The Achievement Junkie

"Would you like to guess the other five?"

"Hmm…" Jack took his time to answer, pondering and hoping that a select few might be available for people to pledge to. "Honestly, I have no clue. I know about the gods, but I have little to no knowledge about the Holy War or the relationships that exist between the gods."

"I guess that fair to assume," replied Sterfen. "First, I'll tell you that there's definitely one holy god that you must visit whenever possible, Kori."

"Kori? The Fox God?"

"Yes, Kori, the Fox God. You'll understand why when you meet him, but you should definitely visit him, even if no one wants to pledge to him," stated Sterfen. "Now, for the other four. Two of them are holy gods and the other two are chaotic gods."

"Wait, doesn't that mean that Halmut's side is technically weaker since there's more division amongst the holy gods?" asked Jack.

"Right again, that's exactly how it is. It's for that reason that Halmut took advantage of Lunara, your mother."

Still getting used to the sudden family dynamic he was thrust into, Jack chuckled. "So, that means that Halmut's struggling more than Skaryn, now?"

"That's complicated. Skaryn was in fact sealed away by Halmut, but Halmut wasn't much better off thanks to his grave injuries. One is sealed and one has uncurable injuries. This is why it's up to their champions to settle most things," explained Sterfen.

"Now, back to the rebel gods. From the holy gods, we have your mother and Kori, as well as Perchet and Lyrun."

"Lyrun?! Lyrun rebelled?!"

"I know it's hard to believe, but he has," mentioned Sterfen. "It's strange that Lyrun, the God of Space, the third strongest of the ten holy gods, rebelled, but it's true. The other three are the lowest of the holy gods, so its a bit more understandable."

Jack instantly turned to Eliza, who was smiling wide.

Not everyone knew all of the gods, but it was common for them to know a couple of gods that they favored like Eliza did with Lyrun, the Nature God.

"As for Perchet, I'm not sure if you'll have someone fit to pledge to the God of Sound, so I'll mention the other two," continued Sterfen. "I think your old pal, Tralon, will be happy that Moranti has rebelled."

"Moranti too?!"

"Yes, both Moronti and Choron have rebelled out of the ten chaotic gods. As for any of the gods who haven't rebelled, don't dare to step foot in their temples or shrines. It may cost your life," warned Sterfen.

"Father, of all the neutral and rebel gods, who do you think would be best for my friends?" asked Jack, hoping that Sterfen's opinion would heavily influence the decisions of his party members.

All those who were listening in on the conversation suddenly felt Sterfen's gaze see through them. They felt completely naked and exposed in his eyes.

"For starters, Rydel and Maura are already accounted for. As for Maynard, you'll be in good hands with Jin, very good hands. Obviously, Eliza should pledge to Lyrun, no questions asked," explained Sterfen. "Keela may need to pledge to Dragas, but then you'll have to help her with that one."

Giving his new son a crude smile, Sterfen laughed, making Jack even more curious about the matter.

"You don't yet know why, but I assure you that Eedaj is the god Daliea should pledge to."

"Eedaj? The Mind God?" Daliea mumbled to herself.

"If you say so." Jack shrugged, trusting Sterfen's opinion of the gods more than his own, for good reasons.

"But also, you really should visit Kori as soon as possible," added Sterfen. "Make it as urgent as possible."

"But why--"

"Just do it, or you'll regret it."

Jack sighed, "Fine, we can squeeze it into our plans I guess."

"Great! Now, I'll go prepare some lunch. Please, make your selves at home. We have plenty of guest rooms, so don't worry about anything. We can only wait until our precious daughter is finally born," said Sterfen as he left back through the hallway.

For the next two days, the party spent their time with Sterfen and Lunara as they prepared for their child to finally be born.

Most of the time the party members kept to themselves, each person pondering about the god that Sterfen had recommended for them.

Jack spent a lot of time inspecting his skill list, perplexed at what he should do next and still taking in the fact that he suddenly gained five hundred skill points at once.

Looking closely, the words "unique reward" caught his eye. He had no clue that there was something above special rewards, but it made him question his approach to achievements. Eventually, Jack came to a conclusion about special and unique goals after a day of reading over past achievements.

Special rewards were given whenever Jack went above and beyond what the achievement had asked for.

Unique rewards, Jack speculated, came from completing achievements in a way that had never been done before.

Jack was very eager to test this theory, but he would have to wait a bit longer. Once the egg hatched, he would have to help it reach lv. 30 and then he would be able to leave with everyone.

It was already the end of the second day. That was when Bowzer climbed up the stairs to find Jack on the couch, but it was hard for Jack to recognize him.

True, it wasn't too difficult when Jack realized he was the only fox nearby, but Bowzer looked completely different now.

He was almost as big as Jack if he stood on two feet. And his fur was a passionate red, much brighter than his mother's dark brown fur. Bowzer was still his playful self, but he resembled a puppy that had grown up and still thought he was a lap dog.

The moment Bowzer saw Jack on the couch, he leaped into the air and tried to land on his shoulders.

Jack saw Bowzer, but he was too late to avoid the leaping fox.

As Bowzer hit his mark, landing on Jack's upper body, Jack was thrown backward off the couch, tumbling to the polished stone floor. Yet, Bowzer didn't seem to notice and continued to lick Jack's face clean.

Hearing Jack's tumble, everyone came rushing into the great room, startled by the scene in front of them.

While Maynard and Rydel laughed at Jack, the girls all crowded Bowzer and started petting his new fur coat.

Still on top of Jack, Bowzer stopped licking Jack and gave the girls his attention. He let them pet him all over, proud of his colorful fur that was even softer and more protective than before.

"Bowzer, get off me!"

Realizing that he had Jack pinned, Bowzer nodded. 'Okay!'

Jack scrambled to his feet and wiped the slobber from his face. "Bowzer, you're still a cute fox, but I don't think you'll be able to rest on my shoulders anymore."

'Huh?! Why not? Jack no let Bowzer rest on shoulder?' begged the fox, showing everyone his big, puppy dog eyes.

"Aaaaah!" captivated by Bowzer's cuteness, the girls proceeded to hug Bowzer tenderly.

'One second, Bowzer. You can play with the girls until I'm done' Jack ordered mentally with an annoyed look on his face.

Since Bowzer was no longer interrupting him, Jack returned to his skill list and purchased a few things. One hundred skill points went to Pocket Dimension because he felt it was absolutely necessary. Another two hundred and forty skill points upgraded mana capacity and mana regeneration to lv. 5. Sixty skill points also went to upgrade health regeneration to lv. 4. Finally, Jack spent one hundred skill points on Blood Thrust and Blood Cross, leaving him with ten skill points.

It took him a few days to decide his spending strategy. In the end, he decided to play it safe and spend his points to strengthen his passive skills and low mana abilities rather than blow it all on a single, high-cost spell. Plus, now everyone had more mana to work with, meaning he would be better suited for when he finally bought peak tier spells.

Satisfied, Jack looked at saw Bowzer rolling around with the four women rubbing his belly.

For a moment, Jack felt a tinge of jealousy but said and did nothing.

Instead, he went downstairs. Sterfen had already told them that the egg could hatch anytime now. And since it was a once in a lifetime experience, Jack wanted to see the hydra hatch from its egg.

"Come down guys, or do you want to miss the show?"

Maynard and Rydel hurried behind Jack while the women slowly followed along. Soon, they were back in the giant room, watching Lunara in her hydra form pouring bottomless water type energy into the egg.

Sterfen was sitting on one of her hands, passing some of his energy to his tired wife. At this rate, the egg was glowing on its own, ready to hatch at any moment. Then, finally, the egg trembled a little.