HC: Pacifist | Ch. 250 - Gravitas (Patreon)

Roth was teleported to a path between two cliffs. On both sides, a small road snaked up the cliff, similar to the path he’d helped Kurt carry his wagon through. The cliffs themselves were riddled with holes, caverns home to the lizards. Wherever there was sunlight, Roth could spot rock lizards basking in the sun's rays. He had made it to Rock Lizard Lair.

From what he’d read in the Rescue Library, this dungeon was structured so that one had to fight one's way up the cliff. Lizards had a strict hierarchy. Lizards loved the sun and needed to sunbathe to regulate their body temperature; therefore, the farther from the top, where the sun hit the longest during the day, the weaker the lizard.

On one cliff, there were male lizards, and on the other side, females. The male lizard was an elite, and the female was the dungeon’s final boss. Players would fight increasingly stronger lizards until they could claim both cliffs, thus completing the dungeon. Roth stepped confidently toward the cliff where, according to the guides, the she-lizards and the dungeon’s final boss lived.

A rock lizard emerged from one of the holes as he marched up the road. It stuck to the wall as its bifurcated tongue tasted the air. Roth found it strange that they faced each other in different planes of inclination. He was with his feet planted on the ground, and the lizard was on its side, with its powerful claws hanging onto the cliff. It all made it for a whimsical, awkward situation.

Curious, Roth approached the lizard, and a series of notifications rang.

This is your first time interacting with the rock lizard race. Charisma bonus activated.

Congratulations! Your charisma has reached 1000.

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

Roth grinned at how the bonuses of [Discoverer of Species], [Fox Form], [Blessing of the Lion King], [Stat Prodigy], and [First of a Kind] all added up. [First of a Kind] granted a 5% bonus to charisma, [Stat Prodigy] boosted his highest stat by 10%, and when the [Discoverer of Species] title activated, he added 50% to that, totaling a 65% bonus. These percentage bonuses alone granted him 515 additional charisma! The stat bonus he got from such a high stat was nuts.

Emperor’s Gravitas (Stat Bonus)

Stat bonus description: You exude the presence and aura of a powerful ruler. All creatures bow before you.

Bonus effects:

It couldn’t be easier to increase reputation;

You start all new relationships with 1000 reputation;

There’s a great chance of reputation with factions spontaneously increasing;

You’ll receive spontaneous invitations from high-ranking NPCs for legendary quests;

There’s a high chance that NPCs will bestow gifts upon you;

It is now possible to befriend special factions;

If you don’t antagonize a faction you have a negative reputation with, you’ll quickly recover your reputation with them over time;

Enemies won’t attack unless you aggravate them immensely;

All discount bonuses increased by 20%;

Vocal skills effects are doubled;

Requirements: 1000+ charisma.

Roth didn’t know if anyone was aware of this, but it looked like there weren’t any more stat bonuses after a player reached a thousand in a stat. That was the ultimate stat bonus. And what a stat bonus it was! The list of benefits that [Emperor’s Gravitas] granted him was mind-boggling. Many of the benefits were the upgraded versions of bonuses he’d seen before. It was easier to build or even rebuild relationships, vocal skills were enhanced, etc.

However, there were two brand-new benefits that he hadn’t seen before. One of them was that he was granted an additional 20% discount to whatever bonuses he already had. That went for [Increased Discount], his broker skill, and his loyalty cards at the Crafting Hem and the Cloth of the Wadi, for example.

Moreover, he didn’t need to start new relationships from scratch. Just by meeting someone new, he automatically received a 1000 reputation! He was starting to regret not using [Fox Form] when he met the moles for the first time. What kind of stuff would he have unlocked then?

Additionally, by reaching 1000 charisma, he unlocked yet another epic title.

Thousand (Epic)

Title description: You’ve reached an incredible landmark. Your attributes have allowed you to transcend into something greater than a man, and your contributions are appreciated.

Title effects: 

Teleportation gates cost 1000 gold.

