Capítulo 45: Finding the Tomb
As the lizard bodies were looted, everyone was careful to preserve everything possible. The meat would be great for future meals, the bones could be sold as ingredients for crafts, and the skin was great for making quality cloaks.
What intrigued Jack the most was the neurotoxin, even asking everyone if he could have their portions of neurotoxin. Brunar turned him down and Troni did as well. Slivia wasn't given many corpses as her share to begin with, so she also said no.
Funny enough, the two with the highest kill count both willingly gave him all the neurotoxin they harvested. Including the small share of bodies he was allotted and with Rydel's gift of vials, Jack was able to fill fifty-seven vials with neurotoxin; one for each corpse. This was a lot if he wanted to sell them because they were worth about eight silvers each, but it might not be enough for Jack's plans.
Storing the other materials gathered from his three corpses, Jack mulled over a few ideas to use the neurotoxin. After a couple of minutes, a wicked grin speared on his face and he finished his thoughts.
Looking at Bowser, Jack asked, 'Are you okay?'
'Me okay, just tired,' replied Bowser. After activating his bloodline ability for the first time, Bowser was exhausted. He would need to rest until the next morning, incapable of getting up on his own until then.
Jack let Bowser rest, not wanting to disturb him further. He called to Rydel and Maynard, 'Let's get going, we need to hurry up and find that tomb. Bowser needs to rest so we won't have his help avoiding danger till maybe tomorrow.'
They nodded and called everyone together. Within minutes, they were following Rydel like before. Now that the lizards were gone, there was nothing in the surrounding area to threaten them. Taking advantage of this, the party rushed further until the cavern narrowed and they reached a dead end.
"Is this it?" asked Brunar, doubting that there was a tomb in the first place.
"It's here somewhere. We just need to find a way to enter it," said Jack.
"Got any ideas on how to make that happen?" Rydel asked the question everyone wanted the answer to. It was pointless to journey here if they weren't able to do that much.
"Hmm…" Jack began to feel the walls and examine them closely as his achievement junkie senses were tingling. Pulling out the dagger, he dragged the tip along the wall.
When they saw the dagger, the three young adventurers were filled with jealousy. The dagger was found here and it was a high tier weapon, yet the weakest person got it.
Not caring what they thought, Jack started banging the ornate dagger against the hard rock walls. Everyone was startled and some wanted to stop Jack from ruining such a valuable item. However, Jack continued to do so regardless of their reactions. After a minute of banging and clanging the knife against every part of the rock wall, Jack was stumped.
"What, that's it? No tomb?" mocked Brunar.
"Just wait." There were no holes or hidden slots on the wall. Nothing was activated when he brought out the dagger. Now, he could only resort to more unorthodox methods.
Without hesitation, Jack slit the palm of his hand with the dagger. Everyone was baffled as Jack let the blood ooze over every inch of the blade.
"Jack!" Slivia yelled in shock as she ran to his side.
"Trust me, this works all the time," said Jack, meeting Slivia's gaze.
Taking his word for it, everyone all remained silent. Rydel and Maynard were very interested in what was happening, wondering if this was some trick from ancient times. They all gave Jack their full attention, not daring to look away for different reasons.
With a now paler face, Jack smiled when he had lost enough blood to rub over the entirety of the dagger. He retrieved a bandage and covered up his hand immediately, not daring to lose a drop more than he would need.
"I command thee, show me thine owner." It was a simple recitation that every player in "A Hero's Tale" knew. It was a way to find the owner of fallen items, in the case that they might return the gear.
In the end, this was more common for the opposite reason, as a means to avoid the previous owners. That way they could visit a town and get a master of the item's respective field to unbind it from the previous owner and bind it to themselves, like having a master blacksmith unbind a weapon from the old owner and bind it to themselves instead.
The dagger lit up, surprising everyone further. Jack was also surprised; he had no clue what would happen after the recitation. The previous owner was dead, and he didn't expect a small window to appear on his screen for ten seconds like in-game.
