Chapter 180 Small Town Troubles
Once all the EXP pots were used up, the party had gained five new lv. 30's.
When Eliza double-checked her level, she shouted for joy. She thought she would take at least another year or two to reach level thirty, yet Jack had a way for them all to break through lv. 30 instantly. Wondering what else Jack might have, Eliza was starting to believe that her father's high judgment of Jack wasn't wrong.
Keela also reached lv. 30 and was on the brink of reaching lv. 31, but she felt a mix of emotions. She was originally stronger than Jack and thought it would make her more useful to Jack. But now, she was just like everyone else even though she had finally reached her goal of being lv. 30.
Then Keela and Eliza looked at Jack. They wanted to thank him but instead they felt a little mad.
Jack and Bowzer had both reached lv. 31 thanks to the EXP pots. As for him becoming higher level than them, it was all a matter of luck in how close they were to lv. 30 when they used the last EXP pot.
The girls didn't feel too bad since it was Jack who had given them the EXP pots, at least that was until they looked at Maura.
By luck, Maura was on the cusp of reaching lv. 30 when she used her last EXP. Because of that, she was now lv. 32. She went from being the lowest of them all by a large margin, to the strongest of the new lv. 30's.
Rydel and Maynard both felt their hearts ached to see the others all reach lv. 30 so easily. They could help it. The two of them had to grind for EXP and work so hard yet it took them most of their lives to grind and reach that level.
"Everyone, remember that this is nothing. We're still too weak to do anything impactful," Jack reminded the party, bringing them back down to earth. "Our number one goal now is to grind for EXP. We need to all be lv. 40 before we reach Trodar, preferable lv. 45."
Hearing Jack's dissatisfaction hit home for the newly leveled up girls. They had to stay humble and not overestimate their new strength, or they would pay the consequences.
Jack continued, "Our second goal while on the road is for everyone to pledge to one of the neutral gods. Strangely enough, there are seven of us and there are seven neutral gods. A coincidence, maybe…"
Maynard raised his hand and asked, "Why one of the neutral gods? What about the sword god, wouldn't he be best for me?"
"No," Jack answered straight away. "Believe it or not, but we won't be searching for any of the chaotic gods or the holy gods. Both the chaotic and the holy gods were the cause of the Holy War ages ago, and neither side truly cares for those who have pledged to them."
All of the girls, including Daliea, were confused by what Jack was saying. They didn't even know those neutral gods existed and Jack was also accusing the gods they respected for being responsible for the Holy War, which claimed countless lives.
"Um… What do you mean?" Maura was the first to ask for clarification.
Sighing and shaking his head, Jack explained, "Listen carefully and know that everything I'm about to say is true, whether you like it or not."
The party nodded and let Jack continue. "Both Skaryn and Halmut have been vying for complete supremacy amongst the gods for a long time. The Holy War was only their way of trying to conquer each other and take the other's influence. Both sides share equal blame and caused countless innocent lives to be lost."
"As for the neutral gods, you've never heard of them because they destroyed their own shrines and temples before the start of the Holy War. They wanted nothing to do with the war, so they disappeared from society altogether," explained Jack. "I know this because I've spoken with the ruler of the neutral gods personally and have already pledged to Daruun, the god of fate."
Everyone's hearts were beating rapidly as they paid attention to Jack. If what he was saying was true, they had been lied to all their lives.
"Believe it or not, that's your choice," added Jack. "But as a part of this party, each of you will pledge to one of the neutral gods and receive their benefits and blessings. With that, you'll all become more powerful than common summoned heroes."
Again, their hearts wouldn't let them calm down.
Becoming so strong was hard, but with Jack's pact in place and possibly being blessed by gods made it seem possible.
They all quickly realized that Jack wasn't joking when he said they were still too weak. It was easy to understand that Jack wanted them to become the most powerful party there was.
"There is a third goal we have while on the road, but it's only if the opportunity presents itself," continued Jack. "We want to tame and befriend the most powerful beasts we meet. That way, we can either store them away or at least have a new strong ally. Any questions?"
Almost everyone's hands shot up at the same time.
Jack spent the next hour or so explaining who the seven neutral gods were. He told them that he wouldn't mind multiple people pledging to the same god if that's what they wanted. So long as they pledge to one of them, Jack would be happy.
They then made their way through the South Forest, heading southeast. Since their first stop was Aazoon, they didn't want to waste any time.
For almost a week, they traveled through the thick woods. They found beasts between lv. 23 to lv. 26, the same level range that Keela was wanting to find before becoming lv. 30.
Maynard and Rydel were happy to no longer give up any EXP, as they were finally starting to face monsters that could help them level up. Keela was also happy, soon she would become lv. 31 and leave Eliza as the only lv. 30.
By the time the neared the Aazoon-Reinolt border, they decided to visit a border town instead of camp.
It was Rydel's and Jack's idea because they wanted to see if there were any clues about powerful beasts or foes that needed to be defeated. The stronger the opponent, the better it was for EXP.
After checking in at a local inn, they all found a large table to share some dinner. They ordered their own meals, some eating lighter than others. The waitress, however, seemed a bit shaken when she took note of all the meals ordered.
"Is everything okay?" asked Jack, sensing the waitress's worry.
"U-um no, I-I think everything is fine. Just let me check your order in."
The waitress hurried away, but she returned just as fast. A defeated look was on her face. "I'm sorry, but we're out of beef and pork tonight. All we have are the salads."
"Huh? What happened to keep you from having beef and pork?" Rydel asked, sure that the small town should have its own farmers breeding animals and hunters to make up the difference.
"Um…" She looked at the party, hesitating to say anything but shaking as she faced them.
"It's okay, we're not mad. If anything, we might be able to help. We're all from the Adventurers Association, so maybe we can do something about it."
When Jack mentioned the association, the waitress's eyes started to water. Immediately, she wiped away her tears and started to explain everything.
"It all started about a week ago. Recently, all of the animals that the farmers breed are disappearing. With so few left, they won't sell any until they can raise new stock."
"And what about hunters? There are some in the village, right?" asked Jack.
She nodded frantically. "Yes, we have plenty of hunters, but they're all afraid to stray too far from town. The cause of the disappearing animals has been said to be wild bears."
"Bears?" Maynard was confused about why bears should be an issue for hunters.
"Yes, but they aren't normal bears," explained the waitress. "The hunters have never seen such large bears near the town before. They should be from further in the forest, and they're even more wild than normal."
Jack's interest was finally piqued. "What do you mean?"
"I've never seen them myself, but the farmers and the hunters agree that these bears are too wild and strong for any of them to stop. The few times anyone has tried to kill one of those bears, three of our best hunters were killed, and they were all at least lv. 25!"
Looking at the others, Jack saw that everyone was paying close attention to the waitress's explanation. Some excitement was seen in all of their eyes.
Returning to look at the waitress, Jack waved his hand over the table.
A small mountain of various beast meats appeared, startling the waitress. With a smile, Jack said, "Here, consider this as payment for our meals. We'll check out the issue tomorrow morning and we'll make sure it's taken care of."