HC:Pacifist | Ch. 276 - Patch (Patreon)

When all race representatives finished signing the document, Roth was hit with a never-ending cascade of notifications.

You’ve successfully added all factions in a region to a peace agreement.

+2 charisma!

+50 righteousness;

+100 nature affinity;

+1,000,000xp;

[Level Up!]

You’ve unlocked a new affinity bonus: [Love for Life].

+300 reputation with all factions in the Green Woods.

Broker’s Ledger updated.

Peace treaty updated.

You’ve reached beloved status with the corvids, the boars, the foxes, and the badgers.

[Beloved] has upgraded into [Dearly Beloved].

Roth stared wide-eyed at all the rewards he had received. There hadn’t even been a quest here. He had just added the factions he was already friends with into a treaty. However, the system had judged this feat noteworthy enough that he received several rewards. 

He finally broke through to the next tier of nature affinity and unlocked a new stat bonus.

Love for Life (Stat Bonus)

Description: Birds sing, and flowers bloom in your wake.

Effects:

All healing effects are enhanced;

All positive animal and plantlife interactions are enhanced.

The healing effects weren’t that useful to him. He could see why medics, and even tanks would go for a nature affinity. It provided extra hp, regeneration, and now this bonus to all healing effects. Berserkers, too, loved any kind of skill that boosted incoming regeneration and healing. Back in his berserker days, whenever his health bar reached the red, and all his regeneration bonuses kicked in, he became nigh immortal.

What he was more interested in, however, was the second effect. Even though Roth wasn’t a herbalist, a tamer, or a farmer, he could still benefit from its effect on account of how many dealings he had with animals. Besides, he had three pets! The Leafies, especially, had been away from him for so long, and he needed any help he could get in restoring their affection for him.

He moved on to the next reward he received. The bonus to reputation was just what he needed to break through and finally achieve beloved status with all the factions living in the Green Woods. With each climb in tiers, his profit margin in their business dealings increased.

Additionally, he unlocked a new title! 

Dearly Beloved (Legendary)

Title description: Your virtues and unwavering loyalty have earned you the eternal love of your friends. 

Title effect:

+50 charisma;

You can use the reputation store everywhere;

You can write introduction letters to factions you have a respected status with or higher;

Reputation coins aren’t faction-specific anymore;

10% discount on all reputation store purchases.

Conditions to unlock [Dearly Beloved]:

Achieve beloved relationship status with five factions inside the game {complete}.

The bonus to charisma had increased from 30 to 50. The requirements to write a letter of recommendation had lowered, too. He was also now able to write letters of recommendation for factions with whom he had a respected status instead of esteemed. Now that he thought about it, did the Ratans forgive his brothers because of this title?

“Hey guys, remind me to write you letters of recommendation after we’re done here,” he told Nathan. “It will help you guys a lot!”

“OK. I’ll also make sure to remind you to explain to us just what happened!” Nathan complained.

“Sorry, going through all these notifications I received. I’m still trying to make sense of it. Just give me a few moments.”

The [Dearly Beloved] title also granted a 10% discount on the reputation store. As Roth thought of the reputation store, he quickly opened it. Unlocking beloved status with five factions in the green woods had to unlock new items. 

He scrolled through the items and skills that appeared in the reputation store. There were character cards for each NPC in the Green Woods, an improved version of the woodland set, individual flags for each faction, and finally, what Roth was looking for.

Flag of the Green Woods (Epic)

Description: The field is made of treeant silk and crafted by ratan tapestry artists. The mahogany pole is made from the same wood as Prince Piglet’s axe, and the glitter was added by corvid artisans. It represents all the factions of the Green Woods region.

Effects:

If hoisted by a guild, it grants [Blessing of Green Country], [Grass Walk], [Photosynthesis].

Blessing of Green Country (Epic)

Description: You can feel life in every blade of grass, every drop of rain, and every heartbeat.

Effects:

+10 to all stats while in the Green Country region;

You can smell nature.

Grass Walk (Rare)

Description: The vegetation under your feet beckons you to run farther and faster.

Effects: +30% movement speed when around plant life.

Photosynthesis (Uncommon)

Description: You can imitate nature and harness the power of the sun.

Effects: +10hp regeneration when it’s daytime.

Roth drooled as he examined the flag for sale for 10,000 reputation coins. “Whoa!” This flag was the dream of any guild based in Green Country. The boost to all stats was incredible, even though it came with the limitation of only activating when in Green Country. And the line saying that he could smell nature? That meant that this flag helped an entire guild gain nature affinity! Just how precious was that? If he sold this flag in an auction, AstroTerra would go nuts. He’d probably start an all-out guild war. 

