Capítulo 16: Preparing to Leave
Rydel looked out the window and noticed the sun climbing through the sky. He sighed, "Fine, but we will talk about this later. What do you suggest we do about the toxin and curse, kid?" Though it wasn't 100% confirmed that Jack was an ancient hero, Rydel followed his gut and accepted it as fact. But regardless of that, the current Jack was just some low leveled kid and that wouldn't change overnight.
"I've already written up a list of ingredients for the walking death antidote but I'm not yet sure what to do about that curse," stated Jack with a solemn face as he handed a small sheet of paper from his within his cloak to Rydel.
The lanky man scanned over the list and chuckled in disbelief. "Good luck finding these, it's going to be near impossible."
"I've already become a patron for a merchant in the town square, so I think that will help. But I'm too unfamiliar with the modern Kartonia, most of my former knowledge was rendered useless with the passing of time," said Jack.
"Well, we've got some time before we head out. I'll grab a drink and meet you in town square later, so go talk to your merchant and get yourself some basic supplies. I'm sure you already know what you need, right?" asked Rydel sarcastically.
"Yeah, yeah." Jack nodded as he got up and exited the room.
Rydel stared at the empty doorway and took in a deep breath. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "An Ancient hero, huh? Looks like we got lucky this time."
Jack was already outside and raring to go. First, he stopped at Jezelle's to grab some breakfast on the go but wasn't able to find her. With food in hand and a few less copper in his purse, Jack ate his way towards the town square. Once he got there, he saw Zarris opening up and greeted him. "Morning Zarris. You open?"
"For you, of course," Zarris was a little surprised to see Jack again so soon but welcomed him all the same.
"I've got a list of things I need, mind taking a look?" Jack didn't wait for a response before handing him the list of antidote ingredients.
Zarris glanced at the list and went wide-eyed. "These things... what on earth are you doing to need so many high-level items?"
"It's not for me, I need to help a friend. Do you have a way to get any of these?" asked Jack.
"Well, I don't personally have any of these, but I might be able to get my hands on some refined cleansing powder. As for the other three main ingredients, I don't think I can help you. Death rattlers aren't very common and are extremely tricky to deal with. I don't know anywhere in the city where you can get some of its poison or blood. And the life tree's dew, you can forget about that completely. A life tree only gets spotted once a century," explained Zarris dejectedly.
"Then forget the dew and please ask around about the death rattler blood and poison. Maybe some of the night merchants have some on hand?" said Jack, quickly adjusting to the circumstances.
"Fine, I'll ask around, but I won't make any moves to get these things until you can get me something worthwhile. These items you ask for aren't cheap, you know," stated Zarris.
"Then I must thank you," said Jack as he bowed his head. "Also, I need some kind of spacial storage. Do you have anything for eight gold?"
Zarris smirked as he led Jack into the back. "I have some that might interest you. Take a look at these three."
An open chest showed many items and treasures, with the three Zarris mentioned near the top. Jack pulled out all three and set them on the table. There was a ring, an armband, and a necklace. Using the system to quickly scan the three, Jack grabbed the one he wanted off the table and held it up in front of Zarris. "I'll give you five gold."
"Why the necklace?" Zarris asked. In his opinion, the necklace was the lesser of the three items and he would typically sell it for half of what Jack offered. Knowing Jack's character, it was clear that the necklace was special.
"Eight gold. It's rumored that the necklace in your hand is ancient, just look at how worn and dull the coloring is," argues Zarris.
"Five gold going once," said Jack.
This tactic caught Zarris off guard. Rather than argue and haggle for a price, Jack blatantly offered a price a little higher than the norm and stood firm. It was obvious them both that only someone like Jack would offer more than three gold.
"Five going twice," Jack continued counting.
"Sold for five gold," said Zarris as he shook his head.
"Wise choice. And rest assured, I'll make sure to bring you plenty of goodies from my missions," said Jack as he put the faded, pale-purple necklace around his neck.
"You aren't going to get too excited and leave without getting supplies again, are you? I'll add three potions and three elixirs for another three silver," said Zarris, raising his hand like it wasn't difficult at all. Another chest was opened and six glass bottles were pulled out, three blue elixirs and three red potions.
Jack grabbed and stored them all easily before he turned and bowed again to Zarris. "Thanks, friend. Please let me know as soon as you get news on anything from that list."
"Will do. I'll see you soon enough, I'm sure," said Zarris who waved him off in a friendly manner and showed him out.
Since he still had about an hour before noon, Jack found a seat within the ancient rock garden in the center of the town square. Instinctively, he opened his menu and made his way to the achievement list.
With all the drama over Zariff, Jack had never found time to explore the new achievements and skill points. The five unread achievements from the night before had now become seven unread achievements.
[Win Jezelle's challenge: in progress]
[Reach lv. 10: in progress]
[Reach lv. 20: in progress]
[Reach lv. 30: in progress]
[Remove Zariff's curse: in progress]
[Travel to Trodar: incomplete]
[Find the tomb: incomplete]
The first four new achievements and the sixth new achievement were the result of his talk with Jezelle and only offered skill points. After speaking with Zariff the night before, the fifth new achievement had appeared and offered a varied reward based on how long it took him to remove the curse.
