The Achievement Junkie

As purple light dispersed through the room, Jack was left standing in front of a large conference table.

"It's about time, Jack! I don't want to wait any longer!"

"Calm down, Hadurt. Everyone's had to wait, so you--"

"I can finally become a god and you want me to wait?! What's wrong with you?!" Hadurt howled.

Jack sighed, "We'll handle your blessing at the end of this discussion like we will for everyone else. Now… You're probably wondering why I've gathered you all here today."

"Not really--"

"Quiet, Hadurt! It's my turn to speak!" shouted Jack, sad to have the impatient demon ruin the moment. "Either way, it's been a while since we gathered as guild leaders, gods, and party members, as well as some new additions that have tagged along for the ride."

Jack paused and took in the view of the room, glad to have people from Reinolt to Aazoon to Trodar all gathered for a meeting, for anyone with a competent level and a close relationship with Jack. Seeing Wilheim with his son standing beside Tridon and the young nobles from Zuran made Jack smile, offering the guild more leadership at a variety of levels.

"I've gathered you all here to tell you about the truth of Kartonia. This knowledge will feel overwhelming so I won't go into too much detail at the moment. But first, let me announce that Korten has agreed to join Trodar."

"What?!" Eedaj was the first to shout, followed by most everyone in the room. Eedaj continued, "How?! How could you possibly get them to secede so quickly?!"

"Thanks to Lyrun's help, that's how," replied Jack. "Grangor is already there and Gwendon agreed to allow all greis elves to live in Estonya as well. I'm sure Gwendon would proudly introduce you to the city as well."

"That…"

"He's just excited, that's all," added Jin, slapping Eedaj's back with a chuckle. "What's this about Kartonia's purpose? You make it sound like we've all been missing out on something."

"Well.. you have been missing out…" Jack shrugged, surprising everyone with his bluntness. "First and foremost, you should all know that Kartonia is only a single planet among thousands and thousands with sentient life. And Daruun is in charge of more planets than we can count."

"Okay, but what does that mean for us?" Jin asked, sensing that Jack was about to get to the good part.

"To clarify for those that don't know, Daruun, the God of Fate, is the creator of Kartonia. He did so to find and raise powerful experts." While those from Reinolt and Aazoon were floored by that information, Jack continued, "Us gods of Kartonia would be called cosmicians according to the rules of the void."

"The… void?" Lunara blinked in thought, as did many.

"The void is the vast, empty space that exists between the countless planets," explained Jack. "Cosmicians are beings that can wield cosmic energy, the same energy that we begin to use after becoming gods. But we're at the bottom of the ranks, as one-star cosmicians. To earn the rank of a two-star cosmician, we'll have to surpass lv. 99."

"Surpass lv. 99?!" Guuro shouted. "But that's already so difficult and it's only to become one rank higher?!"

"Like I said earlier, Daruun rules over countless planets and he created Kartonia as a means to raise aids or possibly a future partner to help him rule." Taking a moment to sigh, Jack added, "I've accepted the challenge to become Daruun's official partner. It means that soon, after I pass lv. 99, I'll be leaving the planet to travel and grow stronger.

"I'm telling you all this because I think some of you would also be interested to know that there's more out there besides Kartonia, and that we can grow far stronger than we believed previously."

"Can I become an aid?!" Jin immediately stood up and raised his arm with eagerness to tag along.

"I'm not going to stop you or--"

"Don't count out your mother and father!" Lunara shouted.

Smiling, Jack chuckled, "I could never count you two out. Actually, Dad already knows about this, otherwise, I'd wait for his return to talk about this over. Anyone that wants to tag along and grow stronger is welcome, whether they're already a god or will soon become one. There's no limit to how many people are allowed to travel and grow beyond Kartonia. And Daruun has offered to help anyone that joins our cause as well if that wasn't obvious."

"Jack… How strong is Daruun?"

Looking back to Jin, Jack smiled and shook his head. "I know but you're not ready to handle that. After you're strong enough to leave Kartonia, I'm sure he'll tell you more specifics about everything. For now, just know that he's far stronger than any two-star or three-star cosmician."

"Umm… May I speak?"

"Of course, Wilheim. Go right ahead," responded Jack.

The king sighed and calmed himself before asking, "Why are you telling us this? We're new to Trodar and have nothing to offer that these gods can already surpass tenfold. Then--"

"That doesn't matter," stated Jack. "If you have the will and determination, then we'll help anyone worthy to become a god and eventually travel outside of Kartonia should they choose to. I thought that you and the other newer faces shared that will and determination, so I wanted you to know that the opportunity exists. Don't believe that you can never become a god. Train hard enough and you can surpass everything that we gods can currently fathom."

"Thank you, Jack!" Wilheim and Willim both bowed as the king's eyes were slightly watery. He was astounded to learn that his fear of personal limitations could be conquered.

"Count me in!"

"Me too."

Flint shouted and smiled wide while Tarnel tried to keep Flint from going crazy out of excitement. Tridon was silent, but his eager eyes spoke volumes to how excited he truly was.

Looking to those that had already ascended, Jack found a few with unwilling eyes and sighed.