If gaining the Flag of the Eight Spires had granted him such power, what would this one do? He had to get it. He didn’t have to think twice. He purchased it right away. Thanks to the discount of his new title, he could save 1000 reputation coins. The moment he equipped it, all the animals gathered around the tree quieted down and bowed. Roth’s heart raced as he read the description of the flag.

Flag of the Green Woods (Epic)

Description: The field is made of treeant silk and crafted by ratan tapestry artists. The mahogany pole is made from the same wood as Prince Piglet’s axe, and the glitter was added by corvid artisans. It represents all the factions of the Green Woods region.

Effects:

One-hand equipment;

Can deal no damage;

+10% to all stats.

You can use [Blessing of the Green Country] and [Monarchic Grace].

Monarchic Grace (Legendary)

Description: Your charisma becomes palpable, and your friendships and love of others grant you great strength.

Effects: All attribute effects slightly scale with charisma.

Restrictions: Pacifist, lvl. 30.

Roth could feel his body lighten and his muscles brimming with power. Whereas before, he felt suppressed by the presence of the other monarchs; now, the atmosphere around him had become weightless. 

The boost of 10% to all his stats was incredible. For other players who only cultivated one or two main stats, this effect would have been game-changing. But Roth could use all of his stats! He opened his character sheet and took a look at just how much he had progressed.

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Pax

Class: Pacifist

Race: Zoomorph (Human Form)

Profession(s): Broker, lvl. 27 | Ecotailor, lvl. 19 | Light Trapper, lvl. 9

Level: 42

Guild: Union Collective Guild

Guild Museum: 

[Boar’s Great Tusk] | +2 strength; +5hp

[White Wolf Fang] | +2 dexterity; +1% speed

[Owl Duke’s Lens] | +2 wisdom; +5ep

[Alpaca Talisman] | +2 intelligence; +1% damage reduction

[Beaver’s Hammer] | +1% crafting success rate

Pets: Leafies, Lin, Lua

Affinity: Light (713/1000); Nature (397/1000)

Alignment: Meek (554/1000)

Positive relationships:

Badgers (2223/8000); Boars (2272/8000); Crocodilians (361/1000); Corvids (2210/8000); Cyborg Union (541/2000); Dogs (561/1000); Dwarf Exiles (273/300); Flock (251/300); Foxes (2213/8000); Golden Mountain Inc. (1754/2000); Greenleaf Inc. (1531/2000); Hilsford Garrison Soldiers (123/300); Lizards (8000/8000); Moles (565/1000); Moon Garrison of Sapphira (102/300); Moonlight Herd (182/300); Oli, the Cat Burglar (141/300); Peace Corps (131/300); Ratans (4615/8000); Silkworms (21/100); Snakes (3321/8000); The Table (61/100); Treeants (2031/8000); White Onyx Inc (331/1000)

Negative Relationships:

Blue Caterpillars (-30/-300); Timberwolves (-10/-100);

Titles: [Alpinist]; [Art Enthusiast]; [All-Nighter]; [Beast Master]; [Creature of the Night]; [Darksbane]; [Dearly Beloved]; [Discoverer of Species]; [Energy Tycoon]; [Entitled]; [Friend of Crocodilians]; [Friend of Moles]; [Grand Explorer]; [Hero of Ages]; [First of a Kind]; [Jumper]; [Lizard Race Patron]; [Marathonist]; [Martyr]; [Microman]; [Mindfulness]; [Novice]; [Overachiever]; [Pioneer]; [Polyglot]; [Richling]; [Single Minded Craftsman]; [Speedster]; [Stat Prodigy]; [Sweatshop Worker]; [Swimmer]; [Thousand]; [Triathlete]; [Weighs a Ton]; [Well-read]; [Wordly Drifter]

STATS (15 free stat points)

Hp: 1154

Energy: 1812

Damage Reduction: 60.9%

Status Resistance: 25.2%

Cooldown Reduction: 26%

Running Speed: 533.2%

Weight: [Light] - (146.7/536.5 Kg) (+ 20%)

STATS

Strength: 228 (+10%)

Dexterity: 192 (+10%)

Intelligence: 281 (+21%)

Wisdom: 230 (+10%)

Endurance: 318 (+20%)

Charisma: 315 (+15%)

Resilience: 105 (+10%)

Insight: 64 (+10%)

Subterfuge: 105 (+10%)

Perception: 50 (+10%)

His stats had blown up. The bonuses he got from signing a peace treaty with all these factions, adding to achieving a [Beloved] status, translated into almost two hundred stat points. He ran the numbers, and if he had to gain all his stats only by leveling up, he would have to be over level 400! Roth was smiling from ear to ear.

