The Achievement Junkie 181 Investigating the Stange Bears

The waitress couldn't hold back her tears when she saw the meat on the table. She grabbed as much as she could in her arms and bowed her head. "Thank you! Thank you! Stay as long as you like, don't worry about paying. Just, please, help our small town."

She made her way to the kitchen and brought back the cook, who also thanked them and helped take what was left of the meat Jack had given away.

"Any guess as to what's going on, Jack? Most of these border towns are placed in safe zones outside of the South Forest, so hearing about such strong beasts it definitely unusual," reasoned Rydel.

"Yeah, maybe we've already found our first grindstone to sharpen ourselves," Maynard joked with them, anxious to finally let loose. It had been a while since he had just been allowed to slaughter everything in his path.

"I'm not sure but if we're lucky it could be a frenzy."

Jack's mention of a frenzy startle Eliza and Keela, but it excited the rest.

Frenzies were rare, unnatural occurrences when a lot of a certain type of animal suddenly went berzerk. Frenzied beasts came in unknown numbers, had stronger attacks and defenses than normal, and offered more EXP than normal too. Also, it was common for there to be an unusually powerful beast that caused the frenzy and drove the frenzied beasts out of their usual hunting grounds.

"If it really it a frenzy, then we've gotten very lucky," stated Daliea.

They all chatted about any possible types of bears it might be, but they couldn't reach a conclusion.

Soon, they were all feast on the food brought to them. As a show of thanks, the chef prepared extra for those who had ordered a lot, guessing that they were plenty hungry.

The table was slowly cleared as the many different dishes were eaten. Gradually, everyone left the table and turned in for the night. Like usual, the girls paired up and shared two rooms while Maynard and Rydel did the same.

Jack was the only one with his own room, but he let Bowzer have the other bed.

Ever since they became lv. 30, Bowzer had entered a comlike state. All he did was sleep and nothing could wake him up. However, Jack didn't try to wake him up after noticing that Bowzer was growing rapidly while in his sleep. He didn't know how long it would take, but Jack knew that Bowzer was finally evolving into his adolescence.

There were only three people left at the table now, Jack, Maura, and Daliea.

Looking to them both, Jack said, "Thanks for your help in keeping the other two girls in check. Without your help, I don't know what would've happened by now."

Though Jack's will was strong, he understood that he could've easily succumbed to temptation with either Eliza or Keela. Without Maura and Daliea helping him avoid such problems, Jack was convinced that he would've given in already.

"I still don't see why its a big deal, but since you've asked for help, I'll keep helping," reasoned Daliea.

Maura chuckled, "You know, maybe they aren't the only ones who want that sort of thing?"

"Either way, thank you for your help." Changing the subject, Jack pulled out a black spellbook. "Daliea, you said you specialize more in dark type magic, right? Then this should be useful to you."

Taking the spellbook and examining it personally, Daliea's eyes sparkled. "Jack… Where did you get this?"

"It was on sale at an auction and I got it for an amazing price, not even twenty-thousand gold!"

"That's because there aren't any noble families that use dark type magic. If there were, the price would've easily doubled," explained Daliea as she put the spellbook away. "This is perfect for me, and I've been needing a peak-tier dark type spell. Thank you, Jack!"

Catching him off guard, Daliea vanished from her seat and reappeared beside him. Before he could do or say anything, she was already hugging him tightly.

"That's enough, you're more than welcome, Daliea. Just calm down, okay."

"Okay," Daliea giggled as she let him go. "Really Jack, this spell means a lot to me. I've already offered you everything, but I'll mention it again because that's the most I can say after getting such an amazing gift."

"Just keep calm, and make sure to use it whenever we're in a bind." Now looking at Maura, Jack retrieved another item that he had won from the auction. "Do you remember me buying this?"

"Sure, it's that fossil egg, right? But why are you bringing it out now?" Though there was no one in the tavern at the moment, it still surprised her that Jack would be bringing out the egg, especially after he had gifted something to Daliea.

"This is for you."

"What?! But why? This is already dead and fossilized."

"Who said it was dead?" Jack smiled as he explained the egg's true nature. "It's currently in a dormant state. This egg belongs to a beast so powerful that its bloodline rival's Bowzer's."

Both Daliea and Maura went wide-eyed, finding that hard to believe.

"This egg belongs to a Glacial Hydra, the kings of water type bestial magic. If you can feed the egg enough water type magical energy, then there's a chance that it can hatch," explained Jack.

"Glacial Hydra…" Maura didn't know what that was, but Daliea shivered just from imagining that terrifying beast. "Is it really a Glacial Hydra?"

"What's a Glacial Hydra?" Maura asked, curious to know what exactly it was.

Daliea looked at the egg and said, "Glacial Hydras are ancient beasts that haven't been seen since the Holy War when they were used by the gods. When fully grown, they have nine heads and can rival even flood dragons, one of the five strongest dragons."

Now trembling, Maura stared at the egg with a newfound respect and fear. Such a beast could definitely rival a Hell-flame Fox.

"This is for you, Maura," Pushing the egg toward her, Jack laughed. "You're the only one with water type magic and with your spell sword class, a Glacial Hydra would be the perfect beast companion for you."

"I… I don't know… what to say…"

"Just say thank you and take it. Make sure to give it water type energy every day," replied Jack. "If we can find any water type magical items, we'll make sure to buy them to help it out. I want that egg to hatch before we go to Trodar."

"... Okay." Accepting the egg, Maura felt that she had gained more of Jack's trust. "I'll make sure it hatched in time. But make sure you help me take care of it, Jack, cause I don't know how to tame such a powerful beast…"

"Of course I'll help, but I think you'll be just fine. You're so caring, maybe the hydra will think you're its mother," Jack joked with her, getting both Daliea and Maura to laugh.

"Anyway, I'm off to bed. Goodnight, girls."

"Goodnight!" replied both of them, happy with the gifts Jack had given them.

Looking to Maura, Daliea smiled. "Still, you're the one he likes the most no matter what I do."

"Stop it!"

"Really,  you can see it whenever he talks to you. He's kind to me, but he'll joke around with you and show a side he never does with me," reasoned Daliea. "Maybe it's because of who I am…"

"Just stop it, Daliea. You're plenty beautiful, and I wouldn't guess you were a goblin unless someone told me. You're too beautiful for him to just think of you as a goblin," replied Maura. "Plus, he gave you a gift too, so of course he likes you. Just give it time and maybe we'll both get lucky."

Even though Maura knew Daliea was the goblin queen, she really couldn't deny that she had her own kind of beauty. She wasn't as voluptuous or sexy as girls like Eliza and Keela, but she had her own feminine curves and seductive body. Daliea was like a shorter Maura, fit yet curvy. And despite being a goblin, she wasn't flat chested either.

"Maura, thank you." She was touched by Maura's words and glad that she had made such a great friend.

"Now, let's go to our room and check out our gifts."

Maura and Daliea cleaned up their spots and went upstairs to their room. They spent a long while inspecting their gifts and getting used to them.

By the time morning came, the party was excited to finally find a worthy challenge to test their new strength.

Jack led the girls to some of the local farms and asked the farmers some questions. In the meantime, Maynard went to find some hunters in order to learn their side of the story. During all that, Rydel was scouting the nearby edges of the forest in search of unusual tracks or signs of carnage.

No matter what, they were determined to find these beasts as fast as possible.

Chapter end