The Achievement Junkie

"JACK!!"

Everyone yelled as the heard the young hero crash through all kinds of undergrowth.

Some of the last few bears also eyed Jack, intent on killing the one responsible for harming their pridelord. But they wouldn't get the chance because the adventurers used the bears' distraction to give quick lethal blows.

In less than a minute, the fight was over and all the girls hurried to Jack's side with Keela and Eliza in the lead.

Seeing that Jack would be well taken care of, Maynard and Rydel decided to charge the pridelord. But their hopes of finishing it off ended before they even began.

Charred and burned beyond recognition, the Flat-nose Bear pridelord laid on the ground, no longer breathing. It was sad for them to see it like that because now they wouldn't be able to harvest any of its materials. All the fur had been destroyed, its meat was ruined, and even the bones had become brittle.

"Man… What the heck was that fire?" Rydel asked himself.

"Maybe it has something to do with Bowzer reaching adolescence?" reasoned Maynard. "I'm curious, what will Bowzer be like after his done evolving? If it means Jack's flames get stronger, then it would definitely be amazing!"

They bantered as they walked over to Jack, who was surrounded by women.

Barely conscious, Jack groaned as he looked around him. Even though Keela had already started to heal his injuries, his body was beyond exhausted after drinking three elixirs in a row. He struggled to move his head back and forth, let alone walk.

"It's okay, I'll be fine after some good rest," Jack joked around with them, trying to lighten the mood.

"Be quiet, you shouldn't exert yourself." The playful, teasing Keela was gone at the moment. Instead, she was much gentler and stared at Jack with worried eyes.

"Really, I'll be fine after I sleep it off."

"Shut up! Can't you see that you're too injured to even walk? Just let us help you and relax."

Eliza yelled at Jack, showing a bit more of her true self. She had never been outside of Federal City, so this was her first large scale fight. And with this being the first time she's had a party member be so injured, it was hard for her to keep calm.

That's when Jack was suddenly lifted up, carried away by Maura. She looked at the other girls. "I've seen this before. Because it involved his flame body, he really will need time to rest. It's not as bad this time, but we should get him back to the inn."

Keela and Eliza found it hard to believe that letting Jack sleep it off would do much, but Daliea also spoke up, "She's right. This happened after his fight with a troll captain not too long ago. At least this time he's still conscious, so that's a good sign."

"Well… If you really think that would be best."

Reluctantly, Keela agreed and stopped wasting her healing spells. Strangely enough, she could tell that Jack wasn't able to be fully healed with magic.

That was the first time she'd experienced something so strange. Her family was reputed as the best clerics in the Zuran Empire, yet she was unable to heal her own party member. In her heart, she felt like she had failed.

"Don't worry about him, they're right, ya know," Maynard chimed in. "That kid's flame body is strange. It gives him crazy boosts of strength, but his defenses remain the same. And if he's hurt in that form, then he can't be healed magically. Jack said it had something to do with the fox's bloodline."

Feeling a bit better thanks to Maynard's explanation, Keela nodded and followed the others toward the dozens of bear corpses.

Still depressed, Eliza also felt like she had failed. She felt that if she had been able to buff Jack, then maybe it wouldn't be as bad as it was now. But that was no longer a possibility and would serve as a reminder for Eliza in the future.

The party divided up the corpses equally, letting everyone get their own share, including Jack.

Rydel gathered Jack's portion for the time being and offered to carry Jack. Even if it would be easier, they couldn't use their beasts to carry him or they would risk revealing them to people unnecessarily. For that reason, Rydel offered to take him from Maura.

"No, I'll be fine."

Now that she was higher leveled, carrying Jack wouldn't be too difficult. So long as she doesn't have to fight, Maura could handle carrying him back the rest of the way.

Returning to the small town was much faster than tracking the bears. Since they didn't have to conceal their movements, the party ran most of the way.

Before sunset, they reached the inn with Jack on Maura's back.

"Oh, you're back--" The waitress saw them enter and greeted them, but she cut herself off when she saw them covered in blood and the half-conscious Jack. "What happened?! Are you okay? Let me get a medic--"

"That won't be necessary," stated Keela, waving her hand and releasing some holy type energy to show that she was a cleric.

"Then… What about him?"

"He just needs some sleep," replied Rydel, laughing quietly at the frantic waitress.

"If you'll excuse us." Maura immediately started up the stared, followed closely by Daliea. The other two girls did the same, eager to help Jack in any way.

"Man, that kid is too lucky," laughed Maynard. "Shall we drink?"

Rydel nodded and took a seat at the bar. "Waitress, get us two specials and a couple of mugs with your best brandy."

"I-I'm on it." Shaken to see that the two men weren't concerned for the injured Jack, the waitress moved a little slower than usual. It took her a couple of minutes to put in the order and return with their drinks. "Here you go. And… do you really think he'll be okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's experienced much worse before," laughed Rydel. "Don't worry about him. Also, we took care of your bear problem."

"Really?! They're all gone?!"

A few men were sitting at a nearby table. Rydel didn't recognize them so they must not have been locals.

"Yeah, we found an entire pride of those Flat-nose Bears. But they're all dead now, even the pridelord."

"Pridelord…" Those men thought about Rydel's words before one of them yelled, "I don't believe you! A party of only seven lv. 30's took down an entire pride of Flat-nose Bears? You just don't want others to kill them before you do!"

"Thud!"

Suddenly, a huge, furry corpse fell to the floor beside Maynard, making the entire table shiver. To their shock, it really was a Flat-nose Bear. They weren't able to identify what type of bear they might've been, but that small band of people was ready to start searching for the bears in the morning.

Unlike Jack's party, they only agreed to do the job for a hefty sum of gold. Though it would cost the local businesses dearly to agree, they did because they were desperate.

But now that party's plans were ruined before they could even search for their first bear.

Rydel laughed when he saw the surprise on the men's faces. "If you don't believe us, would this prove it?"

"THUD!!"

An even larger corpse hit the tavern floor, echoing in the empty restaurant. It was charred and destroyed, but it resembled the Flat-nose Bear corpse even though it was much larger.

"If ya are mad and want to fight about it, know that I only unsheathe my sword to kill. I don't care who ya are," Maynard joked around with the frightened party. "We're with the association, what about you?"

Hearing that they were from the association, the other party was instantly humbled. Their bravado vanished and their leader stood up and bowed. "We're sorry for not believing you and claiming that the association wasn't capable. As members of the Snow guild, the locals reached out to us and asked for help. Please, forgive our offenses to you."

"Snow Guild, from Aazoon?"

"Yes."

"I didn't know any locals had crossed the border in search of help." Rydel couldn't argue with the town's logic though. The closest city wasn't in Reinolt but in Aazoon. And since the two countries are on peaceful terms, they can easily cross the border.

"We're actually heading there next, do you mind waiting a few days to return? It would help us to have a guide."

"Of course!"

Even though that man was the same level as Rydel, he bowed again out of respect. The Snow Guild was powerful inside Aazoon, but it couldn't compete with the strength or the fame of the association.

"Great! Then just wait here in town. In a few days, we should be ready to leave."

Maynard and Rydel then stored the corpses and returned to their drinks, ignoring the men from the Snow Guild for the rest of the night.

Jack rested for three whole days before he was back to his full strength, but Bowzer was still sleeping.

During that time, he was happy the Maura had decided to stay in his room. Without her there and with Jack's inability to move, there was no telling what Eliza or Keela might try.