HC:Pacifist | Ch. 128 - Close Call (Patreon)

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Roth had been stuck at level 9 for several hours, and the more he crafted, the less experience these basic recipes gave him. If it weren’t for the stacked effects of [All-Nighter] and [Entitled], he didn’t know how much longer it would have taken him to level this fast. How much harder was it then to reach the higher levels?

The progress bar was steadily increasing, and he should be able to reach level 10 after this poncho. He was already casting off, but he was very careful not to mess any of the steps up. More than once, an item had gotten a worse grade than it could have because he lost focus at the last minute.

Congratulations! You've successfully crafted [Wool Poncho].

Crafting grade: A-.

+100 ecotailor XP.

Wool Poncho (Common)

Crafting Grade: A-.

Cloak

Item description: A plainly formed, loose outer poncho that will keep you warm and toasty.

Item effects:

+3 intelligence;

+1% status resistance.

[Ecotailor Level Up!]

Congratulations! You’re now a novice ecotailor.

+1 intelligence;

+1 dexterity.

You’ve unlocked: [Single Minded Craftsman].

Another title? It was the fourth title he had unlocked in this basement.

Single Minded Craftsman (Rare)

Title description: You focus on one material until you know it intimately well.

Title effects:

You can use the skill [Inspiration].

Conditions to unlock [Single Minded Craftsman]:

Progress 10 levels in one profession using only one crafting material.

Inspiration (Rare)

Skill description: In one rare moment of clarity, you muster all your concentration and produce outstanding results.

Skill effects:

Active. Increase crafting success rate by 5% for one minute.

Cooldown: 21h36m.

He grinned.  What a fantastic title! It was one of those titles that allowed him to have a skill that didn’t occupy any of his skill slots. According to the guides in the Pegasus library, the most optimal way of progressing in the tailor profession was to work with a basic material such as sheep wool until level 6 and then move on to a more advanced crafting material that gave more experience. Typically, after wool, tailors worked with fox or badger leather. Since Roth had been stuck down here and wouldn’t have worked with fox or badger leather anyway, he was forced to work with sheep wool.

The buff was incredible. Getting an extra 5% success rate in a crucial moment could make or break the crafting of an item that utilized many precious resources. The cooldown was 24 hours, but with his cooldown bonuses, that was only bound to get lower.

It was tempting to send Gary and the others a message with a list of the titles he had unlocked while they were stuck in the stinking sewers above him. For a few moments, he dreamed of Wilson banging his smug face against the wall while Xana pulled hairs off Gary’s head. He snapped out of his fantasy.

Roth checked the poncho he’d just created and put it away into his inventory. He’d made hundreds of cloths, bandages, scarves and then had moved to ponchos. They were all variations of the same technique. He’d gone through the hundred-plus kilos of raw wool he’d brought with him and now, instead, had enough knitted items to start his own shop! There was even one item that was good enough for him to want to keep it for himself.

Wool Poncho (Common)

Crafting Grade: S.

Item description: A plainly formed, loose outer poncho that will keep you warm and toasty. The craftsman who made this outdid himself.

Item effects:

+5 intelligence;

+3% status resistance;

+5% movement speed.

Although the speed bonus for this cloak wasn’t as good as the [Errand Cloak’s], at least it granted him some extra stats. He liked the [Mouseketeer Cape], and it did have some interesting options, such as jump and status resistance, but regrettably, it didn’t give him any extra speed. Besides, now that he had the [Wool Mastery] skill, he got extra bonuses from wearing wool.

He picked at the last yarn in his inventory and quickly crafted a few more wool bandages to deplete it. Before this knitting marathon, it would have taken him 10 minutes to craft one bandage, but he could now do it in under two. Even without trying too hard, he didn’t get anything below B grade as he did so.

He would try to drop all of this fluffy cargo with Soros and see how much profit he’d make. He looked at the clock. He had roughly 24 hours before he lost exclusivity with Soros. He couldn’t stay here much longer.

Now that he’d finished going through the Rescue Library and used all of the crafting materials he’d brought, he grew more impatient. He was about to run out of things to do. He had an escape plan that he could try, but it was risky. It was better first to prepare as best as he could. There was only one thing left to do to occupy his time.

Roth grabbed the [Way of Peace] from his inventory and opened it into the skill tree. He was now level 23 and had spent 1SP in each basic skill. That left him with 10 points to work with. He followed the different lines, branching out from his learned skills. This is where things started getting tricky and decisions could have a huge impact on how much he progressed.

Each of the skills branched in two possible upgrades. For the [Peace Treaty] skill, he was given two choices.

Repercussions (Peace Treaty Upgrade)

3SP

Description: As you make a name for yourself as a diplomat and peacemaker, the consequences of disrespecting you become graver.

Effects: Increases XP and gold earned from peace treaties.

This option increased the XP and money he made passively. Since he had celebrated the peace treaty between ratans, snakes, and Mario, he’d already gotten several thousand XP, and once, as a result of what Roth imagined was a skirmish, he was also given money. Although it was fantastic to gain XP and gold passively, the amounts weren’t enough to compete with other players who went on hunts and ran dungeons.

This upgrade cost 3SP. He paused. Should he learn this? He turned to the other possibilities.

Efficacy (Peace Treaty Upgrade)

3SP

Description: You can squeeze more people into the circle of peace.

Effects: Wisdom required for an additional faction in a treaty goes from 50 to 40.

