HC: Pacifist | Ch. 247 - Almost! (Patreon)

Roth studied the moving figures inside the Lindstor’s greenhouse. They wore high boots and muddied overalls. At least five of them tended to the different herbs and plants in the garden. Several players observed the commotion from his side of the glass and chatted excitedly. 

“Nyah friend ants meow, alright?” Roth heard Lin ask from within his robes.

Progress in learning Felinian: 59%

“I don’t know,” whispered Roth. “Those people inside the greenhouse seem to be gardeners. Hopefully, they haven’t spotted them yet.”

Roth closed his eyes and opened his mind to the brainwaves in the surrounding area. The treeants were radio silent. That didn’t mean that they weren’t safe. Maybe they were on lockdown to go unnoticed by the gardeners. 

Roth tried calming himself down. Soros had known telepathy. Among those gardeners, there could be powerful NPCs. He’d better not risk sending a mental message to his pets until the coast was clear. Eager to learn more about what was happening, Roth approached the crowd.

There were roughly 50 people who, from the looks of their gear, were between levels 20 to 30. Roth studied the different faces around him, and judging a certain couple chatting and smiling to be the friendliest, he decided to try his luck with them.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“I’m sorry. Do we know each other?” the girl asked. The question didn’t put off Roth. It wasn’t asked aggressively. He could see that the girl with dark skin and braided hair asked because she was unsure about his identity. The man beside her also squinted, rummaging through his memory and trying to put a name to Roth’s face.

“Actually, no. Hi, I’m RainCloud. I was just passing by, and I noticed this crowd. What is this about?”

“Oh, right. Everyone here is a herbalist. Three days a week, the Lindstors come to tend to their garden. If you sit outside and watch, it’s free profession XP. If you want to get the profession, you can also learn it by watching them during a gardening session.”

“Aah. So that’s what it was. And those are the gardeners, I presume?”

“That’s right.”

The couple was visibly relaxed. It looked like they were used to coming here and chatting with other herbalists. Seeing how friendly the couple looked, Roth decided to ask for a little more information. “I’ve been thinking about becoming a herbalist. Do you recommend it?”

“Well… Herbs and such aren’t that easy to find in Rock Canyon, but you can find many valuable ones in the mountains surrounding the plateau,” the girl explained.

“Right. It’s a cool profession if you’re out adventuring a lot. If you prefer to set up camp somewhere, I’d advise you to take up farming instead.”

Roth nodded. Even though he enjoyed adventuring, he had recently spent most of his time inside cities, completing quests and interacting with NPCs. He had so many things on his plate already. Maybe he had to revisit the whole idea of becoming a herbalist.

“By the way, I’m Matt. This is my wife, Roxanne. You said you're just passing by. Aren’t you based in Sapphira?”

“I just moved here. I came from the Thunder Mountains,” Roth lied.

“Cool! Make sure you try the pitcakes in the bakeries on the 5th floor. Every city in Rock Canyon has its specialty pastry, and I think this city’s is the best.”

“That’s why someone just had to move here,” Roxanne said playfully while pointing accusingly at her husband.

“Hey?! It’s not like you don’t love them either.”

Roth was happy to meet such a friendly couple. They seemed to enjoy spending time with other folks and not just keeping to themselves. Roth also thought it looked sweet that the couple was playing this game together. “How long will the gardeners stay in the greenhouse?” asked Roth, trying to sound uninterested.

“They leave at 10, so two more hours, roughly. Wait a moment! Are you seeing that, Roxanne? Check it out!”

“Awesome. So that’s how the Lindstors avoid using pesticides and ruining the more sensitive plants. I just got some XP from learning this. Sweet.”

Roth followed the couple's gaze and saw one of the gardeners on his knees, opening jars and letting little insects out. “What are they doing?” Roth asked.

“Adding insects to the greenhouse.”

“Why?” asked Roth, confused, as one of the gardeners opened a jar full of flies and hit it with a stick to get all of them out.

“To strengthen the ecosystem,” Roxanne explained.

“Say what?”

Matt exchanged an amused look with Roxanne. Roth didn’t miss the implied ‘what a noob.’ Nevertheless, Matt generously elaborated. “Flowers and plants need pollinators. So that’s why they’re introducing the flies, for example.”