Glowing red, the dagger trembled in Jack's hand and absorbed all the blood on its surface into the blade within seconds. After absorbing the blood, the red glow intensified and nearly blinded everyone for a second. The light then died down and faded away as if it had never existed in the first place.
Staring at the dagger, Jack wasn't sure what to do next. He checked his surroundings, but nothing had changed.
The others present were all in a weird state of mind. Jack could've done anything, no matter how strange, and they wouldn't bat an eye. It was like their expectations were overloaded and they no longer had room to process or question anything else.
They all stood there for a couple of minutes more, but nothing happened. Eventually, Brunar spoke up, "So, is that it? Is there anything else?"
This time he wasn't mocking Jack, Brunar was genuinely curious if Jack had anything else to try. Jack was far more mysterious than he had originally judged, and Jack demonstrated a lot of weird knowledge that wasn't normal for newbies to know about. Brunar had begun to reevaluate Jack, slowly but surely.
"No, I got nothing," answered Jack with a sunken smile. Out of habit, he threw the dagger away, like he had always done in-game when an item failed to bring him something. But when Jack threw it at the wall, it started to glow again. It was dim and almost nonexistent, but they could see it in the dark cavern.
Jack's lips twitched up as he picked up the knife and pointed it at the wall. When facing the dead-end nothing changed but facing the blade to the left side wall made the blade glow brighter. Inching closer, Jack determined the entrance to the hidden tomb with unwavering precision.
He approached a spot about four meters from the dead end and pressed the dagger against it. That spot on the wall began to glow and vanish in front of everyone's eyes.
As the wall vanished, an entrance carved from stone appeared behind it. With a narrow entrance, it would only fit one person. The stone it was made from was completely different from the mine walls, striking a resemblance to carved marble. In big print at the top of the entryway, there was a sign proving Jack's success.
"G0blin_Sl4yer"
Not waiting for the others, Jack ran into the tomb energetically. No one blamed him, only following him in one-by-one.
The tomb wasn't too spacious, but it was big enough for the six of them to walk around comfortably. Unlike most of the party had hoped, there wasn't a mountain of riches waiting for them inside. Instead, there was a sepulcher in the center of the room and a few chests to the side of it.
What shocked everyone was how fast Jack was able to loot the chests, storing all their contents before the others had finished entering the tomb.
Jack had an idea it would be something like this because this was a common hero's tomb from the game, a place where players always visited and plundered on a regular basis. There was no mountain of wealth only because the entombed player didn't have one. Maybe he had been killed and looted or he was just too low leveled to amass that much.
No matter the case, Jack was fixated on how the ancient hero was entombed here after he had died. This led him to wonder how a practically immortal character in a fantasy game could die in the end. It's true that G0blin_Sl4yer was low leveled, but that wouldn't keep him from respawning at the last cathedral or church he had visited. There were too many plot holes in the story that was unraveling before his eyes.
"Hey! You can't just take it all!" Brunar yelled.
Jack's wandering thoughts returned as he looked to Brunar and tossed him a coin. "Fine."
"Hey! I said you can't just—"
"Brunar!" Maynard interrupted his disciple, but he did so in awe, not anger.
Pausing due to his master's interjection, Brunar looked at the coin in his hand and his jaw dropped. "Platinum!"
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill Thanks for reading and voting! Another one is on the way.
!! SPECIAL NEWS !!
Webnovel reached out to me about a contract for "The Achievement Junkie" and I'm wanting to take it. This guarantees I will finish "The Achievement Junkie" no matter what happens, all 1200-1300 chapters I have mapped out for it.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
Capítulo 46: G0blin_Sl4yer
"Platinum!"
Brunar's exclamation startled the entire party. They all marveled at the lustrous coin in Brunar's hands, struggling to recognize any difference with a silver coin.