Conditions to unlock [Thousand]: 

Be the first player to reach 1000 of one given stat. {charisma}

Teleportation fees depended on the distance traveled. For example, between Hilsford and one of the beginner villages of Green Country, the teleportation fee was 5k. However, it was twice as much from Rock Canyon to Green Country. If not for these high prices, merchants could flip items in the market, teleporting between cities and quickly defeating the purpose of the merchant profession in this game.

This title, however, guaranteed that he only had to pay 1k whenever he wanted to teleport. It was a 90% discount if he traveled back to Hilsford. Even though 1k was a lot of money, he could travel for much cheaper prices than other players. If he played his cards right and found good prices for different items, he could offset teleportation costs by buying cheap items in the region he was departing from that sold for higher prices at his destination. He would experiment with that later.

It was all a lot of information for Roth, but what interested him the most right now was what was happening inside the dungeon. Lizards emerged from their burrows over the cliffs and stampeded down the wall. Roth couldn’t help but notice the two large lizards that led the charge down. Roth wondered whether they were running toward him, but they all ran past Roth until they left the cliff and reached the floor. There were so many animals running around that Roth felt a little dizzy. Soon, they had all assumed their positions like a well-trained army. He looked down at a mass of scaly heads with yellow reptilian eyes.

Two massive lizards stood before all the other lizards. Their huge figures reminded him of the dinosaurs he used to hunt on New Earth. Even though Roth couldn’t understand their language, what happened next was fairly easy to understand. The two leaders of the rock lizards bowed, and then all the others followed suit.

The rock lizards are honored with your visit and wish to be your friends.

+1000 reputation with rock lizards.

The rock lizards now revere you.

You’ve skipped three relationship statuses in one single move!

+5 charisma.

You’ve unlocked a new title: Friend of the Rock Lizards (Common)

Friend of the Rock Lizards (Common)

Title description: You’ve become great friends with the sun-loving reptiles that inhabit the Rock Canyon.

Title effects:

+5hp regeneration;

It’s easier to learn Lizardspeak.

Conditions to unlock [Friend of the Rock Lizards]:

Achieve 300 reputation with rock lizards without ever having hurt a rock lizard {complete};

Or achieve 3000 reputation with rock lizards.

Roth had expected it to be easy to befriend these lizards, but he had never imagined that he would be hailed with such deference. There had to be at least 200 lizards here, and having them all bow down to him felt a little much. He didn’t feel like he deserved it. His cheeks flushed at the awkward situation.

“Nyah, that’s right, meow, meow. Bow before the great Lin.”

Progress in learning Felinian: 75%

Roth didn’t know when Lin had managed to sneak out of his robes, but the kitten stood imperiously, perched atop his shoulder, thinking that all of this show was meant for him. Roth chuckled at his pet’s arrogance and turned toward his new friends. “Hello, rock lizards!” he shouted, letting his voice echo off the cliff walls.

Your voice sounds so majestic. The rock lizards hang on to your every word.

+312 reputation with the rock lizards.

The absurd notifications were taking Roth aback. Was it going to be this easy to build up a relationship with factions from now on? Maybe the only reason he was having such an easy time at it was the combined effects of his zoomorph race, his incredibly high charisma, and the fact that the rock lizards were considered a low-tiered race. If he approached the Table, he doubted the cats would bow down to him like this. Lin’s imperviousness to his high attributes suggested this.

Either way, he kept going. “I would love to learn your language. Please. If one of you could teach me Lizardspeak, I would be honored.”

The lizards find you humble and approachable.

+381 reputation with the rock lizards.

As soon as he had said it, the leader of the lizards approached him deferentially and climbed over to him, taking a place beside him. She hissed a few sibilant, soft sounds, and the system immediately picked up on it.

You start making sense of the sounds around you.

Progress in learning Lizardspeak: 4%

He was being personally tutored by the leader of the lizards herself! He had hit the jackpot here and still hadn’t even pulled out his trump card. “I bring a gift to you all,” he continued, looking at the new skill he’d purchased from the auction house. “I hope you like it.”

