Chapter 318 Finally Making Their Move
"One question at a time, okay?" Jack sighed. "As for what I"m after, what do you think it is, given that we know you"ve illegally entered our storehouse and are following us?"
"You want to know what we plan to do inside of the storehouse and are wondering if we have any agenda besides stealing the treasures of the vault," Vixus deduced. "Also, what do you mean by "our storehouse"?"
"Exactly that. It"s our storehouse, as I"m also a member of the Leisure Guild," stated Jack. "And yes, what you"ve deduced is part of what I want to know. But I"m also interested in your intentions for the treasure you seek after you"ve obtained it."
"You ask too many questions."
"So do you," retorted Jack. "But unlike you, I"m willing to answer you"re questions, that is if you"ll cooperate. Or am I wrong to a.s.sume you won"t cooperate?"
"... Even if you"re a member of the guild, you wouldn"t have the right to offer me anything in the storehouse."
"Why not? Do you know me so well?"
Vixus hesitated, curious why Jack was so confident with his words. "Are you now Jack, the young summoned hero that recently joined the Adventurers a.s.sociation, married into the Fat Goose Guild, and claimed a h.e.l.l-flame Fox as your beast companion with a mutual seal?"
"Wow, you"ve done you"re homework. You even know about the mutual seal. I"ve got to give you some credit for digging so deeply into my history," replied Jack. Is that all?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Are you done speaking of me and who I am?" Jack rephrased. "If so, then you"re still a long way off."
"That… How so?"
"If you can"t figure out at least why there"s a possibility that I"ve done more than that, then you"re nowhere near as smart as you distant ancestor."
Taking Jack"s words to heart, Vixus thought a moment longer as he used that last statement as a hint. "You… You knew my great ancestor?"
"Getting warmer," laughed Jack.
"You were a former guild member that happened to get summoned… And now you"re working with Tralon to revive the guild?"
"Not bad at all. So, do you believe me now that I can get you what you want?"
Hesitating again, Vixus replied, "Then how can you guarantee that I"ll receive my item?"
"Because I"m going to open the vault."
Startled by Jack"s bluntness, Vixus instinctively chuckled. "That… That doesn"t guarantee that I"ll get the item I want."
"But it"s the best guarantee you have, right? Or would you rather deal with the other six floors ahead of you? I can guarantee you that the remaining six floors are more difficult then you a.s.sume and even if you survive, you may be forced back to the outer doors of the dungeon before you make it to the eleventh floor."
"That… Then tell me what"s on the--"
"And even if you somehow, against all odds, make it to floor eleven, I doubt your party is prepared for the vault guardian. If his level hasn"t changed in the past millennia than you might win at the sacrifice of a couple of party members, but not even I know what level he is now."
"... So, what you"re saying is that the other councilmen and I can"t possibly reach the vault on our own?"
"Right you are."
"Then how will you get through it?"
"I"m an ancient guild member who knows the secrets of the guild. If anyone knew how to maneuver the dungeon, wouldn"t it be me and Tralon?" Jack stated. "So, will you talk, or not?"
Vixus didn"t reply immediately. He wanted to think things through and hated to make impulsive decisions.
"What will it be? I don"t think your friends will be occupied for much longer."
"I… What would you want me to do?"
Jack smiled and laughed, "I want you to join the Leisure Guild."
*****
"Vixus! What have you learned?"
The beast tamer got off of his knees and noticed Bikkem calling out to him with a satisfied Kims and a disappointed Quallace in tow. He dusted his pants off as Vixus pointed to a charred tentacle. "Though this beast died by the sword, most of the damage it received was from a powerful flame of some sort. But Tralon can"t use such spells."
"Are you insinuating that the h.e.l.l-flame Fox is the reason the defeated this beast?" asked Bikkem, picking up a similar charred tentacle.
"You"re always so sharp, Bikkem. I think we"ve underestimated the threat this fox might be. Also, we need to watch out for the young hero as well."
"I imagine you have a reason to fear him as well?"
"But he"s not even lv. 30, right?" stated Kims. "Why should I worry about such a weakling?"
"I believe we"ve also heavily underestimated that hero. As Argyle"s son-in-law, I"m sure he"s been given only the best equipment, and do you think that Argyle, the man so reluctant to marry off his daughter, would choose a man so weak as his son-in-law? I think we should a.s.sume that he"s stronger than Quallace"s son."
"Impossible! He"s not even lv. 30 and you want to compare him to--"
"Quallace!" Bikkem interrupted. "Let Vixus speak, now shut up!"
"Thank you, Bikkem." Vixus nodded to the monk and continued, "According to my information, that hero has a mutual seal with the h.e.l.l-flame Fox, which means--"
"Impossible! How could such a weak--"
"Quallace! Shut up!" Staring daggers into Quallace, Bikkem glared at the curious councilman.
Vixus sighed. "As I was saying, Since they have a mutual seal, they shouldn"t be very far apart in terms of level. Though I don"t believe he"s as great a threat as the h.e.l.l-flame Fox, he still shouldn"t be underestimated. This giant corpse of a monster is proof of that. Those two are the only ones in the party with fire magic, so who else could cause this?"
Bikkem stroked his bare chin. "What would you estimate is his level then, or his cla.s.s?"
"As for level, I would guess at least lv. 50. With a powerful enough spell and the aid of the fox, a lv. 50 could deal this level of damage with Argyle and Tralon aiding them," stated Vixus, startling Quallace and putting a smile on Kims"s face.
"Also, it may be safe to a.s.sume that they know we"re in here."
"What? Explain," Bikkem demanded.
Vixus nodded. "Just a moment ago, I spoke with Tralon. He was wondering why we were following them into the dungeon."
"How did they figure it out."
"Tralon only mentioned that he used an ancient spell that"s hard to find nowadays in Modern Kartonia," explained Vixus. "In the case that they know we"re here, I think it may be best to attack as soon as possible and not delay things any longer."
"But… If that"s true, then how do we know you"re not working with them," argued Quallace. "Weren"t you always trying to get into the storehouse? Maybe they made you a desperate offer to attract your help?"
"They did make such an offer," Vixus admitted, "but why should I accept a single piece of treasure when we"ll take the whole thing? Answer me that?"
"Well…"
"And you know Tralon, he always places too many unnecessary conditions on his deals. How could I, Trodar"s greatest businessman accept such a thing? Why would I accept an apple if I already own an entire bushel?"
Bikkem nodded. "Then let"s make our move now. We don"t want to give them any more time to plan against us."
"But how can we verify that they know?" Quallace kept bickering for the sake of not losing the argument.
"Call him and find out yourself. Why should I lie about such a thing now?" stated Vixus as he and Bikkem charged forward. "My Flame Tiger will keep the fox busy while I take on the young hero. Kims, charge Tralon hed on. Don"t give him s.p.a.ce to cast any ancient spells. And Quallace, follow Bikkem"s lead."
"Vixus, I"m not doubting your--"
"Let"s go already!" Bikkem shouted from the front.
With Vixus beside Bikkem and Kims chasing behind them, Quallace sighed as he ran to not be left behind.