The Achievement Junkie

Without announcing it to the city or the citizens of Gilga, the Leisure Guild silently welcomed the elven chief and six elven elders. They were led to a large conference room, easily able to fit everyone.

As Gwendon entered the room, he noticed a row of people sitting on the opposite end of the table.

Those people all stood up out of respect for the elves. Jack stood at the center of those men. On one side was Tralon with the new leaders of the Leisure Guild: Vixus, Kims, Kaldor, and Zariff who attended as Kaldor's assistant. On the other side of Jack was an empty seat followed by Argyle and Hurmot, the leaders of the two subordinate guilds under the Leisure Guild.

Seeing that line up startled Gwendon and the elven elders. They had heard rumors of the ancient, legendary hero that had returned and quickly deduced that hero to have been Jack, the man that visited them not even a week ago. That was the main reason they found some interest in meeting with Jack.

But to see the powerful lineup already under Jack's control, their hearts tensed up for a second. They knew immediately that in terms of strength, the guild alone could easily rival a nation, like it could during ancient times.

"Jack, thank you for allowing us to meet so suddenly," Gwendon bowed his head.

Jack nodded back to him. "It wasn't any trouble at all. Let's all sit and talk, be it about possible deals we can make or just sharing information. There's no need to feel pressured while you're here."

Gwendon chuckled, not sure if he should believe that with such a line up before him.

One elder spoke up, asking, "First and foremost, I believe we would all like to verify that you are indeed the ancient hero of recent rumors, the Legend of Trodar. Is that true? And if so, how can you prove it?"

"I can vouch for him."

That new voice entered the room as the door opened and closed. Eedaj then casually walked and sat himself in the empty seat beside Jack. He continued, "Do you need me to verify my identity as well? Or have you already figured it out?"

Gwendon's jaw opened to speak but no words came out. It was easy to understand who that grey-skinned elf was. With the knowledge he and the elders had mixed with the stories of what took place a few days ago, Gwendon and the elders instantly felt a new level of invisible pressure fall on top of their conversation.

Standing up with a full bow, Gwendon took a deep breath before stating, "Eedaj, your excellence, I know I was not part of the generation that ignored your people, but please allow me to apologize for the contempt that we had for them."

"If that were true, why did you say my people and not our people?" replied Eedaj, causing the elven chief to bite his tongue. "I don't hold a grudge against you or the current generation of elves, so don't worry about that. That grudge is for someone else."

"Th-thank you, your excellence." Gwendon remained bowed as he accepted Eedaj's words.

"That's enough of that, and no need to speak so highly of me. I'm not as pretentious as Lyrun."

While the elders were taken aback and unsure how to respond to that, Gwendon sighed and smiled. The light in his eyes was a bit brighter as if he was relieved to hear that.

"Anyway, is there anything, in particular, you'd like to discuss? Or do you have any more questions? We'll do our best to answer them," Jack asked, resuming control of the meeting.

"Yes." Returning to his seat, Gwendon looked to Jack. "Before discussing this deal of exclusivity that you were seeking, we have a few questions about yourself, the guild, and the intentions of the guild."

"Fair enough. Ask away."

Another elder spoke up, "Jack, if our information serves correct, you're not as strong as you once were. Why is that?"

"Simple. I had to start over from scratch," stated Jack, startling everyone, including those on his side of the table aside from Eedaj. "To surpass my former limits, I needed to start over. And since I received divine assistance to do so, the potential and abilities I currently possess heavily outweigh my former skills, apart from temporarily having a lower level. But my level is still rising and will soon surpass my former level. Does that explain enough?"

That elder sighed and nodded. "Yes, that explains plenty."

"Alright, next question." Jack looked at all the elves, wondering who they had planned to speak next.

"How strong is the Leisure Guild currently?" asked another elder.

"That's a great question, one with two different answers. One answer is for public record and to maintain the public view of the guild and the other answer is for our personal records, keeping our trump cards hidden," explained Jack. "Which answer would you like?"

"Hmm… How about both?"

One corner of Jack's mouth arched up as he shrugged. "On public record, everyone you see before you are our strongest experts. As for the quantity of members, that's hard to say as we've had a sudden influx of new recruits since the events a few days ago. I'm sure you can imagine why."

The elves carefully eyed Jack as that same elder pried further, asking, "... And the answer for your personal records?"

"That's something personal, so how could we share that with anyone not directly affiliated with us." Jack laughed, causing the elves to all frown. However, Jack added, "But to speak metaphorically… should an event similar to the destruction of Federal City take place here in Gilga, we should be able to ward it off no problem."

Their anger instantly shifted into curiosity. Gwendon and the elven elders were extremely intrigued by such an answer.

It was obvious that having the public protection of a god was outstanding, especially compared to the rest of the world. And even though Lyrun technically resides in Estonya, he doesn't do anything or truly offer any protection to the elves, something only the elven chief and elven elders new about.

"You're saying that Gilga could ward off such an invasion without issues?" Gwendon asked to clarify.

Jack chuckled. "Gwendon, I'll tell you something that most aren't privy to know. I'm preparing for an invasion far worse than what happened in Federal City, so of course repelling such a minor attack would be possible."

"Jack… What do you mean by that?"

"How long do you think the other gods will remain hiding now that I've already started gathering the long-forgotten Neutral Gods?" asked Jack, stumping Gwendon. "And let's be frank. I'm sure you're all smart enough to realize that the Godly War centuries ago never truly ended. Right?"

Since Gwendon and the elders were speechless, Jack continued, "Rather than get caught up in an imminent storm, I'd rather spark the storm myself. That way I can at least guide the storm in a more favorable direction. And though Korten's hidden forces might be the strongest of all the nations thanks to the long lifespan of elves, can those forces compare to the Chaos Syndicate or the Adventurers Association? That's what every nation is probably wondering right now. Whether there's a way to survive or not? Or better put, whether there's a need to ally with one of those two monstrous powers or not, and which one to pick?

"My answer to that… Why not have my own power that can surpass them?"

The elders were carefully taking Jack's words in, trying their best to process them. At the same time, Gwendon eventually asked, "Then… are you trying to propose something?"

"I'm fine with having a trading pact, even one without exclusivity, but would that be the best thing for Korten? We'll be fine here in Trodar, so that's enough for me, but would a trading pact alone give Korten what it needs most right now?"

Sighing, Gwendon shared a look with the elders around him. When they all eventually nodded, Gwendon proposed, "Jack, if Korten was to ally with the Leisure Guild, would you be able to guarantee our safety and protection?"

Jack scratched his head put on a pondering face for a moment. He then replied, "Yes, and no."