The Achievement Junkie

While Bowzer remained at Eliza's side, Trank backed away toward the incoming Jack.

"You seem to be quite attached to that one. Show me your rage," Trank mocked Jack while licking his lips, savoring the reactions he was receiving.

In a fit of anger, Jack's charge was coming at full power. However, that left him wide open to a counterattack from the nimble Trank. Jack's fist glanced the man's side in return for Trank's slash across Jack's back.

"Not bad for losing control. But you'll need to be smarter than that if you want any hope of saving yourselves."

As the two party leaders faced each other in the growing heat of battle, faint red light started to envelop Eliza's fallen body. Bowzer defended her as Trank's men were in shock of the sight. The red glow soon amassed into an ethereal lily at her bosom and sank into Eliza's chest. Once it was fully absorbed into her corpse, the energy dispersed rapidly and the hole in Eliza's neck resealed itself.

Breath rushed back into Eliza's lungs and her blood started to pump anew. Her paling face had blood rushing through it yet again.

Out of reflex, Eliza shot back up. As she sat on the ground, a look of confusion and worry filled her eyes.

"Eliza, don't waste any more time!"

Her attention was brought back to the current situation as Eliza looked back to Keela. "But… How am I--"

"No time for that! We need you!" Keela shouted while keeping track of everyone's health and status, directing her efforts to keep her comrades alive.

Eliza refocused herself and rejoined the battle she had been forcefully removed from, bewildering Trank's men and causing them to worry.

"Men, don't mind her!" exclaimed Trank for all to hear. "That only proves how wealthy these travelers are. They had such a powerful recovery item that could revive one's self… I wonder how many more they have?"

Jack calmed down slightly as Eliza got back on her feet, feeling all the more grateful to Argyle and his generosity to sell him the Phoenix Lilies. On the other hand, he despised Trank all the more.

'Eliza, stay alive… Please.'

'... Of course. You too.'

After a quick mental exchange, both Eliza and Jack returned to the action.

"Come, boy. Don't tell me that's all you've got? How can the association's rising hero be so simple and boring?"

Looking Trank in the eye, Jack took out a dark red sword. It didn't give off any special aura or seem too expensive, but it wasn't showing any sign of damage in the fiery hands that wielded it.

"What an interesting blade… Show me what it can do, or I might get bored and kill one of your friends to pass the time."

Unaffected by Trank's trach talk for the time being, Jack jumped forward. As Trank sidestepped, Jack activated Sudden Death and flanked him. The blade started to glow blood-red as it tried to pierce through Trank's chest.

"Still too slow." Trank leaned back as the blade reached full extension. But to his dismay, the blood-red glow left the blade and continued to drive itself into Trank's torso.

Somewhat startled, Trank activated his skill to vanish and reappear a ways back.

As he caught his breath, Trank felt proud of his choice to waste a skill to evade the attack. He took note of the blood-red glow's reach so he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Too slow."

Trank looked back to see Jack behind him, resetting himself for another Blood Thrust attack. Seeing Jack's leading arm about to pierce his back, Trank decided to dodge to the side of the thrust in order to be most efficient.

As the glowing blade neared the evading Trank, it stopped. And then, it started to go backward.

What Trank wasn't expecting was Jack's deactivation of Blood Thrust and his use of its momentum to hurl a Penetrating Fist with even more speed. It wasted more mana, but it gave Jack the opening.

Eating the flaming fist, Trank coughed up more blood as he was launched into a nearby tree.

Jack looked closely at his almost empty mana bar. Even with the dryad's blessing in place, he was practically running on empty.

Also, Jack noticed something wrong with his left hand. He wasn't able to use it or even clench it in a fist.

"Not bad… for a young boy," coughing blood between words, Trank stood himself back up on slightly shaky feet. "You're good, I'll give you that. But you should be out of mana by now, at least in a few moments. What will you do then?"

That thought was already being pondered in Jack's mind. He understood that Eliza wasn't close enough to their current battleground to support Jack, and he was also against getting closer to her as she had already been killed by Trank, using up her Phoenix Lily.

Jack pulled out an elixir and tried to hurry it to his lips, but Trank suddenly appeared before him.

"Not while I'm here," Trank chuckled.

Jack managed to avoid Trank's assault, but the bounty hunter wasn't targeting Jack. He was targeting the bottle.

While Jack gained some distance, the bottle had already broken and the elixir spilled.

Working at full speed, Jack's train of thought plowed through every idea and strategy it could create to win the current encounter.

Trank casually tilted his head, ignoring the massive amount of damage that his torso had taken thus far. "What is it? You're really out of mana? I'm not sure what level you are, but I'm certain you're lower than me. But I must say, you're mana reserves must be quite vast for your level."

Not daring to respond, Jack stayed focused on Trank. He had enough mana to activate one last attack.

Taking all things into consideration, Jack finally reached a conclusion as to what he could do.

'Rydel, use the life spring jewel.'

'Huh… Whaaaaat?!'

Rydel said more, but Jack paid the hunter no mind. He was busy trying to execute a plan for Trank's death.

"Well, are you coming at me?" Trank asked nonchalantly. "Or shall I come to you?"

Jack was unfazed and gave no response.

"Very well, then here I cooome," joked Trank.

Trank flashed his twisted smile as he lunged at Jack. The hero remained unmoved so Trank continued his assault as planned.

Lightning flickered across his claws as the first one reached for Jack's thigh, easily piercing and wounding him. But Jack was still motionless.

As the first claw was retracted, the second plunged toward Jack's heart, a blow that Jack wound be forced to evade at least partially. But instead, Jack took the blow head-on without flinching. The blade bore into Jack's chest and hit its target despite Trank's anticipation.

However, Trank saw the blood-red glow of Jack's blade rushing toward his own heart. Only then did he realize Jack's plan.

Both attacks cleanly entered their targets, and both targets remained motionless.

On the other side of the battlefield, those on both sides paid close attention to the battle of their leaders. When they saw the final exchange, their fighting ceased.

No one could believe what just happened.

Trank's men found it unfathomable that Jack had managed to kill their leader, even if it was by sacrificing his own life. And Jack's party was shocked by the reckless tactic that Jack chose.

Jack had decided that so long as he managed to kill off Trank, it would give his team the edge over Trank's men. He would need to be resurrected, but his corpse would carry such an item anyway. With him eventually coming back to life, he felt that being killed was a fair trade and a victory.

Of all the party, Bowzer was the one who was hit the hardest by the sight.

The fox's previous anger to Eliza being killed was dwarfed by his sudden surge of rage. He trembled at the thought of losing Jack. Imagining a life without him had become unthinkable for the fox.