Zariff's Problems

Jack looked down and rubbed his eyebrows after realizing that's exactly how Zariff would act in the face of death. He thought to himself briefly, "That idiot! You don't have to charge right at someone to get a job done, especially not against someone like this."

Rydel was thinking the same before he continued, "Yellow Jacket hid in a mountain cave, but I'm sure you've already guessed the rest."

"That old fart was impatient and charged in despite the traps and curses surrounding the entrance. He made it to Yellow Jacket and used his barbaric strength to overpower him at the cost of being cursed and poisoned without a doubt," sighed Jack.

"Afterwards there were teams of medics and clerics hired by the king to tend to him immediately. They had planned for him to be impatient and waited for him to drag Yellow Jacket's body from the cave. Once he came back outside, they all took turns removing poisons and curses of all kinds. According to them, they removed every threat, but the chief says otherwise. Wanna know why he's been drunk all day?"

"To numb the pain," guessed Jack. "If Yellow Jacket was so well known for poisons and curses, then it's likely that he has some unknown and untraceable toxins and curses. That's my guess anyway. How does the chief feel exactly?"

"Not a clue."

"What?" said Jack. "What do you mean?"

Rydel rephrased, "I don't have a clue how the chief feels. He won't tell me that part. I was just told to search for the existence of untraceable toxins and curses. If you want to know that, good luck with him." He strolled into the room and laid across the bottom bunk across from Jack and instantly began snoring.

Jack didn't bother him, knowing that if he did a knife might end up in his face. He got up and left the room to avoid disturbing Rydel any further. Exiting the association building, Jack saw the moon in the sky and the deserted streets. The markets were mostly closed, leaving only the high rolling shops and the shadier vendors.

During his trip to town square earlier in the day, he overheard some people talking about a park well off the beaten path and inquired about it. One turn led to another until Jack was on the outskirts of Reinolt City and climbing a large hill. When he made it to the top, his eyes widened and took in the view of the city below. Jack was in awe of the beautiful night lights scattered across the city.

"Ha, even a brat can find this place. It's not so secret anymore I guess," a rough voice growled at Jack from atop a huge tree.

Jack didn't shift his gaze, he only said, "Rumor has it that a ghost of a giant would hide here in the trees and cry where no one could see or hear him. If I knew it would just be an old fart like you, I would've brought Maura to chew you out."

"What is it brat? Did you already blow through your coin?" asked Zariff, unfazed by Jack's sarcasm.

"Nah, I haven't spent even one," said Jack as he pulled out the small bag from a pocket within his cloak and threw it down. "Here."

"What for?" asked Zariff who had yet to show himself.

"I'm buying information. Now tell me, is that much worth knowing what's wrong with you?"

Zariff's large frame fell from the tree and landed in front of the unflinching Jack. He said, "Rydel told you? I can't trust—"

"I asked Rydel for more information after figuring it out myself. Wanna guess how I figured it out?" intercepted Jack. Zariff swallowed some saliva and didn't respond, so Jack continued, "All I know is that whatever you have is life-threatening, that I can guarantee."

Hearing such harsh words, Zariff's face paled a little. "You're certain? How?"

"With the subclass achievement junkie, there are certain things I do to increase my skills. One thing I've learned is that I need to save your life, but I can't do that when I don't know what's threatening you," said Jack.

"If you don't want to admit it, then just say so. I've only just met you and I don't know you all that well. My guess is you already knew you'd die and you're just trying to find someone suitable to fill your job. If that's the case, who better than a summoned hero, right?"

"So, you've already made assumptions," replied Zariff. "If you mention this to anyone, especially Maura, you're dead brat."

"If that's what it takes," said Jack with a slight smile.

Zariff chuckled, "There are two things; a toxin, and a curse. One is life-threating and the other is even worse."

Jack tried to imagine what could be worse than death but only shuddered. Then Zariff continued, "It's the poison that's threatening my life. My veins are slowly rejecting my blood, some already shriveled up. The pain is too much to function without some help." Zariff brandished a large bottle in his hand.

With his extensive experience and knowledge of "A Hero's Tale," Jack began to search his mind for anything similar to what Zariff mentioned. A couple of things came to mind, but Jack quickly settled on what it most likely was. "Tell me, were you injected with the poison or did you breathe it in?"

"Injected. That madman coated his booby traps and weapons with it."

"Okay, then it's definitely the walking death toxin," said Jack. It was a heavy blow to both Jack and Zariff. "By the look on your face, I can tell you've heard of it. I'm very familiar with it and might be able to make an antidote."

"Impossible! There's no antidote for the walking death toxin! It an ancient poison that could destroy entire kingdoms if left unchecked. It's called walking death because every step you take exhausts your veins and arteries, speeding up your death. And a snarky brat like yourself thinks he can pull something off like an antidote? You're insane!" barked Zariff, fuming with anger.

Jack paid him no mind and simply waited for the angry giant to let off some steam. Soon enough, Zariff's breathing returned to normal and he calmly bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"No worries, my skin's too thick for an old fart like you to hurt it. And yes, I can make an antidote. I promise." Jack hid the fact that in "A Hero's Tale," he was the first person in the game to use walking death toxin. He had unlocked access to a special dungeon through the course of achievement hunting and was the first to win the toxin. As time passed more adventurers eventually got the toxin and its fame spread across Kartonia.

"Well, even if you can make an antidote, you'll need the ingredients. For something as potent as the walking death toxin, who knows what you'll need to find," rebutted Zariff

As much as Jack wanted to disagree, he couldn't. In modern Kartonia not only were many ancient items missing, but ancient plants and beasts were missing too. And thanks to the development of so many countries since those times, all of Jack's previous knowledge on where to find certain items was rendered mostly useless.

Luckily, the antidote didn't carry an enormous list of ingredients, needing only one peak tier ingredient and three high tier ingredients alongside some easily harvested items.

"Either way, leave the poison to me. What about the curse? You said it was worse than death?" asked Jack.

"The curse isn't an immediate or urgent threat, but in my eyes, it's far more frightening. I can't level up or gain any EXP because it's being drained away faster than I can gain it. In two months, I'll drop to lv. 35, then it can only speed up until I hit zero," said Zariff with depression apparent in his eyes.

Shivers ran down Jack's spine after hearing that. He didn't need to think or ponder to find out the problem, but he mentally agreed that comparing death to the result of this curse was like comparing a pooping pigeon with a ferocious pterodactyl. "We'll do everything we can to stop both the toxin and the curse, no matter what."

"Wait, you know, don't you?" Zariff saw the fear well up in Jack's eyes after his explanation of the curse. It was one thing to feel sorry for someone else, it was another to feel afraid with only a mention of circumstances. And Zariff could tell it was genuine fear that Jack was feeling. "Tell me, I don't care what it is but if you won't say, forgive me beforehand for getting rough."

Jack chocked on his words as he barely whispered, "…Skaryn's vengeance…"

"Say it again," commanded Zariff.

"…Skaryn's vengeance…" Jack repeated in the same hushed tone, clearly against Zariff's wishes.

Zariff roared, "LOUDER!"

Jack yelled, "SKARYN'S VENGEANCE!"

The booming echo seemed to hush itself as if it had said something that should never be mentioned. Jack tried to calm himself as Zariff too began to tremble after hearing the name of the curse.