The Achievement Junkie

"Don't act so surprised, Grangor. You should never underestimate the power of legendary spells," joked Jack.

"Legendary…" Still overwhelmed, Grangor tried to keep calm.

"So, what do you think of that plan?"

"I… I would like to see evidence of your strength," stated Grangor. "I've heard you out and I like what you're offering, but I've never witnessed your strength and you haven't offered any real proof behind your claim as the dungeon's creator."

"That understandable, I guess." Jack shrugged. "How would you like us to prove those things?"

"I want to see one of your most powerful spells in action. As for your identity, if you can prove that you're connected with a shadow goblin from the outside world, I'll believe you."

"Okay… If I can get her to talk with you, will you have a way to prove she's a shadow goblin?"

"What do you mean? To speak she would need to be here with you."

Jack chuckled and flicked his contact crystal in the air. "Not anymore."

While the goblin chief watched closely, Jack shouted into the crystal, "Hey! Trax! Are you there? Hellooooo?!"

"What is it?! Don't just start yelling at me for no reason," replied the ninja. "Also, why are you calling me over the crystal?"

"I need to speak with Daliea immediately. She needs to know something."

"Fiiine… One sec…" Trax groaned.

Grangor was a bit confused, but he surmised that Jack was having a conversation with someone based on what he could hear.

"Yes, Jack. What's the matter?" A gentle feminine voice came over the crystal.

"Are you sitting? If not, I'd recommend it."

Daliea sat herself on her bed and worriedly asked, "Why? What happened? Are you okay?"

"Daliea… you're not the last shadow goblin."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm standing across a man named Grangor, he's a chief of a tribe two hundred strong. I'm calling you because I need to prove I have ties with you and your race."

"Jack, you found a shadow goblin tribe?!"

Jack nervously chuckled, "That's… a long story. I'll explain everything later, but right now can you somehow prove to Grangor that you're a shadow goblin?"

"Let me speak with him." Daliea did her best to calm down and do as Jack asked.

"Here. With this, you'll be able to talk with her." Jack carefully placed the contact crystal in Grangor's hand.

Not entirely sure what to do, Grangor gave it a try. "Oh… Hello? Can you hear me?"

Daliea responded immediately, "Kreychu ara wo."

"K… Kreychu ara wo na?"

When Grangor began to speak in a different language, Jack was blown away. He had never considered that other races might have their own language aside from what was commonly spoken. Once he started thinking about it, he didn't even know what the common language of the world was called.

Jack's curiosity about the differences between Kartonia and "A Hero's Tale" was reignited like it never was before.

However, something became very clear to Jack's party. Grangor was speaking a different language but he was struggling with it. Occasionally he would revert to the common language for a few words before returning to whatever he and Daliea were speaking.

"Here, Jack." Soon Grangor said goodbye to Daliea and returned the contact crystal to Jack.

Jack meant to continue his conversation with Grangor but Daliea hadn't finished speaking. "Jack, thank you so much. I can't believe it… You really found a surviving tribe…"

"There's no need to thank me, Daliea. I'll talk to you about it later. For now, I've got to help Grangor and his tribe with something."

"Alright, but don't hesitate to call me if you need my assistance. Bye, Jack… No way, Eliza! I'm not saying…" A piece of Daliea's conversation outside of the crystal was caught before she dropped their connection, putting a smile on Jack's face.

"By the way, what was that language you two were speaking?" Jack asked Grangor.

Much more willing and excited to receive Jack's help, Grangor replied with a smile, "That was the language of our people. I don't believe it has a name, but that was most definitely the language of our ancestors."

Some blush filled Grangor's grey cheeks. "However… only a handful of us in my tribe can speak it. And though I'm the most proficient, I wasn't able to keep up with your friend."

Laughing, Jack shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I'm sure she can help you and your tribe learn it after this. Now, as for the plan…"

"Yes, I'll agree to whatever you wish. But, please, show me and my people the power of your strongest spell. That will prove that you're capable of clearing this dungeon and it will help convince the others to go along with your plan," reasoned Grangor.

