Chapter 281 New Friends, New Pacts
"What do you mean you're going alone?!" Eliza shouted.
"But Big Bro promised!" Lina joined in on the verbal tirade against Jack's updates to the plan. "Big Bro promised to take us around town. You promised!"
"Lina, please understand--"
"Jack, you're not going to break your promise with Little Lina, are you?" interjected Maura, siding with the other two.
"Guys, it's not that I'm breaking the promise, I'm only tweaking it," reasoned Jack. "I'll take you all shopping after I get back. We can even do it in Estonya, the elven capital to make up for missing it here."
Lina's frown flipped upside down as her eyes lit up. "Elves? We'll go shopping with elves?"
"Yup. There you'll find things that no one else has in the world," Jack added with a convincing smile.
"Yay! We'll go shopping but with elves!" Lina's simple mind wasn't hard to convince.
Jack then turned to his wives and Daliea who stood with them. "Please understand that I need to do this. I mean, it is the personal request of a god."
"I get that… But how come I can't come with you?" pouted Eliza.
"Or me?" added Maura.
"And Daliea doesn't want you to go alone either, right Daliea?" Eliza grabbed the grey-skinned girl's hand as if to pass her some of Eliza's courage.
"Yeah… I'd feel better if one of us went with you," Daliea shyly stated.
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I'm taking Bowzer, and that should be more than enough. Besides, you all need to go grind and gain EXP or we'll waste too much time. I'm sure I'll gain some while I'm gone, but we can't have you all get left behind."
"Yeah, just let the boy go! I'm sure he'll be fine while we grind away!" Maynard shouted, coming to Jack's aid.
"Maynard," Maura rolled her eyes at the battle-crazed samurai. "You just want to kill something after staying cooped up for so long."
"No," Maynard shook his head. "I'm excited to finally go to Sunset Valley! I'll finally get to pledge to Jin and get stronger like Rydel."
"Then it's settled," Rydel chimed in. "We'll head to Sunset Valley and start clearing it out so we can reach Jin. In the meantime, Jack will go and meet Choron to learn more about the new quest."
"Yeah!" In excitement, Maynard unsheathed both katanas and clenched the hilts tightly.
The girls all sighed, knowing that there was no way around it this time.
Jack walked over and calmly threw his arms around his wives. "I'll be back, so don't worry about me, okay? It's just a test. It's not like Choron would kill me, otherwise, why would he have kept waiting for me to come back?"
Maura and Eliza kept their remaining thoughts to themselves as they embraced Jack and rested their heads on his shoulders.
Proving that she was still more open than Maura, Eliza reached out and grabbed Daliea's arm. "Come on, get in here."
Embarrassed and jealous, Daliea stepped forward and joined the group hug.
"Me too!" Lina jumped and crashed into the four of them, almost knocking them over. They all got a laugh out of the young girl's antics and felt a bit better.
"But before we take off, there are two things that need to be done," Jack spoke up while pointing to Trax. "First off, we're forming a pact."
"What?! But I don't need your--"
"You'll want this pact. We've all formed one and it allows you to mentally communicate with all of us and we can even share skills to an extent," explained Jack. "There's not much downside to this pact, and I won't be taking any of your EXP. Also, if you say no, then I'll just have a chat with your master about it."
"Fine… I guess that's not too bad." Trax stepped forward and took a knee. "Let's get this over with."
Jack didn't say another word as he bit his thumb. With the freshly drawn blood, Jack etched the pact onto Trax's forehead. In a matter of moments, the ninja sealed it with his own blood and activated the pact.
'You can hear me, right?'
'Yes, my Lord.'
'Oh yeah, drop the honorifics,' laughed Jack, catching Trax off guard. 'You may be used to it by now thanks to Choron, but now that you're a party member for life like the rest of us, we're all equals. I just happen to be the party captain, not your lord. Got that?'
'Yeah… I got it.' Trax felt a bit better after hearing that. His impression of Jack started to lean toward the famous reputation and not the infamy that the heroes had fueled in the past.
'Welcome to the party! We're glad to have ya,' laughed Maynard.
'I'll be seeking your advice on increasing my stealth, so be prepared to help me," stated Rydel.
As the party members took turns welcoming their new party member, at the side stood Dirk, feeling a mix of emotions.
Jack saw the swordsman's strange expression and chuckled, "What's on your mind, Dirk?"
"Is it your pact that boosts Maynard's skills with a sword?" the man asked outright. "No matter what I try, though I'm one level higher than Maynard, his sword strikes feel different than anyone else I've seen at our level. It's hard to explain or put into words."
"To answer your question, yes. I have a passive sword skill that increases my effectiveness while wielding a sword and boosts my sword-based abilities as well," explained Jack. "The pact I've created allows Maynard to passively gain half of my skill level, naturally increasing his abilities with all swords. But that also applies to my bow skill, my mana regeneration, my mana capacity, my physical resistance, and more."
"You have that many skills…"
Dirk was lost in thought and envy while Trax, who had overheard Jack's explanation, felt pride swell up inside of him. Both men now desired to join Jack's party indefinitely, even if one of them was reluctant for personal reasons.
"You know, I wouldn't be against making a pact with you, Dirk."
With his attention stolen, Dirk smiled at Jack. "Really? What are your conditions?"
Jack laughed, "You know my character well. If you make a pact with me, I won't farce you to join my party. However, you'll have to prove yourself useful in other ways."
"Such as?"
"Your skills in management and delegation are amazing, to say the least. There's a reason why you managed to become a military assistant without becoming corrupt like the others," stated Jack. "You'll already be entering the Leisure Guild's placement test to become a fully-fledged of the guild, but I want you to swear fealty to it. I want you to help with its operations and its management."
Dirk chuckled, "That's it? You want to give me a cushy, well-paying job that doesn't involve me leaving my family for months at a time or risking my life every other day?"
"Who said it was well-paying?" joked Jack.
"If it is, then I'll take it," reasoned Dirk.
"You drive a hard bargain, but I'll accept your terms." Jack reached out and firmly shook Dirk's hand. "We're honored to have a man of your experience join our cause."
Next, Dirk knelt in front of Jack, letting the young hero draw up the pact in blood. He then took out his sword and slit his thumb, allowing Dirk to seal and fully accept the newly formed pact between them.
'Now I'll be able to easily keep tabs on the guild and increase its productivity, all thanks to you.'
The first mental message Dirk ever heard caused him to shake his head. 'Such a position is what I had always wanted, I'm sure you figured that out.'
"Tonight, we celebrate!" Maynard had already brought out a large barrel of alcohol for all to share.
"Wait." Jack held up his hand. "There's still one more thing to do. Eliza, can you bring out her casket."