Chapter 406 Option Three: Carving Your Own Path
"... Yeah, I"ll agree to that."
Daruun nodded and sighed. Then, Daruun stood himself up. "Jack, you"ll want to stand for this."
"Come on, Daruun, I think I can handle the news. Besides, aren"t I supposed to sit for startling news?" Jack joked.
"Very well."
Suddenly, a flash of light filled the room, taking the two of them far into the clouds over Kartonia.
Jack felt himself falling, landing firmly yet softly on his rear. He stood on that platform of cloud and chuckled, "Oh… Now I get it?"
Daruun smiled, glad to see that some of the previous tension of the conversation was gone. He asked, "Jack, why are you so intent on learning about your past self?"
"I"m not that hung up about it. I"m just curious is--"
"Jack, you searched every chest of your vault, twice," stated Daruun, silencing Jack"s excuses. "Again, why are you so intent on finding out more about your former self?"
"Well, if I can find my former self, wouldn"t that give me the greatest bounty I"ve ever had? Wouldn"t that give me all the items I could ever need? With those, I could level up quicker and--"
"And you could save Tralon?"
Jack"s mouth was still open but he didn"t finish his statement. Looking to Daruun, Jack sighed with a nod.
"Jack, we already talked about that, and you even spoke with Tralon, yet you"re still set on choosing that other path."
"No, I"m trying to make my own path," stated Jack. "Can"t I just make a path that can save Tralon and keep the G.o.ds at bay long enough to protect everyone? What"s wrong with searching for that?"
Daruun rubbed his eyebrows and sighed. With Jack so set in his mind, the G.o.d of Fate could only address the issue. He stayed silent and waved his hand again, taking them away to somewhere else.
As the light faded, Jack was startled, so much so that he almost fell back.
In front of Jack stood Naparn, who was currently locked in place with an ugly shouting face. To the other side was Lyrun, taking Naparn"s angry shouts with a straight face.
"Don"t be scared Jack, they don"t even know we"re here," Daruun commented. "I brought you here to teach you something. We"ll be using your father, Sterfen as an example. You wouldn"t know it, but Sterfen is also nearby, not even five meters away from Naparn. I"m sure you already know why.
Jack tried to look around, but he was unable to sense anything about Sterfen, even knowing that Sterfen was almost within arm"s reach.
Daruun continued, "I want you to understand patience, and Sterfen is a perfect example of that. He"ll be patiently waiting for the precise moment that he can a.s.sault Naparn. And since that moment must be exactly perfect, Sterfen will wait however long it takes. He"ll follow Naparn everyone, waiting not for a moment of a ninety-nine percent chance of success, but one hundred percent chance of success. Do you think shortcuts will get you to a one hundred percent chance of success, Jack?"
"They can, so long as I only use shortcuts appropriately. I can"t use them everywhere, but what"s wrong with using them to speed through the things that don"t mean anything?" reasoned Jack.
"Right, they can be effective only when used properly and taken carefully into consideration," stated Daruun. "I only want you to state that for yourself, making sure you don"t forget that. Also, you must remember that taking shortcuts in your situation can either save your life or get it taken from you. Understood?"
"Yeah, I get that. But why can"t I know about my old body?" asked Jack.
Another flash of light carried them back into the clouds. Daruun continued, "Jack, I"ll be very clear about this, so just listen and save your questions for when I"m done, okay?"
As Jack nodded, Daruun began his explanation, "Jack, I told you before that there were two options. I"m both glad and sad that you already realized the third option, to go your own way. This option is just as viable as the other two, but it can also lead to certain doom. It can"t be taken lightly.
"Should you make your own path, that means all decisions that follow will get much, much more difficult. You"ll be choosing between lives at times, and you"ll have to move on as if those lives meant nothing to you," reasoned Daruun. "That"s one reason why I stopped you. Because you"ve proven up till now that you"re indecisive, especially when it involves lives of others, whether you know those people or not.
"With that level of indecisiveness, there"s no way you would ever succeed in making your own path. Do you agree with me on that point?"
Sighing, Jack nodded. The hero had no way to argue with that logic.
"Also," Daruun continued, "creating your own path means that you"ll be more unpredictable to others and yourself. Making your own path means you"ll gain the ability to free Lunara and save Tralon.
"Now, that doesn"t mean you"ll succeed at both but it does mean that both will have a chance of success. That"s how everything will be should you choose your own path. All will be possible, both success and failure. It"s both the riskiest and the most rewarding of paths to take." Staring calmly at Jack, Daruun asked, "What are you willing to sacrifice, Jack?"
Slow to answer, Jack replied with a question, "That depends… What am I sacrificing for?"
Daruun began to smile, rephrasing his question, "In order to succeed on your own path by your own rules, what are you willing to sacrifice?"
"My own rules…" Jack scratched his head for a moment. "Can my family"s survival be a rule of mine?"
"Of course."
"Then… I"m willing to sacrifice anything for that to happen."
Daruun"s smile remained but he hesitated to speak for a moment. However, the G.o.d quickly resumed his thought, "In that case, you can"t be so indecisive. Should something come between you and your goals, you must act with purpose. I encourage you to make a few rules that, should they be threatened, must take precedence and force you to take action, even if it"s drastic or threatens some innocent lives.
"What scenario is worse: the destruction of a single city filled with innocent lives or an endless war across the entire continent that can only result in an apocalyptic end?"
"I… I get what you mean."
"You"ve always understood that, but you never acted on that. Though I"m glad you"ll save innocents whenever you"re able, the cause you"re facing equivalent to the end of the world, Jack. You must not be blinded by your own personal feelings," reasoned Daruun. "Why else did I include such selfish achievements in "A Hero"s Tale"?
"Take your final achievement as an example. It sacrifices one hundred people and the user for no apparent reason. Yet you did it anyway. You, Jack, had a fixed goal that you wanted and you weren"t going to let the other hundred people or the boss stop you. That"s the kind of dedication that I was after. If you were so focused on a silly achievement, just how focused would you be when the stakes were high and the world was on the line? It"s a level of focus that few could imagine having. But you"ve got it, deep inside of you. Why aren"t you letting it out?"
Jack mulled over that thought. He smiled, again unable to disagree.
"Now, Jack, I"ve known that you"d pick such a path in the end, that"s why I chose you. To fight fate, how can you not carve your own path?" reasoned Daruun. "And now that you"ve gone through so many things to get this far and have been served many lessons, you"re as ready as you"ll ever be. Just know that the moment you begin to make your own path, fate will become unforgiving until you either reach your goal or you quit. Are you going to quit, Jack?"
"No," Jack replied, not hesitating. "Thanks for teaching me what"s needed before I got in over my head."
"Then, what will you do after I give you this ring? Tell me, Jack."
Answering, Jack nodded, "I"m going to find my tomb no matter what. That way I can best protect everyone and face my enemies."
"That"s good to hear." Daruun chuckled, showing Jack a big grin. "I"m glad you"re willing to take it all on. Just don"t forget who you are and your mandatory rules that will be your purpose for victory."
"Thanks, Gramps."
"No problem, my boy."
The two embraced each other, patting each other"s back like a doting grandfather and grandson would do.
"Here." Daruun released Jack and held out the ring. "You"ll probably want to check the ring while I"m still here. I"ll finally be getting back to work after we"re done."
Sensing relief and responsibility hit him at the same time, Jack took the ring. He then opened his notifications. Just as Jack had expected, Jack found a new achievement to find another ancient tomb. But the moment Jack opened it, his mind went blank.