That wasn’t all. When he compared his attributes to what they should have been based on his stats, they were all significantly stronger. That was all thanks to his new flag skill: [Monarchic Grace]. “All attribute effects scale with charisma.” That meant that from now on, every time he scaled his charisma, he would get a little cooldown reduction, speed, and other effects. This skill fit Roth like a glove.

“This is a day of days!” shouted King Rattatoille. “It’s party time!”

*

BlueFire drummed his finger on the table as he saw the live feed of what was happening in the Green Woods. “It all makes sense now,” he mumbled—the hidden room in the Rat Cave. The [Power Truffles] and [Miniaturizing Potions] flooding the market. Antioch. Roth being able to communicate with the treeants.

Loose bits of information came together in BlueFire’s mind, culminating in one conclusion. Roth had used the factions of the Green Woods as a springboard. While every other player rushed through the beginner region, Roth lingered and found a way to befriend these NPCs. That was the secret behind his unique playstyle and skills. He grinned. Maybe they didn’t need to hire Roth anymore. He would just recreate Roth’s playstyle.

He sent a message to HR, telling them to assign a guild player to reset their account. Every week, the cover of some of the guild’s spies was blown, and players had to reset their accounts and infiltrate the next organization. He started writing instructions, tasking this player with starting the game in Thunder Mountain and looking for ways to befriend the animals instead of killing them.

As he was proofreading the message, he received an urgent notification.

“Update to the Top 100.”

BlueFire closely monitored the rankings, checking them multiple times daily. After all, he and his boss were in them. The top of the pyramid hadn’t changed. He remained in 18th place, and his boss in 9th. It was rare for any shift in the top 10. It hadn’t changed in months.

He kept going down the ranks. Kraken had climbed a few spots, surpassing Jayla from the Phoenixes. ColdHand had dropped one place, causing a smile on BlueFire’s lips. As he got to the bottom of the list, plenty of new names existed. The bottom of the pyramid saw constant reshuffling. Places 90 to 100, especially, changed every day. 

BlueFire made a point of knowing every single name on the list. They had found promising talents by closely examining the bottom ranks. As his eyes landed on the 78th place, he choked. There was a name that he hadn’t expected to see here.

…

77th - ShieldBearer

78th - Pax

79th - Twister

…

BlueFire massaged his temples. Just as he thought of a way to get rid of Roth, he had landed on the top 100. Now, there was no way he could give up on him. He saved the message he’d been writing as a draft and called Ogre. They had to review the money they were offering Roth. Now that he was in the top 100, they needed to up the ante, or other guilds would get to him first.

O’Shaughnessy has been elected president of the capital!

AstroTerra will undergo a patch: [A New President]. You have five minutes to log out. Sorry for the inconvenience.

“What? O’Shaughnessy? Isn’t that…”

BlueFire dropped everything Roth-related and searched for this name in all the memos, spy reports, and emails from his network of contacts. “He did it. The monster did it. It can’t be. Just how much gold did he spend? It’s impossible.”

BlueFire summoned his horse, hurrying toward the city.

“What’s up, BlueFire?”

“Sir, I think Loki did it. He’s figured it out. The real estate market is going to open after this patch!”

“W-what? But we aren’t ready. We…”

“We must ask Ogre players to lend their money to the guild coffers. Ask for every favor, and borrow money from as many people as possible. Ensure you leave everything in writing so they can’t go back on their word. The future of the guild depends on it, sir.”

*

O'Shaughnessy Lindstor was a tall, bulky man who always wore a silk vest. He shared his family's flat nose, long forehead, and sharp, intelligent eyes. “I can’t thank you enough for your patronage, sir.”

“Of course, Mr. President. Our deal stands, yes?” Loki confirmed one last time.

“Of course, sir. I think it is a good business opportunity for the city, too. The law to ban foreigners from purchasing property is outdated. It’s time we let some fresh blood pump into the city's veins,” he said, smiling. 

Loki smirked. Or in your pockets, Loki thought.

“I’ve already issued a new law, which is being sent to the city planning department. Worry not.”

O’Shaughnessy has been elected president of the capital!

AstroTerra will undergo a patch: [A New President]. You have five minutes to log out. Sorry for the inconvenience.

As the president left, Loki gave himself the chance to celebrate. “Hahaha! I did it!” Not even the notification that Roth had reached the top 100 was enough to pull him out of his mood. He would make so much money that, at this rate, he could just buy the Ogres and finally get his hands on that brute.

Ch. 275 - Signing

INDEX

Ch. 277 - A New Ruler