HC:Pacifist | Ch. 96 - Busted (Patreon)

Frankie sipped on the cool root beer. He preferred the taste of the apple cider they made here, but the root beer here gave him a bonus that was better for his class.

Baldwin's Root Beer (Consumable)

Item description: Root beer brewed according to a secret recipe that only the Gazpacho family knows.

Consumable effects:

+2 to all stats for 2 hours;

Bonus counts from the moment you leave the city.

This was one of the perks of having a relationship with the Gazpachos. One could hang out in the bar and have consumables such as this that increased stats and made hunts easier.

Another perk was the XP bonus. If he spent one hour inside the bar, he could charge up an XP buff.

Gazpacho's Know-How (Buff)

Buff effect: +2%XP gained for 2 hours. Bonus counts from the moment you leave the city.

Additionally, there were many quests that were handed out here. Unfortunately, he failed the quest to intimidate Soros, but he recovered from that setback and completed several more quests. If things went well, in a week or two, he would almost surely become revered by the Gazpachos. That should unlock a new tier in his  [Intimidate] skill and open the door to better quests.

Frankie took another sip. The real reason why he tried so hard with the Gazpachos was really because he didn't have many friends in real life. His friends at school had their little groups, and it was hard for Frankie to fit in. At least here, he had a place where he felt like he belonged. At least here, he was the bully and not the bullied.

All around Frankie, there were several players that, like him, came here to hang out and collect quests. He was starting to get to know some of them and even met a cool esper girl who had a root beer with him the other day. He looked for her among the crowd of mobsters but couldn't find her. He finished his beer. It was time to go out and hunt some deer.

Suddenly a big flash blinded him, and there was a loud noise and heavy steps.

You've been hit with the [Blind] debuff by the Peace Corps.

"Get down! Get down!"

All around Frankie, there was chaos. People were screaming, glass was breaking, and wood was creaking. He tried to log out, but the system told him he was in combat and couldn't leave the game for the moment. As he slowly regained his vision, he saw several Peace Corps officers in their black, leather sleek uniforms everywhere.

There were several players in handcuffs already and there were even two captains who were enshrouded by some sort of containment field. They couldn't move. Before long, an officer came to Frankie and put handcuffs on him.

Something bad happened to Cpt. Horace.

[Intimidate the Tailors] quest has been canceled.

Something unexpected happened to Lt. Lennie.

[Armed Robbery] quest has been canceled.

You've been caught hanging out with the Gazpachos and are now on the Peace Corps' watchlist. You've been fined 1 gold and will be in jail for 24 hours. If you log out the timer on your jail time pauses.

-100 reputation with the Peace Corps.

The Peace Corps now despise you.

You've been issued a new quest by the Gazpachos: [Vow of Silence].

Vow of Silence (Uncommon)

The Peace Corps has gotten hold of evidence against the family and have even discovered one of the high court officials on the family's payroll. Things seem bleak, but as long as the administration of the family is kept secret, there's hope of making a comeback.

Quest effect: Do your time in the joint quietly. Don't inform the authorities of any of the family's activities.

Frankie felt blood rush to his head, and his breaths quicken. He had put in a lot of work on those two quests. He had been very close to finishing them, and suddenly, they'd been canceled. And what was this about keeping silent and doing his time in jail quietly? He had to stay for 24 hours inside a prison cell doing nothing?

*

All the skills that Roth chose were part of the basic classes' bread and butter sets, making them very reasonably priced. One was priced at five silver, while the others only cost three silver each.

The first one was considered to be an essential skill for all medics. Medics were the squishiest class and were often the first targeted by enemy players. When an army's medics were kept alive, they could keep replenishing the troops and could make an army many times bolder and stronger. [Screeching Terror] was a life-saving skill that all respectable medics knew.

Screeching Terror (Common)

Skill description: Let out a piercing inhuman screech that dazes the opponents.

Skill effects: Active. Causes [Fear] debuff in a 1-meter radius;

Radius scales with charisma, and power scales with intelligence;

Especially effective on machines.

