HC: Pacifist | Ch. 187 - Shopping Spree (Patreon)

Roth drummed his fingers on the bench and grabbed the acorn that was the home of the Leafies. The colony was still in its very beginning, and the acorn was pretty much intact, but there might be benefits to upgrading their house. Ten gold was a considerable sum, but he wasn’t currently lacking funds, and it looked like a good investment. He purchased an extra [Golden Acorn] to keep in his inventory.

Reading about the acorns made him think about his plans to become a herbalist and a card master. He kept being thrown from one situation to the next and couldn’t catch his breath. Hopefully, after he opened the portal for the Ogres, he would have more time to dedicate to his professions.

For now, the priority was to increase his strength as much as possible. Roth browsed the auction house for more consumables, which permanently increased stats. The second cheapest was one he had seen before but didn’t want to buy.

Wolf Fillet (Consumable)

Item description: An incredible cut of meat harvested from a wolf elite. Just the smell of it makes your mouth drool.

Item effects:

Improves your worst stat by 2;

It can only be eaten once.

He knew this was just a game, but ever since he raised his little chick in prison, he just couldn’t get any meat in his mouth without gagging, virtual or otherwise. He would just stick to his guns and keep looking for vegetarian options.

As he reviewed the list of items available for sale, Roth realized that avoiding non-vegetarian options would come at a price. All items under a thousand gold that boosted stats, except for the [Gold Acorns] that he already bought, were cuts of meat! Priced at 300 gold, there was a drumstick.

Owl Seer Drumstick (Consumable)

Item description: The lower portion of the thigh of the leader of the owls. It makes for a fantastic meal.

Item effects:

Permanently improves wisdom by 1;

It can only be eaten twice.

And then, priced at 350 gold, another steak.

Beaver Tail Steak (Consumable)

Item description: A steak made from an elite beaver’s muscled tail. Some of the beavers’ know-how is passed on to you by eating it.

Item effects:

Improves dexterity by 1;

It can only be eaten twice.

These and other similar items seemed to be gained from hunting elites and bosses in the area around Hilsford. Players would probably eat the first ones they found, and then, when they found more, they would sell them in the auction house.

Although the items weren’t exceedingly expensive, Roth ignored them and kept looking for options that suited him. Unfortunately, the next options that he felt comfortable eating cost more than 1500 gold.

100-Year-Old Ginger Root (Consumable)

An aged root that brims with vitality and is good for detoxing your body.

Item effects:

Permanently increases hp by 100;

Boosts your weakest stat by 1;

It can only be consumed once.

The other cost 1850 gold.

Camel Queen’s Milk (Consumable)

The nourishing milk from a powerful camel queen which will make your skin soft and supple.

Item effects:

+2 charisma;

It can only be consumed once.

He couldn’t blame the market for the high prices. There was no class or player on AstroTerra who wouldn’t want the extra hp. As for the [Camel Queen’s Milk], it not only permanently increased charisma but also unlocked the stat for players who didn’t have it.

The next more expensive vegetarian item he found for sale was the [Snake Fruit], which he had already consumed. It cost 5000 gold.

He wasn’t yet sure he was ready to fork out 3500 gold for just three stats. At the same time, he was trying to make it to the top, and apparently, every respectable player went around hunting for these prized cuts of meat and improving their stats. If Roth didn’t invest in these consumables, how was he supposed to ever reach the top?

He saved the two items as favorites. He would see how much money he would have left after buying everything else he needed.

Roth inspected his current skills.

Passive: [Boar's Might]; [Farsight]; [Flag Bearer]; [Ratan Stride]; [Snake Slither]

Active: [Camouflage]; [Inspiration]; [Miniaturize]; [Peace Decree]; [Peace Treaty]; [Ratan Dash]; [Screeching Terror]; [Search]; [30 Steps]

Several of his skills were irreplaceable, such as [Miniaturize] and his class-specific skills. Others had room for improvement. For example, he didn’t need [Boar’s Might] anymore. All he used [Boar Form] for was to improve his weight-carrying capacity, and he had found more efficient ways of doing that.

For one, there was Bucky. Then, there was [Ant Form] which directly boosted his weight-carry capacity. Finally, there was his [Cart-Pulling] skill and the ride he was about to buy. He doubted he would be using [Boar Form] anytime soon.

His flag also offered him the [Ratan Stride] and [Ratan Dash] skills for free, making his previous purchase of [Ratan Stride] and [30 Steps] moot. He had potentially three skill slots to fill, four if he could find a better alternative to [Snake Slither].

Roth operated the different filters in the auction house and started looking for all the skills he could use. He focused on skills that could resonate with his zoomorph forms and affinities. Soon, Roth came down to three possibilities. The first was one skill that every respectable esper had, which could be learned from level 30.

Blink (Uncommon)

Description: With much training, you can tap into the quantum realm and jump across space.

Skill effects:

Active. You can teleport a short distance.

Radius scales with wisdom.

Cooldown: 1h.

Restrictions: Espers, lvl. 30.

It was a skill meant to improve survivability and to put some distance between espers and attackers. There was a similar equivalent in most games, and it was a pain in the neck to deal with. He didn’t mind adding this skill to his arsenal to improve his survivability and utility. To top it off, the skill could be learned from trainers and therefore, whenever players got their skill card, they sold it on the market cheaply for 50 silver. He deleted [30 Steps] and learned [Blink].

[Blink] resonates with [Inner Light].

[Blink] has upgraded to [Blink Blink].

Roth smirked at the notification. He had suspected that [Blink] would be of the light attribute and would resonate with his affinity. It seems he was correct. He looked at the upgraded version of the skill.

Blink Blink (Rare)

Description: With much training, you can tap into the quantum realm and jump across space.

