HC:Pacifist | Ch. 103 - The Song (Patreon)

Golden Mountain Inc. {Exclusive}

You have earned the right to represent Golden Mountain Inc. as a broker.

You only have exclusivity in interracial trade.

Specialty products:

Consult Golden Mountain Inc. catalog.

Procured goods:

Consult Golden Mountain Inc. catalog.

Rate:

You keep 1% of all profits generated.

You need to perform one sale every three days, or you will lose broker exclusivity.

This is the first time that Roth saw a trade agreement like this. The first significant difference was there was a clear line drawn between merchants and brokers. He was being offered exclusivity only between interracial trade. That meant that some hopeful players outside might have a shot at getting a slice of the pie.

The next significant difference was how often he had to make a trade to maintain exclusivity. Having to run between Hilsford and the Green Woods was becoming increasingly inconvenient. And he was only required to make a trade run every week. How much harder would it be to maintain exclusivity with Soros, then?

“Soros, any chance that we can renegotiate these terms?”

“Oh, my boy. I know. I’m being too generous. But, hey! No matter what all my colleagues say, I’m betting my money on you!”

“These three days to maintain exclusivity…”

“I know! Isn’t that generous? My friend Constantine was saying that I should do it once a day. But I stayed strong!” Roth gulped. Now he felt embarrassed to try to negotiate the terms. Were they really that generous? He remembered the crowd of players outside trying to create a relationship with Soros. Perhaps, it really was generous. He shrugged. He’d go with it.

However, this raised some concerns. He couldn't spend his day running back and forth. He had to think of a solution to this. The visit to the transportation guild had just climbed several places on his to-do list.

Even though maintaining these exclusivity agreements proved to be a lot of trouble, Roth's gut told him they would be valuable down the road. He had to at least try to keep them. Finally, unlike his other three agreements, no product list was available. Just a reference to a catalog. Could it be that Soros had a record just like his?

"What does this 'catalog' mean?"

"See for yourself."

A window appeared in front of Roth, leaving him speechless. It looked just like the window at the auction house. Could Soros have so many products for sale that they couldn't fit in a ledger?

So far, Soros had taken the lead in deciding on what new product samples to send Roth's customers, but things were about to change. The fact that this feature was unlocked when Soros moved to this building suggested that maybe it was a feature that came with the building itself.

Perhaps there was some sort of technology or skill at play here. Or maybe it was that Soros didn't have access to many products before, and once he moved here and took possession of a warehouse full of spoils, he'd finally been able to show Roth such a window. It worked very similarly to the auction house.

As Roth scrolled through it, he realized that there was a significant difference. Items destined for players, such as equipment, skill cards, and weapons, were not for sale here. All the products that could be bought here were mostly consumables or items utilized in crafting. Roth didn't mind it. It didn't make sense that he could purchase armor here. Otherwise, what would be the point of having a Blacksmith Street, Carpenter Street, or auction house? There were also windows and options tailored to his profession. There was a tab that read transactions. He selected it, and a history of the items he'd traded between Soros and the woodland factions appeared.

Sales of items by Pax, supplied by Soros, November 11th, 2088

500x[Old Paper]

50x[Paw Butter]

30x[Old Inkpot]

30x[Popcorn]

10x[Prairie Balm]

5x[Acargomar Extract]

20x[Rice Powder]

20x[Blue Tin Ingot]

10x[Box of Tin Screws]

150x[Gruyere Cheese]

100x[Manchego Cheese]

50x[Pecorino Cheese]

50x[Shiny Old Marble]

200x[Old Party Glitter]

TOTAL: 19,341 gold.

PROFIT: 146.3 gold.

Sales of items by Soros supplied by Pax, November 6th, 2088

100x[Pine cones]

100x[Raspberries]

50x[Wild Onion]

30x[Glowshrooms]

30x[Wild Garlic]

20x[Acorn]

40x[Elderberries]

10x[Morelshroom]

20x[Fox Ginseng]

1x[Power Truffle]

10x[Crown Feather Earring]

3x[Crow Feather Tiara]

5x[Crown Feather Necklace]

7x[Badger Great Claw]

4x[Boar King's Tusk]

100x[Raven Feathers]

10x[Bucket of Mud]

10x[Badger Claw]

14x[Miniaturizing Potion]

10x[Lapidated Quartz ]

10x[Polished Pyrite]

TOTAL: 24,530 gold.

PROFIT - 25%: = 104 gold.

Another feature that caught Roth's interest was that there was an option that he could tick that he had never seen at the auction house. It showed how much his stats and skills affected the profit for each transaction. He selected one of the types of cheese that he had sold to the ratans and compared both.

He first disabled all the bonuses and got a simple window like this.

Gruyere Cheese (Common)

Retail price: 3 silver, 50 copper.

Estimated sale price to ratans: 4 silver, 80 copper.

Profit: 20 copper x 3% = 3.9 copper.

He then activated the bonuses to see how much different it became.

Gruyere Cheese (Common)

Retail price: 3 silver, 8 copper. | Modifiers: [Discount]

Estimated sale price to ratans: 5 silver, 58 copper | Modifiers: [Supplier's Fortune]

Profit: 7,5 coppers.

What a difference. His revenue almost doubled thanks to the different bonuses he had. A big chunk of the improvement was his [Supplier's Fortune]. It had been the right move to focus on trade between NPCs.

