The Achievement Junkie

"Then… I think I'd rather wait."

Hearing Hadurt's statement, Lorwynn was floored. He had finally agreed to have someone other than Lyrun to help him ascend, yet Hadurt had decided against it all of a sudden and forcibly changed Lorwynn's perspective.

"Are you sure about that?" Lorwynn asked, looking Hadurt in the eyes.

The former holy champion nodded and looked at Jack. "How long will it take for you to ascend?"

"As soon as I'm done clearing Earthen Keep, my only goal will be to ascend," stated Jack.

"Then, do you mind if I wait?" Hadurt asked with a friendly smile. "I want to be the first demigod you choose and the first god to ascend. That's what I originally promised Daruun when I joined, so why not wait a bit longer for a chance of being even stronger?"

"Hadurt, why--"

"Lorwynn, stay out of this." Hadurt walked up to Jack, ignoring Lorwynn's stare and the surprised looks of everyone else. "If you can raise the strongest faction of gods, then I want to be the first of the strongest!"

"The first of a new generation…" Sterfen mumbled to himself, excited to see this taking place. "I think it's a great idea! It will also help prove just how strong Jack's demigods are, let alone how strong they'll be after their ascension."

"But I don't want to form a faction!" Jack shouted, not liking where this conversation was heading.

Lunara giggled, "Jack, you'll end up creating a faction whether you like it or not, at least from the perspectives of the other gods. If anything, you'd become the true leader of the neutral gods since Daruun doesn't do anything besides speak with us. Wouldn't that be best for all of us?"

"That… Maybe…"

"Then it's settled! Hadurt will be the first to join the Legendary Faction!" Sterfen shouted, getting the other gods to all smile.

"Legendary Faction?! What is that supposed to mean?!" Jack complained.

Eedaj chuckled, "It makes sense, Jack. When a demigod ascends, their title has something to do with what they've achieved. Well, in terms of achievement, even gods struggle to compare to you, Jack. You have so many achievements that the only way to encompass them all was to give you the title of "Legend", something no other hero has been given by necessity. And since you would become a god capable of wielding the abilities of other gods, wouldn't calling you the God of Legend be the only fitting title?"

Jack whimpered and chuckled at the same time. "But that's so pretentious…"

"All the more reason it's a fitting name," added Eedaj, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"I like it!" Hadurt pumped both fists into the air. "I'll be the first legendary god!"

"Can't we call it something else?" Jack asked one last time.

Sterfen shrugged. "Can you think of something better? Feel free to let us know."

Left at a dead end, Jack's train of thought started to run more laps through his mind but failed to think of anything on the spot.

"Either way, Hadurt will become the first demigod to Jack. That means he'll wait here in Gilga while Lorwynn and Kori grind in Earthen Keep till their ascension," Eedaj concluded.

"Then… let's get this over with…" Jack sighed, unable to change everyone's minds. "Let's start with the pacts. Kori, Dad, step up."

"Jack…" Kaldor also stepped forward, asking, "Can I also make a pact? If it's so great a thing, then please allow me to offer you my skills as well."

Not against the idea, Jack nodded. He then performed three new pacts, increasing his list of available skills greatly. It was getting much harder to navigate so Jack decided to take a moment and reorganize it a little.

Jack kept the option of searching for skills based on which inheritor they came from, But Jack also added a new filter. Now, he could look at all available skills at once. Spells and skills could be separated or joined on a single list, depending on what Jack wanted. Also, he separated everything by level. All spells were separated by tier and all skills did the same, being either low, mid, high, or personal.

While Jack reorganized his skill list, Lorwynn and Kori were officially chosen as demigods. However, there was a change. Kori was still selected by Lunara, but Lorwynn was chosen by Rikko as Lorwynn wanted to increase his abilities in battle. Also, Rikko's lightning paired well with Lorwynn, and now Lorwynn would be able to use select wind spells to get even faster.

Things were decided and everyone was informed that Jack's speech would take place the following morning.

It was already noon, given that Jack woke up midday, and Jack paced himself as he got up and petted Bowzer. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm great!" Bowzer licked Jack's face, toppling the hero to the ground with his increased size that matched a fully-grown, mutated grizzly. "With my father joining us, nothing could be better!"

"I'm glad…" Jack sighed, waiting for Bowzer to let him back up. "Are you still a demigod?"

"No…" Bowzer admitted with a frown.

Jack nodded and petted Bowzer again. "Probably because your dad isn't a god anymore… Do you want him to choose you again? Since we're at the same level, we'll become gods at the same time if he chooses you again. And that'll make him stronger, something we could use."

"Yeah! I like that!" Bowzer licked Jack again, unable to contain his happiness.

"Then tell your dad when he gets back from Earthen Keep. Sadly, you won't be coming with me so you'll wait here," added Jack. "But you're more than welcome to join any of the war efforts alongside the others! I'm sure they'd like to have a lv. 70 join the party for protection."

"But we'll be stronger than that! You'll kill Pestro, remember?!"

"Right… That should give us a nice boost!" laughed Jack, happy to remember that. "Well, I'm going to visit Karronteel and Dragov. Want to join me?"

"Nah…" The fox shook his head. "I'll spend some time with my father before you all leave tomorrow."

Jack petted Bowzer one more time before Bowzer ran off to catch up with Kori and the other gods.

Looking back, a thought came to Jack's mind. "Eliza… How are you feeling?"

Nervously, Eliza chuckled and blushed. "Well… I can confidently say that you'll be a father soon."

Not saying anything, Jack walked up to Eliza and embraced her tightly. "You don't have to go and fight if you don't want to… I'm sure we can find more time for that after the baby…"

"Thanks, Jack…" Eliza pecked her husband on the cheek and nuzzled her head into Jack's neck. "I'll keep that in mind."

Jack finally let go but he retrieved a scroll and placed it in Eliza's hand. Then, Jack retrieved two more, handing one each to Maura and Daliea. "Please use these if there's any chance you'll be hurt. They'll safely bring you back to my office."

"But… you don't have many of these, do you?" asked Daliea. "I'll be fine without--"

"I insist!" Jack stated. "If you care about me, then accept them and promise that you'll use them to escape any danger that comes after you while you're away. I refuse to lose any of you, even if that means a nation falls without your help."

"Jack…" Maura's eyes were watering, just like the others. "Okay… I promise."

"I also promise!" Eliza nodded and smiled as a tear of joy streaked down her cheek.

Daliea sighed and nodded. "I too will promise… Thank you, Jack."

"For my wives, this is the least that I'll do." Jack pulled all three into a hug, not letting them see his own eyes start to water. "I'll be gone, so I want to make sure you'll be safe while I'm away. But you can still call me if something comes up or you need my opinion on a situation, okay?"

None of the women replied verbally, but they all nodded while holding tight to their husband.