The Achievement Junkie

"Daliea, are you okay?" Almost forgetting that Daliea was with him, Jack surprised her with a question. "As a goblin, you're even more prone to the cold aren't you?"

Daliea blushed a little but didn't look away. Happy that he was concerned for her, she smiled. "You're wrong, I'm not like the other goblins. I don't have any natural weaknesses, just like you."

"Really?"

That shocked Jack especially. With his vast in-game knowledge from "A Hero's Tale," Jack was certain that all goblins were weak to both cold and fire due to their weak constitution. The shadow goblins were the only race of goblins he didn't know much about.

"Are you sure? You haven't felt weak or too cold since we entered the tundra?"

"No, I'm fine, really."

"Oh… Well, either way, you'll have a better coat soon. You'll need it when we reach Frostburn City." Jack looked away, trying to recover from her awkward questioning. "Let's check the market if there's anything good, okay?"

"Alright!" Daliea smiled, hoping she could find something for Jack to buy her.

Together they started rummaging through the different tents. Though the market was small, Jack was amazed that each tent had quality items. Compared to Reinolt's central square, Quazur's market was even better.

They took their time, not worrying about the others back at the inn.

Soon Daliea found something interesting with an old, sickly-looking man sitting behind a stand. He still had plenty of vitality, but one of his arms was black and rigged. Clearly, it was no longer in use.

"Did you find anything you like?" asked the man.

"Mhm, I like this bracelet. It's an illusion type item, right?"

He let out a weak laugh and sat upright. "That must mean you also use illusion magic. It's not valuable to anyone who doesn't, so you must be."

"That's an illusory charm. It's a one-time use item that lets the user take the appearance of another race or another person. It's a peak-tier charm too, meaning it's undetectable and your body will actually take that form temporarily."

With a twinkle in her eyes, Daliea asked, "How long does it last and how must is it?"

"It will last for one hour, and I'm willing to part with it for at least ten thousand gold."

"Ten thousand…"

Daliea sighed. She had nowhere near that much. And she would feel bad to ask Jack for such an outrageous sum.

Jack, who was at the stand next door, approached them and saw the trinket in her hands.

"Wow, you actually found something. How much?" Jack looked at the man, blinking in surprise when he saw the man's frost burnt arm.

"Ten thousand gold and it's yours."

"That much? Nah, it's not worth it." About to leave, Jack saw the sadness in Daliea's eyes. "What's wrong? It's a good item, but its uses are too limited to be worth that much. I'm sure your illusions will work just fine."

Seeing that she still held onto the item, Jack asked her telepathically, 'Daliea, why do you want this so bad?'

At first, she didn't dare reply and blushed, but her straight forward nature eventually overpowered her shyness. 'I thought… that maybe if I wasn't a goblin, even for only an hour, then maybe you would notice me.'

Both touched and hurt by her answer, Jack laughed at himself.

'Daliea, that's not the reason why I've rejected you all this time. I don't want to do that with just anyone. I'm--'

'But that's why I thought I would need it. To you, I'm just another girl… a goblin girl…'

His heart ached a little bit with every word she added. 'Daliea, really, it's not your fault. You're beautiful, even compared to humans. I've been turning you down for the same reason as the others, I'm only willing to do that with someone I completely trust, someone who I want o spend the rest of my life with.'

'So don't blame yourself, you're plenty beautiful already. I'm just not ready to take the step with anyone, okay?'

'... Okay.'

Daliea was on the verge of crying and was holding back her tears. Thinking back to Maura's encouraging words, Daliea felt much better about herself.

It was also one of the first times she felt closer to Jack on a personal level. She had already offered herself out of duty to her tribe, but that part of her was weakening as time went on.

Daliea wondered if she would actually be willing to leave Jack if he ever agreed. Her mindset was changing and she was starting to think it was better to travel with Jack than to leave him and fulfill her duties to her fallen tribe.

The old man watched as the two stared into each other's eyes. He had no clue that they were speaking telepathically, only seeing that the two deeply cared about each other.

"Since you two lovebirds don't want it, just leave already," grumbled the old man, a little jealous.

"Huh?!" Jack gasped, forgetting that the old man was there. "Sorry, she's not my… We're in the same party."

"Yeah, yeah, say whatever you want. You're lucky enough to have someone but don't blow it so easily!" yelled the old man, startling both Jack and Daliea. "I used to travel too, but look at me now. If all you're going to do is show off your woman, just give it back and go."

"I'm sorry." Placing it the charm back on the stand, Daliea put her hands up innocently.

They left the stand in a hurry, not daring to look back at the angry old man. The air between them was a little awkward, but Daliea was very happy to have someone think she was Jack's woman.

That's when they noticed a commotion at one of the distant stands. A crowd was gathering around a group on horseback. Apparently, they were looking for rare items like Jack. Only, that stand owner happily brought out some of her finest items the moment they arrived.

Jack got closer and took a look at the items, intrigued at what they might be and who the influential people were.

The moment Jack saw a small crystal-clear, blue bead in the merchant's hand, he hurried to the front of the crowd.

There was a young man leading that group. He had gotten off his stallion and was personally inspecting the merchant's wares. When he saw that bead, he had the same reaction as Jack and reached for it.

"Wait! I'll buy that pearl off you! Name your price!"

Everyone was in shock to hear Jack's offer. The merchant froze, unsure of what to do since the young man in front of her also wanted the pearl.

That young man smiled and laughed when he heard Jack's shout. Turning around he got a good look at Jack, who had not broken through the surrounding crowd. Almost playfully, the young man asked, "Who are you?"

"Does that matter? I want the pearl and I think you do too. Who are you?"

That young man laughed again, surprised even more by Jack's second statement than the first. "You really don't know who I am, huh? You must not be from Aazoon then."

He stopped laughing but kept his friendly smile. "My name's Willim Frant, and since I've told you mine, at least tell me yours."

"I'm Jack." Confused at how courteous the noble-looking youth was, Jack was hesitant to offend him. "With such an entourage, you must be from a powerful group. Who are you with?"

"Me?" Willim laughed again, unable to contain himself. "I'm the crown prince of the Aazoon royal family."

Jack's heart skipped a beat. This was definitely not someone he wanted to offend. It also reminded him that the prince had unknowingly invited Jack to visit. Funnily, here they were, again fighting over an item for sale.

"My apologies for the discourtesy, your highness," stated Jack, giving Willim a bow. "However, I really need that frost pearl."

"Hmm…" Willim paused the conversation, taking his time to examine Jack more closely. "You wouldn't happen to be Jack Dyrshire, the rising hero from Reinolt, would you?"

"I am."

"Ah hah! I knew! Who else would be bold enough to act like that in a foreign land," Willim chuckled, explaining his thoughts. "If you're really the same Jack, I have a way to settle who gets the pearl. Would you like to hear it?"

Taken aback by the prince's jovial attitude, Jack nodded.

"You and I will have a sparring match. Whoever wins can purchase the pearl. Sound fair?"

Hesitating to answer, Jack quickly inspected the prince with his Eagle Eye. When he saw that the prince was already lv. 30, he was astounded. The prince couldn't be much older than Jack, yet he was already that high of a level, which meant the Aazoon Prince was likely the most talented noble youth he had met to date.

Glad that he had recently level up and that the prince had no way to see Jack's level for himself, Jack laughed along with the prince. "I think that's fair. Shall we?"