HC:Pacifist | Ch. 80 - The Armless Man (Patreon)

"What I don't understand, Roth is why we have to set up camp in the stinkiest place in the city."

"I thought you were war veterans and used to this sort of thing."

"This doesn't have anything to do with our experiences as soldiers. We are used to being in precarious conditions, but no one in their right mind would enjoy living in a garbage dump."

"I'm going to introduce you to my friend, Drake. And I'm also going to show you a very cool place. Other than Drake and I, no one else in the game knows about it.”

“I thought you liked us.”

“Come on. I know it's tough, but I promise it will be worth it. If you hang out in the sewers long enough, you might even be able to unlock a new stat I also got. It’s called resilience."

“Does that stat make the smell go away?”

After Roth had met up with the sergeant and the others, he hadn't stopped hearing the complaints of the old-timers for a second. He'd forgotten that, even though they were kind-hearted, tough old soldiers, they were still elderly. They had a talent for nagging and complaining. Not to speak of the passenger on his shoulder, who kept pestering him.

"Where is the nest that asked for assistance?"

"We'll be there shortly, Athos. After I drop off my friends, we'll go there immediately."

"Very well, but hurry, human. There's something about this place that I find unsettling. I worry that the situation is graver than we thought." For the NPC to say this, Roth felt apprehensive about what was coming. But how bad could it be? He was just a level 13 player with a level 80 NPC on his shoulder. There shouldn't be anything that would be enough to rattle Athos. Right?

More than once, Roth bumped into a group of players. They were either here to unlock resilience or to hunt for Mario. Once he'd taken enough turns and ensured no one could see them, he activated one of the many platforms leading into the lab.

As they descended and the smell of oil and metal dispelled the stench of the sewers, the group's mood improved.

"What a relief!" exclaimed one of the old-timers. Even though Roth didn't agree with them out loud, he had to say it was a relief. It was troublesome to be under this constant assault on the senses. At least, now there was hope. If he could somehow gather three pieces of the plumber set, he would have a much better time at it here. He sighed. By the time he managed that, he probably wouldn't need it anymore. But who knows?

Maybe it would be helpful down the road. The buzzing flash in the corner illuminated Mario welding the carcass of one of the drones. The cyborg spared a look at the newcomers but didn't seem bothered to have a crowd in his lab suddenly.

Next to Mario, Roth spotted another cyborg. He blinked a couple of times and only then felt confident enough to call out to him, "Drake? Is that you?" During the time Roth was away, something strange had happened to Drake. He now had two arms.

After knowing his sponsor for four years, Roth had gotten used to seeing his friend only having one arm. Suddenly, being presented with a two-armed Drake caught Roth by surprise.

"This is what I wanted to tell you about, Roth. One day, after I finished doing some pests for the alligator..."

"Quests," corrected Roth.

"...some quests for the alligator, Mario asked me if I wanted to join the union. I said I did. Before I knew it, the crazy cyborg had strapped me to one of the workshop tables and given me this. How do I take it off?"

"You don't want it?"

"I don't need a second arm for anything."

"But think about all the things you could do with it. I mean, you're already so skillful with one; if you had two..."

"I said: I. don't. want. it." Drake's weird reaction completely threw off Roth. Why wouldn't Drake want to have two arms? He'd always wondered why he hadn't applied for a prosthetic at prison. After all, if his nervous system wasn't damaged enough, getting a prosthetic arm shouldn't be a problem.

Roth studied the prosthetic robotic arm. It seamlessly fused with Drake's flesh. While Mario had an arm made of silvery glistening metal, Drake's was of a dull copper. Even though his friend and the cyborg NPC had a robotic arm, Drake's eyes remained ordinarily human, unlike the alligator.

"Let me see what notifications you got."

Drake fumbled clumsily with the commands and finally managed to send Roth a copy of the system notifications he got.

Congratulations, you've unlocked a new race: [Cyborg].

Cyborg (Hidden Race)

Race description: While blood and flesh have their strengths, they also have limitations. By blending your flesh with technology, you unlock countless possibilities.

