The Achievement Junkie

After Jack departed through the spatial rift, everyone gathered in his courtyard went their separate ways, each handling their own duties or hobbies.

Tralon and Argyle briefly discussed the council and the election process. Since Argyle was about to join the election and hopefully enter the council, he was curious about some of the finer details of the process. But that conversation ended quickly as the two parted ways after exiting the restricted area.

Tralon continued toward his new office to handle a few things. On the way, Tralon spotted Ilgor, who appeared to be startled for some reason. "Ilgor, is something the matter?"

"U-Um, no sir!" Ilgor stammered. "I-I'm sorry. I was just caught up in thought is all."

"No need to worry. With so many things happening all at once, I can understand why you, as a deputy manager would be overwhelmed," Tralon replied with a soft smile.

"R-right. Then I'll be off." Ilgor bowed respectfully to Tralon and made his way through the halls of the main building, leaving Tralon in an unexpected hurry.

Tralon thought it was odd for Ilgor to move so quickly, but it was of little consequence to the busy vice guild master.

Exiting the main building, Ilgor swallowed some saliva and forced himself to act as he always had. Removing the haste from his step, Ilgor continued further into the guild property. Eventually, Ilgor managed to find the guild prison.

"Guards, Vice Guild Master Tralon has urgent news for you! You must hurry right away!"

"Really?" The two men guarding the entrance of the prison looked to each other, one of them asking, "But what about--"

"While you're away, I'll remain at your post. Don't worry," stated Ilgor, relieving the guards of their duties. "Tell those inside, as well. You all must hurry, double time!"

"Yes sir!"

Both guards hurried inside and quickly reemerged with four more guards. All six men rushed off toward the far off main building of the guild.

Once the guards were out of sight, Ilgor stepped into the guild prison. Inside, Ilgor let loose a sigh and groaned, "Finally!" Next, the deputy manager found the guard's quarters. There he found a map of the prison and a list of the inmates and their cells. Ilgor took two keys off the wall and entered further into the dungeon while casually twirling a dagger between his fingers and whistling a catchy tune.

After a few left turns and a couple of rights, Ilgor's footsteps halted. As his whistle ended with a long single note, Ilgor chuckled while peering into one of the dark cells. "Bikkem, is that really you? My, how pathetic have you become?"

"Shut up, Ilgor!" Bikkem barked. "Hurry up and get these chains off me!"

"But I do enjoy this sight… To see the high and mighty Bikkem, a lv. 68 syndicate chief that always berated and ridiculed me, a lowly deputy at lv. 35, chained and beaten…" Ilgor sighed, placing the back of his palm against his forehead in a dramatic fashion. "It's such a beautiful sight that I'm tempted to leave you like this forever."

"That's enough! I'm still a syndicate chief so you have to obey my orders. Now free me already!" barked Bikkem.

"Fiiine… I guess I have no choice," replied Ilgor while twirling the cell's key in his finger.

The cell was unlocked and Ilgor took his time approaching Bikkem and unlocking his shackles. And the moment those shackles hit the floor, Bikkem darted away, or at least he tried to.

Laughing, Ilgor smiled wide, "So… you realized my true assignment? No matter…"

With bones still healing from all of his beatings, Bikkem struggled to get far at his slow speed. He was too slow. Abruptly, Bikkem stopped and gasped for air.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Ilgor mocked Bikkem as the broken man fell to the floor, a dagger jutting out of his back. "You were too arrogant in my eyes, nothing like Thyron who kept everything purely professional. A true disgrace to your position."

"You…" Bikkem groaned as Ilgor walked up to the fallen man.

Still laughing, Ilgor removed the dagger and again thrust it into Bikkem. The blade penetrated Bikkem's lung, narrowly avoiding his weakening heart.

"I was told to silence you, surprisingly. And to think that you dared to imagine yourself as a regent someday… but look at you now, quivering during your final breaths."

"Please… Don't--"

A third thrust cut into Bikkem's heart and was twisted around, shredding the beating organ to shreds.

With Bikkem's life claimed, Ilgor stood back up and flicked the blood on his dagger back onto Bikkem's corpse. He turned and walked away, not planning to hide anything. Ilgor understood that his time inside the Leisure Guild was done, as he would run away after silencing the last remaining loose end to the syndicate's plan.

Twirling his knife and whistling, Ilgor hurried to the other side of the prison. Soon, he stood outside of an isolation chamber and peeked inside. "Quallace? Are you in there?"

There was no reply, but Ilgor saw a figure scrambling in the darkness. Ilgor snickered as Quallace tried to cower in the back corner of the cell.

Sighing, Ilgor unlocked the isolation chamber and stepped inside. As the light from the hallway entered behind him, Ilgor got a better view of Quallace tucked away in the corner. He chuckled, "Does this mean that you understand why I'm here?"

Trembling, Quallace nodded. "B-but… But how did you--"

"Shhh… There's no need to speak, Quallace," stated Ilgor. "We all know that you're the most cowardly chief in the syndicate. You only got that position because of your level. And since you're the most recent to join, you don't have any merits to back up your position… You even failed in the storehouse, so now's it's time to face the facts."

"P-please… You don't have to--"

"Oh, but I must," interjected Ilgor. "You're barely lv. 9 now, so you can only cower as I take your pathetic life. There's no need to say anything."

"But--"

Cut off by Ilgor's dagger, Quallace shook as he saw the dagger plunged into his throat. Then, he stopped shaking. Also, Quallace stopped breathing. His motionless, lifeless husk was only standing because the dagger was also pierced into the stone walls of the cell.

Clicking his tongue, Ilgor sighed, "I guess this is the end for the Leisure Guild."

"And why is that?"

Ilgor spun around, completely caught off guard by the man now standing in the doorway.

That man was short and his pointy ears weren't very intimidating. But the look in the man's piercing eyes made Ilgor feel smaller than a mouse. The man then stepped inside as Ilgor clamored backward, clumsily falling on his rear. Finally, that man closed the cell door and repeated himself, "Why is that?"

"E-Eedaj… W-what are you doing here?!"

"Ah, that sounds more like the Ilgor that I know. I wonder which is your true character: the treacherous backstabbing spy or the cowardly man who struggles to finish his sentences?" Eedaj blinked, not showing neither surprise nor anger.

"Y-You can't just--"

"Oh, I can definitely do whatever I wish to you. Jack gave me full freedom to pick apart your mind, one strand of thought at a time," stated Eedaj.

Ilgor was shaking more and more with each slow step Eedaj took toward him. He backed into a corner in complete desperation. That's when he realized something. The dagger that had plunged into Quallace's body was still stabbed into the wall but Quallce's body was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, did you finally realize the truth of the situation?"

Hearing that, Ilgor shook uncontrollably. He realized that he had been set up and trapped. He wasn't sure how, but Ilgor knew that he had drastically failed his final assignment in the Leisure Guild and greatly underestimated his ability to escape alive.