Capítulo 38: Another Inheritor?
"Fine, I'll form one. You'll be the second person to receive my inheritor pact."
That sentence struck a chord in Maynard's heart, marking this as one of his happiest moments. Jack continued, "My inheritor pact is a little different, it's a pact that I created."
"Seriously!?" Maynard was astounded by that fact.
Jack chuckled, it wasn't too difficult for him to do in-game and he mainly did it for the achievement. "The inheritor pact is similar to a mutual seal, but not quite as powerful. After it's formed, we'll be linked telepathically and will share a portion of EXP earned from that point on."
"That's excellent!" shouted Maynard, overjoyed that Jack knew such a powerful pact.
"That's not all, there's one last thing. You'll receive 5% of my earned EXP but I'll receive 50% of yours. Is that too much to ask?"
Maynard thought for a moment and said, "Why not? I've finally gotten this lucky, why would I turn ya down now?"
Jack gently smiled and said, "Good, I'm glad to hear that. In exchange for 50% of your EXP earned, you'll have access to all of my skills as well and can even develop them as your own beyond that point. This is what makes it the 'inheritor' pact."
With wide eyes and a slack jaw, Maynard froze in excitement. Such a pact was unheard of. Yeah, it cost him EXP, but he wouldn't level up any slower than before and he would now gain access to who knows how many new skills without even trying. For normal adventurers, learning skills typically meant searching for them in scrolls, magic items, and old dungeons. This benefit was amazing, Maynard would have been willing to pay 75% of EXP or more for it if he needed.
"Let's hurry up and do this, who knows if the captain will sneak up on us and try to join in." Jack liked gaining more EXP, but he was hesitant to do this so early on. The only reason he accepted Maynard was his honest character, the type that couldn't lie no matter how he tried; and Jack really was desperate for EXP. "Let's get out of this pool first."
Jack also exited, they both dried off the best they could, and they put their clothes back on. Jack motioned for Maynard to kneel before him. "I'll draw the pact on your forehead in my blood. Once I'm done, you'll prick your finger and press it to the center of the pact to activate it, okay?"
"Perfect!"
Jack quickly used his tiny knife to make a small slit in his index finger, letting him use it as a rough pen. He drew three circles intertwined in the center of Maynard's forehead, followed by a different ancient symbol within each circle. Drying his finger with his black cloak, he said, "It's done. Now it's your turn."
Without a second thought, Maynard bit his thumb and pressed it firmly into the center of his forehead, where he felt the three circles intertwining. The pact glowed bright red and slowly sunk into Maynard's head as he let out a few pained groans. Once it was over, a voice rang out in Maynard's mind. 'Can you hear me?'
'Yes! It worked!'
'Good, this should make communication during the mission much easier,' said Jack. 'For now, don't worry about your new skills. Given the difficulty, it's best to not test your new skills during the mission. I'll fill you in on what skills you have afterward, okay?"
'Works for me!' Maynard laughed. No matter what happened in the mine, nothing would be able to worsen his mood. He was even more excited about the mission, wanting to hurry and clear it so he could learn new skills.
'Good, now let's hurry back before anyone starts looking for us.' Jack took initiative to leave and was quickly followed back to camp. Everyone else was either waking up or trying to resist mother nature's sunny wake-up call.
"Did you enjoy your morning bath? Did it help to have Maynard scrub your back?" joked Rydel.
Jack was going to answer but Maynard's roaring laughter eclipsed everything, waking those still sleeping. "I already beat ya to it, Rydel! I'm just surprised you haven't made a pact yet and let me act first."
"Pact?" Rydel asked seriously. "You formed a pact?"
A little dispirited by Maynard's rambunctiousness, Jack sighed, "Yes, we did. It looks like he'll be partying with me for a while."
"Well, if you'll make a pact with that old devil, then surely you'll accept your captain, right?" This was the first time Rydel had ever addressed himself as the party captain, trying to weasel his way into the same benefits that Maynard now enjoyed.
"It's not like I won't, it's just—"
"Great, let's hurry and get it over with while everyone else is getting up," said Rydel, dashing out of sight.
Maynard laughed and Jack sighed as they both followed behind the lanky hunter. Jack was hesitant to accept a second inheritor so quickly, but there weren't any real issues in doing so. They quickly explained and formed another inheritor pact.
