The Achievement Junkie

'Also, I've already been charged with the mission to kill the greatest dragon of all.';

'You… You would dare such a thing?' Phara questioned the young hero, baffled by his unearthly confidence. 'Say that all you want, but I'll still need proof of this.'

Jack sighed. 'And exactly how should I prove it, Phara?'

'That I'm not sure, but I will say that you intrigue me far more than I anticipated, Jack.'

'Hmm… Phara, if I let you look at my stats will you be able to read my title?'

'Stats? You mean your information? I was wondering why I was unable to see through your strength. I should see it if you removed the ability blocking it.' As Phara finished her sentence, Jack unequipped his cloak and revealed himself in a cheap shirt and pants. At first, Phara was confused by Jack's weak strength at lv. 49 but was then startled by his class and title. 'Hero class… and Demigod? What are the meanings of these things?'

'I'm one of three people with the hero class, each receiving the blessing of a main god. I've received Daruun's blessing as the God of Fate. Also, I've been made a demigod by my adoptive parents, Lunara the Water Goddess and Sterfen the God of Secrets. In the future, I'm likely to become a god because of that,' Jack explained. 'Is my story more believable now?'

While the Minokawa Sovereign relayed Jack's request and offer to the elders, she took a moment to think for herself. But the Minokawa elders were confused and enraged.

'So weak! And yet we let him speak with the sovereign? Throw him out!'

'But what is that title? Or that class?'

'Those don't matter if one is too weak to uphold such a bold promise.'

'We could investigate further, but I doubt it's worth the effort'

The elders began to bicker and shout aloud, questioning what they should do with Jack and his lower leveled strength.

'Silence! He is my guest for the moment, so there will be no slandering him without just cause,' Phara ordered, demanding cooperation. 'Jack, as you can see, the elders won't be convinced. I'm sorry but I must reject your request.'

'But I'm traveling with a Hell-flame Fox that can rival dragons. And if you look closely now, he too is a demigod,' stated Jack, not losing his cool quite yet.

'That… That's true…'

Phara reexamined the Hell-flame Fox. Before, she was able to feel the raw strength of his bloodline, which rivaled hers and possibly surpassed it. However, the second time revealed the fox to also be a demigod and made her feel the fox's bloodline strength more clearly.

'If that's not enough to convince you, then how about this? Bowzer, so them how big you really are.'

'Okay!'

Without hesitation, Bowzer dropped the unconscious cripples and lept to the side of the cloudy summit where there was more room. Then, everyone else suddenly felt a shower of heat wash over them. The party members weren't startled or scared, but the looks on the elders' faces twisted at the sight of the large fox becoming a hulking flame body towering over them and letting his unadulterated bloodline show off its strength.

Even Phara, the lv. 71 Minokawa Sovereign felt a tinge of fear in her heart as she looked at those white flames dancing around Bowzer.

"We may only be lv. 49 for now, but we're more than strong enough now to fend for ourselves," Jack shouted for all to hear. "If you don't like the idea of gaining the favor of two future gods before they ascend to godhood, then that's on you. We'll just be going then. I wish your people the best, Phara."

Bowing one last time, Jack sighed and turned away from the Minokawa Sovereign. He signaled to the party as he began to leave, but even the party was in shock.

Other than Tralon, the news contained in Jack's last statement was core-shaking to the high-level men. No one had ever made such a statement in all of their lives, but no one else ever had the rumored demigod title that they saw Jack and Bowzer reveal before their eyes.

'Wait, Jack!' Shaking the initial nerves off, the lv. 71 Minokawa flapped her wings and appeared before the fleeing Jack. 'Stay. We may be able to reason with the elders after that show you put on.'

'Good, then I can tell Bowzer to stop?'

'Yes.'

'That's enough, Bowzer. Don't scare them too badly,' laughed Jack.

While Bowzer reverted to his original form and returned to the side of the party to carry the beaten councilmen, the Minokawas were nervously reviewing the words their ancestors had spoken. The ancient words spoke of a natural strength so powerful that it could weaken the Minokawa bloodline, suppressing it and forcing cooperation; that was what it felt like before a true dragon. That was also the first time the elders personally experienced such a thing and wondered if the fox could actually rival a dragon.

'I don't believe any of the elders wish to question their strength after witnessing the fox's bloodline. Am I correct to assume so?' Returning to her spot atop the cloud peak, Phara looked to the elders around her.

'I have no reason to question them. Though they aren't the strongest in level, the difference in bloodline strength is enough for them to put up a fight,' one elder stated.

Another elder shook their head. 'They may be strong, but that means nothing to us. Why should we give up a youth in such a gamble.'

'Yes, it would be a gamble, just like everything else in life. We could turn them away and stick to tradition or we could take the chance and see just how strong one of our own can become. What if there's a chance to rival the strength of dragons in the future?' A different elder spoke up to share his reasoning.

'But that risk is too great!' argued the final elder.

'It seems that the elders are split on the decision, which means that my vote will be the deciding factor,' Phara stated, getting the elders to stop bickering.

She took a last moment to look over Jack and speak with him directly. 'Jack, what level can you guarantee that this youth will reach?'

'In time, they'll reach a minimum of lv. 80 and might reach lv. 89.'

'And what if they perish before that point?'

'Then I'll have already died alongside it.'

Phara blinked and hesitated. Finally, she spoke out, 'Call forth Phoro.'

'Your majesty! But these--'

'Silence! I gave my order, do you dare disobey?' A bestial aura surrounded Phara and pressed against the elders.

'N-no, I don't dare deny the word of the Sovereign.'

'Good, then fetch Phoro immediately.'

That cowering elder regained his composure and grunted loudly as he flew past Jack. Within a few minutes, the elder returned with a younger Minokawa at his side, still eyeing Jack angrily.

The younger lv. 47 Minokawa was still over two meters in length from tip to tail and had feathers with a silver sheen leading into a noble purple, similar to that particular elder eyeing Jack.

'Mother, Father brought me here as quickly as he could. What is it you need of me?'

'Phoro, from this point on, you'll be leaving this sealed space as a companion to this human,' Phara explained. 'You'll be mutuals and equals in all things. Also, with the help of this human who has godly potential, you'll become the strongest Minokawa of all, even greater than our ancestors.'

Sighing, Jack now understood the anger and impartiality of that elder giving him the death stare.

'But Mother, I've yet to reach lv. 50 and we've always been trapped in this sealed space. How can I simply leave?' Phoro questioned indifferently.

'Look to this human and that fox. You'll notice their status as demigods. Also, that fox has a bloodline that surpasses ours and can compete with that of the dragons. You'll join them on their quest against the dragons of the outside world, creating a place for our race to gain a foothold and reign as we should.'

'Then I'll complete this mission to the best of my ability, Sovereign.' Phoro bowed, still not showing any emotion.

'By the time you've completed this task, you'll have already grown stronger than myself and inherited my title as well.' Phara also bowed but looked again to Jack. 'Take care of my son. If not, I'll do everything in my power to hunt you down and kill you, even if you become a god.'

Jack and everyone in the party bowed. 'Thank you, Phara. As I said before, we'll protect him with my life just as I would for Bowzer or Bowzer would for me.'

'Jack.' Catching on quickly, Photo turned to him and bowed. 'I'll be in your care. Together, let us end the reign of the dragons.'

Next, Jack took out the supplies to perform the mutual seal. 'This will sting for a little bit, but it will mentally link us over any distance and allow us to share EXP.'

'Very well, then proceed.'

With Phoro's permission, Jack created the mutual seal. Now, the two were linked indefinitely.