"True… That makes sense."

"If I may," Tralon interjected, "Jack, maybe there's a better way to handle this."

"Really?" Curious, Jack looked back to Tralon. "If there is, then I want to know it."

"It will be strenuous for me and I'll have to waste some of the supplies you bought, but I can kill two birds with one stone," Tralon stated proudly. "I can cast my legendary spell, Spatial Rift, and help the shadow goblins escape the dungeon immediately. However…"

"You'll need a place to put them," Argyle finished Tralon's thought.

"Correct. What do you think, Jack? Are you alright with me wasting potions and needing a bit more rest?"

Pondering the idea, Jack rolled it around his brain in search of what could make it possible. The biggest issue was where he would put them for the time being. If a tribe of over two hundred shadow goblins suddenly appeared, then the world would be alarmed. And since they were stronger than the average warrior of Modern Kartonia, they would be seen as a threat without the proper preparations.

It took a minute or two, but Jack finally came to a conclusion he was willing to accept. "Tralon, we'll do just that. But I'll need to contact someone first."

"I could probably make room for them at the Fat Goose," added Argyle.

"Don't worry about that. I know exactly where to send them for the time being." Jack reactivated his contact crystal and crossed his fingers. "Hey, are you two still chatting away?"

"Yes… What do you require?"

"So, in order to better contact Daruun, I set out to retrieve something from my guild's storehouse. But on the way through its dungeon, I've come across a tribe that's grown while it was sealed away. Can I send them to you and your vast tunnel system for the time being? At least till I can make a place for them in Trodar?"

"That's fine… What race are they?"

"Shadow goblins."

"Shadow goblins?!" Sterfen interjected, having placed his hand on Choron's contact crystal from the get-go. "Jack, you had shadow goblins in your artificial dungeon?!"

"Yeah… I kinda forgot about them, otherwise, I would've gotten them out sooner."

"Jack… you don't know what this means…" Sterfen struggled to get his words out. "I'm guessing you want Tralon to open a rift for them. Do that immediately! You were smart to send them here and keep them out of sight for the time being."

"Right, we'll open it immediately. Thank you, Choron."

"No, thank you, Jack… This will greatly help our cause," Choron chuckled, ending the conversation.

Jack retrieved all the potions he had purchased earlier and passed them to Tralon. "Waste as many potions as you need. We're sending them all to Choron for now."

"Oh… Well thought, Jack." Tralon smiled.

"Choron? As in Choron, the Ninja God?" Grangor eyed Jack, curious to know how he had such connections.

"The same. He's an ally of mine, as well as a few other gods," answered Jack. "You and your tribe will stay with them while I prepare a place for you in Trodar."

"Thank you!" Without any hesitation, Grangor fell to his knees and prostrated himself. "If you can truly make this happen, we will owe you our lives."

"Calm down, it's only--"

"No, we'll truly owe you our lives," continued Grangor. "If my race was wiped out in the outside world, that means you saved us, even if it wasn't in your plans to do so. And by offering us a painless escape into the protection of a god, we'll be forever in your debt."

"Okay, okay, just calm down!" Jack pulled Grangor up off of the floor. "Look, I want your people to prosper again, and that means I need to guarantee that you'll be safe. I'm doing this for me, my guild, and Daliea. Okay?"

"Yes, Master Jack."

"Master…" Jack face palmed himself, unsure how if he could get Grangor to think differently.

"Jack, this is great!" Argyle beamed and slapped his son-in-law on the back. "Now you'll have your own forces. So long as you can equip them with good equipment and train them properly, they'll be a strong force in the continent, possibly one of the strongest."

"Please, Master Jack, allow us to swear fealty to you after you take us away from here." The moment Argyle mentioned training and equipping the shadow goblin tribe, it only proved that Jack was far more capable than Grangor had assumed. If his tribe could truly become one of the most powerful forces in Kartonia, then it was worth swearing fealty to such a mysterious young man.

With that in mind, Jack sighed and chuckled. "Well… I guess I'll accept it."