The Achievement Junkie

"G-going once…"

As Everla started the countdown, all the royals looked to Jack's room with determination. They all decided that they would learn who that mysterious person was, no matter what it took.

"Going twice…"

Hurmot and Kaldor were bickering over the final result of the auction, one of them furious at the other two owners and one mad at himself.

"Sold!"

"GONG!!"

"E-everyone, again we'd like to thank you for coming and participating in this year's annual auction. For now, we'd like to ask you all to wait either in the auction hall or in your private rooms as the items we just sold are delivered to their owners," stated Everla, getting everyone to look back to Jack's room.

If not for the two nobles who somehow got the sixth level beasts, all of those items would be delivered to a single man.

They all understood what she meant by that statement. The auction houses were supporting that man's anonymity and didn't want any prying eyes.

"After ten minutes, we'll open the doors of the auction hall and allow everyone to leave as they wish," continued Everla. "We appreciate your support of the auction houses and we look forward to next year's auction. It should be even more glorious!"

As she made that last statement, Kaldor grunted, "You two should've told me that you were going to other such ridiculous items."

"Why? So you wouldn't complain and whine after we completely outshined you?" Hurmot gave a cold laugh. "This is business, you know that. Thanks to that mystery man, the next year's auction will be amazing! Good luck scavenging items to keep up next year."

Hurmot finished speaking as he left the room, leaving Kaldor to wallow in anger.

Up in his private room, Jack sat down on the couch as he waited for all of his new items to be delivered. "Argyle, those Phoenix Lilies were yours, right?"

"Yup."

"Are you really okay with that?"

"Of course!" replied Argyle with a resounding laugh. "For me, they just stay in storage all the time. And thanks to you, I won this year without any debate. Even that wise Hurmot couldn't compete with my daring plan this year."

"If you say so."

Soon, a knock came from the door. Again, it was the managers. And, again, Jack said nothing, only exchanging the items through the side compartment.

He quickly took out the bouquet of Phoenix Lilies. A decision had to be made.

Phoenix Lilies were wondrous items that would keep someone from dying. Upon death, the holder of a Phoenix Lily would revive with half of their strength. In a world without respawn or resurrection, this item was literally a lifesaver.

But there was one problem. There only had six Phoenix Lilies.

They now had a party of eight, nine if Jack included Bowzer. This complicated things.

"Here you go Lina, make sure you always keep this with you."

"Thanks, Big Bro! It's so pretty." Lina smelled and cherished the beautiful flower.

He then looked at the last five flowers in his hand. With them, Jack looked at everyone else in the room. "Guys, these are Phoenix Lilies, if you didn't know. With them, the holder will instantly be revived after a killing blow, but I only have five left…"

"Let the girls have them," stated Maynard.

Rydel nodded. "Yeah, they should have them."

In response, Jack walked up to both of them and handed them each a lily. "Maynard, you'll always be on the front lines and will likely be away from the cleric the most. You should have one. And Rydel, you'll be the party scout so you'll have plenty of times where you are on your own and might need this."

Neither of them rejected the item. They understood that Jack was trying to divvy them up based on the party's needs, so they couldn't argue.

Next, Jack looked at the remaining four girls.

But before he could say anything, Daliea spoke up while shaking her head. "I don't need that. Just let the others have them. Remember, I've got the most magic and the most mana out of everyone here. With my illusion magic, I can always escape from trouble in the worst-case scenario."

Touched, Jack smiled sincerely a Daliea. He was glad he wouldn't have to worry about the girls growing apart from the uneven distribution of such valuable items.

Handing the last three out to the remaining girls, Jack sighed, "Also, I have these to give you both."

Both mythic-tier spellbooks appeared in his hands as he extended them toward Keela and Eliza. "I'm only doing this because when you learn them, I'll also have a chance to eventually learn them thanks to my subclass. Make sure to use them wisely."

Eliza gladly took it and jumped up to hug Jack. "Thanks, Jack!" She also tried to kiss his cheek, but he pushed her off of him before she was able to.

Keela smiled and gratefully took it. Standing up, she also hugged Jack, but it was quick and obvious that she wasn't trying anything more.

Jack looked back to Argyle and took out the mythic-tier sword. "Do you want this back?"

"You mean it?!" He got excited and started to reach out for the sword.

"For the right exchange, I'm willing to give it back."

"That's what I figured… What do you want?"

"I'm willing to give up the sword but only for something from your restricted storage."

Argyle sighed and scratched the side of his face. "I should've known… Very well, I'll show you the Fat Goose's restricted storage later. For now, we'll have to wait for the royals and everyone else on the third floor to leave."

"Can't we just leave, you and me?" Suddenly, Jack's entire appearance changed into that of a Baral, the Fat Goose's first manager.

"I guess that works. Follow me."

The two then left the others alone in the room, without worry.

They ran into a couple of royals who were lounging in the hallway and had seen Argyle and "Baral" exiting Jack's room. One of them was familiar to Jack and asked Argyle, "Master Argyle, do you know the man from that room? I'd like to invite him to a feast."

"Sorry, but I have sworn to absolute secrecy. No one is allowed to know his identity or inquire about him from the Fat Goose," replied Argyle with a quick nod while continuing to walk past.

Jack looked back at the Maltor king, curious what his motives might be.

Argyle led Jack to the back of the guild quarters and eventually to a door with a magic seal. He took out a key covered in inscriptions and placed it in the door. At the same time, the inscription on the door started to glow and move.

"Everything beyond this door is only known by myself and Baral, so like everything else about you, keep these things a secret. And if you want something, just ask and I'll let you know if I find it to be a fair trade," explained Argyle.

"Very well."

Both of them entered the room and resealed the door behind them and let no one know that they were inside.

"Go ahead, take a look around."

Before Argyle told him to do so, Jack was already inspecting every item on display.

There weren't too many items, only a couple of dozen. But there were also some empty spaces, most likely from the items that were just auctioned off and not yet replaced by what the Fat Goose had received in exchange.

Jack only found a handful of mythic-tier items, but no legendary items.

A bit bummed but still happy to get something valuable, Jack inspected the four remaining mythic-tier items.

Though Jack didn't say it out loud, Argyle understood that those four items were all mythic-tier and were valued around the same price as that sword.

"Which one do you like?" asked Argyle.

Jack focused on two of the items, going back and forth between them. It took him almost a minute, but he finally pointed at one of them. "I want this one."

"Hmm… Interesting, but that makes sense since you can use that item now and not at lv. 70 like the rest. But can you actually use that?" stated Argyle jokingly. "I accept the offer."

After a toss of the sword, Jack then grabbed the mythic-tier spellbook with a big grin. Jack brushed his fingers over the cover and mumbled the spell's name to himself, "Time Stop…"

"I know you want to learn it right away, but we should get back to everyone else," stated Argyle, pulling Jack back to reality. "You'll probably have to stay the night, but after that, we can sneak you our the place. I'll order a feast to be prepared."

While he said that, Argyle was twirling his "new" sword around, quickly adjusting to its weight. Rather than putting it back into the restricted storage, he happily stored it away in his personal storage for later use.