The Achievement Junkie

"Tralon! Finally, you've come to see me… Argyle? When did you arrive in town?"

A well-dressed man in a blazer approached Tralon and Jack as they passed the common area of the guild, falling for Jack's disguise.

"Quallace… Why are you so far in my guild house? You're supposed to wait near the reception area unless you have an appointment, which you don't." Tralon acted indifferently as he reprimanded the man.

"Tralon, that's enough drivel. I'm a Council Member, and since you were not replying to my calls I came to find you," stated Quallace.

"Well, now you know I'm already busy." Tralon smiled. "I'll arrange an appointment in the next few days, so if you would please--"

"Tralon, I'm not going anywhere until you sit with me," Quallace demanded.

"Just because you're lv. 69 doesn't mean you have the right to act so proudly in front of me. I was once lv. 85 and have fought alongside ancient heroes against the gods. You're nothing compared to them," Tralon chuckled.

Quallave's lip twitched. "Tralon, I will be heard out. I demand it! Without our support, you'll soon lose your seat on the council, and what will happen to your failing guild then? Why not simply donate--"

"If you're about to claim something as idiotic as donating all of the merchandise I'm planning to acquire, then I'll force you to listen to me!"

Startled by "Argyle's" sudden statement, Quallace cleared his throat and looked back to him, acting far more calm and reasonable than he was to Tralon. "Argyle, please, don't take this the wrong way. The Leisure Guild has been the pride and treasure of Trodar for so long, yet it's failing. We wish for its power to stay in Trodar, even if the guild has to downsize."

"Still, what you're doing now in an infringement on my dealings with Tralon. Are you willing to pay the consequences of that personally?"

"I…"

"It's best you go, Quallace. We both know that Argyle is a reasonable man until he gets angry. Now I have to deal with the results of your actions. Please, leave me till the time I'll appoint," stated Tralon, hiding his smile.

"Fine, then I'll be back in three days."

"Make it one week. I'll be leaving on business with Argyle. Unless you want to take that up with him?"

"No… Then I'll be back in one week," replied Quallace. "You'd better be here by then."

"I'll be patiently waiting."

Tralon and Jack watched Quallace storm away, furious to have a false Argyle stand in his way. They both laughed and continued to Jack's room, casting silence as they entered.

"Here you are, Jack. Also, thank you."

"Nah, don't mention it. That pestro wanted to mess with my guild, I would act like that even if I wasn't pretending to be Argyle," Jack laughed, recounting Quallace's flustered face.

"Then I'll come to pick you up in the morning."

"Hey, Tralon, should we call Argyle for help?" Jack asked.

"Well… That's up to you. Why would you suggest something like that?"

"Since no one has regulated the storehouse for over one thousand years, do you think the artificial dungeon could've grown more dangerous?"

"That's possible, but I'm not entirely sure. However, I wouldn't be against opening a rift for Argyle if you'll convince him to come."

Jack nodded and pulled out his contact crystal. "Hey, Argyle, you still up?"

"Jack? What do you need?"

"Are you busy at the moment?" Jack asked.

"Well, not at the moment."

"And for the next few days?"

Argyle took a moment to reply, "I have a meeting with Hurmot since he's been begging me to tell him everything there is to know about you. Why? What do you need from me?"

"Tell Hurmot to reschedule and that I'd be willing to join him for a drink in the near future. But for now, I need your help in Trodar."

"In Trodar? Why should I go help you? Aren't you busy with your party?"

"Actually, we've temporarily split up so that I can run a few errands," Jack explained. "But don't worry, Eliza and Maura are both very safe with everyone else. I'm alone with Bowzer and Tralon for the time being."

"But if you're with Tralon, then why do you need me?"

"Because tomorrow we're storming the Leisure Guild's storehouse."

"You're what?!" Hammered with the unexpected truth, Tralon took a moment to cast silence around him before continuing, "You three are going to storm the storehouse?"

"Yes, but we wanted to bring you along as insurance. You see, no one has regulated the storehouse since I left during ancient times. Before, there were only beasts between lv. 50 and lv. 65 if you include our mini-boss. But now, we're not sure what levels they are."

"What's in it for me?"

Jack chuckled, "I'll let you have one thing, be it on my current person or in the storehouse."

"Done. Tell Tralon to open the rift from my office."

In seconds, Argyle was standing before them. But he was startled when he looked back at himself. "Jack, is that you?"

"You guessed it," Jack laughed as he reverted to his true self and let Bowzer back out. "To reduce suspicion I was you for a little while. It came in handy too since an idiot council member came by to try and steal all of our stuff."

"Which member?" Not caring about Jack's antics, Argyle looked to Tralon for an explanation.

Tralon sighed, "It was Quallace. But he's not the only one behind this. Nearly half of the council is trying to get their hands on the guild."

"That's… That's absurd! You'd sooner sell it to me than donate it to selfish pestros like them!"

Jack laughed even harder, "That's what I told him! Quallacedonly left quietly cause I shut him up while parading as you."

"Then I'm glad you brought me here. I'd be coming back sooner or later, but I'm glad it's sooner." Argyle relaxed a bit after laughing with Jack. "After this, I'd like to meet with you about some business, Tralon."

"It would be my pleasure."

"Also, I hope you don't mind, but I'll be testing out those mythic weapons you returned to me, Jack," Argyle joked. "Don't be mad if I break the dungeon you created long ago."

"Naw, you're fine. I only made it for an achievement anyway, and I thought it would be fun to place it in the storehouse for kicks and giggles," Jack replied. "Now that I'm back, I'm just after what lies behind those doors. And if everything works out as I wanted, then you'll be seeing some gods make an appearance in Trodar."

"Are you serious?"

"Mhmm," Tralon chimed in. "We spoke with Sterfen and Choron personally today, so we've got a few plans to revive the faded Neutral Gods in Trodar."

"The Neutral Gods… I've heard about them. Is Sterfen one of them?" In awe, Argyle looked proudly upon his son-in-law. It was the moment Jack proved to Argyle that he really was the best man for his only daughter.

"Yes, but we're also trying to Lunara and Choron to leave their godly factions and join the Neutral Gods so they can go public again," mentioned Jack.

"Wait, what?! Are all the gods still alive? When's this happening?"

"We'll explain everything in the morning. So let's hurry and get some sleep," Tralon added.

"Right… It's a good thing I came here sooner than later…" Argyle mumbled as he walked toward one of the beds. "Wait, why are we waiting and not leaving right now?!"

"Well, I wanted to let Tralon rest so he'll be more prepared for the storehouse," answered Jack.

Argyle shook his head and threw a sparkling blue bottle at Tralon. "There, that should fully replenish his mana with little to no side effects. So let's go already!"

While Tralon chugged the elixir, Jack laughed, "That works too. Bowzer, you'll need to wait a bit longer, cause we're leaving now."