Conditions to unlock [Cyborg]:

Must be severely injured;

A friendly relationship with the Cyborg Union.

Racial characteristics:

-10 intelligence;

+10 dexterity;

It's easier to understand machines.

Racial skills:

Upgrade (Racial)

Skill Description: As a cyborg, you can improve your machine parts, unlocking multiple benefits.

Skill Effect: You've been given [Copper Arm 0.0]. You can unlock unique skills and effects by performing enough upgrades on your cybernetics.

Copper Arm 0.0 (Racial Item)

+10 Strength

-5 Intelligence

#Skill 1 - Locked - Requires 3 microchips A8132FH; 5 Thunder Copper Ingots; 1 gold; Greenie Programmer.

#Skill 2 - Locked - Requires 3 microchips D0713IA; 5 Lighting Bronze Ingots; 10 gold; Novice Programmer.

#Skill 3 - Locked - Requires 3 microchips Z41089B; 5 Pure Silver Ingots, 30 gold, Novice Programmer.

Programmer (Racial)

Skill description: As a cyborg, you can inherently understand the language of machines.

Skill effects: You have the [Programmer] profession. It doesn't occupy any of your professional slots.

Roth stared, befuddled at the notifications. What a fantastic race! It was perfect for a craftsman pursuing engineering, tinkering, or robotics. They didn't have to worry about occupying one of their profession slots with the [Programmer] profession. On the other hand, it seemed to cripple a character's intelligence completely.

Even though he had a good relationship with the union, Roth wasn't severely injured. Maybe that was the reason why he wasn't offered this race. Or was it because he couldn't have both races simultaneously? Had Drake unlocked this race because he was handicapped?

"This is amazing! This race you've unlocked is awesome, Drake." Roth meant it. "Did you get a [First of a Kind] title?"

"Did I get a what?" It seemed that Drake hadn't been the first player to discover this race. "Enough, Roth. I don't want this arm. Take it off."

"But if you remove your arm, you'll probably not be a cyborg anymore. I thought you wanted to be part of the Cyborg Union! This way, we can accomplish our goal. Right?"

"I guess," he said after a long time. The 14th watched the exchange with interest from a distance.

"Why don't you want a second arm, Drake? What's wrong? You're not making any sense. Does this have anything to do with your past as a mobster?"

"When I left the family, I paid a price. You wouldn't understand, Roth."

"Try me," said Roth resolutely.

Across the room, the sound of the sergeant clearing his throat called the attention of the two men. They hadn't bothered to keep their volume down. The sergeant had heard some hints of Drake's past and seemed determined to know more.

"Hello, harmless shark? I presume?"

"That's right. And from how you stand up straight like a mast and command your friends' attention, I reckon you are Sergeant Jazzinald."

"At your service."

"Thank you for being willing to help my friend. You must all be good men. Men of honor and principles."

"I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation. Roth, I have to say that when you told me on the road that your friend was a captain..." the sergeant trailed off. Roth could see that none of the crew looked happy with Drake being a former crime family member. Maybe Roth should have been clear about his friend being a captain in the mafia.

"Drake, as I told you, I already came clean about my past to these men. Why don't you tell me the story of your arm once and for all? And let them in the loop too. They will help us whole-heartedly if they know more about us." Drake sighed. Roth knew how difficult it was for him to open up about his past, but Roth needed him to tear down his walls if he ever hoped to tear down his prison.

"Very well, it's going to take a while." Roth felt Athos fidget uncomfortably on his shoulder.

"What if you just make a 5-minute version?"

"Five-minute version? I'm about to pour my heart out, man. And you only have five minutes?"

"I'm sorry. It's just my little friend here is in a hurry." Drake took a few steps back after his eyes landed on Athos. Roth wondered if Drake instinctively felt the power that this tiny NPC possessed. Athos, however, ignored all players in the room and addressed Mario.

"Athos, at your service. Thank you for letting us use your lab for conferencing."

"You're welcome here, ratan," answered the digital voice of the cyborg in the distance. Well, it seemed the cyborgs got along with the ratans somehow. Didn't Athos know that Mario snacked on ratans when he was starving?

