The Achievement Junkie

Also, Sillo wondered one thing, something that Duorda made clear the moment they encountered each other. Duorda had introduced himself as the current assistant to Jack and the former assistant to Daruun. Being Jack's assistant was interesting but being Daruun's former assistant meant more than Sillo could fathom after learning that Daruun was from another world.

Didn't that mean that Duorda also came from outside of Kartonia? Wouldn't that mean that Duorda may have been right about all of his mid-battle comments?

Such thoughts kept Sillo from immediately accepting the multicolored crystal as an easy way to gain power. Sillo's perspective of power was completely flipped after that fight. If such control was how a newly ascended god completely overwhelmed a tag-team of gods that were three levels stronger, wouldn't it be best to seek higher levels of mana control and not raw power?

It also proved the drastically different approaches to training that Skaryn and Halmut used. The stimulants proved that Halmut sought raw power to the fullest. But that didn't line up with how Halmut defeated Skaryn after all, as they all knew that Skaryn was somehow sealed away without anyone fully knowing how.

At the same time, Sillo was able to think back to when Skaryn would rarely tutor him and his sister. Skaryn was always patient and wanted to perfect his techniques before trying to increase the power he put into them, always talking about how there were no shortcuts to true strength.

In the end, Sillo merely kept the crystal in his hand but didn't commit to absorbing any of its energy.

One god caught the crystal but promptly placed it on the table without a second thought. While nearly everyone was beginning to smile at the rush they felt, Perchet kept his calm and cool demeanor, unaffected by the positivity that everyone showed to the stimulants.

Perchet cared not for substantial power. He had always remained true to his strength and sought natural means to grow and protect his people. With motives of protective and not dominance, Perchet's view of strength was quite different than most dragons in general. But Perchet's abilities were also incredibly unique among the dragons, even within his own people. It was his rise that managed to cement them as a draconic race that shouldn't be messed with and was hard to predict in battle. And raw strength had nothing to do with it, as Perchet relied on tactics and difficult-to-counter abilities to win his battles.

Halmut paid little mind to those two, sure that they would eventually give in and try the stimulants. With the other gods instantly accepting them as a good thing, neither Perchet nor Sillo would be able to ignore the effect of stimulants for long.

"Seriously?!" Alcahain shouted with joy, getting everyone's attention.

"Congratulations on leveling up!" beamed Halmut, anxious to show off the strength of the stimulants.

"This… I now understand why you constantly absorb these," Torian added with a smile.

"I like it!" Grixor pounded his chest, staring eagerly at the untouched pile of stimulants.

"Bring me treasure and I trade stimulants for them. The more valuable the treasure, the more stimulants you'll receive. Even if I need to ask for more, that will be easy after we leave Kartonia," explained Halmut, getting smiles from nearly everyone. "With that settled, are there any more questions?"

"I have one, but it's more of a comment," Torian stated, losing a portion of his smile. "I want your help removing poison from my body?"

"Poison? How can you get poisoned?" questioned Halmut, wide-eyed.

"To distract me upon returning to the battlefield, one of Jack's copies stabbed me with a poison dagger." Retrieving the dagger, Torian slid it across the table for Halmut to examine. "The feeling is minuscule and I'm still more than capable of fighting with my full strength, but my body does feel occasional numbness which I can ignore."

"Numbness, huh?" Halmut picked up the dagger and gave it a sniff, immediately pulling back his nose. "Has it gotten worse, even a little?"

"In retrospect, I believe the numbness has ever so slightly been getting worse each time it acts up."

"Walking death toxin… It's been a long time but it makes sense for Jack to have it, given his history…" Halmut mumbled loudly, shaking his head. "It's not something that's of immediate concern but we should remember that Jack is the one who created walking death toxin in the first place, so him having such a concentrated amount is more than possible."

"Jack created that?" Perchet asked, sharing the surprise with many of the gods present.

Halmut continued, "Yes, that I'm certain. That was the first time I recognized the Legend of Trodar as a stand-out hero. He was the first to fulfill my quest among thousands of heroes. Though I gave hints and suggestions as to how such a toxin should be made, Jack was still the first to make it. Because of him, we gained a chemical advantage over Skaryn for a short while."

"Only because you had Skaryn's potential Poison God killed…"

"Enough, Perchet. No need to mention such a useless story and worthless divine candidate," Halmut stated. "Either way, we need to be aware that Jack likely has a lot more of this walking death toxin on him. There's a chance that he'll equip each of the gods with some in order to offer them another edge in battle in an attempt to make up for their low levels. Don't forget that."

At the same time, Halmut retrieved several vials and tossed them around the table. "These are the antibodies to fight walking death toxin, which Jack also created and turned in for the quest. We have plenty but that doesn't mean they'll instantly negate the immediate numbness. This will keep the toxin from progressing in your body and gradually kill the toxin in a day or two. Keep your wits about you when the leisure gods wield any unfamiliar weapon."

"Now, is there anything else?" Halmut asked. "No? Then let's end this and get to work creating new gods!"