For 3SP, the other option allowed him to potentially sign a peace treaty with more factions. Since one of the parties in a treaty was automatically included in the skill, basically, instead of needing 100 wisdom to make this peace treaty between the ratans, snakes, and Mario, he would only have needed 80. With the extra level he’d made, he could almost reach 120 wisdom too.

He wanted to eventually try to include all the other factions he knew in a single peace treaty, but he was still far from having enough wisdom. This upgrade would only work for him further ahead into the future. If he instead focused on gaining more XP from the treaty that he already had, he could also level up faster and gain more SPs to invest in [Efficacy] eventually.

Besides that, he also had his corvid form. If he changed into it when signing a treaty, he could fit in four more factions. This was something that he wanted to try before committing to this upgrade.

He decided to learn [Repercussions].

[Peace Treaty] has been upgraded.

Once the upgrade was completed, instead of the skill branching into additional choices, the line only continued. If he wanted to upgrade this effect further, he would have to invest 5SP. The other option remained open for 3SP. Good, that cleared some questions he had about how the skill tree worked. He moved on to the upgrades for his [Peace Declaration] skill.

Peace Declaration (Rare)

Skill description: By imbuing your voice with persuasion and conviction, you reach the hearts of those around you and stop them from fighting.

Skill effect:

Active. All those affected by [Peace Declaration] cannot deal damage for two minutes;

Skill effectiveness and radius are affected by wisdom, intelligence, and charisma.

Restrictions: Pacifist, lvl. 15.

Radius (Peace Declaration Upgrade)

3SP

Description: Your vocal cords have become stronger, and your voice can reach more ears.

Effects: Radius of the skill increased by 5m.

Time (Peace Declaration Upgrade)

3SP

Description: Your persuasion lingers for longer, preventing people from enacting violence for a longer period of time.

Effects: Skill duration goes from 2m to 2m30s.

Roth ignored both of these upgrades. The skill was as good as it was for him right now. If he needed more radius in this skill, he had three forms to increase it. The versatility of his race was proving its worth. He could use different forms to bolster different features of his character.

Finally, his attention turned toward the [Flag Bearer] skill.

Flag Bearer (Rare)

Skill description: Your banner represents something greater than yourself. It has become a symbol of prosperity and peace.

Skill Effects:

Passive. Allows you to unlock a flag's hidden properties.

The deeper the relationship with the factions represented by the flag, the stronger the effects.

Restrictions: Pacifist, lvl. 10

Aura (Flag Bearer Upgrade)

3SP

Description: The flag you hold inspires your friends and allies.

Effect: Your allies around you also gain the skills granted by the flag.

Stamp (Flag Bearer Upgrade)

15SP

Description: The flag you hold is a symbol that gains momentum and strength among those who flock to your cause.

Effect: Links [Peace Treaty] and [Flag Bearer].

This was why Roth had hesitated to use all of his SP already. The cost of this upgrade was massive compared to the others. But there was something potentially OP hidden here. He felt some annoyance after reading this. Would it hurt the developers too much to explain what this did exactly? It was a high-stakes decision! What if the upgrade was horrible? He decided to wait for now.

There was movement on the screens. Gary, Wilson, and Xana were leaving. Had they given up? He felt the tears forming in his eyes as they disappeared from the view of the cameras. He felt a huge weight coming off his shoulders. Finally, they had decided to leave. Even though he had tried to stay busy while he was here, it hadn’t been easy. To see a group of former friends hate him this much also took its toll on his heart.

The best part was that he was free to go now! He wouldn’t have to risk his escape plan. He sent a message to the rest of the team, sharing the good news, and received celebratory emojis immediately. A few seconds later, he got a call from Drake.

“Hello, Drake.”

“Have they left?”

“Yes! I just saw them leave. They are no longer in the security cameras.”

“We’re still looking for an alternative hideout. If you see you have a window of opportunity to get out of there, use it. I still think we should move cities.”

“I can’t do that, Drake. Soros is here. If I leave all the effort…”

“I know, Roth. I know. We’ll think about this more later, but I still believe we should move somewhere else. For now, get out of there.”

“OK.”

Drake hung up. The thought of leaving Hilsford was bittersweet to Roth. He looked around the lab and sighed. He wasn’t sure if it would be safe for him to return here soon. This had been his home for the last couple of days and had been a haven that had kept him protected from the IronIre squad.

But Drake was right. Since they knew he had been here, he should walk away and not look back. Maybe they had to leave the game for a while, or something else had happened. He should use this window of opportunity. He selected an exit that led to a chamber different from the ones where his former friends had been camping, and as a precaution, he also put on his [Witness Protection Mask]. Only Xana could see through it, and it was still good enough to fool Wilson and Gary. Not that it would matter much.

From what Roth had seen, regardless of who appeared, they questioned them mercilessly. Even if Wilson and Gary didn’t realize he was Roth immediately, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t know it was him. He shook his head. He could relax now. They were no longer in view of the cameras.

As he walked toward an elevator, just as he was about to push the lever, he realized something.

“Mario?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why aren’t you leaving?”

“It’s dangerous out there. Besides, I’m too busy here.”

Roth felt beads of sweat form on his forehead. If Mario wasn’t leaving yet, that meant…. He pulled his hand from the lever. There was still someone out there.

Ch. 127 - Sweatshop Worker

INDEX