The Achievement Junkie

Daruun sighed and explained, "It was after Halmut and Skaryn accepted this deal that they began to change how they perceived the world. Halmut was especially excited to gain more strength and influence, entertaining the thought of leaving Kartonia to rule a system or precinct of his own.

"However, Skaryn wasn't all that interested in ruling over anybody. He was interested in strength but his concept of strength had always come from hard work and not from shortcuts. Only after Skaryn had made a contract with Moranti did he finally attempt to use the few 'stimulants' he was gifted, but he didn't even use them all in the end."

Finally showing a semblance of a smile, Daruun added, "Luckily, Skaryn contacted me and asked about the stimulants. That was when I immediately cracked down on the situation and began paying more attention to Kartonia than ever before.

"I ejected any and all outsiders from Kartonia and strengthened the barrier deterring outsiders from entering. Now, only two-stars can exit the world, and only four-stars or higher can enter it," stated Daruun. "Sadly, Halmut had already taken advantage of his stimulants and had received many more already. When Halmut refused to give them up, I was forced to strike his name from the family and declare him a lost cause."

"And what about Skaryn?" asked Jack.

"Skaryn's trained sensitivity to raw cosmic energy kept him from using the stimulant more than a couple of times. But, sadly, those few moments of usage can still debilitate a cosmician's strength to a degree… Until more studies are done and we better understand how faux-ore affects cosmicians, there's no way to remove the minor debilities infringed on Skaryn. That's when I underwent my second plan involving the birth of your father, Sterfen."

Jack was still hung up on something though, which Daruun recognized quickly.

"And yes, Skaryn is still regarded as my son and your uncle," clarified Daruun. "Though he had begun to use contracts despite my dislike for such a system, Skaryn kept the contracts within reason. Each of his contracts had two means of termination, either through achieving a certain feat or by reaching lv. 99.

"Halmut, on the other hand, has no expiration on his contracts and only agreed to a cancellation clause with a handful of gods that were smart enough to argue for it," Daruun added with a disdainful tone.

"In other words, even if the other holy gods managed to leave Kartonia, they would still have to answer to Halmut?" deduced Jack.

"Correct…" sighed Daruun. "Skaryn's contracts are unnecessary in my eyes but were only done in counter to Halmut's contracts. Also, Skaryn's contracts never infringed on the purpose behind Kartonia's creation, to offer me a steady stream of capable leader candidates. Halmut's contracts directly infringe on that, trying to increase Halmut's influence within Gem Inc."

"But if Skaryn is still in the family, then why haven't you--"

"I was aiding Skaryn, to an extent," continued Daruun. "After raising your father and teaching him the fundamentals, I was constantly guiding him. And though I raised him, it was Sterfen's determination and craftiness that made him what he is today. I was never regarded as an assassin, that was his own prerogative.

"Sterfen works as a unifying leader within the neutral gods of Kartonia and was secretly Skaryn's informant. He--"

"But I thought--"

"I get that you're anxious to learn more, Jack, but don't interrupt your grandfather so often. It may hurt my feelings," joked Daruun.

Jack nervously chuckled as Daruun continued, "It was Sterfen that tipped Jack off about Halmut's secret raid on Kustram. Also, it was Sterfen that guided Moranti in intercepting Naparn, Torian, and Lyrun from supporting Halmut in battle. The main reason no god's perished during the godly war was Sterfen's espionage and Skaryn's unwillingness to sacrifice his own people, despite some of his underlings doing so anyway."

Once a pause came up and Daruun waited for Jack's question, the hero finally asked, "Then, does that mean you still want to support Skaryn?"

"Yes, I do," answered Daruun. "Though he can no longer play the main role, Skaryn would still be a tremendous support for you and your father. And he has always accepted me as the father he never had, so how could I not want to support him? Skaryn, should he work hard enough, should still be able to become a five-star with his tireless determination. If we're lucky, a breakthrough will be made eventually and allow Skaryn to regain his full potential."

"I still have a couple of questions," stated Jack. "First, do the faux-ores have anything to do with Halmut's failure to surpass lv. 99? And second, how did Halmut manage to defeat Skaryn?"

"Yeah, how did he do it?" asked Duorda, again showing his anxiousness. "I was certain that Skaryn could wipe Halmut out in a fight. It wouldn't be easy, but I know that Skaryn was more powerful."

"I'll answer both of your questions at the same time, as the answers are connected," Daruun stated. "Halmut's use of faux-ore led to him gaining a surge of strength to help him level the playing field. Though it greatly reduces potential, it's effects are especially potent among the one-stars and two-stars that depend on it.

"However, due to Halmut relying on stimulants so much, his body no longer processes the energy filtered through Kartonia. That's one of the key side effects of faux-ore, making it all the easier to get addicted.

"It's also why Halmut now needs more stimulants in order to level up, but his ration of faux-ore is quite low now that he has no direct contact with Gem Inc," added Daruun. "Halmut may still be colluding with Gem Inc. and waiting for the right moment to act. As proof of that belief, Gem Inc sent a kamikaze messenger through the outer barrier to send one final 'care package' to Halmut, just before I increased the barrier's strength. I think is Halmut is simply waiting for Gem Inc. to make their move, which is hard to predict with Jewel being the true mastermind.

"As for their battle…"

Daruun sighed and smiled lightly. He stood from his seat and clapped his hands. A flash of light carried the three men into a vision of sorts, letting them appear high in the sky, overlooking a not-too-distant island nation.

"How about I show you, rather than tell you?"