The Achievement Junkie

The light faded and Jack remained on guard, as did the other gods present. But they were completely unready for what had taken place.

Halmut was nowhere to be found. The Sun God had vanished from where he stood, not making a single sound. He was simply gone, leaving behind a dwindling pillar of light.

Moranti found such a thing incredibly hard to believe, understanding the depth of Halmut's pride. He took to the sky and covered the entire area in purple energy to search for the Sun God.

"He's gone… He's really gone…" Jack's voice calmly resounded for all to hear amidst the silence.

As he descended to the ground, Jack was perplexed by what he found on his map. According to his map, Halmut was now inside the Olympic Chateau. It made no sense, but Jack had no reason to not trust his system.

"There's no way Halmut--"

"He's back in Olympic Chateau," stated Jack, shaking his head in disbelief and standing by his system. "According to my system, Halmut has fled back home. I'm not sure how but I can guarantee that he's left. As for why Halmut left, we're all clueless…"

"To Jack!"

All eyes turned toward Choron, who had raised one arm to the sky and smiled to the crowd around them. "Let us cheer for the man who forced Halmut to flee! Something that Moranti nor Skaryn could ever accomplish!"

"JACK! JACK! JACK!"

Before Jack and the others could say a word, everyone began to chant the name of their new leader, the man they personally witnessed fend off the strongest god. It was a monumental occasion that the entire world would want to know about. The many informants that had come to sit in on the conference were already passing the word of Jack's exchange with Halmut, stirring the world with the tale of his victory over the Sun God.

"I… But I didn't even--"

'Jack, I'm not wrong,' stated Choron telepathically. 'Do I know why Halmut left? Absolutely not. But you stated that Halmut has indeed fled after fighting against you. Perhaps you did succeed against him with Cerebral Collapse after all.'

'No,' Jack argued and shook his head. 'I'm certain that I failed, even my system recognized that. The fact that Halmut was able to flee proves that I failed to cripple him. But I don't understand why he would leave…'

'Either way, we can count this as a victory and use it to rally more support!' stated Eedaj. 'Who knows? Maybe Korten would agree to join us now. Considering this duel, you've proven to offer just as much protection as Halmut and his faction'

Jack nodded. 'I guess… But--'

'For now, don't worry about Halmut's retreat. You can talk with Daruun about it later after we get you back to the guild. I'm sure your wives and everyone else would like to see you.'

Looking back to Eedaj and then the others, Jack sighed and nodded.

Eedaj then looked to Moranti and added, 'You can stop that now. We know Halmut has fled so there's no use in wasting your mana.'

Moranti said nothing as he frowned and gave up his search. He joined them and waited a few seconds to say, 'Tell me when…'

A hand then proudly patted Jack on the back, reminding Jack of the current situation. King Brobit smiled and extended his hand. "Churstin will proudly rejoin Trodar and fully accept all offered support from the Leisure Guild. I look forward to working alongside respectable and powerful allies!"

"Right… We're glad to accept your allegiance."

Jack accepted the handshake, showing everyone present that Churstin had officially entered Trodar. Cheers of happiness filled the air as every citizen in attendance was proud to be apart of Trodar. Their opinions had shifted from questioning their king's decision to completely supporting it, all in a matter of minutes thanks to Jack's duel with Halmut. Who wouldn't want to be protected by someone able to repel the strongest god in history?

"Allow me to handle the rest, Jack." Vixus stepped up, reaching out and shaking the king's hand also.

Nodding, Jack agreed, "Vixus will handle your integration into Trodar and help you decide on how many guild branches you want. No matter what you need from us, Vixus will be the man to handle it. If he can't handle something, then he'll contact me."

"Then I look forward to working with you, Vice Guild Master Vixus."

"The feeling is mutual, King Brobit."

While the two diplomats exchange greetings and got to know each other, Eedaj asked Jack, "What are you going to do about those?"

Blinking, Jack sighed, "I should probably get these looked at."

"I can help you with that," mentioned Moranti, also noticing the burns that littered Jack's body. "The burns don't hurt much but they linger and worsen if they aren't treated properly. You can get them treated along with me."

"Then we're leaving, right?" asked Jack, not wanting to forget anything.

Before anyone else could say a word, Moranti had already opened a rift for the small party. "Hurry up. It's almost time for our appointment, Jack. We don't want to miss it."

As Moranti passed through the rift, Rikko laughed and followed closely. Eedaj and Choron shrugged and waited for Jack to go next. All the gods left amidst the cheering crowd, who only cheered louder as the rift was opened and closed within seconds.

Jack exited the portal only to almost get pushed back through it. Knocked to the ground, Jack lightly chuckled and patted Lina on the head. "You know, you don't have to tackle me every time."

"I know!" Lina laughed, helping Jack get back to his feet. "What do you think?"

Blinking, Jack realized that he had missed more than he anticipated. Lina was no longer the little, adolescent girl he knew. Now, Lina was Maura's height and looked to be in her late teens or early twenties. She was a spitting image of Lunara, lacking Lunara's mature beauty but making up for it with her youthful charm.

"Hello? Big Bro?"

"Oh, sorry!" Jack chuckled and put his hands up innocently. "You look great, Lina! But I don't think I can call you little anymore."

"You can always call me Little Lina, Big Bro. Mom and Dad still do, so I don't mind."

"I'll think about it…" Jack sighed, spotting the others in the room who were all staring anxiously at Jack.