Chapter 387 Kaldor Meets Hadur
Nodding, Jack continued, "And it goes deeper than that. Soon, the Chaotic and the Holy Gods will be reappearing, partially because of me. Since I'm bringing the forgotten Neutral Gods back into the limelight of Trodar, it'll be pressuring the other godly factions to do the same. I'm just making sure to stay ahead of the curve."
"I heard about that… Are there really gods in Trodar?" Kaldor asked hesitantly.
"Would you like to meet one? My father should be busy preparing to leave but I can call in my father-in-law or my uncle if you'd like," replied Jack.
"That… Maybe not right now," stated Kaldor. "That means you're truly the Legend of Trodar… Wow…"
"Does that bother you?" asked Jack.
Kaldor chuckled and shook his head. "Not in the slightest. I would only be willing to work under someone as great as the Legend."
"Then, since you're working with me from now on, know that the guild's ultimate aim is to topple both the Chaotic Gods and the Holy Gods," Jack stated, not holding back. "It's too late for you to escape your new duties, but I wanted you to understand that. Rather than wait for another war to break out among the gods, the goal of the guild and the Neutral Gods is to eliminate the other factions altogether. Whether that's by bringing the gods to our side or wiping them out, that doesn't matter so long as the factions are gone in the end."
"Then… where would I fit in all this?" questioned Kaldor, trying to come to grips with such an outstanding goal.
"That's up to you," answered Jack with a shrug. "So long as you handle your duties of treasurer, I'll be happy. But should you want revenge, that means you'll be at war with the Chaotic Gods who made the attack and possibly the Holy Gods who attracted the syndicate to Federal City. That much depends on your sense of justice."
Seeing that Kaldor wasn't responding, Jack added, "Is your need for vengeance deterred simply because your target turned out to be the gods?"
"No… That just means I'll have to work a lot harder…" Kaldor took a deep breath and looked back at Jack. "Is there a way for me to fight a god?"
Jack abruptly burst into laughter. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at your determination. It's just that you're finally sounding like the man Argyle told me about… It's not impossible for you to fight a god, but you'd first have to become one. As for killing the higher-ups of the syndicate that razed your guild to the ground, you would only need to reach at least lv. 85 to attempt revenge on them."
"Then… If I commit to killing those of the syndicate, can you promise me that you'll kill the gods responsible, Jack?"
Taking a moment to respond, Jack noticed something startling. Kaldor's eyes were filled with water, on the verge of letting a tear escape through his eyelashes.
"I… I can guarantee that will happen," promised Jack. "In the end, it'll be their lives or mine, so I'll make sure to kill any and all gods who get in our way, including those who dared attack your guild."
"Thank you…" Wiping his eyes, Kaldor started to return to his usual confident self. "Then I'll have to train hard. I'll train a treasurer in no time, that way I can focus on leveling up."
"You know… I may have a way for you to power level and grind, Kaldor," added Jack, stealing the man's attention again. "But you may not like it."
"If it gets me stronger, I don't care if I hate it. All I need is to get stronger. After avenging my brothers, then I can feel at ease," replied Kaldor, not backing down at all.
Jack sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Rydel, can you go get Kims and Hadurt for me?"
The party members in the room were slightly surprised by Jack's request, but they felt it was a fitting decision and now understood Jack's prior statement to Kaldor. Without a word, Rydel left the room only to return in less than a minute with two men in tow.
As Rydel returned to his seat, Hadurt asked, "What's up? He mentioned that I get to run dungeons now, is that true?"
"Yes and no," replied Jack, looking to both Kims and Hadurt. "This is Kaldor, the founder of the former Golden Haven Guild from Federal City. He's agreed to become our treasurer and train a replacement. Once his replacement is trained, you three will then start running dungeons together."
"How long will it take you to train someone?" Hadurt turned to Kaldor with a smile, hoping it would be sooner rather than later.
Kaldor replied, "Maybe a month, but with the right candidate I can do it in a week. After that, the new guy can just call me or speak with Argyle if he finds himself with any unusual circumstances."
"Great! Then I won't be bored for long!" laughed Hadurt.
Kims looked to Jack and asked, "What if we're needed for security purposes?"
"Tralon's here too, so he can always open a rift if needed be," answered Jack. "You can also take one of our teleportation scrolls. Just make sure you're either touching all party members or they wait inside a bestial storage while you use the scroll. That way we don't waste the few scrolls that we have left."
"Makes sense. Then I'll get one from Tralon." Kims smiled, clearly excited to start leveling up.
"Now for the introductions…" Jack sighed. "Kaldor, you already know Kims but let me tell you about Hadurt. But remember, I warned you that you might not like this."
"I'll handle anything so long as it makes me strong enough," stated Kaldor, confident as ever.
"Then allow me to introduce Hadurt, the retired champion of the Chaos Syndicate and the man that led the charge on Federal City not too long ago."
"What?!" Instantly infuriated, Kaldor's rage came to life as energy gathered around his fists. Two clawed gauntlets appeared on his arms, ready to strike without mercy.
"Enough!"
Jack shouted, but Kaldor still launched a fist to Hadurt, who wasn't fazed in the slightest.
Kaldor's fist struck its target directly on the chin, unleashing his unfiltered anger. But Hadurt didn't even budge. The former champion's chin remained still while taking the attack head-on.
With a chuckle, Hadurt smiled at the confused and enraged Kaldor. "I get that you're angry, but Jack was wrong. I didn't lead that attack. I just showed up to take on Lorwynn, so the attack on your guild had nothing to do with me. And as of now, I'm no longer a puppet for the gods to play with. If you want to kill the god responsible for your guild's fall, then I'm your man."
"What are you talking about?!" Turning to Jack, Kaldor furiously questioned, "Jack, what's the meaning of this?!"
"Kaldor, we recently recruited both Lorwynn and Hadurt, the former champions of the Chaotic and Holy Gods. They're two of our secret weapons against those factions, so who better to train you than the man who knows the syndicate inside and out?" reasoned Jack, calming Kaldor slightly.
"I get that you want to kill me and I don't mind the competition, but should you get too serious then so will I," added Hadurt. "And I'm sure Jack would rather have me kill you than to have you kill me. I bring a lot more to the table and way more firepower while agreeing everything he's said, all to get revenge on the gods who toyed with my life. Get the picture?"
"He's not wrong, Kaldor."
With Jack verifying Hadurt's reasoning, Kaldor retracted his fist from Hadurt's face. The former auction house owner glared at the former champion, barking, "State your cause for revenge!"
"I was promised the opportunity to join the gods in exchange for half a millennium of service. But as that time started to near an end, I came to find out that they never would've allowed my ascendance to godhood," explained Hadurt, also leaking energy from his self-contained fury. "They planned to let me get killed and ruined my potential to become a god. For that, I will kill them, especially the god that deceived me from the start."
Sensing Hadurt's passionate rage, Kaldor grunted and folded his arms. "And when I kill all the members of the syndicate, what will you do?"
"I'd kill them all now if I didn't have to hide my identity," Hadurt replied with a laugh. "But I can tell you who to watch out for and just how strong they all are. As you are now, you'll have to work much harder to catch up."
"... Then I'm willing to put up with you," replied Kaldor.
Still laughing, Hadurt continued, "You won't have to put up with me. If you're really after killing them, then find a replacement and join me in a dungeon. Survive my training, then you'll be able to kill almost anyone in the syndicate without worry.
"Deal."
No more words were said and there was no shaking of hands. However, both men became more driven than ever to dive back into training, as well as Kims who was feeding off of their energy.