The Achievement Junkie

Next on stage was a lv. 30 holy sword and all eyes were on it.

"This falchion is blessed by the Molten God, giving it the ability to heat up and slice through anything it touches. This sword will also be starting at thirteen thousand gold."

"Thirteen thousand gold!"

"Twenty-five thousand gold!"

The whole crowd looked back to Jack's room, feeling more certain that the same proud youth had come again to run away with everything.

Maura was eyeing that sword and was waiting to see if anyone dared to challenge Jack.

"Twenty-five thousand gold going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

While everyone got ready for the next item, a person came and delivered the sword to Jack's room. Then, Jack simply put it away without showing it or giving it away.

Maura frowned sadly and stared at the unfazed Jack. "Jack… can I--"

"That sword is too low leveled for you. Since you're about to reach lv. 35, it's best to get you lv. 35 weapons. Just be patient," stated Jack, catching Maura off guard and putting a smile on her face.

Two more lv. 30 holy weapons but Jack made no bids on either of them. The crowd felt a bit restless as if they were expecting Jack to take them away like last time.

What was brought out next, surprised most of the crowd.

"Roar!"

In a steel cage, a large lion stood in front of everyone. "This is a Twintailed Lion, a lv. 30 beast with a fourth-level bloodline. It can be yours starting at thirteen thousand gold!"

"Thirteen thousand gold!"

"Fifteen thousand gold!"

The crowd went crazy for it, trying their best to get their hands on the beast.

Jack stared blankly at the beast. Its bloodline was as strong as a few of their companion beasts, but it wouldn't be any better than them.

The kind of beast Jack wanted was a giant beast to carry the party. Though the Wind Roc with a sixth-level bloodline might get that big eventually, it would take a long time. And there were some beasts used specifically for party travel, which was perfect for them.

Selling for twenty-six thousand gold, the lion roared one last time before it was taken away.

Next up was a Giant Badger. They were typically used for digging, construction, or demolition, but could also work well with earth type mages to help control opponents and defend.

Like before, Jack and his party were uninterested in the badger and let it go by without any bids.

A few more fourth-level beasts came and went, eagerly getting bought up by those on the first floor.

"Next, we have a special lv. 30 item. It's a rare secure storage ring. With it you'll be able to safely store your things without anyone else being able to inspect it without your permission or before your death," explained the auctioneer. "We have yet to unlock it, so it's contents are still unknown. Keep that in mind as you start the bid with sixteen thousand gold!"

"Six--"

"Thirty thousand gold!"

All eyes looked to Jack's room with dumbfounded expressions. Raising the price was one thing, but almost doubling it for the first bid, again? They all felt certain that the same reckless, wealthy young man was back and would fight to get his hands on everything.

The biggest question in the minds of the crowd was how much money and wealth did Jack bring this time?

"Thirty-one thousand gold!"

Another voice came from the third floor. It was aged and experienced, most likely from one of the many kings that had come out.

"Thirty-two thousand gold!" shouted another man on the third floor.

A third king yelled, "Thirty-three--"

"Forty thousand gold!"

Jack did it again, causing even the kings to question how much wealth the rumored young man had, and who was he with to have so much money.

"Forty thousand gold going once! Going--"

"Forty-one--"

"Forty-five thousand gold!"

Without hesitation or mercy, Jack controlled the bid and demanded his prize.

"Forty-five thousand gold going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

While the royals all felt uneasy with a surprise bidder throwing money so wantonly, the crowd get more excited every time they heard Jack's altered voice. Thanks to Jack, the annual auction was going to get very interesting.

Inside Jack's room, everyone was acting normal except for Argyle.

He knew the background information on that very ring and was the one who informed Jack about it prior to the auction. Argyle realized that this was the item Jack was going to practically steal away from the Golden Haven Auction House.

"Jack, is that it?"

"Yup, that's it."

