The Achievement Junkie

It was almost noon when Jack exited the guild prison. He sighed and stretched, remembering the next thing on his to-do list.

Jack walked calmly through the guild, waving to a few lucky members who were confident to greet Jack as he passed. That didn't last for long though as he eventually entered the restricted area and sought out his own courtyard. Once he was there, Jack was tackled to the ground by Lina.

"Big Bro… Are you really leaving without me? Not again…"

"I'm sorry Lina, but I won't be gone for too long," Jack replied, rubbing Lina's head. "I'm going to visit Uncle Rikko. Though he'll have me steal something, I'll be back sooner than you think thanks to teleportation."

"But you promised last time and we still haven't gone to Estonya…" pouted Lina, not giving up so easily.

"Well, what can I do instead? I can take you there once I get back with Uncle Rikko."

"Okay, but you better be back soon!"

Eliza laughed, along with Daliea and Maura. Seeing Jack go was a bit harder on Eliza after their recent decision to have a child, but it was comforting to know that Jack could always teleport back to them.

Jack stood up and embraced each of his wives one-by-one. They remained silent, though, as the four of them had already spoken about the matter the night before. Each of Jack's wives was confident that Jack would be back sooner than later, mostly because Rikko would most likely ask Jack to steal something and not fight an army.

A knock was heard at the courtyard door but they invited themselves in. Both Argyle and Tralon walked up to Jack.

"You'd better not die while you're away. If you die, then I'll kill you for making my daughter a widow," Argyle verbally jabbed Jack, getting the hero to chuckle.

"Are you ready?" asked Tralon.

With a nod, Jack sighed and waved goodbye one last time while a spatial rift opened up. Jack walked through it with a proud smile on his face.

Stepping into what seemed like a new world, Jack scanned his new environment with his eyes as the rift closed behind him.

He stood in a strange forest filled with twisted trees of all heights. The ground beneath his feet wasn't level at all, varying from small patches of flat ground and small rock formations jutting out of the ground between the trees. There was a slight incline, showing Jack that he was indeed within the small mountain range of Drulgen.

It was the first time Jack had stepped foot there, but it was also one of the few times that Jack felt true nostalgia. The view of the forest matched the in-game perspective perfectly. It felt good to find a place that hadn't changed much since his game-playing days.

Letting out a long sigh of satisfaction, Jack pulled up his map tab and opened up the locations of the gods.

Immediately, Jack found Rikko's hiding place further inside the small mountain range. But something else startled Jack, halting his footsteps. There was a second god within the mountain range, and he was even closer to Jack. Only, that was a terrifying thing to discover as that god was neither a neutral god nor a rebel god.

"Pestro…" Jack mumbled quietly to himself, recharting his path to best avoid the Demon God of the chaotic gods.

Jack then equipped the low-level bracer. With it, he became invisible and started creeping through the forest.

Further in the mountain range, one of the goblin settlements was currently on high alert. Though more than a hundred goblins resided in that village, they all hid and kept their distance from an unknown visitor.

The visitor's ugly features were startling but the sense of power given off by the creature's massive two and a half meter build was enough to frighten the goblin residents. That visitor sniffed about with his pig-like nose, taking his time and checking every corner of the settlement. Whenever he stopped sniffing, he would frown and groan while moving on to another part of the village.

Some younger goblins tried to make a ruckus and complain to their parent for cutting into their playtime, but they were quickly gagged or silenced. No one wanted to offend that hulking stranger wandering through the village.

Finally, the visitor took one final sniff in the last part of the village. His frown was deeper than ever and his fists were clenched tightly. Doing his best to keep from lashing out in anger, the stranger suddenly snarled and shouted, "Rikko! I know you can hear me! Come out your coward!"

Pestro remained standing there, still breathing heavily. As no response came, He snarled again and retrieved his halberd. In a single swing, Pestro carved a crevice straight through the center of the goblin settlement. The attack didn't hit a single home but it confirmed the goblins' fears about the stranger.

"I said come out! Come on, are you scared?!" yelled Pestro. "I'm not here to fight! I just want to ask you something! Now come out!"

Still, no response came and Pestro's patience was wearing thinner and thinner.

But the Demon God sniffed again, suddenly catching a new scent. He looked to the outskirts of the village, spotting a goblin with dark blue skin, something that didn't match the other goblins of that settlement. Also, that goblin had three eye-catching earrings, two golden hoops in his left ear and a silvery corkscrew that ran through the bottom half of the goblin's right ear. Apart from a storage ring, the blue goblin only wore a white, silk loincloth with golden embellishments and finely made black, leather shoes.

Finally, a slight smile appeared on Pestro's face. The tall god sauntered over toward the blue-skinned goblin. "Finally, I've been trying to find you for a while now."

The blue-skinned goblin kept an emotionless face and turned around. He waved his hand, wanting Pestro to follow him.

As the two of them left the common goblins of the village speechless, neither of the two gods said a word until they could no longer be seen or heard by wandering ears. Now that they were completely alone, Pestro asked, "Can we talk now? I'm on a tight schedule."

"What you want?" Rikko asked in a high-pitched voice, still not facing Pestro.

"I'm investigating something for my faction and want your permission to do so," stated the Demon God.

"Hmm? You ask permission?" Rikko broke into laughter. "You funny Pestro! You always funny! Ugly too!"

Pestro sighed and snarled, "This involves a few gods so I'd rather not get you involved. I just want you to know that I'll be here. It's best to have your permission but I'll do stay whether you like it or not."

"That was fifth village. What else you need?" asked Rikko, teasing with his high-pitched voice and peeking back at Pestro over his shoulder.

"That's none of your business!" replied Pestro. "Now that you know I'll be here for a while, I should get going. I still have a ways to go."

"Pay Rikko."

Pestro eyed Rikko, who was eagerly holding his hand out toward the hulking Demon God.

"Pay Rikko. Or face consequences," Rikko stated, not intimidated at all by Pestro's size or the halberd in his Pestro's hand.

"Fat chance! What are you going to do? Fight me?" Pestro laughed.

"Okay… But no be mad later…" Snickering, Rikko turned back around and starting skipping away.

"Hmph!" Pestro grunted and started walking toward the next settlement. He paid no mind to Rikko, confident that his own strength far out rivaled the tiny Goblin God. Just the thought of Rikko trying to attack him made Pestro laugh heartily as the Demon God thought it impossible.