The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 392 An Enchantment Key?

Inside that blinding light, Jack and his wives were carried far away. When the light faded, they found themselves on solid, non-moving ground and sighed. Excited to have escaped before facing whatever that beast was, the three women hugged each other, making sure Jack was a part of the group hug.

"Isn't that the Legend?"

"That's him! And that's his wife!"

"Who are the others?"

"Mommy, I want to meet him!"

That air of celebration was quickly met with a uproar of voices praising and greeting Jack from all around. The party was too excited about their escape to realize where exactly they had ended up.

Completely surrounded by people, the party was being hounded with questions and greetings aimed to get Jack's attention.

"Out of the way!" Jack shouted, getting the crowd to grow silent. "I'm on official guild business and must hurry back. I'll make another public appearance soon, but for now we have to leave immediately!"

Not wanting to anger their hero, the crowd slowly created an opening for the four people trapped inside.

"Thank you. Your cooperation is the same as aiding the Leisure Guild," Jack added while pulling his wives away from the crowd.

Looking to the three women, Jack explained things telepathically. 'We're back in Gilga, so don't worry anymore. I rushed the teleportation, so I only pictured Gilga and not a specific part of the city. We're safe now but we'll have to hurry back to the guild to sort the rest of the items."

'Jack, what happened back there?' Maura was still hung up on what took place back in the ancient tomb. It was obvious that Jack had discovered something and anticipated that creature's approach, but she couldn't imagine what that creature was nor how Jack had gained some premonition of it's attack.

Jack sighed and answered, 'I'll explain that after we reach the guild. That way we can include Eedaj in the conversation.'

'Why do we need him?' Daliea asked. 'At least tell us what creature that was. Considering how unwilling you were to meet it, that beast should be quite fearsome.'

'That… That was Grixor, the Earthen God…' Jack answered, trying not to scare his wives too much.

'What?' Startled, Eliza almost fell over as Jack pulled her through the street. 'Jack… You can't be serious, right? Why would you take us to Grixor's temple?'

'I didn't, but his temple must be at the bottom of the Fissured Mountains,' replied Jack. 'I hadn't taken Grixor or the other gods into consideration since we were only going after a tomb.'

'Well… hurry up and teleport us to the guild, then,' Eliza stated.

'Sorry, but I've already used up most of my mana. Greater Teleportation is a mythic-tier spell, after all,' Jack chuckled, trying to act more confident and lighthearted since they were now out of harm's way.

Having appeared near the city's center, it took the party almost half an hour to reach the Leisure Guild property which occupied the southwestern limits of the city. Once inside, Jack hurried his wives to the restricted area and entered one of the centermost courtyards, which were the largest courtyards excluding Dragov's underground space.

"Eedaj! We ned to talk!" Jack shouted, finally able to stop and breath.

Coming out of a connected room at the back, Eedaj emerged and stared a Jack for a moment before shock spread all over his body. "Jack, what did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything… I don't think," Jack replied. "All we did was raid an ancient tomb in the Fissured Mountians, it's not like we entered Grixor's temple or anything. However…"

Jack looked to his wives and then back to Eedaj before he continued, "I found out how that ancient hero died, that's why I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Luckly, I teleported us out before Grixor learned who it was that opened the ancient tomb."

"And how did that ancient hero die, Jack?" Eedaj asked.

"He was killed by Grixor."

Everyone paused for a moment to take in that statement, including Jack. It was a shock for a god to just up and kill an ancient hero, not without a reason at least. And considering how Grixor had attacked the tomb immediately after it was opened, there must've been a special cause for Grixor to act out.

Eedaj questioned, "Do you know why Grixor attacked that hero? Or how Grixor killed him?"

Nodding, Jack replied, "I know that Grixor hurled boulders at the hero and killed him while the hero was exiting the fissure hiding Grixor's temple. I'm pretty sure that hero tried to raid Grixor's temple but ultimately failed. As for why Grixor attacked the tomb… That I'm unsure of."

"What did you recover from the tomb? Show me everything."

Retrieving everything, the party took out every chest and all of the displays from the tomb.

Eedaj scanned the displays first but shook his head. Then, he opened up the chests one-by-one to carefully inspect the contents of each chest. The Mind God was meticulous, holding up each item for everyone to see while carefully examining it. After the first chest, Eedaj moved on to the second chest. And then the third chest… And then the fourth…

Though it was taking quite a while to inspect everything, the party was enraptured in Eedaj's careful examinations. They couldn't take their eyes off due to their anticipation.

Jack was also inspecting each item, putting his system to good use. The sheer amount of mid-level mythic-tier items was unexpected. With those, Jack could either strengthen his party or the guild.

On the twenty-sixth chest, Eedaj couldn't put down one of the items. Staring intently at it, Eedaj did his best to ascertain the items origin. Finally looking back to the party, Eedaj explained, "So far, the only item that may have incited Grixor to attack that tomb would be this. It's an enchantment key, or an item that works as a key to unlock or undo a specific enchantment. And since the detailing of the enchantment on this key is extraordinary, it must unlock a powerful enchantment."

The women were all focused on that item in Eedaj's hands. It looked like a pearl the size of their palm, only it was covered in etchings filled with mana.

"Jack, what do you think?" Eedaj asked for the hero's opinion, noticing that Jack's jaw had gone slack while staring at the enchantment key.

"N-no way…"

"Jack, please share your thoughts with us all. Or would you prefer I read your mind?"

Surprising everyone, Jack nodded slowly instead of replying.

Taken aback, Eedaj followed up by reading Jack's mind instead of asking anything else. But not even a second after reading Jack's mind, Eedaj's body tightened up as Eedaj reexamined the orb in his hands. A few words slipped out of the god's mouth, "It… can't be…"

"Hey, don't leave us out of the loop!" complained Eliza. "We want to know too!"

"Please, Jack, tell us," Maura asked, also pouting.

Sensing the atmosphere, Daliea put her new abilities to use and also read Jack's mind. And like Eedaj she also refocused on the orb with fear in her eyes, only she placed a hand over her mouth to keep any words from escaping her lips.

"Daliea! You're supposed to be on our side!" Eliza added, startled to see that even Daliea refused to say a word.

It took a few more seconds but Jack finally mustered up a few words for his other two wives. "Eliza… Maura… I'd rather you not know what that is… I think that would be best for us all."

"But Jack, we shouldn't have any--"

"This isn't a secret, Eliza. This is a terrifying thing to know exists, let only find… I wish Daliea hadn't found out, but it's too late for that," continued Jack, soft spoken but firm. "Eedaj… Can you hold onto that for me? I wish I could give it to Daruun, but he's already gone."

"Yeah… I'll hold onto it," Eedaj answered, storing the orb in his own storage. "Should you find another… just bring it to me immediately, okay?"

"Of course." Jack bowed and regained some of his composure as he turned to his wives. "Let's go… I'm sure Eedaj has plenty to do since the guild is almost done building his new shrine."

Jack then exited, followed by Daliea and then the other two. And no matter what Maura or Eliza said, Jack said nothing in response. He was too busy trying to calm down to even listen to their questions or statements about his unfairness as a husband.