"Soros, you're putting a lot of trust in me by relying solely on me to trade with other races."

"My friend, if it weren't for you, I would never have gotten out of that slump. Additionally, when everything else failed, you and the channels you opened got me through. I'm confident you'll meet other races and that I'm making the right decision here. But don't fool yourself. I'm expecting a lot of profit. I'd rather starve than have my only broker giving me less than seven digits a week."

Roth felt like having a heart attack. Those were very high expectations. He chuckled as he realized Soros still talked of starving even after becoming successful again.

"Well, I think I should go now."

"But you haven't even purchased anything for your next trade run."

"Well, that's the thing. I'm going to take the sheep with me next time I visit the Green Woods".

"This is a long journey."

"I know."

"It won't be easy to take them there safely. Especially with all those wolves roaming the grasslands around the city. It will be difficult for you even after you get into the forest."

"Any suggestions on what I should do?"

"Do your job well! After all, being able to carry precious sensitive cargo is part of your job description as a broker." Roth's shoulders shank. That wasn't much of a help. But in a sense, Soros had already given him a valuable hint. He had talked a lot about the wolves, hadn't he? Roth remembered his time in the Fox Tunnels, reading the Fox Canon and the stories about wolves.

He had assumed that the information would help him become friends with them. But maybe it would help him protect the sheep from them instead. The truth was that in many stories he had read, sheep were often portrayed as being the wolves' prey.

Given that the most common monsters around the city of Hilsford were the wolves meant that it wouldn't be easy to lead the sheep to safety. On top of that, he couldn't even understand what they said. The communication gap could very well prove fatal.

Thinking about this, Roth paused. "Soros, do you mind if I spend some time with the sheep in your warehouse?"

"Go ahead. I know a Lightbringer like you would never steal anything from me." Soros burst out laughing. "If you did, my security system would pulverize you anyway. Wouldn't that be funny?"

Roth wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry hearing how amusing Soros considered him being disintegrated would be. The thought of being shot to oblivion by laser beams coming from invisible trap doors in the ceiling caused a shiver down his spine. The old man had just given him nightmares. Roth left the door and smiled.

He was truly happy for Soros. Seeing the old man at the bottom of the pit looking so happy, going about his business as if you were a young man, filled Roth's heart with pride. He had helped him rise from the ashes. Soros' success was his too. Soros' talk of telepathy gave Roth an idea. Good communication with the flock would be vital if he were to succeed in this quest. He had to try to understand them better and to be able to speak to them. He retraced his steps back to the warehouse. He found the sheep all huddled together in a corner. Soros explained that to use telepathy, he had to expand his mind and read more. In Roth's mind, that meant one thing: he needed more intelligence.

Badger Form!

Roth's form group bulkier, and his arms thickened. His beard grew in stripes of black and white while his nose elongated into a small snout, and his eyes yellowed.

Congratulations! Your intelligence has reached 250.

[Inner Calm] has been upgraded to [Eidetic Memory].

Eidetic Memory (Stat Bonus)

Bonus description: By expanding your mind, you develop perfect recall. This aids you in managing your brainwaves with superb mastery.

Bonus effect: +500 energy.

Restrictions: Intelligence 250+.

Congratulations! Your intelligence has reached 300.

You have unlocked [Perfect Timing]

Perfect Timing (Stat Bonus)

Bonus description: Part of showing intelligence lies in foresight and strategic timing. You have both of them in spades.

Bonus effect: +5% cooldown reduction.

Restrictions: Intelligence 300+.

Now that Ross had over 300 intelligence, there was something different in the air. It was a distant, muffled sound. It felt as if he were underwater, listening to a song being played outside. He could only hear the faintest sounds. Rough tried walking toward the flock and felt the muffled beats grow slightly louder.

This was it. He was going in the right direction. He moved some sheep out of the way and walked right into the middle of the flock. Now, other than the beats, he heard a deep low-end hum. It was a fleeting sound. It was almost outside of Roth's perception. He lost track of it when he stopped focusing his whole mind on it. When that happened, he had to concentrate until he could listen to it again.

After a few minutes, he finally got a notification.

You're starting to make out the electromagnetic waves in the air around you and perceive them to be a form of communication.

Progress in learning the flock's song: 1%.

You've strained your mind to the very limit and have grown stronger as a result.

+1 intelligence.

Once the system unlocked the first percentage point, Roth felt the song grow slightly louder. It also became slightly easier to hold on to it. All that was left now was to be patient and persevere.

*

Roth had been at it for 6 hours, and the bar was stuck at 9%. Beads of sweat rolled down Roth's forehead. Even with the system's assistance, it was proving tricky to concentrate for so long on the sound.

Roth heard a sound coming from the door. It was Soros in his signature colorful turban. "Broker, are you still...?" He smiled at him as he approached and saw him in the middle of the flock. He closed his lips, and then Roth heard something similar to a shout but simultaneously a whisper.

Ruth heard something in his mind crack, but he heard Soros' voice loud and clear, "Take as long as you need, young broker."

Your mind becomes more sensitive to brain waves.

Progress in learning the flock's song: 34%.

You've strained your mind to the very limit and have grown stronger as a result.

+1 intelligence.

Had Soros just given him a hand in learning telepathy? The old merchant quietly left the room, and Roth closed his eyes, trying to listen to the beat of the flock's song.

Ch. 102 - Green Pastures

INDEX 

Ch. 104 - Telepathy