HC:Pacifist | Ch. 154 - Betray Humanity (Patreon)

Everyone was running around hectically in the Titans’ Guild Tent in Greensburg. BlueTitan sat in his chrome armor and studied the faces of all the guild elders who had rushed here after the big news. Some were still absent, but he couldn’t afford to wait one more minute. They had to make a decision now.

He stood up to signal his intention to start the meeting and reinforced it by activating the meeting table’s projectors. The loud conversations simmered down to a tense quiet. “First, thank you, everyone, for coming on such short notice. You all know why you’re here.”

BlueTitan waved his hand, and two system widows appeared before each player. Players received these quests once they chose their side on the [Rise of the Hive King] event:

Betray Humanity (Event)

The great race of the parasitoids wants to expand and regain its strength. If you give yourself to the hive, the king is generous and will reward you.

Quest objectives:

Contaminate as many NPCs with miasma as possible.

You’ve learned [Contaminate].

Rewards

10 NPCs: 2,000,000XP; 1x [Event Ticket];

50 NPCs: 5,000,000XP; 10x [Event Ticket];

100 NPCs: 20,000,000XP; 100x [Event Ticket];

200 NPCs: 50,000,000XP; 300x [Event Ticket].

Contaminate (Rare):

You breathe in the miasma and let it give you the strength you need to weaken others.

Skill effects:

Active: Turn an NPC into a servant of the hive.

Passive: Weakens NPCs. The strength of the debuff is boosted by evil alignment, darkness affinity, and the number of contaminated NPCs in the area.

And then there was the quest information given to players who chose to defend humanity instead:

Fight Off the Aliens (Event)

An invading species seeks to devour the city's citizens. It’s up to you to defend them.

Quest objectives:

Fight off the traitors and contain the spread of this alien plague;

Find out the source of the miasma;

Kill the Alien King.

Rewards:

10 contribution points: 2,000,000XP; 1x [Event Ticket];

50 contribution points: 5,000,000XP; 10x [Event Ticket];

200 contribution points: 20,000,000XP; 100x [Event Ticket];

500 contribution points: 50,000,000XP; 300x [Event Ticket].

BlueTitan didn’t bother giving the guild elders much time to read through the information. Everyone had already received a briefing package. “This is the description you get after choosing either side. I don’t have to tell you this is the first interregional event that includes the Green Country region. What have we found so far? Does anyone know what you can get from the event store?”

“A friend of mine has joined the alien side and has gone under Pegasus’ banner, sir. They share with their allies all the rewards from the event store. The most outstanding one is the [Alien Invasion Set]. It’s the first of its kind in the game.”

“Do you have the details?”

After a few moments of fumbling with the tent controls, the set specs were shown to everyone. A choir of appreciative whistles sounded in the tent.

Alien Invasion Bronze Set

Description: An issued armor set made from a unique alloy that melds with the host and enhances their strength.

Effects:

This six-piece set comprises a helmet, chest, pants, gloves, shoes, and a cape. You can only use them all together as one piece.

+15 to your highest stat;

+10 to your second-highest stat;

+5 to your third-highest stat;

+10% damage reduction;

[Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]

This is a growth set. The more XP you gain while wearing it, the stronger it becomes. This equipment is bound to its user.

Requirements: Lvl. 10, [Betray Humanity].

Alien Invasion Silver Set

Description: An issued armor set made from a unique alloy that melds with the host and enhances their strength.

Effects:

This six-piece set comprises a helmet, chest, pants, gloves, shoes, and a cape. You can only use them all together as one piece.

+30 to your highest stat;

+20 to your second-highest stat;

+10 to your third-highest stat;

+20% damage reduction;

+10% status resistance;

[Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]

This is a growth set. The more XP you gain while wearing it, the stronger it becomes. This equipment is bound to its user.

Requirements: Lvl. 30, [Betray Humanity].

Alien Invasion Gold Set

Description: An issued armor set made from a unique alloy that melds with the host and enhances their strength.

Effects:

This six-piece set comprises a helmet, chest, pants, gloves, shoes, and a cape. You can only use them all together as one piece.