“But things can quickly get out of control. So, they add predators to control the insect population in the greenhouses,” explained Roxanne. Roth gulped drily. “W-what kind of predators?”

“It depends. Scorpions, praying mantises, wasps, beetles—whatever feeds on other insects.” Matt squinted. “From the looks of it, the Lindstors prefer praying mantises.”

“Friends? Danger? Nyah?” asked Lin.

Roth coughed, trying to disguise the sound, while gently hitting his chest with his hand, warning Lin to be quiet. The couple looked around, alarmed by the high-pitched sound.  “What was that? Was that a dog?” Matt asked, looking for the source of the noise.

“No. It sounded more like a cat.” guessed Roxanne.

“Where?” Roth asked, cheeks flushed. He was a terrible actor, but he couldn’t help but improvise on the spot to keep his secrets safe. If word got out that a tall dude owning a kitten was walking around in Sapphira, it wouldn’t take long for the guilds to locate him. “Uh, but why do they need to add more insects?” Roth asked, hoping to distract the couple and make them stop looking for his kitten. Between the fear of anyone spotting his kitten and the presence of predators near the Leafies, he was lost as to what to do.

“It’s a fragile balance. Whenever the gardeners see too little or too much of one thing, they have to balance it out,” Roxanne explained, having given up on detecting the source of the whimper.

As Roxanne and Matt debated about the best insect for pest control in a garden, Roth clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, and his knuckles turned pale white. He just hoped that his little friends were OK. He had never imagined that there would be predators inside that beautiful garden.

“Thanks for the info.” Roth excused himself and walked a few steps away from the couple. He opened the pet window to check on the Leafies.

Leafies (Pet)

Pet rating: A+

Lvl. 7

Eggs: 67

Larvae: 26

Workers: 39

Nanites: 18

Affection: 34/110

Weight Lifting: 15g

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 9

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 5

Skills: [Tiny House]; [Forage]; [Scavenge]

Checking the Leafies’ status was reassuring. They were already level 7, and the colony was  growing quickly. They wouldn't be growing this much if they had run into some kind of trouble. He tried to find the acorn where his ants lived, but it was impossible among the hundreds of fallen acorns. He kept observing the gardeners for a while, and his heart raced as one of them approached the oak tree.

His muddied high boots stepped over the many acorns, and Roth prayed that he hadn’t stepped on his pet colony. Even if he did, hopefully, the soil was soft enough that he would only bury the acorn deeper into the ground instead of smashing it. The gardener inspected the many branches of the oak tree. Roth guessed that he was looking for any golden acorns. Sure enough, he found three and then looked around the fallen acorns for more. He picked up two fallen golden acorns and moved on to care for the next plant.

Roth opened the pet window again and found that everything was the same. They should be safe. Roth turned back and headed toward the auction house. He would go there to dump his cargo and then return here at 10 am sharp. He wanted to talk to his treeant colony and ensure they were OK.

*

Congratulations! You have learned Telepathy.

+100 reputation with the treeants.

You’re now friends with the treeants.

You’ve unlocked a new title: [Mindfulness].

Mindfulness (Rare)

Title description: You have exercised your brain in such a manner that it becomes not only a world within, but a hand to reach the universe outside.

Title effects:

+ 2 intelligence.

BlueFire read the notifications with a grin on his face. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d finally done it. “It worked,” he messaged his boss proudly.

“What a relief,” came the swift response. “Good job, BlueFire.” BlueFire was forced to resort to Trampler's strategy when exploring Antioch. After hours of exploring the city without any results, BlueFire was forced to ask his boss for his honeydew and to tackle the secret to this place by himself.

BlueFire was an esper with over 400 intelligence. From the moment he entered Antioch, he felt a headache. At first, he assumed that he was just tense and anxious, but after a while, he realized that there was something in the air that only he, with high intelligence, could pick up on. He sat down and, concentrating, found out that the treeants were, in fact, telepathic! Who would have thought it?

He had tried to tune his mind to the mental waves around him, hopeful that it was the key to obtaining all of Antioch’s treasures. After painstaking hours of concentration, he was finally able to do so.

