HC: Pacifist | Ch. 229 - Sapphira (Patreon)

Gigi, the Rock Lizard

Lvl. 20

Hp: 250

Ep: 130

Skills: [Sunbeam], [Camouflage], [Stampede], [Call to Arms], [Slash], [Tail Whip].

So, it was a species of lizard. He wondered if these animals had anything to do with the lizardman race. Just as he was about to open the forums and check out more information about them, Kurt panicked. “Shoot. I hoped they'd be back in their caves, but I guess I came in too early,” he said with both hands on his head.

“Will it attack?” asked Roth.

“If we go nearer, yes,” Kurt said while weighing his options. “It’s not very strong. The problem is that from the moment you fight with one, another ten join in. They don’t even have to deal us much damage. They just need to push over the edge or damage my cart, and it’s game over for me. Annoying little pests.”

Kurt was probably referring to the [Call to Arms] and [Tail Whip] skills. Seeing how harmless the lizard looked and how friendly this player was, Roth decided to ease his mind. “Don't worry, Kurt. I have a skill that will prevent it from attacking us.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just keep going, don't mind it. I promise you it won't do us any harm.”

Contrary to what Roth had expected, instead of asking for proof or explanations about the skill, Kurt just accepted it. “OK, RainyCloud. Thank you.”

They pushed the cart down the road and closer to the rock where the lizard was sunbathing. As they approached, it saw Kurt and hissed. The merchant bit his lip but kept pushing the cart, ignoring the lizard.

The lizard’s eyes then landed on Roth, and its nostrils flared. The lizard tasted the air with its tongue and, satisfied, closed its eyes and kept placidly basking in the sun. Kurt gave Roth a surprised look and then a grateful thumbs-up.

Once they had left the lizard behind them, Kurt finally spoke again. “You were right! It didn't attack us! I owe you one. You just saved me like one hour of waiting. This way, I can avoid the coyotes.”

“Coyotes? In the canyon?”

“Oh yeah, they come out at night. You'll see that looks can be deceiving in this region. Despite looking so parched and deserted, this place is teeming with life. You won't get bored here. I promise you that.”

They descended the last slope, and the cart landed on the road of the canyon's floor. “Well, thank you for that. I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it. I did nothing.”

“You did. Here's my contact information. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you. Since you’re new here, you’ll probably have questions about the city and stuff. If you need information about Sapphira, just drop me a line, OK?”

“Thanks, man, it was very nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Kurt picked up his cart and went on his way. Roth watched Kurt pull his wooden cart until he disappeared into the canyon. He had felt apprehensive about leaving his friends behind in Hilsford. He had worried it would be lonely out here. But as soon as he arrived, he had already made friends with the moles and now with this fellow merchant. He saved Kurt’s contact information. Perhaps Roth would take him up on his offer and ask for information about Sapphira later. Happy with making a new friend, Roth’s attention turned toward the new scenery.

When Roth had seen the canyon from a distance, it looked like a thin line in the horizon, a crack in the plateau, barely noticeable. Now that he was inside it, he was surprised by its size. The walls of the cliff were 100 meters apart, at least in this stretch. He looked up and spotted a few more rock lizards hanging to the cliff walls. Above, there was a thin patch of blue sky. Roth fidgeted uncomfortably. He hadn’t expected the canyon to remind him so much of the prison’s courtyard. It was probably because it limited the view of the sky.

He looked away and called Lua.

Summon!

The mare appeared, neighing and eager to ride. Mounting her, he rode in the direction opposite from where Kurt had gone. He soon found that the distance between cliffs was wider in some stretches and shorter in others. Sometimes, the road split into cramped pathways, combining into larger ones later. Some wider parts of the canyon had patches of grass and shrubbery where he saw bison and mountain goats grazing. Seeing yet more races to befriend, Roth felt excited about the possibilities.

Even though the sky above the plateau was still red, thanks to the last slanted rays of the setting sun, night had already descended on the canyon. The light that made it down here was next to none.

Roth came to a canyon stretch that split into three thin pathways. He randomly selected the middle one. It was only wide enough to harbor two or three players standing shoulder to shoulder but was still more than enough for Lua.

He heard the echoes of clanging metal and beastly grunts and found a group of players at the path's exit. They were fighting a herd of bison. Three melee fighters stood in the front, blocking the animals with their shields and spears, whereas three others stayed in the back, throwing long-ranged skills or healing their comrades. They were outnumbered but used the terrain to their advantage. Only two bison could fit into the cramped path, ensuring their rear was safe and reducing the pressure on their front line.

Seeing the angry animals fighting against the players, Roth felt a rush of blood to the head, but he clenched his fists and reined in his emotions. His quirky habits would surely draw attention if he went on one of his rampages. That was the last thing he wanted right now. The city would also have many slavers; he knew this. He couldn’t dive headfirst into the first situation that popped up. He would have to be patient if he wanted to make this his new base.

Roth just sat down and began knitting, waiting for the players to finish the fight. After a few more minutes of intense battle, they finally whittled down the hp of the last mob and started collecting the loot.