"But why?!" questioned Argyle. "Sure, it's a secure storage ring but there's also a lv. 50 secure storage ring for sale on day three. Wouldn't that ring have better goods than a lv. 30 one?"

"Who said I was after what was inside?" laughed Jack.

He kept Argyle in suspense, not fully explaining himself until the ring finally arrived. After the exchange, Argyle kept asking, "So, what's inside? What's so great about that item?"

Jack was smiling, opening his achievement list and staring at his latest achievement.

Then, he suddenly frowned. "Argyle, have you heard of a place called the Earthen Keep?"

Argyle blinked and stroked his beard. "No, I haven't. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"Greeeeaaat…" sighed Jack, shaking his head. He reread the achievement, sulking in his bad luck.

[Find StarryTrex's Hidden Tomb: in progress]

[Find StarryTrex's hidden tomb deep inside the Earthen Keep. Reward: 86 skill points, access to his saved data.]

Jack vividly remembered who StarryTrex was, yet another guild leader like Ponlinne. But he also remembered Earthen Keep.

If Argyle hadn't heard about it, that meant it was a sealed ancient dungeon. And to be honest, Jack was glad that it was sealed.

It was a grind dungeon for lv. 80's, an ancient keep built inside of an underground dungeon. Though the thought of getting more guild goodies was tempting, it wasn't even close to convincing Jack to storm Earthen Keep at his current level.

"Jack, what's wrong?" asked Rydel. "Didn't you say that the ring was what you wanted most? Well, now you have it but you're upset. Do you mind explaining why?"

"The ring was a memento of a powerful ancient hero, so I thought I'd be able to find his hidden tomb. Sadly, we won't be going near his tomb for a loooong time…" sighed Jack.

"Seriously? How do you know it belonged to an ancient hero?" asked Argyle, realizing that Earthen Keep should be the tomb is supposedly hidden. "And you know what the Earthen Keep is, right?"

"I know it's a hero's item because of my subclass, that's all I can say," stated Jack. "As for the Earthen Keep, I know what it once was during Ancient Kartonia. But if you haven't heard of it, then it should be a sealed ancient dungeon by now."

"Really?! Then we'll have to go there, I'll join you even!"

Argyle's favorite part about being the owner of the Fat Goose was chasing down hidden treasures and dungeons. So the moment he heard that the Earthen Keep was still sealed, he was eager to take all of its treasures before anyone else.

"Not happening." Jack shook his head and noticed another lv. 30 holy item on stage, but it wasn't what he wanted either.

"Why not? With me, you'll be fine. I've yet to meet an ancient dungeon I can't conquer," boasted Argyle. "And since we'd be the first ones, imagine all of the goods we could find."

Jack glanced at Argyle and raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to enter a lv. 80 grind dungeon?"

"Huh…"

"That's what the Earthen Keep is. It was one of the few dungeons used to help ancient heroes go from lv. 80 to lv. 85. So unless you're willing to die, I'd recommend you not ask about Earthen Keep until your at least lv. 80."

"..."

Argyle had nothing to say. His sudden excitement was destroyed and he now understood why Jack went from extremely happy to the frustrated. To know of such a great place yet to have no ability to even enter it was very disheartening.

The auction continued and they eventually started selling lv. 35 holy items.

"This bow is a lv. 35 holy weapon crafted by the elves of the Korten Kingdom. All arrows fired from the bow will be launched with a burst of wind to increase the bow's range and strength," explained the auctioneer. "This will start at twenty-three thousand gold, so who will--"

"Forty-five thousand gold!"

Again, Jack startled everyone and took anything he wanted, regardless of what others thought or did.

"Forty--"

"Fifty thousand gold!"

"... Fifty thousand gold going once! Going twice… Sold!"

"Gong!"

There were many kings who glared at Jack's booth. Most of the royals had spoken or messaged each other to try and figure out who was inside that booth, yet no one was able to figure it out.

To the royals, the person was a ghost. They had no information on him and they had no way to find information on him.