The Achievement Junkie

"And you? Which one do you want?"

Daliea looked around the stables but only shook her head in disappointment. "None of these."

"Really? But what about that Flame Tiger, wouldn't that be perfect?"

"It would be okay, but it's not the most suitable for me," stated Daliea. "I can cast three magic types and fire is my weakest of the three."

"Three magic types?! How come you never told me that?" asked Jack.

She shrugged while keeping a straight, emotionless face. "You never asked."

"..." Jack didn't reply, taking a moment to think. After a few seconds, he also shrugged. "What's your other magic types?"

"Illusion and dark."

Jack's eyes sparkled as he thought about the many dark type beasts in his memories. They were all mysterious and had strange abilities, some even shared both illusion and dark types. He couldn't help but agree with Daliea, that none of the beasts Tridon had would suit her as well as those.

"Tell you what, let's get that flame tiger for now and we'll get search for a dark type beast during our journey. How's that?" Jack asked Daliea, hoping she would agree.

She looked at Jack, surprised to see him acting so kind to her. Though she knew that humans were no longer afraid of her, Jack was the only human that ever acted so kind to her, even after he kept rejecting her advances.

"Okay."

Daliea walked up to the Flame Tiger's pen and entered without a second thought. It was lv. 35, one level higher than Daliea.

Before Jack had a chance to let Bowzer help her, the Flame Tiger roared and lunged at Daliea with intent to kill. From its actions, everyone could tell that the tiger was still new to being imprisoned and hadn't lost its killer instincts.

But while everyone else was afraid for Daliea to get hurt, the Flame Tiger's claw swiped through her and Daliea's figure became illusory, disappearing completely.

As the tiger and everyone watching were confused, Daliea appeared to the side of the large tiger. In her palm was a blazing hot ball of yellow, white fire.

Seeing that fireball, Jack felt his hair wanting to stand up in fear. He found it hard to believe that fire type magic was her weakest type. How could that be when her flame was so hot?!

Sensing the flame, the Flame Tiger looked at Daliea with hesitation. Even as a flame type beast, it could sense a high degree of threat from that fireball. Its movements calmed as the tiger let Daliea approach it without retaliation.

When she saw that, Daliea knew that she had tamed the beast. Putting out her fireball, she petted the giant tiger. Since she was already small, the massive three-meter long tiger seemed enormous. Yet the goblin girl had still managed to tame it, even getting the tiger to lick her face and accept her as its new master.

Tridon was startled by the scene.

Since Jack had left, Tridon had signed a contract with the king, making his Beast Manor an unofficial branch of Reinolt's military. He received funding and supplies from the Royal Court, as well as the majority of the animals they had in store. Also, Tridon had purchased many more beast with his new funding to grow his rising organization.

That tiger was the most expensive of the beasts he had purchased and was the most ferocious. It was still in adolescence and had the potential to break through lv. 50. Even he, Reinolt's Beastmaster, had trouble just getting it in the cage.

Seeing the goblin queen, who was one level weaker than both Tridon and the tiger, dominate the tiger so easily, Tridon was aghast. He felt somewhat humiliated, but he wouldn't let the others know that.

"Tridon, the seal," Jack spoke up, reminding Tridon of his part.

"Right!"

The large man quickly performed a mutual seal for them, further amazed that Daliea could get the tiger to agree. It seemed too good to be true.

"Alright, since we've gotten what we came for, let's go," stated Jack. "Tridon, thanks for the help and the beasts. Here, I think this is worth the tiger, right?"

A storage ring was thrown to Tridon, who caught and inspected it instantly. With a big smile, Tridon replied, "Sure, I think a lv. 35 beast net is well worth it! It was a pleasure doing business and good luck on your journey."

"Thanks. I'm sure we'll meet again, in time."

With a light bow, Jack's party said their goodbyes to Tridon and thanked him for the beasts.

Using the bestial ring that Jack had already given to Daliea, she stored all the beasts without trouble.

It startled Tridon, but he said nothing but he had heard from the others that Jack had become extremely wealthy. He just hadn't expected the young hero to have so much more than himself.