One of the players caught Roth’s movements as he stored the new sweater he had crafted and prepared to go through.

“Oops. Sorry about that, man. Thank you for waiting,” one of the warriors in the party said in a friendly tone.

“It’s fine,” Roth answered, trying not to betray his anger at the players. He had hated the sight of the dying bison. “Is it still far to Sapphira?”

“No, you’re almost there.”

“Thanks.”

Roth mounted Lua again and left the group in the dust. After meeting with the bison hunters, the increasing number of players and conflicts attested to the truthfulness of their directions. He galloped as fast as he could, trying to escape the many battles around him. He was getting close to Sapphira. Thankfully, he had to be close to the city.

Even though the cries of the animals and the screams of the war competed for his attention, Roth focused on the sound of Lua’s hooves clacketing on the rock and echoing off the canyon's walls. The echo faded as the path widened. When the canyon was at its widest, he finally spotted it.

An imposing wall cut the canyon, bringing the two distant cliff walls together by one of human making. Guards held torches while patrolling the battlements of the stone wall. Their light was enough to illuminate the many battles at the foot of the wall. Hunting players, mountain goats grazing on the shrubbery outside the wall, and coyotes chasing the goats were all attacking each other.

Tired of controlling his emotions, Roth located the tall wooden gate, invitingly open to the many players and NPCs arriving at the city. Roth passed by the guards who were ignoring the arrivals and seemed more preoccupied with chatting about the day's news. After stepping in through the gate, Roth finally got to see the inside of Sapphira.

The first thing Roth noticed was the gargantuan pit in the ground. It stretched down even further than the tall cliffs around the city stretched up. Just how far down had they dug the pit? Countless floors of streets and roads were carved in the rock, where thousands of tiny dots moved to and fro. In addition to the carved roads, there were tunnels, walkways, and wood and rope bridges around the city's rim. A complex system of staircases, ramps, elevators, pulleys, and levers joined the many disjointed floors.

Looking up, he saw the moonlight reflected off the imposing towers, guarding the city from attacks from above. Twin citadels watched over one another from the opposite sides of the plateau. What kind of defenses had they set up in the plateau to protect the city from raids above?

The city had four gates. There was the south gate Roth had just entered through and the north gate on the opposite side of the pit. Finally, the east and west gates on the plateau were guarded by the two citadels.

Saphhira was very different from Hilsford and Antioch. Hilsford was a more traditional, fairly plain city with a hill atop which rested the citadel. Antioch had a complex three-dimensionality, but taking the whole city in one glance was impossible. In Sapphira, wherever he looked, something was going on. It was overwhelming.

Curiosity piqued, Roth decided to begin exploring the city. The first thing he would do would be to find White Onyx Inc., where Soros’ friend was. He had a recommendation letter written by his merchant friend, which should help him establish a foothold in this city.

It wasn't difficult to find a map showing the city's basic infrastructure. All cities had a basic map to help newcomers settle quickly. It looked like the slums of this city were at the very bottom of the pit and consisted of a series of shacks and run-down caves. No wonder. It was as far as possible from the citadels above.

Above the slums and up to his current level was the crafting district. Much of the city’s most important infrastructure was located on this floor, the so-called canyon floor. The teleportation gate and auction house were here, for example.

Above him, one could find shops, then the campus, university, and hospital. Finally, the garrison and the city’s military were at the very top. The garrison to the east was known as the Rising Sun, and the one to the west was the Rising Moon.

Figuring out where the merchant associations were wasn’t difficult. It was fairly easy to spot a merchant from afar. All that Roth had to do was follow after the long caravans and the conspicuous wagons and cartwheels. He quickly found a few merchants matching the description and went after them. As if to signal the difference between trading with NPCs and players, the Merchant's Association seemed to be located on the opposite side of the pit from the auction house.

This city was noisier than Hilsford because one couldn't just hear the sound of one street but was constantly exposed to the eternal echo of the whole city. The place smelled of sand and sweat.

Traveling along the rim, Roth was surprised by how wide the carved roads felt. What impressed him most was the architecture. All the buildings were carved into the rock. Elegant columns and decorated gateways marked the entrances to houses and businesses. The amount of work power required to dig such a city into the mountain would have made such a project impossible in the real world.

Only in a game where one could defy the laws of economics when designing a city could such a magnificent engineering project come to life. Roth double-checked the name on the letter, and once he started seeing trading associations, he started asking people for directions.

“Excuse me, do you know where White Onyx Inc. is?” he asked an NPC riding a black horse.

“Hmmm. Sorry, it doesn't ring a bell,” the merchant answered with a smile. He tried his luck again after walking a little longer.

“Excuse me, I'm looking for Ruth from White Onyx Inc. Do you know where she is?

“Sorry, mate, I don't recognize the name.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Roth heard a commotion ahead. It was loud enough to pierce through the constant echoey rumble of Sapphira.

“30 gold!”

“32 gold!”

“Going once, going twice? Sold to the man in a green turban for 32 gold!”

Roth’s eyes widened. “An auction? In the middle of town?”

Ch. 228 - Rock Canyon

INDEX

Ch. 230 - Slave Market