The Achievement Junkie - 617 Halmut Being Questioned

“NO EXCUSES!” Halmut roared. “Jack may be skilled, but that gives you no reason to flee from his presence!”

“Yet Jack managed to repel you.”

Quieting his roar and sharpening his gaze, Halmut questioned, “What’s the meaning of your statement?”

Perchet continued, “I believe that’s what Tralbok is currently thinking. I’d bet money that Tralbok had such a thought in his head while facing Jack, deciding to play things defensively instead of going for a killing blow. Right, Tralbok?”

“Either way, that changes nothing…” Halmut replied with a shake of the head. “I was caught off guard because it was Jack’s first time revealing his true strength. He used that surprise to his advantage and I backed off to ponder and reconsider the level of threat he presented. But you’ve all been warned and already know what he’s capable of, so the one valid excuse for failure is nonexistent in Tralbok’s case!”

“True!” Nodding, Perchet added, “I’m not agreeing with such a thought, I’m merely presenting the thought due to Tralbok’s lack of spine.”

“Fair… But no more comments without proper reasoning!” ordered Halmut, getting a nod from Perchet and many of the gods present. “Any other objections?!”

A hand went up, not surprising Halmut or the long-time subordinates under the Sun God.

“Go ahead, Torian. Though I know what you’ll ask.”

Standing and folding his arms, Torian stated his thoughts, “I think there’s one key piece of information that has led to all of this, yet you’ve side-stepped this topic for thousands of years and acted like this wasn’t a problem at all. Halmut, why haven’t you told us the truth about Daruun and your ascension?”

Halmut squinted and nonchalantly used his hand to pop his neck. “It was never necessary until now. But since the need has arrived, then I’ll share some long-forgotten memories.”

“Excuse me, your excellency, but what are you all implying?”

“While you were guarding the key in your temple, our charge was abruptly stopped by Daruun,” Torian answered calmly.

“By Daruun? You mean, Daruun stepped in to help the leisure gods?” asked Kylon.

“No. Daruun was the one that stopped everyone, including the leisure gods and the mortals battling beneath us,” answered Torian, causing Kylon to blink in disbelief. “We’ve never experienced something quite like that… I think it’s fair to say that Daruun is more powerful than everyone in this room combined.”

“Surely–”

“No, that’s including Halmut,” argued Torian.

Perchet seconded the statement, “Torian is right. Daruun made us feel like toy dolls, nothing more than playthings that were forced to do his will the moment he arrived.”

“I won’t get too far into the details,” Halmut stated to reaffirm his position in the conversation, “so listen carefully. I may or may not answer your questions so choose your words wisely.”

Getting a nod from Torian, Perchet, and the others, Halmut began his explanation, “I met Halmut when Skaryn and I were once companions. Daruun appeared from out of nowhere and offered us the opportunity to ascend beyond the strength of mortality, so we took it. Very rarely does Daruun do anything here, though, so that’s why Skaryn and I played nice when Daruun visited Kartonia.”

“So he’s not from here?” asked Perchet.

Torian also asked, “Where does Daruun come from?”

“Daruun is not from Kartonia and I don’t know where exactly he comes from. But I do know that Daruun holds a position of responsibility over a vast region of planets, with Kartonia being one of them,” answered Halmut. “And yes, there are other planets with sentient life like ours. I’ve yet to leave here but I plan to leave and grow my influence beyond Kartonia after leveling up once more.”

“How did you get on Daruun’s bad side? And why would you willingly do so with such a powerful individual?” questioned Torian.

“Because I’ve met people even more powerful than Daruun. Is that enough reason?”

“Yes… I suppose that is.” Shrugging, Torian then asked, “Then what were you planning with all of us after you leave? I assume that our binding contracts wouldn’t disappear after you leave, right?”

“Correct…” Halmut sighed, taking a second to phrase his words carefully. “What I want is to take you all with me. Given the friends that I’ve met from outside of Kartonia, that should be possible given the right circumstances. Do you have a problem with that?”

Torian and Grixor both shook their heads, taking the answer easily. Most of the gods followed their example and nodded to appease the silent anger in Halmut’s eyes.

“Then you now know all that you need.”

“What about Skaryn?”

Everyone was caught off guard by the unexpected question. Like everyone else, Halmut turned to Kylon and blinked.

“What was Skaryn’s relationship with Daruun?” asked the Storm Goddess.

“Oh… He was closer to Daruun in the end but he also strayed from the plans that Daruun wanted,” explained Halmut, subconsciously heaving a sigh of relief. “Daruun merely wants to have pawns that play along with his plans in the end but both Skaryn and I stepped away from that. I think it was the last thing that we had both agreed on, though Daruun had always shown Skaryn favoritism. It’s not so much that I’m on Daruun’s bad side, but that he preferred to be with Skaryn, a fellow human.

“Either way, that’s all you need to know about him. Now… let’s talk about the announcement that Daruun made.” Looking back to Kylon, Halmut asked, “You know about Glacier Reef, right?”

Zoned out for a moment, Kylon blinked and speedily shook her head before responding, “Yes… I remember it.”

“Do you remember how to get there?”

“I can find it given a day or two. Why do you ask?”

“Because I must have all of the treasures!”