At the bottom of the list was an achievement activated by his newest soul-piercing, "Hidden Agenda."
This "Hidden Agenda" had the passive ability to unlock hidden achievements upon interacting with something related to the achievement. Jack was very familiar with items like this and they helped him tremendously when he was playing the game. Now that he had to live and survive based on the achievements he discovered and completed; this item became invaluable to him.
[Find the tomb: incomplete]
[Find the tomb of PleasantLilly98 near the outskirts of Reinolt City. Reward: 10 skill points, access to her saved data.]
Jack smiled as he read the achievement's description. This achievement was activated when he had grabbed the necklace for the first time. The previous owner of the necklace was labeled as PleasantLilly98, the same person mentioned in the new achievement. What Jack liked, even more, was the reward of this fallen hero's saved data. He was extremely curious about what he could do with that.
There were no other clues besides it being near the outskirts of the city, but that was way too general. Jack guessed that she was a new player since her necklace was so low leveled and imagined that her tomb wouldn't be too dangerous. The biggest problem was finding it.
Reinolt City was massive; to comb over its outskirts would take weeks for the current Jack, and he wouldn't want that. For the time being, he didn't investigate the catacomb and made a mental note to get around to it.
He closed his achievement list and opened up his skill tree, which continued to offer new branches and skills with every new interaction he had. Seeing the unused thirty skill points brought a grin to his face.
Jack took his time to upgrade and divvy up the points. Two points upgraded persuasion to lv. 1, ten points upgraded bow to lv. 2, and ten points upgraded evasion to lv. 2. With eight points left, he eventually upgraded perception and deposited the last three points in stealth.
Seeing the sun high in the sky, Jack knew that Rydel would come find him pretty soon. In the meantime, Jack took his time reading and memorizing the map of the modern Kartonia. He paid extra close attention to the nations surrounding Trodar and those he'd have to cross to travel there. With a mountain range and a massive lake in the way, he knew that the journey wouldn't be easy.
Jack thought back to his many missions and accomplishments in Trodar with his former guild. This inspired him to press forward the best he can and to do whatever it takes to level up.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill Thanks for reading and voting! Let me know what you think in the comments.
Capítulo 17: Trouble Exiting the City
"Are you ready kid?" asked Rydel. He found Jack sitting in the center of the rock garden with his eyes closed. It looked like he was either in deep meditation or sleeping while sitting up. Rydel bet on the latter.
"Sure thing," said Jack as he slowly opened his eyes to see Rydel standing above him. "So, what are we gonna do, captain?" Jack carried a sarcastic tone when he said the word captain, which caused Rydel to twitch ever so slightly. With that in mind, Jack smirked and took note to keep calling him that in the future.
Rydel didn't stop him from saying it because it was common for a party or squad leader to be known as the captain. Although the loner Rydel preferred not to be called that, he figured that if he gave it more attention, it would have the opposite effect with the nosey Jack. After clicking his tongue against his teeth Rydel answered, "I'll explain on the way, we've got to head out if we want to reach our destination in time."
The two left town square and headed west until they came up to the western gate. There were two enormous wooden doors, each large enough to let a couple of elephants through. Raised above it was a metal gate that was only dropped in case of emergencies.
Jack tried to converse with Rydel multiple times but never received a response. Only after reaching the western gate did Rydel say anything. He didn't stop like the others exiting the city. Instead, he shouted, "We're with the Adventurers Association, open up!"
Some of the guards didn't know how to act and just fidgeted around them. One guard was wearing full battle plate and stood on a raised platform to the right of the large gate. That man looked up and barked out orders, "Give 'em a light search before opening the gate."
Rydel's eyes narrowed when he saw the captain of the guard. "Fronks, just let us through. It's our right as association members to pass without a search. What are you trying to do?"
"Just following the new procedures. The Royal Court ordered that all who exit and enter require a search of their person and spacial storages. With the chaos running so rampant, it's better to be safe than sorry," Fronks answered easily as if he had rehearsed it many times before.
"What trash! The association is an international power, comparable to the entire Reinolt Kingdom. What right do you have to search us?" shouted Rydel, making sure everyone within hearing distance could hear him.
"Calm down Rydel, it's just a simple search." Fronks put up his hands, acting innocent in front of the newly watching civilians. "Everyone has to go through with it. Are you saying you're better than everyone here?"
"Not better, just more privileged. I've worked my whole life to achieve what I have, to reach lv. 29, and to become a member of the association. Just because the local branch is smaller than average doesn't mean that you can bully us," claimed Rydel, stepping forward towards the gate and ignoring the guards approaching him.
"Are you resisting a simple search? Come on, what's there to hide?" said Fronks, oblivious to Rydel's straightforward answer. "If you resist a search, I'll have to call the other captain and insist that you and your friend chat with us privately."
