The Achievement Junkie

"I disagree, and so would Lyrun."

"Then, please, tell us more," added Jack.

Moranti continued, "There's one key factor that you don't consider. You know how most of the holy gods are beasts, so have you considered those powerful beast races in your plans? Or did you just assume that the holy gods had the association under their control?"

"True, but normally, that wouldn't be too much a problem… Unless…" Sterfen paused, altering his opinion after considering recent events. "Halmut's going to raise more gods, won't he?"

"Maybe he already has," replied Moranti. "All I know is that Halmut has been keeping his favored races hidden away. The Magma Dragons, Storm Dragons, Flood Dragons, Quake Dragons… those four races remain loyal to Halmut out of a mix of fear and respect. And given half a millennium, I can guess that at least one from each race is near the cusp of immortality."

Reconsidering that into the equation, Jack's mind was in overdrive as he tried to piece together a working formula for eventual success.

"That changes everything… Sterfen, did you know about this?" Jack turned to his father, annoyed to have just heard such crucial information.

"It wasn't of much consequence till now. How could I not know when you consider your mother?" reasoned Sterfen.

With a sigh, Jack thought in silence for a moment while the others waited for his next question.

A few minutes passed but Jack kept quiet, leaving everyone in suspense for the next question or crazy scheme Jack would cook up. Then, they all smiled to see Jack retrieve Daruun's crest.

"How about I get some help from you all?" Jack asked while holding the crest out toward the gathered gods. "I'll still be the main contributor, but having your help should keep me from passing out afterward."

The gods chuckled and stepped forward. Once all the deities had placed a hand on the crest, Jack began filling the crystal sphere with mana. And now that he was lv. 81 with lv. 6 mana capacity skill, Jack was confident they could pull off the summoning without much worry.

But even with Jack's absurd mana stores, his mana was practically gone before the crystal sphere reacted. Jack cast Greater Replenish and continued with a nod to the gods around him.

Now, they also started to pour in their mana. With deities aiding him, Jack got the crest to fully light up before he ran out of mana for a second time.

In a dazzling burst of light, this time Jack got to witness Daruun's magnificent arrival.

"You're lucky I was taking a break…" Daruun sighed and chuckled as he scanned the many faces and figures gathered. "So, Jack managed to set you free, Moranti? Too bad you're still under contract. Otherwise, I would eagerly welcome you as a son."

Moranti smiled. "Don't worry about it. With Jack's crazy leveling, it won't take long. And he's going to Earthen Keep, so I'm not worried."

"Good. You shouldn't be." Daruun turned to Choron next. "Sorry, but you're also under contract for the time being. I can't make you my son until that's changed."

"I understand." Choron nodded with a simple reply.

"As for you… Come here! I can finally accept you as my official daughter, not as a daughter-in-law!"

Lunara ran into Daruun's arms as Sterfen also joined in to form a group hug. The relief in Lunara's eyes was beyond description, something that would take days to describe and years to experience.

Then, pure white light left Daruun's body to envelop Lunara. It seeped into her, filling the Water Goddess with tender warmth. A burst of that white light filled the room again as Lunara was officially welcomed into the family as Daruun's newest daughter.

"Thank you, Father…" Lunara cried as she was embraced by Daruun and Sterfen. "Thank you, Sterf…"

"For you, anything…" Sterfen whispered softly.

The moment lasted a few seconds before Daruun released them. He looked to Kori and smiled sorrowfully. "I'm sorry it ended up like that…"

"Don't worry about it," stated Kori. "Losing an arm meant I was able to track my son, letting me save his life. I consider it a blessing."

"I'm glad you see things so clearly… I'm excited to welcome you into the family as my grandson. And now, I have my first-ever great-grandson!" Walking to the foxy duo, Daruun petted them both. "Welcome to the family, Bowzer!"

"Thanks!"

Both foxes licked Daruun as they enjoyed the familial bonds of the neutral gods all the more. That left Jack and the others as Daruun returned to face the group. "I don't have much time, so we'll have to be quick about it. What else do you need of me, Jack?"

"Before I forget, there's something I want you to hold onto." Looking to Eedaj, Jack asked, "You still have it on you, right?"

Surprised to realize Jack's scheme, Eedaj nodded. The next instant, a crystal ball with all manner of etchings and patterns was brought out of Eedaj's storage.

"That… You have one of his keys?!" Moranti was baffled and excited. "Wait! Why are you giving it to Daruun?!"

"Because that way no one will ever be able to unseal Skaryn," reasoned Jack.

"But--"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

Moranti thought hard, trying to think of something new to say. He ended up turning to Daruun and asked, "Is that the best thing to do? What's wrong with unsealing Skaryn?"

Daruun sighed and showed a soft smile. "That's hard to say… Skaryn is more complicated than Halmut, which is both a good and bad for this case. It's good because there's a chance he may be of aid to our cause but there's also a chance that he would absolutely ruin everything."

"There's a chance he would help us?!" Jack shouted in question. "How?! Then why does my system want me to prevent his return?!"

"All of these questions shouldn't be asked right now," stated Daruun. The God of Fate waved his hand to float the enchantment key toward him, taking it into his hands. "For now, I'll hold onto it."

Jack quickly opened his system but was disappointed to see that his quest to prevent Skaryn's revival was still active, even after Daruun took the enchantment key.

"Now, is there anything else?" Daruun asked. "If not, I'm awfully busy and--"

"Wait!" shouted Jack. "How should we handle the reserve forces that Halmut's been saving? We held back the syndicate, but that was with sacrifices. And now some of our key fighters will ascend and face gods instead."

"Then it sounds like you'll need to increase both your mortal and immortal forces. You need to hurry up and leave for Earthen Keep, or you'll take too long to reach your tomb and those two may not ascend," reasoned Daruun. "As for facing those beasts, you've already got a few races loyal to you, so why not better incorporate them into your forces?"

"What do… You mean the storehouse?" asked Jack.

"It would be a great start, enough to face the association together with your current forces. As for facing the dragons… Have you considered your party's potential strength? What about after you level up all the passive skills you've been ignoring? With some leveling, couldn't they challenge dragons? Dragov is already lv. 86, so it's a matter of getting the others to catch up," explained Daruun.

"And what about the wars that are about to break out?"

"Jack, you shouldn't be worried about anything. In fact, I don't think anyone should contact you until you return from your tomb," Daruun stated, stunning everyone. "I'll be frank. Trouble won't stop coming. But with everything you've prepared and everyone you've gathered under the Leisure Guild, they'll manage without you while you're in Earthen Keep."