In no time, they were back outside the Beast Manor, wondering what was next.

Jack took the lead, saying, "Let's go see Zarris. I'd like to see him one last time before we leave."

Maura looked at Jack and asked, "And what about the king?"

"Knowing him, he'll probably show up at the association building to say goodbye," replied Jack. "Besides, I have something to ask Zarris."

The ladies all followed Jack as they walked to the central square. Maura helped Jack contain Eliza and Keela, not letting them wander off in search of expensive, useless goods.

Zarris was outside his tent, manning his little stand as usual. It was easy for him to notice Jack's party coming his way. When they came into view, he asked, "Jack, how have you been? Did you like Federal City?"

"Can we go in the back? There are some things I need to ask you."

"Sure, step right in." Zarris held the flap open, letting Jack and the girls enter the tent. Out of habit, Zarris cast silence and smiled. "So, what do you need today?"

"There are a few things, but first I have a question." Jack got straight to the point, not trying to waste the little time he had left of the day. "You were that mysterious voice that saved us from the Chaos Syndicate, right?"

"Hm, was it that hard to figure out?" laughed Zarris. "I tried to thank you for the information about the syndicate last time you were here. If you hadn't tried to contact me for supplies to face the syndicate, I would've been too late to do anything."

"I knew it! That means you're at least lv. 50, right? And you can cast both wind and space magic."

"Right again, you're on a roll today."

Curious, Jack asked, "What did the king give you to persuade you to stay here?"

"A pretty good sum of money and whatever supplies I ask for, but the contract should be up for renewal soon and I'm not sure if he can afford it," stated Zarris, totally calm like his disappearance wouldn't affect anything.

"Hmm… What level are you, exactly?" Jack was sure that Zarris was using an item to hid his information, probably as part of the deal so that no one would ever know who Reinolt's protector was.

"I'm lv. 56, why?"

"Then let me make you an offer." Suddenly, a staff appeared in Jack's hand. It was made of bone, as light as a feather, and appeared to hover over the ground. "Are you interested in this?"

Zarris' eyes couldn't contain his desire for the weapon in Jack's hand. "What are the terms?"

"For another three years, keep watching over Reinolt. Also, if you have any other friends that would like a similar deal, I'm more than willing to pay for it."

"A have a friend who might be willing. He's even stronger than me, but he even greedier."

"What level and class?"

"He's a lv. 63 monk," answered Zarris. "Got anything for him?"

A golden quarter staff appeared in Jack's hands, glowing in the low-lit tent. "I think this could work."

Nodding, Zarris agreed with Jack. Sure, he and his friend were high-leveled, but that didn't mean they were the strongest or had the best weapons. Peak-tier weapons at their levels were practically priceless and hard to come by. A few years of service in a small kingdom was well worth such treasures, especially when there was a chance that nothing would even happen.

"I'll contact him immediately. Knowing him, he should get here by the end of the month," said Zarris.

"Perfect, then I won't have to worry about this place while I'm gone." Jack handed both weapons to Zarris, who gladly stored them away. "Also, do you happen to have any space type spells for sale?"

Chuckling, Zarris' eyes sparkled. "You can cast space type spells?"

When Jack nodded, Zarris laughed and retrieved a book from his ring. "Here, consider as a part of our previous deal. That way I don't feel like I'm cheating you to badly."

Jack took a look at the book, happy to get a free high-tier space type spell. "Thanks, Zarris! We should get going, but I'll be back before our agreement is over. If anything interesting comes up in Reinolt, just contact me."

Zarris laughed, thinking Jack was joking about the contact crystal. But then Jack pulled out a deep purple contact crystal, and Zarris' eyes went wide. "You got a high-tier contact crystal too! You must've left Federal City like a bandit."

"I guess, you could say that."

While Zarris was referring to those few items he showed, Jack felt the same way but about other items, mainly the bestial rings, Sterfen's Cloak, and the fossilized egg. If the system was correct, that egg might even be worth more than the cloak in time.