Afterward, Jack spoke mentally, 'I haven't mentioned any skills to Maynard because we differ in class and trying new skills might be awkward during the mission, but it's different for you. You two should know that my skills work differently than most. With my subclass, I can unlock any regular action as a passive skill and level them up as I grow. This is how I was able to damage the city gate as a lv. 1 because my bow skill was lv. 2. Typically, the skill share ability will give you half the skill I have, so anything I have at lv. 2 will be available to you as a lv. 1 skill. Currently, my only skills at lv. 2 are bow, evasion, and stealth.'
Both Rydel and Maynard were blown away by all the passive abilities they received without doing anything. Yeah, they would sacrifice 50% of their EXP, but their new abilities could be seen as priceless and would let them be far more effective during any mission.
'You weren't kidding when you said you were different, kid. So many abilities and you're only lv. 4, anyone would pay a fortune to just a couple of these skills you've gained,' said Rydel telepathically, following Jack's lead to keep anyone else from hearing their secrets.
'That's because my skills don't level up with EXP, I have to unlock them through sets of achievements. Think of achievements as personal 'mini-missions' that my subclass generates and finds in the world around me.' Jack did his best to explain how it was for those who had no experience gaming.
'That's how ya knew about chief, huh? Makes sense,' said Maynard. 'Just curious, is there a way you could get your sword skill to lv. 2?'
'I think I can get it to lv. 2 by the time we reach the goblin city, but I don't have a sword.' Jack complained about not having a sword even though he didn't need one to level it up. He guessed that Maynard would have plenty to spare and would willingly give up a sword so low leveled if asked.
'If that's what you need, take this.' Maynard retrieved a lv. 20 katana with a fiery red handle. 'It's too weak for me anyway.'
Jack was baffled at Maynard's generosity. He replied, 'I'll take this, but what about my other levels? I'm lv. 4 and you can only use weapons at your same level.'
'Easy.' Maynard didn't bat an eye as three more swords appeared in his hands. 'These are lv. 5, lv. 10, and lv. 15. With these, you'll be able to train well in the way of the sword and make me stronger by default.'
With some humility, Jack took all four swords and stored them away, glad to have Maynard's help.
Not wanting to be outdone, Rydel activated his storage and took out four different bows. 'Here, these will help you too. That way you won't give up the bow to focus on the sword.'
Giddy and wide-eyed, Jack received the bows graciously and bowed to them both. 'Thank you. With these, I'll be able to level up both skills for sure.'
'Also, if ya ever need our help to fulfill any of those 'mini-missions,' just say the word.'
'Don't worry, you're already helping me with my most important one. I plan to raze that goblin city for that reason,' explained Jack.
'Well, with better stealth and strength I might be able to assassinate that goblin king after all.'
'If anything happens inside, immediately inform the others. With me as the intermediate, all three of us can communicate telepathically within five hundred kilometers so don't worry yourselves too much,' said Jack.
The surprises never ended with Jack as Rydel and Maynard kept feeling their hearts shaking from endless excitement. After years of struggle and hardship, why wouldn't they be overwhelmed with joy from gaining so many immediate, passive abilities without any significant backlash?
'Let's hurry back, isn't it time we all formed a party and entered the mine?' Instinctively, Jack led the two others back to camp like he was the true leader of the party despite his level.
Brunar rushed out of bed when he saw them all leave. He tried to follow and listen to their conversation but by the time he was close enough to hear their whispers, they stopped talking entirely, just looking back and forth at each other and making faces. Seeing Jack so close to his master fueled Brunar's contempt for Jack.
"What's going on?" Silvia yawned as she exited the tent Rydel had lent her. She was surprised to see Jack, Rydel, and Maynard so close and chatting like old friends.
"Is everyone ready for the mine?" yelled Rydel, catching everyone's immediate attention. "Hurry up and take down camp. You can eat rations as we enter, we don't have enough time to waste."
Jack neared Bowser who shook his head. 'Morning Jack. How you?'
'I'm doing well, but boy do I have a lot to tell you.' Jack began to explain his weird morning as he laid Bowser on his shoulder and fed him some jerky rations.
"Don't hold us back, newbie." Brunar's voice interrupted Jack and Bowser's conversation, putting a weird expression on Jack's face.
