Chapter 290 Jack“s Old Office
'Tralon, we're heading to the storehouse.'
'Oh… Then I'm coming. Give me a moment.'
A few minutes passed as Tralon finished his conversation with the two gods and dismissed himself.
"It took you long enough," Jack joked as Tralon appeared in a flash of light. "Let me guess, you took the time to memorize the location so you can go back after we're done?"
"Of course! That was the first time that I've been able to speak with people older than me! And with their breadth of knowledge and unique perspective, I can learn so much."
"Did you ask them about your curse?"
Tralon shook his head, losing some of his excitement. "They don't know of a cure."
"I figured… I've already asked Sterfen, so I guess the only person left to ask is Daruun. I'll add that to my list," Jack sighed. "Anyways, I'm assuming you've got enough mana to take us to Gilga."
"Sure, but don't you want to go to the storehouse?"
"Yes, but you won't have enough mana left to carry us through it," replied Jack. "Remember, we're only lv. 34 right now. With you, we'll just barely make it to the end so long as we're careful."
"I forgot about that… Then I'll take you to Gilga. You can stay in the guild house as my guests for the night."
"Are you sure we should do that? Would that cause trouble for you?"
"No, I'll be fine," chuckled Tralon. "Since your levels are concealed by your cloak, it will keep suspicions to a minimum. I'm sure some of the council members will be keeping tabs on us, but you can just change your appearance and store Bowzer away when we're in public. Maybe Argyle would work?"
"Not a bad idea." With a laugh, Jack activated his cloak and became an Argyle look-alike. "I'm sure my father-in-law won't complain since it's me falsifying his identity."
"A perfect image. Well done. So, are you ready? We need to get a good night's rest if we want to storm the storehouse tomorrow."
Jack turned to Bowzer. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait in my ring till we get to our room. But once we're at the storehouse tomorrow, you'll be free to roam wherever you like."
Bowzer pouted but did as Jack said. The fox walked toward Jack, obediently letting Jack store him in the bestial storage.
"Then, let's go." Tralon opened up a rift in space, walking through it along with Jack.
The two men were now in a spacious office, startling Jack. "You… You haven't changed a thing, have you?"
"Well, I did change a few things," replied Tralon. "All of your hidden weapons were stored away. I didn't like the thought of your high-level weapons being found by anyone who dared to thumb through my office."
"Smart move. But I see you kept the chair, desk, and bookshelves. Why didn't you sell them? Wouldn't that be able to raise the guild's funds significantly?" Jack asked as he took a seat in the dragon hide chair he had crafted long ago.
"As you'll come to know, I've kept the guild and its many belongings the same for all these years. The system you created here was better than anything I could imagine myself, and I refused to sell or exchange any of its items that I deemed priceless, no matter what Argyle tried to offer me."
"Oh? Is that how you two met? He tried to haggle for all of my old stuff?" Jack joked.
"Actually, yes. But we became friends soon after that. Occasionally, he makes me an offer for little things like your chair or the bookshelves you made."
"I can't blame him. It's arguably the most comfortable and most expensive seat I've seen, while the bookshelves auto-cast silence and are made from an ancient Gaia Tree…" Jack's attention left the conversation as he started to tinker with the lock on his desk.
"Click!"
"Wow, you didn't even change the code. Are you a hoarder?"
"Maybe, but I'm so glad I am. Otherwise, who knows what would be left for you now that you're back?" Tralon laughed.
Jack's smile softened. "It must've been hard for you. Keeping all of this while Trodar was facing hardship and you were losing levels to the curse."
"Sure, it was hard but not impossible." Tralon shrugged.
"The other council members want you gone so they can steal what's left of the guild, don't they?"
"... Like always, you find the truth before I have a chance to admit it."
Jack sighed again. With his current level, he was powerless to do anything against the council that he had founded. And now, that same council was starting to focus more on causing internal struggle then solving the problems surrounding Trodar, forcing Tralon to personally seek Jack for help.
"Don't worry yourself, Jack. I'll make sure that the guild survives and remains intact until you're strong enough to take it over," Tralon added. "Until then, don't worry about the guild. You just got me a new manager, that alone will help me focus on the duties of the council."
"Oh yeah…" Midsentence, Jack took out a well-sized coin purse and placed it on the desk. "Here's Dirk's salary. He doesn't need this much considering I paid for his house, but I promised him it would be well-paying. Now, he can't complain and has more reason to do his job."
"That's… quite a sum for someone not even lv. 40."
"And this…" A dozen more bags were placed on the desk, only these were heftier and filled with platinum. "This is to help you keep the guild running. I can't take over yet, but I can at least supply you with funds."
"How did you--"
"I was lucky enough to raid the tomb of Ponlinne a while back. Do you remember him?"
"Ponlinne?! Of course, he ran the Medic Guild, right?" Tralon laughed. "So that's how you took advantage of Argyle and the other auction houses. Leave it to you to find the tomb of a lv. 85 guild leader while you're still low-leveled."
"Actually, Ponlinne wasn't lv. 85. He was lv. 87."
"What?!"
"I'm not sure when, but sometime after I left the level cap was removed," stated Jack.
"But what could kill a lv. 87 hero? Sure, Ponlinne was a cleric but he was still lv. 87."
"He stumbled upon a dungeon that never existed during Ancient Kartonia," Jack explained. "That dungeon would change based on those who entered it. Based on the highest level among the dungeon's occupants, that crypt would open up deeper and deeper. Ponlinne eventually reached the final floor where he found massive ancient doors, but they were guarded by a lv. 89 boss."
"A lv. 89… that's unheard of!" shouted Tralon.
"Ponlinne was just going to check out the boss and flee, but the boss countered him and never let Ponlinne escape. But, at least we now know the level cap is gone and that there a likely to be more unknown dungeons to explore," reasoned Jack.
"True. But are you sure you want to give up all of this for the guild? Will you have enough left for your party and your needs?"
"Honestly, no. I've been too generous with my cash," Jack laughed, remembering his costly private deal with Argyle. "However, given that you haven't sold everything inside the guild house, you probably never attempted to open the storehouse either."
"Guilty as charged," the old man laughed along with Jack.
"Then once I open that up, I'll have more than enough… And I'll be able to get my hands on that crest!"
"Oh? That useless emblem you threw in the storehouse? What do you need that for?"
"I need to test something. Since some items now can do different things, I wonder what that crest can do now that I'm officially Daruun's champion."
Tralon stroked his beard with a nod. "Interesting, indeed. But how about we go and get some sleep. If not, we'll have to wait even longer to storm the storehouse."
"Speaking of that, has anyone entered the storehouse since I was gone?" Jack asked.
"Only petty thieves. Since I'm still around, the other council members steer clear of the place. They may be strong enough to storm it, but they wouldn't be fast enough to steal anything before I get there." Tralon chuckled, "Besides, they don't know how to open the final door which the guild crafted in its heyday."
"True… but that's why we have this!" Jack flicked the old ring up in the air and caught it. "That door won't be a problem for us. But who knows what's in the storehouse now that a thousand years have passed."
"We'll find out when we enter. Hopefully, I'll be able to carry us through it. If not, then I'll make a rift and we'll escape."
"Sounds like a plan. Now, where am I sleeping tonight?"
Tralon sighed. "Sadly, I can't offer you your old room. If I did that, then it would draw too much attention. I'll lead you to the guest rooms."
Tralon and Jack, who was still disguised as Argyle, slowly walked through the guild house, drawing a lot of attention. However, no one bothered them since it was the guild leader and someone they recognized as lv. 71, even though they couldn't currently see through "Argyle's" level.
Well, almost no one bothered them…