The Achievement Junkie

"Cerebral Collapse."

More confident than ever, Jack was thrilled to have pulled off his plan. A rush of mana exited Jack's palm, acting as a magic scalpel aimed to permanently cut-off all of the Sun God's mobility. However, Jack felt the mana dispersed.

Now more than ever, Jack was very sensitive to the mana within his body and the man he expelled from his body. This was a natural side-effect of officially ascending to godhood and becoming a cosmician. It also allowed Jack to feel what he could only describe as a disturbance to his mana.

A new red and yellow notification flashed into the corner of Jack's vision, catching him off guard. While Halmut reached around and destroyed the invisible body double, Jack took a moment to read the notification.

[Mystic Interference Detected]

Baffled by his findings, Jack didn't know what to say as he looked back to a glaring Sun Dragon entering his hybrid form. "You… How did you counter my Cerebral Collapse?"

While the audience was curious why Halmut had attacked the air behind him, the other gods present were floored to hear Jack's question. Eedaj, in particular, was startled to hear that Jack had learned and flawlessly executed Eedaj's self-created attack on someone as formidable as Halmut.

"Now we duel, correct?" roared Halmut. "Let's take it to the sky, unless you want those here to feel the aftershocks."

Without waiting for an answer, Halmut rushed upward with the mighty flap of his wings. A gust of wind filled the make-shift conference hall and blew away all hats or loose apparel without prejudice.

Sighing, Jack took note of his system's warning. Not only was it startling to know that Halmut had some sort of countermeasure to Cerebral Collapse, it was surprising that the achievement system was able to create such a notification. Jack planned to ask Daruun about it later and see what other new features the system had created.

"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way…"

All eyes instantly shifted to Jack as a powerful, intimidating aura pulsed from him. It was a blend of multiple types, just as Halmut had shown on previous occasions. Wind and fire energy was abundant, as well as earth energy. Adding space energy showed Jack's uniqueness, grabbing even Halmut's attention.

At that moment, Jack activated all four of his bloodlines at once. For the first time, Jack felt a level of strength beyond anything he had experienced. Purple scales covered his body as a flexible exoskeleton armor layered over the top of it. Pitch-black flames snuck out of the crevices between armor plates whenever possible. Jack now had two sets of draconic purple wings, one pair jutting from his back and the other exiting from Jack's arms like bat wings. In place of each hand, Jack had a long singular claw, but they were now sharper than razors and were more similar to scythes than claws.

"Ha, ha… Ha, ha, ha!" Chuckling proudly as overwhelming power coursed through his body, Jack flapped both of his wings as a test of speed. In the blink of an eye, Jack was already in the air a couple of dozen meters away from the Sun God.

But to the mortals spectating, they didn't even see Jack flap his wings. From their perspective, Jack simply teleported and somehow created a gust of wind that rivaled or surpassed Halmut's.

While the two gods had a staredown before beginning their duel, the remaining gods stood in the air just above the crowd. They would act as a barrier while also getting a better view of the ensuing battle. Duorda and Moranti were the most excited, practically drooling over Jack's newest and most powerful form.

"Rikko?" Eedaj was the first to notice the Goblin God join them in the sky. "I thought you were--"

"Nephew Legend told Rikko not hide…" Rikko sighed, grumpy to be found so easily.

"Finally, I get to see it!" Duorda shouted in excitement, getting the attention of Eedaj, Rikko, and Choron. "So that's what he decided on, his final form! As my new master, I'm proud to see his strength be more than I had anticipated!"

"New master?!" Moranti finally exited his trance, jarred from that statement. "Is that the reward for beating you?"

Shaking his head, Duorda kept his eyes on Jack while replying, "Defeating me allows the winner access to Daruun's personal office and the spatial gate leading there. Jack will probably take you there eventually. I'm his assistant because Daruun has reassigned me and allowed me to begin training again alongside Jack."

"So you're on our side now?" asked Moranti, smiling wide.

"Of course I am! Even after you all leave this planet and enter the void, we'll continue to train and work together."

"After we leave this planet…" Moranti mumbled and repeated those words to himself, feeling a rush of enthusiasm overtake him.

The other three gods were in silent awe of Duorda's words. They didn't even know who Duorda really was yet he spoke casually with Moranti and nonchalantly mentioned that they would eventually leave the planet. Such an idea was new and almost revolutionary for their mindset. It wasn't dreadful news, it was shockingly exciting, something new that they had never bothered to think much about in the past.

All the while, Jack and Halmut wrapped their staredown with a few words.

"What skill are you using?" questioned Halmut, acting calm as he became resumed his level-headedness.

Jack smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll remember after you explain how you canceled my spell mid-cast?"

"That form… It seems to contain the strength of many ancient bloodlines," deduced Halmut. "In the past, you had the ability to access the bloodline of your fox companion. Can you access the bloodline of any beast you form a seal with, perhaps?"

"Do you have some one-star or two-star item that can negate spells against your mind?" Jack asked in return.

"Answer me, and I might spare your life."

"I can't say the same for you," replied Jack. "But I can offer you more time to live. Maybe I'll even let you feel the rush of your stimulants one last time before you die."