"Anyway, you were about to tell us a short version of your story, Drake." His sponsor mumbled a few curses under his breath and sighed.

"Very well. Gentlemen, my name is Drake Thompson, former captain of the Santorini. My boss used to be the biggest loan shark on the West Coast. My parents had a crippling gambling problem. Their debt increased, and Santorini came along when no one else was willing to lend them money.

"It wasn't a surprise that they defaulted on their payments, then lost everything. They lost our house, our savings, and everything else they owned. My mother and father were so addicted to gambling that they were willing to sell their children as slaves or gamble them away.

"When they offered me to the boss as collateral, in a rare moment of charity, Santorini took pity on me. After serving under him, I noticed he would do this sometimes. One day, I asked him why he went soft on occasions while being ruthless and heartless on others. He said that it couldn't hurt to clean up his sheet a little and that maybe the big guy up there would take mercy on his soul.”

"Regardless of how messed up that is, the man took me in. He raised me. He was more of a father to me than my own flesh and blood had been. He taught me the trade, and I was willing to learn it. In time, I became the most prominent captain of the family.”

"I don't have to tell you how loan sharking works. You lend money to someone desperate to sign a deal with you, then you charge them exorbitant interest rates, and finally, you squeeze them dry until they pay you. It's awful what we do to people."

Roth gulped. He sneaked a glance at the 14th. All of them were deadly serious and wide-eyed, listening to the story.

"In the beginning, I think I went along with old Santorini because of my loyalty to him. After all, the man was my father. With time, I realized that it was also a messed up way of me getting revenge on my parents for what they had done to me. When I saw others with gambling or drinking problems, I saw some of my parents in them. Sharking them was my way of getting back at my parents.

"I was good, very good at what I did. I had hundreds of men under my command. But my heart was never in it. My conflict between my conscience and the evil I did started eating away at my soul. I became a furious person. I had a family. I had a son. I treated them very poorly…." Drake trailed off, letting the implications sink in.

"After a while, I couldn't take it anymore. I went to the old man and told him I wanted out. Leaving the family behind was difficult, and I had to pay a heavy price. I knew Santorini's turf, and he feared I'd snatch it from him.

"To show him that I meant business, I said I would cut my hand off to show my seriousness. I also promised to go to the police and turn myself in without betraying the family. He told me a hand wasn't enough, so I had to leave my whole arm."

"So here I am, on the one hand, someone who isn't whole; on the other hand, someone who is more complete than he's ever been." Roth looked at the old men. They all had a look of solemn respect, and the Sergeant even had a tear in his eye. He wasn't unaffected either. He wiped a tear off the corner of his eye.

Roth heard little squeaks beside him and was surprised to see that Athos was also crying. Drake frowned, eyes blank.

"It says here I made some Athos guy cry and have unlocked charisma. What is this?"

Roth's jaw gaped. Drake had become a cyborg and had unlocked a hidden stat just like that. If things kept going like this, Drake would become the best player in the game before Roth could break the top 100.

"Drake, I understand that for you, cutting off your arm represented the life you left behind. But that's long past you. You've paid the price. Just because you'll have an extra arm in the game doesn't mean you'll have to do horrible things with it. Maybe it's time you forgive yourself, man." Drake looked at Roth thoughtfully.

"The fact that you were willing to pay the ultimate price to leave that life behind makes you worthy of our respect," spoke the sergeant. Drake looked at him thoughtfully.

"Thank you, sergeant. You're one of the good ones."

"It'll be a pleasure to fight alongside you, captain. After all, we must get this little brat out of Loki's clutches."

Roth was happy so many incredible people were willing to help him out.

"Cool! Sarg, introduce the rest of the gang to Drake." Everyone frowned. The choice of the word gang hadn't fallen well with the 14th. "I mean, the rest of the squad. I must take this great warrior with me to save the ratans living in the sewers.”

Ch. 79 - Lost Battle

INDEX

Ch. 81 - Mighty Athos