+50 to your highest stat;

+40 to your second-highest stat;

+30 to your third-highest stat;

+20% damage reduction;

+20% status resistance;

+200 of whatever you have the most of: HP or EP;

[Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]

This is a growth set. The more XP you gain while wearing it, the stronger it becomes. This equipment is bound to its user.

Requirements: Lvl. 50, [Betray Humanity].

The armor was incredible. It bolstered the stats players used most, making it suitable for every class. It was also a growth-type set. BlueTitan had heard about growth-type weapons and individual pieces of armor. Rumor was that they could grow to become as strong as legendary equipment. But a complete growth-type set? This was unprecedented. If the armor was already this strong at its base level, how much stronger did it get? Most of all, it had chip slots! Equipment that granted chip slots was very hard to find! His guild had to get their hands on these.

“What about for the human side?”

As BlueTitan looked around, he could tell that no one had any relevant information on the rewards the human side would get from this event. No guild that had chosen the human side had openly shared any information with the player base like Pegasus had. He just had to take a shortcut, then.

BlueTitan went to the forums, looked for paid posts from informants whose guides he had bought before, and bought a guide for 50 gold. It wasn’t a small amount of money, but for the sake of the guild, he did it without batting an eye. He skimmed through it, and finding the relevant information, he uploaded it so his teammates could see it.

Human Defenders Bronze Set

Description: A set of equipment issued by the city to those who choose to defend it.

Effects:

This six-piece set comprises a helmet, chest, pants, gloves, shoes, and a cape. You can only use them all together as one piece.

+15 to your highest stat;

+10 to your second-highest stat;

+5 to your third-highest stat;

+10% damage reduction;

[Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]

This is a growth set. The more XP you gain while wearing it, the stronger it becomes. This equipment is bound to its user.

Requirements: Lvl. 10, [Fight Off the Aliens].

Human Defenders Silver Set

+30 to your highest stat;

+20 to your second-highest stat;

+10 to your third-highest stat;

+20% damage reduction;

+10% status resistance;

[Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]

This is a growth set. The more XP you gain while wearing it, the stronger it becomes. This equipment is bound to its user.

Requirements: Lvl. 30, [Fight Off the Aliens].

Human Defenders Gold Set

Description: An issued armor set made from a unique alloy that melds with the host and enhances their strength.

Effects:

This six-piece set comprises a helmet, chest, pants, gloves, shoes, and a cape. You can only use them all together as one piece.

+50 to your highest stat;

+40 to your second-highest stat;

+30 to your third-highest stat;

+20% damage reduction;

+20% status resistance;

+200 of whatever you have the most of: HP or EP;

[Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]; [Chip Slot]

This is a growth set. The more XP you gain while wearing it, the stronger it becomes. This equipment is bound to its user.

Requirements: Lvl. 50, [Fight Off the Aliens].

He frowned as he studied the new set. “Is anyone seeing anything I can’t? It’s only the name that’s different, right?”

“Maybe the differences are only revealed as the armors evolve, sir.”

BlueTitan nodded. That was a reasonable assumption. “What else does this event give, Titania?”

“There are skill cards, something that looks like the option to change to an alien race and unique consumables.”

BlueTitan checked the guide he had just bought. Other than the description of the set, there was almost no information. Even though there seemed to be less information available on the human side, one thing was certain: they had to do well in this event. The rewards were very generous.

“What else do we know? Was there a trigger to this event?”

“No one has come forward, sir.”

“It looks like the black mist started spreading from the slums. The evil alignment boost described in [Contaminate] is no joke. If the NPCs are evil, they become severely crippled by the passive effect of [Contaminate]. The contaminated NPCs join the side of whoever infected them. When that happens, all quests they have issued are canceled.”

“Well, they will probably be restored after the event,” suggested a guild elder.

“Anyway, they are growing fast. Most of the slums are already contaminated.”

“This fast?” BlueTitan gulped. Hardly an hour had passed since the event began. Even though most of the NPCs in the slums had an evil alignment, there were still many powerful NPCs there. Even the magisters feared the high-ranking mobsters. 