"Yeah, yeah. Just do your job and everything will work out fine," said Jack, quickly ending the exchange and turning back to Bowser.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill Here's the 3 chapters as promised. Thanks for reading and following along so far! It's thanks to your votes that the story's catching more traction and the audience is growing. As we climb the power rankings I'll start offering bonus chapters and mass releases. Again, thank you!
Capítulo 39: Entering the Mine
Brunar didn't like how Jack kept deflecting his taunts as if they were useless. They were, but Brunar just thought Jack was too afraid to do or say anything.
Jack sat down by a tree as everyone else took down their tents and put out the fire. He opened his notifications and went to the achievement screen, happy to see the latest addition.
[Form a pact with a follower: completed]
[Form a pact with a follower. Reward: varies based on who the follower is, and the pact used. Would you like to claim the reward?]
Jack claimed it before he had finished reading it, anxious to see what he got.
[Form a pact with a follower: completed]
[Formed an inheritor pact with Maynard the Ronin. Special reward: 35 skill points]
Glad to get some free skill points, Jack spent them immediately. First, he advanced his sword skill from lv. 0 to lv. 2 for fifteen skill points. Next, he spent ten skill points to push health regeneration to lv. 2. This way, both Rydel and Maynard would have their health regeneration, bow, and sword skills at lv. 1. Plus, Jack would need a close-range weapon while in the streets of the goblin city since just in case and a sword would work perfectly.
Before he closed his skill tree, Jack spent the last ten skill points to increase his hearing and intimidation skills to lv. 1. With him being so low leveled, those skills would help him better avoid danger and keep any low leveled enemies from immediately attacking. Jack hoped that they would come in handy, especially if his increased hearing could help him discover more achievements.
'Why Jack happy?' asked Bowser.
'I just unlocked more skills, of course, I'm happy,' laughed Jack. 'Not sure if it's enough for phase three, but we won't know until then.'
'Why phase three special?'
'I'll explain it later buddy. Till we reach the goblin city, don't worry about it,' answered Jack, handing Bowser more jerky rations.
'Okay,' said Bowser, happily accepting his dried breakfast.
Jack thought for a moment, trying to anticipate what kind of small achievements might appear within the cave. If any of the missing adventurers were still alive, they were most likely being held captive somewhere in the goblin city, unknowingly waiting for phase three of Jack's plan. Determined to find something, Jack made his mind to explore a few abandoned goblin settlements and possibly an outpost if needed.
Suddenly, Maynard interrupted Jack. 'Hey, did ya already advance?' Looking across the camp, Jack saw Maynard with a bright smile as he wielded one of his katana. Not many would notice the difference in Maynard's energy as he wielded the sword, but Jack easily recognized it as the passive activation of the sword skill.
Activating a passive skill would unlock a new level of focus and natural reflex towards the respective skill, almost like it were more instinctive. Jack smiled when he noticed Rydel equipping his bow and doing the same as Maynard. Neither of them attacked or did anything more than wield their weapons, but that was all they needed to feel their new level of strength.
'Yeah, I got lucky and was able to upgrade it now.' Jack smiled when he saw the joy of adventuring reignite in their once bored gazes.
'If you need anything else to advance them again, we can help kid,' said Rydel with a childish joy in his voice.
'Yeah, no kidding! Just say the word!' Maynard added his two cents, fully supporting Rydel's statement.
'I'm sure there will be a few things that could help, like exploring abandoned goblin settlements,' stated Jack. 'Also, you should know that I also upgraded my health regeneration skill, so you have that now too.'
Without a word, Maynard sliced at his finger, showing extreme precision in only breaking the skin like a paper cut. He was amazed to see the cut slowly repair itself at a speed barely visible to the naked eye. 'You're pretty amazing, ya know that!'
Rydel heard Maynard's comment and felt a rush of enthusiasm wash over him. He had just become stronger with multiple skills and the best way to test them was to find a fight as soon as possible.
'Be careful though, the regeneration you have is only lv. 1 and isn't invincible. It's only to help with minor injuries and help maintain your stamina. I'm hoping Rydel won't even need it this time around,' mentioned Jack.
The two nodded, understanding that they can't be reckless. They let their heartbeats settle down and nodded to each other.
Maynard yelled, "Hurry up! We can't wait for ya any longer. If ya don't want to be left behind, store your tents and get over here."
