HC:Pacifist | Ch. 116 - Vanquish the Darkness (Patreon)

"My dear friend!" the king stood up for the first time and came to hug Roth. Was this the effect of now being adored by the ratan race? "And look at this! You're wearing a token of your friendship with us. What a beautiful banner."

King Ratatouille is touched to see a human carrying a banner representing the mice and rats of the world.

+14 reputation with all ratans.

King Ratatouille is proud to see you wearing a [Mouseketeer Cape].

+9 reputation with all ratans.

"Thank you, your majesty. I'm proud to be your friend."

As Ratatouille returned to his throne, he looked Roth from top to bottom. "Uuuh. I can tell your trip to the city was profitable again."

3712 gold has been removed from your inventory.

Congratulations on completing a trade between [Rat King] and [Golden Mountain Inc].

Broker 2500XP; 3%(x75%) of the profit (47 gold, 3 silver); +104 reputation with all ratans.

Now that Roth had unlocked the [Adored] status with the ratans, his cut had increased to 3%! He was glad to see the gold coming in.

"Here are your items, your majesty."

20x[Manchego Cheese] has been removed from your inventory.

20x[Pecorino Cheese] has been removed from your inventory.

King Ratatouille has paid you 2.13 gold.

Ratans were proving to be excellent suppliers but poor customers. He had to find a way to carry more goods here to increase his profit margin. Anyway, it was better than nothing, and he could steadily increase progress in his profession this way.

"Now that business is settled, we must address other important matters. Athos tells me you were courageous and single-handedly stopped the threat that endangered my people!"

"I couldn't have done it without Athos’ assistance, your majesty."

"Let's take a look." Roth gulped. He slowly took the big black sphere he'd found in the sewers from his inventory and held it out in his hands. Although it was as big as a basketball, it was still light. The king took out a scepter that Roth had never seen. The mouseketeers stood around Roth, with their swords drawn, hissing and snarling at the object in Roth's hands.

"Put it away," commanded the king. Roth put it back into his inventory.

"Aren't you going to destroy it, sir?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid I can’t." Saying this, Roth's shoulders slumped. How was a level 99 monarch not strong enough to destroy this egg? "You can't destroy it?"

"It’s not that I lack the ability. But this egg is only the embryo of something more powerful and sinister. I can destroy it now, but this is a bigger decision that we ratans can not make."

"Should I show the egg to the Lord of the Woods?"

"No. I want you to take it somewhere else."

You've received a new quest: [Vanquish the Darkness].

Vanquish the Darkness (Epic)

After eradicating the threat under the sewers, you find evidence that the creatures you faced are just the beginning of a bigger threat. King Ratatouille is worried about how this will affect his people.

Quest objectives: Visit Oli, the cat, and show him the egg.

“You want me to go to Oli, not the Lord of the Woods.”

“Precisely.”

“Why?”

“The Lord of the Woods only rules here. But this is a decision too big, even for him. Only Oli can point you in the right direction.” Roth remembered that Ratatouille had once said that he was cat nobility. Could it be why he’d have to show this to Oli?

“Very well. You can count on me, your majesty.”

“Good. Good luck, friend. You’ll need it.”

Roth left and headed toward the nearest dungeon, the Fox Tunnels.

*

Zin looked at the unsightly form of his employer. He looked like a twisted tree made of dark living roots. They covered every inch of the observatory. Even when riding far from this location, thick pulsing veins sometimes surfaced to the ground, digging themselves into the corpses of mobs or sucking the life out of the vegetation. Loki's radius of influence was becoming so vast that the guild had run out of trustworthy patrols to run the perimeter and ensure no one got wind of what was happening here.

Ever since Loki had unlocked this race, whenever Zin saw him in the real world, he had the impression that his real body was his avatar and his avatar was his real body. It was as if Loki had always possessed this parasitic disgusting form. From inside the dark jelly-like cocoon, Zin heard the alien voice of his boss.

"Zin, tell me about the purge."

"We found two guild employees who have a gambling problem, sir. One of the guild elders reportedly drank too much in public and shared some of the details on one of our operations. It's nothing worth taking lethal action for."

"Choose one of them at random, and get rid of them. I want to make an example. Give the other two months of compulsory permafrost duty."

"Consider it done, sir."

"Zin, can I ask you a question?" Loki's voice was smooth and tranquil, like the calm before the storm.

"Yes, sir."

"Why do I pay you so much money?"

"Because I'm the best."

"How can you be called the best, Zin, when there are moles under your nose, AND YOU DON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!" Zin resisted the urge to assume a fighting position. When dealing with warlords and criminal emperors, remaining calm and confident was of the essence.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"There's a hunting craze in the sewers under every city in AstroTerra. I have to rethink my whole plan now!" Zin cursed under his breath. Loki had done this on purpose. He had come up with a problem in-game that Zin couldn't have known about when he was running errands in the real world for him.

"Have the hatchlings been compromised?"

"No, they haven't. But whatever infected minions there were in the sewers have been exterminated. Some idiot discovered that infected mobs drop an item that could be the key to unlocking the light affinity."

"I see." This would severely impact Loki's plan.

"There are also reports of several guild secrets being leaked into the forums."

"What kind of guild secrets, sir?"

"Almost everything that can be accessed by guildmembers tier 3 and below. Quests, titles, classes, races. What kind of benefits are we expected to offer guild members when you let someone make a quick buck off our hard work?"

"I'll find out the leak for you, sir."

