The Achievement Junkie

Each and every chest was scoured by Jack. The hero didn't overlook a single coin in those chests, let alone the items.

He found all sorts of guild items and a few treasures that some might be jealous of, but Jack remained unsatisfied. Double-checking the chests, Jack was again left disappointed.

Finding no success, Jack returned all the items back to their chests and resealed the vault as he exited. Jack began to rummage through his thoughts and memories, searching for a clue. And again, Jack struggled to change his disillusioned expression.

Eventually, Jack telepathically called Tralon, 'Tralon, I'll be quick. Do we still have any of the custom items that I made myself?'

'One second, Jack… We're finishing up," replied Tralon, unable to give Jack an answer just yet.

Impatient, Jack groaned and asked, 'I just need to know, do we have any or not?'

'I… Jack, just give me a few minutes.'

Unhappy and grumpy, Jack returned to the main building of the guild, heading for his office. Once there, he started thumbing through all the books on each shelf. When that proved fruitless, Jack started to inspect his desk and it's contents.

He had never really gone through the desk since his return to the guild, only using it for discussions with important people. And he was again disappointed to find hardly anything at all.

Jack realized that Tralon must've cleaned out the desk before officially returning the office to Jack, which only made Jack more impatient.

'Finally, I can talk.' Tralon's voice filled Jack's head. 'What are you looking for, Jack?'

'All I want is any item that I made myself, not something I had others make for me,' answered Jack. 'Do we have anything like that?'

'Hmmm… that's hard to say. You were always very particular about keeping your most personal items on you at all times, remember?' stated Tralon, getting Jack to sigh.

Running through his memories, Jack tried to come up with some sort of solution. 'Come to my office, Tralon. We'll talk easier here.'

'Right.'

Jack's mind was running full steam ahead while Tralon walked to Jack's office. By the time the old mage arrived, Jack's head was practically steaming he was so heated and anxious.

"Jack, is something wrong?" asked Tralon. "Why do you need any item like that? You can't even wield any of those."

Sighing, Jack opened his eyes and replied, "I don't want to equip anything, I just need a custom item that I made. It can be any level and even have little to no value. It could lead me to something really important."

"Oh, any level?"

The dissatisfaction on Jack's face began to fade as Tralon retrieved something from his pocket dimension.

"I hardly use that spell anymore, but it's only to keep my most prized possessions safe. Though I don't want to part with this, it's not like it can come with me after I die. If it's of use to you, then go right ahead."

Tralon held in his hands a plain-looking purple ring. It was only lv. 15 and barely qualified as a high-tier item. The forming of the ring was crude, but the natural luster of the pearl-like purple stone was still visible. There was nothing fancy or desirable about the ring, but it made Jack laugh to see it again.

"You still have that?! Why did you keep that junk?" Jack laughed.

"Well, it was the first item that you ever gave me. Though it's worth nothing, in terms of monetary value, the ring marks the beginning of my adventures by your side, the greatest turning point of my life," stated Tralon, chuckling along with Jack. "Honestly, I'm not sure why I kept it way back then, but I'd now argue it's my most prized possession. But since it was yours to begin with, you can have it back."

Holding out the ring, Tralon sighed and smiled at Jack.

Sensing how much it meant to Tralon, Jack remarked, "Don't worry, I'll bring it back eventually. It shouldn't take long."

"I'd like that."

Jack reached out to grab the ring, feeling a sense of gladness that Tralon treasured that crap item and a sense of anxiety to learn if he's old body had an ancient tomb.

'Jack, Jack, Jack…'

Abruptly, a flash of light filled the room. Jack found himself able to move, but Tralon was frozen where he stood. And, for some reason, that ring was no longer in his hand.

"Jack… Didn't I tell you not to worry about your old self for the time being?"

Turning toward his desk, Jack replied, "Daruun, what gives? Can't I at least look into it a little bit? What's so wrong about--"

"I know what you're thinking, Jack," Daruun stated, sitting in Jack's seat and leaning over Jack's desk with a serious look in his eyes. "You should be glad that I was still around visiting my sons and daughters."

"Come on, Daruun. You can't expect me to not look into my old self. At least let me know if I have a tomb somewhere," argued Jack.

Daruun shook his head. "It's to keep you from learning that very thing that I'm here now. Would you like to talk about it? We've got all the time in the world."

Jack didn't know what to say, not until he saw Daruun flick the purple ring into the air and catch it in his palm. Defeated, Jack grabbed a chair from the side and placed it across from Daruun. "Alright, then let's talk about it. But it seems I was right to assume my old body has a tomb, seeing that you're--"

"Jack, allow me to speak first," interjected Daruun. "Let me say a few things about why I'm against giving you this ring without a proper warning. In the end, the decision will be yours. Just hear me out and ask your questions first. Will you agree to that?"

"... Yeah, I'll agree to that." Jack nodded, eagerly wanting to know why Daruun was so persistent about the topic.

It was the first time Daruun had actually stopped Jack from acting on his own, something Daruun didn't do even when Jack had made a mistake that resulted in the eventual death of Keela. And given the fact that Daruun hadn't left Kartonia yet meant that the God of Fate had been waiting for this moment to speak with Jack.

With all that in mind, Jack was sure that he had stumbled upon something great. It could either be a great travesty or a great triumph, and the only way to find out was to listen carefully.