The Achievement Junkie

On the side of the bloodline machine were a few different brushes sitting inside a jar of ink. Each had a different sized tip and would be used for various seals. Jard grabbed one of the thinner ones and brushed the excess ink it had on the edge of the jar to keep it from dripping. "Come here you two, and don't move no matter what. The mutual seal is one of the most difficult to draw and even when linking your seals, you must remain still. If not, you will fail and there will be a backlash."

Jack stood and carried Bowser with him as he walked back to the middle table. After putting down Bowser, they both turned and looked at Jard.

"Good, now stick out your right palm Jack and please have Bowser bow his head." Jard's commands were obeyed and the two of them waited for the next instructions. "I will now begin drawing your seals, so be patient as they must be perfect. I've never performed a mutual seal outside of practice, so please be extra patient with me."

Rydel sat down at the side of the room as he was mesmerized by Jard's strokes. They appeared to be long and never-ending, but they were kept within the palm of Jack's hand. After a few minutes and a couple of corrections made by Jard, he faced Bowser with a nervous smile on his face. Understanding Jard's intentions, Bowser bowed his head and calmly waited for Jard to finish.

Amazed by how cooperative Bowser was, Jard chuckled as he began to draw the exact same seal on Bowser's small forehead. This took almost twice as long for Jard to fix his errors and get it perfect, but as time passed Jard eventually lifted his hand.

"Now there's only linking the mutual seals. Jack, press your palm firmly on your fox's head and endure the piercing pain. The seals will activate upon contact and will slowing sink back into your flesh, creating a permanent bond between you two," explained Jard slowly.

Nodding his head, Jack turned back to Bowser and showed a bright smile. Bowser did the same and held his head up high. With a deep breath, Jack lifted his hand and followed Jard's instructions, carefully laying the seal on his palm over the seal on Bowser's head.

Suddenly, pain shot through Jack's hand and into Bower's skull. They both winced as the held strong under the pain. Jack was sweating profusely, using his left arm to brace and support his weakening right arm. The pain felt like it was piercing through his palm and carving out the muscles in Jack's hand. It was the same story for Bowser, only the pain felt like it was carving grooves into his skull.

Both Jard and Rydel swallowed saliva as they saw how painful a mutual seal was.

Everyone always talked about how they coveted a mutual seal, but too few people understood how painful and taxing a mutual seal was.

Most seals had a parent and child seal, binding the child seal to the parent seal. The parent seals weren't too painful and would slowly fade into your skin, but the child seals were typically excruciating.

Those seals were used on beasts and slaves alike, but none of them were as piercing or long-lasting like a mutual seal. The mutual seal had more capabilities that would create an irreversible, mutual bond between the two participating, this was why it took longer and was far more painful.

After five minutes passed the seal had disappeared from Jack's palm and surfaced on the back of his hand.

The pain began to fade as the newly set seal began to disappear within Jack's skin. It didn't take too much longer for the seal to disappear completely and for Jard to speak up. "It's finished, you can relax now."

Jack collapsed to the floor and he sat with his legs crossed. His breathing was scattered, and all his clothes were damp from his sweat.

Bowser laid down on the table and appeared to be napping with his eyes shut.

Glancing at his hand Jack asked, "That's it? What exactly does a mutual seal do?"

"A mutual seal is incredibly rare, and we don't know 100% of its capabilities. What we do know is that now you'll be leveling up together from now on, as if you two share EXP. Also, you can now sense each other's presence and to help find each other no matter the distance. The further away you are, the fainter the feeling but it will be there. Rumors say that as you grow together, eventually you two will be able to communicate telepathically but that might just be rumors." Jard explained it simply and calmly while Jack was gathering his breath.

"Hopefully those rumors are true," said Jack, picturing the conversations he and Bowser would have. "Is there anything else rumors say about mutual seals?"

"Well…" Jard answered hesitantly. "There's only one more that comes to mind, but I think this is just a rumor. A few believe that a mutual seal can allow the two carrying it to have access to each other's bloodlines and abilities. If the rumor were true, you'd be able to gain a piece of the Hell-flame Fox bloodline for yourself over time. And if you cast any magic to protect or empower yourself, you might eventually be able to affect that fox too."

There was no response from Jack, he was too busy imagining how amazing the mutual seal could potentially be. In his heart, he hoped with all his might that these rumors would be proven true with time.

Jack bowed his head and said, "Thank you Jard, you've done so much for me and I have so little to offer in exchange."

"Just cough up three gold. That will cover the cost of the high-tier bestial ink we used to make the seal. And make sure to contact me after you two find my son and the others," replied Jard.

Jack threw the coins as he stood back up. His legs were still a little shaky, but he was able to steady himself and let Bowser climb back onto his shoulder. "Then, for now, let's part as friends. We'll be back once we're done in the mine."

"Thanks," said Rydel, trying not to be forgotten and left out of this new circle of mutual benefits.

"I thank you two and hope the relationship between us can grow. And if there's ever a need, the Balt Guild will support the Adventurers Association no matter the foe, even if it were the crown." Jard's words revealed some of his true intentions and that he might know more from behind the scenes that were unknown to Jack or Rydel.

With a bow of the head, they thanked each other and exited the room. The quiet guildhall was a nice change of scenery, reminding them that they were back in the world and not only in the company of close friends.

The hunter duo exited, leaving Jard in the lobby as he pondered what might come of this new friendship he had sought to create. A young man came up from behind and asked, "Guild Master, where have you been? There are important matters we need to discuss."

"I was busy and couldn't help it. What's the matter?" said Jard.

"Another party has gone missing within the mine. There were no survivors, just like before."

"So, what's so important about that?" asked Jard.

"That party had two lv. 20's while the rest were all above lv. 10," said the man solemnly.

"What?" Jard was startled. He looked back at the closed front door and said, "For now, don't worry about it. I've got my ways of taking care of the situation."

"Sir, what do you mean?" asked the young man.

"Don't worry about it. Just send a message to the elders that the guildhall must be ready to receive more business thanks to the surprise screening. Is there anything else?"

"One last thing," stated the young man as he handed out a small stack of wanted posters. "These are the new wanted posters like you asked sir."

"Good, we've needed extra funds as business continues to decline." Jard started looking through the posters when he stopped and stared at two particular posters. He laughed, "Looks like my hunch was right."

"Sir?" The young man was curious why the guild master would laugh after seeing a wanted poster.

"Make sure that no one tries to detain these two. Anyone who even attempts will lose a week's allowance and receive thirty lashes," said Jard with a beaming smile.

"But sir, those two have the highest bounties of the lot. We're in desperate need of—"

"I'm saying this for the sake of the guild. Anyone who goes after those two will be biting off more than they can chew," explained Jard. "There's also no personal information listed. I know Jack is low leveled, but his potential is beyond incredible and can't be underestimated. And Rydel is lv. 29, even I'd have trouble facing him. The best part is that the Royal Court also forgot to mention that they're members of the association; do you want to deal with people like that?"

The young man stiffened when he heard Jard's explanation. Jard continued, "They may be friends of mine and wouldn't wish to kill any guild members, but I have a feeling most people trying to hunt them down wouldn't survive long enough to reveal any sort of identity. Now go, inform the elders and announce what I've told you."

Frantically, the young man turned and left in a hurry, happy that he wouldn't be tricked by the scent of money to pursue his death.