"Fine, I'll form one. You'll be the second person to receive my inheritor pact."
That sentence struck a chord in Maynard's heart, marking this as one of his happiest moments. Jack continued, "My inheritor pact is a little different, it's a pact that I created."
"Seriously!?" Maynard was astounded by that fact.
Jack chuckled, it wasn't too difficult for him to do in-game and he mainly did it for the achievement. "The inheritor pact is similar to a mutual seal, but not quite as powerful. After it's formed, we'll be linked telepathically and will share a portion of EXP earned from that point on."
"That's excellent!" shouted Maynard, overjoyed that Jack knew such a powerful pact.
"That's not all, there's one last thing. You'll receive 5% of my earned EXP but I'll receive 50% of yours. Is that too much to ask?"
Maynard thought for a moment and said, "Why not? I've finally gotten this lucky, why would I turn ya down now?"
Jack gently smiled and said, "Good, I'm glad to hear that. In exchange for 50% of your EXP earned, you'll have access to all of my skills as well and can even develop them as your own beyond that point. This is what makes it the 'inheritor' pact."
With wide eyes and a slack jaw, Maynard froze in excitement. Such a pact was unheard of. Yeah, it cost him EXP, but he wouldn't level up any slower than before and he would now gain access to who knows how many new skills without even trying. For normal adventurers, learning skills typically meant searching for them in scrolls, magic items, and old dungeons. This benefit was amazing, Maynard would have been willing to pay 75% of EXP or more for it if he needed.
"Let's hurry up and do this, who knows if the captain will sneak up on us and try to join in." Jack liked gaining more EXP, but he was hesitant to do this so early on. The only reason he accepted Maynard was his honest character, the type that couldn't lie no matter how he tried; and Jack really was desperate for EXP. "Let's get out of this pool first."
Jack also exited, they both dried off the best they could, and they put their clothes back on. Jack motioned for Maynard to kneel before him. "I'll draw the pact on your forehead in my blood. Once I'm done, you'll prick your finger and press it to the center of the pact to activate it, okay?"
"Perfect!"
Jack quickly used his tiny knife to make a small slit in his index finger, letting him use it as a rough pen. He drew three circles intertwined in the center of Maynard's forehead, followed by a different ancient symbol within each circle. Drying his finger with his black cloak, he said, "It's done. Now it's your turn."
Without a second thought, Maynard bit his thumb and pressed it firmly into the center of his forehead, where he felt the three circles intertwining. The pact glowed bright red and slowly sunk into Maynard's head as he let out a few pained groans. Once it was over, a voice rang out in Maynard's mind. 'Can you hear me?'
'Yes! It worked!'
'Good, this should make communication during the mission much easier,' said Jack. 'For now, don't worry about your new skills. Given the difficulty, it's best to not test your new skills during the mission. I'll fill you in on what skills you have afterward, okay?"
'Works for me!' Maynard laughed. No matter what happened in the mine, nothing would be able to worsen his mood. He was even more excited about the mission, wanting to hurry and clear it so he could learn new skills.
'Good, now let's hurry back before anyone starts looking for us.' Jack took initiative to leave and was quickly followed back to camp. Everyone else was either waking up or trying to resist mother nature's sunny wake-up call.
"Did you enjoy your morning bath? Did it help to have Maynard scrub your back?" joked Rydel.
Jack was going to answer but Maynard's roaring laughter eclipsed everything, waking those still sleeping. "I already beat ya to it, Rydel! I'm just surprised you haven't made a pact yet and let me act first."
"Pact?" Rydel asked seriously. "You formed a pact?"
A little dispirited by Maynard's rambunctiousness, Jack sighed, "Yes, we did. It looks like he'll be partying with me for a while."
"Well, if you'll make a pact with that old devil, then surely you'll accept your captain, right?" This was the first time Rydel had ever addressed himself as the party captain, trying to weasel his way into the same benefits that Maynard now enjoyed.
"It's not like I won't, it's just—"
"Great, let's hurry and get it over with while everyone else is getting up," said Rydel, dashing out of sight.
Maynard laughed and Jack sighed as they both followed behind the lanky hunter. Jack was hesitant to accept a second inheritor so quickly, but there weren't any real issues in doing so. They quickly explained and formed another inheritor pact.