The last [Miniaturizing Honeydew] timer was almost over. There wasn’t any time to lose. BlueFire hurriedly approached the honeypot ant and tried to communicate with it mentally. A window didn’t appear, but he got a message.

“Hey, tourist! Get in line!” came the protest from the honeypot ant.

“E-excuse me?”

“Everyone has their turn. Get. In. Line!”

BlueFire was shocked. An animal had talked to him! Gears turned furiously in his mind, and he went to wait in line. The treeants could talk! What a surprise. He had never imagined that treeants were sentient. As he watched the precious minutes on the consumable’s timer, finally, his time came, and a window appeared. It was honeydew, but not the kind he wanted.

Pinecone Honeydew (Consumable)

Description: A sweet liquid fermented in the stomach of the honeypot ants. Having been fed many pinecones today, the honeydew takes some of its characteristics.

Item effects:

+200hp for one hour.

“I’m sorry. Don’t you have miniaturizing honeydew?” he tried.

“I only have what you can see. I only have one stomach to cook in, pal. Next!”

Stop wasting the time of the treeants. They’re busy, you know?

-1 reputation with the treeants.

Biting his lip, BlueFire purchased as much honeydew as he could anyway. It was an incredible item! Gaining +200 hp could make a considerable difference in boss fights. Particularly, squishy targets that were easily one-shot could increase their survivability if they had a larger hp bar.

He left the line confused and tried to make sense of this situation. “[Pinecone Honeydew],” he mumbled. He saw that the treeants in line to see this honeypot ant were carrying pine seeds. Could it be that the consumables they sold varied depending on what these cooks were fed?

He raised the burning hand he was using as a torch to illuminate as much of his surroundings as possible. Some ants carried seeds, other berries, and others, pieces of mushrooms. Each of them split up into different lines to feed the cooks of Antioch and produce a variety of powerful honeydews. Just how had Roth found which one led to the [Miniaturizing Honeydew]?

“I don’t have time for this,” he said through clenched teeth. He had no choice; it was up to his luck. He went to the next line and found another consumable.

Royal Poop Honeydew (Consumable)

Description: A sweet liquid fermented in the stomach of the honeypot ants. Having been fed much of Prince Piglet’s poop today, the honeydew takes some of its characteristics.

Item effects:

+20 strength for one hour.

Prince Piglet had to be the NPC outside. Even though the name was disgusting, he bought as much of it as possible. 20 strength was a fantastic bonus. Each line took 5 minutes, and he only had ten more. 

The next line turned out to have the worst honeydew he’d seen yet.

Elderberry Honeydew (Consumable)

Description: A sweet liquid fermented in the stomach of the honeypot ants. Having been fed many elderberries today, the honeydew takes some of its characteristics.

Item effects:

+10 energy regen per 5 seconds for one hour.

Even though it was the worst, it didn’t mean it wasn’t an incredible item. He knew of consumables with the same effect, which only lasted 5 minutes. For it to last one hour was incredible. He tapped his foot as he waited in the last line. It was now or nothing. As he was halfway in line, his body began glowing red.

Warning! Your miniaturized buff is about to end. Renew it or perish.

“Don’t you think I know?” he screamed, frustrated.

10, 9, 8…

“Uh? I still have almost one full minute on the timer,” he said, questioningly. Why was the timer already counting down now?

2,1,0…

When only three more ants were in front of him, a troop of 10 soldiers appeared out of nowhere and lunged at him. BlueFire reined in the impulse to fight back, and understanding they were killing him before he returned to his normal size and crushed all these ants, he let himself get killed.

You have died.

You are Level 54.

You lost 2 wisdom. You’ll need physiotherapy.

You will be brought back to your last saving point.

BlueFire awoke in the graveyard. He would never know if the honeypot ant in that line sold the miniaturizing honeydew he needed. He massaged his temples and let out a hefty sigh.

“I didn’t make it in the end.”

“Are you convinced now?” Ogre sent back.

BlueFire kicked a nearby rock. Still frustrated, he used [Pyroblast] on it and blew it to pieces. “I am. Let’s recruit Roth.”

Ch. 246 - Eidetic Memory

INDEX

Ch 248 - Union Quest