The Achievement Junkie

"Don't forget me!"

Jack, the gods, and the crowd were all astounded to hear that billowing shout. It came from the distant rooftops further south.

"Hurry up, or we'll move on anyway!" Sterfen shouted with a chuckle.

"Just wait a moment! Practice some patience why don't you!"

"Sure, coming from the guy who wasted almost two months searching for his rival only to fail in the end," Sterfen teased. "All you had to do was wait before Jack could take you to him!"

The crowd was stunned to see two deities bantering so casually. It was too far outside of their expectations.

As the new arrival dashed to find his place in line, Jack continued, "Finally, there's Jin, the God of Discipline, the rival of the well-known Sword God."

That statement shook the hearts of the crowd.

From Jin's attire, he was clearly a samurai so it made sense for a samurai god to rival the Sword God. But imagining that there was suddenly a figure that could match Tyre's supremacy with a sword was difficult to take in so quickly.

Not minding how startled the crowd was, Jack went on, "With everyone here, the Leisure Guild's goal is evident, but I'll be honest with you all. If you think that battle was the worst you'd ever seen, then allow me to remind you of the bloodshed your families faced no more than five centuries ago during the Godly War. The recent battle with the syndicate is only the beginning, hence why the Leisure Guild has summoned all of these deities to Trodar, as a means to defend against the next Godly War that is to come!"

Terror and fear racked on the souls of everyone listening. But before they fell into despair, They heard Jack continue.

"However, unlike before, I and these deities stand between Trodar and the rest of the world. Should anyone, god or man, dare invade on our land and our ideals, then we'll lay waste to them and their forces! So long as the Leisure Guild stands, so will Trodar."

Rising up from the pits of despair, the crowd's fervor reached an all-time high as they cried and shouted for the Leisure Guild.

"As proof of my words, we'll now kill one of the gods who dared to trample over Trodar!"

All went quiet as the large cage was carried over toward the platform. Then, Jin stepped up and lifted it off the wagon and onto the pavilion, center stage.

Inside the cage was a hulking man with some cuts and dried blood all over his body. His height was equal to two normal people, as was his width. The most defining features, though, were the boils all over the man's face and his pig-like snout, making his appearance naturally repulsing. But look in that broken man's eyes could kill as he glared at Jack, the gods, and the crowd.

Stepping down from his raised platform, Jack unlocked the cage and stepped inside. He eyed Pestro without any hint of fear. Shouting, Jack stated, "For causing terror and strife to Gigla and the Leisure Guild, I sentence you, Pestro, the fallen Demon God, to death by my hand!"

"You… mortal… can't…"

"Say what you like, but in your current state, killing you won't be difficult at all," stated Jack, not giving into the broken threats of a battered god. Retrieving a sword, Jack placed the blade to Pestro's throat. "Try all you want, Pestro, but you can't move your body nor connect with your mana. Right now, your life is mine to take."

"Fool!" Pestro shouted as loud as he could, startling those in the front rows of the crowd.

But the blade then covered itself in purple energy as Jack slashed across Pestro's thick neck. Alone, the sword wouldn't have punctured the god's durable body, but with Spatial Slash the blade drew blood.

Losing blood at an alarming rate, Pestro knew that Jack's attack had managed to do enough to slowly take his life.

"I--"

Before Pestro could utter another word, Jack leaned into the blade and jammed it further into the open slit of Pestro's neck.

"Not another word… Your life and EXP are already mine."

Blood spilled over the cage floor and onto the pavilion. It was a gruesome sight but the crowd eagerly watched as Jack gradually snuffed out the life of a crippled deity that everyone knew and joked about. The moment was surreal and captivating.

Lunara leaned her head onto Sterfen's shoulder as the two of them admired their son's tenacity.

All the gods knew that Jack would be the one to slay the Demon God for the EXP, but they never thought Jack would do it so publicly, using Tralon's memory and the appearance of all the gods to culminate in Pestro's public execution.

Life remained in Pestro's eyes as he tried to bore holes into Jack through his stare alone, ultimately failing. The Demon God clung to his life for as long as he could. He fought death for more than fifteen minutes until Jack and his bloodloss eventually caused the light in Pestro's eyes to fade, leaving them dull and without sheen.

Once Pestro's final breaths were gone, Jack removed his sword from the god's throat and held it up high for all to see. "Those who dare attack us will be slaughtered, men and gods alike! If you wish for such protection, then join Gilga and Trodar, supporting them with your energy and time to make it a paradise among a world at war!"

With his words finished, Jack closed his eyes to take in the fanatic screams of the crowd. But Jack was actually checking his new achievement and raised stats.

First off, how could Jack not immediately spot his instantaneous rise in level? In a single leap, Jack's level shot up from lv. 72 to lv. 81. He was sure that it would've been higher but Jack also split that EXP with four beast companions, which only proved how outrageously powerful gods were in comparison to mortals.

Also, it was evidence of the EXP curve. Though it was far more difficult to level up with each level, the difference in earned EXP from killing a mid-level opponent and a high-level opponent was insane. Killing a god-level opponent only proved to be the steepest part of that EXP curve without a doubt.

Suddenly, a massive roar sounded out from one of the beasts in the guild parade.

All eyes shifted to the purple dragon that was happily roaring. Thanks to Jack, Karronteel just reached lv. 74, thus beginning his third and second-to-last evolution.

With a few flaps of his wings, Karronteel took to the sky as his body started to grow. Not only was he getting larger and physically stronger, Karronteel's unfathomably sharp claws were getting sharper and longer. The sheer amount of spatial energy pouring out of the dragon's massive frame was awe-inspiring to the viewers.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jack shouted, "Everyone! Allow me to introduce one of the latest additions to the Leisure Guild. As you all can see, this dragon is unlike any you've ever known. In fact, his species existed long before even Ancient Kartonia and his bloodline can rival even Halmut's. With the same bloodline as Moranti, the God of Space, this Spectral Dragon is a personal friend and companion of mine, going by the name Karronteel. With his help, the Leisure Guild has grown far stronger than we were without him!"

Going from speechless to crazily screaming, the crowds were enraptured by Karronteel in all manners. Seeing such a beautiful, magnificent beast was inherently amazing, not including the unheard-of bloodline strength that the public couldn't even imagine.

That day would later be dubbed as Tralon's Day, a new Trodan holiday which the Leisure Guild publically celebrated for the remainder of the day with food, wine, and an open market within the Fat Goose and Celestial Crane.