"It's heavier than silver and has a completely different stamp than all the coins I've seen," Brunar explained, refusing to let the others inspect it themselves.
Before anyone could complain, a coin was thrown to each of them. Jack stated, "It's definitely platinum."
Jack's confirmation shook everyone's hearts as they examined their coins. It was hard to believe, but those were indeed the nearly nonexistent platinum coins of legend. Ecstatic to have such a valuable treasure of the past, everyone expressed their joy in different ways, be it through shouting in excitement, jumping for joy, or just staring deeply at the coin.
Thinking to himself, Jack instantly deduced that G0blin_Sl4yer was a cash player. In "A Hero's Tale" there were always cash options for things like platinum, rare weapons, special quests, and more. This would explain having platinum and the ornate dagger that was mostly rare for its looks rather than its level. Jack couldn't blame him though because he too had spent a decent amount on the game; there were plenty of achievements that required some kind of cash item or quest.
Thinking back, one platinum was worth ten gold in "A Hero's Tale." But that was back then, if platinum was nearly nonexistent now then it must be worth even more. Jack was glad that he got to the chests first, securing the different items and the five platinum coins remaining after his gift to the party members.
"What else is there?" Brunar soon came to his senses and wondered what else might be in the chests. If there was platinum, then surely there must be some good items.
"Not much. There were some potions and elixirs, a storage bracer, some broken armor. I think he was looted before he died." Jack didn't understand how that player's character got in a tomb, but Jack guessed that he was killed and looted before the body somehow ended up in the tomb. Why else would there be nothing else in a low leveled cash player's inventory?
"That's it?" Troni asked, wanting evidence just like Brunar.
Without batting an eye Jack retrieved the set of broken armor and the knife. "Here, I only want the storage bracer."
The party was amazed that Jack gave up the armor, especially since it was a complete set of lv. 15 high tier armor, despite being damaged. Maynard stepped out and said, "No, ya should keep this Jack. We can't use it, so it's pointless for us to take it when you'll be able to wear it soon enough."
"Then give it to Troni. It may have some cracks here and there, but it's still better than what he's got equipped now. Besides, he'll be a big part of phase one and could use the defensive boost," persuaded Jack, not wanting to bother with the armor.
"If you say so," said Troni with a quick bow and a smile. "Give me a minute or two to equip it."
Troni walked over to the dark corners of the room and started changing his armor in silence. Everyone took a second to inspect their new favorite coins, debating whether they should spend them or keep them.
Jack took this time to open his system notifications, jumping straight to the achievement list.
[Find the tomb: completed]
[Find the tomb of G0blin_Sl4yer within the second level of the azure mine. Reward: 18 skill points, access to his saved data. Would you like to claim the reward?]
In a heartbeat, it was claimed and Jack was given the eighteen skill points. He thought it was unusual for him to get eighteen skill points and not fifteen or twenty, but he wasn't given a chance to spend them just yet.
The system took him back to the main menu and a new option appeared, [Save Log.] It was selected by the system and opened up G0blin_Sl4yer's activity log.
Astounded that this information was still available, Jack eagerly opened it. It only showed his last forty-eight hours of gameplay, but that was enough information there for Jack to learn plenty.
Most of the activity was what Jack expected like purchase history, location updates, and player chats. From this Jack learned that G0blin_Slayer was a lv. 18 rogue that had recently joined a goblin slaying guild. It was obvious that he was trying to chase fifteen minutes of fame from his name and actions.
What caught Jack's eye was the last update, the one about his death. There were two things that Jack thought was suspicious: the fact that G0blin_Sl4yer wasn't resurrected after the fact and that G0blin_Sl4yer was killed by trolls. Jack had never heard of trolls being inside an azure mine before but facing powerful trolls ranging from lv. 20 to lv. 30 would explain the broken armor and how G0blin_Slayer died inside a low leveled mine.
