Before the sun gave everyone a wake-up call, Jack was already wide awake. Heading south to a nearby creek, Jack took his time pondering the mission ahead of him. He quietly stripped and entered the water, sitting down to more fully immerse himself in the gentle stream.
Glad he could finally clean himself, he relaxed and let the running water wash away his worries. In front of everyone, he had to maintain his focus and put on a brave front but in reality, he was terrified of what might happen. It was his first mission in this new world and his first mission to not let him respawn, the fact that he was low leveled only made things worse.
Jack thought to himself, 'I must be crazy for taking on phase three alone.' If he had his way, he wouldn't be alone during phase three. But since Zariff wasn't able to make it and only Maynard and his disciples were able to help, Jack had to adjust the plan and ensure it could even make it as far as phase three.
Trying to avoid getting depressed, Jack cheered himself up. 'After this mission, I shouldn't be much lower than Brunar. Then, things will be much better, I can go back to regular grinding as we had planned.'
"Relax won't ya?"
That casual voice startled Jack, causing him to blink rapidly in search of its origin. He soon discovered Maynard emerge from the water not even five meters away.
Maynard continued, "Be honest with yourself; if you're afraid, then be afraid. If you're scared, then be scared. Bravery isn't measured by one's words, but by their actions in the face of fear. If there was no fear, there would be no bravery."
"You're a lot wiser than I'd have guessed," chuckled Jack, relaxing after hearing Maynard's advice.
"I'm not the smartest or the most intuitive, but I'm smart enough, to be honest with myself. If you can learn that much, you'll surpass Brunar easily. It's sad but I haven't paid close enough attention to him lately. Again, I apologize for letting him act out as he did." Maynard cupped his hands and bowed his head to Jack.
Jack did the same and replied, "It's to be expected, who would want to be outshined by someone as low-leveled as me. Anyways, I'm sure you've got some questions for me, right?"
"Indeed." Maynard smiled at Jack's frankness. "You're far too experienced to be a newbie, yet too inexperienced to be a veteran. Why's that?"
"I'm sure Rydel has already talked about the truth behind my mutual seal with Bowser, right?" asked Jack, getting a nod in response. "Then I'll put it simply. I was once an ancient hero from Trodar, at the time I helped lead the Leisure Guild. It's too strange for me to explain how, but I've now been summoned to modern Kartonia with a fresh start and a new class. Is that enough explanation?"
"Yup, that's plenty," stated Maynard, smiling due to Jack's sincere honesty. "I've met a couple summoned heroes before and even though they were far more powerful than myself, their gaze never made me feel that I lacked experience like yours does. If what you say is true, it's no wonder that I feel so small in front of you despite your level. Your spirit is far more experienced than your body."
"My spirit?" asked Jack.
"That's right, spirit arts were even rare during ancient times. I practice a couple of spirit arts so that I can better face opponents stronger than myself. It focuses on the way of the samurai, but it would be an honor to share it with someone so reputable as yourself." Maynard retrieved a scroll from his storage, it wasn't too worn but it wasn't brand new. "Here, take it as a gift. Perhaps I can treat you as a brother?"
"From a brother, it's impossible to not accept." Jack took it happily, easily accepting the honest Maynard's offer and storing the scroll. "The captain's judge of character really is amazing."
Maynard laughed loudly, "You've probably gotten an earful from him, right? If you're originally from Trodar, then I'm sure he's hounded you about the past." He saw Jack chuckle and scratch his head, admitting to the truth without saying a word. Maynard continued, "In the future, I'll have more questions but for now I have only one, will you answer it?"
"Of course."
Standing up, Maynard started to exit the creek. "Is it true that in ancient times, there were hundreds of heroes above lv. 50?"
Upon hearing the question, Jack burst into laughter without any control.
Maynard was startled and waited patiently for Jack to answer.
After a few seconds, Jack calmed himself and said, "You're wrong." The samurai frowned, disappointed to hear such a thing. However, Jack kept speaking, "There were thousands."
"Thousands?" Maynard's heart stood still for a moment as he took in Jack's words.
