The Achievement Junkie

Jack's train of thought came to a screeching halt. "Bowser has a pure ancient bloodline?"

"Yeah, kid. Now I wish you hadn't shot the other one," said Rydel, shaking his head in disbelief.

Bowser's eyes dulled a little when Rydel made that comment, so Jack petted him and tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry buddy, you know I didn't mean to kill your mom."

"Hey kid, didn't that pup eat every single bone that night?" asked Rydel.

"Yeah, what of it? He's got a crazy appetite but that's normal for him."

"That's not what I'm getting at. You and I both know where that meat came from and it may have affected that pup's bloodline, right?" said Rydel.

Immediately, Jack understood Rydel's logic and nodded. It was common practice in "A Hero's Tale" to feed your beast companion the bones and meat of its own kind. By doing that, they were able to increase the strength of their bloodline. He looked again at the confused Bowser, who was trying to follow the conversation the best he could.

"Hey Bowser, do you know where that first meal came from?" Jack's question got the fox to shake its little head. Hesitant, Jack continued, "The meat and bones were your mother's. Rydel had taken your mom's body and prepared it for dinner while I followed after you to that giant snake's nest."

Jack waited for Bowser to snarl and bite him in anger but was shocked to see Bowser's eyes start to water.

While many knew that it was a way to make your beast companion stronger, most people wouldn't think that it was a natural occurrence in the beast world. Little did they know that rather than have a funeral, feasting upon the flesh of the fallen was how most ancient breeds believed the fallen spirit could go on to protect those who had consumed its body. For Bowser, his instincts told him that his mother would forever be with him to strengthen him.

Bowser leaped back onto Jack's shoulder and began to lick him uncontrollably, catching both Jack and Rydel off guard.

"That's great!" Jard had looked up from the old book when he heard Jack's conversation with Bowser. "According to this book, most ancient breeds wouldn't perform burials. Instead, they had funeral feasts where they consumed the corpse to preserve the bloodline and strengthen others."

"Seriously!?" The duo yelled at the same time.

Jard nodded and dove his head back into the old, dusty book in search of something.

Jack couldn't help but be glad that what he thought might be gruesome and cruel was customary to ancient beasts. Not knowing about the spiritual purpose behind the funeral feasts, Jard and them wouldn't have been able to guess that Jack and Bowser would grow even closer now.

Bowser knew that Jack had eaten his mother's body, so he assumed that his mother was also protecting Jack. Even Rydel would be treated more warmly by the fox from then on because of this.

"It should be around here," said Jard as his hands slowed and no longer flipped through the pages so rapidly. Jard took a few seconds on each page as he narrowed his search. The two adventurers waited anxiously; it was clear to them that he had to search the old tome to figure out Bowser's bloodline.

A few minutes went by and Jard's eyes went wide as they froze on a particular page. After a few seconds, he swallowed the saliva in his throat and quietly stated, "I think I found it."

Jack hurried to Jard's side and stared at the page. Just like Jard, his eyes became glued to the page as he read the name of Bowser's bloodline. "Hell-flame Fox."

"WHAT!?" Rydel yelled at the top of his lungs when he heard Jack's mumbling.

Jard put his hands up and began to explain, "This fox is hands down the most valuable beast I've ever seen with my own eyes. Anything that can light up three crystals has a decent bloodline and the best modern bloodlines can light up four or maybe five. Some beasts have descendant bloodlines that have branched off of their ancestors. Those beasts can light up six crystals and are typically sought after to be used by the major powers like the Royal Court. If a beast can light up seven, then they are considered to have an ancient bloodline. But lighting up eight… only the true kings of the beast world with the purest of bloodlines can do that. Something like a Hell-flame Fox..."

"But that little pup can't be a genuine Hell-flame Fox? Legends say that Hell-flame Foxes would grow larger than this guildhall." Rydel argued.

The hunter said anything he could think of as a reason to not believe such a powerful, ancient beast was so cute as a pup. He had mentally prepared himself for Bowser to light five crystals and possibly six, but eight was too hard to believe.

"Then, let's read the description," continued Jard. "Hell-flame Fox. Known to be born with an undying flame within their bodies that grows together with the fox.

"No one has gotten close enough to see their true appearance and lived, but fully matured Hell-flame Foxes can create flame bodies bigger than most buildings, giving them extremely destructive power.

"They are one of the most intelligent beasts without question, easily able to understand humans and eventually speak with them. They've only been spotted three times in recorded history. Some mysterious events in history are credited to the Hell-flame Foxes, but no survivors were ever accounted for to confirm the truth."

There wasn't much information given, but Jack and Rydel couldn't deny that it was nearly identical to Bowser. Listening carefully, Bowser nodded his head as if to confirm that he was indeed a Hell-flame Fox. Seeing this, the three of them could no longer question if it were true.

Jack chuckled to himself and buried his face in his hands.

There was once a rare solo event where a Hell-flame Fox was offered as a reward to anyone who could complete it. The hard part was that it was a one-day, surprise event with little to no explanation. No one even knew what a Hell-flame Fox was, let alone be able to prepare so quickly for a high-level event.

In the end, no one was able to finish the quest because the final boss was a Hell-flame Fox that no one could defeat, not even Jack could, though he got close.

Bowser dropped to Jack's lap and looked up to him. When Jack finally lifted his face from his sweaty palms, he noticed the sincerity in Bowser's eyes. His heart melted not only for Bowser's cuteness but also for the fox's determination to be with Jack.

"Boy, I've got to tell you something." Jard's voice brought them all back to reality. "It's a good thing that the prince stopped you at the royal office. If the Royal Court had learned there was an ancient beast within their borders, especially if it were a baby Hell-flame Fox, they would do anything to get their hands on it. If they could raise it as a weapon, not a single nation would willingly war with them."

Hearing that, Bowser grunted in displeasure and puffed out his chest.

Everyone got a laugh from the proud fox and the atmosphere began to lighten.

Jard continued, "Let me help you kid. According to the book, no one has ever seen a Hell-flame Fox outside of its flame body, so no one can tell what it looks like. I'm going to report it as a new descendent level bloodline based on the ancient Inferno Fox. That way it's more believable yet far enough from the truth to avoid most problems. The Royal Court will still try to get their hands on it, but thanks to your membership in the Adventurers Association, I'm sure the association will be willing to step up and protect something so valuable that's already in their lap."

"He's right," said Rydel. "After we finish getting you to lv. 10, we'll head back to Reinolt City and contact HQ. They won't let Bowser get taken, you can bet your life on it."

Jack nodded and brushed through Bowser's lush fur coat with his hand. "If you're so powerful, then how come your mother died from a simple arrow?"

Bowser's expression became grim and filled with contempt. Jack could tell that a lot had happened to Bowser before Jack was lucky enough to meet him. Sadly, at the moment he had no way to fully communicate with the fox pup. Jack set a new goal in his mind, to find a way to communicate with Bowser. Whether it was by finding an item, sufficient leveling for Bowser, or anything else, it didn't matter to Jack.

"What do we do about the beast seal? I think me and Bowser can have a mutual seal even," asked Jack.

"Forget about paying for the test. That test never happened, okay?" claimed Jard. "I'll draw up the mutual seal for the both of you and that'll be the only charge."

Smiling, Jack replied, "Thanks Jard, I'm glad to have such a generous friend."

"It's the least I can do for a new friend," said Jard. He was more than willing to wave the expensive test fee to get in the good graces of someone like Jack, whose potential would shake the world. If it were announced that not only did Jack have a Hell-flame Fox as a beast companion, but he had the one-in-a-million mutual seal as well, every major power would do anything to either gain Jack's favor or end Jack's life.