Skill effects:

Active. You can teleport a short distance and then teleport again.

Radius scales with wisdom.

Cooldown: 27m.

Restrictions: Espers, lvl. 30.

What a difference. Not only had the cooldown been halved, but he could blink twice. Roth looked at the fountain that was ten meters away.

Blink Blink!

His figure instantly appeared near the fountain. He then looked at the place he had teleported from and used the skill again.

Blink Blink!

And he was back. So that’s what it looked like to be on the other side of this annoying skill. This would help him get out of tricky situations, he hoped. A double blink, boosted by the high wisdom of his [Corvid Form], would help him traverse a long distance in one single bout.

The next skill that Roth learned was a replacement for [Taunting Roar], which he had deleted back in the Green Woods to experiment with some of his skill cards. It was a new upgraded version that warriors pursuing the tank class advancement could learn. Since his class’ unique attributes ignored those requirements, he could learn it.

Taunting Bellow (Uncommon)

Skill description: The surrounding creatures react to your threatening grunts and sounds and feel enraged. They will chase after you.

Skill effect:

Active. Draw all enemies in a 10m radius;

Radius is affected by charisma;

Skill effectiveness is affected by strength.

Restrictions: Tank, lvl. 30.

Compared with [Taunting Roar], the skill didn’t lose effectiveness depending on the target’s HP. This was a priceless upgrade for tanks, who often took the initiative to engage bosses and secure aggro before the team would follow. Despite being a skill that could be learned from trainers, this skill card was more expensive. It probably translated into a popular card in the Terramon mini-game. He took out five gold to purchase it, deleted [Boar’s Might], and learned it.

Roth looked for an upgraded version of [Screeching Terror] but couldn’t find one. Perhaps it was only unlocked at later levels. The medic fear-provoking skill had proven its worth many times over. Now that he had unequipped the [Black Toxicologist] set and lost its bonuses to poisons, he had to find an alternative way to power the skill.

He eventually found one that suited the bill. It was crazy expensive, but its effect seemed to be worth it.

Eerie Glow (Rare)

Description: Your skin casts a ghostly light that makes your surroundings feel ominous and unsettles enemies.

Skill effects.

Passive. Slightly powers your fear debuffs;

Active. Doubles your fear debuffs for one minute. Cooldown: 1h.

Restrictions: All classes, Lvl. 28.

It was priced at a whopping 300 gold, enough money to buy several good pieces of equipment for level 30. It had to be a hard skill to get, and since it could be learned by all classes, that only jacked up the price.

Roth purchased it without any hesitation. He deleted the [Ratan Stride] skill, which, although useful, was also provided by his flag, and learned it.

[Eerie Glow] resonates with [Inner Light].

[Eerie Glow] has upgraded to [Horrific Glow].

Horrific Glow (Epic)

Description: Your skin casts a terrible light that makes your surroundings feel ominous and terrifies enemies.

Skill effects.

Passive. Powers your fear debuffs;

Active. Triples your fear debuffs for one minute. There’s a chance that whoever looks at you suffers a fear debuff for 1 second while this skill is activated.

Cooldown: 27min.

Restrictions: All classes, Lvl. 28.

The moment Roth learned this skill, his newly equipped [Forest Lambswool] set gained an eerie, sickly green glow. He almost felt as if he had become radioactive all of a sudden. This skill would greatly boost [Screeching Terror]’s effectiveness.

Roth stared at his new skillset and nodded approvingly. This time, what had shone through was his [Light] affinity. Skills named after low-level monsters such as ratans, boars, and snakes were typically more for players level 25 and below. Now that he had broken through to level 30, skills that were worth buying and ones that resonated with his zoomorph forms had become fewer.

Additionally, regardless of his form, he always had his light affinity burning in the background. It was better to have a skill always in its upgraded version rather than one that was only upgraded if he changed forms.

Checking the clock, he still had two hours before the jewelry battle ended. He had expected to spend all his money on equipment and skills, but he had only spent 305 gold and 50 silver so far on skills and 40 gold on [Golden Acorns]. The artisans competing for a VIP seat were giving him very expensive equipment for free, and he had purchased two of the skills for a very cheap price. That left him with thousands of gold in his pocket.

Thanking BlueFire for his generosity and for the 5k gold he had mooched off the Ogres earlier,  Roth opened the auction house window and went to his favorites. He purchased the [100-Year Old Ginger Root] and [Camel Queen’s Milk] he’d seen earlier for 3250 gold. As soon as the items materialized in his inventory, he grabbed them and ate them.

As he munched on the ginger root, his eyes watered, and his tongue burned. The vegetable had a spicy sweetness. The level of spiciness was right on the edge, making the taste of the root unpleasant and savory.

The vitality of nature strengthens you.

+100 hp;

+1 perception;

+5 nature affinity.

Since this item was of higher quality than the acorns, he had gained five nature affinity points! He went on to drink the bottle of milk he had purchased. The milk was silky and thick, instantly cooling the prickling sensation that the ginger root had left in Roth's mouth.

The love and warmth of the camel mother nurture you.

+2 charisma;

+5 nature affinity.

You’ve unlocked a new title: [Vegetarian Gourmand].

“Uh? A new title?” Roth opened the description of the title.

Vegetarian Gourmand (Rare)

Description: Your palate has become refined after experiencing the delicacies of the natural world.

Title effects:

You can consume one more of each vegetarian stat-boosting item;

You can’t eat meat inside the game.

Conditions to unlock [Vegetarian Gourmand]:

To have eaten five different types of stat-boosting vegetarian ingredients;

To have never eaten stat-boosting meat.

Ch. 186 - And the Winner Is…

INDEX

Ch. 188 - Gourmand