Rydel knew that Jack wouldn't be able to resist the other guards with his lv. 1 status. Everyone in the city knew that to become a captain of the guard, you had to reach at least lv. 25. Facing one wasn't a problem, but two would make a simple getaway impossible. He clicked his tongue and glanced back at Jack. What he saw caused his jaw to drop.
Jack had already nocked an arrow on his bow and conveniently pointed it toward the arrogant captain of the guard. He was easily overlooked as a lv. 1 and had no one paying him much attention, so doing that much was easy. After everyone followed Rydel's glance and saw Jack, he spoke loudly, "I don't think you can stop us, if I'm being honest. Besides, if we make a big enough commotion, chief Zariff might come and join the party."
All the guards froze when they heard Jack mention Zariff. It was true that the kingdom wasn't too friendly with the association and the relationship was worsening over time, but everyone was clear on Zariff's standing within the kingdom. As the number three in the kingdom, everyone would both respect and fear him.
"Don't listen to him! He's just a lv. 1 brat with a big mouth," yelled Fronks, knowing that his men were frightened by the words of the mouse-like threat in front of him. "If the brat has the balls, he'd take his shot. I doubt he could even reach this far, let alone—"
Fronks was interrupted by the twang of a bowstring and the whizzing sound of an arrow flying through the air. He was startled, not by the arrow but by the courage this lv. 1 adventurer showed.
The captains of the guard had heard all about Jack from Arnole and were given clear orders to make trouble for him if he tried to leave the city. Though he didn't know that Jack was a summoned hero that defected to the Adventurers Association, he knew that he had turned down the Royal Court and joined the association instead.
This was a slap to the Royal Court's face and would affect its prestige if news got out. Just as the arrow reached him, it blew past his head and left Fronks untouched. "Ha! You can't even hit a stationary target, what kind of hunter are you?"
"Who said I missed?" said Jack with a wry smile.
While thinking to himself, Fronts looked behind him and was shocked to see that the arrow had pierced and damaged the upper hinge of the massive right-side door of the gate. Everyone heard the wood creak as it began to bend and bow due to its weight. It wasn't enough to cause any problems, but for a lv. 1 to cause that much damage to the massive gate was unbelievable.
From the outside, the doors were too thick to easily breakthrough, but thanks to hinges on the inside Jack was able to exploit its weak point.
Rydel began to laugh hysterically and immediately drew his bow with two arrows nocked. "Not bad kid, but you need to hit it a lot harder if you want to bring the door down."
Before Fronks could yell in retaliation and get anyone to stop Rydel, the two arrows were released and drilled into the two remaining hinges of the right-side door. Unlike Jack's arrow that merely weakened and damaged it using the door's own weight, Rydel's arrows shattered the hinges into dozens of pieces.
Losing the support of the two lower hinges, the door peeled off the top hinge and fell to the ground, toppling over as it pushed against Fronks' raised platform and all the guards scattered.
The duo of adventurers took advantage of the situation and dashed through the opening. All the guards were either scrambling to get on their feet or were busy trying to support the raised platform to keep it from falling over. Captain Fronks was furious and immediately sent orders to distribute warrants for both Rydel and Jack.
Both hunters quickly fled into the outlying forest, laughing the whole way. Rydel stopped after reaching about a kilometer out and said, "Kid I like your style. I was worried that you'd be a handicap in a situation like that, but who would've imagined a lv. 1 doing something that crazy. How'd you do that by the way? You shouldn't be anywhere near strong enough to do the damage you did."
"I may be lv. 1, but I'm a lv. 1 hero. The logic of the other classes doesn't apply to me," laughed Jack. "I've got my ways to get stronger, besides EXP. But once I level up, I'll be able to do a lot more damage." Jack knew his strength was disproportionate to his level, but that was only for the skills he had upgraded. Any lv. 0 skill wasn't even worth mentioning, no matter what level he would reach in the future.
"I'll keep that in mind kid, but you need to stay smart too. Remember, you just pissed off a captain of the guard and helped me destroy the city gate. I'm not too worried cause I'm lv. 29 and can hold off most people till Zariff and the association take care of the warrants. You, on the other hand, are a lv. 1 kid that anyone could easily target. What are you going to do?" asked Rydel, truly curious why Jack did something so crazy.
"I wasn't going to let them scan my spacial storage, are you out of your mind. I might be lv.1 but don't forget that I was also an ancient hero," answered Jack as he activated his spacial necklace and took out the weather jade.
Rydel was taken aback that Jack could produce not only a spacial necklace but such a valuable item like a weathered jade. It wasn't too useful for anyone above lv. 20, but it was a treasure for anyone else valued at around a dozen gold.
With a weathered jade, Jack's level would soar even further with Rydel carrying him. If the guards had searched their spacial storages, they would've taken such a treasure from a weak lv. 1 like Jack. The lanky hunter chuckled, "You really are an ancient hero, aren't you? I don't know how you got your hands on something like that, but you're way too crafty to be some wannabe."
Jack smiled at the compliment and kept laughing. He was a little worried about him temporarily having a warrant, but it only made him more determined to not return until after reaching lv. 10.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill
The 2nd daily chapter will be out shortly. Thanks for reading and following the story!
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