“If [Contaminate] depends on evil alignment, alignment is paramount in this event,” commented on of the guild elders.

BlueTitan’s forehead formed deep creases. Even though a considerable part of the guild had an evil alignment, his core team and best players were cultivating a righteous one. Splitting the guild into two would severely impact their performance in this event.  

Another guild elder intervened, “Sir. Pegasus just shared an update on the forums. If righteous players turn to the alien side, their alignment points are converted to evil.”

BlueTitan gulped. “What’s the conversion ratio?”

“A hundred percent.”

BlueTitan paced as he took the news in. It took a long time to build one’s alignment. Many players inevitably ended up regretting their choices. This kind of event, which allowed players to flip their alignment instantly, was incredible.

“What if it’s the other way around? What if a player with evil alignment joins the good guys?” one of the other guild elders asked.

“Nothing happens.”

“It can’t be this simple. This event must be a great way of building up righteousness points. Besides, seeing things leaning so heavily toward the aliens troubles me. Why aren’t the good guys getting a skill?”

BlueTitan massaged his temples as he heard the discussion between his friends. “Any developments on how to buy real estate in the city?”

Some guild elders turned to him, confused. Only a few saw where he was going with this question. “The player with the highest alignment has 1000 righteousness points right now, and they still haven’t unlocked any clues. Sir, are you considering…”

“Maybe.” This would be a vital decision that would impact the guild’s development. Even though one had to pay one gold and 1% of their XP bar to join the bad guys, it seemed the best way to earn contribution points. What worried him, though, was where this XP was going. If it were going to the hive king, it would become an unstoppable beast. The only ones who’d be able to hunt such a powerful monster down would be the top 10. His guild didn’t stand a chance of getting a slice of the pie.

Additionally, the Titans hadn’t yet been able to buy any estate in the city. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to buy any right now. Who knew the repercussions this event would have on the economy of Greensburg? “What are the Spiders doing?” he asked.

“Our spies tell us they have just decided to join the aliens.”

“What about the top 10 guilds? Have they made any moves yet?”

“The top 10 is quiet. Only Pegasus has announced their stand. Their forces are sweeping through the slums as we speak.”

“They’re here? In Greensburg?”

“They have a full battalion of their forces here, sir.”

Why had Pegasus come all the way here? Weren’t they focusing more on the capital and the Dark Abyss? How had they responded so quickly? To teleport an entire battalion couldn’t have been cheap. His throat went dry as he ran the numbers. Their guild leader’s decisiveness was no joke. “And what about the citadel? The Peace Corps? The magisters? What is the city doing?”

“The citadel has deployed two battalions to the slums but is having trouble containing the threat. There are also reports of miasma sightings in the crafting district. The Peace Corps is already being deployed, too. The magisters haven’t made a move yet.”

He frowned. “Only two battalions? Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why such a mild response?” BlueTitan tried to see into the distance. He didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire, but there was nothing else he could do. This was war. “All our players are to join the alien side. We will go out as a team and storm the crafting district.”

“Sir? All of the guild? Are you sure?”

“This is an opportunity to unite the guild. If everyone has only one type of alignment, it will increase cohesion.”

“But Blue, we have worked hard to get me this far,” complained TitanFists. BlueTitan regarded him. He was the highest-level player in the guild. Many of their resources had been funneled into him, and they had spared no effort to get him to a thousand-plus righteousness. Even so, they still couldn’t buy any real estate.

“Trust me on this one. It will be for the best.”

TitanFists nodded.

“Share the [Alien Invasion Set] details on the chat. That should be enticing enough to have everyone agree. Gather our forces. We’ll start from the point farthest from the slums and fight our way in.”

All the guild elders stood and got ready to join the fray. BlueTitan sighed as he pulled up his spear and shield from his back and walked toward the crafting district of Greensburg. He hoped he had made the right decision for the guild.

Ch. 153 - The Event

INDEX

 Ch. 155 - Art of War