On his last visit to the auction house, Roth stumbled upon a skill that had reminded him of the rock lizards.

Solar Light (Uncommon)

Description: You manage to excite the atoms on your skin and produce a blinding light.

Skill effects:

Active. You inflict the [Blind] debuff on anyone looking directly at you.

Effectiveness scales with wisdom. Duration scales with intelligence.

Requirements: Pyrokinetc, lvl. 35.

It was a skill reserved for espers choosing the pyrokinetic job advancement. It was meant to dazzle opponents. When Roth’s eyes landed on it, he immediately suspected it would resonate with his light affinity. He also remembered the scene when he first saw a rock lizard and how happy it had looked, basking in the sun. Sure enough, the skill resonated with his affinity and it upgraded after he learned it.

Solar Warmth (Rare)

Description: You manage to excite the atoms on your skin and produce a blinding light.

Skill effects:

Active, overload—You can choose to overload the skill, producing one brilliant flash that inflicts the [Blind] debuff on anyone looking directly at you.

Active, prolonged—You can choose to prolong the skill, emitting a warm light on the battlefield that boosts all pyrokinetic damage by 10%.

Effectiveness scales with wisdom. Duration scales with intelligence.

Requirements: Pyrokinetc, lvl. 35.

Solar Light became a two-for-one skill thanks to the resonance with his light affinity. It had the option of letting all the light out in one sudden burst, but it also allowed him to shine with a gentler glow for an extended period. He guessed that similar skills were destined for other specialties within the esper class. There had to be skills that provoked rain, snow, darkness, and other such environmental effects to boost the power of their other elemental skills.

He recalled visiting a pet shop with his brothers once and seeing an iguana in a terrarium basking in the light of a hot, red lamp. Seeing how these lizards loved to sunbathe so much and fought for a spot in the sun, Roth had thought that coming here and using this skill would be a good way to become friends with them. 

What he hadn’t expected was that, before he could even use [Solar Warmth], the lizards had thrown themselves at his feet, giving him hundreds of reputation points. He couldn’t wait to find out what happened after he used his new skill. 

Solar Warmth! Prolonged!

Roth’s body lit up, and a feverish red light flooded the canyon around him. The crimson rays reflected off the pink stone, creating a beautiful, alien scene. As the lizards felt the warmth from Roth, multiple notifications started ringing.

The lizards appreciate the sun bath. So warm. So nice.

+914 reputation with the rock lizards.

Lizards now adore you.

+5 light affinity.

Roth gulped. “914?!” He knew that if he managed to do something nice for many members of a species at once, his reputation increase would become even more meaningful. That’s the stratagem he had used to quickly gain a reputation with the foxes, badgers, and corvids. Right now, he had 200 plus rock lizards bathing in the warmth of his skill, all seduced by his overwhelmingly high charisma. He was even able to gain points in his light affinity!

The lizards appreciate the sun bath. So warm. So nice.

+884 reputation with the rock lizards.

+5 light affinity.

Roth's energy bar was huge thanks to his [Energy Tycoon] title. His most recent light trapping skill, [Energy Efficiency], also helped him stay on as a human light bulb for several minutes. As the lizard leader hissed to teach him the language, and the reputation points kept climbing up like crazy, Roth enjoyed seeing the many incoming notifications.

The dogs miss you and appreciate being your friend.

+20 reputation with all dogs.

The fox baroness is thinking of you.

+20 reputation with all foxes.

The blue caterpillars regret your fallout

+10 reputation with the blue caterpillars.

The magisters of Sapphira would like to welcome you into the city. Go visit them when you have the chance.

The lizards appreciate the sun bath. So warm. So nice.

+831 reputation with the rock lizards.

You’re now adored by the rock lizards.

You start making sense of the sounds around you.

Progress in learning Lizardspeak: 13%

While the lizards enjoyed the warm light, Roth feasted on the gains falling in his lap.

Ch. 249 - Godsent

INDEX

Ch. 251 - Beloved