Brunar was the first to take down his tent, followed by Troni. Slivia was slower and was eventually helped by Troni without invitation, causing her to silently blush. Jack was busy chatting with his new followers to notice, otherwise, he may have felt some jealousy begin to well up in his chest.
"Good, now let's go. Leave the horses here, that's all we can do." Rydel took charge and led the way.
"But what if someone claims them while we're away? Surely, we can take them with us, they'll speed up the journey significantly." Brunar argued, not wanting to leave behind the purebred horse he had recently purchased after breaking through lv. 20.
"Leave it, they'll only get in the way in the caves." Rydel didn't look back but his stern answer showed his unwavering opinion.
"Master, surely we can—"
"Ya heard him. Leave it Brunar, otherwise, they'll be easy for goblins to track and target," interjected Maynard emotionlessly.
"That's what happens when you spend so much on a mount without having proper storage." Jack's comment was only a whisper, just barely reaching Brunar's ear.
"Don't talk to me like that, you—"
"Our party captain said to leave it!" Maynard turned and gave Brunar the death stare, forcing his cooperation and silence.
Despising the obvious protection that his master gave Jack, Brunar silently stewed in his emotions as he tied down his horse again and followed the party toward the cave.
Everyone moved forward behind the two pillars of the party, Rydel, and Maynard. Maynard offered the greatest physical strength and the power to face anything head-on, opposite to Rydel who specialized in quick wits, secrecy, and assassinating threats without detection. What felt a little unusual was how close behind the two Jack stood, giving off a sense of closeness to both Rydel and Maynard.
Once they reached the cave's entrance, Rydel faced the party. "Alright, from this point onwards we'll form a single party with me as party captain. Are there any objections?"
With only silence following, Jack saw his status bar change and add everyone's' status. Happy to know how to form official parties, Jack took a mental note.
"Good. From here on, I will lead the way while Maynard will watch our rear. This way we can't be surprised and easily ambushed." Everyone quickly nodded and followed Rydel into the caverns with little hesitation.
The inside walls of the mine were dirt brown, like the usual mine, only having faint streaks of blue passing through the rock walls. These lines were once azure deposits that had been mined long ago and had run dry. With every few hundred meters they traveled, the blue lines would grow thicker, soon showing some remaining azure.
"Jackpot!" Brunar got excited when the walls were now ripe with faint blue azure crystals.
"Calm down, this is the lowest quality azure and can't be compared to mid-tier or high-tier azure that we'll find deeper in," said Rydel, calming the situation temporarily but planting a seed of excitement for later.
The party moved forward without any obstructions, confirming that not a single goblin remained on the first floor. Because Rydel was extremely familiar with the mine, he decided to take his time and explore the entire first floor. Some complained and argued that it was a waste of time, but Maynard supported Rydel's decision, so no one questioned it further. Little did the others know that Jack had asked Rydel and Maynard to do so in hopes of learning more and finding as many clues as possible for achievements.
In the far reaches of the first floor, they found some low leveled rat monsters, offering the party their first pieces of EXP. It wasn't much for most of the party, but it was enough for Jack to almost reach lv. 5. Not only did he and Bowser share EXP, but he also received a portion from Rydel and Maynard with every monster.
The biggest factor, however, was the weathered jade that Jack activated under his cloak as they entered the dungeon. Weathered jades were pretty much useless for anyone above lv. 20 and too expensive for most under lv. 10, but for anyone as low-leveled as Jack who could get one, the benefits were practically cheating. For every piece of experience gained within three days, Jack would receive an additional ten EXP. So, every time Jack gained EXP from himself, Maynard, or Rydel it would activate, meaning that a single monster would give him three bursts of EXP.
What Jack had forgotten was his companion mirroring skill. Yes, he and Bowser shared EXP, letting them both level up twice as fast compared to others, but the companion mirroring skill allowed Bowser to gain five EXP extra with every monster.
When Jack saw his insane leveling potential, he couldn't help but chuckle. He knew that every level was twice as hard as the previous and the beginning levels were the easiest to advance through, but he couldn't help but imagine the incredible amount of EXP he would get from razing the goblin city.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill
This is super late, and I'm sorry. Another one is on it's way and you'll still be getting the usual 2 chapters after the power stones reset. Thanks for reading and voting! If you could, please leave a review. TAJ is 5 reviews short of having a rating.
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