The Achievement Junkie

It took what Jack assumed was thirty minutes to reach the luxurious yet comfortable lounge, at least thirty minutes according to Kartonia's clock.

"Take a seat. If you're hungry, just ask for something," Duorda stated, falling back cozily on a recliner.

"What do you--"

Before Jack could ask what Duorda meant, a small puff of smoke appeared beside the hero. From that puff of smoke emerged an ethereal being wearing attire only fit for a tiny butler. "How may I help you, sir?"

"Ummm…" Struck dumb, Jack needed a moment to process the situation further.

"He'll have the chef's special," Duorda answered in Jack's place, guessing the hero hadn't eaten a proper meal since entering Earthen Keep. "I'll have a large cosmix."

"It will be right out." The small, illusory butler bowed gracefully and puffed away as quickly as he had appeared.

Still taking things in, Jack sat down and asked, "What was that?"

"That's a spirit construct. It's a being created by proportionately combining spirits into a single being."

"That's possible?!"

"Of course! If not, I wouldn't exist!"

Straining his eyes, Jack stared carefully at Duorda. "You're… You're a spirit construct? You're not just some summoned undead?"

"No! I'm not such a lowly creature!" spat Duorda. "I'll let you know that I'm a high-class construct, made from only the most powerful of spirits. My bones aren't truly bones. This skeleton I inhabit was created by Daruun long ago to house my hand-crafted soul."

"Hand… crafted…" Just when Jack thought his mind was overwhelmed, learning Duorda's true identity was enough to cause an emergency shut down.

"Come on, Jack. Speak up. If you have more questions, I'll answer them while Daruun's busy," continued Duorda. "I promised you that you'd learn all, so ask away."

"Right…" Jack took a few minutes to quiet his turbulent mind and bring the most glaring questions to the front. "So… You're a construct… and your soul was man-made?"

"I prefer hand-crafted," corrected Duorda, "as it proves that I was created with the utmost care."

"Okay… Does that mean you've always been serving Daruun?"

"I've been with him all my life. The only period of time where we were apart was after I become the guardian of Kartonia's spatial gate," answered Duorda. "Apart from that, I've lost count of the millennia that I've spent in his service."

"Are all constructs like that?"

"Like what?"

"Are all constructs obedient to their master?" Jack rephrased his question.

"Oh, you want to know if we're slaves to our creators? Some people do that but not Daruun. He knows better than that," Duorda stated.

Another puff of smoke appeared, revealing the illusory butler and the two platinum-white domes in his hands. "Here you are."

The larger dome was placed on the side table near Jack and the smaller dome was placed beside Duorda. "Is there anything else you desire?"

"That'll be all. Thank you." Duorda waved and smiled while lifting the dome off the platter. He picked up the large cocktail glass and sighed, "If we need anything more… we'll call for you."

"Of course. Please do," the butler replied with one last bow and disappeared again.

To Jack's surprise, Duorda put the multicolored cocktail to his teeth and slowly poured it. The hero watched as the multicolored drink trickled down Duorda's bones, perplexed. However, Jack was further astonished as the multicolored liquid seeped into Duorda's bones before it could reach the seat cushions or stain Duoarda's tattered robes.

"What? Got a thing for skeletons?" Duorda asked, catching Jack's obvious stares. "Sorry, Jack, I don't swing that way."

"No!" Jack's eyes darted away, making sure that such a statement wouldn't be made again. "I just… What is that drink exactly?"

"Of all the things you want to know and you're curious about my cocktail? Did you hit your head during our fight or something?"

"I'm just curious why it absorbs into your bones," stated Jack, not giving Duorda more time to mock him.

"Oh… I guess that makes sense. It's called a 'cosmix'. Across the void, it's the most famous drink among cosmicians or any being that functions on cosmic energy."

"Void? And cos… what?"

"The 'void' is what we call the vastness that makes up our galaxy. We call it the void as it's still filled with mystery, danger, and new findings or challenges," answered Duorda. "Also, anyone that is able to absorb and utilize cosmic energy is a cosmician. Technically, all the gods of Kartonia would count as cosmicians as well, albeit that almost all of them are clueless of that fact."

"Wait, does that mean all cosmicians are that powerful?"

"Compared to Kartonia's standards, yes," stated Duorda. "Kartonia is a special case, though. It may not have created many cosmicians compared to other worlds but the few cosmicians Kartonia has are all quite powerful in their own right. Compared to most one-stars, Kartonia's cosmicians would all fair exceedingly well."

"What's a 'one-star'?"

Sighing, Duorda continued after finishing his drink. "The scale for a cosmician's strength are called stars. Across the void, one-star cosmicians are powerful enough to travel from one world to the next without the aid of technology. But that's still incredibly slow and dangerous so it's not recommended by any means.

"A two-star cosmician can traverse the space between half a dozen planets without needing to rest. Three-stars can travel to a planet a few dozen planets over, and so on," explained Duorda, leaving Jack enraptured.

"The reason Kartonia is special is because Daruun created it specifically to breed select cosmicians with great potential for growth. Do I need to explain more or are you smart enough to figure out the rest?"

"Then… The reason Halmut's racing to pass lv. 99… But why would Daruun want that, and why hasn't Halmut ascended yet?" Jack rambled and mumbled to himself in thought.

"Halmut?" Looking back to Jack, Duorda asked, "Halmut's the one about to leave? I thought Skaryn would've beaten him for sure!"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, caught off guard again.

"Halmut was strong but Skaryn was stronger. Along with Moranti, those three were the only others that managed to get me to fight all-out like you did. Sure, they ran away in the end but they still managed to put up a fight, especially Skaryn."