Class restrictions: Medic, lvl. 13.

[Shepherd's Shout] had been the skill Roth had used the most so far, and he thought this was a worthy replacement. For one, it had the advantage of working on players. Secondly, it was a skill that was also vocal. That meant that the powerful effect of the [Polyglot] title should enhance it and make it more effective. It was slightly more expensive at 5 silver, but it hardly dented Roth's wallet.

As for the other two, they gave some more speed and weight carry capacity, which was always good. Roth couldn't find anything else he wanted right now, especially until he bought the guide that cost 1000 gold. He was only buying cheap skills that he wouldn't regret deleting later.

Boar's Might (Common)

Skill description: You learn the secrets of the boar's strength and can emulate part of it.

Skill effects:

Passive. +3 strength;

+20kg weight carry capacity.

Restrictions: Warriors, lvl. 10.

Ratan Stride (Common)

Skill description: You learn from observing how ratans dash and can imitate their speed.

Skill effects: Passive. +10% running speed.

Restrictions: Rogue, lvl. 10.

He decided to get rid of [Healing Ray], [Shepherd's Shout], and [Grapple] to make room for these three skills. Although [Healing Ray] benefitted from his [Inner Light] bonus, some consumables could be used to heal others, which made this a non-essential skill for him. Unfortunately, there were no other skills at his level that had the light element that he wished to learn. Most of them had to do with healing or buffing others and would suit more a medic with a healer build. He would check it again after he’d reached level 25 or 30.

Now that he had learned them, Roth decided to check his stats.

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Pax

Class: Pacifist

Race: Zoomorph

Profession(s): Broker, Lvl. 10

Level: 22

Affinity: Light (134/300)

Alignment: Good (284/300)

Relationships:

Badgers (1245/3000); Boars (1313/3000); Cyborg Union (1100/3000); Corvids (1311/1000); Dogs (102/300); Dwarf Exiles (105/300); Foxes (1310/3000); Hilsford Garrison Soldiers (103/300); Golden Mountain Inc. (864/1000); Greenleaf Inc. (332/1000); Peace Corps (100/300); Ratans (3251/10,000); Snakes (1013/3000); Treeants (400/1000);

Gazpachos (-1400/-3000)

Titles: [Adored]; [Alpinist]; [Art Enthusiast]; [Darksbane]; [Discoverer of Species]; [Explorer]; [First of a Kind]; [Jumper]; [Martyr]; [Marathonist]; [Micromanagement]; [Novice]; [Overachiever]; [Pioneer]; [Polyglot]; [Richling]; [Triathlete]

STATS (64 Free Stat Points)

Hp: 237

Energy: 156

Damage Reduction: 46.7%

Status Resistance: 3.4%

Cooldown Reduction: 10%

Running Speed: 149.2%

Weight: [Light] - (21.4/111.5Kg)

Strength: 63

Dexterity: 62

Intelligence: 55 (+1%)

Wisdom: 53

Endurance: 238

Charisma: 70 (+5%)

Resilience: 18

EQUIPMENT

Right Hand: [Plumber's Torch] | +5 intelligence

Left Hand: [Empty]

Shoes: [Plumber Boots] | +20% speed

Bottom: [Woodland Trousers] | 3% damage red.; +5 dexterity; +10ep

Top: [Woodland Jacket] | +5% damage red.; +3 strength; + 3 dexterity

Gloves: [Plumbing Gloves] | +5% damage red.

Head: [Woodland Hood] | +10hp; +5 strength

Cape: [Errand Cloak] | +10% speed

ACCESSORIES

[Crow Feather Earring] | +1 intelligence; +1 energy regen.

