The Achievement Junkie

"RIKKO!"

The god's raging shout shook the ground and reached the distant battlefields. Pestro's fury was at an all-time high, at a peak it had never reached before. Demonic energy began to swirl and dance over Pestro, beginning the god's demonization. A black greatsword appeared in the Demon God's hands, a larger version of the same crudely designed sword in Hadurt's hands.

"Oh? No halberd?" Eedaj lifted an eyebrow and stared curiously at Pestro, feigning ignorance.

"So? Would I even need my personal weapon to kill a god two levels below my own?!" shouted Pestro.

"Interesting… That blade is eerily similar to Hadurt's legendary weapon. Is it a larger version, perhaps?"

Squinting, Pestro asked, "How do you know about Hadurt's weapon?"

"Because I've seen him use it. I fact, he's wielding it right now." Eedaj pointed to the far-away battlefield, making sure Pestro spotted the berserker clad in the legendary skeletal armor.

"WHAT?!" Instantly spotting the former chaotic champion, Pestro's record-breaking rage raised even higher. "That fool is still alive?! And he's betrayed us?! He'll die today…"

"I doubt that…" added Eedaj with a slight smile, grabbing Pestro's attention once again. "You'll be too busy with me to worry about him. And since you decided to use a legendary weapon and not your personal halberd, you'll find this match far more difficult now…"

"Then let's get this over with! I need to hurry up and skin that traitor alive!"

Jumping forward, Pestro completed his demonization and lunged his greatsword in a downward arch. The Demon God attempted to cleave the Mind God in two.

However, it obviously wouldn't happen so easily.

Eedaj gathered black and red energy around his staff. Darkness began to gather around the dueling gods, hindering Pestro's sight as his sword cleaved the ground and not Eedaj.

"I can still smell you!"

Snorting, Pestro hurled his next attack right at the evasive Mind God, undeterred by the five-hundred-meter cloud of darkness engulfing them.

Rather than dodge, Eedaj this time hurled the flames he had gathered around his staff. Numerous fireballs were launched, some aiming for Pestro and some dotting the battlefield where they fought.

The Demon God sliced through the first fireball only to learn that it was an illusion but the second fireball was real, as well as the third. And by the time Pestro had destroyed the incoming fireballs, Eedaj had already repositioned himself elsewhere.

Both gods paused briefly. They each quickly assessed their foe.

Eedaj was able to gauge the difference in strength between Pestro's personal weapon and the legendary weapon he currently wielded. The difference wasn't enough to make the duel easy for the Mind God, but it was enough to keep the Demon God at a more even playing field with Eedaj.

Pestro wouldn't admit it but he admired Eedaj's battle strategy. He knew about the Mind God's powerful illusions and understood that Eedaj would go for a battle of attrition. By mixing illusions with flames it would allow Eedaj a strategic advantage, forcing Pestro to waste more mana to verify which attack was true and which was false. Such a strategy could devastate any opponent if it wasn't countered sooner than later.

Once that brief pause ended, Pestro then took out a second long, black greatsword. Dual-wielding those crude blades, Pestro readied himself to face the illusions as quickly as possible.

Smiling, Eedaj understood that tactic and obliged by hurling more fireballs at the Demon God.

One-by-one, those fireballs were torn asunder. It didn't matter whether they were real or illusory. Pestro cleaved them all effortlessly as he raced toward Eedaj. But the Demon God suddenly felt a powerful heatwave coming at him. It was like the rest of the fireballs, only the nearest fireball he could see was still a few meters away.

With a swing of a sword, Pestro chuckled, "Not only can you create illusions of flames, you can remove flames from my vision while hurling them at me… That's a terrifying ability."

"Yet here you are cutting even the invisible fireballs in half. Isn't that scarier?" argued Eedaj, laughing as well.

"I guess we'll find out now!" roared Pestro, slicing through the other fireballs and chasing after Eedaj.

Neither god backed down or held back. The battlefield beneath their feet was being shredded and decimated, although Eedaj simply floated over it, undeterred. As for Pestro, he trotted over the ground either way, unaffected by the ever-changing landscape and only altering his course to avoid illusory flames that Eedaj had hidden in the darkness.

*****

Standing atop the city wall, Jack was invisible with his low-level bracer equipped. He watched as a quarter of the army was heading his way, ignoring those that managed to get past Dragov.

Now being lv. 50, Jack felt a bit more confident, especially as he was about to reach lv. 51 thanks to Dragov and Bowzer. With that in mind, Jack took out an item he had been dying to use.

It was a summoning amulet. A while back, Jack had purchased that amulet during the annual auction and now he could finally use after passing lv. 50.

Unlike the common mages of Modern Kartonia, Jack had memorized most of the written ancient language that existed before Ancient Kartonia. It was used for writing magic circles, ancient pacts, and just about everything with magical writing. Modern Kartonia had its own version of the language which was just as effective but very different after going through so many updates. But it was because of that difference in language that Jack had stolen that summoning amulet for a pittance.

Able to finally cast it, Jack giddily activated the summoning amulet and stored the low-level bracer. Though the incoming army spotted him, Jack didn't care. He was far too excited to finally summon a beast that even he knew little about.

Dazzling purple energy glittered the amulet's lettering, growing brighter and brighter. It then shredded itself apart as the amulet was overflowing with spatial energy.

Jack and the incoming army watched as a flash of purple light filled their vision momentarily, but not enough to blind them. However, that purple energy didn't fade. Instead, it reformed and started to take a new shape. While Jack watched in awe, the army watched in caution as that form became more beastly.

The purple light finally faded away, but only after it took the form of a fifteen-meter tall beast. It had long wings and glistening faint-purple scales, as well as two hind legs and two forelegs, each with five claws that made razors look dull. A crown of sharp horns wrapped around the beast's head, alternating between long and short for an imperial feel. Its eyes, however, felt more human than beastly, making it more mysterious and ominous along with it's shorter face and small but jagged teeth.

That army almost halted their charge out of surprise and confusion. Unlike the other two beasts, this one was entirely foreign to them. They had learned all about dragons thanks to the syndicate but there was no record of that mysterious purple dragon before them.

That beast then blinked, finally able to move and breathe. It sighed, enjoying its first breath after being unsealed. Then, it examined its surroundings, spotting the army and then Jack.

"Are you the one who summoned me?" The dragon's voice wasn't harsh but it wasn't friendly either.

"No, I'm the one that freed you. I'm Jack, what's your name?"

"Hmmm… You're an interesting adventurer, Jack," replied the dragon, continuing to speak telepathically. "What do you mean by freeing me?"

Jack answered, "I mean just that. I want to free you and help you reclaim your rightful spot on top of the food chain."

"Reclaim?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you're kind doesn't exist anymore. You are a Spectral Dragon, right?"