"There were even hundreds over lv. 80 to be honest. Only people at that level were able to stand at the peak of the continent," Jack continued speaking, not giving Maynard a chance to settle his mind and heart.
"Above lv. 80?" Maynard had heard rumors of that the strongest heroes of ancient Kartonia were too strong to measure, but lv. 80 was too far for Maynard to imagine. "Wait, if you led the strongest ancient guild, doesn't that mean…"
"Yup, I was lv. 85 in the past. I would've gone further, but it was impossible." Jack admitted it, happy to see the absolute shock on Maynard's face.
This was way more than what Maynard was hoping to learn. He only wanted to verify that it was possible for so many to reach that level, trying to inspire himself to continue. But hearing that so many reached not only lv. 50 but lv. 80, Maynard didn't know if he was inspired by the past adventurers' achievements or depressed by the modern adventurers lack thereof.
"Don't get down on yourself," said Jack, seeing depression settle on Maynard's face. "Heroes have an easier time leveling up and the chaos back then was far stronger since Skaryn wasn't sealed away. With stronger foes, it's only natural for the ancient heroes to get so strong."
Maynard's lips twitched upwards in a small smile. "Thank you for broadening my horizons, I will seek your help in the future. Forgive me for asking a second question but please accept me as your student and follower."
Before Jack could respond, Maynard fell to his knees and bowed before him.
Jack asked, "What do you mean? You're lv. 33 and I'm lv. 4, do you realize how ridiculous that would be?"
"You know I don't care about what others think. I've always acted how I wanted when I've wanted. I want to be your student and I want it to be from this day forward despite your current level. You and I both know that you'll surpass me easily enough," persuaded Maynard, not giving up.
Jack sighed, "And I'm sure that you've realized how I am, I care even less about what others think. I'll do anything if I feel it's the best option, no matter how crazy or unorthodox. I've even run into battle stark naked."
"If streaking into battle is all it takes to join you, then you shouldn't worry yourself," said Maynard, who had also done so, only not by his choice.
"You won't give this up, will you?"
A brilliant grin showed on Maynard's face. "If I can be a student to someone as reputable as you, then I don't care what I must do or who I must make enemies of. Being under you is the greatest guarantee to grow my strength, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."
Indeed, Jack understood what Maynard was talking about, but he was startled that Maynard was willing to go so far.
What Maynard wanted wasn't to become a disciple or a follower, he wanted to form a pact with Jack. There weren't many people who knew about the ancient pacts and fewer who had learned one. Maynard didn't know any pacts, but he was certain that Jack knew a few and he had a basic understanding of what they did.
A pact was similar to a beast seal; it was a seal that wasn't quite as beneficial, but it wasn't as restrictive either. Both of them would share a portion of their EXP gained in battle and some stronger pacts would even link people telepathically.
To the current Jack, this wasn't too tempting, but to anyone who didn't have a mutual seal and the ancient adventurers, this was a very enticing offer.
In the past, Jack had formed a pact with a single man, and they traveled together until Jack appeared in the modern world of Kartonia.
"Let me explain this now, I'm not able to come back to life like ancient heroes, so neither can you." Jack wasn't sure if there were rumors about that, but he guessed so.
To a normal adventurer that would be the most enticing benefit; they could grind anywhere alongside their hero companion and wouldn't need to fear for their lives, giving their complete focus to the battle.
The only downside was that normal adventurers could only form a single pact, so if Jack decided to dissolve the pact at some point for any reason, Maynard wouldn't be able to form a second pact with anyone else.
"Even so, I insist we form a pact. I'm sure Rydel has already done so if he knows all of this," replied Maynard.
"He knows I was once a peak existence on the continent, but he had never asked about my level," said Jack.
"Knowing him, he's probably just waiting for a better time to ask. He's not as desperate as I am to grow stronger, not yet at least," guessed Maynard.
After passing lv. 30 he had hit a wall, taking far too long to level up and feeling depressed for his lack of progress. His forming a pact to someone with Jack's potential was like giving a lion wings; giving him the chance to fly beyond his current limits and explore new horizons.
"Fine, I'll form one. You'll be the second person to receive my inheritor pact."