[Cybernetic Scanner]

[Witness Protection Mask]

[Crow Feather Necklace] | +1 wisdom; +2 intelligence; +5ep

[Utility Belt] | +10kg

[Tin Ring] | +1 intelligence

SKILLS:

Stat Bonuses: [Agile Mind]; [Fast Hands]; [Healthy Bones]; [Horse’s Gallop]; [Inner Calm]; [Inner Light]; [Kind-hearted]; [Stone Skin]; [Well-Spoken]

Profession Related: [Discount]; [Exasperate]; [Novice Hiring]; [Porter]; [Supplier's Fortune]

Passive: [Boar's Might]; [Flagbearer]; [Ratan Stride]

Active: [Camouflage]; [Miniaturize]; [Peace Decree]; [Peace Treaty]; [Screeching Terror]; [Search]; [Taunting Roar]; [30 Steps]

He also searched for all the skills available for purchase that his character could learn. He removed the level limitation, got several hundred hits, and saved his research onto the documents. It was a nifty little feature that came with the auction house menu. This way, he could decide later on what he would do regarding his skills and even plan what he would buy down the road. But for now, he would continue with his shopping.

It was time to look for flags.

*

Xerxes knocked his fists together, and two mirroring fists made of giant rock squashed the wave of monsters his underlings had been luring toward them. With this, he succeeded in reaching level 53. He looked at the forums. He still couldn't count himself among the top 10. He couldn't catch up with Zin no matter how hard he fought. When Loki had poached him, he was sure he could become the guild's number 1, but things weren't as easy as he had thought. It only made it much more fun.

"Rogues! Bring another wave." He got a call from Loki. "On second thought, hold up. I gotta take this. Hello?"

"How goes the quest, Xerxes?"

"It's progressing nicely. Thank you."

"I want you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"I have this gnawing sensation in my throat. It feels like there is a fishbone in it that I can't seem to wash down."

"Who?"

"His name is Pax. I timed everything so perfectly. I was supposed to finish pupating while the top 10 were busy with the fortresses. I've had to slow down my plans considerably because of this... fishbone." Xerxes had heard about him. It was the player that had frustrated Loki's plans in Hilsford. No one had yet found any information on this mysterious player, and Loki had grown tired of waiting.

"I still have to finish the quest you assigned me."

"How much longer do you need?"

"Four days."

"You have three. After that, I want this rat terminated."

"Consider it done." Loki hung up the call immediately. Xerxes sighed. How was he supposed to catch up to Zin if he kept getting these petty little missions from Loki?

"Fellas, let's kick it up a notch. We have a new mission after we're done here. We've got some new prey to hunt."

*

It was time to check his 'weapon.' Roth selected flags and waited for the myriad options to appear on the screen. The results were disappointing. There were only nine hits. How could there be only nine flags to choose from among millions of players, hundreds of guilds, and billions of items?

Roth was getting a bucket of ice on his head at every turn today. He had dreamed of coming to the auction house and being able to spend all his money, but when he looked at the price of the cheapest flag available, he felt like crying. The 170 gold he had wasn't nearly enough! The most basic flag for sale was the one he had already read about. It was the Red Salamander flag, one of the possible rewards for completing a level 20 dungeon in fire maps. It cost a whopping 5000 gold.

Roth was flabbergasted. He had never expected that even the worst flag available for purchase would be this expensive. If that was the case, how would he ever equip a flag? Even if he spent all his money, he didn't even have one-tenth of what he needed to buy this. Things weren't going his way today.

Hitting a bump with skills and flags, Roth decided to look into the only thing left. And that was: equipment. From Level 10, most equipment had class restrictions. There was also some equipment with no class restriction. For example, his plumber set. Any class could use it.

Since he had the pacifist class, he was curious about what equipment he could use. He could be limited to wearing only classless equipment or equipment unique to the class. Both would severely limit his options.

Roth sorted out the filter in the advanced search window of the auction house so that only gear he could wear would appear, and several dozen options appeared. Roth was pleasantly surprised. He wasn't expecting to be given so many options. After going through the list, he understood why. It turned out pacifists could use medics' gear.

Now that he had a better idea of what equipment he could use, he selected the auction house's auto feature and programmed it to give him the best combinations possible to enhance wisdom. The system returned him five possible combinations.

Ch. 95 - Skills

INDEX

Ch. 97 - Sun and Moon of the Mountain