The Achievement Junkie

"... Jack…"

"Jack."

"Come on, Jack, I know you can hear me."

Sighing, Jack finally opened his eyes. Strangely, Jack felt no pain.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You're still unconscious," stated a familiar voice. "I'm visiting you because I was asked to show you something and I was kind enough to help."

"Gramps…" Jack looked around to find himself with Daruun up in the clouds. "Who asked you to show me something? Is there someone more powerful than you that--"

"Don't start fantasizing too much, Jack. Something like that won't be happening as you currently exist on a planet I made from scratch. No one else in the universe can know about your existence until you surpass lv. 99 and pain enough power to travel beyond this planet," Daruun explained.

"Then… who would be so important that you're their messenger?" asked Jack.

Sighing, Daruun showed an uncomfortable smile. "It's not that they're more important than me, but that I respected them enough to grant their dying wish. I'm talking about Tralon."

"Tralon! How could he--"

"Let me show you what I mean…"

Daruun waved his hand, sending him and Jack through a flash of light. They reappeared on the east gate of Gilga.

"What are you…" Jack was about to continue his emotional questioning when he spotted something out in the distance. "Is that… an army?"

"That's an army of over ten thousand men, all ranging from lv. 50 to lv. 60. Those are the scraps of the syndicate that weren't as driven as the main force that you're facing on the west side. With five centuries to build up their forces, this much is to be expected," explained Daruun. "And this army is attacking at not too long after you joined the fight in the southwest fields."

"Then… this is where Tralon--"

"Speaking of Tralon..."

Just as Daruun's words trailed off, Tralon appeared in a flash of teleporting light, right on cue.

"Just watch Jack. Save all your questions for afterward."

That was all Daruun said as the duo saw Tralon's reaction to the massive army rushing the east gate. And seeing their high speed, Tralon understood that they would enter the east gate within minutes, unabated by the weaker soldiers atop the city wall. In response to seeing them, Tralon took out a small stone.

"That's a--"

"Wait, Jack…"

They continued to watch as Tralon poured mana into the already cracked stone, breaking it to pieces. At the same time, the rest of the world froze as an apparition of Daruun appeared before Tralon, amazing Jack.

"So," the apparition spoke to Tralon, "have you decided on what your third and final question will be after so long?"

"Yes… I would like to know what are the different outcomes involving this army based on what actions I decide to take," Tralon stated, staring confidently at Daruun with hope.

The apparition nodded. "Very well. There are two main outcomes to consider here. The first is if you decide to not interfere. If you decide to focus your attention elsewhere and aid the other battlefield instead, this army will carve through the city until they reach the Leisure Guild property on the other side.

"This will create far more casualties than the battle that destroyed half of Federal City and will result in Gilga nearly being removed from the map. The Leisure Guild has the strength and forces to win, but they will suffer great losses as well. And without the city's economy, the new subordinate guilds under the Leisure Guild, as well as the trading pact with Korten, will greatly suffer. The wealth that the guild possesses will be used to rebuild the city and not the guild."

"... And the second option?" Tralon asked, swallowing some of his nerves.

"Should you decide to act against the incoming army, you'll be able to reduce the army's forces by a good fraction with your powerful legendary spell. However, that will leave you unable to participate in the battle or even move for a couple of days in your current condition," answered Daruun.

Tralon stroked his beard, not satisfied with either of those answers. Then, he asked, "Is there no way for me to stop the entirety of the army?"

"It's not that such a feat is impossible… There are just some conditions that you would have to accept for it to happen," Daruun replied. "Would you like to--"

"Please, explain to me these conditions," Tralon firmly stated. "I've watched over this city since it's birth over a millennium ago and I've cared for it ever since… And should the city be destroyed and its citizens be massacred, then it will also affect the world's perception of the guild and Jack. Also, the only way to fend off this army completely would be using Dragov in the middle of the city, destroying the remaining portions of the city while defending it. There would be no point in such an action."

For Jack, watching this scene take place, he was speechless. He didn't know what Tralon had been up against or what Tralon had been thinking when Jack suddenly received Tralon's final telepathic message. But now… he felt his heart open and tighten at the same time as he already knew the outcome of the soon to be mentioned conditions.

"I'm glad you're thinking so clearly…" Daruun's apparition added with a sigh. "As for the first condition, It has to do with your mana capacity. For you to cast such a large spell, it goes beyond your current mana capacity. Forcing yourself to increase the spell's size in your current condition will destroy the mana lines within your body, giving you less than twenty-four hours of life before succumbing to a natural death with no hope of resurrection."

"I see… but that will allow me to capture the entire army within a single spell?" Tralon asked, not swayed in the least.

Shaking his head, Daruun's apparition continued, "There's one more condition. Even if you force the spell to grow larger, you can't control it beyond the spell's range. So, to overcome that final hurdle, you would need to do what?"

Taking a moment to think, Tralon mumbled to himself while stroking his beard, "If I can't extend the range… Then I would have to maximize it, possibly… I would have to be at the center of the army?"

"Yes," Daruun agreed. "You would have to begin the spell and then teleport yourself to the very center of the army the moment before you cast it. That would allow you to maximize the range of Rendering Space and allow the entire army to go down with a single spell. But… that inevitably leaves you vulnerable to the spell as well."

"You're saying I'll be killed by my own spell?"

"Correct, should you choose to--"

"Very well." With a nod, Tralon swallowed the saliva in his throat along with the last of his nerves. "If one life can save thousands, then it's worth the sacrifice."

"Are you sure--"

"Yes, Daruun. I'm willing to accept those self-destructing conditions," stated Tralon. "If I would die after the spell anyway, it won't make a difference if I die by my own spell."

"That spell will instantly reduce your body to shreds and minced meat, leaving your flesh unrecognizable among the masses of the enemy army. Are you alright with that?" asked Daruun.

Tralon nodded. "If that's what it takes, then I'll accept. I'm sure Jack will find all of this EXP helpful. I just wish I could give him all of it and not just half…"

"Such is fate, something we can only attempt to predict while we try to find our own path," Daruun stated.

"Daruun, can I ask you one last thing? I don't need an explanation so it shouldn't need a new tutorial stone to ask."

"Yes, Tralon. I'll make sure Jack learns that this was your will and your decision," Daruun answered Tralon before Tralon could even ask the question.