who Tralon was, they only knew that he was stronger than almost everyone present. Yet, this proud old man was happily kneeling in front of Jack, begging him to be his master.

Argyle smiled when he saw that. He felt that he had done the right thing, forcing Jack and himself to be allies. They would be able to use each other for their own selfish reasons. And seeing how devoted Tralon was to Jack, there was no doubt in Argyle's mind about Jack's story being the truth. What better evidence could there be?

"There, it's done," said Jack, wiping the blood off his hands with a handkerchief. "Do you really have to leave already?"

"Yes, I have to hurry to a council meeting and I'm already late as is. But, it was worth the trip." Tralon smiled as he rubbed his hand over the spot where the pact was formed.

"How are you getting back then?"

"Don't you remember? It's the reason why you chose me as a companion in the first place!"

With that last shout, many different colored lights appeared and gathered around Tralon. In a flash, the lights condensed around Tralon until both he and the lights had completely disappeared.

"Oh yeah… You specialize in space magic…" Jack mumbled to himself as he stared at the empty space where Tralon once stood.

Now, he had gained a new inheritor, but he knew that he wouldn't be getting any EXP from it since Tralon was always busy running the guild. But, a thought ran threw Jack's mind and he started laughing hysterically again.

Maura and Eliza both looked at each other and then at their husband, not knowing what was going on.

While the others in the room were busy trying to wrap their heads around Tralon's sudden use of high-level teleportation magic, Jack was combing through his system's features. Almost immediately, Jack found a new option in his [Inhertior Skills] tab, one for Tralon.

Opening it up without a second thought, Jack couldn't help but start panting from the excitement. A massive list of learnable spells appeared in front of Jack, rendering him speechless.