The Achievement Junkie

In the waiting chamber, plenty of cosmicians wanted to meet and properly greet Jack but were turned away. The Sicabor twins worked as a social buffer, keeping those with lower social status from imposing their conversation with Jack which took place in a barrier of silence.

Jack was very interested in speaking with the twins and their offer to visit their homeworld, but Jack was too invested in his system's newest notifications. He assumed he could glance through them and clear them away but suddenly gasped in shock.

[Combining of significant achievements completed in unison: completed]

[Combining of significant achievements with event achievement in unison: completed]

[All for one, none for all: completed]

Momentarily ignoring the questioning gazes of the twins, Jack selected his newly updated achievement and lost control of his jaw. It limply fell as his eyelids lost the ability to blink.

[All for one, none for all: completed]

[Defeat and obliterate more than two hundred late one-star foes by using yourself as bait and sacrifice, then self-reviving to claim everything as your own along with the key to Glacier Keep's nexus. Event reward: 25,000 skill points. Two-star reward: 50,000 skill points. Would you like to claim this reward?]

"Hello? Jack? What's wrong?!" Woltin chuckled as he shook Jack's motionless body.

"Uh, umm…" Jack shook his head, coming back to reality. "Sorry… I just got caught up in thought, is all…"

While Jack immediately claimed his greatest reward to date, Wollice repeated his question, "So… what was the true treasure?"

"I'm… I'm not sure. You didn't miss much. After the explosion, I claimed the keys and opened the barrier for the third purple core. Now my card is like this." Holding up his card, Jack added, "Apart from that, I'm not even sure what this is for."

*****

Beyond the Kartonian atmosphere, the vastness of space hid none of its beauty or splendor. However, that natural scenery was abruptly interrupted by a shockwave of green energy. A large spacecraft had finally arrived at its destination.

That ship was almost two kilometers long and at least one hundred meters wide. The pitch-black metal allowed it to blend in well with the surrounding space and faint glowing lights would occasionally glimmer around the ship's exterior. There were two open balconies, one on each side, and three open decks at the front, center, and rear of the vessel. With dozens of floors streamlined windows on every floor, the ship gargantuan and powerful yet aloof and agile. Flexible engines at the front and back allowed for the ship to travel at speeds unfathomable to most cosmicians and stop without a second thought, with no need to coast or drift in space.

The moment the ship stopped, a man hurriedly walked onto the front deck. In his pure white robe, the man stroked his small beard while gazing over Kartonia. Hopping off the deck to float above the atmosphere, he commented, "It seems things are under control now… I'll have to increase Oli's pay for this…"

"Thanks for the show, Daruun. It somewhat relieved my boredom…"

Without hesitation, white energy gathered around Daruun and dozens more of him came to life. More than one hundred Daruuns now surrounded what appeared to be empty space, but from that empty space came a calm laugh.

Daruun remained on edge as the potential invader gave away his position after giving away his presence already. A veil of darkness was lifted as a black figure came into view. He wore all black with few accents of white lining the pockets of his coat, shirt, and pants. It looked like a man but didn't appear entirely human. His head was humanoid but lacked hair over his scalp, as well as ears, eye sockets, nose, or mouth. Darkness forever swirled over what could be described as chilled skin stretched over the entirety of the man's body, with no hair, fingernails, toenails, or any descriptive feature. Apart from his black and white attire, had only his unusual complexion for the world to recognize him.

"Why are you here?!" Daruun shouted in question, ready to attack the moment the man made a move.

"Relax, Daruun… I was only enjoying the show. I've got to give you credit, I like what you've done with Jack… I'll most definitely remember him…"

"You--"

"Want to fight, Daruun?" As Daruun immediately stopped speaking, the man laughed harder. "Though I wouldn't call your trivial interference of my show a fight, I suppose it would be more exciting than watching their happy ending…"

"What if I get involved?"

"Oh… That might change things…" the shadowy man chuckled, turning his head toward the front deck of the ship. "To think that a prominent district leader would openly hire such a menacing rogue… Daruun, how cautious can you be?"

Standing on the front deck, a man leaned over the edge with a mischievous smile. Compared to mortals, he appeared to be in his early thirties though his hairless face had been well known for millennia. His hair blacker than the spatial scenery had streaks of silver throughout, but not by way of aging. And his eyes had no iris, at least they didn't appear to have irises due to their pitch-black color.

"Who said I was under contract?" snickered the man. "Sadly, I'm at a disadvantage. You know me better than most yet I know so little about you… How about we get to know each other a bit better?"

"As fun as that would be, I don't think I have the time to deal with you, Darlok…" the dark man sighed in disappointment. "Besides… If I have my way with you two, Silas would only seek retribution all the faster. Though I'd love to play with him again, I can't fit him into my schedule at the moment. Perhaps I'll come back when I've got more time on my hands…"

Darkness engulfed the man yet again, but this time his body seemingly dwindled away along with the dispersing darkness. Moments later, Daruun's many copies heaved sighs of relief in unison before they faded away.