Afterward, Jack spoke mentally, 'I haven't mentioned any skills to Maynard because we differ in class and trying new skills might be awkward during the mission, but it's different for you. You two should know that my skills work differently than most. With my subclass, I can unlock any regular action as a passive skill and level them up as I grow. This is how I was able to damage the city gate as a lv. 1 because my bow skill was lv. 2. Typically, the skill share ability will give you half the skill I have, so anything I have at lv. 2 will be available to you as a lv. 1 skill. Currently, my only skills at lv. 2 are bow, evasion, and stealth.'
Both Rydel and Maynard were blown away by all the passive abilities they received without doing anything. Yeah, they would sacrifice 50% of their EXP, but their new abilities could be seen as priceless and would let them be far more effective during any mission.
'You weren't kidding when you said you were different, kid. So many abilities and you're only lv. 4, anyone would pay a fortune to just a couple of these skills you've gained,' said Rydel telepathically, following Jack's lead to keep anyone else from hearing their secrets.
'That's because my skills don't level up with EXP, I have to unlock them through sets of achievements. Think of achievements as personal 'mini-missions' that my subclass generates and finds in the world around me.' Jack did his best to explain how it was for those who had no experience gaming.
'That's how ya knew about chief, huh? Makes sense,' said Maynard. 'Just curious, is there a way you could get your sword skill to lv. 2?'
'I think I can get it to lv. 2 by the time we reach the goblin city, but I don't have a sword.' Jack complained about not having a sword even though he didn't need one to level it up. He guessed that Maynard would have plenty to spare and would willingly give up a sword so low leveled if asked.
'If that's what you need, take this.' Maynard retrieved a lv. 20 katana with a fiery red handle. 'It's too weak for me anyway.'
Jack was baffled at Maynard's generosity. He replied, 'I'll take this, but what about my other levels? I'm lv. 4 and you can only use weapons at your same level.'
'Easy.' Maynard didn't bat an eye as three more swords appeared in his hands. 'These are lv. 5, lv. 10, and lv. 15. With these, you'll be able to train well in the way of the sword and make me stronger by default.'
With some humility, Jack took all four swords and stored them away, glad to have Maynard's help.
Not wanting to be outdone, Rydel activated his storage and took out four different bows. 'Here, these will help you too. That way you won't give up the bow to focus on the sword.'
Giddy and wide-eyed, Jack received the bows graciously and bowed to them both. 'Thank you. With these, I'll be able to level up both skills for sure.'
'Also, if ya ever need our help to fulfill any of those 'mini-missions,' just say the word.'
'Don't worry, you're already helping me with my most important one. I plan to raze that goblin city for that reason,' explained Jack.
'Well, with better stealth and strength I might be able to assassinate that goblin king after all.'
'If anything happens inside, immediately inform the others. With me as the intermediate, all three of us can communicate telepathically within five hundred kilometers so don't worry yourselves too much,' said Jack.
The surprises never ended with Jack as Rydel and Maynard kept feeling their hearts shaking from endless excitement. After years of struggle and hardship, why wouldn't they be overwhelmed with joy from gaining so many immediate, passive abilities without any significant backlash?
'Let's hurry back, isn't it time we all formed a party and entered the mine?' Instinctively, Jack led the two others back to camp like he was the true leader of the party despite his level.
Brunar rushed out of bed when he saw them all leave. He tried to follow and listen to their conversation but by the time he was close enough to hear their whispers, they stopped talking entirely, just looking back and forth at each other and making faces. Seeing Jack so close to his master fueled Brunar's contempt for Jack.
"What's going on?" Silvia yawned as she exited the tent Rydel had lent her. She was surprised to see Jack, Rydel, and Maynard so close and chatting like old friends.
"Is everyone ready for the mine?" yelled Rydel, catching everyone's immediate attention. "Hurry up and take down camp. You can eat rations as we enter, we don't have enough time to waste."
Jack neared Bowser who shook his head. 'Morning Jack. How you?'
'I'm doing well, but boy do I have a lot to tell you.' Jack began to explain his weird morning as he laid Bowser on his shoulder and fed him some jerky rations.
"Don't hold us back, newbie." Brunar's voice interrupted Jack and Bowser's conversation, putting a weird expression on Jack's face.
"Yeah, yeah. Just do your job and everything will work out fine," said Jack, quickly ending the exchange and turning back to Bowser.