Putting the troll irregularity aside, Jack checked the date and time of G0blin_Sl4yer's death. It was labeled as July 22, 2021, at 1:46 AM. That was more than two years after Jack had completed the achievement list and left his original world.
From everything, he was able to learn a few things. The skill points he earned from finding the tomb was equal to G0lin_Sl4yer's level, meaning that PleasantLilly98 was probably lv. 10 based on the ten skill point reward for finding her tomb. Jack learned that something must have happened to the ancient heroes after he had finished the achievement list, otherwise he would have a clue as to what happened. Also, he guessed that the game had started to change a lot after he was summoned, trolls in a low-level mine was a good example.
"Ok, I'm ready." Troni walked back, seemingly more confident as he wore the ornate armor and equipped the dagger as a sidearm. It was chipped and battered in some places, but the silver armor with dark red trim was far more appealing to the eye than Troni's generic green kimono.
"Whoa," said Brunar, a little jealous that the armor wasn't lv. 20 so he could get it instead.
"You look great!" Slivia gave her approval with two thumbs up.
"Thanks," said Troni. He smiled back to Slivia and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I'm glad you like it." Slivia blushed slightly, unsure what else to say.
Maynard and Rydel read the situation, both sighing and shaking their heads. They looked to the distracted Jack and Rydel slapped the hero's back. "Come on kid, we've waited long enough."
"Just a second," Jack grunted as he ignored the hand hitting his back. In a hurry, Jack returned to his skill tree and looked it over. He was torn about what to upgrade; he wanted to upgrade things like hearing, intimidation, or perception because they might help him a lot.
However, Jack was also itching to upgrade his companion bloodline skill after seeing Bowser dominate the Light-tailed Lizards. If he could somehow double his level like Bowser, that would be amazing! Jack hadn't tested the bloodline skill and he was mad at himself for not doing it before entering the mine. He had no clue that the bloodline was so powerful, both creating a massive flame body and doubling Bowser's strength in an instant.
There were drawbacks for using this technique for long periods and it was very taxing on the young Bowser. It would be a while for Bowser to fully embrace his bloodline's potential, not to mention Jack who was just Bowser's companion with a low leveled bloodline skill.
In the end, he didn't upgrade anything, hoping to get some skill points and upgrade his bloodline skill to lv. 2 as soon as possible. After making a mental note to practice the bloodline skill that night after setting up camp, Jack turned his attention back to the party.
"Sorry for the wait, I'm ready now," said Jack, who was a little confused by the slight blush on Slivia's cheeks.
"Alright, let's head out!" Rydel took the lead. Now that they had found the tomb, he would resume the lead and take them to the third level as fast as possible.
Everyone followed closely behind, not wanting to get separated from the group. Some looked back at the tomb, still stunned that they were able to find such a thing. But when they look back at the tomb's entrance, it was no longer there. The cave walls had returned to normal as if their discovery had happened only in their imagination.
Under the glow of the kari crystals, they shuffled through the tunnels of the second level. As they stuck close to the walls and neared the central parts of the second level, clusters of azure embedded in the cave walls became a common sight.
The young adventurers were tempted by the azure crystals' allure, but they were always silently stopped by Rydel, who wanted to avoid all loud noises and anything that would attract attention to the party.
Not being allowed to speak, they were forced to accepted Rydel's interference and hoped to find some good deposits in the next level.
Jack was busy going over phase three in his mind, always adjusting it in hope to perfect it. The more accurate the plan, the better his chances of success. And if he could just advance to lv. 10 before reaching the city, the extra skill points and the skills he would gain would greatly increase those chances.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill
SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!! Stuff happened and now I'm driving cross country for a new job. This is yesterday's chapter and I'll get you another one tonight when I reach my next hotel.
That means single chapters till Sunday, and I'll definitely make it up to you soon enough.
Thanks for reading and following the story, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. You are awesome!
P.S. Won't go premium till after this arc (ch. 77)
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