Chapter 394 Finding Dragas“s Shrine
Eventually, Jack managed to exit his room, ready for the day. All the women followed him out as well, some being excited to visit another new place and some being excited to visit another god.
Jack asked Rydel, Trax, and Maynard if they wanted to tag along but he was rejected by all of them. Each of them wanted to stay and train since the mission had nothing to do with leveling. Also, they didn't mind missing out on the initial trip to visit the Goddess of Love.
After grabbing some food from the courtyard turned mess hall, aptly named the food court since ancient times, Jack, his beast companions, and the women left together on Appa.
While the women chatted or answered some of Lina's spontaneous questions, Jack sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
What seemed like meditation to the others was actually Jack sitting nervously in front of his achievement list. There was a new achievement listed, one that had come to exist the moment Jack laid eyes on that enchantment key. The day before, Jack had refused to check it as the title alone sent shivers down his spine. And again, Jack found himself just staring at the title, unable to do anything else.
It took Jack thirty minutes of sitting nervously and, eventually, breaking a sweat to finally muster the courage to select the achievement and read its description. That was when the previously ignored mountain of fear fell back on top of Jack with full-force.
[Prevent Skaryn's Unsealing: in progress]
[Keep the gods from releasing Skaryn or destroying all five essential enchantment keys to his seal. Event reward: 50,000 skill points]
Jack didn't realize it, but he was trembling terribly. He was shaken to his very core. The fear he felt prior was nothing compared to the tumult and terror that Jack was now wracked with.
"Jack…"
"Jack…"
"Jack!"
Hearing a rush of voices ringing in his ears, Jack finally closed the menu and opened his eyes.
Finding himself surrounded, Jack attempted to chuckle but his body wouldn't let him.
"Jack, what's wrong?" Maura straightforwardly asked. "Don't deny it, just please tell us."
"It… It's just something related to that enchantment key we found. Don't worry about it… And please don't read my mind right now, Daliea," Jack added. "I don't want you burdened to know this."
"But… Okay, Jack. I won't," smiling sorrowfully, Daliea replied.
Maura was irritated to not learn anything else but Eliza sat down beside Jack and rested her head on his shoulder. Hoping to help like the day before, Eliza asked, "Is there anything you can talk about? Maybe we could at least help you feel better…"
"I… I don't think so… Not with this, sadly…" stated Jack, struggling to talk about the subject without giving anything away. "Just know that we must protect that enchantment key with everything we have. I'm glad Eedaj has it, at least."
"Should we not have found it?" asked Eliza.
"No, it was a great thing to find, something that could be crucial in the future," answered Jack, trying to somehow ease the tension between him and those staring at him. "It's a wonderfully powerful item that I'm glad we have. It's just that… You know what, it's nothing. I shouldn't be worrying about something that may not even happen."
Changing the subject, Jack asked, "Maura, what do you think of your cetus?"
"He's strong and fast. He's a great mount for battle," replied Maura, at least glad that Jack wasn't ignoring them anymore. "Why do you ask?"
"Because at some point you'll gain the ability to merge two bloodlines, but that won't work with your cetus and Lina." Jack explained, "Lina's bloodline is extraordinary, obviously, and it overpowers the cetus's bloodline since they're so similar. If you want to use the bloodline skill to the utmost, then you'll probably want to choose a new companion."
"Really?" Showing some resistance, Maura asked, "Do I have to?"
"Well… It's not like you have to, but from a logical standpoint you should choose a different companion."
Thinking hard, Maura raised the question, "What if I just get a third companion and only use two bloodlines?"
"That… Hmmm…"
Jack started to mull over that plan. Considering Lina wouldn't exactly be Maura's mount that meant that the cetus would always be present and fighting alongside Maura, so it wouldn't just become a leech of her EXP. And it would work well together with Maura's water abilities, able to compliment her fighting style and even maneuver in water.
"If you want to, then that's fine. But that means your cetus will always have to fight by your side, even when you have a third companion. I don't want him turning into a handicap for your leveling," reasoned Jack.
Nodding, Maura smiled. "Of course!"
"What about me?" asked Eliza. "Does that mean I can already mix my companions' bloodlines?"
"No," answered Jack. "I need to upgrade the skill even more for that. I tried it before leveling the skill and I almost fainted from the pain."
"Oh… Then I'll wait too," added Eliza, satisfied with her current bloodline abilities to either enhance her nature spells or to grow wings for arms. But until she gained some magic clothing like Jack or Lina, Eliza refused to use her ability with Appa's bloodline under normal circumstances. Eliza didn't like the thought of destroying all of her nice clothes to casually grow wings.
The conversation grew to be more lighthearted as Jack buried his fear and worry so that the others wouldn't see it for the time being.
It took the party almost the full day to reach their destination, finally arriving at sunset. Crossing the Limneer-Trodar border was tricky so they instead went over the Prachten-Trodar border and entered Limneer from there.
Appa landed in a massive flower field in the southern tip of Limneer, one of the least populated areas of the nation and away from prying eyes. There were some people visiting the field, however, as it was a rare place where flowers could grow and bloom year-round.
Jack looked to Eliza. "Can you bring out your dryad? She'll be able to search for any anomalies about this place."
Eliza did just that, letting her dryad companion explore the many types of flowers the filled the area.
Ten minutes had passed when Eliza stated, "She found something."
The party followed Eliza toward her Dryad, who was at the eastern edge of the field staring curiously at a small, unique flower. The flower was tiny and had no leaves. Its petals were a soft magenta and resembled a rose, but sky blue filaments jutted out of the flower's center.
"She's never seen that kind of flower before," stated Eliza, surprising Jack. "She doesn't know what it is, why it's there, or what it's for."
Curious, Jack activated God's Eye. After another minute, Jack smiled.
Jack crouched down and placed his face directly in front of the flower. His smile was warm and inviting when he suddenly shouted into the flower, "Dragas! I saw you, so don't deny it! I'm with Daruun, so let us in!"
No one knew what Jack was up to, but they were used to him trying strange things. They remained quiet and let Jack shout however loud he wished.
Soon, everyone's eyes were back on that flower. It was now growing with unbelievable speed. In a few seconds, petals had grown as large as Jack's head, not stopping there. Eventually, they became as large as Jack and then as large as the party. The petals unfurled from their bundle and then closed over the entire party, including Appa.
Next, the party started to tumble around inside the flower, as if the flower was moving with great speed.
Finally, the rumbling stopped. The flower petals unfurled themselves again to uncover the party.
Glad to no longer be thrown every which way, the party examined their new surroundings, an underground room that was vast and filled with exotic flowers of every size and sort. They also noticed that giant flower shrink back to normal and remain tucked away inside this jungle of flowers.