"You'd better, or you're not getting paid anything this month." Zin was getting sick of being mistreated by this arrogant idiot. Were it not for all his efforts, there was no way that Loki would have so much. He managed to keep a neutral voice. "Anything else, sir?"

"That'll be all. Do not fail me again, Zin."

*

“Hey, Drake!” It was always nice to receive a call from his friend.”

“Hey, lil’ Roth! So, how is everything going on with you?"

"I've just come out of the fox dungeon and am on my way to meet the corvids."

"English, please."

"I'm visiting customers."

"Oh, OK. That’s better. Sometimes when you talk, it sounds like you're running a zoo or a safari park."

Roth chuckled. He did talk a lot about animals.

"And how did it go with the sheep?" asked Drake.

"It went well. They're safe now. What about you? How are things on your side?"

"Things are progressing well. I've already reached 'soldier' rank with the Raviolis and have completed my first cybernetic upgrade. Emily became an engineer yesterday and is already a cyborg too. The others changed races and are now thumbers. They look disgusting. But hey, not everyone can look as cool as us cyborgs. Right?"

Roth smirked as he saw that this would be something his team would squabble about.

"Lil’ Roth, how are things with your professions? Any progress with the unions?"

"Well, not really. As I told you, I started to do the quest to become a tailor, but things got on hold after I hit that bump with the sheep. Regarding my broker profession, as you can see, I'm working on it right now. But I still have a long way to go before figuring out how to start a merchants or brokers union."

Drake scratched his head. Roth could tell he was trying to hide his frustration. After all, according to the team's plan, professions and unions were the way to go.

"Don't worry, Drake, I'm going to wrap things up here quickly and get started on the tailoring profession."

"It's just that I think it would hurt morale if everyone had progressed in the plan to save you while you haven't." The words cut him like a knife. What was Drake saying? Was he hinting that he didn't try hard enough? He was working around the clock as much as he could to progress and get out of there. Roth felt a mix of anger, guilt, and annoyance. Drake continued, "You'll be here for the briefing tomorrow, won't you?"

Roth looked at Drake and sighed. He knew he was on his side and was trying to help him. He was right too. He should come to the meeting with something to show the others. "Of course. You can count on it. I have to finish doing my trade run, and I'll be in the city with time to spare to advance things with my profession. I’ll have something to show the others at the briefing."

"Great then."

Roth tried to change subjects, not to let out how upset he was. "What about that surprise you promised me, Drake? What is that about?"

"Oh. You're curious, hey? You’ll have to come and see. I don't want to spoil it for you."

"Very well then. I have to go now. Thanks for calling. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Roth came off the call frustrated. He kicked a nearby pine cone. Despite giving his all over the past week, he still hadn't been able to help the team progress toward their game plan, which was to syndicalize professions.

He'd been so caught up in completing Gazpacho's quest and defending these poor sheep that he lost track of the bigger picture. He had to focus. It wasn’t fair to ask everyone else on the team to give it their all while he was busy trying to be a hero.

It all came back to the same problem. Perhaps he could have been more reasonable. If he had swept his traumas under the rug and ignored the sheep’s plight, he could have been a tailor already. He doubted he could control himself enough to rein in his actions and leave the animals, though.

He punched a nearby tree causing pinecones to fall all around him. Roth had to be honest with himself. After spending so much time here, he was getting out of touch with reality. In his heart, helping the digital mice and foxes had become as important as saving his life. What about his family? Weren't they more important than this game?

Drake's frustration had rattled him. He just wanted to rush through this trade run and return to the city. He picked up his step and ran towards the Ravens' Nest dungeon. The entrance was busy, as always. Crowds of beginners tried to find a party to run the dungeon. They all rushed to level up their characters and move to the city.

Now that Roth had the [Basic Toxicologist] set, he could feel some admiring glances from the surrounding players. He had worn equipment like theirs not long ago but felt so much different now. They all looked like a group of beggars playing hero.

He looked at his outfit. His clothes looked much more respectable. The [Utility Belt] didn't match well with his set, and the leather in his boots and the cloth in his equipment was spent and had a washed-out color. He still didn't have that pristine and shiny look that more advanced players got from fancier equipment. Either way, it was much better than what everyone else here had.

Pressed by the urgency in Drake's voice, Roth resisted the urge to slow down and parade his cool gear in front of the beginners and ran straight into the dungeon. As he was teleported to the treetops, he again saw the familiar signs of nests, ravens, crows, and their eggs.

Arriving, all the ravens turned to him and froze. He took a few steps, and all the ravens followed his movements with their eyes. Something was strange today. Although ravens always greeted him when they met, and he had built a good relationship with them, they were staring at him almost adoringly today. He could see some of them drooling as they looked at him. What was wrong with them? They didn’t want to eat him, did they?

Awkwardly, Roth took off running toward the office of Count Crow. Finding the familiar special tree, Roth pulled and twisted the branch, and the secret door opened. Inside, he found the shiny office just as he remembered. The only difference from the first time he was here was the shiny disco ball he retrieved from Oli.

"Hello, count, it's me."

The count looked up and stared at Roth in disbelief. Some drool dripped from his mouth, and his eyes were opened so wide that it startled Roth. "What's wrong? Count, are you OK?"

"L-l-ightbring-g-g... You're a Lightbringer.” The count flapped his wings to help him jump over his desk and ran circles around Roth. "The light has come! The light has come!"

Ch. 115 - 'Weapon'

INDEX

Ch. 117 - Zion