HC:Pacifist | Ch. 165 - Stamp (Patreon)

[Peace Treaty] has been upgraded.

Passive. Gain a blessing from the factions you are in a treaty with;

The strength of the blessing depends on relationship status and the kind of treaty.

You’re currently in a peace treaty with [Mario], [Sewer Snakes], [Sewer Rats].

Mario’s Blessing: +5 strength;

Sewer Snakes’ Blessing: +15 subterfuge;

Sewer Rats Blessing: +15 dexterity.

You have trade agreements with [Badgers], [Boars], [Corvids], [Dwarf Exiles], [Foxes], [Golden Mountain Inc.], [Greenleaf Inc.], [Ratans], [Snakes], [Treeants].

Badgers’ Blessing: +8 intelligence;

Boars’ Blessing: +8 strength;

Corvids’ Blessing: +8 wisdom;

Dwarf Exiles’ Blessing: +2 dexterity;

Foxes’ Blessing: +8 charisma;

Golden Mountain Inc’s Blessing: +4 charisma;

Greenleaf Inc’s Blessing: +1 charisma;

Ratan’s Blessing: +8 dexterity;

Snakes Blessing: +2 subterfuge;

Treeants’ Blessing: +10 kg.

As Roth saw all the stats he had gained, he couldn’t hold it. He wiped the tears from his eyes. All that work…. All that work had been worth it. He had always known that there was something special about maintaining exclusive trade agreements and cultivating a good relationship with factions. He was right.

It looked like factions he entered a peace treaty with offered him five stats per relationship level. For trade agreements, the number was decreased to two points per relationship level. But if they were exclusive, there was a bonus to it, increasing the overall number of stats. With so many stats flowing in, his character had become a mighty hero!

He looked at his stats.

STATS

Strength: 69

Dexterity: 84

Intelligence: 95 (+1%)

Wisdom: 169

Endurance: 239 (+10%)

Charisma: 119 (+5%)

Resilience: 19

Insight: 24

Subterfuge: 53

Perception: 13

Roth was leagues beyond other players at level 30! He had stats that could even put level 40 players to shame. He was on the right track. Even though he never believed that he could surpass Loki and had made a bet with him to provoke him, seeing this character sheet made him believe that it wasn’t at all impossible to become stronger than him.

He couldn’t be happier about becoming a [Peacemaker]. The effect of the [Friends of Peace] upgrade was almost as strong as the [Inner Light] bonus. But he wasn’t done yet. He still had 15 skill points to spend. He looked at the most expensive upgrade among all his class’ skills.

Stamp (Flag Bearer Upgrade)

Cost: 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].

From the moment his eyes landed on it, he knew he had to get it. There was no way that something so expensive could be ordinary. He had fought the temptation to use up the points, but he could now finally let go. He took a deep breath and unlocked it.

Are you sure you want to unlock [Stamp]? [Y/N]

“Yes!”

[Peace Treaty] and [Flag Bearer] have been linked.

[Flag Bearer] has been upgraded.

Roth hurried to check what had changed about his [Flagbearer] skill. He was speechless. He read and reread the upgrade’s description. He then took his [Flag of the Rat Cave] strapped to his back and turned it over in his hand. He looked at the bottom of the flagpole and the pattern that had appeared on it after he purchased the upgrade.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers and called Drake.

“Hello, Roth. What’s going on? Are you out of Antioch yet?”

“Drake… something happened. I upgraded one of my skills.”

“And…”

“It changes everything. Our plan. The whole thing. Here. I’ve sent the description of the skill to you.”

Drake read through it. He looked like a man who had just struck gold. “Do we need to start a guild for this?”

“I’m 90% sure we don’t.”

“You did the right thing to contact me. This does change things.” Drake’s smirk became predatory. “I can’t wait to call that BlueFire fellow and see him squirm. No! I can’t wait to call Loki! Muahaha.”

Roth frowned at the uncharacteristic evil laughter. He had never heard Drake laugh like this.

“How much can you share?”

“About sixteen levels’ worth. More than enough to make players drool!”

“I will bring this up to the rest of the team. We’re having an emergency meeting.”

“Should I come?”

“No! You focus on that quest. Hurry, Roth. Things around Hilsford are becoming tense. This has become the top 10 guilds’ backyard now, and there are more and more sightings of contaminated NPCs circling the city. I smell war coming.”

“Roger that! In that case, I’m on my way.”

Drake hung up. Between Bucky’s trade, his class advancement, and the impact of the [Stamp] upgrade on his future, so much had happened in the last hour that Roth felt a little dizzy. He slapped his face a couple of times. He had to reach the Table as soon as possible.

The teleportation device was a birch tree programmed by the treesmiths. As he approached it, the turtle ants barring the way, stood to the side and let him in. He nodded to them, thanked them for their service, and entered the chamber where the teleportation device was.

When Roth stepped onto the circle of wood with inscribed intricate bright patterns, a window appeared, asking him where he wanted to teleport. The number of choices available was pitiful. As the Lord had explained to him earlier, the other treeant colonies were off-limits to him for now. As he had feared, the teleportation tree wasn’t in the same network as the teleportation grid that linked human cities.

Roth studied the possible destinations. He could only use teleportation gates scattered throughout the forests surrounding the Green Woods. They were halfway between the beginner region and the mid-size towns. Roth picked up the compass again, confirmed it was still pointing in the same direction, and chose a relay point northwest of Antioch. It would save him about four hours of traveling.

He looked around, spotted a few turtle ants that regarded him stoically, and smiled at them. His new friends had shielded him from Loki’s wrath and provided him with an adventure in an exciting new world. He was grateful to them.

“Thank you again, Lord of the Woods.” He said out loud. Activating the portal, his body dissolved into motes of light, and he disappeared from Antioch.

