The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 351 Finding Jin“s Shrine

"Would you like to be companions with Eliza instead of me?"

Overhearing her name, Eliza looked away from the powerful Minokawa and saw Jack staring warmly into Appa’s eyes.

"Would you like that, Appa? You can be honest," Jack insisted that the condor answer his question.

"Honestly... yes. I would prefer that. She cares for my wings and feathers. I like that." The condor nodded, not hiding his true feeling from his mutual companion.

"Then after you take us to Trodar, we’ll transfer the mutual seal to Eliza, okay? I think that would be for the best."

"What?!" Baffled, Eliza stuck her head in front of Jack’s. "Are you kidding me? Why would we do that? How would we do that?"

"Calm down, Eliza." Jack grabbed her shoulders as the party realized what was going on. "Are you saying that you wouldn’t like to have Appa as a beast companion?"

"No! Of course not! That’s just too crazy of a thing for you to mention so casually, Jack," stated Eliza. "Is that even possible?"

"Thanks to Daruun it is." Jack pecked her on the forehead, startling her and keeping her from arguing. "Now, shall we go?"

"Um, where are we going?" That familiar voice reminded Jack of the last party member as she exited the women’s tent. "Are we going to meet Jin now?"

"Yeah, we’ll meet Jin now. Then, we’ll hurry back so we can go meet Eedaj so you can finally learn the truth behind the fall of your race, Daliea."

Looking Jack in the eye, the grey-skinned beauty smiled. "Thank you, Jack. Then I’m glad we’re hurrying."

"Also, I think I found you a new beast companion, but we’ll talk about that when we reach Trodar," Jack added. "Now hop on Appa and let’s go!"

Not letting the party waste time, Jack nudged his wives toward the condor. Lina was the first to climb on and roll in his freshly brushed feathers. Once everyone was ready, including Phoro who casually laid across the condor’s dack, they were off.

Five minutes passed as the team was taken to the deepest part of the valley, where a small yet powerful waterfall had created a pond below.

"So you’re lv. 49 now... We have such a strong husband, don’t we?" Eliza joked as she grabbed Maura’s hand.

"Yeah, but we won’t get left behind." More comfortable than ever around Eliza, Maura wasn’t anywhere near as shy as before. Her time spent most around Lina and Eliza helped her a lot with her confidence as a woman.

"Right! And with a second powerful companion, I’ll be sure to catch up!" Eliza proudly stated, combing her hands through Appa’s feathers.

Jack smiled. "You do realize Appa’s also lv. 49, right?"

"Really?! I mean... I guess that makes sense." Eliza shrugged. "Maybe you’re only doing this so you can protect me better."

"Maybe..."

Though Jack informed them of the general happenings and results of the dungeon run, he didn’t mention his upgraded bloodline skill. At lv. 6, his inheritors could access up to lv. 3, which greatly boosted the party’s strength. But what Jack was thinking about was when he reached lv. 10. Not only would it be so powerful that Daruun refused to mention it to not distract Jack, it meant that his party could access up to lv. 5, where it allows them to merge bloodlines during transformation.

With that on his mind, Jack started to wonder what beasts would be perfect for his party members, and which ones would combo well.

"Jack? Jaaack?"

"Big Bro?!"

Startled awake from thought, Jack looked to Lina and Maura. "What’s wrong?"

"We’re here, Jack," Maura replied. "Aren’t you going to open the shrine or help us find the entrance?"

"Right!" hopping to the ground, Jack reviewed his map tab and made sure they were right on top of the shrine. "Hmm... It should be right here."

"Really?" Eliza asked. "Then how come we haven’t found it yet?���

Jack reexamined the surrounding area and found himself coming back to the pond. But before he said anything or came to a conclusion, Jack heard a splash. Looking back he saw Rydel smiling.

"What?" The hunter shrugged. "I mentioned that the pond was suspicious and Maynard dove in headfirst. You know how he is."

The entire party got a laugh out of it but Maynard never came back up for water. After almost a minute, a faint red glow could be seen from the bottom of the pond. But just as the light appeared, it was snuffed out and Maynard was launched out of the water.

With a harsh landing on the valley wall, Maynard fell with a thud. The samurai coughed up some blood but was too busy smiling to reply to his party’s worried questions. "I think I found it..."

"So that’s where the waterfall leads," reasoned Rydel. "I knew something was off."

Jack shook Maynard a bit and asked, "But what happened to you? Why were you thrown out of the water like that?"

"There’s a hole at the bottom of the pond, but there’s also a barrier that wouldn’t let me through. So, what else would I do other than break it?"

Not hiding his laughter, Jack patted Maynard on the shoulder. "Maynard, I like the way you think but that’s probably not the best solution in this case. Let me try something."

Jack then dove into the water with a smile on his face.

"Me too!"

Surprising the others, Lina followed after Jack. Though some wanted to stop her, they all quickly remembered that Lina was in her natural element and was far stronger than they give her credit. They had been reminded a few times during their tirade against the beasts of Sunset Valley, that Lina shouldn’t be underestimated.

Below the water, Jack swam down toward the bottom. But he was quickly passed by Lina, who jetted past him and swam more naturally than most fish.

’Lina, what are you doing?’ Jack asked telepathically.

Unlike Jack, Lina spoke verbally, unimpeded by the water, "I want to see the bottom too. Maybe I can help Big Bro."

"Fine, but don’t do anything without my permission. Got it?"

"Got it!"

Jack caught up to her and they descended the rest of the way together. Once at the bottom, Jack noticed that there was a tight tunnel.

’Lina, check that tunnel and tell me what you find.’

"Okay!" Nodding, Lina followed her brother’s orders and glided through the tight space. Not even a minute later, she called back telepathically. ’Jack, I found the barrier!’

’I see... I’m coming in!’

Following Lina’s example, Jack hurried inside the tunnel and barely fit himself through the small passageway. After a few winds and turns, Jack found himself face to face with a barrier of white light. Water could pass through it without a problem, but it stopped Jack’s hand instantly.

What Jack didn’t understand was how Maynard was hurled out of the water from such a tight space. ’Lina, I���m going to try something. It’s going to hurt me, but I’ll be right back, so don’t do anything while I’m gone.’

"Okay..." Not understanding what Jack was about to do, Lina agreed to her big brother’s demands.

Swallowing some saliva, Jack retrieved a sword and activated his Blood Thrust skill. The blood-red glow filled the tiny underwater cavern, letting a small bit escape the opening and show itself to the party above. Then, like Maynard, Jack attacked the barrier, hoping to learn more.

As the sword made contact with the barrier the attack’s power and strength were reflected onto Jack as if he had thrust the sword into his own side. No entry wound was made but Jack was launched back by a terrifying recoil. Also like Maynard, Jack somehow was transported through the rock that formed the tunnel and then hurled into the valley wall.

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