*

Roth checked his map and then his surroundings. He was definitely no longer in the Green Woods anymore. There were trees around Roth, as far as his eyes could see. However, unlike the rest of Green Country, there was no green. The ground was rocky and sandy, and the trees were sad and barren.

He opened the map from the Rescue Library to learn more about this place. He was in Petrified Forest. It was one of the mixed-biome maps in Green Country. Even though the theme of this world region was predominantly nature and greenery, that didn’t mean there weren’t fire, lightning, and water biomes either.

On his first trip to Greensburg, Roth had seen a burning forest and a forest with lightning all over. It looked like Petrified Forest was a biome where Green Country met the Rock Canyon. He liked the sound of that. After all, he planned to move to Rock Canyon and establish himself in Saphira after he was done with the Table meeting.

He checked what the most popular monsters and animals were in this neck of the woods, and finding none of the factions he knew, he frowned. He would have to start from scratch with whatever he found here.

Roth took out the compass he’d gotten from Oli. Instead of pointing northwest, the needle was pointing west now. The shift in direction was a good sign. It meant that he was getting closer. Before Roth took off, he grabbed the delicate treasure he got in Antioch. It had been small to his miniature form, but now it was barely visible in his regular size.

Before he hatched the ant queen’s egg, he grabbed the [Myrmecologist Handbook] and confirmed that he had all that was needed to get his colony started. As he opened his mind to the object, a small introductory video played in his mind. Epic brass instruments resounded in the background, punctuated by the beat of heavy drums.

“Welcome to the world of ant keeping, human.

The fact that you’re seeing this means that our race has entrusted you with a priceless treasure: The privilege of caring for one of our queens and colonies. Our experience is that you, humans, can be quite dense when understanding us ants. So, let me guide you, and hopefully, you won’t waste this opportunity.

The first thing you need is a habitat. Depending on what kind of ant you’ve been entrusted with, you might have to secure wood, soft soil, sand, or even just an acorn.”

A series of impressions of different species of ants living in different habitats flashed through Roth’s mind. He smiled. This had been the first hint he had received about acorn ants. He had plenty of acorns in his inventory, so he should be OK.

“Human, don't forget that we need to eat! Offer us sugar and protein, and ensure we can access clean water.

Last but not least, you’ll need patience. Ah, the one thing your kind struggles with most. Our colonies take time to grow – weeks, even months. You'll have to learn what waiting for things is like.

Remember, in the colony, there will be a queen, soldiers, and workers. But there’s one last member that is equally important: a servant. That would be you!”

With the ending statement, there was the mental equivalent of fireworks, and the telepathic message ended. The procedure to care for the egg seemed to be quite straightforward. He inspected it.

Hybrid Ant Queen Egg (Pet)

Pet rating: A+.

Description: This queen has been bred to take up different specializations from different ant species.

Genome:

[Acorn]; [Weaver]; [Carpenter]; [Fire].

Would you like to hatch the egg and start the colony? [Y/N]

This time, Roth chose yes.

[Hybrid Ant Queen Egg] speed hatching.

The egg, the size of a grain of sand, flashed with light, and a progress bar appeared. It looked like the egg would take a few minutes to hatch. As Roth let the treeant’s technology do its thing, he took a moment to learn about pet grades. He wasn’t sure if A+ was good or not. He looked in the Rescue Library for information about pets.

A list of quests, stores, and guides on how to care for pets appeared.

“Guide on How to Obtain and Care for Pets

Pet types

There are two types of pets in AstroTerra. Some pets help with transportation, others aid in battle. Those that can do both are very rare. You can only have one pet.

Pet care

Each pet is different, but one thing is common to all types of pets. They need food and affection. You need to find what your pet’s favorite foods are. Depending on how good the food is and how much effort you put into showing them affection, like petting, talking to, or grooming them, the more they can grow.

What Pet is Right for You?

The answer to this question depends entirely on your playstyle. Are you a player who enjoys hunting and raiding dungeons? In that case, a pet good at fighting might be right for you. Or do you prefer to quest and explore new frontiers? Do you find yourself moving around a lot? If so, a pet more geared toward transportation might be best. If you are a player who focuses on crafting, Pegasus recommends you not to have any pets. They will just suck up time you could better spend in advancing your profession.

Pet Grades

Each pet comes with a grade. Grades determine how much pets can grow. For example, an E-grade horse can only provide you with a 200-movement speed bonus at best. An E+ horse will get you 250 once it’s at max level.

Our List of Recommended Pets

Rides

Grey Stallion | D-

Merry Mare | E+

Battle Donkey | E

Battle pets

White Wolf Cub | D-

Owl Chick | E

Crazy Mouse | E-”

Roth frowned. These pets were terrible! Only D and E? Was that the best that Pegasus could give its members? He opened the forums, looking for other higher-ranked pets, and found a funny post.

“Pet Aficionados’ Top 5 Pets

This list has been gathered from the votes of all our dear followers. They were all rated on power, growth potential, and cuteness!

Pyrie, the Lava Lizard (Owned by Jaw-Long, Dragons)

Dolly, the Flying Dolphin (Owned by Mary)

Goldie, the Golden Hawk (Owned by Mel, Krakens)

Taran, the Sun Bear (Owned by Ogre, Ogres)

Manira, the Black Mamba (Owned by Anak, Pegasus)”

Hmmm… The post gave a list of the top 5 but didn’t specify the grades. Wasn’t this Mel girl the one he had talked to via conference when he discovered Antioch? What grade did her hawk have? He shrugged. Why guess when he could ask her directly? What did he have to lose? He decided to give her a quick call.

Ch. 164 - The Way of Diplomacy

INDEX

Ch. 166 - Death Sentence